(Image source from: economictimes.indiatimes.com)

With the pandemic and the constant status of the world at stake, it is likely that the world will soon realise the need to include India in the UNSC club and the Covid-19 is likely going to be the catalyst for it.

When it comes to taking things into context, it starts with China. While the country has been assuring WHO and the other countries from the beginning that the situation was under control, saying that there has been no reports of human to human transmission, things in Wuhan took a completely different hit.

China reported a total of 2,535 deaths due to Covid-19 by the end of March, although people do believe that the numbers are inaccurate. Around 40,000 to 50,000 urns were delivered to around 8 mortuaries in Wuhan during that time period. The locals were also being paid 3,000 yuan as the funeral allowance.

The Chinese government took seven weeks after the first confirmed Covid-19 case to impose a lockdown in Wuhan. Instead of informing the World Health Organisation about this unknown virus, China allowed millions of people to travel in and out of Wuhan around January 17, 2020.

Even a conducted study by the University of Southampton in England found that if China did impose strict lockdowns just three weeks before of what they did, 95% of the worldwide cases wouldn’t have happened. The spread of the virus would have been stopped as well.

Not just that, reports have also suggested that China had been hoarding masks and sanitisers just before the virus became a pandemic. In the meantime, China has already manufactured half of the world’s mask availability. Not only did the country stop exporting the masks from January, they also prepared to buy the remaining stocks from worldwide.

The global number of cases is nearing 4 million infected cases with over 270,000 reported deaths. The Asian Development Bank has also predicted that the economic damage to the world GDP would near somewhere around $4.3 million.

In the United States, millions of the unemployed people have already filed for unemployment benefits. Not just that, Africa has also closed off 31 out of the 54 country’s borders. Around 50% of the jobs in the continent are at risk as well. Even in Spain, around a million of the citizens have filed for the unemployment claims.

The UN has already predicted that except for India and China, the remaining of the leading world countries are going to face recession.

India, which is one of the founding members of the UN has been claiming a permanent seat in the UNSC for the longest time. Out of the five permanent members of the UNSC, four of them have been in favor of India, except for China, which has been opposing the same.

Some of the traditional superpowers of the world are already outraged at China’s lack of involvement in the spread of Covid-19. Further tensions flared up again when China demanded that France give the 5G contracts to Huawei to further procure the Covid-19 testing kits.

India is believed to be the perfect counter at the moment to further curb the Chinese supremacy in the UNSC. An UNSC reform is long overdue and with so many countries not be viable for the permanent seat at the moment, the next best option at the moment is India.

India’s response to the virus and the pandemic is no doubt countered to be the best. With the nationwide lockdown and the slowed spread of the virus, it has been touted as one of the most effective responses. India’s leadership during these times of crisis have not just been praised by some of the neighbouring countries but also by Australia.

While China has already proposed the idea of making India the temporary member of UNSC by 2021, it is likely that by the time the world recovers from the impacts of Covid-19, things would be completely different.

China is likely going to be under and extremely tough situation when questions will start pouring in regarding the spread of the virus. In the past, China has made use of its veto power to block several of the WTO resolutions for their own benefits.

In case India is given the same power, it is likely going to be a gamechanger in terms of the shift in the power that the country holds in world politics.

By Somapika Dutta