India’s Covid Catastrophe
The news from India is grim. A Covid wave is sweeping the country, inflicting widespread misery and deaths. Government figures of Covid-related fatalities are widely seen as very much underreported. India may soon pass the U.S. as the global leader in deaths. Analysts say that the country wasn’t prepared to handle the surge. Hospitals have been overwhelmed and there are acute shortages of oxygen, medicine and vaccines. The country is ruled by Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJP. It is a Hindu nationalist party. It has come under wide criticism for its handling of the crisis. Noted writer Arundhati Roy says, “It is hard to convey the full depth and range of the trauma, chaos and indignity that India’s Covid catastrophe has inflicted. Meanwhile, Modi and his allies tell people not to complain.”
Interview by David Barsamian.
Speaker
Jayati Ghosh
Jayati Ghosh is a renowned award-winning economist and author. Her articles appear in major newspapers, journals and magazines. She taught at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi for almost 35 years. She now teaches at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Zaheer in Mumbai, India –
Thank you for this important interview.
Justine in Corvallis –
I learned so much from Jayati Ghosh. Thank you for airing such an informative program.
Martha Jones –
I appreciated her definition of neoliberalism!!! For starters. Thank You!!
Zaheerah Aleem –
Excellent report. The comparison between what we are doing here in the United States to India is so striking! The handling of the pandemic here was notoriously mishandled by the previous administration; akin to the Modi administration. Very enlightening report and so true. Thanks for the report. The “haves and have-nots” access is something to be reported on more often and exposed.
VINDYA DONAHUE (verified owner) –
She is eloquent and hits right home. Great questions.