SUPREME GUIDANCE

The Court came to the rescue of the nation by intervening with a statesman-like approach when the centre was faltering in its administrative capacity, leading to much-needed course correction

- Dr G.V. Rao

THE euphoria brought on by headlines in many leading Indian newspapers in the first week of March 2021, which read, “World leaders thank PM Modi, as India sends COVID-19 vaccines to 47 countries”, was short-lived.

The government had supplied 4.64 crore doses of vaccines to the rest of world. In the field of global diplomacy, which is based on global interdependence, such gestures are significant to raise the stature of a growing power like India. This was not only a humanitarian initiative but also a move to showcase our phenomenal supremacy in the advancement of medical sciences, while we pursue our claim for the permanent member status at the United Nations as a world leader.

Most ironically, come the month of April, this meteoric rise of India's image as a vaccine manufacturer and supplier rescuing the planet, looked like an “All Fools' Day enactment. The second wave of Covid, much to the shock and surprise of not only all Indians, but also the whole world, reduced us to a graveyard of burning corpses. The dreadful images in the media of people losing their lives on hospital beds or even in the driveway without any medical attention, gasping for oxygen brought tears and despair to the nation. The spiralling infection and incessant death rates brought the country to a grinding halt, with many a wealthy lot literally fleeing the country for destinations offering better medical facilities. In these desperate circumstances, the common man was compelled to knock at the doors of courts for salvation. Political parties made capital of the situation and were quick to allege incompetence and mismanagement of the government which had been brought to its knees.