A controversial video of former CEO of Microsoft Bill Gates is making rounds on social media in which he can be seen calling India a ‘kind of laboratory to try things’. In an exclusive podcast with Reid Hoffman, Gates indicated that Indians are Guinea Pigs for him and that when things market well in India, they can be taken to other countries.
“India is an example of a country where there’s plenty of things that are difficult there – the health, nutrition, education is improving, and they are stable enough and generating their own government revenue enough that it’s very likely that 20 years from now people will be dramatically better off and it’s kind of a laboratory to try things that then when you prove them out in India, you can take to other places,” Gates said.
“And so our biggest non-US office for the Foundation is in India, and the most number of pilot roll-out things we’re doing anywhere in the world are with partners in India. If you go there and have never been, this is a chaotic place and you are not used to so many levels of income on the street at the same time. But you will get a sense of the vibrancy,” he added.
The video has been shared by several people on social media criticizing Bill Gates for his comments about India. One of the users shared the video and said that Gates had managed everyone from the Government to opposition parties to the media in the country. “His office operates here without FCRA, and our education system has made him a hero! I don’t know when we will wake up!” he added addressing all the Indian users.
India is a laboratory, and we Indians are Guinea Pigs for Bill Gates
— Vijay Patel🇮🇳 (@vijaygajera) December 2, 2024
This person has managed everyone from the Government to opposition parties to the media
His office operates here without FCRA, and our education system has made him a hero!
I don't know when we will wake up! pic.twitter.com/dxuCvQ44gg
Another user shared the same video and said, “It’s disturbing how easily they access our governance and policies, while openly treating us as guinea pigs.”
"It's a kind of laboratory to try things. When proven in India, they can then be taken to other places."
— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) December 2, 2024
— Bill Gates on India.
In 2009, the American NGO PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health), in collaboration with the ICMR, conducted clinical trials of a cervical… pic.twitter.com/66aFVrxCiM
Meanwhile, another user said that it was time for Indians to show who we actually are rather than complaining about such experiments that are conducted on the civilians of the country in the name of authorized projects. “Little fault lies with the people who do such things. The fault lies within us. Who are we? Some obscure African tribe that anyone can come and conduct experiments on us? Why don’t we act like a big country we often claim we are? Instead of complaining, we should introspect and change our attitude,” the user stated.
Further, one of the users also stated that this was Gates’ eventual tactic and that he has been practicing the same for years. “Seeing many videos on Bill Gates during covid times and how he predicted a pandemic years ago plus the way he manipulates people’s minds in the name of philanthropy behind his foundation, he seems to be an evil guy and the world needs to become aware of this,” the user said.
“Very sad! Such incidents highlight the urgent need for stringent ethical standards and holding individuals and organizations accountable to protect vulnerable communities in public health initiatives,” another one added. One user also called his comment a ‘Colonial hangover’.
It is important to note that in 2007, the healthcare charity Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), funded by the US-based Bill and Melina Gates Foundation, provided vaccines to around 24,000 tribal girls in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat after receiving approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The vaccines were part of ‘clinical trials’ to develop a cure for cervical cancer. However, it resulted in adverse health conditions for the girls and deaths in some of the cases.
The project later faced significant scrutiny and criticism due to major execution flaws, including the absence of the patient’s proper consent, the inclusion of vulnerable and tribal populations in the study cohort, and safety concerns following the death of several girls after vaccination. Investigations revealed that serious adverse events were not adequately monitored and the trial subject’s consent was improperly obtained, with several instances of missing signatures or thumbprints on consent forms.
A parliamentary panel also accused PATH of violating local regulations during trials involving Indian girls and questioned the ICMR for approving the project. PATH’s activities were criticized as commercially motivated campaigns designed to promote vaccine manufacturers and secure a foothold in the Indian market. Similar concerns regarding PATH’s practices were also raised in Peru, Uganda, and Vietnam.
