Jair Bolsonaro, Donald Trump and Narendra Modi are considered modern Pied Pipers of Hamelin

It is quite normal to blame disaster on our stars, on our fate. However, Coronavirus shows us it is not our stars but our leaders who are responsible for where we have reached in our response to the global Coronavirus pandemic. Now do not argue that getting leaders is also a matter of fate. Sensible societies are expected to behave sensibly. Sadly, the Coronavirus shows us, some of our societies and nations are not sensible.

Two days back, India received the dubious distinction of becoming the country with the third highest number of Coronavirus positive cases. Only the United States and Brazil are ahead of us.

At present with seven lakh plus cases, India is half-way behind Brazil. With sixteen lakh cases, Brazil is halfway behind the United States. While the United States is galloping ahead with an average fifty thousand cases per day, Brazil and India are neck and neck with about twenty-two thousand cases every day. It looks like the epoch between nations will be maintained for some time to come.

However, countries where the Coronavirus had earlier caused devastation – China, Italy, Spain, Iran – have managed to flatten the curve. In these countries cases have reduced, deaths have been contained. Some countries like New Zealand and Vietnam, with hardly any new cases or deaths in weeks, have almost managed to contain the Coronavirus.

The question therefore is what is common between India, Brazil, United States – where above a quarter of the world population lives? While these countries, even continents, have different political, economic, and social systems, they all have populist leaders who are heading dysfunctional democratic systems. Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro and Narendra Modi are considered modern Pied Pipers of Hamelin with immense sway on their core constituencies that is influenced enough to bring them to power.

Trump, Bolsonaro, and Modi pushed themselves into national politics to rid the system of corrupt elite who pandered to self-interest and pampered minority groups at the expense of the majority who they project as marginalised in the nation. They are egotistic and confident in their own knowledge with little need for consultation, deliberation, or expert advice.

To retain their image as caring and to maintain their support base, out of electoral considerations, they offer schemes for the poor that are generally popular but remain poorly executed on the ground. Finally, they all promote the interests of big corporates. They all intensely dislike any criticism of their performance. They intimidate media and co-opt sections of mainstream media as the mouthpiece for their achievements.

While all three leaders and their governments were initially in denial about the Coronavirus, they finally woke up to the possibility of its rampant spread but in that too they tried to project themselves as the messiah for the masses.

While imposing strict back to back lock-downs with a mere four-hour notice, Modi compared the pandemic to the Mahabharata and sought 21 days to contain the Coronavirus. While the Coronavirus was upon us, Modi’s lock-down triggered the migration on foot of tens of lakhs migrant workers from the cities to their villages thousands of kilometers away.

This was a double disaster for the poor and distressed people of the nation. In the meantime Modi kept the urban population busy with meaningless actions like clapping, banging plates and ringing bells, lighting candles, lamps, torches, and even mobile flashlights.

The idea was not to deal with the Coronavirus or help the poor but to project himself as the hero who fought the pandemic. Meanwhile unlike other nations who contained the Coronavirus by ramping up medical facilities, helping their citizens with economic aid, India kept waiting week after week until now when the pandemic has become unmanageable. Yet, owing to the stalled economy, Modi has announced unlock and dumped the responsibility of managing the pandemic on the individual states.

Similarly, Bolsonaro and Trump first denied the Coronavirus. Trump said it will go away. Bolsonaro said it was a small flu. As cases and fatalities mounted, they became hostile to the pandemic. They blamed it on China and WHO. They still do not wear a simple mask that is now universally considered the first line of prevention along with washing hands and maintaining physical distancing. In fact, they frown upon these measures.

It is true that even after six-months we do not know enough about the Coronavirus. It is also true that the world will take a few more months to develop a vaccine. That is why it was important that we had leadership that led by example but sadly we are now paying the price because of inept, self-absorbed leadership.

With major competitive sporting events like the Olympics in Japan being called off this year, in a bizarre metaphor, the word is that India has guaranteed itself a bronze in the Coronavirus Olympics. There cannot be a more damning indictment of the leadership in India, Brazil and United States than the daily case count that appears every day on the Internet. Even if the numbers are hugely under-reported and highly questionable – another feature of non-transparent government and leaders.

Also Read: Unlearnt lessons from Demonetization haunt response to Covid-19 Contagion

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