Maskless Modi among Masked global leaders and the victory of India’s vaccination program

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a busy tour of Italy and the United Kingdom. In Italy, Prime Minister Modi held talks with Pope Francis in Vatican City on Saturday. Earlier, he interacted with Italian counterpart Mario Draghi and held talks with EU and European Commission heads. During the meeting, they reviewed India-EU cooperation covering political and security relations, trade and investment, and economic cooperation as well as the Roadmap2025 agreed to at the last India-EU Summit. On November 1 and 2, PM Modi will be in Glasgow, UK where he will attend the COP26 climate summit. 

In Italy, Prime Minister Modi attended the G20 summit on Saturday and Sunday. In a series of photos tweeted by PMO India, Prime Minister Modi is seen meeting Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Even in other pictures which have come out of the G20 summit and PM Modi’s meeting with a variety of world leaders – one salient feature has caught our eye. Prime Minister Modi is not wearing a mask, while some of the world leaders are. 

Maskless Modi

Prime Minister Modi met Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong and bumped into several other leaders like Recep Tayyip Erdogan, António Guterres, Dr Tedros Adhanom, and others. Prime Minister Modi is not wearing a mask throughout his meetings with leaders of various countries – and this has an underlying message for the world. 

India – which was called names, was declared to have failed in handling Covid-19 by global media, whose vaccines were discriminated against – that India has today emerged as the most confident nation under Prime Minister Modi. Every world leader wishes to meet PM Modi. All of them want to get pictures clicked with him. Some are saluting Modi, and some are bowing for their Namaste. 

Why is Prime Minister Modi not Wearing his Mask?

There are three main reasons for Prime Minister Modi deciding to snub the mask at the G20 summit in Italy, and even during bilateral meetings with world leaders. First, India has remarkably controlled the Covid-19 pandemic after a lethal second wave that struck the country earlier this year. And then, there is nobody in Prime Minister Modi’s immediate circle in India, like the cabinet and the council of ministers which is infected with Covid-19. Daily cases in India have been hovering around the 14,000 – 15,000 mark for quite some time now. As such, there is a feeling that Covid-19 has reached the endemic stage in India. 

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For India to be confident now, and for the same to be proudly showcased around the world by our leader is only natural. India has administered over 105 crore vaccine doses to its citizens. Out of a population of 1.3 billion people – over 31 per cent have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. A government study in July estimated that more than two-thirds of Indians already had COVID-fighting antibodies, mainly through natural infection. That gave them substantial protection even with one dose unless more infectious variants emerge.

In the next few months, as more and more Indians get eligible for their second doses, the vaccine coverage in the country will drastically rise, thus cutting down on chances of Covid-19 making a comeback in the country. 

Confidence in Indian Vaccines

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is telling the world that he is absolutely confident about the efficacy of vaccines made in India. As such, it is time for the world to unanimously embrace Indian vaccines, and cut the unnecessary bureaucratic red tape which is holding up Covaxin’s approval by the World Health Organisation. 

Prime Minister Modi is inoculated with Covaxin, and he is effectively telling the world community that those vaccinated with Covaxin do not require masks any longer. At the G20 summit on Saturday, PM Modi made a renewed push for Indian vaccines to be recognised by the WHO. He said India was looking to provide 5 billion vaccine doses to the world next year, and for the same to happen, the WHO must immediately grant authorisation to Made in India vaccines. 

Modi Pushed for Masks Like Nobody Else

It must be remembered that Prime Minister Narendra Modi until recently had a Twitter display picture wearing a mask. This has been the case for more than one year now. So, when there was a need for all Indians to wear a mask, PM Modi made sure he makes repeated personal appeals ensuring that Indians adopt facial masks as a part of their daily wardrobe. “Do Gaj Ki Doori, Mask Hai Zaroori” was a superhit mantra provided by PM Modi, and it really helped raise awareness regarding the need for masks among unvaccinated Indians. 

Now, India has learnt to live with the virus. And therefore, it is time for Indians to return to their normal lives. PM Modi’s maskless presence at the G-20 summit in Italy and even when meeting the Indian diaspora in the country has shown the world how India is ready to move on from the scars of the pandemic and start afresh.