?If I win, I will suspend writing?

"If I lose, I?ll have all the time in world to write!" India's candidate for UN's top job S Tharoor tells S Rajagopalan.

Just a month ago, Shashi Tharoor wrote an article for Maxims News. It opened thus:

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“‘The most impossible job on earth’ was how Trygve Lie, United Nation’s first secretary-general, described his post to his successor, Dag Hammarskjold in the year 1953.”

“Time has not made the job any easier,” Tharoor went on, saying all about the onerous and demanding nature of the UN’s top job. The only thing he did not say then was that he would be taking a shot at the impossible job.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Tharoor, who is arriving in Delhi on Sunday for meetings with the Prime Minister and other political leaders next week, laughed off the question if he really did not know a month ago that he would be throwing his hat into the ring. “Well, I certainly had not made a decision. But I certainly was considering various possibilities...”

How do you view your nomination for the post of Secretary General?

I have been with the UN since the age of 22. I have worked with the body for 28 years now, and I know its potential and its possibilities. I have a strong sense from the inside of the major issues the UN has to deal with. I have so much personal stake in the success of the UN that I feel greatly honoured to be given an opportunity to lead it.

Some analysts believe that China may spoil the chances of an Indian for the top UN job.

I am sure China can speak for itself, but in my view your question reflects an outdated understanding of China.

Pakistan has taken a dig at India, saying countries aspiring for permanent seats in UN Security Council do not field candidates for Secretary-General’s post. It has also hinted at challenging your nomination by naming its own candidate.

The two questions are completely unrelated. The election of the SG will be settled one way or the other in the next few months; the issue of Security Council reform has been pending since 1992 and will continue to be pursued, I am sure, by India and many other states well after the next SG has been elected. As for a Pakistani candidate, that would be most welcome because the world deserves as wide a choice as possible for this important position.

What is your broad vision for the UN?

I believe that reform and change are essential for the UN. Mahatma Gandhi put it best: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” What is true for individuals is true also for institutions. If the UN wants to change the world, we must change too. The UN has a lot of accomplishments, but it needs reform — not because it has failed, but because it has achieved enough to prove that it’s worth investing in. I would like to help create a UN that is more nimble, more flexible, more efficient and more effective in facing the problems of the 21st century.

Won’t such an onerous job as the Secretary General’s come in the way of your other love — writing?

There is no question that there will be a very long suspension as far as my writing for publication is concerned. Even now, as Under-Secretary General, I find it very difficult to juggle the two. I used to write on evenings and weekends, but over the years, evenings were the first to disappear, then the weekends began to vanish. But this election might be the final catharsis: one way or the other it may resolve the dilemma. If I win, I’ll have to put all thought of personal writing away for the duration of my tenure; and if I lose, I’ll have all the time in the world to write!