Dinesh Bhatia, ambassador of India: "With the quarantine we learned that in life we do not need so many things"
India's ambassador to Argentina, Dinesh Bhatia, has been working in our country since August last year. Of course, by that date, the world was still another and nobody imagined that a pandemic was about to break out in each country, leaving a trail of deaths and millions of infected.
In an interview with Infobae, the Indian ambassador analyzed the progress of COVID-19 in his country, told what measures were taken and how it is being carried out the reopening of the economy. In addition, he stressed the importance of yoga and meditation , two disciplines that help calm the mind, something so necessary in these times. He assured that there are several positive aspects that can be drawn from this crisis and that international cooperation is essential to defeat the virus on a global level.
-How do you experience the quarantine in our country and what differences do you find between the measures taken in India and Argentina to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic?
Since August 2019, I have been in Buenos Aires fulfilling my diplomatic functions, accompanied by my wife, Seema. I have two children who live in Toronto, Canada, where I previously served as Consul General. Argentina and India have practically the same curve and the measures against COVID-19 have been taken almost at the same time.
Little by little, in my country we are beginning to reopen, in the same way that here there are provinces with few cases that have reactivated almost all activities. In India, we have some regions where there are a lot of cases, so we had to divide the country into red, orange and green zones. Those in red have the largest number of cases, while those in green are free of the virus.
Also, the quarantine modality there is very similar to the one here. In India, we started it on March 24, here on the 20th. We are opening more places, but taking precautions for social distancing and the mandatory use of masks. Since June 8, markets, industries, shopping malls, churches and temples are open.
Now we are more open than in Argentina, but I see that here the activity is also returning little by little, because there are already many stores operating, such as clothing stores.
-What economic and financial measures were taken in your country to alleviate the effects of the COVID-19 crisis?
We are 1.35 billion people and we have a very big country. Geographically, India is the seventh largest country in the world and Argentina is the eighth. Since we have such a large population, we put many measures in all the provinces of the country. Even for about 8 weeks, food rations were distributed to those living below the poverty line, and then the economy began to reopen.
The Federal Government announced an important package of measures that means almost 10% of India's GDP, that is, some 265 billion dollars destined to support activities and companies that need it, such as SMEs, smaller companies, industries and the agriculture sector.
The curve of Argentina and India are almost the same, since Buenos Aires and New Delhi are the most affected places in both countries. New Delhi is a very big city and has many cases. For this reason, we have divided it into the three zones that I mentioned before. If there are many cases, the area is red; if there are no cases, the area is green.
-How do you balance the health and economy of a country in the face of this pandemic?
When our Prime Minister announced the total quarantine, he said something very important: “If there is life, there is a world. It is true: if there is no life, there is no world. He told us that, before anything else, he was going to take care of life. That is the same thing that is done in Argentina. First life is taken care of, then the rest of the things will be done.
Public transport is working and a few weeks ago domestic flights returned, with many control measures at airports. For now, we do not allow international flights. We have had special flights from our flag carrier, to bring our citizens to India who were stranded in other countries.
-How were the repatriations of the stranded Indians in the world and, especially, in our country?
There are many Indians living in other countries: we have a large community living abroad and a diaspora that is one of the largest in the world. In total, we have repatriated almost 10,000 people and this process continues every day, with some 30 flights bringing people back home. There are many citizens who are working in other countries and they want to come back to India.
On the other hand, in Argentina we do not have a very large community, it is small compared to other countries. For example, Chile has a community of Indians twice that of Argentina. Uruguay has some 650 Indians working for a technology information company. In the first phase, when we did a survey to find out how many wanted to return, we did not get a very large number.
On the other hand, a flight from Latam went to India and Thailand to bring the Argentines who were stranded. So we use that flight to send the Indians home. It was a very long journey as it started in Argentina, followed by Chile, then Australia, then Thailand and finally India. It was an endless journey, but the stranded Indians were able to return. Now we have about 40 citizens who want to return to their country and we are doing the second phase of the repatriation.
Between India and Argentina there are almost 16 thousand kilometers, so that trip has to have at least one stopover. We are looking for the possibility of sending our citizens to their homes as soon as possible. The Indian tourists were the ones who returned in the first phase, now I mean the ones that we will repatriate in the second phase, that is, those who were working for companies multinationals and whose contract has already ended.
We have a part of Indian professionals in this country and the other in Uruguay. I am in permanent contact with the Argentine Foreign Ministry and we have their full support. They have been very kind to us and we have received total help.
-How important is testing in your country and how much is done daily?
In February we had the first case of COVID-19 and we had only one laboratory that did the test. Now we have more than 900 laboratories and we carry out more than 300,000 tests daily. The Government has worked hard to create testing facilities, both in the public and private sectors. In addition, we have generated our own test.
We have 367 thousand cases but it is very important to know that the number of people recovered is more than 50%, since in that number of cases there are 194 thousand recovered. In New Delhi, we have more than 47,000 cases. As of today, 12,237 people have died throughout the country.
-What bilateral actions are carried out between India and Argentina?
The Foreign Ministers of both countries spoke in early May in a videoconference. They not only took joint action on the pandemic, but also discussed bilateral cooperation.
After that call, the export of medicines and health supplies, such as respirators, increased. India also gave permission to export two very important medicines: 6,000 kilos of paracetamol and also hydroxychloroquine, this drug that only comes from our country. Argentina was one of the first countries to give India that permission to export hydroxychloroquine.
