MUNICH: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar has expressed optimism over the direction of India’s democracy and stressed that India’s democracy has delivered. He spoke about how the elections are conducted in India and mentioned the recent elections in Delhi and parliamentary elections held in 2024.While participating in a panel discussion on the topic ‘Live to Vote Another Day: Fortifying Democratic Resilience’ at the Munich Security Conference alongside Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, US Senator Elissa Slotkin and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski on Friday, Jaishankar said that he differs in the view that democracy is in trouble globally and highlighted India’s democracy.When asked about his views regarding Western democracy, the EAM said, “Well, before I do that, I appeared to be an optimist in what is relatively a pessimistic panel, if not room. I will begin by sticking up my finger, and don’t take it badly; it is the index finger. This, the mark you see on my nail, is a mark of a person who has just voted. We just had an election in my state. Last year, we had a national election. In Indian elections, roughly two-thirds of the eligible voters vote. At the national elections, the electorate of about 900 million, about 700 million voted. We count the votes in a single day.””Nobody disputes the result after it’s announced, and by the way, from the time we started voting in the modern era, 20 percent more people vote today than they did decades ago,” Jaishankar said.”So, the first message is that somehow democracy is in trouble globally, worldwide. I am sorry; I have to differ with it. I mean, right now, we are living well. We are voting well. We are optimistic about the direction of our democracy, and for us, democracy is actually delivered,” he added.Jaishankar said that India is a democratic society and gives nutrition support to 800 million people. He noted that there are parts where democracy is working well and there could be parts where it is not. However, he underscored that it should not be considered a universal phenomenon.The external affairs minister said, “Senator, you said that democracy doesn’t put food on your table. Actually, in my part of the world, it does because it actually, today, because we are a democratic society, we give nutritional support and food to 800 million people, and for whom that is a matter of how healthy they are and how full their stomachs are.””So, the point I want to make is look different parts of the world are going through different conversations. Please do not assume that this is a kind of universal phenomenon; it is not,” he added.”There are parts where it is working well; maybe there are parts where it’s not, and the parts which are not, I think people need to have honest conversations about why it is not, but I would argue that, to an extent, as someone dispassionately viewing it, which was your question, there are some problems; a lot of it is an accumulated problem of the model of globalisation that we have followed for the last 25-30 years. I think a lot of chickens have come home to roost. So, yes, there are issues, but from our point of view today, not all over the world, but let’s not make that universal,” the EAM continued.In a post on X, Jaishankar wrote, “Started the #MSC2025 with a panel on ‘Live to Vote Another Day: Fortifying Democratic Resilience’. Joined PM @jonasgahrstore, @ElissaSlotkin and @trzaskowski_. Highlighted India as a democracy that delivers. Differed with the prevailing political pessimism. Spoke my mind on foreign interference.”He said that India chose a democratic model after independence, as the nation had fundamentally a consultative, pluralistic society.Jaishankar noted that there was a time when the West treated democracy as a Western characteristic. He said that many nations of the Global South are likely to say that India’s experience is more transposable to their societies than to those of others.The EAM noted that India has stayed true to the democratic model despite the challenges it has faced. He called it important that the West embraces the successful models outside the West if it wants democracy to prevail.Asked whether nations in the Global South still aspire to a democratic system and the model that would attract people, Jaishankar responded, “Look, to an extent, all big countries are unique to an extent. But we would certainly hope, I mean, to the extent we think of democracy as a universal aspiration, ideally a reality, but at least an aspiration, in large part because India chose a democratic model after independence, and it chose a democratic model because we had fundamentally a consultative, pluralistic society.””Now, there was a time, and I would have to say this in all honesty, when the West treated democracy as a Western characteristic and was busy… non-democratic forces in the Global South, and it still does. I mean, in many cases, I can point to some very recent ones where everything that you say you value at home, you don’t practice abroad. So, I do think the rest of the Global South will view the successes, shortcomings and the responses of other countries,” the EAM said.”They will ask themselves which ones of them they relate to. I would argue in many ways India, because it has historically been an open society, one very much linked with the world. Many countries of the Global South are more likely to relate to say that the Indian experience is more transposable to their societies than perhaps to those of others,” Jaishankar said.”So, I do think that in our progress as a democracy, the fact that for all the challenges that we have had, even at a low income, we have stayed true to the democratic model, which is almost, when you look at our part of the world, we are pretty much the only country that has done that. So, I think this is something the West should look at because if you do want democracy eventually to prevail, it’s important the West also embraces the successful models outside the West,” he added.The 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) is being held in Germany’s Munich from February 14-16. The MSC 2025 will offer an unparalleled platform for high-level debates on the key foreign and security policy challenges of the time.
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