With Great Power comes Great Responsibility: India & the UNSC

It’s been 69 years since India became an Independent nation. The leaders that formed the government then thought that the time was right for India to govern itself. The government today believes that India is ready to be part of a committee that aims to keep the world secure, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). To this end, they have been looking for support from every quarter with the constant spate of foreign visits Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already made to several nations since his government came to power in 2014.

They feel the time is right for India to take its rightful place, seeing as it considers itself a leader in Asia. It is looked upon by various South Asian nations as a big brother, an insurance policy of some kind, against the threat that an aggressive China poses in the region.

For & Against India’s seat

But India has apparently failed in impressing contemporary world leaders who have opposed India’s most recent bid to restructure the UNSC like its reluctant friend US President Barrack Obama and its long-time ally Russian President Vladimir Putin. The third nation, China, in spite making tall claims of friendship during President Xi Jinping’s diplomatic visit, is still a regional rival along with another claimant to a permanent seat, Japan. However, the other two permanent members, France, under President Francois Hollande and the United Kingdom, under Prime Minister David Cameron, support India’s bid.

Other Contenders

Along with India, the other G-4 nations, comprising of Germany, Japan, and Brazil have all longed for a permanent seat in the UNSC. Germany, because of its GDP, which is the fourth largest in the world, Japan, because of its regional (albeit muted) power status in Asia, and Brazil, by virtue of being the only regional power in South America.

Shortcomings

Although India is slated to be the most populous country in the world by 2022, although its economy is great as an emerging market, although it has a stable democratic structure and although it is a responsible nuclear state, India hasn’t exactly been doing what one would expect members of a ‘security council’ to do.

• India hasn’t sent help to the coalition fighting terrorist groups outside its borders
• India is not involved in helping bring back a democratic government in Yemen
• India didn’t until very recently stand up for or attempt to mediate the conflict brewing in the South China Sea.
• India hasn’t spoken up on human rights issues in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
• India stood passively by in the Iran nuclear deal.
• India hasn’t done anything for the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

When you take a look at all these conflicts that India has deliberately avoided, stayed out of, skirted or just verbally condemned, it is hard to imagine that this country is a regional power which will do anything at all, even if it does get a permanent seat at the UNSC.

Favourable Statistic

However, there is one thing that certainly goes in India’s favour and that is the number of personnel it has sent to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. India has sent 8,112 people and is third in terms of this contribution, Bangladesh and Pakistan holding the first and second positions respectively. The permanent members come nowhere close to matching these numbers.

Unfortunate Reality

However, merely these numbers cannot hide the fact that India has in fact chosen neutrality and made the decision to stay aloof from world conflicts even in this age of co-operation. Although India now contests that it just needs a two-third majority in the UN General Assembly to get a seat, the problem is that India might fall short on its claim to be able to handle that much power without taking on responsibility.

Keeping the Peace: The UN Peacekeeping Force

The world celebrates the UN Peacekeeping Day today, the 29^th of May, but it hardly garners attention anywhere except in the camps of 16 operation bases around the world where the Peacekeeping force is striving to bring stability, establish the rule of law and end conflicts without resorting to war.

Strife is a global phenomenon and even now multiple armed conflicts are in progress either in the form of ethnic clashes, civil war, terrorism, dictatorships, coups or full scale war. More often than not, it is superpowers that intervene by either coercing or forcing both parties to co-operate and act as mediator but it may also happen that these nations may take sides in these conflicts.

This is the time where the need for a global non-partisan peacekeeping force betrays its importance. The UN Peacekeeping Force, comprising of personnel from all over the world, is the perfect third party to bring about a resolution to conflict.

The biggest contributors to the force are not the nations you expect. Expect surprises in the figures below which have been sourced from the UN website. These are the total number of personnel contributed by the nation:

1. Bangladesh – 9307
2. Pakistan – 8163
3. India – 8112
4. Ethiopia – 7864
5. Rwanda – 5575
6. Nepal – 5316
7. Senegal – 3570
8. Ghana - 3053
9. Nigeria - 2975
10. Egypt – 2937

Well, wasn’t that a surprise? Apart from the fact that none of the five nations that comprise of the United Nations Security Council feature in this list, the fact that the nations of the Indian sub-continent rank in the top 6 certainly show how much these nations and African countries who complete this list actually strive for world peace in spite of claims that they don’t contribute to the war on terror.

Image Courtesy: defencetalks.net

Although China makes it to the 11^th rank in the list of contributors to the Peacekeeping Force, the rest of the Big 5 are nowhere near. Here are the contributions of the Permanent seat holders in the UNSC:

1. China – 2899
2. France – 924
3. UK – 288
4. Germany – 194
5. USA – 95

This however, is not a condemnation of nations but a realization that those on whom the least expectation is placed often turn out to be front-runners in hindsight. It must also be noted that although these ‘developed’ nations my not directly be involved in the peacekeeping Force, they are the ones leading the alliance against major terrorist forces in the world today.

