India, despite being a natural contender for a permanent place in the United Nations Security Council UNSC), still has a lot of lobbying to do to muster the numbers to push its claim through.

According to Jack Straw, former British Foreign Secretary and now Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal, “the case for Indian membership is overwhelming.”

“I fail to see how, what will be the world’s largest country by population, and in the top five, then four, then three, world economies, should not be there.”

Britain has consistently supported India’s candidature, indeed the candidature of the entire group of four, comprising India, Japan, Brazil and Germany, as part of an expanded United Nation Security Council.

Describing the objections to India's inclusion, not only from some neighbouring countries, but also from several Islamic, Arab countries, Straw said India would not pose a threat to anybody, if it was given its rightful place on the high table.

“Far from leading to anxiety from its neighbours”, Straw said, speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on “India: The Next Global Superpower',” this should be a “source of reassurance.”

On a day when the United States Senate had overwhelmingly passed a legislation enabling the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, welcoming the passage, Straw said that Britain had actively supported India’s inclusion in the international nuclear non-proliferation ambit, which this deal signifies.

“India is, in effect, a nuclear weapons power. Along with Pakistan and Israel, it is not a signatory to the NPT.

But India has had a consistent record of civilian, democratic control of its armed forces, including its nuclear weapons systems, and has never posed any risk of proliferation.”

“The UK has been and is an active advocate of measures to assist India to come increasingly under the ambit of the international nuclear safeguards system.”

Climate change and active cooperation in counter-terrorism measures were other key areas of the Indo-British cooperation, he said, in which the two countries will work more closely in the future.