Describing India as a ‘crucial and proven partner’, a Florida lawmaker has urged the US and other ‘like-minded’ countries to push for the induction of India as a permanent membership at the UN Security Council.“Rather than remaining on the sidelines when it comes to implementing reform at the United Nations, the United States and like-minded nations should actively advocate reform of the UN Security Council, beginning with permanent membership for the world’s largest democracy: India,” Republican Congressman Gus Bilirakis said in an opinion piece in The Washington Times.On September 6, 2007, Bilirakis and Congressman Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan sponsored House Resolution 638 that called for the world body to amend Article 23 of its Charter to admit India into the Security Council.“India’s success is propelled by a trillion-dollar economy the world’s fifth largest with annual growth rates of 9 per cent. India provides once-inconceivable opportunities for prosperity throughout Asia.“Indian society is comprised of 1 billion Hindus and 150 million Muslims the second-largest Islamic population in the world reflecting the diverse religious tolerance that is critical in this often-radicalised region of Asia,” he said.Bilirakis praised India’s army, noting that it was “well-trained in counter-terrorism and a strong participant in peacekeeping and civil-relief activities.” He also said India’s navy is “by far the most capable in the region, protects vital sea lanes in the Indian Ocean and projects power and influence across a vast strategic arc spanning southern and eastern Africa, the South China Sea and Australia”.“There is another important reason for the United States to advocate India’s membership on the Security Council: It is a crucial and proven partner in the global war on terror and is strategically located to combat growing Islamist extremism in South Asia,” Bilirakis said.