Although the force of arms is hardly the correct way to bring about peace, it is sometimes required to bring to sense to those who would prefer violence over cordial means and chaos over stability to establish control. This makes the UN Peacekeeping Force not just an interlocutor but a necessity in these times of grave turmoil.

On this day, the world should remember the lives given for the greater good of the world. People in conflict zones are actually thankful for the role these brave men and women have played in bringing some amount of calm to their days of unending warfare and nights filled with sobs stemming from constant nightmares. These angels of peace in Blue are worthy of the respect and reverence reserved for the highest form of sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty.

End of Two Years - Not with a Whimper, but a Bang

This reversal of T S Eliot’s famous lines from ‘The Hollow Men’ is the perfect way to describe how this blog completes two years today. And it isn’t the end just yet; I believe this is just the beginning of my long relationship with writing. It has only been in this second year that I’ve really flourished in the Blogosphere and ventured into new territory.

Triumphs like reaching out to 200 followers on Facebook, 35,000 page views on the blog, 151 posts, 2,500 (the highest) views ever in a month and 40 followers on the blog itself are things I’m proud to announce this year.

I almost feel like a CEO presenting the statistics of the last financial year to eager investors. I know that these numbers make no difference to those who read my work on a regular basis. These facts are also not because I want to impress first time visitors, I’m sure it makes no difference to them as well. However, it is these small things that make me realize how much the blog, my writing, my readers and I have grown in the past year.

This is one of those times when I’m truly impressed by my own perseverance. And believe me when I say that perseverance isn’t one of my strong suites, I can’t stress that enough. But blogging over these two years has probably been the best outlet my passion has had in recent times. Writing for other websites, meeting new people, reading fantastic authors and trying to match up to the level of fellow bloggers has been as exhilarating a challenge as I’ve ever faced.

Dabbling with various forms of writing has expanded my horizons and placed such knowledge into my hands as one can receive only by staring at oneself in the mirror that shows one’s soul. It has helped me unravel the mysteries of the workings of the world and given me exposure to how fast the world is changing around us at this very instant. It has provoked… enlightenment.

My readers, who have suffered the most at my hands are the ones I have most to thank for they are my inspiration, the ones who have placed their expectation in me to deliver the best of the best. What more can one ask for? It is only through meaningful conversations, the endless debates and the views of the world that have helped my work my gears to bring out my twisted version of what conspires around us.

After two years, I’m not tired, I’m not weary and I’m not ready to give up. I’m ready to drive by this milestone and begin the next lap of this incredible race. Hope to have you by my side and in my ear, edging me on…

Brandy, Whiskey & all that… FOR ALL!

Well, I wish that was possible, because in that case I’d hand out a glass to each one of my readers and then clink them to the resounding clamour of ‘cheers’ from all around. Today, my blog turns ONE.

It is quite an achievement for me that this blog managed to survive for a year. That been said, it is also an achievement that I’m writing my 100^th post on this day. It would hardly have been conceivable to me that I could actually manage this, had someone used this line to exhort me to write when I began. But I’m glad I did, because this day is a feeling I’ve had only twice as yet; the first was when I finished school and the second was when I completed my graduation.

Image Courtesy: Google Images.

All those who have followed my writing since the inception of this here blog, they will probably know that I started it just because I was getting bored at home and staring at a four month long vacation with absolutely nothing to do except for eating and watching what I like to call ‘my big ass’ TV. And so began this incredible journey of jotting down my feelings, my experiences and sharing those of others in the blogging world and outside of it. It was the first time that I came to realize the responsibility of being a writer and the joy of sharing my work with those who really want to read it.

It was somewhere around the six month period when I first experienced ‘writer’s block.’ I no longer knew what to write and I’d already exhausted all that I wanted to put out. But then it was this self-same blog that helped me realize what I wanted to write. Well, the blog and some people:

Namrota Mazumdar who found a novel way to keep me on the keyboard in times I didn’t feel I could write something worthwhile; she started poking me on Facebook and this inconspicuous yet highly effective nudging gave me the motivation to write again.

Then there was Sumedha Sharma who connected with me on a more professional and personal level and gave me newer insights into things one might just write off as normal.

Shruti Chaturvedi was I think my original inspiration to start the blog and it was she who helped me take my baby steps in the Blogosphere.

Farheen Raaj, one of my most intriguing and talented juniors at college is the one person younger to me whose opinion really matters.

