Should India be Scared?

Should India be Scared?
Should India be Scared?
Is there a need to afraid of the spread of COVID-19 in India?

The world is talking about India. There is a zillion of articles available online which talk about ‘India not going the right way’. All such articles usually begin and end with writing about how “India is in denial” of the pandemic reaching every district and every village. They do, however, espouse the approach of South Korea in aggressive testing as the only way to contain it.

But given the nature in which information around Coronavirus is shared, and how aggressively cases appears to rise, there is an inevitable question I need to ask myself.

Am I scared? I would say yes, there is a need to be afraid of the COVID-19 spread in India.

But the entire discourse around our current state of national lockdown brings me to another important question. Is India buying time? Absolutely! Isn’t buying time a textbook business strategy? Despite the seeming lack of tests in India and the required funds needed to counter the effects of coronavirus pandemic in India, there is a sliver of hope that help is not far away. How? Here is my answer.

Running India is “a business”. A serious one. A few business houses make considerable investments, in terms of time and money, to ensure that the control of the Government is with the people who keep their (business houses) interests in mind. Favourable policies and large work orders are fees they get for their patronage and investments.

These “investors” are hugely successful, and they know what they are doing, they are the winners. Needless to say, they have their interests on top of their minds.  No writing on the wall is needed to understand this fact. In times of crisis, such as the current one, these businessmen will suit up to work on it.

And there is an important reason behind this apart from philanthropy. It would be detrimental to their interests to let India sink. On the contrary, they do see the Coronavirus spread and treatment in India as a great business opportunity. Numbers are staggering, quantities unheard of, to start with, how about 100,000,000 masks or 10,000,000 sanitisers?

I am sure there is a “set of investors” whose business sense, shrewdness and understanding are at play right now. They can’t afford to let India sink. Whatever our Government is doing can’t be in isolation, nothing ever is.  They are 10% of the 20% who own more than 80% of what all India holds. It is in their interest that widespread testing happens, how about 10,000,000 tests? It is also in their interest that there should be the least number of positive tests. Yes, they have to make sure that after this opportunity is encashed, it is business as usual.

Where does this understanding leave me, as an individual? I am scared, but I am also hopeful. I am optimistic that India’s I-Me-Myself approach to Government would deliver on the dotted line, though not quickly.

Related Links:

Coronavirus in India – Just Facts

Preventive Measures Against COVID-19