COVID-19, India, and China: Lessons to learn
China has been turning crisis into opportunity. India should do the same.
By Ajay Krishna
The history of crisis in China is as old as China itself and so is the spirit of handling crisis. If we talk about the recent history of China, since the founding of the People’s Republic, China has gone through a number of crisis, most of them are natural disaster, but these disasters have never dampened the spirit of the Chinese people. They have always confronted and overcome these disasters through their will, resolve, and fighting spirit.
Statistics say that since the time of Han and Qin period (221 BC-220AD) to the Ming and Qing period (1368-1911) , there have been a total of 5,079 disasters and famines. Some other statistics demonstrate that 9,697 disasters occurred during this period of history. These historical periods were recognized as four massive disaster periods; first in the Xia Dynasty (2070 BC-1600 BC), second in the Han Dynasty (202 BC-200AD), third in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and fourth in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) . Of the many catastrophes that hit China in her recorded history, flood, drought, and locust plagues were the most destructive to have afflicted the Chinese people, running its society and economy.
This time around the outbreak of Coronavirus, officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has affected not only the people of China but all the nationalities across the globe. Although it was first spotted in Wuhan in China, Covid-19 quickly spread to more than hundred countries, by now affecting almost all regions of the globe. WHO has declared it a pandemic.
This speaks of the extent of globalization and the extent of vulnerability of countries and economies across the world. Now in this era no country or region is immune to any crisis happening in any part of the world. At this crisis time, the world should be appreciative of China as it took quick and drastic measures to contain the outbreak. The Western media, even at the time of crisis, had criticized China and made very irresponsible and biased comments. But when COVID-19 spread to European countries and to the United States, the same western media changed it’s tone towards the crisis.
The affected countries in Europe also resorting to the same measures they had earlier thought worthy of criticism. Yet again the western media has failed to stand with the developing countries and economies at the time of crisis. By doing this they only undermine their own credibility and the bias they harbor in their minds.
China has endured much in this crisiscand there is no denying it is the source of it. But the Chinese spirit has always been resilient. Whether it is to overcome the natural disaster or lift millions from poverty or show new ways to the world for good governance, China has proved itself capable of overcomibg numerous obstacles and problems, and has answered all the criticism with her hard work and never give-up attitude and spirit.
After this epidemic, China would emerge as a country hopefully with all the experiences and expertise in tackling such epidemic and pandemics. And it can set an example for others regarding measuresmto follow.
Some measures that China took to control the spread of the virus are;
Lockdown: Besides the imposition of lockdown by local authorities at different levels, people also self-quarantined themselves in order to prevent the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Millions have confined themselves in their home to contain the spread of Virus.
Use of Technology: Use of technology helped China enormously in tracking the people and analyzing of massive data to make strategy to tackle epidemic. Daily reports were made on the situation of infected people and casualty. This helped good understanding of ground zero and make epidemic control strategy more scientifically.
Massive Mobilization of Resources: The moment the epidemic was acknowledged by the central authority, they mobilized a large number of medical personnel and resources to tackle the epidemic.
China had battled this epidemic on many fronts. China’s huge expertise in building infrastructure had helped China in tackling the crisis. They quickly built new hospitals and converted gyms, auditorium, pports complex, and many other facilities into make shift hospitals. The ability to employ huge material and manpower resources helped China to contain the epidemic within months.
Peoples’ participation: People across China have voluntarily participated in response to the crisis. They self-quarantined, instituted daily temperature check mechanism, made sure no unknown people could get entry in to any school, university, society premises, or even in their remote villages. The vigilant groups formed at the different levels have not only spread the awareness among the people but also formed a coherent concerted effort to resolve the problem.
Crisis also pushes people for ideas and implementation. At the time when the world is talking about the Chinese way of dealing with the Coronavirus, India too has provided the preventive measures. While the world is resorting to the measures implemented by China to tackle the after outbreak scenario, India has provided some measures which are helpful in preventing the outbreak of crisis.
