I don’t blame any govt for mishandling Covid. This pandemic was sudden and unprecedented. Nobody knew what to do or what was the right approach. It was all trial and error and the jury is still out on what works and what doesn’t. Nobody has established a cause-effect relationship so far beyond a shadow of doubt.
By the same token, I don’t give too much credit to any govt or leader. Some countries are small, some environmentally not as conducive for Covid as others, some countries have been just lucky and others have fudged their numbers. I suspect it is a combination of all these factors in most countries but probably in different ratios.
But what I really detest are leaders like Trump who hid the truth from the people, and consistently and without a qualm of conscience or empathy, misrepresented the seriousness of the disease and refused to encourage daily precautionary practices. The number of deaths in the US would have been far lower than what it is now had he done so.
All the reasons listed in the article by Mr. Bhagat are conjectures and assumptions or environmental advantages that India supposedly enjoys. A lot of the ‘Immunity’ that Indians are said to possess are related to the low sense of hygiene among the populace. How much of the population drinks ginger juice first thing in the morning mixed with honey and haldi and ajwain! Come on, be realistic, these are the trappings of the upper middle class onwards! There may be some truth to our diet being the cause but many scientists even in India dispute the efficacy of these ‘treatments’ even today. To usurp these factors as deliberately planned achievements and attribute it to ourselves is self flattery, self deception and disingenuous.
Chetan Bhagat’s article in the Times of India linked below: