India, US and voice of the Global South

‘Millions of Indians feel that India is the natural leader of the Global South’.

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At a panel discussion of the Indo-American Friendship Association (IAFA) here on 1 March on “India, the US & the Voice of the Global South” five eminent panellists expressed their views on a host of issues.

India, arguably the fastest growing economy in the world with GDP of over three trillion dollars and ranked the 5th largest economy, has addressed deaths, devastation and disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic better than most countries. It has not only administered over two billion vaccination doses to her citizens, but also extended vaccine help to over hundred countries. When Nepal, Syria and Turkiye faced natural disasters, India rushed help swifter than others. Besides Indians, India evacuated many foreign nationals from conflict zones like Libya, Yemen and most recently Ukraine.

According to Italian PM Georgia Meloni who visited India last week, PM Modi is the world’s most popular leader. In a turbulent world still struggling to recover fully from Covid after-effects and now faced with shortages of energy, food grains and fertilizers, thanks to the ongoing Ukraine crises, Modi’s voice is the voice of reason urging dialogue, diplomacy and peaceful solutions of complex, emotive geostrategic issues. For the Indo-Pacific, Quad, G20, the SCO and the climate change discourse, India is a consequential country. Understandably, millions of Indians feel, India is the natural leader of the Global South.