Elon Musk's wish
By Justice Markandey Katju
Elon Musk, the owner of several businesses, and reportedly the richest man in the world, recently said that it was absurd to deny India a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.
As an Indian, I would be naturally happy if his wish were fulfilled, but I doubt that it will happen in the near future, and easily.
It seems incongruous and inequitable that India with a population of over 1400 people does not have a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, while UK with a population of only about 68 million people, and France with only about 65 million people, have them.
The truth is that only powerful, highly industrialised nations are given such seats, and so India can get it only when it becomes one.
Despite all boasts and claims, the truth is that India is a poor backward country, with its leaders more interested in winning elections by gimmicks like building a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
There is massive poverty, unemployment, child malnutrition, price rise, lLack of proper healthcare and good education for the Indian masses
The claim that India is growing fast economically is laughable
China, was once a poor backward country, and its people looked down upon by Westerners and called a ' yellow race '. But the Chinese staged a revolution in 1949, and thereafter rapidly industrialised and modernised their country, which has now become a world power. Consequently the People's Republic of China was admitted in 1971 to the UN and given a permanent seat in the Security Council ( displacing Taiwan ).
So to get a permanent seat in the UN Security Council we should stop begging around for it, and instead think out ways and means of how to transform India into a modern industrial giant ( for which we have all the potential ), using our creativity.
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)
