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Opinion

India’s UNSC berth will foster global peace


Published : 20 Jun 2020 09:37 PM | Updated : 07 Sep 2020 04:42 PM

It is a great piece of news for the world that India has been made a proud member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). India’s becoming a member of the United Nations’ most important organ, charged with ensuring international peace and security, has long been anticipated by peace-loving countries of the world.

The UNSC, which could not play its due role since its establishment in October 1945 and has long been a target of wide-ranging criticism, has shown a good gesture by including India, a peace-loving nation. It is widely accepted that more significant Indian presence on the international stage will create a new dimension in achieving international peace and security in the coming days.

Giving reaction to his country’s becoming a UNSC member, Indian Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi has said in a Tweeter message that India will work with all the member countries to promote global peace and security.

Meanwhile, the Indian permanent representative to the UN has said that in the COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 world, India will continue to provide leadership and a new orientation for a reformed multilateral system. In addition, India will have effective response to global terrorism and comprehensive approach to international security, promoting technology-based solution to the global challenges.

India, the largest democracy in the world with a long history of cooperation with other nations and enriched with cultural tradition and heritage of giving values to the betterment of mankind, will certainly contribute to facilitating world peace as a member of the Security Council. India has emerged as a great nation, empowered by the relentless efforts of its founding father since its independence from the Great Britain in 1947, and can help build a sustainable peace.

India’s membership in the UN Security Council, established immediately after the World War II, was much anticipated at the time of emergence of BRICS, a new economic block. During his visit to Delhi in 2010, US President Barak Obama invited India to be a member of this UN organ and extended his country’s support to India to this end. Following that call, China also announced its instant support for India to be a member of the UN Security Council.

Chinese goodwill gesture was appreciated by politically conscious people of the world, who were of the opinion that China took a matured political move amid the US initiative to gear up South Asian regional cooperation in its favour before the international court announced its verdict against China’s right on the South China Sea.

India’s Security Council berth will certainly gratify peace-loving people of the world, but it will especially gladden Bangladeshi people for the crucial role India played during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. India and Russia came forward to save the 75 million people of Bangladesh, which had been on the verge of ruin as a nation as the Pakistani occupation army had unleashed genocide on the peace-loving people of Bangladesh.

The heaven and earth were shaking with the cry, sorrow and pain of men, women and children who were the victims of unprecedented brutality of the Pakistani army. Against the history’s worst brutality by the Pakistani army, India came for the salvation of the Bengali people at that critical juncture.

India provided shelter to around 10 million people of Bangladesh who had fled to next-door neighbour for survival. India, despite having its vast population starved, provided food, clothing and shelter for the huge number of people from Bangladesh at their need. 

Not only that, when the Pakistani army was about to surrender to the joint command of the Bangladesh and Indian forces, the US permanent representative to the UN Security Council put forward a proposal [better say design] for a ceasefire so that the ensuing independence of Bangladesh was stalled. At that time, Russia exercised it veto power to thwart the design for blocking the emergence of Bangladesh as a sovereign and independent nation. But the repeated moves were voided with the veto power exercised by Russia. 

India played a pivotal role in convincing Russia for this great job to do. And that was one of the great initiatives of India, which stood by the peace-loving people with all the resources at its disposal for the salvation of a nation.

It is anticipated that the global peace and security will immensely be facilitated and the UN Security Council will play more positive role for the welfare of mankind with the inclusion of India as it member.


Sharif Shahab Uddin is the editor-in-chief of  Bangladesh Post