External Affairs Minister asks Indian diplomats to Counter ‘one-sided’ world media narrative of Covid 19

In a virtual meeting with Indian ambassadors and high commissioners posted across the world, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday conveyed the message that the “one-sided” narrative in international media — that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government had failed the country by their “incompetent” handling of the second Covid-19 wave — must be countered.

The meeting came in the wake of strong editorials, commentary and reports in leading international newspapers such as the New York Times, Guardian, Le Monde, and Straits Times, and on TV channels, blaming the Modi government for ignoring warning signs, holding an extended election in West Bengal, and for not cancelling the Kumbh Mela.

The official “context” for Thursday’s meeting was India’s efforts to mobilise resources, including oxygen container, concentrators, ventilators, drugs and vaccines, from countries that have offered help as the government struggles with the surge of cases, according to officials present in the meeting.

Besides the envoys, Minister of State V Muraleedharan, Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla and officials dealing with the Covid-19 crisis also attended the hour-long meeting.

Officials present said two big themes were discussed. One was about efforts being made to procure all the material that India needs to overcome the surge. The envoys had several questions on how to send this, to destinations in India where such material should be sent, customs formalities, and related matters of logistics.

Taking control of the international media narrative was the other predominant theme. On this, participants said the message from Jaishankar was not to get overpowered by the “negative” media reports but to take charge and project the government’s side of the story.

Accordingly, the participants were told that the ferocity of the second surge was something no public health expert in the world had predicted, and that health infrastructure even in the most advanced countries had crumbled in the first wave last year, so this was not a disaster that was uniquely Indian.