The influential work of Thomas Piketty, Teacher of Economics at Paris-based School of Advanced Researches in the Social Sciences and at the Paris School of Economics and Co-Director at the World Inequality Lab and World Inequality Database, is particularly significant at the present minute, when the very first wave of the devastating human toll of the continuous COVID-19 pandemic has actually been followed by the second wave of its severe financial consequences, including loss of livelihoods, internal displacement and hunger amongst the poor in India and somewhere else.
Both in the fight against COVID-19 and in the broader context of making social investments and lowering inequality, “big variations” continue across India, says Prof. Piketty. “India has to come to terms with its issue of inequality,” he said in an interview to The Hindu, adding that the political mobilisation to bring about a significant modification could emerge from a crisis such as the pandemic.
