Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday (April 8) wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi referencing ancient Indian relgious text Ramayana.
In his letter, President Bolsonaro compared PM Modi's decision to lift the ban on export of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the global fight against coronavirus COVID-19 to Hanuman's effort to help Lord Ram's brother Lakshman with Sanjeevani Booti after the latter was criticailly injured during the battle in Lanka.
"Just as Lord Hanuman brought the holy medicine from the Himalayas to save the life of Lord Rama's brother Lakshmana, and Jesus healed those who were sick and restored the sight to Bartimeu, India and Brazil will overcome this global crisis by joining forces and sharing blessings for the sake of all people," wrote the Brazilian president.
It is to be noted that the letter was sent to PM Modi on the day of Hanuman Jayanti.
The mention of "Sanjeevani booti" in the letter written by Brazilian president is important because he has requested India to export hydroxychloroquine, which is called as the game-changer drug by some experts in the fight against COVID-19.
A Government of India press release said, "The Prime Minister assured all possible support to Brazil President in this difficult hour. They agreed that their officials would remain in regular touch with respect to the COVID-19 situation and its emerging challenges."
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (April 7) said that a sizeable chunk of the 29 million doses of hydroxychloroquine bought by the US to combat the coronavirus pandemic is from India. He also acknowledged that PM Modi was "great" when he sought his help to allow the sale of the anti-malaria drug to treat the growing number of COVID-19 patients in America.
Trump and Prime Minister Modi spoke over the phone last week. During the call, Trump requested PM Modi to lift the hold on the American order of hydroxychloroquine, of which India is the major producer.
