The Dichotomies of Management and Governance in the COVID-19 Pandemic

This chapter studies the Government’s response to the pandemic in terms of lockdown, provision of health care, and vaccination as a preventive measure. It analyses how these responses were distinct between different segments of society – rich and poor, formal and informal, urban and rural, and well-connected and ill-connected. The chapter uses two theoretical lenses for analysis: ‘Rawls’ Difference Principle’ – social and economic inequality leading to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged members of society;and ‘Elite Capture and Political Clientelism’ – powerful elite influencing public policy and public benefits being privatized in return of political support. A brief analysis of lockdown showed how the Government priorities were skewed against migrant workers and informal economy. Similarly, the provision of COVID-19 health care is bound to be lagging in rural areas considering the shortfalls in health facilities and human resources in rural areas. The vaccination drive in the country also demonstrated Government’s lack of urgency at one end and vaccine hesitancy of the citizens at the other. By bringing in theoretical underpinning to these phenomena, the chapter argues that learnings from these understanding would be helpful in management and governance of the current and future waves of the pandemic or such similar disaster. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Indranil De, Soumyadip Chattopadhyay, Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan, and Kingshuk Sarkar;individual chapters, the contributors.