Retired IAS officer Shakti Sinha, who was private secretary to the then Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, on Saturday said post-COVID-19 pandemic India has moved from taker to giver, overcoming the challenges.

He was speaking at a panel discussion on “Post-Pandemic Narratives: Reimagining the India Way” after inaugurating the 3rd edition of Mangalore Lit Fest here. Amidst the pandemic, India has shown its strength to China; produced the vaccine for COVID-19; and has become a large supplier of the vaccine to the world, he said. COVID-19 had thrown many challenges, including China at the borders. However the country was not hesitant and the sense of responsibility helped it to stop China from grabbing Indian territories. The lockdown, one of the strongest, helped preventing mass spread of the pandemic and the country was at the threshold of becoming “Vishwa Guru.”

Former head of Research and Analysis Wing (R & AW) Vikram Sood spoke about the importance of narratives in bolstering power in international geopolitics. Narratives bring a psychological impact that was rather unseen, he said giving the example of the narrative that the U.S. military was the strongest in the world. In reality, Mr. Sood said, the U.S. had not won a single war since the 1940s. As such, narratives need not be in touch with the reality; yet they make a whole lot of difference in the way a country is perceived.

Another panellist, MAHE UNESCO Chair’s head Madhava Nalapat said narratives of India, including ancient heroes, had been given the status of mythology by the colonisers whereas in the West, the tales of Alexander and Julius Caesar were still being given primary importance. India stands for “Vasiudaiva Kutumbakam”. China feared the potential of India and hence attempts to ‘decapitate’ the country.

Stating that the days of Non-Alignment were gone, Dattesh Prabhu from Goa University said the country was matured to take an independent stance on global issues.

MAHE’s professor M.S. Nanda Kishor moderated the session.