My readers, especially those who commented and reviewed my work have also been my constant critics and support who helped me write better. A few of these people off the top of my head are Naini Khajanchi, Trisha Das, Debjani Ghosh, Dr. Shirish Kashikar and all those who have been reading but not let me know of their presence.

I’ve had inspiration from many great writers in the blogging world and to name all of them would take another post altogether, but chief among them are Sakshi Nanda, Tomichan Matheikal and Nabanita Dhar.

Thank you all very much and all those whom I’ve forgotten to mention.

Yours, in writing,

Brendan-Anton Raphael Dabhi.

Oh Uncle!

I recently celebrated by 21^st birthday. I was happy, I was feeling responsible, I was feeling like a real man. But then the kid happened. And my happiness was ruined.

Alright, so I might have been ranting a bit over there but let me explain.

I just turned 21 this May and on the blog post I published that day, I ranted about a lot of things which I’m not going to repeat here (To save you the horror). Basically, I was feeling young & wild & free, along with a bit of responsibility on my shoulders, but not any older than that.

Now, a few months down the line, I've come back to another city to continue my education and staying as a paying guest with a wonderful family who treat me quite well, considering my disgusting, out-of-sync lifestyle and blatant disregard for hours that are meant for sleeping. This place is a flat system with four buildings and as expected, accommodates a multitude of kids (who I feel, all go to the same school...). These kids usually play around in the evenings around the block and keep hitting cars and bikes like drunken Gujaratis in Diu.

I’m not usually in the vicinity at these times but I managed to befriend a few while helping them with their oversized bicycles one day. So the day before yesterday, as I was walking back home, a toddler of about 7 or 8 came up to me and asked absolutely innocently, “Uncle, why didn't you come for my birthday party?”

I looked at the little guy funnily for a whole minute and then chuckled in amusement at my own befuddlement. I had had a whole host of feelings in that one long minute. I had been shocked, then horrified, then bewildered, then intrigued and finally… amused. Of course, the kid was eight, what did I expect. Alright, maybe I expected a bhaiya (elder brother), but not UNCLE!

I didn't know what to say to that. In all the plethora of emotions I was running through, I actually forgot to answer his original question. I went, “Wwwhat? Huh?”

So he kindly repeated his query for me, “Uncle, why didn't you come for my birthday party?”

I replied, “I’m so sorry, I was very busy.” But in my head, I was going, NOoooooooooo! Not Uncle!

Satisfied with my answer, he turned and went back to his mates as I walked in a daze to the elevator and pressed 5.

The Golden Key of Freedom

It is a clear sunny day in the city of Rajkot with the forecast of temperatures ranging from 40 – 42 degrees Celsius with absolutely no clouds on the horizon. I've just come back from my driving lesson, and writing this post with the cup o’ tea Mom made in the morning but which I couldn't drink, because well, I’m a late person.

Now, it so happens that it’s my birthday and I've been fielding calls ever since the clock struck twelve last night. Friends started calling up then and kept at it till 3 in the morning and when I finally crawled into bed and seemed to get a few moments of blessed sleep, I was awakened by the sound my phone going off again. Not only my phone but three phones - all over the house, just for me. And it was 7 in the morning!

Who calls up a 21 year old guy at 7 am in the morning? In the vacations!

I’ll tell you – his aunts.

Yeah, so I jump out of bed with the enthusiasm of a koala bear, literally. I talk to my aunt and the first thing she says to me is, “So, now you have the Golden Key of Freedom! You’re 21!” and I went, “Huh?” partly because my sleep- addled brain couldn't make sense of what she was saying and partly because I didn't know what on earth she was talking about. So I asked her, and she said now that I was 21, I was a MAN! I could do anything I wanted, and nobody would stop me. I could be the king of my own life and Dad wouldn't be able to tell me what to do anymore. They said I could even go and marry anyone I chose, yes, you read that correctly, marry. And I again went, “Yes, yes aunty.” And kept smiling stupidly at the phone.

Image courtesy: Google Images.

It was only after I hung up and went to the washroom to clean up that I realized that what she said was true and a little frightening. I stared at myself in the mirror for a long time, looking into my own eyes. It was as if I’d gone into the past, the mirror - a window into my soul, my memories. I saw in black and white, the care of my father, the love of my mother the camaraderie of my sister and the support of my loved ones, the things that had brought me up to be the man I am today. I saw all this as if on film, the flashback in seeming slow motion but running in fast forward at the same time and I realized that things were never going to be the same again. I had left my adolescence behind and now I was old enough to shoulder my own responsibilities and be a man of the House of Dabhi. It was a strange feeling, a bit too much? Yes. But also a bit of pride in now being included among the elders of my house.

I finally watched the reel run out into a haze as I was brought back into the present by Flo Rida singing, “Can you blow my whistle baby…” I picked up the phone and said,

“Hello aunty, good morning…”