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.

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