Given a miss by the netas, military hosted functions in the honour of John Douglas Slim, a member of the British House of Lords and advocate of India's bid to a permanent UNSC seat

Viscount John Douglas Slim

While British foreign secretary David Milibund raised a storm by linking terrorism to Jammu and Kashmir, the voice of one of the strongest supporters of India in England, was neglected by our political brass.

Though Viscount John Douglas Slim, a member of the House of Lords in the British Parliament, was invited by the government to be a "state guest" at the Republic Day celebrations, his visit to New Delhi was given a complete miss by political leaders. Only the military hosted lunches in his honour.

But Viscount Slim is happy that he is a friend of India. "I love India and am happy that the Government of India invited me for the Republic Day celebrations," said Slim. A commander of the Special Air Forces (SAF) unit of the British Air Force, Slim's father, Field Marshal William Joseph Slim, defended India from Japanese attacks during World War II.

One of the supporters of India's claim to a seat in the United Nations, Slim, feels that the international community should give the largest democracy its due. "India is the largest democracy. The economy is strong. It has a powerful military. It should be given a seat in the UN," Slim told Mid Day in an exclusive interview.

Excerpts from the interview.