A world order that’s in shambles and an ultimatum on UN reforms
Live MintAmid the celebrations surrounding the 75th anniversary of the setting up of the United Nations, the global multilateral project is in open disarray. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s virtual interventions at the UN last month were therefore important not only because they managed to focus on some of the key challenges facing the multilateral order, but also because they underlined a shift in India’s engagement with this question. A country, which is the largest democracy of the world; a country with more than 18% of the world population; a country which has hundreds of languages, hundred s of dialects, many sects, many ideologies; a country which was a leading global economy for centuries and also one which has seen hundreds of years of foreign rule.” When he asked how long a country would have to wait, particularly when the transformational changes happening in that country would affect a large part of the world, the Prime Minister was underscoring growing impatience in India over the pace of reforms at the UN. To many in India, it is not readily evident if the global multilateral order will be able to reform itself and cope with rising geopolitical tensions and new security challenges. Modi’s remarks were a veiled warning to the UN that despite New Delhi’s inherent faith in the global multilateral order, India’s absence from its decision-making structures and lack of genuine reforms might force India to look for alternatives.