There has been a lot of recent foreign criticism leveled at the Indian government regarding COVID, which seems like political opportunism. Only a month or two ago, India was in a great position with respect to COVID and was regarded as having successfully managed the pandemic. Another article recently discussed on HN made clear that India enacted much more stringent mandates and containment procedures than the US ever did, for example forcing entire apartment buildings to stay indoors if even one resident tested positive.

Their current situation is not caused by outright negligence but complex factors no one understands yet. India also willingly exported more than half their vaccines to other nations, and even charged nothing for them in many cases. They could’ve certainly been more selfish and had an easier situation for themselves. It seems very premature to criticize India or its government. When they’re facing this tough situation, I don’t think it’s appropriate for poorly informed outsiders to assail a nation blindly - it feels gross to me.

Another way to look at this is that just as people here in America (activists, journalists, politicians) allege Russian interference in elections and the threat of foreign actors in social media, the Indian government and much of its citizenry are wary of interference and propaganda emerging largely from the West. It’s already been quite apparent when you look at the cringeworthy segments people like John Oliver run about India and its government, as well as one sided coverage of the farmers protests, and activist commentary from everyone ranging from celebrities like Rihanna to activists like Greta Thunberg.

I understand why India would take these steps to protect the integrity of their nation’s dialog. Why wouldn’t these countries be concerned about outside interference in this day and age? Surely Americans don’t have exclusive claim to fears of foreign interference. If anything this move is probably regarded as too late by people in India.