It is important to put a year in perspective as it draws to a close. Doing so helps to remember lessons learnt from mistakes made in the time gone by, avoid those mistakes in the future, appreciate all the positive things that have happened along the way, not to mention plan better for the future. Such an exercise is also all the more interesting considering how the year 2022 turned out to be.
They say the universe has a way of balancing things out – the good and the bad – but that really did not seem to be the way in the earlier part of the year.
The Russia-Ukraine broke out at a time when the world was still reeling from the impact of a protracted coronavirus pandemic that had claimed millions of lives and livelihoods in its wake. Initially expected to be over in no time, the war continues to this day what with the massive support that Ukraine has received from Western powers and there is no telling when it is going to end.
However, the pandemic has practically ended as evident from the lifting of lockdown and travel restrictions across most parts of the world. This was possible in no small part to the successful invention and distribution of anti-Covid vaccines and other forms of treatment to prevent fatalities and serious health risks from, if not the spread of, the deadly virus.
Yet its impact, combined with that of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, is starkly visible: from spiralling inflation to supply chain disruptions to shortage of food and goods.
As the world limps back to a new normal, many rich and powerful nations have taken big falls. After an embarrassing exit from Afghanistan, the United States has lost its standing as the sole superpower. Hit doubly hard by the after-effects of Brexit and side-effects of the Russia-Ukraine crisis in a post-pandemic world, Britain saw three Prime Ministers in a span of two months. Reduced gas supply from Russia has precipitated an unprecedented energy crisis in continental Europe. Meanwhile, China is facing a surge in cases and rebellion for its draconian Covid-control measures.
However, amid all this, India’s standing in the international community as a self-reliant and self-assured nation has markedly risen.
This country not only developed its own anti-Covid vaccine in record time, but also saw the roll-out and success of the world’s largest immunisation programme. Almost nine-tenths of India’s adult population has been inoculated with Covid vaccines so far. The government managed to strike the right balance between encouraging people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and enforcing pandemic restrictions on them when needed. What’s more, India supplied over 23 crore doses of Covid vaccines to more than 100 countries worldwide.
On the diplomatic front, not bowing down to Western pressure to take sides on the Russia-Ukraine war, New Delhi tactfully defended its neutral stand and fearlessly acted in the interests of the nation’s 1.3 billion people. Just the same way it is dealing with Chinese transgressions along the LoC in eastern Ladakh and, most recently, in Arunachal Pradesh. Beijing’s intransigence only reflects its increasing insecurity about India’s successes on the world stage.
With hostile neighbours and global headwinds, India has no shortage of challenges as it looks ahead to 2023. Yet it can count on the strong and decisive leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to balance it all out.
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