ABSTRACT
In the recent global history of constitutional democracies, it is difficult to name a single crisis that has plagued them simultaneously, until the COVID-19 pandemic. It presented an opportunity for crisis management without compromising principles of democratic governance and human rights guarantees. Some countries marginally succeeded in this test while in others, concerns about democratic decline and rights erosion were amplified. India unfortunately belongs to the latter camp. This chapter argues that four features define the Indian response to COVID-19: lack of transparency, executive monopoly, suppression of civil liberties and reckless management. The executive perpetuated a rule of secrecy by announcing lockdowns belatedly, setting up an opaque relief fund and promoting misinformation on crucial aspects of the pandemic response. During the crisis period, India witnessed a concentration of powers at the centre, with very little role for the states and other players in decision making. Legislative and judicial accountability suffered patent setbacks. Further, the government succeeded in curtailing human rights, including the right to political mobilisation and speech, through arrests, vilification and propaganda. The country needs to revive the principles of transparency, accountability and protection of human rights, to resist the sliding away of democracy.
