Indo-Stabilization Emergency Council, 1987
Agenda: The Indo-Lankan Crisis
The soil of South Asia is wet once more, not with rain. With blood.
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Ministers of the Indian Government, the sun rose over Sri Lanka this morning but cast its light on the blood of our own.
At 0500 hours this morning, a silence loomed over the Republic. Communication lines with the Indian Peacekeeping Contingent in northern Sri Lanka went static and suddenly died. By 0630, that silence turned to horror. Satellite confirmation revealed what no Indian had dared to imagine: over 2,000 of our brave soldiers massacred in an intentional ambush by radical Sri Lankan militants.Their bodies were not just left to rot; they were desecrated. Paraded through the streets of Jaffna like trophies. Sent to every corner of the globe.
Delegates, we stand at an inflection point in the future of our Republic. In 1947, after centuries of struggle, we seized our independence with unity and unbreakable will. But now, in 1987, those very foundations begin to crack. States demand autonomy, old wounds resurface, and internal divisions threaten to undo what generations fought to build. What began as a promise of empowerment in the Autonomy Bill of 1984… now feels like a prelude to disintegration.
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In a gambit that was meant to reinforce federalism, India has passed a bill unleashing sweeping autonomy to its states, handing them the reins over law and order, internal security, and even threads of foreign policy. It was meant to be visionary. Instead, it has cracked the spine of the nation. The Centre, once the unshakable core of unity, now stumbles in the shadows of its own creation, watching helplessly as the country tears itself apart. The LTTE, long exiled to Sri Lanka’s battlefields, now plants its flag on Indian soil.
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The republic is bleeding from within, and the Parliament's grip is slipping. As the day broke, light did not shine on the India that had been known. There were immediate repercussions. The Parliament trembles as unity frays at its edges. A nation that once held the promise of peace now is at the edge of chaos. And yet, amidst the anguish, a spark shines, igniting. There is a chance, a choice, before each of you. This is not just a crisis of war. It is a crisis of identity. Are we a nation that bleeds and buries? Or are we a nation that rises and rebuilds?
Delegates of this committee will follow an alternate timeline with exciting twists and turns which have never occurred before. State leadership, alliances and governmental policies have changed over the course of history and will be unique to this committee as well. There will be calls for vengeance. There will be cries for restraint. But as leaders of this Republic, we must ask ourselves: what is justice without unity? What is retaliation without reason? And what is survival without sovereignty?
Delegates, as the philosopher George Santayana once wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” And if we forget the lessons of partition, of civil unrest, of unchecked ambition, we may live to see our Republic fall not to foreign invaders, but to its own internal decay. This moment is our constitutional crucible. The Indo-Sri Lanka Accord is still unwritten. The map of South Asia is still wet in ink. And what happens in the next 3 days will either redraw our borders or reaffirm them. This is not the time for timid diplomacy. This is the time for constitutional courage, civil wisdom and strategic sovereignty. This is the time for India to speak with one voice, not fractured in language, state, or faith but united in purpose.
To every delegate, you must realise that the eyes of a billion citizens are upon you. Not just for answers but for action, resolve and vision.Delegates, history has handed us the pen. The question is, what will you write?
Will the ministers of every state and powerful positions in the government work together to unify a crumbling India? Or will they fall to the rising external forces in conflict with their country?
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Will we allow a foreign ambush to become the beginning of our internal collapse? Or will we transform this tragedy into the foundation of a new, stronger India?
Letter from the Director
“Ours is not a weak federation. It is a union of states with a strong center.”
- Jawaharlal Nehru
Dear Delegates,
As Director of the Indo Stabilization Emergency Council, I take great pride in welcoming you to the 29th Edition of the Cathedral Model UN. Through the upcoming 3 days we want to take you back in time. It is the year 1987. In a bold move, India has passed a law giving states more power in their governance, giving them control over law and order, internal security, and even aspects of foreign policy. What was meant to be visionary has become catastrophic.
The Centre, once the anchor of national unity, now plays catch up in a country unraveling at its seams. In Tamil Nadu, Tamil nationalism surges. The LTTE, once confined to Sri Lanka, now finds roots in Indian soil. In Kashmir, the absence of central authority has emboldened rising militancy, with Lashkar e Taiba gaining ground, fuelled by Pakistani arms and propaganda. In the Northeast, whispers of rebellion have grown into war cries, with China suspected of fanning the flames.
This is the Council of Ministers, not debating policy in peace but firefighting in a nation on the brink. The very idea of India as a unified, sovereign state is under siege. Will you restore the Centre’s grip and hold the country together, or risk watching it fracture into chaos?
This is not just governance. This is survival. The question now rests with you: will India endure, or will it fall apart?
While you ponder on these questions here’s a little bit about myself. I’m in the 12th grade, studying under the ISC National curriculum. Academically, I’m passionate about Economics and International Relations. Outside the classroom, my interests lie in lifting weights, cooking, swimming, watching cricket (you might catch me sneaking in highlights from the India England Test during committee), and spending quality time with my friends. I also love listening to music and eating, and yes, I do have a caffeine addiction; flavoured Monsters are the best, fight me on that. I remember sitting in committee during my first ever MUN, an online edition of CMUN. There I was, a 13 year old Ishaan, nervously discussing whether the UN was an efficient organization or not. A small boy thrown into a grown up world. That same feeling came rushing back as I sat down to write this letter to all of you, a 17 year old now, still struggling to put his thoughts into words, still feeling like there’s so much more to learn, so much more to become.
With a mix of honour and a quiet sadness, I share that CMUN 2025 will be my fifth and final CMUN, marking not only the end of an unforgettable journey, but also the close of my MUNning career. After 13 conferences, probably over 200 hours of work (and many sleepless nights), I can say with pride that choosing to be part of this club was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. And I feel nothing but gratitude for the school that gave me the chance to be here with all of you today.
Whether this is your first MUN or your last, I urge you, try your hardest, but also savour every moment. Talk to people you don’t know, listen to perspectives different from your own, and build
connections that just might outlast the conference. Because when it is all said and done trust me, these moments, these chances, go by far quicker than you’d think.
To sum it up, if there’s one thing MUN has taught me, it’s that words matter, the ones you say, and the ones you don’t. Somewhere between policy clauses and crisis arcs, I found versions of myself I never knew existed. The scared 13 year old fumbling with a placard (or more accurately, a raised Zoom hand) became someone who could lead, could speak, and dream a little louder.
MUN wasn’t just an activity. It was my first heartbreak, and my first high. It’s where I learned how to lose with grace, how to win with humility, and how to love something so deeply that even saying goodbye feels like leaving a part of yourself behind.
As I write this now, I realize this isn’t just the end of a chapter. It’s the end of a world I built and lived in. And while the suit and tie may come off, and the chair may eventually sit empty, the memories, the people, the feeling of belonging to something bigger than yourself, those stay. Always.
So here’s to CMUN. To the voices that shook these rooms. To the silences that held just as much weight. To the friendships made in corridors, and the stories that never made it into the resolution. And to the 13 year old boy who never thought he’d come this far, you made it. We made it.
Let’s make this one count.
Until August,
Ishaan Taparia,
Director,
The Indo-Stabilization Emergency Council, CMUN 2025.
Ishaan Taparia
Director