It was a scene which will forever be etched in the memory of millions the world over: on May 25 2020, on a street in Minneapolis, US a white police officer Derek Chauvin, had his knee pressed down on the neck of a black American George Floyd. This continued for more than nine minutes. An excruciating bystander video(which immediately went viral the world over)shows Floyd gasping and repeatedly begging, “I can’t breathe” and onlookers yelling at Chauvin to stop; the officer did not relent till Floyd slowly went silent and limp. The widely watched footage sparked worldwide protests: of anger, anguish and agony. People from all walks of life came out (including some Indian celebrities), social media went berserk; there was just one spontaneous, unanimous and loud cry, “get off our necks, we want to breath!”. On 20 April this year, Chauvin was found guilty of murder (and is likely to face a long prison sentence) in a verdict which brought a sigh of relief to many!
The ‘George Floyd’ tragedy is painfully unfolding in India today. Not one George, but millions of Indians, who today are deep in anguish, gripped in agony and seething with anger. The vast majority of them are ordinary citizens – many of them from poor and vulnerable sections of society. They are crying about a system that has completely broken down: of those who are affected by the pandemic : thousands are dying, many in major cities throughout the country have no access to a hospital bed, oxygen or a ventilator; necessary medication, oximetres and even vaccines are scarce. Ambulances are not available; there are heart-rending scenes of serpentine queues outside crematoria of those waiting to cremate their loved ones; burial grounds are becoming ‘houseful’. Private hospitals charge exorbitant amounts – corruption(thanks to a heartless regime) is mainstreamed: be it in the selling of essential medicines in the black-market or in the manufacture of fake imitation drugs. The Public Health System has just collapsed: doctors, nurses, hospital support staff and other caregivers who have been working round the clock and are simply exhausted. The Government has failed on all fronts; it has not only proved to the world that it cannot govern, it has conveniently abdicated their responsibility. It has never been so bad. The cry of the people of India today is, “get off our necks, we need to breathe!”
For the last few days an online petition on ‘change.org’ has been going viral, with an all-time high popularity rating. It demands the immediate resignation of the Prime Minister. The originator of the petition Mrunal Mathuria, a concerned citizen, says “the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic caught India totally off-guard. As I write this, many are losing their lives, countless are struggling for beds in hospitals, myriads struggling for oxygen and there are untold stories of the deceased not finding a place in the crematoria. The collapsed healthcare system of the country is brutally exposed at the cost of millions of innocent lives”. He goes on to add, “This is the time when any person in the position of power should take responsibility for the mess that has been created under his supervision and resign but our power-hungry Prime Minister won’t resign by himself and it is of utmost importance that we citizens come together and demand his resignation at the earliest and at any lives”. He also highlights ten “heinous acts committed by our Prime Minister in the past one year.”
Mathuria voices the concerns and demand of millions of Indians. The #ResignModi hashtag has been one of the top trending on Twitter for the past several days- particularly, since the Bengal Election results were announced. At one time, Facebook too had many such posts but it soon blocked posts tagged #ResignModi; however these posts were restored hours later, as a controversy erupted whether it was the government’s demand to remove social media content critical of the way the Covid crisis is being handled. The petition is fast racing to the 100,000 mark – a goal which Mathuria has given himself; there is no doubt that he will achieve it. Writing in Bloomberg/ Quint Priya Ramani says, “The support for Mathuria’s petition is the cry of a nation breathless from the lack of oxygen, one that is in the midst of a ‘viral apocalypse’. It’s a timely outlet for the rage and despair of citizens who have been forced to consider what our lives are worth to this government we twice-elected.”
‘The Lancet’ the world’s best-known medical journal in its latest issue (Vol 397 May 8, 2021) says in a scathing editorial, “At times, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Government has seemed more intent on removing criticism on Twitter than trying to control the pandemic. Despite warnings about the risks of super spreader events, the government allowed religious festivals to go ahead, drawing millions of people from around the country, along with huge political rallies—conspicuous for their lack of COVID-19 mitigation measures…. Modi’s actions in attempting to stifle criticism and open discussion during the crisis are inexcusable. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that India will see a staggering 1 million deaths from COVID-19 by Aug 1. If that outcome were to happen, Modi’s Government would be responsible for presiding over a self-inflicted national catastrophe.” Any thinking citizen of India would hang his/her head down in shame and demand that this Government resigns immediately.
On 4 May celebrated writer and activist Arundhati Roy wrote a direct but powerful appeal to the Prime Minister saying, “We need a government. Desperately. And we don’t have one. We are running out of air. We are dying. We don’t have systems in place to know what to do with help hand. What can be done? Right here, right now? We cannot wait till 2024. Never would people like myself have imagined the day would come when we would find ourselves appealing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for anything. Personally, I would rather have gone to prison than do that. But today, as we die in our homes, on the streets, in hospital car parks, in big cities, in small towns, in villages and forests and fields – I, an ordinary private citizen, am swallowing my pride to join millions of my fellow citizens in saying please sir, please, step aside. At least for now. I beseech you, step down”. She ends the letter saying, “So please go. It is the most responsible thing for you to do. You have forfeited the moral right to be our prime minister”.
On 9 May 1945, the Nazis surrendered; the day is observed as ‘Victory Day’ . The people of India today live in a failed state and demand their own ‘victory day’! It is time to rise and hold the regime responsible for crimes against humanity. We, the people of India refuse to be throttled any longer: we need to breathe!

Fr Cedric Prakash SJ