IIMUN PUNE, 2015: AN EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME

Left to right: Vaanee, Lea, Sharika, Hardik(IP Head/Director General), Rachna, Raunak, Antara, Aarushi, Hatim, Anjali

And photographer, Aditya. 

The Indian International Model United nations in Pune, 2015 was a amalgam of zeal, intellect and diplomacy. As IP members, we were allowed the benefit of experiencing at least a little bit of every committee, and we can say with full confidence that it was the opposite of disappointing. There was friendship where there was competition, laughter and perspective. Bouts of boredom were treated (quite successfully) with motions for entertainment, rosegrams and confessions. On behalf of all the International Press members, we would like to thank the administrative staff and delegates for being so much fun to write about and photograph. ;)

-Lea R. and Rachna I.

THE SOCIAL EVENT

Rachna Iyer

The eclectic social event that took place on Saturday, the 31st of January was indisputably a night to remember. There were lights, blinding lights. And moderately good, ear-blasting electronic dance music. There was dancing, lots of it, which came hand-in-hand with singing, rather out of tune. But mostly, there was fun; buckets and buckets of fun. There was magic in the air; a kind of magic that cannot be described in words alone. It can only be experienced. 

IIMUN, the IP and Me
By Hatim Saifee

IIMUN 2015 was a very zealous experience for first-timers, like me. It was amazing, with students appearing as representatives of different countries in the UN to discuss problems and resolutions. It had a lot excitement; excitement that couldn't be explained only in words. I had a memorable time here. I also have an incident to share which occurred on the first day of the committee sessions. I had selected the “WHO-Ebola” committee and received the Hungarian country according to the list. But, to my surprise, when we arrived here at the Vidhya Valley School, there were 2 delegates in the committee, including me. Pranav Jain, the Director-General, escorted me to the library and we came to know that I had received the wrong list. So, I chose the International Press, as, ever since I came to know about the International Press, I wanted to be a part of it. And here I am, sitting in different committees, gaining knowledge from all of them, enhancing my writing skills by publishing articles on all the committees, and laughing and having fun with my buddies. I wish I have the same experience next year, if I ever, sign up for IIMUN 2016. With this, I end my article, thanking the IIMUN Council for letting me have this exciting and encouraging experience, considering this was my first time MUNning. Hope this MUN council goes on progressing and making the MUNners have an adventurous and interesting experience. 

Day One- Crisis in the Security Council

-Lea Ramaswamy

As crickets chirped and tumbleweed tumbled, the monotony of the UNSC was disrupted by a crisis. An administrative staff member walked in, bearing not only bad news, but  quite the impressive mustache, as pictured below.

A secret UNSC meeting had taken place in an African country, with seven dignitaries abducted by a Somalian warlord, Mohammed Farah Ali. The extremist demanded the following: 

·        One permanent seat on the UNSC for each African country (because all

warlords dream of representation and democracy. Duh.)

·        Two military equipped ships from China

·        $100 million

The implications of this attack are enormous, and everyone begins to work themselves up into a frenzy, looking toward the Somali delegate for a statement. The chair looks well content.

Somalia states, and I quote, “By doing this, the warlord has successfully secured Somalia a seat in the SC. The Somali government believe the two naval warships could be used to aid our pirates (because, quite obviously, somalin pirates are government officials) and the money would help our country alleviate poverty (fun!)

The Chinese government retaliated with this:

“Let the delegate make it clear, ships will be sailed into Somalia, but not for the reason the terrorists may think. The delegate of Somalia has not only THREATENED the countries affected, but have displayed themselves to be in cahoots with the warlord who has initiated this tragedy. Doing so, they have violated international law, and we hope they are aware of the same.”

Mustache man (pictured below) speaks:

“This gentleman we call the delegate of Somali is nothing but a traitor and has been declared persona non grata.”

Unfortunately, attempts to take the delegate hostage were futile.