Now, we want to export respirators and also other medicines. It could be said that India is the capital of world drug manufacturing: we are the country with the cheapest drugs in the world and more than 80% of generic drugs are produced in our country. If Argentina imports drugs from the India, the spending of the public health system is going to drop a lot.
Just to give an example: a box of paracetamol in Argentina can cost about 400 pesos, and the same box in India costs only 10 pesos. And I am talking about a branded paracetamol, not a generic medicine. India is the cheapest country in the production of medicines. A paracetamol of the best brand can cost 20 pesos. India can help many countries in drug issues.
In Europe, Canada or the United States, almost all medicines bought in pharmacies are generic and more than 80% of them come from India. If this was done in Argentina without intermediaries between the two governments, medicines would be very cheap. It is a sector with many possibilities to work together. On the other hand, there are several Indian investments in Argentina, since we have some 16 companies that operate here.
-How do you experience this quarantine on a personal and work level?
The first days of the quarantine I didn't leave my house and I worked from there. This pandemic has changed the lives of everyone, all over the world.
One of its effects is that it made me lose the sense of day and night, since in India we are 8 and a half hours ahead of Argentina. So, at the embassy we are working almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We do everything through video calls or video conferences.
Since April 27, they allow us to work 3 hours a day in person at the embassy and now we do it from 9:30 to 15. However, when I return home I continue working. That is why I say that the pandemic has completely changed our lives: the concept of office hours is no longer valid. For me, that is a very important change.
For diplomats, personal meetings are very important and due to the pandemic we can only meet virtually. But, when the country can open up and we have a more normal situation, we need to work in person, even if it is using a mask, because direct contact is very important in any activity.
Regarding my family, I have them far away and there are no flights. My parents are in India and they worry me a lot. My children are in Toronto. We are all far away and waiting for this to end so we can meet again.
-We already know the negative side of the pandemic, but: do you think we can get a positive side out of this situation?
Of course! Every crisis is an opportunity, and in this case, there can be many opportunities. Getting back to normal is going to take a long time. But humanity has the ability to recover very quickly, so we are going to return to normal very soon because it is not about one country or one community: it is about the whole world, which is suffering and who wants to return to the life of before.
This is an opportunity for everyone, because there is a silver lining between the dark clouds, since everyone has suffered and wants to get out of the pandemic. All countries are looking for medicines and vaccines to stop this virus. The negative is the pandemic, it's just that. But, in addition to the pandemic, I see more progress among humanity and among all countries: I see great cooperation among all and that is my hope.
A pandemic can affect the whole world and that made us see that we need more global cooperation between countries, not only to face this pandemic: for everything.
-Your country is the cradle of meditation and yoga: how do both disciplines help in this situation?
In India we do meditation, but even more, we worship God. All books teach us that we must calm the mind. For that we do meditation, veneration and yoga, because with these tools we manage to calm the personality and feel at peace. Many people think that yoga is only physical, but they are wrong. It balances the body, mind and soul, but also provides a link with God and integrates the interior and exterior of the person.
When we do yoga and veneration, we manage to calm our interior and unify it with the exterior, to be healthier people.
This Sunday, June 21, we celebrate International Yoga Day, declared by the United Nations. Due to the pandemic, we are going to do “Yoga at home” all over the world, since due to the quarantine we cannot meet. Argentines can follow it through www.diadelyoga.com.ar
Many famous personalities from Argentina who practice yoga will participate, such as the artist Nacha Guevara and the River Plate player, Leonardo Ponzio, among others. On Sunday we will do three hours of yoga, chat with celebrities, meditate and end the activity with a religious song. Everything will be done digitally and the driver will be Julián Weich.
It's important to combine meditation with yoga: people who do yoga are healthier. In this pandemic and in full quarantine, yoga and meditation are very important. In India we use the Ayurveda system, which goes hand in hand with yoga.
Of course, we still don't have a medication to stop the pandemic, but we do have some measures that can help health in general, such as the use of ginger or certain spices from our country. You will find Lots of information about that on our social media.
-What message would you like to leave to the Argentine people?
I think that the greatest lovers of India are in Argentina. Sometimes people don't know that yoga comes from our country, but they practice it. As an ambassador, I have received a lot of affection from the Argentines and also from their government, because I have had very good responses in any situation. I am very comfortable here.
Argentina is a country that has everything: from north to south. It has all the resources that any country wishes to have. You can do so much more for the rest of the world. I hope that when the pandemic is over, we will have an even closer relationship, since both countries are very close on many issues, but I would like us to have more intense cooperation. I want to see more Argentines visiting India, and vice versa, I want to see more Indians visiting Argentina.
-How do you imagine the return to the “new normality”? Do you think there is a before and after the pandemic?
The new normal would be very difficult to explain right now, because people are unpredictable. Normal life after the pandemic will no longer be what it was before, but there is something very interesting and that is that people learned to live with less. The previous life was very materialistic and, with these months of quarantine, we have learned that in life we do not need so many things: you can live with much less.
On one hand, that's good. Of course, on the other hand, it's bad for the economy because people don't consume. But is good for mental health.
When we had nothing to do, we would go to the mall to buy things we didn't need. But now, when we can go out again and return to the shopping centers, we are going to think better why or why we need that object, which before we would have bought without thinking.
It has been almost three months of quarantine, but also, of internal thought. Life is going to be normal again, but the definition of normal is not going to be the same as before.
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