PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · India & the UN System
Explain the factors which justify India’s claim for a permanent seat at the UN security council. (2022/15 marks)
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
R1 permanent membership still a 1945 settlement of the war victors — India’s exclusion now the sharpest anomaly R2 not one credential but a convergence → a Council built for the past cannot exclude India and stay legitimate
Body flow
founding member, universal character (Bhagavan, Ghetto Act) — eight non-permanent terms, sustained engagement — most populous (China 2023) + fourth-largest economy (IMF 2025) + largest democracy + responsible nuclear power (NFU) — peacekeeping, largest cumulative contributor — implementers should shape mandates — voice of the developing world (NAM, G- 77, L.69) → backing of four P5 + 120-plus states — 2024 Pact for the Future endorses redressing Africa /Asia under-representation
Counter-view
credentials have not delivered — Council frozen, China non- committal, Pact short on a negotiating text — Shyam Saran: build concrete power, seat not owed
Conclusion routes
R1 the factors justify the claim in justice — convert rising weight into influence R2 merit alone will not open the Council → make the claim irresistible, not merely just
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
