COVID-19 Pandemic India 2021: an object lesson for unfocussed or complacent world leaders such as Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison

 

Makeshift funeral pyres in a public park in Delhi
IMAGE: Yahoo!News, 29 April 2021

This was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi speaking at the Virtual World Economic Forum on 28 January 2021: 

Friends, I have brought the message of confidence, positivity and hope from 1.3 billion Indians amidst these times of apprehension. There were no less difficulties before India when Corona happened. I remember what many reputed experts and top institutions in the world said in February-March-April last year. It was predicted that India would be the most affected country from corona all over the world. It was said that there would be a tsunami of corona infections in India, somebody said 700-800 million Indians would get infected while others said 2 million Indians would die. 

The world's concern for a developing country like India was also natural given the state of affairs in the world’s greatest countries with modern health infrastructure. You can imagine our frame of mind. But India did not allow itself to be demoralized. Rather India moved ahead with a proactive approach with public participation...... 

 Friends, It would not be advisable to judge India's success with that of another country. In a country which is home to 18 percent of the world population, that country has saved humanity from a big disaster by containing corona effectively. 

In the initial period of Corona, we were importing masks, PPE kits and test kits. Today, we are not only taking care of our domestic needs, but also serving the citizens of other countries by exporting these items. And today it is India which has also launched the world's largest corona vaccination program. 

 In the first phase, we are vaccinating our 30 million health and frontline workers. You can imagine the speed with which India is vaccinating its people. In just 12 days, India has vaccinated more than 2.3 million health workers. In the next few months, we will meet the vaccination target of about 300 million elderly and co-morbidity patients..... 

At the point in time that Modi made that speech India's cumulative total number of COVID-19 cases was est. 10,720,048 nationally, with 18,855 new cases recorded on the day. 

At 6:20pm on 29 April 2021 the Indian COVID-19 cumulative case total had reached 18,376,421 persons nationally, of which at least 204,832 had died and on that day 379,259 new infections were recorded. 

By 1 May the COVID-19 death toll has reached at least 208,330 in India.

Mainstream media is reporting that the Indian health system has broken down, its COVID-19 statistics are no longer reliable, the vaccination rate has fallen, people are dying in hospital corridors, on roads and in their homes and, there are so many dead that bodies are now being cremated on city streets and in public parks. 

To an outsider looking in, it appears both the Indian national and state governments took their eyes off the predicted risk of another COVID-19 infection wave. 

Since January Indian politicians appear to have focussed instead on multiple elections scheduled for March through to April 2021, and on the political party campaigning involved. 

Indian citizens on Twitter have accused Modi of being more interested in holding large political rallies and of letting pandemic health infrastructure slide. He has insisted that Twitter remove from view in India all posts critical of his government and the party he leads. 

There is an eerie similarity between the political situation in India and the lack of sustained focus on the national COVID-19 vaccination program shown by the Morrison Government since the beginning of what is mooted to be a federal election year here in Australia. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's personal style of governing - being in continuous election campaign mode since August 2018 - is so similar to Narendra Modi's style of governing as to raise concerns. If Morrison continues to campaign rather than govern as the global pandemic escalates he risks further spread of the highly infectious COVID-19 variants - all three of which have already entered an Australia which has only est. 2 per cent of the population partially vaccinated courtesy of his government's mismanagement.

Morrison's failure to take federal responsibility for human quarantine during a global pandemic, his refusal to create dedicated Commonwealth quarantine stations and provide air transport to repatriate Australian citizens to such stations, has (over the 16 months since the pandemic first reached our shores) left more than 36,000 Australians still stranded overseas with around 4,860 considered to be vulnerable as coronavirus travel restrictions continue.

Because Morrison has never made safe and permanent provision for national quarantine, this week he refused to allow 9,000 Australians stranded in India to return home and criminalised any attempt by them to re-enter the country. This clearly demonstrates a cold ruthlessness in his ongoing determination to force the states and territories to bear the major burden, responsibility and blame with regard to the progress of the pandemic within Australian borders - while he continues with his highly stage-managed election mode campaigning. 

NOTE:

As of 2:20am on 1 May 2021 John Hopkins University had recorded 3,169,492 deaths from COVID-19 infection world wide. While the last weekly update from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 27 April stated that globally COVID-19 cases had increase for the 9th consecutive week and deaths for the 6th consecutive week. WHO also reported that highly infectious variants of the virus continue to spread and, as of 27 April 139 countries have reported the infectious UK variant of the virus, 87 countries the infectious South African variant and 54 countries the infectious Brazil & Japan variant. WHO reports that all these variants were confirmed as entering Australia.

Quotes of the Week

"Globalisation can't be just about outsourcing and low wages"   [Jeff Immelt, Chief Executive Officer General Electric, quoted in Financial Review, 26 June 2017]

“In an appearance at the University of Chicago on Monday, former President Barack Obama unloaded a relentless barrage of complete sentences in what was widely seen as a brutal attack on his successor, Donald Trump.” [Andy Borowitz writing in The New Yorker, 24 April 2017]

“Coal India—a government-back coal company–is reportedly closing 37 of its "unviable" mines in the next year to cut back on losses.

India is primed for an energy revolution. The country's ongoing economic growth has been powered by fossil fuels in the past, making it one of the top five largest energy consumers in the world. But it has also invested heavily in renewables, and the cost of solar power is now cheaper than ever. In some instances, villages in India have avoided coal-powered electricity altogether, and "leapfrogged" straight to solar power.” [ Journalist Ankita Rao writing in Motherboard, 24 June 2017]

Fairfax misleading digital headline of the week

First Australians were Indian: research was the headline posted on The Sydney Morning Herald website on Thursday 23 July 2009.

