India’s incredible COVID battle waged by Modi and the frontline warriors

The COVID-19 pandemic that started with the eruption of the coronavirus in the city of Wuhan in China in December 2019 has left the world battered and bruised, engulfing around 210 countries and territories including India. 

The virus has rapidly spread across continents in the last couple of months leading to catastrophic consequences. Globally, more than 30 lac confirmed cases of the infection and over 2 lac deaths have been recorded so far.

Mayhem has broken out in some of the most affluent nations that have recorded up to six-digit confirmed cases and fatalities in thousands. The death toll in Italy recently crossed the 26,000 mark, whereas the number of casualties in Spain and France is beyond 23,000. More than 20,000 have succumbed to the infection in the UK. The global superpower the United States is the worst affected country on the planet by far. With more than 9.8 lac confirmed cases, the death toll in the US stands at a staggering 55,000 plus. Terrifyingly, it remains unclear whether the damage in these countries has reached its peak or not.

Hence, it is fair to argue that the so-called “first world” has been found wanting in its response to this global health emergency. There was an astonishing complacency on part of their leadership when the outbreak was first reported. The economy was prioritised over human life and lockdown measures were introduced very late. Unfortunately, the tragic result is apparent. 

On the other hand, we have the Indian approach that has become an example for the world to follow. India’s current tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases stands at approximately 28,000 and a death toll of around 870 with over 8000 confirmed cases reported in Maharashtra alone and around 340 deaths, making it the worst affected state followed by Gujarat and Delhi. But despite the rise in numbers in the last 5 weeks, the situation is constantly improving at the same time. The government figures suggest that more than 6000 people have recovered already amidst a rising recovery rate that now stands at an impressive 22 per cent. The rate of doubling of cases has also gone up to about 11 days. India’s mortality rate is just a little over 3 per cent. More than 85 districts have not reported any positive cases in the last two weeks. For a country that shelters more than 1.3 billion people, these numbers are extremely encouraging. 

Countries such as Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong, which had managed to contain the virus spread initially, are witnessing the second wave of infections already. Whereas India’s COVID curve has not taken a giant leap, at the least, if not started flattening already a little over one month after the nationwide lockdown was imposed. The Union government working in tandem with the state governments and the amazing COVID warriors on the field have done a brilliant job to keep the numbers so low compared to Europe, America, and other advanced nations. 

So how has India, with its relatively limited medical and financial resources as well as an enormous population that is diverse at so many levels and spread over such a vast geographical area, managed to contain the pandemic?… the answer is simple - because of early enforcement of the lockdown, a humanitarian approach towards tackling the crisis, and most importantly a decisive and dependable central leadership under Modi. 

The Modi Effect and India’s Frontline Warriors 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been at the forefront of India’s battle against the coronavirus. Under his leadership, India’s preparations began as early as January. The PM took stock of the situation and held multiple rounds of meetings with the Health and Finance ministry officials. The significance of state-centre understanding during a pandemic was not lost on Modi. He took all State Governors and Chief Ministers onboard to ensure smooth coordination between the PMO and all concerned stakeholders. 

To stress upon the importance of avoiding gatherings of any form, Modi - like an absolute statesman - announced his abstinence from the Holi festivities when the coronavirus outbreak was in its infancy in India. When the situation escalated, he addressed the nation on March 19 2020, in which he requested the people of India to observe a voluntary ‘Janta Curfew’ on March 22. The concept of Janta Curfew, which Modi propounded like a master craftsman, will remain embedded in the literature of India’s COVID-19 fight as a pioneering effort to introduce the idea of social distancing as the most potent weapon. Modi’s strategy to hand over the power to people through Janta Curfew turned out to be a massive success. It laid the foundation for what was to inevitably come later in the form of a three-week nationwide lockdown. Modi invoked the slogan of “Resolve and Restraint” which has formed the bedrock of this battle against the invisible enemy. 

The hallmark of a great commander is his ability to keep his foot soldiers motivated and assured, which is exactly what Modi did. In his virtual interactions with pharmaceutical sector representatives, he encouraged them to manufacture COVID-19 testing kits on a war footing. The PM reached out to the medical fraternity - doctors, nurses, and technicians to boost their morale and thanked them for their selfless service. He guaranteed them that the government would leave no stone unturned in ensuring their safety from the disease while they treated the infected patients. Modi also addressed AYUSH practitioners. He praised them and asked them to disseminate the message of preventive practices that could help in controlling the spread of the virus. 

Economic Relief and PM CARES

The Modi government took proactive measures well in time to ensure that India was on top of its game with regard to the economic challenges posed by the pandemic. Under the authority of the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman a ‘COVID-19 Economic Task Force’ was created. On March 26 2020, a financial stimulus package of INR 1.7 lac crore was announced that predominantly focused on the poorest sections of the society. The package included a three month free supply of food rations for 800 million people belonging to the underprivileged category and free cooking gas for 80 million households as well as cash transfers to 204 million destitute women under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana. This holistic package demonstrates the government’s commitment to the welfare of the disadvantaged groups impacted by the corona crisis.

