“We Don’t Need To Be Told What To Do On Democracy”: India At UN

Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, who took over as UN Security Council President for the month of December, said here on Thursday that India does not need to be told what to do towards democracy.

On Thursday, India was elected to lead the 15-member UN Security Council for the month of December. During this time, India will hold major conferences on multilateralism reform and terrorism prevention. India will end its two-year term as an elected non-permanent member of the influential UN body at the end of the Presidency.

At the horse-shoe table, Ms. Kamboj, India’s first female Permanent Representative to the UN, will occupy the President’s seat. She spoke to media at the UN headquarters on the first day of India’s presidency about the monthly agenda of events.

In response to a question about press freedom and democracy in India, she stated, “We don’t need to be told what to do about democracy.

“India is perhaps the most ancient civilization in the world as all of you know. In India, democracy had roots going back to 2500 years, we were always a democracy. Coming down to very recent times, we have all the pillars of democracy that are intact – legislature, executive, judiciary and the fourth estate, the press. And a very vibrant social media. So the country is the world’s largest democracy.

“Every five years we conduct the world’s largest democratic exercise. Everyone is free to say as they wish and please and that is how our country functions. It’s rapidly reforming, transforming and changing. And the trajectory has been very impressive. And I don’t have to say this, you don’t have to listen to me. Others are saying this,” Ms Kamboj said.

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