The UN was established in the year 1945 to bring international peace, provide security, and humanitarian assistance to those in need, protect human rights and uphold international law. Countries joined hands together to implement the UN Charter imbued with the morality and ethics of which humanity is always aspirant. Five great nations of the time; the US, the UK, China, France and the USSR as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) affirmed to uphold these values enshrined in the UN charter. The authority of these nations was accepted by other members of the UN because they were considered on a higher pedestal of morality and ethics. There is now again the talk of increasing the number of permanent members of the Security Council. India is one of the aspirants and has been vigorously pursuing its agenda over the past few years. But the question arises whether UNSC has fallen so much in its basic tenets of morality and ethics that a country like India can aspire to become its permanent member. Why India doesn’t qualify for such a noble platform lies in its real face.
Unfortunately, India tags itself as a regional leader as but a harbinger of state terrorism, a nuisance for its neighbours, a tyrant for its minorities, a violator of gross human rights in UN recognised disputed territory of IIOJ&K and overlooks sheer inequality and fissures within its own society.
Indian illegal involvement in the internal affairs of its neighbouring states remains a fact for the last five decades. Supporting Mukti Bahinis in East Pakistan, Tamils in Sri Lanka, political parties in Nepal and Bhutan, ISKP in Afghanistan and anarchists in Pakistan is not hidden from anyone. India has always attempted to destabilise Pakistan and Afghanistan. The obnoxious nexus of RAW with the terrorists in Afghanistan to destabilise both countries is a loathsome fact. It launched serving naval officers as spies in Pakistan and Qatar which is a testament to the nefarious activities that the Indian state has been into. India’s involvement in terrorist acts in Pakistan and its support for TTP as well as ISKP is enough to conclude that India remains the sole repository of terrorism in the region.
New Delhi like Israel has consistently paralysed UNSC and abhorred the implementation of UN resolutions in IIOJ&K. The demographic apartheid and changes through the revocation of Articles 370 & 35A, delimitation of constituencies and the economic lockdown in Kashmir all point to the fact that India remains a state which has no regard for international norms and morals.
India has a poor record of securing its strategic assets. There has been a huge number of nuclear material theft incidents in India. It’s an ugly fact that the fissile material has been conveniently available in Indian markets; a situation unparalleled with any other nuclear-capable country. Firing nuclear-capable BrahMos into Pakistan in March 2022 and accepting it to be a mistake at the Indian government level accentuates the vulnerability that the Indian nuclear command and control setup is suffering. How can a country, whose own strategic assets are unsafe, insecure, and prone to theft for use by rogue elements claim to be a responsible nuclear state and an aspirant of UNSC permanent membership?
The so-called biggest democracy in the world is the tyranny of the extremist Hindu majority and religious bigots. What ails India is the northern belt fleecing the rest of the country, the Modi-Ambani-Adani nexus against the poor, the BJP/RSS & fascists’ alliance, corruption and the caste system. India, being pressured by Sangh Parivar refuses to adopt a firm stance on global human rights yet aspires to become a global actor.
An estimated 20 percent of urban Indian households live in slums, thousands of women are killed every year for failing to bring sufficient dowry and nearly 200,000 farmers have committed suicide in the past decade. If everything in India is so impeccable, why did the Indian National Congress have to undertake the 3750km on foot Bharat Jodo Yatra from south to north of the country? The Rahul Gandhi-led march is an effort to let the world recognise the true face of India which is in sheer contravention to the impression the Indian government has portrayed. India’s hopes of becoming a global actor will remain a mirage, unless it elevates itself to the level where it is believed to be a country of international repute adhering to its commitments, promises, and pledges both on international and domestic fronts.