ABSTRACT
Indian quest for the Security Council permanent membership, what India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh once rightly described as “an essay in persuasion,” lies at the heart of repeated Indian pleas for reforming the UN, the only existing universal organisation of global governance. This chapter posits some fundamental questions: what have been the Indian experiences vis-à-vis the Council; what drives the Indian interests in pursuing the permanent seat in the Security Council; what perspectives and positions have India articulated on the proposed reforms; what bilateral and multilateral strategies have India put in place in pursuance of its Council objectives; and lastly, what roadblocks India needs to surmount before it achieves its objective of a permanent Security Council seat?
