Discuss the various impediments in India’s way to a permanent seat in the Security Council. (2018/15 marks)
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Route 1 credentials strong, support wide → yet seat blocked → impediments are structural/political, not merit
Route 2 Council frozen since 1945 → India’s case overwhelming yet unrealised → obstacles lie in law and politics, not qualification
Charter rigidity (Art. 108: 2/3 GA + all-P5 ratification) → China the lone holdout (border rivalry, Pakistan tie) → divided membership: Uniting for Consensus (Italy, Pakistan) + rival Africa/Latin-America claims → Africa’s own split (Ezulwini’s veto demand vs G4 deferral) → 17 years of IGN, still no single text → India-specific: NPT non-signature + modest UN budget share + Mukherjee & Malone (thin resources, shallow normative engagement, entitlement over realpolitik)
the larger doubt: Raja Mohan & Saran on “Cold War 2.0” sidelining the UN → 2024 Pact for the Future urged but delivered no negotiation → drift to G20/BRICS-plus/Quad → the prize itself is uncertain
Route 1 obstacle is structure + politics, not India’s case → merit alone will not win the seat
Route 2 keep pressing text-based negotiations + build concrete national power so the claim becomes self-evident, not merely just
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
