India’s Stance and Renewed Commitment to UN Peacekeeping

The United Nations (UN) adopted UN Peacekeeping, during its initial years, to restore international peace and security. As the world body celebrated 70 years of its existence in 2015, UN Peacekeeping continues to play an important role in maintaining peace and security, by protecting civilians and preventing human rights violations arising from violence and conflict. India has emerged as one of the frontrunners in the shared responsibility of ushering in peace and stability in the world, under the umbrella of the UN. It has adhered to UN principles and has shouldered the responsibility of providing troops, financial assistance and other requirements necessary to bring about peace. But of late, India has lamented that the UN Security Council is not heeding, and sidesteps, the voice of the contributing countries in the planning and administering of peacekeeping missions. Thus, the basic objective of this article is to examine India’s stance on peacekeeping in the wake of growing clamour to allow contributing countries a role in decision-making. It also analyses the rationale behind India’s renewed commitment towards UN peacekeeping in current times.