Chinmay Tumbe: Why pandemics, economics and politics will always be inter-connected

Every pandemic which tore through the Indian subcontinent like in 2020, brought businesses to a standstill. In 1907, India’s GDP contracted by 5 percent due to the impact on agriculture. One of the biggest shocks was felt in 1918, when India’s GDP fell by 10 percent, which, coupled with high inflation, created a classic case of supply-side shock as 20 million Indians lost their lives that year. The Age of Pandemics by Chinmay Tumbe argues the close connection between pandemics, economics and politics that have shaped Indian history in this period and why we need to give a central role to pandemics.