India is being ravaged by a second COVID-19 wave. As of last week, India had approximately 28.5 million infections and more than 340,000 deaths, although experts are unanimous that the death rate is under reported and the actual count is much higher. Print, television and social media have highlighted the suffering of people. Television news channels have broadcast heart-breaking images of people begging for oxygen, admission into hospitals and beds for their friends and relatives, and standing in queues for hours for life saving medicines, ventilators and refilling of oxygen cylinders. Tens of thousands have died simply because they could not get access to oxygen. The Narendra Modi government’s vaccination drive has also hit a road block and there is an acute shortage of vaccines across India. The question that arises is could this suffering, these deaths, have been avoided? Could the Modi administration have done better? I argue that not only could the second wave have been prevented, but also the Modi government is responsible for exacerbating the second wave and the suffering of people because of its disastrous response. While the Modi administration’s complacency, inaction, and hubris are responsible for its failure to prevent the second wave, missteps, callousness, poor planning, and obfuscations further compounded the crisis.
