Mihir Chaturvedi catches the rather busy director of the Joint Parliamentary Committee for an interview, moving from Indian politics to life as an MUNer.
Journalist: Out of all the topics that currently plague India, why did you choose to chair a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Pathankot Attacks?
Director of JPC: The Pathankot Attacks was very recent. Also, after recognition and initial media coverage for a week, a lot of it fizzled out. We were in talks with Pakistan, people were blaming each other; nothing was clear why the Attacks took place.
Also, as to why there is so much focus on the intelligence, there was a lot of media coverage given, but no one came up with a solution to what could have been done after this; there were short-term plans, but nothing long-term.
Journalist: Taking in account the fact that there are many first-timers inn this committee, has the quality of debate been at par with your expectations?
Director of JPC: Definitely yes! I feel the fact that there are first-timers makes the committee so much better as they are willing to take risks which I know many experienced delegates won’t. They are much more enthusiastic about MUNs, so I feel having first-timers actually improves the quality of the debates, maybe not in a technical way, but it makes the committee more enjoyable.
Journalist: What brought you into MUNing and why did you choose to chair a General Assembly (GA)?
Director of JPC: I have always loved to be on stage; I have always loved to talk to people and interact with them, so I think that is what brought me to do MUNs.
I am not a GA person. I have done only two GAs. I am usually more interested in Crisis Committees. But the reason why I chose to do a GA was first that this topic is so vast and it would be better that it be discussed in a GA. Also, GAs bring out the best of the delegates. The GAs run smoothly, whereas Crisis Committees are much more rushed.
Journalist: Apart from India, what country do you fell most passionate about when it comes to MUNs?
Director of JPC: Funny you are asking this to a person who has literally just done Indian committees for the past two years. But a country I feel passionate about is any country that has not been given much importance by the United Nations. We see a very unipolar world where it is the United States and its allies. Most of the African nations, the Scandinavian nations etc. are neglected. I feel that it is the responsibility of the UN to give dignity to and acknowledge all the 193 member states of the UN and not just the five Veto nations.
