US-INDIA GLOBAL REVIEW JUL-SEP 2020

29 US-INDIA GLOBAL REVIEW JULY-SEPTEMBER 2020 don’t know/no opinion. That phone/online surveys,, say India watchers, means the sur- veys leave out vast masses of the population who do not have phones or computers, and that could include large sections of the migrant workers left bereft and on the highways, even suffering casu- alties in their desperate attempt to go back to their villages when the lockdown was declared with almost immediate effect. Going past the agreement on how representative or not the Morning Consult poll was, those interviewed by News India Times differed on how popular Modi might be, based on their different perceptions of what has been transpiring in India vis-a-vis COVID-19. According to the figures on Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 dashboard, as of May 21, 2020, the total confirmed cases of COVID in the world were 5,101,400, of which U.S. held the largest share of more than 1.5 million, and India just 18,226. Global deaths stood at 332,876, with U.S. deaths at 94,688, and those in India at 3,584. So far, India is doing something right, which may explain Modi’s popularity. “Prime Minister Modi has han- dled the COVID pandemic very, very skillfully, with perfect timing, and the complete lockdown,” said Padma Shri Dr. Sudhir Parikh, publisher of News India Times. “In a country of 1.3 billion where the majority have very small spaces to live in and even the middle class has five to six people in a family occupying some 1,200 sq. ft. on average, he was able to keep the infections, hospitaliza- tions, and deaths, down, even if it required deploying police and paramilitary forces,” he added. The plight of migrant workers was very sad, Dr. Parikh said, and felt the Government of India should have followed President Donald Trump and the U.S. Congress’ COVID-19 relief pack- age – the Paycheck Protection Program or PPP. “It was the lack of coordination with the states,” by New Delhi. “But now they are han- dling it and providing shelter and food to these workers,” he said. Despite India’s relatively impressive performance on the COVID fatalities front, there are naysayers, second-guessers, and doubters, says Professor of Communication at Columbus State University in Georgia Ramesh Rao. He closely tracks Western media coverage of India, which he claims has a largely anti-Hindu bias. Prof. Rao echoed the views of Dr. Parikh, on why the Morning Consult poll reflected public opin- ion in India. “The Indian government and Prime Minister Modi had one of the most challenging tasks com- pared to other leaders in the world. Managing such a densely populated, large, messy democra- cy with political opponents not just nipping at their heels but indulging in gamesmanship,” Rao said, adding that Modi had stepped up to the plate and put the whole country under lock and key, understanding they would be damned if they did and damned if they didn’t. “The Indian people, the large majority of them, have paid heed, and they are showing that under strong and steady hands they are ready to be guided,” Rao contend- ed. According to Professor Gyan Prakash of Princeton, the Morning Consult poll was skewed to middle class Indians. “To begin with, inter- net penetration in India is at best Morning Consult line graph and bar graph re approval rating of national leaders showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tops the list. Photo: courtesy Morning Consult