One of India’s leading publishers, Pan Macmillan India announced on Wednesday the launch of Vinay Lal’s ‘The Fury of COVID-19: The Politics, Histories and Unrequited Love of the Coronavirus’. In the official tweet, the published said that the book gives an insight into the economic and environmental impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic. It also said that the author investigates the cultural, social, and political aspects of the pandemic.
Vijay Lal is a Professor of History at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Lal has written a number of books on modern Indian and global history, mainly covering the social, political, and economic aspects. His documentation of the COVID-19 in India is an important treatise from a historical viewpoint, not simply because of the rarity of the occasion, but also because the wide of range of problems that have arisen in India due to the pandemic. Very rarely in history do we find human beings so helpless against nature.
The COVID-19 Crisis in India
Originating in Wuhan City, China, the Coronavirus Pandemic is currently active in over 200 countries. India is among the worst-hit nations, along with the US, Russia, Brazil, and Spain. The virus has claimed more than 116,000 lives in the country, out of 7.7 million infected. However, the problems arising during the pandemic have been quite unique in India.
There have been instancing of communal violence against a particular community during the beginning of the nationwide lockdown in late March. The far-right extremist groups accused the Tablighi Jamaat of ‘intentionally’ spreading the virus. On the other hand, the fear among the people resulted in attacks on doctors in many parts of the country.
And as if the virus wasn’t enough a tragedy, there reports of medical scams orchestrated by hospitals and diagnostic centers. Then there was the political tussle between the central government and the non-BJP ruled states. However, the biggest problem, other than the virus killing the people, was the migrant crisis.
The sudden and complete lockdown across the country struck like nothing less than a bolt of lightning to the migrant workers. Workers, especially from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, were forced to re-migrate as they had no work or money to survive. Hundreds of thousands of workers had to walk back to their villages from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, etc. Many of them died on their way home, suffering injuries, and state hostility.
The Fury of COVID-19 is now available on Amazon.
Check out the blog on what makes a good story
Noman Shaikh is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Bombay Reads. He grew up in Mumbai, a city he loves more than any other, and currently works as a content consultant. His expertise lies in creating high-quality academic and marketing content in the form of blogs, articles, op-eds, etc. Noman has worked with reputed brands, including Economic Times (through Spiral Media), Coinbase (through MattsenKumar), AdEngage, Della Group, GBIM Technologies, VAP Group, etc. For his published portfolio, click here. Contact Noman on noman@bombayreads for engagement.