New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s maiden speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that dwelt on the themes of terrorism, multilateralism and peace with Pakistan besides reforms in the UN has been broadly hailed by analysts in India and observers abroad.

Modi’s speech, which took a little more than 30 minutes, was delivered in Hindi and it was from a prepared text as well as extempore, which only illustrated “the prime minister’s confidence," said former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal. “It shows that he is confident enough to make his points with conviction on a global stage with all listening in. It was a confident message about India from a confident Indian leader," he said.

There was projection of India’s soft power—through the references to yoga—Sibal said.

On Modi’s references to India’s neighbour Pakistan with whom India has fought four wars, Sibal said the message was “restrained and dignified."

“The Prime Minister did not dwell on it too much, I think he made relevant points that India and Pakistan must sort out the Kashmir issue bilaterally and that Pakistan Prime Minister (Nawaz Sharif) raising the issue at the UN forum is not going to produce results. He also referred to the human tragedy in Kashmir and subtly pointed out that this was the time to focus on the tragedy," Sibal said.

In his speech, Modi had said that India wished to have peace and stability on its periphery for development.

“A nation’s destiny is linked to its neighbourhood. That is why my government has placed the highest priority on advancing friendship and cooperation with her neighbours. This includes Pakistan," Modi said in a reference to the peace moves he has made since assuming office on 26 May. One of the first initiatives taken by Modi as Prime Minister elect was to invite the heads of all South Asian governments to his oath-taking ceremony on 26 May.

On peace talks with Pakistan to resolve a series of disputes including Kashmir, Modi said: “I am prepared to engage in a serious bilateral dialogue with Pakistan in a peaceful atmosphere, without the shadow of terrorism, to promote our friendship and cooperation. However, Pakistan must also take its responsibility seriously to create an appropriate environment.

“Raising issues in this (UN) forum is not the way to make progress towards resolving issues between our two countries. Instead, today, we should be thinking about the victims of floods in Jammu and Kashmir. In India, we have organised massive flood relief operations and have also offered assistance for Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. India is part of the developing world, but we are prepared to share our modest resources with those countries that need this assistance as much as we do," Modi said.

Modi’s comments were in response to Sharif’s remarks on Friday seeking a plebiscite for a resolution of the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. “This is the responsibility of the international community... We cannot draw a veil over the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. We cannot draw a veil over the issue of Jammu and Kashmir," media reports quoted Sharif. The Pakistani PM said the people of Kashmir are “still waiting for fulfilment of the promise of plebiscite,"—which was agreed to in 1947 by the then leaders of India and Pakistan.

India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads over Kashmir since 1947. The two countries have held countless peace talks without resolution. The latest effort to start a dialogue to resolve the dispute took place in July when India announced that the foreign secretaries of the two countries would sit down in Islamabad on 25 August to suggest steps to resume peace talks. But the foreign secretary level talks were abruptly called off by India when Pakistan’s envoy to India Abdul Basit met Kashmiri separatists in New Delhi ahead of foreign secretary level talks.

Hassan Askari Rizvi, a professor of political science from the Punjab university in Lahore, was of the view that Modi “wasn’t tough on Pakistan" in his speech but regretted that both India and Pakistan had retreated to the traditional positions on Kashmir—with India insisting on a bilateral solution and Pakistan while agreeing to the bilateral also looking at other ways to sort out the Kashmir issue. With this, “I don’t think there will be any early resumption of talks," Rizvi said on the phone from Lahore.

On other issues raised by Modi in his speech, Sibal noted that the Prime Minister’s reference to terrorism—though made in the general context of the situation in the Middle East—also pointed a finger at Pakistan. “Are we really making concerted international efforts to fight these forces, or are we still hobbled by our politics, our territory or use terrorism as instruments of their policy?" Modi asked before he went on to urge all nations to back the India-proposed Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that has been pending for a decade.

India accuses Pakistan of fomenting an insurgency in Indian-administered Kashmir through Islamist militant groups that Pakistan trains on its soil—a charge Islamabad denies.

On Modi’s call for all countries to work together rather than in groups—“G1 or G-All"—Sibal said that this was a reference to the fact that “if we are all part of the ‘United Nations’ then we must be united, everybody has to be a part of it, to solve problems."

Modi also called on the need to democratise the UN to make it more reflective of current realities. India has been seeking a seat at a revamped UN security council, the body whose decisions are binding on member countries, for almost two decades without success given that member states cannot agree on the criteria for expanding the Council.

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