Covid-19: the India Story

The author contends that the Indian government's response to Covid-19 was characterized by a lack of preparedness, the scapegoating of the Muslim community, and a sudden lockdown that stranded millions of migrant workers. The text asserts that the state leveraged the crisis to arrest activists, create a non-transparent relief fund (PM-CARES), and weaken environmental regulations through the Environment Impact Assessment Draft 2020 to favor private capital.

• The Indian government showed a lack of early preparedness for the pandemic, with airport screening limited to specific countries until March 4 and universal screening only implemented later that month. Even major airports like Delhi experienced overcrowding and a lack of social distancing until mid-March.
• The government is accused of using the pandemic to target the Muslim community, specifically by scapegoating the Tablighi-Jama’at organization for the spread of the virus while simultaneously encouraging mass Hindu processions.
• The sudden announcement of a total lockdown on March 24 left millions of migrant workers stranded without food or transport, forcing many to walk hundreds of kilometers to their home villages. The author claims the central government's contribution to this crisis was negligible.
• The government established PM-CARES, a fund managed by a non-governmental organization set up by the Prime Minister, which the author claims is not open to public auditing and is suspected of being a political fund for the ruling party.
• The pandemic was used as a pretext to arrest non-party activists, including those involved in anti-CAA protests and the Bhima Koregaon incident, often under anti-sedition or anti-terror laws.
• The government utilized the pandemic period to advance privatization of public enterprises and weaken environmental protections via the Environment Impact Assessment Draft 2020, which allows for ex post facto clearance for projects.

APA

Nigam, A. (2020). Covid-19: the India Story. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/covid-19-states-and-societies-india/

Chicago

Nigam, Aditya. Covid-19: the India Story. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2020. https://pari.org.za/covid-19-states-and-societies-india/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Nigam |first1=Aditya |title=Covid-19: the India Story |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=9 September 2020 |url=https://pari.org.za/covid-19-states-and-societies-india/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{nigam2020covid19, author = {Nigam, Aditya}, title = {{Covid-19: the India Story}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://pari.org.za/covid-19-states-and-societies-india/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }