The Failure Behind the Success: An in-depth Look at the Corruption Within the G-20 Summit
Earlier this month, New Delhi rolled out the red carpet for the State heads attending the g20 summit. Along with it, hundreds of videos showcasing mass neglect of the Indian authorities towards Delhi’s lower-class population surfaced.
The 18th G20 summit took place in New Delhi in September 2023. It concluded with the unanimous acceptance of the New Delhi Leader’s Declaration, making it a political and national success for India. The theme of the summit “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, Sanskrit for “One Earth, One Family, One Future", preached the importance of human, animal, plant and micro-organisms and their interrelation to Earth. It also aimed at fostering and encouraging a sustainable lifestyle to achieve a greener future.
Taking the term “greener future” quite literally, as a part of the “beautification scheme” of the national capital, the Government of India released unofficial orders directed towards the concealment of slum areas within the city using green curtains with the face of the Prime Minister plastered atop it. It aimed at shunning and hiding the population of the less fortunate. As it turned out, the apparent success of the conference was only on the forefront; one used to hide the inhumane treatment the slum dwellers were subjected to. What was supposed to be “One Family” was divided into 2 classes of people: those “worthy” of being seen and those deserving of an imprisonment within their own homes.
Behind the sham of the newly beautified city, lay the darker reality of forced evictions, police brutality and homelessness. Treated as criminals who must be obscured from the public (foreign) eye, their homes were concealed and their movements restricted. The imposition of this lockdown on such poor people, hindered their livelihood to extents one can only imagine. In just a matter of days, they went from earning 3,000 and 4,000 rupees a day, to being compelled to sustain themselves on a meager income of 40 to 50 rupees. This enormous blow to their wage earnings must have taken them back to the familiar nightmare- Will my family have to go to bed on an empty stomach?
The demolitions started four months prior to the conference as bulldozers came racing down the establishments they formerly called their home. The poor residents could do nothing but watch with tearful eyes, their own home being broken apart without any prior indications or warning. As a last ditch attempt, a few people approached the Delhi High Court who once again ordered them to evacuate the area before the end of the month.
In light of this, it is especially important to recognize unity and respect within India as a community. There is an urgent need to build better relations among the privileged and the marginalized, and to offer the marginalized with safe spaces in hope of their financial and psychological development. There is no doubt about the role community-level forces have on individual functioning. How people are treated by their fellow citizens and by their heads of State largely impacts how they perceive the world around them. Constant oppression of the marginalized will naturally alienate them from the rest of the country. As representative members in the parliament, some of the responsibility of ensuring active inclusion falls on political leaders. In most parts of the country, they are highly revered and respected. Their words have the power to influence of the morals and beliefs of lakhs of people.
In addition to this, at international gatherings like the G20, nations are supposed to be represented as a whole. People come together and unite in an attempt to defend their ideals. It is the responsibility of the State to ensure equitable representation of all classes of people.
India, for one, has stood firmly as an advocate for developing, and impoverished nations. It has played an active role in alerting Western media to their problems and suggesting larger involvement of such countries on international platforms. Having played such a crucial role as the leader of the “Global South”, the hypocrisy of the government did not go unnoticed by the citizens. Some of the slum dwellers described their experience as “utterly humiliating”. Their home of decades had been uprooted for an event of 2 days. Forced relocation to the outskirts made it impossible for students to travel every day to school.
This failure is a perfect example of the hypocritical and capitalist society we live in. A society where appearances matter more than life itself. At times like these, it is important to take a step back and re-evaluate what it is that we really want both from the State and its people. Is recognition and success on an international forum more important than homes and livelihoods built by decades of hard work? It objectively isn’t and hence also isn’t an excuse to justify all that went down this month in the national capital.
The solution to these problems might seem very easy, but practically can only be achieved in a utopian world, where the human race is evolved enough to not be egocentric and selfish. However, we know it is impossible to achieve such a state and also foolish to hold such expectations from people. The one thing we can do is keep in mind that economic and diplomatic success will amount to little in a society full of social unrest, disparity and neglect.
References-
https://inkstickmedia.com/this-is-humiliating-india-hides-its-poor-for-the-g20-new-delhi-summit/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/women-sitting-on-the-sidewalk-11104869/
https://unsplash.com/photos/a-group-of-people-riding-motorcycles-down-a-street-CEHUEzhy7M8
About the Author
Namrata Oak,
First Year, Member,
PsyCreative Column
Namrata is a 17-year-old student pursuing psychology in NMIMS. She will willingly give up her beauty sleep to read thriller novels. She adores dogs and stops after every 50 meters to pet one. She is all about travelling to places and trying to accommodate and understand their culture so if you ever have an extra ticket she should be the first person you call.
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