The ‘Namaste’ greeting, the traditional way of greeting in India, has provided the most acceptable way of greeting for people in this crisis time. Photos of Namaste greetings by all the world leaders are circulating on the internet and are being advocated by world leaders of. This shows the strength of brand India and reach and acceptability of Indian culture, ethos, and values. Vegetarianism and some daily Indian traditions and customs have attracted many to adopt these at the time of crisis. Living in harmony with nature is something Indians have been upholding since millennia.
China too has been the receiver of aspects of Indian culture. Folding both hands to greet each other and opting for vegetarianism has been on the rise in China too. These are not new for China. Namaste had been the way of greetings of Buddhists in China since Buddhism was introduced in China while vegetarianism has been practiced in many Chinese local belief systems. Although the idea of vegan food existed before the advent of Buddhism in China, it gained momentum with the introduction of Buddhist ideas. Emperor Wu of Liang dynasty (464–549AD) had promoted vegetarianism in China. He was said to have beene attracted to many Indian traditions and had banned the sacrifice of animals. Because of his contribution to Buddhism, he is often considered as the Chinese counterpart of Indian Emperor Asoka. Although some indigenous Chinese vegan food like tofu, soya-milk and seitan have existed in China for thousands of years, many vegetables, fruits, and flowers entered into Chinese life from India and have materially contributed to the idea of vegetarianism in China. Eggplant and cucumber, now popular vegetables in both India and China, are supposed to have came from India. Chinese indigenous vegan food like tofu is said to have originated during the Han dynasty in China. Soya-milk is said to be in existence in China since the 11th century BC. Seitan or wheat gluten is said to have originated in China as a substitute for meat for Mahayanist Buddhist monks. Some account says that it was invented by royal chefs of the imperial court for Chinese emperors who observed a week of vegetarianism each year. So India has not only contributed in ideas but had also provided the material basis to uphold these ideas.
The outbreak of the novel Coronavirus crisis has brought to the surface the many threads of society, culture, and the economy. This crisis is pushing many things like never before in recent history. This is mostly to do with lifestyle: the way people greet each other, the way people eat, the way people socialize, the way people travel, the way people carry out economic activities; all of this is suddenly changing. In modern history, people have not witnessed such drastic changes in the socio-economic system. People, so uniformly across the world have never confined themselves to their homes; most people had never thought of confronting such an existential crisis of such global scale in their life time. Weather it is China or South Korea, or United States or Germany or Italy, or India – all have geared up for the Covid-19 crisis response.
The response lies in the way nations and societies perceive problems. China had a good history of responding to problems. Anyone who knows the history of China, understands that the delay in response to crisis in China lies in the fact of denial of problem or crisis. The moment the problem was recognized and acknowledged China responded resolutely to solve the problem. This time too, China has shown her resolve to overcome the crisis. The world should show their magnanimity next time when they deal with China. China had the guts and the will to tackle something big and this is nothing for China. China has by now inculcated a habit to outpace and outperform many stereotypical ways of handling problems. This could be a learning experience for India too. China has always converted crisis into opportunity. India at this crucial time can also draw some insights from the experiences of China. Although India acted on time, the number of cases, though still small, are mounting. India needs to have the same kind of will, resolve, and fighting spirit that China has demonstrated.
If crisis creates trouble then it also creates opportunity. China has been turning crisis into opportunity. India should also inculcate this habit. Despite good medical professional and world renowned hospitals, India still lacks hospitals that are required to cater to her large population and the neighborhood. India can build state of the art new hospitals in other remote areas to tackle such epidemic. Every year, in some or other part of India, some kind of epidemic fever erupts and causes casualties. Last year, a mysterious brain fever erupted in the eastern state of Bihar which caused more than a hundred deaths. These crisis should be used as learning opportunities to improve our healthcare system. This time too the outbreak of Covid-19 crisis provides India an opportunity to build a world-class epidemic research centre in the country, which would provide much needed treatment as well as research stimulus. It is highhtime for the country to show its potentials for concrete leadership not only in our immediate neighborhood but also at the global level. People are watching how India serves her billion plus population and what it can offer to the world.
(The author teaches Hindi and Buddhist History at the School of Oriental Languages and Culture, Xi’an International Studies University, Xi’an, China)
