League of Nations
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to the League of Nations Committee of TISB Model United Nations! My name is Durga Jayaraman and I will be one of the Chairs for this committee. After relocating to India 6 years ago from the United States, I have been passionately involved in discussions on global affairs as well as modern- day ethical issues. A top 10 rank in Under 18 debate in South India has prepared me well for the cut-throat world of Model United Nations. This, combined with being an ardent traveller with a high interest in History, made me love every second of Model United Nations that I am involved in. I am currently in Grade 12, doing the IB Program, which has enabled me to quench some of my intellectual thirst with its rigorous Higher Level History course.
Why League of Nations? When asked to Chair at the conference, I had no hesitation in picking the committee I would preside over. How many of us have heard the quote "we learn from our mistakes"? This is the very essence of History. In the League of Nations committee we will not only tackle the causes and solutions of one of the greatest disappointments - the failure of the League of Nations, but view how the supposedly "flawed" Covenant has had a potent influence on the United Nations today. Will history repeat itself? Are the problems the United Nations is presently facing echoes of the past? Are we yet to see a strain of the Manchurian or Abyssinian crises in a forthcoming event?
In the TISB MUN League of Nations committee, we will be focusing on one of the crises that is considered to be instrumental in the failure of the League: The Manchurian Crisis. The Lytton Commissions' year long process in evaluating the aggression, Japan's withdrawal from the League and continual annexation of China, in addition to the League's inaction, exposed the League of Nations' weakness to the public as well as making it lose one of its strongest powers. Delegates, it is time for us to rewrite History as we find solutions to the Manchurian crisis, or even add twists on our own! Do we want to overthrow the League, or support it? Was Japan right or wrong in aiding its people by taking over Manchuria? Were the League's members truly self-interested or was it something else? And what effect did this have on Hitler, Mussolini, and other dictators and states of that epoch?
I look forward to meeting all of you, and request you to be prepared for three days of rapid debating and out-of-the-box thinking. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at durgajayaraman@hotmail.com or Tushar Shetty at shtushar@tisb.ac.in.
Warm Regards,
Durga Jayaraman
Director
League Of Nations
TISBMUN 2012