India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar showed his inked index finger to the world, speaking on ‘Live to vote Another day: Fortifying Democratic Resilience’ at the Munich Security conference 2025. He was asked if Democracy was in trouble globally. And the EAM expressed confidence in India’s electoral system saying “for us democracy is actually delivered”.
The EAM went on to say, “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 just over. 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.”
He further added, “Nobody disputes the result after it is announced and by the way, from the time we started voting in the modern era, 20% of people vote more today than they did decades ago. 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.”
When the US Senator Elissa Slotkin said that “democracy doesn’t put food on the table”, S Jaishankar strongly put forward that India, the biggest democracy of the world was capable of feeding over 800 million people. He 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 nutrition 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 phenomena.”
He even took on the double standards of West over “global democracy”. They treated democracy as a ‘western characteristic’ and was engaged in encouraging “non-democratic forces in the global south”.
Dr. S Jaishankar also took to X sharing the snapshots of the conference saying, “Highlighted India as a Democracy that delivers. Differed with the prevailing political pessimism. Spoke my mind on foreign interference.”
The 61st Munich Security Conference (MNC) is ongoing in Munich, Germany from February 14 until February 16. It is a premier platform that serves for high level discussions on the pressing global foreign and security policy challenges.
VIDEO | Here's what External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) said answering a question about whether democracy is in trouble worldwide.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 15, 2025
"The mark on my index finger is a mark of a person who just voted. We just had an election in my state. Last year, we had a… pic.twitter.com/OCXHfJkMJ4