Now that isn't exactly what is in the body of the newspaper article (which rather looks to be based on a media release) and it's definitely not what is in the published research Reconstructing Indian-Australian phylogenetic link.

What the researchers appear to be asserting is that early Australians were descended from out-of-Africa migration.

The complete mtDNA sequencing indicate that both Australians and New Guineans exclusively belongs to the out-of-Africa founder types M and N, thus ultimately descended from the same African emigrants ~50 to 70 kyBP, as all other Eurasians.

The researchers, who based their finding on the particular mtDNA sequences of 8 Indians and 6 Aboriginals, are postulating a migration journey which took the ancestors of Australia's traditional owners along what is known as the southern route (Horn of Africa to the Persian/Arabian Gulf and further along the tropical coast of the Indian Ocean to southeast Asia and Australasia) ~ 60 to 50 thousand years before the present day and that migration likely occurred before or at the beginning of N group population growth in pre-history India.

Pity that The Sydney Morning Herald decided on the colourful headline, the published research deserved better.

Matthew Hayden - too big for his boots

Just in case his team mates hadn't done enough to disgrace themselves and the national team this season, Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden did his bit with his outburst this week in relation to Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Really, Hayden, like a number of his team mates, has lost the plot. And, where's Cricket Australia standing in relation to this matter? Yes, of course, it is out to lunch yet again!

There can be no ifs or buts. Hayden and his team mates need to have a good, hard look at themselves.

Despite protests and claims that their actions have been harmless Hayden and his team mates who displayed similar behaviours this season are a national disgrace.

New Labor broom sweeps away Australia-India uranium deal

What a relief! Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith announced yesterday that the Rudd Government was calling off the former Howard Government's deal to export uranium to India.

It was always a totally mad idea to send uranium to a country which has resisted signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

It's just not cricket

Bad blood between India and Australia continues in the 2008 international test cricket series, with Anil Kumble's repeated suggestion of Australian 'cheating'.

The whole sorry mess can be reduced to one sentence. A plague on both their houses.

Leopards cannot change their spots

Writing in The Sydney Morning Herald (January 8, 2008), Peter Roebuck has written what most fair dinkum Aussie cricket followers are thinking: "Ricky Ponting must be sacked as captain of the Australian cricket team."

Roebuck wrote:
"If Cricket Australia cares a fig for the tattered reputation of our national team in our national sport, it will not for a moment longer tolerate the sort of arrogant and abrasive conduct seen from the captain and his senior players over the past few days. Beyond comparison it was the ugliest performance put up by an Australian side for 20 years. The only surprising part of it is that the Indians have not packed their bags and gone home. There is no justice for them in this country, nor any manners.

That the senior players in the Australian team are oblivious to the fury they raised among many followers of the game in this country and beyond merely confirms their own narrow and self-obsessed viewpoint. Doubtless they were not exposed to the messages that poured in from distressed enthusiasts aghast to see the scenes of bad sportsmanship and triumphalism presented at the SCG during and after the Test. Pained past players rang to express their disgust (my emphasis). It was a wretched and ill-mannered display and not to be endured from any side, let alone an international outfit representing a proud sporting nation."

Comment:
Events as the SCG during the second test went from the sublime to the ridiculous. Ponting set the ball rolling with his petulant behaviour when dismissed in Australia's first innings. Previously given a "life" by an umpire's mistake, Ponting returned to the sheds after his dismissal (which, admittedly was not a clear-cut decision) and carried on like a spoilt three-year old brat.

Ponting later attempted to claim the high moral ground when he recalled Rahul Dravid because he was not sure if he had held a chance from Dravid at second slip.

However, Ponting's halo slipped again in India's second innings when he claimed a catch in the final session on day 5. Ponting also had the temerity to wave his upright index finger at the umpire on another occasion when the umpire was considering whether a ball had carried to an Australian fielder. The umpire subsequently gave the Indian batsman out - did the umpire jump, or was he pushed?

Ponting's captaincy must be terminated. No ifs. No buts. Leopards don't change their spots - Ponting's behaviour and attitude isn't something that appeared out-of-the-blue overnight.

On a final note, hands up anyone who would like to become a full time cricket umpire. Just as I thought. Although I've been critical of umpires Bucknor and Benson for their performances in the second test in an earlier post, most first-class cricket umpires do an A-1 job. Much of the decision-making by umpires must remain in their hands and on the field. Technology is not, although Channel 9's team thinks otherwise, the only solution. It is helpful in a number of aspects, but it must never replace the immediate and spontaneous actions and decisions that make the game worth going to see live at the ground.


Read Peter Roebuck's "Arrogant Ponting must be fired" at
http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/arrogant-ponting-must-be-fired-roebuck/2008/01/07/1199554571883.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Cricket: Questionable umpiring decisions spoil the Second Australia v. India Test Match

Much has been said and written about the poor performances of umpires Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Mark Benson (England) in the Second Cricket Test Match played between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground (January 2 - 6, 2008).

A number of very dubious (no, make that downright wrong) umpiring decisions favoured the home team. Ironically, Australia's Andrew Symonds who was a prominent member of the cast in the umpiring controversies was named Man of the Match. Many experienced cricket-goers are convinced Steve Bucknor was easily THE man of the Match. Well, he did make a very big impression on it!

Bucknor's time in the centre must now be drawn to a sad and sorry close. Honestly, he should have stepped aside at a time when he was on top of his game and been remembered for the fantastic contribution he made to the game.

A full report of the game and its score card is at:
http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/baggygreen/engine/match/291352.html