Editor's Pick: Democracy's squad

In his United Nations General Assembly speech on Saturday, Prime Minister Modi termed India "the mother of all democracies". The various languages, dialects, lifestyles and cuisines of India are examples of a vibrant democracy, he said. Referring to his own journey, Mr. Modi said it is the strength of India's democracy that gave a young boy serving tea the opportunity to become Prime Minister and address the UNGA for the fourth time. The Prime Minister emphasised that democracy can — and has — delivered. Mr. Modi's stress on democracy came after his meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, who spoke of the need to uphold democratic values and human rights. Mr. Modi then made veiled remarks about Pakistan and China in his speech. Without naming them, the Prime Minister spoke of countries that were supporting terrorist groups and violating the rules-based international order. Earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan mentioned India several times in his speech that largely focused on Kashmir. The Indian diplomat at the UN Mission, Sneha Dubey, responded to Mr. Khan saying that Pakistan had "misused the UN platform to spread propaganda" and that it was an "arsonist disguising itself as a firefighter". Mr. Modi also spoke about COVID-19, Afghanistan, and UN Security Council reform. The Prime Minister also met the leaders of the Quad for the first time in person. The Quad, comprising India, Australia, the U.S. and Japan, detailed its commitments on COVID-19 vaccines, the climate, democratic values, and launching a new infrastructure partnership. The Quad leaders said they would closely coordinate their "diplomatic, economic and human rights" policies towards Afghanistan and deepen their counterterrorism and humanitarian cooperation there. Taking a swipe at Pakistan, the Quad said it "denounces the use of terrorist proxies... which could be used to launch or plan terrorist attacks". Against the backdrop of China's displeasure about the grouping, officials clarified repeatedly that the Quad was not a strategic partnership but a grouping to promote a "free and open Indo-Pacific". In this video, The Hindu's Suhasini Haidar explains the common threads between all these meetings where "global issues took precedence over the kind of tough language seen in the past on security." Given the range of issues discussed and commitments made in all these meetings, the Prime Minister's U.S. visit is our top pick of the day. The Hindu Explains Will AUKUS upset the Indo-Pacific balance? Why has India agreed to resume vaccine export? Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. Click here Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Who is the current President of South Korea? 1. Roh Moo-hyun 2. Moon Jae-in 3. Lee Myung-bak 4. Kim Jong-un To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 26 SEPTEMBER 2021 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Democracy's squad [Democracy's squad] In his United Nations General Assembly speech on Saturday, Prime Minister Modi termed India ["the mother of all democracies"](. The various languages, dialects, lifestyles and cuisines of India are examples of a vibrant democracy, he said. Referring to his own journey, Mr. Modi said it is the strength of India's democracy that gave a young boy serving tea the opportunity to become Prime Minister and address the UNGA for the fourth time. The Prime Minister emphasised that democracy can — and has — delivered. Mr. Modi's stress on democracy came after his [meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden]( and Vice-President Kamala Harris, who spoke of the need to [uphold democratic values and human rights]( Mr. Modi then made veiled remarks about Pakistan and China in his speech. Without naming them, the Prime Minister spoke of countries that were supporting terrorist groups and violating the rules-based international order. Earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan mentioned India several times in his speech that largely focused on Kashmir. The Indian diplomat at the UN Mission, Sneha Dubey, responded to Mr. Khan saying that Pakistan had "misused the UN platform to spread propaganda" and that it was an "arsonist disguising itself as a firefighter". Mr. Modi also spoke about COVID-19, Afghanistan, and UN Security Council reform.  The Prime Minister also met the leaders of the Quad for the first time in person. The Quad, comprising India, Australia, the U.S. and Japan, detailed its commitments on COVID-19 vaccines, the climate, democratic values, and launching a new infrastructure partnership. The Quad leaders said they would closely coordinate their "diplomatic, economic and human rights" policies towards Afghanistan and deepen their counterterrorism and humanitarian cooperation there. Taking a swipe at Pakistan, the Quad said it "denounces the use of terrorist proxies... which could be used to launch or plan terrorist attacks". Against the backdrop of China's displeasure about the grouping, officials clarified repeatedly that the [Quad was not a strategic partnership]( but a grouping to promote a "free and open Indo-Pacific". In this video, [The Hindu's Suhasini Haidar explains]( the common threads between all these meetings where "global issues took precedence over the kind of tough language seen in the past on security." Given the range of issues discussed and commitments made in all these meetings, the Prime Minister's U.S. visit is our top pick of the day.   The Hindu Explains [Arrow][Will AUKUS upset the Indo-Pacific balance?]( [Arrow][Why has India agreed to resume vaccine export?](  [underlineimg] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Who is the current President of South Korea? 1. Roh Moo-hyun 2. Moon Jae-in 3. Lee Myung-bak 4. Kim Jong-un To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here](. 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