Setting up of the ‘Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund’ (PM CARES Fund) was a shot in the arm for the government’s emergency response blueprint. The mitigating influence of public participation in adverse situations can be enormous and through the establishment of a public charitable trust, Modi paved the way for micro to macro-level donations. 

Moreover, in a bid to save resources - a 30 per cent cut in salaries and allowances of MPs as well as the PM and his council of ministers for one year -was announced by the Union Cabinet. This was followed by a voluntary decision by the President, Vice President, and State Governors to opt for a pay cut. The government also decided to divert the funds of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme to the improvement of medical infrastructure. 

Detraction and Fake News 

Naysayers have accused Modi of imposing a “reckless lockdown”, citing hyperbolic and unsubstantiated reasons such as economic breakdown, the migrant crisis, and what not. The Congress party, anti-Modi Muslim groups, and certain compromised media houses have stooped to the level of peddling fake news to give communal undertones to the current situation. The spin-doctors have brazenly tried to deflect attention from the success of the lockdown by spreading the canard that there is a growing sense of Islamophobia in the country and the Indian administration is cracking down on Muslims even in times like these. 

Although state Chief Ministers, by and large, have been in harmony with the central directive of a blanket lockdown barring essential services, there are aberrations in the form of Modi’s proverbial political adversaries. The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, for example, recently displayed her antagonism explicitly towards the Modi government even at this critical juncture by trying to block the Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCT) from inspecting the seven districts in the state where alleged lockdown violations had taken place.

Notwithstanding all the roadblocks, the Modi government has been resolute in its management of the pandemic.

The Tablighi Jamaat Offence 

India would probably have been out of the woods by now had the Markaz Nizamuddin event not taken place. Around 3000 Tablighi Jamaat members, some of them from abroad, who had converged in Nizamuddin in the second week of March extensively traversed several Indian cities before it was reported that 10 Indonesian attendees had tested positive for the virus in Telangana. The rest is history.

Currently, over 4,200 positive COVID-19 cases in India have links to people who attended the Markaz event. Also, more than 40,000 people who came in contact with the Jamaat super spreaders have been quarantined across the country.  

Whether or not this shady “religious” gathering was a deliberate sinister ploy to provoke the COVID situation in India remains to be seen. But the incidents of harassment of healthcare workers, spitting at them and making lewd gestures at female staff by the quarantined Jamaatis speaks volumes. The horrendous actions of the Tablighi Jamaat, while their chief Maulana Saad continues to be on the run, have impeded India’s progress in flattening the curve. 

India -the Global Leader 

Leading by example, PM Modi dialled the SAARC nations and sought regional cooperation on dealing with the pandemic. A virtual conference of the SAARC leaders was held on March 15 2020, in which India made an initial contribution of US $10 to the SAARC COVID-19 Emergency Fund. This was followed by contributions from Bhutan, Nepal, and the Maldives. 

Modi did not stop here. He went beyond the SAARC contours to reach out to the wider world. After his conversation with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, a virtual G20 Summit was held on March 26 to forge a viable global partnership to tackle the multifaceted issues arising out of the pandemic. The summit established Modi’s image as a compassionate global leader. While for most member nations safeguarding the economy took priority over other burning concerns, the Prime Minister of India laid unequivocal focus on protecting human lives and promoting the common interests of humanity. Modi underscored the need for a robust healthcare response to the corona crisis and recommended sharing of the benefits of medical research. 

India’s stature as a reliable international power has grown immensely through PM Modi’s COVID diplomacy. Advanced countries such as the US, Germany, Brazil, the UK, Spain, etc, that also ironically happen to be the worst affected by the pandemic, have received shipments of hydroxycholoroquine (HCQ) and paracetamol from India under commercial agreements. The exercise of HCQ export was decided to be done on a case by case basis depending on the severity of the situation in the recipient country and not under any kind of international pressure. Simultaneously, it was ensured that there was no careless exporting of the drug, and India had enough reserves for itself should there be a worst-case scenario.  

Modi’s diplomatic generosity during an unprecedented global public health crisis was applauded by the Presidents of the United States and Brazil as well as the WHO. Furthermore, Modi - as a philanthropist regional leader - sent free dispatches of rescue medicines to Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Mauritius, and some African nations.

To wrap it up, it is quite evident that the fight against the coronavirus pandemic is far from over but India has done extremely well so far compared to the rest of the world. It is difficult to predict the fate of the lockdown after May 3. Perhaps it could extend or there could be a phased relaxation but either way, credit goes to the Modi government for enforcing it at the right time and saving the country from a disaster of unimaginable proportions. Meanwhile, India must salute its COVID warriors for putting their lives on the line to fulfil their national duties.