Rajnath Singh, Defense Minister of India, delivered an extraordinary speech Nov. 10 to India’s National Defense College’s Master of Philosophy program in which senior Indian and foreign officers participate. Singh discusses threats such as terrorism and cyber and information warfare, but the core of his speech was dedicated to answer the question: How do we counter the grave security challenges which face us all? His answer outlines the principles upon which India sees a new global security system must be based:
Now, the real question is, if there are so grave security challenges evolving before us, how we counter them. The answer, according to me, lies in working towards shared and collective responsibility of the comity of civilized nations. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In this era of high connectivity and interdependence, this statement holds more relevance than ever. When peace and security of any region is threatened, the entire world feels its impact in multiple ways….
If security becomes a truly collective enterprise, then we can think of creating a global order which is beneficial to all of us…. What we now require is to elevate it to a level of shared interests and shared security for all….
