Women's reservation bill, G20 success attract praise for India in New York

In order to attend the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) ministerial on Friday, external affairs minister S Jaishankar entered a meeting room on the fourth floor of the Lotte Palace Hotel in New York. He then gave his counterparts an explanation of why he had just arrived in the city.

Jaishankar reminded them about the special session of the parliament and how India had recently approved a law reserving one-third of the seats for women in state assemblies and the parliament. After hearing him, South Africa's minister of international relations and cooperation, Naledi Pandor, praised Jaishankar and noted that India had taken a very "progressive step." Pandor then called for a round of applause for India in front of the small room's barely a dozen representatives from the three nations.

The success of the G20 summit held in India while it held the chairmanship of the G20 was a talking point on the other end of the spectrum from the women's reservation bill, which also came up in Jaishankar's chat with the Australian foreign minister.

Tariq Ahmad, the UK's minister of state for South Asia, welcomed Jaishankar into the Kennedy Room of the same hotel and congratulated India for hosting the G20. In response, the Indian minister thanked everyone in the group for showing some willingness to contribute and described the entire process as "an education."

India's reputation is shaped by other factors in addition to the Canadian accusations against India, which have dominated news coverage and are undoubtedly a hot topic in New York's diplomatic community. Delhi's tale has gained traction in a variety of areas, including multilateralism and progressive measures to increase women's representation.