India’s Contribution to Peacekeeping

The United Nations (UN) was established post-Second World War in 1945 to prevent another catastrophe of that magnitude and to promote international peace and cooperation.1 The UN Charter aims to maintain international peace and security and to that end, take collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace and for the suppression of acts of aggression. Of all the activities undertaken by the UN, peacekeeping missions have attracted the greatest public attention. The concept of peacekeeping evolved in 1950. During this period neither of the superpowers, the US nor the Soviet Union would permit forceful UN intervention against their allies. However, they were ready to accept peacekeeping as a non-coercive means of conflict control and tension reduction, which was devoid of offensive combat connotations.