NEW DELHI: India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar once again called out the “double standards” of global democracy during a panel at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.
While addressing a panel of Western leaders, including United States Senator Elissa Slotkin, Jaishankar criticised the West for portraying democracy as a “Western characteristic” while simultaneously supporting “non-democratic forces” in the global south, India Today reported on Friday.
He emphasised that countries in this region often find the Indian experience more relevant to their own societal contexts compared to Western models.
“Indian experience is more transposable to their societies than perhaps to those of others,” said Jaishankar, as he addressed the panel which also included Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowsk.
He also urged Western nations to recognise and embrace successful non-Western democratic models to foster genuine democratic values globally.
He said: “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 encouraging 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 Indian foreign minister’s remarks come amid growing calls for a broader understanding of democracy that transcends Western-centric views.
Furthermore, when asked whether countries 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.
“India chose a democratic model after independence and it chose a democratic model because we have been fundamentally a consultative pluralistic society.”
Jaishankar said that India has “historically been an open society” and stayed true to being a democratic model despite challenges.
“I would argue in many ways that India has historically been an open society, one very much linked with the world,” he 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. When you look at our part of the world, we are pretty much the only country that has done that,” he added.
He stressed that India’s progress in democracy is “something the West should look at because if you do want democracy eventually to prevail, it is important that the West also embraces the successful models outside the West”.
