PRIME Minister, Narendra Modi, has hijacked the concept of self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat). He claims this is the way to revive growth and make the 21st century, India’s century.

THE Covid-19 pandemic has brought out the stark inadequacy and abysmal neglect of the public health system in India.  Even after 50 days of the lockdown, the Modi government seems to have not learnt from the experience of tackling the deadly virus.  In state after state, government hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of patients and the lack of treatment facilities.  The state of government hospitals in the hotspot of Mumbai provides a grim illustration. The Modi government displays a smug satisfaction by turning a blind eye to the actual state of affairs.

THE war on the Covid-19 virus is quickly transforming into a war against the working class in India. In parliament, in March this year, the government had stated that there are estimated to be around 100 million (10 crore) inter-state migrant workers. A vast majority of them would have lost their livelihoods with the lockdown being imposed. They have lost their places of stay and were driven to desperation by lack of food and shelter for their families.

NOT much is heard about what is happening in Jammu and Kashmir in these times of the pandemic. But even when the people there are seriously concerned about the spread of the coronavirus, the Hindutva rulers are busy designing what is now called the “union territory” of J&K. For the people of the Kashmir valley, there is no let up in the repression and suppression of rights they have been experiencing since August, 2019.The lockdown of J&K preceded the lockdown of India by a full eight months. That lockdown was not caused by any epidemic or health emergency.

IT has taken a tiny but lethal virus, in the twenty-first century, to show up once again, the difference between the two social systems – capitalism and socialism. The way certain countries have dealt with the global coronavirus pandemic has only served to highlight this difference.At one end is the United States, the most powerful imperialist-capitalist country in the world. It also has the most extreme form of privatised health care system – a health sector run by corporates and profit driven.