Suspicions that UP has been fudging its Covid-19 data abound from anecdotal facts on the ground – masses of bodies floating in rivers, the numbers at the funeral ghats -- and the visibly parlous condition of health infrastructure in the state. Omkar Goswami offers an explanation of the fudge here. UP’s data fiddles only highlights the larger picture of serial mis-steps by India’s political leadership that have caused the tragedy of the second wave. India can redeem itself only by transforming our health outcomes by Diwali, writes Naushad Forbes and sets out the principles we must follow