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THE WRITE STUFF
With veto power unlikely soon, India has nominated author and veteran diplomat Shashi Tharoor for the top job at the UN. Even here, it won’t be a walk in the park
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SPEECH
THERAPY
Tharoor has been working for five years to get his candidature in place
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Elavancherry in Palakkad district in Kerala, southern India, is rarely affected by diplomatic manoeuvres in the United Nations. People in this sleepy, coconut tree-fringed village have little time for such tame stuff. The soccer world cup on satellite TV is more their scene. But the appointment of Shashi Tharoor as India’s candidate for the UN secretary general’s post is giving soccer a close run for the money. For this is where Tharoor, 50, a critically acclaimed author and the head of public relations for the United Nations, spent his early youth. As far as the villagers are concerned, its already time to celebrate. They are hoping and praying that Tharoor, whom they consider one of their own, may soon be presiding over the United Nations.
Tharoor loves his job at the UN. Staffers still chuckle over the message he faxed to the UN special envoy in the former Yugoslavia: Tharoor suggested that the new operation in Croatia be known as WIMP (The Weapons Interception and Monitoring Project) while Bosnia would be served by UNFIGLEAF (the United Nations Force for the Implementation of Grand Legal Exhortations while Acting Feebly), Macedonia, meanwhile would be supervised by UNFYROM or the United Nations Force for Yielding to Ridiculous and Otiose Mandates.
This doesn’t mean that Tharoor, 50, simply dreams up goofy titles. The author of The Great Indian Novel and Show Business is making a strong pitch for the top job at the UN. He has been quietly working for nearly five years to get his candidature in place. He has built bridges, met leaders from different countries, created a formidable profile for himself in key capitals, written eight books and numerous articles, cultivated the right people and lobbied in the corridors of power. His ambition and India’s geo-political interests slowly converged and he was seen as the man of the hour.
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| THE NETWORKER: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom welcomes Tharoor |
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Not everybody is betting their money on Tharoor, though. Some Indian analysts feel that Tharoor’s proximity to Annan may go against him in the race. Annan has been criticised by some member states—including the US, the UN’s single biggest donor—for not being able to reform the world body and make it more efficient fast enough.
Tharoor also has plenty of competition—from Sri Lanka, South Korea and Thailand. That, however, doesn’t faze the seasoned diplomat. He says: “My advantage is that I am an insider. International organisations are so complex that outsiders would have an enormously steep learning curve to surmount.”
Tharoor strongly believes in reforms for the world body. “The question of Security Council reform has been on the operating table since 1992, with the member states gathered around it like doctors. They've agreed on the diagnosis but not on the prescription,” says the diplomat.
Behind India’s move to appoint Tharoor is the realisation that there is no realistic prospect of it becoming a permanent member of an expanded Security Council any time soon. American and Chinese opposition and European indifference have ensured that democratisation of the UN will remain a dream for the foreseeable future. So India has decided to throw another hat in the ring and assert its legitimate aspirations.
By fielding a candidate, India is saying loudly that the United Nations is worth preserving, improving and growing if only as a platform where you can at least question the status quo and unbridled ambition of countries. In terms of domestic politics, it pleases sections of the Indian establishment and left parties who have watched the Government’s growing proximity to the US with alarm.
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June 2006
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