Delegates of the UK, USA, and China all concurred to this: they would not give in to any of the requests made by the terrorist.

This would be a good time to mention that the chair really did seem to have it in for the delegate of China. All in good humor, chaps.

Chinese delegate, abashed as ever.

To summarize the back and forth:

·        China-We shan’t succumb to the demands of the warlord.

·        Chair- Update: China has given over the two ships, thereby saving the Chinese delegate and leaving the other seven in an enhanced state of  distress.

·        China-The delegate is happy to now reveal to you that the ships, were in fact Trojan horses, containing a large number of  Chinese soldiers and have managed to save all the delegates.

·        Chair: Update: Ships recaptured. The Indian delegate, Sushma Swaraj has perished in the hands of the furious Mohammed Farah Ali. 

The delegate of India, obviously distressed by the death of Sushma Swaraj, refered to by USA as "spilled milk"

 Following this the delegates of UK, USA and China make a joint statement. They promise the deployment of troops and combination of intelligence sources to locate and invade the two ships, a motion to which the chair responds with hesitation. It seems he does not want to give up the crisis without(more)  heated debate and (god forbid) slip back into boring old regular procedure. 

Meanwhile, France says approximately nothing. 

Here's a little poem. 

I see crisis, 

I see France, 

He does nothing,

What about his underpants?

ECOFIN Day 2

Antara Dave

The SSL started, continuing from the previous day's crisis. India, Ethiopia, Australia and China were among the first speakers. After a series of moderated and unmoderated caucuses, the chair introduced a new crisis, where the US President was found guilty of tax evasion and using bank secrecy for his own advantages and was impeached. The irony! Yesterday, USA declared war on Russia and China for funding terrorism in the USA through bank secrecy. And in today's crisis, Oprah Winfrey became the new president and she declared that she would drop nuclear bombs on Switzerland in 4.5 hours if ECOFIN did not come up with a resolution! Suddenly, all the delegates came up with speeches against the USA, and many cut ties to the USA. The poor delegate of USA was in a fix! She was struggling to keep up with all the updates and had to create new speeches to try and convince the other delegates that USA was not entirely bad. The delegate lost many allies and had a hard time keeping up with the situation. The crisis was very engaging and all the delegates were very involved in it.

Many delegates who had been nervous yesterday, having stammered and having been unable to complete their speeches, were more confident today, and they spoke up many times.

    

SOCHUM, Day One; Part Two

Rachna Iyer

After a surfeit of debates and moderated caucuses, the committee suddenly broke into crisis: in the United States of America, a Caucasian policeman shot an African American man for marrying a white woman. The frenzy stirred accusations and racy opinions from many angry delegates, such as the delegates of South Korea, Chile and Venezuela, who stated that it was a "bizarre act", and that the policeman was "clearly heartless". It was completely unnecessary, they argued. However, the delegates of the United States of America, Belgium and Sweden shined some light on their point of view, stating that it didn't necessarily have to be because of the victim's caste, it could be of any other reason, such as the theory that the policeman's heart belonged to the woman.

An update stated that widespread protests began in the United States of America, and spread to the Islamic countries where the citizens were demanding the right of inter-caste marriage. The delegate of U.S.A suggested, rather demanded, that there should be more laws supporting inter-caste marriage in Islamic countries, such as Afghanistan, where women should be allowed the freedom of marriage, just as the men, in order to terminate discrimination on basis of sex.

New update: Prime Minister Narendra Modi supports Khap Panchayat who declare honour killing as legal. A consensus was made, suggesting that Narendra Modi must withdraw his support and declare honour killings illegal, effective immediately.

After more updates and more arguments, the chairs realized the clock urged for some fun time.

MOTION FOR ENTERTAINMENT!

Jokes were made, dances were danced, songs were sung and laughter bounced off the walls. It was the best possible end of Day One. You had to be there.

The inner workings of an IIMUN committee

(click to view ;))

you did what to my wife?