May 1-15, 2021 - Vol 1, Issue 21
INDIA NEWS
Let us not lose perspective in judging Modi’s India Photo Courtesy: The Print
What is it in Quad for India? By Dr Ishani Naskar
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he Indian High Commission in Canberra has issued a stern rejoinder in response to The Times (UK) report by Philip Sherwell, ‘’Modi leads India into a viral apocalypse”, re-published in the Australian dated 26 April. The displeasure of the High Commission is quite understandable. The Times report has lambasted Narendra Modi for a “slow domestic vaccination roll out”, “ill-equipped health system”, “lax protection”, “pandemic fatigue” and “promotion of economy over containment”. Frankly speaking, every leader and country can be held guilty on these charges. Not long ago, we had seen a total collapse of the healthcare system in the advanced economies, including the United States, UK, France, Germany and even Australia to some extent, in the face of the dramatic covid-19 outbreak. The images of people putting tents on the streets in the US, aircraft carriers and public parks being turned into make-shift hospitals, and UK subjecting its citizens to a complete lockdown bringing life to a standstill are still fresh. Reports of ambulances being bumped off in Australia from hospitals, the Ruby Princess fiasco, and the recent the AstraZeneca roll out confusion do not paint a very promising picture either. For the records, while Australia is struggling to vaccinate the entire population, India recorded the fastest vaccination roll out, vaccinating over 140 million people, and has now been reportedly conducting 1.3 million tests daily. In 2020, when the West for all its economic might and health facilities was struggling to protect its people, India driven by its Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam (world is one family) philosophy despatched personal protective equipment, hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol to over 150 countries, including China (Wuhan) and has lately, exported 66 million vaccines to over 80 countries in desperate need. Ironically, now Modi is being pulled up for this humane gesture as well. Not many know that India does not feature in the top 10 countries recording high mortality rates
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for every 100,000 inhabitants. It includes countries like the Unites States, United Kingdom, Belgium and others. Let us also not lose the perspective of how a deeply divided polity since 2014 in India has led to such human catastrophe. In March 2020 when PM Modi announced the lockdown, he was labelled as a heartless dictator for triggering a massmigration of laborers by the same international media which is now calling him an “anti-lockdown” leader. In March 2020, when Modi called upon the countrymen to stand united to pay gratitude to the frontline workers and law enforcement agencies by clapping and lighting lamps, his detractors in India and abroad ridiculed him. Subsequently, when the government issued directives to put on masks and practice social distancing, people roamed with impunity saying they have developed herd-immunity and India has very low mortality rate. In the latter half of 2020 when vaccination manufacturing gained pace in India, it was labelled as a “BJP vaccine” and therefore should be boycotted. Amidst all this, when the farmers agitation broke out, hundreds of thousands of people thronged the Singhu border and scaled the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort in a display of mass hysteria. Then celebrities, journalists and political opponents joined the protests flouting all Covid-safety norms. Then Covid was least of the concerns, but now election rallies and religious congregation are being labelled as a ‘superspreader’.
EDITORIAL
he Quadrilateral Security Dialogue,(the Quad) emerged in 2007 as an informal association focusing on ‘security’ and gained momentum when the four founding members – India, Australia, the United States, and Japan decided to revive the dialogue process in light of the growing threat of China in the South China Sea region. Thehistoric 2021 Declaration, ‘Spirit of the Quad’, candidly mentioned that, “Together, we commit to promoting a free, open rules-based order, rooted in international law to advance security and prosperity and counter threats to both in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. We support the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity. We commit to work together and with a range of partners”.The genesis dates back to Japanese PM Shinzo Abe’s Arc of Democracythat revolved around a normative formationbased on liberal values and beliefsof like-minded political systems.This revival of the Quadbrings together two
For the Quadmembers China is the elephant in the room. The whole democratic – liberalorder rationale itself is indicative of China’s authoritarian ubiquity in the region either militarily or economically. critical domains – diplomatic and the maritime. Quad brings together maritime democracies across the Pacific and seeks to bond on the belief of establishing ‘an order based on democracy and liberal values’ Photo Courtesy: The Japan Times
and avoids any open reference to military engagement.It adopts an overall security approachand has an assortment of concerns and commitments – freedom of seas, environmental issues, global vaccination, exchange of critical technologies, denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and challenges to democracy in Myanmar.Yet, it is interesting to note that the Quad members are already looped in a network of bilateral military and strategic relationships.Australia’sinclusion in the Malabar Naval Exerciseindicatessoliciting of the ‘might’ component of the Quadthat gives a distinct indication of the strategic interests of the grouping in consonance with the geopolitics of the region. The ‘QuadPlus’ mechanism involving Canada and France, New Zealand, South Korea and Vietnam provides avenues to other stakeholders for a say in grouping. For the Quadmembers China is the elephant in the room. The whole democratic – liberalorder rationale itself is indicative of China’s authoritarian ubiquity in the region either militarily or economically. Thus, Quadhas tocalibrate its approach to grapple with China’s expansion into supply chains, production, manufacturing, banking networks, name it, the Chinese are quite indelible in their imprint in the region.The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) initiative has already spread the tentacles far and wide whichQuad is striving to counter through Expanded Partnership for Quality Infrastructure, Blue Dot Network Process and Resilient Supply Chain Initiative. Quad as a loose value-based arrangement oscillating between military and non-military moorings has its own uniqueness in translating international ordering in a much more flexible manner vis-a-vis China-dominated rigid international ordering. In the last decade or so, with the emerging thaw in relations
with the US on the one hand, and confrontations with China on the other India’s foreign policy has witnessed significant readjustment. But the entire rationale behind joining the Quad should not be boxed in the SinoIndia binary as India addresses bilateral and strategic concerns strategic separately. What India expects in strategic terms is balancing China’s territorial aggrandisement with some form of maritime balancing through the Quad through maritime exercises and other cooperative mechanism with the Quad members.Quad is also expected to strengthen India’s bilateral strategic engagements with Quad and Quad-Plus members. Quadis also predicted to yield economic dividends for India. In face of Covid-19 pandemic, the Quad has pledged to expand vaccine production and strategize equitable distribution across the region. India will benefit from this scheme as it is set to produce the single-dose Johnson & Johnson Vaccine financed both by US and Japan and logistically supported by Australia.Before the pandemic India’s bilateral trade with the Quad countries were valued at aroundU$200 billion and net investment from the Quad countries were overUS$50 million. In the post Covid-19 recovery scenario, India is projected to make a robust recovery better than the other three members, which is an added incentive for the QUAD members like to engage with India. Dr Ishani Naskar is a Professor at the Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India
A recent Right to Information request has revealed that the Government of India had disbursed funds to the state governments to set up oxygen manufacturing plants in January itself, but states like Delhi were sleeping over it. In this context, why is the world aghast when India sits on a Covid time-bomb? For now, the least we can do is not lose the perspective of India’s deeply divided polity, demographic bulge and the West’s own failings.
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