India and the United Nations have an intricate relationship that has evolved significantly since India gained independence in 1947. As a founding member of the UN, India has played an important role in shaping the UN's agenda and contributed hugely to UN peacekeeping efforts. However, India has often found itself marginalized from the power centers of global governance within the UN system. This mismatch between India’s rising economic potential and aspirations to be a leading power versus its limited voice within key UN bodies has caused recurring friction.
The roots of the discord lie in the composition of the UN Security Council (UNSC) which has remained largely static rather than evolving with changing global realities. The UNSC has 5 permanent members - US, Russia, China, UK and France – who hold veto powers on substantive resolutions, thus wielding greater influence. India has long advocated for reform and expansion of permanent members of the UNSC to include developing powers like India, Brazil, Germany, Japan etc. This would ensure that the UNSC represents contemporary global power balances more legitimately. However, reform proposals have languished for decades now.
India straight farward at the delays and inadequacies in the reform process, India decided to stop contributing to the UN’s regular budget which funds basic functioning of the global body. India used to be among the top 20 contributors, providing around US$40-$50 million per year. Instead, India will only fund specific agencies and causes within the vast UN umbrella that it believes are result-oriented and productive.
India cited “non-transparent” functioning and the need for more “efficiency” and “accountability” as reasons behind the budget cut. This pressure tactic is aimed at pushing the UN, especially the UNSC, towards serious reform. India's foreign minister S. Jaishankar minced no words when he accused the UN of “doing too little, too late” on critical challenges facing the world today like terrorism, radicalization, proliferation of arms etc.
While India’s boycott of the UN budget seems dramatic, it underscores India’s determination to gain its rightful place in global decision making. It sees multilateral institutions like UNSC unable to find credible solutions to conflict, climate crisis, global health issues etc. This is due to opacity in workings and concentration of authority in a few countries. India’s patience has also been tested by China’s growing assertiveness and misuse of power on global platforms.
Thus, funding cuts mark an inflection point in India’s three-pronged approach - 1) Demand greater voice in UN 2) Build alternative multilateral platforms 3) Focus more on domestic strength. This interplay of principles, partnerships and homegrown capabilities defines India’s new assertive diplomacy.
India’s Constructive Role in the UN
However, it would be unfair to portray India only as a protester. India continues to participate actively and lead many critical UN initiatives that serve humanitarian and ecological causes even while pressuring UNSC to reform.
India has contributed immensely to UN peacekeeping activities, cumulatively providing over 2,50,000 troops to various missions making it one of the top 3 contributors. From Congo, Southern Lebanon to Golan Heights, Indian soldiers have guarded fragile peace processes in conflict ridden areas. 171 Indian peacekeepers have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty, again one of the highest numbers for any country.
Beyond security, India has also historically played a leading role in other UN programs like UNDP, UNESCO, ILO, WHO etc that aim to reduce poverty and drive socio-economic change. Be it disaster relief, medical aid, technical training or food supply, India regularly assists other developing countries bilaterally and through the UN.
India is also an active participant in climate change deliberations under the UNFCCC. While firmly articulating the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, India has set ambitious targets to expand renewable energy and curtail emissions. India seeks climate justice from the global North while presenting its own environmental commitments as evidence of responsibility.
Clarion Call for Reformed Multilateralism
While spotlighting gaps in current multilateral governance structures like UNSC, India does not just criticize but also constructs alternative venues to drive its priorities.
Initiatives like International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) are Indian led platforms centered around climate change, sustainability etc. that have quickly garnered global support. ISA already has over 100 member states collaborating on solar power while CDRI has attracted 38 partners.
Groupings like BRICS, IBSA also allow India to Shape solidarity among Global South countries that seek economic development powered by technology, democratic governance based on pluralistic norms etc. QUAD is an emerging coordination mechanism of democracies focused on maritime security and supply chain resilience.
As global challenges become more complex, networked and ethical, India believes flexible, issue-based coalitions that share underlying values rather than unwieldy multilateral bureaucracy offer better hope. India is thus pioneering “Reformed Multilateralism” centered around equity, transparency and welfare.
Energizing Domestic Capabilities
Finally, India realizes that global aspirations have to be anchored in robust national capacities and resilience. From economic clout to moral courage, domestic progress determines international influence.
In his 8 years at helm, Prime Minister Modi has put this philosophy into action via his campaigns for increasing renewable energy, financial inclusion, sanitation coverage (Swachh Bharat), manufacturing competitiveness (Make in India) etc that have lifted millions of Indians out of poverty into prosperity.
Structural reforms in taxation, insolvency, agriculture marketing under the “Self Reliant India” program have unlocked the entrepreneurial forces that lay constrained. India has positioned itself through trade agreements, FDI friendly norms and rapid digitization of transactions as a promising hub for global capital and creators to flourish.
Its humanitarian efforts to supply medicines, vaccines and essential supplies even while battling its own Covid crisis have earned India tremendous goodwill. Be it the devastation in Yemen or crises in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar; India is providing economic and political support.
India’s ascent up the development ladder is thus setting a positive example for sustainable and democratic transformation of complex heterogeneous societies in the Global South. It is earning trust as a cubed power combining soft cultural appeal with hard military capacities and market scale.
Strategy for Principled Global Leadership
In many ways, this unique mix of principled foreign policy, plurilateral coalition building and homegrown strength defines India’s blueprint to become what PM Modi termed a “Vishwa Guru” (Global Master). It aims to provide righteous leadership based on earned moral authority rather than imposed hegemony.
While differences with UN’s working ethos will continue, complete disengagement would be counterproductive for India. India could consider a smart power strategy of combining coercive financial pressures with positive agenda-setting behavior.
For instance, India could take the lead to overhaul institutions like WHO, FAO, UNDP etc to make them more transparent, effective and participative. India is also well positioned to mediate tensions between US, China and even Russia through a policy of equidistance. Issues like food security, global health, maritime security, terrorism offer spaces for bridging divides.
Championing interests of Global South countries related to trade norms, development finance terms, climate mitigation costs etc can project India’s leadership credentials. But India must also match noble principles with generosity to reinforce credibility.
Finally, India should proactively plan for turbulence across the Indian subcontinent and Indo-Pacific with humanitarian responses that isolate security threats but assist common populations in all countries. Its Neighbourhood First and Act East policies must deliver public goods to counter anxieties of exclusion or encirclement.
Conclusion
In conclusion, India under PM Modi aspires to craft a values-based foreign policy that strengthens rules-based multilateral order while asserting its due position within it. This requires both relentless self-strengthening efforts at home and embracing like-minded yet different powers abroad as partners. By being a role model and effective mediator, India can pioneer a new progressive and multipolar globalization.
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