India's Covid Catastrophe
Only two months ago India had βdefeated Covidβ, it was said. Now thousands are dying every day and the health care system is collapsing. What went wrong?
In February India's governing party, the BJP, congratulated itself and its βvisionaryβ leader, the prime minister, Narendra Modi,, for βdefeating Covid.β Two months on India is in the midst of what one historian has termed βthe gravest crisis the nation has faced since Partitionβ in 1947. Hundreds of thousands of new infections are reported every day and thousands of deaths. The peak may come in a few weeks. Meanwhile the country is short of hospital beds, oxygen and even wood for the funeral pyres. So whatβs gone wrong? And what does Indiaβs plight tell the rest of the world about the trajectory of the pandemic and when it might finally end?
Producers: Tim Mansel, Kirsteen Knight, Paul Moss
Studio Engineer: James Beard
Editor: Jasper Corbett
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The Briefing Room
David Aaronovitch presents in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.
