The injustice done by the West at the UN over Kashmir was highlighted at The Raisina Dialogue – a global multilateral conference held in New Delhi each year. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar did not mince his words as he showed how the United Nations had faltered in its understanding and approach to the issue.
Mr Jaishankar noted that the “longest-standing” illegal occupation of a territory globally after World War II has been experienced by India – in Kashmir. The enitre state of Jammu and Kashmir, which includes Gilgit and Baltistan, called Northern Areas before 1970, had acceded to India in 1947. Pakistan, in a unilateral act of aggression, invaded Jammu and Kashmir and has been illegally occupying parts of the Indian Union since then.
Speaking about Kashmir at the forum today, Mr Jaishankar highlighted the selective approach and application of global rules on issues pertaining to sovereignty and territorial integrity.
As he raised concerns over historical injustices in dealing with certain issues, he batted for establishing a “reformed, strong, and fair” United Nations. Explaining how the UN had greatly erred in not condemning Pakistan’s illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Jaishankar said that the “attacker” (Pakistan) and the “victim” (India) were clubbed under the same bracket.
We all talk about territorial integrity and sovereignty. We all concur that it is an essential idea. It is the cornerstone of international law. The longest-standing unlawful presence—or, I would say, occupation—of a territory by another nation after World War II concerns India, as we seen in Kashmir,” he stated.
“We then proceeded to the UN, but the invasion was turned into a debate. Thus, the victim and the assailant were treated equally. Which parties were at fault? USA, Australia, Canada, Belgium, and the UK. I apologize, but that one raises some doubts in my mind,” the minister stated.
Global norms and regulations must be applied consistently, according to Mr. Jaishankar, who supports a strong and reformed UN. He declared, “We need a strong UN, but a strong UN requires a fair UN.”
Calling for a new and reformed world system, he stated that “a strong global order must have some basic coherence of principles.” “Look, I do believe that we require both a domestic and an international order. Similar to the necessity for a national society, an international one is also necessary, and those who stand to gain from an absence of order are not limited to large nations. I contend that any nation that takes chances, adopts radical stances, or tests the system will ultimately benefit from the chaos. We have observed in our own neighborhood, after all. It is not necessary to be a large nation to be dangerous. Smaller neighbors of mine have performed admirably. Therefore, we should all first recognize the significance of an order.
Mr. Jaishankar gave another example, omitting Pakistan, of how the West has had a biased perspective: “We (India) have military control to our east – in Myanmar.” They are no-no. To the west, however, we have them even more. Do you know where? To the West, they appear to be fine. It is crucial, in my opinion, to examine how the world has operated over the past 80 years, be truthful about it, and recognize that shareholdings and balances have evolved with time. We must have another discussion. To be honest, we require a different sequence in that regard.
The minister made these remarks at the session on ‘Thrones and Thorns: Defending the Integrity of Nations’ at The Raisina Dialogue today.
Leaders News Blog 