A test of India's global clouthttp://images.photogallery.indiatimes.com/images/spacer.gif \* MERGEFORMATINET

June 17, 2006
Economic Times
Original Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1655591.cms

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New Delhi’s nomination of Dr Shashi Tharoor to be the next Secretary General of the United Nations brings the spotlight not just on the multi-faceted UN bureaucrat and author but also on the recent shifts in India’s foreign policy. 

Dr Tharoor’s credentials for the job are as good as they usually get. His record within the UN suggests he has the know-how to reform the world body. His contention that the UN needs reform not because it has failed but because its achievements make it worth investing in also focuses attention on the success the UN has enjoyed in areas like humanitarian assistance and peace-keeping rather than being preoccupied with the relative failures of the Security Council. 

But the battle is not about Dr Tharoor alone. It is equally, or more, a matter of India’s candidate being chosen for the job. If conventions are followed — and there is no indication that they will not — it is Asia’s turn to head the UN. The question is whether the Security Council will believe Dr Tharoor is the Asian for the job. 

It is here that the ramifications of the recent shifts in India’s foreign policy will be felt. India can no longer be certain of support from groups it may have earlier relied upon. It has distanced itself from the non-aligned movement. 

It cannot rely on support from the Saarc nations either. Pakistan has made its opposition known and Sri Lanka has its own candidate. But the decision is to be made within the Security Council. 

And India has been seeking to move closer to its five permanent members. While the relationship with the Bush administration has been receiving much attention, India has simultaneously tried to build on its traditional relationship with Russia and mend fences with China. 

These changes have been part of a larger strategy aimed at moving India’s position on the world stage from being a leader of the developing world, to being seen as an emerging power in its own right. 

While too much should not be read into Dr Tharoor’s fortunes in his efforts to be the next UN Secretary General, the process will provide some indication of just how realistic India’s global ambitions are.