A year after the world saw the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, we can say with certainty that India’s handling of this health crisis has been stellar, in spite of the large number of cases it has recorded. In a country with a population of 1.3 billion, India has had one of the lowest fatality rates in the world, apart from having the lowest number of cases per million people. However, there were enough prophets of doom a year ago—most of them based in the West—who predicted hundreds of millions of cases, millions of deaths, a collapsed health system, dead bodies piling up in drains and anarchy on the streets. In short, everything in keeping with what is known as the “image problem” that India has, according to the West. From there to have over 90 countries approaching India for vaccines to tackle the coronavirus scare, even as India gifts millions of vaccine shots to neighbouring countries, it is increasingly apparent that India’s “image” has been burnished many times over in these critical times. The “less fortunate” of the world now know which country to turn to at a time when the corona pandemic is wreaking havoc on their lives and livelihoods. India can provide them with vaccines tailor-made to suit their needs—vaccines that are low cost, do not need extreme storage conditions that vaccines manufactured in the West do, but that are equally effective. However, India’s act of giving millions of vaccine doses to its neighbours for free is being seen by its perpetual critics through the narrow prism of “vaccine diplomacy” and “buying influence”. The truth is that extending a helping hand to countries in need is inherent to the Indian civilizational ethos of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”—the “world is one family”. Lest we forget, it was India which rescued even Americans from Yemen in one of the biggest airlifts that it conducted to evacuate its own citizens from that war-torn country in 2015. Again in 2015, it was India which was the fastest to reach out to Nepal with aid when earthquake shattered that country. India’s track record is replete with such examples, including for instance, its humanitarian activities to rebuild Afghanistan. In return, the support—or strategic heft—India gets from different countries on international platforms is a plus, and not necessarily the end towards which it has employed certain means.
Contrast this with what China’s communists have been doing to the world. Apart from unleashing the virus, thus destroying lives and livelihoods, Beijing is now “weaponizing” the vaccine to try and make its “client countries” fall in line. In India’s immediate neighbourhood, Bangladesh turned to India to buy the Covishield vaccine after Beijing asked Dhaka to share the cost of clinical trials of the CoronaVac vaccine. Apparently, this is the condition that China has imposed on all countries where it has conducted clinical trials. In response, not only did New Delhi help Dhaka get a contract with the vaccine manufacturer for 30 million doses, but also gave it two million doses for free. Then there is the case of Brazil, where speculation is that criticism of China over the spread of the pandemic made Beijing delay vaccine shipment. Then with China being opaque about its data, doubts started surfacing about how effective its vaccines were. Reports from Brazil were that the Chinese CoronaVac was barely 50% effective. So now India has started supplying its Covishield vaccine to Brazil, with the first shipment of two million doses reaching that country last week. Then in Philippines, there is an outcry over the lack of data on China’s vaccines, which have also been found to be overpriced. In this context, let’s not forget the PPE fiasco involving Chinese manufacturers last year, when China sent sub-standard PPE kits to countries, leading to an uproar. With its sub-standard vaccines, choppy delivery schedules, and the arm-twisting of its “client states”, China’s aim of winning hearts and minds while it overtakes US as the sole superpower of the world has faced a huge setback.
This is the time for India to live up to its potential as the vaccine manufacturing hub of the world—a manufacturer of affordable and good quality vaccines. It must pay heed to countries that are reaching out to it. Even Barbados in the faraway Caribbean has turned to India for 200,000 doses, with the hope of “kind consideration” for half of the supply. For a country like India, this would cost a pittance, but will earn it a lot of goodwill. In fact, there are many such tiny countries around the world, the Pacific Island countries for example, that desperately need the vaccines, but whose requirements are minuscule because they are thinly populated. Providing them with vaccines will help India spread its global footprints and win friends. Unlike China, India is not a transactional power; it’s not a malevolent power. India’s humane face is for real, not a mask like China’s is. India has the healing touch. India is the world’s pharmacy—the Dhanvantari. India is the power with the big heart. The world has realized India’s potential. It is time India lived up to that potential and not shy away from being the natural leader it is.