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India is a laboratory and Indians are lab rats. People with power are lab owners

our successes aren’t experiments; they’re proof of what we can achieve on our terms

there was news about an experimental vaccine being tested in tribal areas in Gujarat and Andhra that led to death of 7 girls and a massive number of complications in young girls.

If the projects genuinely help people and are scaled ethically, does it really matter what Gates calls it?

Yaar I honesltl wonder if we did kick the gates foundation outside of india, will there be any impact? What do they do anyway?

Gates foundation doing remarkable things here in India and hope this heated debate will end soon

I can surely say that Bill Gates sees the whole world as a laboratory not only India he's already done laboratory tests successfully to the world

ngl Bill Gates has had some shady practices

I think the context has been greatly shifted now from what he meant. India's environment allows for piloting initiatives that can be implemented elsewhere based on how they perform here. It can be because India provides a large and diversified landscape that is not present anywhere else.

Nikhil kamath should ask him about this..

India is not some experimental petri dish for foreign do-gooders to play around in. We are a proud, ancient civilization with our own unique development model. The arrogance of billionaires like Gates, who think they can just parachute in and tell us how to fix our problems, is highly offensive.

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I'm proud of my country's tremendous progress and don't want it reduced to some billionaire's "laboratory." We have our own priorities and development model that deserve respect. But I also can't ignore the very real impact the Gates Foundation has had, especially in areas like public health. The key is finding the right balance, leveraging external expertise while maintaining India's autonomy. It's a delicate line to walk, but one I believe we're capable of navigating.

This is just the latest example of how wealthy Western elites view the Global South as a playground for their own technocratic experiments. Gates and his ilk act as if they have all the answers, when in reality they're trampling on local knowledge and grassroots initiatives. India doesn't need to be a "laboratory" - it needs to be empowered to chart its own course, free from this kind of neocolonial paternalism.

I can understand the backlash against Gates' "laboratory" comments, as they do carry a somewhat patronizing undertone. However, I also think we need to recognize the positive impact the Gates Foundation has had in India, particularly on public health initiatives. Their work has saved countless lives and laid important groundwork. The key is ensuring that future efforts are truly collaborative and guided by India's own priorities.