Editor: Air Marshal KK Nohwar
ISBN 978-93-89137-88-0
The year 2020 can easily go down for most inhabitants of the planet as one that they would rather erase from their memory. The impact of COVID-19 has been so devastating—and not merely for the number of lives lost—that except for the PRC and Taiwan, no nation has seen a positive growth in its economy. This is more so in a world where economies are interconnected, and the spill-over effects impact all. Loss of jobs—especially for migrant labour—has been the bane of almost all developing countries worldwide. ‘Work from home’ has been the new mantra, brought about by the forced lockdowns due to the pandemic. Will this be the new normal?
At a time when it should have been lending a helping hand to those countries deeply affected by the virus that originated in Wuhan, China saw it fit to use the period to work towards achieving its lofty Centenary Goals. Even in boxing, the referee does not allow a boxer to hit his opponent when he is down. China, obviously, has not read the rule book. Its dastardly attack on an Indian patrol party on June 15, 2020, using sticks studded with barbed wire and nails led to the loss of twenty Indian soldiers at Galwan. The riposte by the Indian Army led to the killing of many more (unconfirmed) PLA soldiers in a meaningless slugfest. The face-off since April 2020 continues in Eastern Ladakh.