At the NDTV World Summit 2026, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was asked a question: Does the United Nations have “double standards” when it comes to its views on protests in different countries?
The External Affairs Minister said the challenges facing governments could not be explained simply by the actions of one country or one government.
Look, let’s be straightforward about it, I am making this assessment and observation about what is happening across multiple countries and societies. “This is not just about state actors, the United States, or tariffs. I would submit that as the world changed, many countries and societies experienced significant psychological friction. With the rise of borderless politics, the ability to intervene and interfere grew as technology spread and the global economy became deeply integrated.
Because you get into what the UN is, what positions they take, and so forth, “That is a bigger issue. The External Affairs Minister said the challenges facing governments could not be explained simply by the actions of one country, one administration or a particular dispute, arguing instead that a bigger set of changes had transformed the international environment over the past 15 years.
When questioned whether the UN applies different standards when responding to protests in India and France, Jaishankar said the answer was “pretty obvious”. This is not a comment specific to India, the Indian subcontinent, or France,” Jaishankar said. Consequently, these drivers of turbulence and volatility have steadily compounded,” Jaishankar said.
