As India collectively gasps for breath, confronted by a catastrophic surge of Covid-19 infections and deaths, the control and content of in...
As India collectively gasps for breath, confronted by a catastrophic surge of Covid-19 infections and deaths, the control and content of information related to all aspects of the pandemic have become highly politicised, even more so than has usually been the case for a good while now.
Having masterfully managed, threatened and eventually dominated most of the legacy media over the last seven years, the Bharatiya Janata Party government suddenly finds itself haplessly trying to contain not just the virus but the narrative about the extent of the carnage, the breakdown of the healthcare system, and the reasons for the clearly visible failures of Modi’s leadership.
Government spokespersons and proxies are flooding channels like Times Now to engage in damage control, praising the government on grounds like the rate of vaccination, which, frankly, has been poor in terms of the percentage of the vulnerable population covered. The Indian government has also asked Twitter to censor tweets that are critical of its response to the current crisis.
The harsh reality
Truth will out, though. The realities of the situation are being chronicled much more truthfully by the international press, with coverage drawing attention to the fact that the real rate of infection is significantly higher than acknowledged by the government, the...
