In India, there are growing signs that the country is slowly exiting the second wave of the COVID crisis as people get back to work, localities lift lockdown restrictions, and markets reopen. But the second wave leaves behind a trail of devastation, loss, and widespread anger. And Indians may not have much time to enjoy a return to normalcy, as government officials are already warning of a third wave of the virus.

To discuss where things stand in India today, Milan is joined Niha Masih, a Delhi-based correspondent for the Washington Post. Niha reflects on her family’s struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental toll the pandemic has taken, and the under-reported challenges rural India faces. Plus, the two discuss the Indian government’s new vaccine policy and the political implications of the crisis for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

1. Niha Masih, “My whole family was infected in India’s devastating coronavirus surge. Not all survived,” Washington Post
2. Niha Masih and Taniya Dutta, “As India’s pandemic surge eases, a race begins to prepare for a possible next wave,” Washington Post
3. Niha Masih, “India’s coronavirus crisis spreads to its villages, where health care is hard to find,” Washington Post
4. Joanna Slater, Niha Masih, and Shams Irfan, “In an Indian city, obituaries reveal missing coronavirus deaths and untold suffering,” Washington Post
5. Joanna Slater and Niha Masih, “In India’s devastating coronavirus surge, anger at Modi grows,” Washington Post
6. Milan Vaishnav, “Will voters hold Modi to account for India’s covid-19 crisis? Don’t bet on it,” Washington Post
7. “Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan on the political and foreign policy ramifications of India's COVID second wave,” Grand Tamasha
8. “Samanth Subramanian on India’s Vaccine Conundrum,” Grand Tamasha
9. “Anup Malani on India’s COVID Second Wave,” Grand Tamasha