The United Nations today came out with a commemorative work marking 70 years of India's relationship with the global body.
The book 'Seven Decades and Beyond: The UN-India Connect' traces the journeys of India and the UN "as they have informed and enriched each other over the past seven decades", said Chinmaya Gharekhan, former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations to the Middle East.
Esteemed personalities who have made history at the UN including Kiran Bedi, Virendra Dayal, Nitin Desai, Gharekhan, Arundhati Ghose, Gen Satish Nambiar, Hardip Puri and Shashi Tharoor have penned memoirs of their association with the world body.
Some of them came forward to brainstorm here on a range of issues being faced by the global body.
"Though questions are raised about the relevance of the body in the 21st century, we need to ask ourselves whether we have another UN?," Gharekhan said.
Kiran Bedi, who was appointed as the United Nations Civilian Police Adviser in 2003, said global terrorism and the use of digital platform to propagate visceral hate were the biggest challenges before the UN.
"The United Nations has moved from peace keeping to peace building to collaborative and robust interventions. Indian peace keeping forces, in particular, have been at the centre of bringing peace to many countries in the Asian and African regions," she said.
The Puducherry Governor also batted for an "inclusive" United Nations Security Council.
Parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor, who has served at the UN for 29 years, talked about the alleged budget cuts to the global body by the Trump administration.
"According to few reports, the US is on a retreat from the United Nations as the Trump administration has planned to curb funds to the body. We need to ponder whether this kind of a situation will help or mar smaller member nations," he said.
Asked whether the UN's best days are ahead, the Congress leader said, "Though I firmly believe that the UN is vital and has no alternative, it is time the body introspects and betters its position in the changing world," he said.
Economist Nitin Desai, who served as Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations from 1992 to 2003, said the global body was a "moral tool" and cannot change the power structure of a country.
"UN cannot change the power structure of a country. It can only persuade those in power. I believe more than the big guns (developed nations), the smaller countries need the body. We need to talk about the smaller nation states leaving the organisation at a rapid pace," he said.
Commenting on the role of media in the United Nations operations, Gharekhan said, "Unfortunately, the Indian media has not registered its presence in the UN operations in conflict regions. The western media has called the shots. Nevertheless, media plays a huge role in bringing out the truth.
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