Civil Rights Activist Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., Helped Pave Approach for Covid Vaccine Allocation to India | International Indian

CHENNAI (IANS) – The efforts of eminent American civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. paved the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to convene Prime Minister Narendra Modi and to announce the allocation of Covid vaccine doses to India, said Vijay Prabhakar, an Indian-American expert for public health in Chicago.

A product of Madras Medical College, Prabhakar, who is also the global ambassador for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, became the first black person to receive the US Public Health Service’s HIS Director’s Award of Excellence for pioneering health commissioner for 1992 during the tenure of President Bill Clinton the Winnebago Indian tribe from 1986-1992.

He is also chairman of the American Association for Multi-Ethnic Physicians and founding chairman of the Multi-Ethnic Advisory Task Force of Congressman Danny Davis in Chicago.

Prabhakar told IANS in an exclusive interview that Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. assured Tamil Nadu Treasury Secretary PTR Thiagarajan in a Zoom call on May 21 that Covid aid was on its way to the fight of the state to strengthen against the pandemic.

The Minister for Higher Education of Maharashtra, Uday Samant, had also asked Rev. Jackson to intervene on behalf of India for the allocation of vaccines.

Here are the excerpts from the interview:

Q. You said that the US government allocated Covid vaccines to India after the meeting between US President Joe Biden and Rev. Jackson. Please explain.

A. Yes, there was a historic meeting Jackson had with Biden on June 1st in Tulsa, Oklahoma that helped my motherland, India, get Covid vaccinations.

Jackson has worked tirelessly with the US government and around the world to help India with this unprecedented crisis. President Biden then pledged to liaise with the Reverend with White House staff to ensure efficient communication and distribution of US-donated vaccines to India.

I myself had informed the President about it, as did Congressman Danny Davis on the 2nd in Chicago, Washington DC and Atlanta.

That meeting led to the announcement by Vice President Kamala Harris and her call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Biden has listened carefully and responded very specifically to all of our requests, and we see this as a great positive step in India-US relations.

In Biden we have a responsive President who is ready to face the situation and act quickly to resolve the situation immediately with his admirable leadership.

Q. Several observers and critics believe that President Biden does not perceive India well. How did you convince him of India’s need for vaccines?

A. It was a very challenging experience as we had to use all of our own resources and personal connections that we have developed over the years to come up with a results-oriented strategy. The 2020 presidential election and the election of the Indian diaspora along with certain sections of the community who are constantly trying to paint a negative image of India have made our task very difficult, but they have not stopped our ongoing efforts to help India.

There was stiff competition from other countries who also did their thing for the US-donated vaccines. It is thanks to US Congressman Danny Davis that I was inspired to lead the crusade for the transport of vaccines to India in all circumstances, and it was the inspiring leadership of Jackson who is in constant dialogue with President Biden and the Vice President Kamala Harris’s office stood May 7 to June 1, which resulted in the US allowing vaccines into India.

The meeting with Indian Ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Sandhu, along with India’s Deputy Head of Mission Sudhakar Dalela on May 21 in Washington, DC, and the constant encouragement and feedback from the Indian Consul General in Chicago, Amit Kumar, played a crucial role in this initiative.

At the end of the day, it is community-activated diplomacy that has succeeded against all odds and criticism.

Q. You are known to have mentioned to President Biden that you would distribute some of the vaccine doses to the Indian states of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Your comments.

A. After news broke that Jackson officially thanked both the US President and Vice President for their open statement that the US would distribute 80 million vaccines overseas at his press conference, Maharashtra’s Minister of Higher and Technical Education called Uday Samant, Jackson, to thank him for his efforts in engaging the Biden government, Harris, to donate 80 million vaccines overseas.

Samant then urged Jackson to push for an immediate release of vaccine doses to India with an allotment for Maharashtra. This was followed by a zoom meeting initiated by Tamil Nadus Minister of Finance, PTR Thiagarajan, with Jackson at the direction of the state’s prime minister, MK Stalin.

He briefed Jackson on the Covid crisis situation in India and highlighted the need for America’s urgent aid to India and also spoke about the TN government’s shortage of vaccines.

F. Thiagarajan has said that he has reached out to the US government to obtain vaccines for India and allocation to Tamil Nadu through your Jackson and your offices. Please comment on this.

A. As I said earlier, Thiagarajan was one of three leaders from India who had the foresight to reach Jackson along with Samant and former Union Secretary and MP KJ Alphons.

Thiagarajan graduated from prestigious institutions in the US, followed the US media closely and took the opportunity to present India’s case very eloquently.

He also drew a parallel between the civil rights movement in the US and the Dravidian movement in South India.

Jackson was emotionally moved by the presentation of PTR and immediately sent a video message to the people in India: “Help is on the way. Don’t let your spirit break, wait, dawn comes hope alive. God bless you all. Love you all.”

Q. Are you going to play an important role in India-US relations in light of this achievement?

A. I will do everything in my power for my motherland to further strengthen Indian-American relations. I consider it an imperative to see that India’s name is not harmed by any part of the community through its self-guided false propaganda.

You will be interested to know that the same team led by me along with Santhosh Kumar, Executive Director, Metropolitan Asian Family Services, Chicago; Bharat Barai, eminent oncologist and chairman of the US-India Friendship Council, Munster, Indiana; worked hard to thwart an India resolution tabled in Chicago City Council on March 24th this year.

The same anti-India resolution funded by the Council of American Islamic Relations-CAIR, USA, successfully passed anti-India resolutions in eight other US cities, including Seattle.

The meeting with President Biden on June 1 laid a solid foundation for using Indo-US relations from a new perspective. We are just getting started and there is a lot to be done regarding India’s Covid relief effort.

We are working to get various players in India to buy vaccines, drugs and equipment directly from manufacturers here in the US. I will personally work to develop a new narrative to foster Indian-American relations that will be inclusive and results-oriented.

Q. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar was in the US last week to look for vaccines. What do you think of his trip to the US for the vaccine?

A. It is really good that India’s Secretary of State Jaishankar visited the US and met key officials advocating India’s case. However, India now needs to recognize that the Biden-Harris government is very people-centered, results-driven, and minority-minded.

India needs to explore informal channels and give legitimacy to Community diplomacy with a formal approach to significantly strengthen Indo-US relations in the face of geopolitics in this new digital age. The official diplomatic channels are doing an excellent job and are also working to pursue their agenda, but this is not enough to bridge the gap and tackle India’s critics.

The need of the hour is for Indian-American community leaders to effectively engage the Biden-Harris government with a new narrative of meaningful, purpose-built partnerships with a focus on grassroots democracy.