American style democracy or hypocrisy?

American Presidents have been talking about spreading democracy around the world since the end of second world war. United Nations was the vehicle created for that very purpose. Today, this organization represents under 30 percent of the world population and has not added any new members to the Security Council since it’s inception. The permanent five (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States) as the members of the Security Council are called, have been discussing the much needed expansion since 70s. The idea is to represent the largest percentage of the population. India has a population of 1.1 Billion people but has no representation in the UN Security Council. There are 1.2 Billion Muslims in the world but again no representation in the UNSC. The entire continents of Africa and South America remain unrepresented. The two most likely candidates for a permanent seat at the Security Council are Germany and Japan. Are you kidding me?

India’s candidacy has long been advocated by France, Russia and the United Kingdom. Guess who opposes it? It is the oldest democracy in the world that opposes the largest democracy in the world for a seat at the United Nations Security Council. That’s right, it does not matter if the President who opposes India’s candidacy is Bill Clinton or George W Bush. They both have been so good at complimenting the Indian Prime Ministers for their contributions in promoting democracy and extending help in peace keeping operations around the world. But when it comes to lending US support for India’s rightful place at the UN, both of them remained opposed. And the reason is? Pakistan of course! For the past 60 years, dictators of different shapes and sizes in Pakistan have been far more important to the great democratic values of the United States of America rather than the dull and democratically elected Prime Ministers of India. Meanwhile the media acts dumb.

The United Nations was officially created on October 24, 1945 and it’s charter was ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, United Kingdom and the United States. The name “United Nations” was coined by President Franklin D Roosevelt on January 1, 1942 representing the coalition of nations, during the Second World War. The forerunner to the United Nations was the League of Nations, created after the First World War to promote peace and security. The United States never joined the league. Diplomacy is not really a part of American DNA. Once the United States took over from the British Empire, as a superpower, it preferred to give orders to other countries rather than consult anyone. As long as the Soviet Union survived, it was difficult to take any unilateral action. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, United States has virtual monopoly over the world body. The United Nations keeps passing resolutions that no country follows in any case. Even a country like Zimbabwe flouts the UN resolutions with impunity. What is United Nations worth?