Witnessing a crime against humanity: Arundhati Roy on India’s Covid-19 crisis

The Booker Prize-winning Indian novelist Arundhati Roy claimed that the world is "witnessing a crime against humanity", referring to the unfolding Covid-19 crisis in India. In her long-form The Guardian piece published on April 28, she claimed, "The system hasn't collapsed. The government has failed. Perhaps 'failed' is an inaccurate word, because what we are witnessing is not criminal negligence, but an outright crime against humanity."

The author draws focus on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the World Economic Forum held in January this year, where he -- during the height of a second wave sweeping most European countries and the United States -- claimed that India saved humanity by effectively controlling the coronavirus pandemic despite predictions that the country would witness one of the biggest Covid-19 disasters.

The author referred to the administration's "disbelief" of science and "callousness" that failed to prepare for a predicted second wave, which struck India with an unpredictable virulence that caught scientists by surprise. "This one was predicted, although its virulence has taken even scientists and virologists by surprise. So where is the Covid-specific infrastructure and the 'people's movement' against the virus that Modi boasted about in his speech?" -- she writes.

In the long-form piece, Roy also calls out flawed administrative tactics to forcibly contain concern by masking it as rumours. Specifically, she identifies Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's recent announcement that there is no shortage of oxygen in any hospital and that "rumourmongers" will be arrested without bail under the National Security Act and have their property seized. She writes, "So, if you live in Uttar Pradesh, the message seems to be, please do yourself a favour and die without complaining."

Roy also takes aim at the Modi government's implementation of notorious laws like the Citizenship Amendment Act that automatically stripped away citizenship and estranged 2 million people in Assam, for instance, who have been living there for years. The author also reminds readers of Modi's minority discrimination tactics, and the anti-Muslim rhetoric his administrations have been historically capable of pursuing. Dating back to his involvement in the 2001 Gujrat pogroms, and the following early elections portraying him as "The Emperor of Hindu Hearts", Roy speaks out against "public intellectuals" and CEOs who "humiliated and shouted down those of us who persisted in our criticism. 'Move on, was their mantra. Even today, they mitigate their harsh words for Modi with praise for his oratory skills and his 'hard work'".

The novelist concluded that an international problem of such gravity requires a non-partisan approach, including members of the ruling party, of the opposition, and health and public policy experts to solve the crises, poignantly reminding that India "cannot be isolated. We need help."