New Delhi: As India’s G20 presidency commenced on December 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the tone of India’s G20 presidency on the great spiritual premises of Indian philosophy and called for a paradigm shift that focuses on human-centric globalisation. “India’s G20 agenda will be inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented, and decisive. Let us join together to make India’s G20 Presidency a Presidency of healing, harmony and hope. Let us work together to shape a new paradigm – of human-centric globalisation,” PM Modi said in his December 1 blog post.
Praising the outcomes of earlier 17 presidencies of the G20, the Prime Minster said India said that they successfully ensured macro-economic stability, rationalized international taxation and helped relieve debt-burden of countries, among others. While talking about shaping up of human history, he pointed out that humanity has so far fought for limited resources marked by confrontation and competition – between ideas, ideologies and identities.
Also Read: COP27: Climate Talks Get Boost From G20 Declaration
Now as India takes the mantle, PM Modi wondered whether the G20 could catalyse a fundamental mindset shift, to benefit humanity as a whole – a shift from a zero-sum mindset, fight over territory or resources, weaponization of essential goods, etc.
He questioned the contention that humans were inherently selfish and confrontation and greed are just human nature by asking why then so many spiritual traditions that advocate the fundamental oneness of us have lasted since times immemorial?
Some may argue that confrontation and greed are just human nature. I disagree. If humans were inherently selfish, what would explain the lasting appeal of so many spiritual traditions that advocate the fundamental one-ness of us all? he asked.
He referred to one such popular Indian tradition that sees all living beings, and even inanimate things, as composed of the same five basic elements – the panch tatva of earth, water, fire, air and space.
Harmony among these elements – within us and between us – is essential for our physical, social and environmental wellbeing. India’s G20 presidency will work to promote this universal sense of oneness. Hence our theme: One Earth, One Family, One Future.
The Prime Minister lamented that despite having the means to produce enough to meet the basic needs of all people in the world, we have collectively failed to appreciate and suggested the need to shun fight for survival and look up to more peaceful and prosperous future.
He emphasised that “our era need not be one of war. Indeed, it must not be one!” The reference could be read as his sense of urgency to remove poverty and inequality and for that the need to stop squandering away of resources in senseless wars. This is possible by fostering honest and accommodating conversations.
Pointing towards the greatest challenges in the world like climate change and terrorism and said that these problems could be solved not by fighting each other, but only by acting together. The Prime Minister held that India and its thriving democracy could show the way for a collective response to global issues. He said that as the mother of democracy, India’s national consensus is forged not by diktat, but by blending millions of free voices into one harmonious melody.
Describing India as a microcosm of the world with its immense diversity of languages, religions, customs and beliefs, he asserted that it presents the oldest-known traditions of collective decision-making. This is one of the “great contributions of India to the foundational DNA of democracy.”
As to why India’s G20 presidency raises hopes for acting as an engine of growth and global cooperation for prosperity, he said that India today is the fastest-growing large economy and has displayed the capacity to leveraged technology to create digital public goods that are open, inclusive and interoperable.
He added,
Fortunately, today’s technology also gives us the means to address problems on a humanity-wide scale. The massive virtual worlds that we inhabit today demonstrate the scalability of digital technologies.
According to him, there is a need to shift the paradigm that our survival depended on denying limited resources to others signifies the zero-sum mindset of the past. He said that for promoting harmony within the human family,
We will seek to depoliticise the global supply of food, fertilisers and medical products, so that geopolitical tensions do not lead to humanitarian crises.
He meant to emphasise that those whose needs are the greatest must always be our first concern. The reference was intended to point out the problems of hunger, starvation and malnutrition in many parts of developing countries and urgency to address them together on priority basis whatever it takes. The Prime Minister concluded that the world needs to work together to shape a new paradigm – of human-centric globalisation. This would require an honest conversation among the most powerful countries – on mitigating risks posed by weapons of mass destruction and enhancing global security.
Additionally, he also indicated that G20 needs to be responsible even for those countries which are not members of the group.
He said,
Our G20 priorities will be shaped in consultation with not just our G20 partners, but also our fellow travellers in the global South, whose voice often goes unheard. Our priorities will focus on healing our One Earth, creating harmony within our One Family and giving hope for our One Future.
One of the messages of the Indian Prime Minister was “imbuing hope in our future generations” by good governance including citizen-centric governance model which would not consider development as an exercise in top-down governance, but rather a citizen-led people’s movement. He also emphasised that “we will encourage sustainable and environment-friendly lifestyles, based on India’s tradition of trusteeship towards nature” for “healing our planet”.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
