APD | India refuses to say 'thank you' to China's assistance during COVID-19 crisis

By APD writerShristi Kafle

On April 30, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a condolence message to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and offered help to India in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

China's helping hand came forward as India is struggling to contain the devastating virus infection and surging deaths. India's total caseload currently stands at 22.66 million, with 246,116 deaths.

Xi promised to help the coronavirus-battered South Asian nation to cope, and stated he was very concerned about the second wave of Covid-19 in India. “On behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, and in my own capacity, I would like to express my sincere condolences to the Indian government and people,” Xi had said in the message.

Xi's message was carried by different international media and Indian media like Times of India, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, India Today among others. However, there was not even a word by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who often tweets even the minor activities and developments.

China's offering of help came as a sincere willingness to help the neighboring India, as it has been extending assistance to other South Asian countries as well to fight the pandemic.

However, lack of appreciation and gratitude mentality has been reflected in the Indian sphere among leaders, intellectuals, and media and in even the social media space.

The Chinese government proposed to offer India necessary support and assistance much earlier than other Western countries. Indian Prime Minister hasn't mentioned anything about China and China's offer of assistance to fight pandemic in any of his tweets in last 10 days and more.

On April 28, he shared he had an excellent conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and thanked Russia for its help and support in India's fight against the pandemic. Similarly, on 26th April, he has shared about having a fruitful conversation with American President Joe Biden and thanked President Biden for the support being provided by the US to India. He tweeted, "India-US healthcare partnership can address the global challenge of COVID-19."

On May 4, Indian PM Narendra Modi tweeted about the virtual summit with the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and has mentioned that they discussed ongoing cooperation on COVID-19 pandemic.

On May 7, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "Spoke with my friend Scott Morrison to thank him for Australi's solidarity and support for India's fight against the pandemic. We agreed on the importance of ensuring affordable and equitable access to vaccines and medicines, and discussed possible initiatives in this regard."

On May 8, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted about the partnership with EU. "Our collaboration is essential to stopping the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring a sustainable and inclusive recovery in a more digital and greener world." he tweeted.

"I thank the leaders of EU and its Member States for their continued commitment for strengthening relationship with EU," he further stated. On May 3, through his social media account, he had thanked EU for support and assistance to India's COVID response.

Many observers say that this reflects India's lack of willingness to respond or express gratitude towards the Chinese assistance, in contrast to the publicity on help from the US and the West.

There is almost no news, or almost negligible, about the Indian side expressing thankfulness to China's assistance in major media platforms. But in contrary, several news of the Chinese side thanking India for offering help to battle covid last year can be still found in first page of search engine site Google.

Since India’s COVID-19 epidemic has continued to surge, China is India’s largest supplier of anti-epidemic supplies like oxygen generators and ventilators. China has provided India with more than 20,000 oxygen generators and 5,000 ventilators.

On May 9, Sun Weidong, Chinese Ambassador to India, shared that the first batch of 100 oxygen concentrators, 40 ventilators and other anti-epidemic supplies donated by the Red Cross Society of China reached India. It also decided to provide 1 million US dollars in cash assistance to the Indian Red Cross Society to help India fight against the pandemic.

China and India had sour relations since a year following the standoff in eastern Ladakh and violent clashes between the two sides. However, at a time, when India is reeling under the second wave of infections, recording over 400,000 cases in a day, China coming forward to help India and the Indian people reflects the sincere friendship and sentiment, analysts say. It also highlights the humanitarian spirit of China to protect human life and health.

In response, India and Indian public sphere's lack of sentiments towards the Chinese help has raised a lot of question on India's narrow and negative mindset.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)