PRIME Minister of India, Narendra Modi, has said that India’s aim as President of the G20, is to promote a universal sense of oneness under the theme: “One Earth, One Family, One Future.”

According to information from his official website, India’s Presidency of the G20 began on Thursday.

“The previous 17 Presidencies of the G20 delivered significant results – for ensuring macro-economic stability, rationalising international taxation, relieving debt-burden on countries, among many other outcomes. We will benefit from these achievements, and build further upon them,” Prime Minister Modi said.

He added: “However, as India assumes this important mantle, I ask myself – can the G20 go further still? Can we catalyse a fundamental mindset shift, to benefit humanity as a whole?

“I believe we can.”

The Indian Prime Minister related: “Our mindsets are shaped by our circumstances. Through all of history, humanity lived in scarcity. We fought for limited resources, because our survival depended on denying them to others. Confrontation and competition – between ideas, ideologies and identities – became the norm.

“Unfortunately, we remain trapped in the same zero-sum mindset even today. We see it when countries fight over territory or resources. We see it when supplies of essential goods are weaponised. We see it when vaccines are hoarded by a few, even as billions remain vulnerable.”

He related that some may argue that confrontation and greed are just human nature, but he questioned: “If humans were inherently selfish, what would explain the lasting appeal of so many spiritual traditions that advocate the fundamental oneness of us all?”

One such tradition, popular in India, sees all living beings, and even inanimate things, as composed of the same five basic elements – the panch tatva of earth, water, fire, air and space. Harmony among these elements – within us and between us – is essential for the humanity’s physical, social and environmental well-being.

To that end, the Indian Prime Minister said its agenda of oneness is not just a slogan; it takes into account recent changes in human circumstances, which the world has collectively failed to appreciate.