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international

un 80th Anniversary

In an era of geopolitical Mission administering the West Irian Act of Free
turmoil, conflicts, gross Choice when the people were asked to vote to be
violations of international independent or accede to Australia or Indonesia,
and humanitarian law, the but eventually the decision was forced by the
United Nations is needed Indonesian government. Unfortunately, my dad
more than ever. Yet, it is died early at the age of 47; I was 20.
being undermined by the I became involved with the UN in the late 70s,
very powers that established quite by accident. I started out as a freelance
the organization eighty years broadcaster with All India Radio, the national
ago upon the ashes of the station, and as a scriptwriter with an NGO
second world war, affirming focused on instructional television. I was
at the time that conflict and assigned to shoot a photo story in Jammu
Sanjay war were things of the past and that Member States and Kashmir on a rural project dealing with
Acharya would work in cohesion to make the world a better, early childhood development, midday meal
safer and more humane place. On 24 October 1945, programmes for children as well as women’s
the United Nations came into existence with the health and income-generating activities. When
approval of the UN Charter “and the hope of many the UNICEF office in New Delhi saw my
had materialized in an international organization photographs, I was instantly taken on. That was
designed to end war and promote peace, justice my break into the UN system as a 24-year-old.
and better living for all mankind.” In 1979, my photograph illustrated the UNICEF
Year of the Child poster and the cover of the
I was born in the post-war period. Through my UNICEF State of the Child Report.
childhood, growing up in post-independence
India, the importance of working together In 1980, I was invited by UNICEF to assist
to make the world a better place, believing in creating the Development Support
in the values of a secular democracy and an Communication Division within the Royal
international outlook came naturally. The Government of Bhutan. My wife and I spent
Nehruvian vision looked to make an emerging two rich and rewarding years in Bhutan. I
India truly independent, enshrining the became the de facto personal photographer to
values of secularism in an inclusive, liberal His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuk. We were
democracy, while propagating a non-aligned, about the same age, in our late twenties, but he
all-encompassing foreign policy for newly was enlightened beyond his years. We travelled
independent developing economies. These to the remotest parts of the kingdom and I saw
lofty policies didn’t endear him to the West but him personally address the needs of his people:
found resonance with many newly independent health care; clean drinking water; deforestation;
countries in the post-colonial era. primary education. He spoke about the concept
of Gross National Happiness and eventually
Nehru believed strongly in the value of the adopted it as national policy.
UN held as a comity of nations, particularly
for developing countries and vulnerable The international world scoffed. But it was
populations. India played a critical role from the a concept that was considered by some
very outset, with Vijayalakshmi Pandit serving environmental activists I had been engaged with
as the first Indian woman President of the UN earlier as an alternative to GDP as a measure of
General Assembly from 1953 to 1954. economic success and human welfare.

An uncle, L.K. Jha, served as India’s principal Sonya and I left Bhutan in 1981 with our son
representative to GATT, forerunner of WTO, who was born in Thimphu, armed with amazing
and its Chairman from 1957 to 1958. experiences, friendships and new knowledge.
I went back fifteen years later in the mid-90s
My father, Prabhakar, joined the UN in 1968 to work on a book on the kingdom and saw
and was assigned as the Press officer to the UN for myself how the concept of Gross National

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