A MERE THREE months ago India was starting to feel good about itself. The wave of covid-19 that crested in the autumn seemed to be ebbing away. True, the virus had stolen lives and battered livelihoods, but now schools were reopening, friends were getting together and a looming season of state elections promised a return to normal politics. Best of all for many in a cricket-mad country, India's team had just roared back from a rocky start to snatch victory over a fierce rival, Australia. Addressing university students in late January, Narendra Modi, the prime minister, drew parallels between cricketing glory and his government's war on covid, noting that both situations presented challenges that required a positive mindset. "With made-in-India solutions, we controlled the spread of the virus and improved our health infrastructure," he boasted. "Our vaccine research and production capacity have given a shield not just to India but to many other countries in the world." In February Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) passed a resolution hailing him as a visionary who had "defeated" covid-19.
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