Covid Calamity in India: Rulers Lie, People Die. Now God Only Can Save You
In order to hoodwink their voters, the cruel government bosses are telling blatant lies to downplay the damaging impact of the virus.
By Rakesh Raman
As the Indian Central and State governments have completely failed to save people from coronavirus (Covid-19), now God (if He or She exists) only can save you from the lethal virus assault.
With nearly 250,000 cases (official figures) as of June 8, India has come in the list of top 5 worst-affected nations and thousands of people are dying. As the Indian governments have realized that they will not be able to stop the nationwide damage from the disease, they have chosen to ignore it.
Still, in order to hoodwink their voters, the cruel government bosses are telling blatant lies to downplay the damaging impact of the virus. They are sharing understated data about Covid cases and deaths.
As I have been closely monitoring the Covid crisis, I sent the following letter to Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India and others on June 3, 2020 to know the real Covid status.
As expected, the minister could not provide the actual information on the following queries that I had sent. Obviously, the data being released by the government cannot be trusted as it is trying to understate the number of cases and deaths from coronavirus.
My letter is given below. [ You can also click here to download the letter. ]
To
Dr. Harsh Vardhan
Union Minister
Mr. Lav Agarwal
Joint Secretary
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
Government of India
Mr. Balram Bhargava
Director General
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
New Delhi
June 3, 2020
Copy for Information and Necessary Action: Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO)
Editorial Inputs on Covid Crisis
Dear Dr. Harsh Vardhan,
I am a journalist and founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation. Earlier, I had been associated with the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert.
Among other editorial projects, these days I also publish “Covid Health Bulletin” magazine that covers global coronavirus (Covid-19) news and views. As I am planning to write an article on the status of coronavirus in India, please send me your response on the following queries.
- While coronavirus cases are increasing rapidly in India, you are taking a false solace by diverting the people’s attention to mortality rate. How do you calculate the mortality rate? If your denominator is the population of India which is nearly 1.4 billion, the mortality rate will always be low for any disease. But do you agree that this is a misleading indicator that you should never mention?
- In advanced countries such as the U.S. where Covid data fraud is not rampant, nearly 6% of the infected people die. Going by this measure, at least 12,000 people would have died in India as you officially report about 200,000 cases and only 5,600 deaths as of June 3. Why are you reporting less number of deaths in relation to the number of cases?
- How will you ensure the accuracy of Covid data when there are reports of data mismatch between the number of deaths reported by the government and the records available at the burial / cremation grounds which show significantly more deaths?
- Do you agree that the Indian government does not have any firm plan to save the Indians from Covid infection, as the government is randomly announcing lockdowns and relaxations? Can you release the empirical / scientific evidence publicly that supports your decisions about imposing lockdowns and lifting the restrictions?
- How do you enforce social-distancing, face masking, and other requisite guidelines among citizens after lifting lockdown restrictions, as there are blatant violations which will result in a large number of deaths in the country?
- What cost-benefit analysis have you done before lifting lockdown restrictions, as the eventual healthcare costs may be dramatically higher than the gains accrued by reopening the economy during the pandemic?
- What is your plan and what arrangements have you made to deal with the next wave of Covid pandemic which – according to global health experts – is expected during and after July 2020 and in which millions of Indians will get infected?
- As a large number of Covid cases and deaths are being predicted in India in the next few months, are you making arrangements for mass cremation / burial of dead bodies?
- As there is hardly any coordination between the Central and State governments of India, can you make a national plan taking into consideration the situation in each State?
- So far, the Indian government has delivered only political rhetoric without suggesting any actionable steps to deal with the Covid pandemic. Can you reveal your Covid-prevention actions that could be quantified transparently?
- The government claims that it has saved many lives by taking lockdown decisions. But this is a notional claim which cannot be measured. Why do you have to make such misleading and deceptive claims?
- As millions of Indians are expected to get infected with coronavirus and hundreds of thousands of people are expected to die, do you agree that the inaction, falsehood, and negligence of Indian politicians and bureaucrats amount to crimes against humanity for which they should be punished?
- Why Indian politicians and bureaucrats have to work in jobs where they have to constantly tell lies that harm their fellow citizens? Can’t they quit these dishonest jobs and work for the betterment of humanity and strive to improve the quality of life for every citizen?
- While the Central as well as State governments do not have a professional information platform to inform about the Covid status and the steps to tackle it, can you take expert advice to create an integrated interactive platform to present real-time Covid content for all the States? With the help of flowcharts and interactive content, this platform should clearly inform about the Covid testing centers, quarantining facilities, availability of doctors, hospital beds, ventilators, and so on.
- You can add any other information that you think is relevant.
Please send me your response to the above queries by Friday, June 5, 2020.
My previous email dated May 21, 2020 is also attached for your reference.
[ The latest issue of Covid Health Bulletin is also attached for your reference. ]
Contact
Rakesh Raman
Raman Media Network [ Website ]
463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16
Sector 4, Dwarka, Phase I
New Delhi 110 078, INDIA
