The tragedy in India


For a great account of what’s going on in India, read this WaPo article. And read this Atlantic article for a good commentary on how India’s wealthier class ignored the lessons of the 1984 Bhopal disaster and let the health care system stagnate, leaving the country unable to handle this sudden surge in the virus. Although it's wrong to say the system stagnated. For the wealthy, it became (and remains) world-class. Does this remind you of another health care system that, at least in the early days of the pandemic, was overwhelmed? 

Both articles call attention to the Modi government’s failures, but they both try to spread the blame around. Yes, others are responsible, but the fact that – after a terrible response to the first wave of the virus – the government got lulled into thinking they’d beaten it, so they could open up completely (including holding big political rallies and allowing the annual Kumbh Mela to take place – this year in Haridwar, which I’ve visited and can attest is a very small place to house millions of pilgrims).  Now, of course, the real cost of this attitude has become apparent.

Again, does Modi remind you of another "leader" who never really believed that Covid posed a threat, and went out of his way not to do anything that would make it appear he was concerned about it? I can't remember that guy's name, though. I've repressed it.

P.S. As if on cue, WaPo ran a great opinion piece on Modi today, pointing out that it was his reckless decisions that led to this crisis. They may have been good politics for Modi, but they were deadly for the Indian people. The piece also mentions that Modi never listens to experts, but goes ahead and acts on hunches that then prove disastrous - like his initial Covid lockdown and like when he invalidated most of the currency a few years ago, thinking he'd eliminate corruption that way (spoiler alert: He didn't eliminate corruption! Hard to believe, I know...)

I would love to hear any comments or questions you have on this post. Drop me an email at tom@tomalrich.com.

 

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