Opinion India@75, Looking at 100: Going forward the India way

And there was no greater honour for the Permanent Mission of India team to hear not just from the other 14 Council members, but also many member states that “India will be missed in the Council”. As conflict situations in Ukraine, Sudan and elsewhere continue to simmer, this sentiment has not diminished, only strengthened. Meanwhile, outside the Security Council, in the intergovernmental negotiations of the General Assembly, we continue to make a strong pitch for a permanent seat on the Security Council for the one-sixth of humanity represented by India. I remain confident that this is a goal that remains well within our grasp.

India is not, however, resting on our UNSC performance plaudits and laurels alone, but continues to contribute positively in an endeavour to bring solutions to the global top table. The India-UN Development Partnership Fund administered by the Permanent Mission of India Office in New York is one such example. Here, through generous grants, we are assisting member states of the South with demand-driven socio-economic programmes, in keeping with our commitment to a human-centred global development model that sees the world as one large interconnected family.

Beyond summits and high-level events, India’s position on issues of our core interest, for instance on counter-terrorism, has now become the mainstream narrative of the international community. Our work as Chair of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee is still remembered as one of focus and determination, a strong voice for a united and coherent front for the fight against terror.

And the first-ever historic visit of the Counter-Terrorism Committee comprising all 15 members of the Security Council to India in October 2022 — coinciding with the 14th anniversary of 26/11 along with its Delhi Declaration — allowed us and the international community to refocus as well as rededicate ourselves to this fight.

Going forward, I remain optimistic that we will be able to attain positive outcomes in the fight against terrorism, where it is critically imperative that the global community remain united.

In February 2023, India scaled a new high becoming the Chair of the UN Commission for Social Development. Chairing this august body, as India’s first woman Permanent Representative to the United Nations, gives me a sense of how far we have come, across a broad spectrum of issues that concern women’s rights. Our domestic achievements, whether they be in regard to representation or empowerment, have managed to make new beginnings, above all changing how the world perceives us and our achievements on this front. I do feel that “this is a good time to be a woman in India” and that it will only get better, with the focus on women-led development.

The deployment in January 2023 of the all-woman peacekeeping contingent to Abyei in Africa was another step in this direction. Our determination to deploy women in the cause of peace is only matched by the UN’s own bold emphasis on a strong female presence in the field, in an effort to secure optimal outcomes.

Much of this goodwill for India does translate into concrete and positive outcomes on the ground. For instance, in the recently concluded elections to the UN Statistical Commission in New York, India achieved a landslide win, capturing 46 of the 53 votes that were cast, leaving many member states behind. This was another practical manifestation of the world regarding us as a responsible, caring and contributing partner, willing and able to bring value to the table.

The India way is gaining increasing traction at the United Nations. Our promotion of millets in this International Year has gained recognition and acceptance at the UN. We will continue to build upon this foundation to spread awareness about the benefits of these traditional super grains from our country. Much of this and more has been streamlined by the Permanent Mission team into the “India Roundtables” at the UN, a discourse which brings the Indian perspective to the table. Above all, it is about how an effective multilateral system should work with the people as its principal focus, a human-centric global development model, as opposed to a self-centred one. It has not been forgotten and in fact, articulated often at the UN, that India was indeed the “first port of call” for many member states of the Global South for Covid vaccines during the pandemic. More importantly, this moment was not monetised – this is a reflection of the Indian worldview which seeks the prosperity and welfare of humanity as a whole.

In a fast-shifting global landscape and as we build a “New India”, the functions and responsibilities for our diplomacy will only increase and multiply manifold. The words of Swami Vivekanand, “Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is achieved”, will continue to serve to inspire and motivate.

The writer is India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. This article is part of an ongoing series, which began on August 15, by women who have made a mark, across sectors