External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar delivered a historic and substantial address at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 27th September, 2025. Close to midnight, as India slipped into the weekend, the EAM delivered a speech pitching for Bharat. It was not just another diplomatic speech; it was a declaration that Bharat is not a silent spectator anymore. It is the voice of the Global South while our neighbour remains the epicenter of terrorism.
Bharat will always be the voice of Global South
EAM Dr S Jaishankar’s statement was unambiguous: “Bharat will always maintain its choice and be the voice of the Global South.” This was not rhetoric, it was commitment. Bharat has made itself the rallying point for developing nations, the countries often left behind in the big power games.
UN at 80: promises versus delivery
EAM S. Jaishankar asked questions that were direct and uncomfortable: Has the UN lived up to its promises? Has it delivered in the past eight decades? The answer, that was left unsaid, was not unevident. From conflict to climate change, from pandemics to terrorism, the UN has lagged. Bharat’s EAM made it clear that reform is not optional, it is overdue.
Pakistan is the global epicenter of terrorism
Without naming Pakistan, Jaishankar underlined the global reality: our neighbour remains the epicenter of terrorism. Every major terrorist network and every UN-designated terrorist has roots there. Bharat has confronted this hostility for decades, and yet global institutions look away. At UNGA, Bharat reminded the world of this terrorist fact.
Global South and discrimination
Dr Jaishankar also recalled the open discrimination faced by the Global South during the pandemic. Vaccine rules, travel restrictions, supply chains, different standards were applied to different nations. This, he said, is why Bharat insists on fairness and equality in multilateral systems. The Global South cannot be treated as second-class.In contrast to global powers that hesitate, Bharat has consistently acted. Jaishankar listed how India was the first to respond in times of crisis, helping 19 countries in the last year alone. From earthquake-hit Afghanistan to cyclone-struck Myanmar. The message was sharp: Bharat does not preach, Bharat delivers.
Call for peace & decade of transformation
India itself has transformed in the last decade under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. Bharat, he said, has become the “centre of transformation” and is willing to be the training hub for the world. This was not mere diplomacy, it was confidence born of domestic progress.
Jaishankar did not hesitate in exposing Western double standards on climate action, trade, and cooperation. The Global South is lectured but not supported, he pointed out. Bharat, as its voice, will continue to call out this hypocrisy. This was hinted at the United States’ irrational tariffs, though he didn’t name the nation, it’s not a hard guess.
The story of a New Bharat
This was not an address of just a Global South Nation. This was the voice of a New India. Bharat, that holds back nothing. Even on the UN stage, Bharat spoke of colonial legacies, of unfair systems, of the need to rewrite global rules. The repeated use of “Bharat” was itself symbolic. Asserting a civilizational identity that refuses to remain confined to colonial vocabulary.
Critics may argue that UNGA speeches rarely alter institutions. True. But symbols matter. Words matter. When Bharat speaks for the Global South, it does more than express views. It inspires nations that have long been voiceless. The address was not just a speech; it was a statement of conviction.
Bharat as the voice of the Global South is not a slogan. It is now policy, practice, and principle. And the world has no excuse to ignore it.
