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    View: India’s success in beating the pandemic is crucial for the worldwide fight against Covid-19

    Synopsis

    The outpouring is a reflection of India’s importance as a partner. Simply put, India’s success in beating the pandemic from next door is crucial for the worldwide fight against Covid-19. The international community has a huge stake in ensuring the health and economic revival of the fifth largest economy.

    AFP
    A shipment of medical aid from the United States, including 50 ventilators, is seen inside a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster.
    Seema Sirohi

    Seema Sirohi

    Senior journalist who writes on foreign policy and India's place in the world.

    Americans have come through in India’s hour of need. As have the Europeans, Russians and our neighbours. The mobilisation of aid is unprecedented, the outpouring of goodwill overwhelming, and the urgency to help India beat this ferocious pandemic deeply felt.

    It’s like a dam burst. The US administration, members of Congress, corporate titans, Americans, in general, and Indian-Americans, in particular, are doing their part to bolster India’s response against the rampaging virus. Joe Biden also recorded a major policy shift to support a call by India and South Africa for a waiver of intellectual property (IP) protection on vaccines.

    That has put Europeans on edge. Charges that Americans are grandstanding are flying fast and thick, especially because the US hasn’t shared vaccines. There’s some merit in the argument, but not enough for Europe not to do the right thing.

    Here in Washington, I am told Biden went beyond the advice of aides and gave India a ‘blank cheque’ to ask for whatever was needed after an ‘extremely warm call’ with Narendra Modi. Six cavernous transport planes have already delivered everything from oxygen cylinders to N95 masks.

    The corporate sector weighed in as never before, especially after calls about backoffice operations in India coming under serious strain. Call centre employees were falling sick in droves, affecting banking, medical, IT and even city services here. The two rival business forums — US-India Business Council (USIBC) headed by Nisha Biswal and US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) led by Mukesh Aghi — worked together to sensitise their members on the need to act now.

    The response is impressive. Pfizer is sending $70 million worth of medicines, Google has committed $18 million, Boeing, Facebook, Mastercard have promised $10 million each while Walmart, Merck, Cognizant, Caterpillar, Proctor & Gamble and others have announced varying amounts. John Chambers, USISPF chairman and former CEO of Cisco, pledged a personal donation of $1 million. As Biswal said, ‘There is no more important or urgent priority than to help India through this crisis.’

    The outpouring is a reflection of India’s importance as a partner. Simply put, India’s success in beating the pandemic from next door is crucial for the worldwide fight against Covid-19. The international community has a huge stake in ensuring the health and economic revival of the fifth largest economy.

    Among the many stories of helping hands, one of the most remarkable comes from the US Congress where the groundswell of support for India has few parallels. Members of the powerful Congressional Black Caucus, the Hispanic Caucus and the Progressives, showed no ‘hesitation of history’, and no transactional calculation in this embrace of India.

    Critics of Modi have set their differences aside and eschewed their distaste for his majoritarian politics, to say nothing of the government’s stark failures. They have read the moment correctly — answer the call to help India. Pramila Jayapal and Ro Khanna, both leaders of the Progressive Caucus, are no fans of Hindutva politics. But they have vociferously supported India’s request for a waiver.

    Ultimately, 108 members of Congress — all Democrats — signed a letter to Biden, calling the waiver ‘vital’ to ensuring sufficient volumes and equitable access to vaccines. The Biden administration also read the moment correctly and responded. Yes, a waiver won’t provide instant relief, but more capacity-building is crucial. This is not the last pandemic. Incidentally, Republicans oppose the waiver.

    The avalanche of support on Capitol Hill wasn’t suo motu, but a result of consistent outreach and planning by the Indian mission over the last six months. Ambassador Taranjit Sandhu and his team of young diplomats must be commended for building new bridges and repairing old breaches, especially with Jayapal. The 2019 controversy over a meeting with India’s foreign minister is mostly a thing of the past, and a good working relationship seems on the cards.

    Sandhu also doubled his impact by inviting his South African counterpart Nomaindiya Mfeketo to zoom meetings with Congressional leaders to stress the shared authorship of the WTO proposal. The ambassador’s name — pronounced ‘Noma-indiya’ — was serendipitous, as the duo met members of the Congressional Black Caucus. They didn’t have to explain ‘vaccine apartheid’ — African-Americans instinctively understand the reality of exclusion and the caste system of the world order.

    The relatively new links beyond members of the India Caucus on Capitol Hill are important, and must be sustained as the US-India partnership moves forward.
    ( Originally published on May 11, 2021 )
    (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com.)
    The Economic Times

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