mandag 10. mai 2021

India's Covid crisis delivers a blow to brand Modi

"Modi leads India out of a lockdown and into a Covid apocalypse," declared a recent headline in the UK Sunday Times. The Australian newspaper re-published the story with a scathing summary: "Arrogance, hyper-nationalism and bureaucratic incompetence have combined to create a crisis of epic proportions, critics say, as India's crowd-loving PM basks while citizens literally suffocate." It earned a rebuke from India, but there's no denying the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cherished image has taken a bad hit.

Stories from India's punishing second wave have dominated global news and social media feeds - people gasping to stay alive as they wait for critical care beds and treatment; desperate families scrambling for everything, from oxygen cylinders to a doctor's appointment; mass funeral pyres and parking lots turning into crematoriums to accommodate the rising number of dead.