By IANS,
New Delhi : A UN Security Council without India as a permanent member is an “anachronism” as are bodies like the IMF and the World Bank, former British prime minister Tony Blair said Saturday and then added a caveat: “with power comes responsibility”.
“A UNSC without India as a permanent member is an anachronism. An IMF or a World Bank without a proper role for India will no longer do,” Blair said while addressing the HT Leadership Summit here on “Leadership in a Globalised World”.
“India will demand and India will receive the position due to one of the world’s major powers,” he added.
Blair then sounded a word of caution.
“But, beware one thing: with the power will come the responsibility. Of a sudden, you will find the expectation that you will, in partnership with others, lead the world; so you will be able to solve its problems.
“People will knock at your door not to give opinions, but to hear answers,” Blair noted, adding: “It is an exciting prospect, but also a daunting one. Ask America, or increasingly, China.”
Even so, Blair was optimistic that India would rise to the challenge.
“The world’s largest democracy that over 60 years has come so far and done so much has a spring in its step. The poverty for millions remains. But those that have escaped it, and can lead others to do so, those who here and round the world are evidence of the dynamism, enterprise and ingenuity of the Indian people, show what the true spirit of India can do.
“Such a spirit will design your future. And that future will shine bright,” Blair noted.