Collapse of governance as second Covid-19 wave ravages India

While the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is fast spreading in the country, taking a bigger toll of lives and misery, it is clear that the prime responsibility for the disastrous turn is with the governments, both at the Centre and in the states. But they are trying to exonerate themselves, blaming each other or worse, blaming the people, the nature of the virus or circumstances beyond their control. It is easy to claim that the present situation would not have arisen if the people had followed the Covid protocol, but the obvious question is whether the governments had anticipated it, adequately forewarned the people about it, made preparations to deal with it, and are doing enough to handle it now. The answer to all these questions is in the negative and it is a bigger negative with the Central government.

From the first days of the outbreak of the pandemic to the present, the Central government’s handling of the situation was inadequate and poor. It failed to appreciate the gravity of the pandemic threat or ignored it. Initial action was delayed because of the political crisis in Madhya Pradesh and even when the lockdown was declared, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it would take only 21 days to get the better of the virus. The complacence after the first wave subsided was much more consequential. The Prime Minister declared to the world that India had defeated the pandemic, and that could only have misled the people. The governments did not use the weeks of pandemic decline to ramp up facilities in hospitals, including beds and equipment, and to arrange production or procurement of adequate quantities of vaccines, oxygen and medicines. The vaccination programme was not planned well and even now, the government does not consider it is its responsibility to offer the vaccines free to all citizens.

Since the pandemic was the main concern of the nation for the last one year, the failure to handle it with any degree of success marks a total collapse of governance. The credibility and efficacy of a system of governance is seen basically by the trust the people have in its ability to protect their life and limb. That trust has been impaired now. The government aggravated the situation by its failure to act and its leaders, including the Prime Minister, contributed to it by leading and participating in mammoth election rallies and allowing other gatherings. State governments also have their share of blame but in a situation where the fight against the pandemic was entirely planned and managed by the Centre, much of the responsibility for the slide rests with the Centre. There may still be time to learn from the mistakes and act sensibly.