India, March 7 -- The pandemic was a universal, but also uniquely personal, experience.

It changed us as individuals. We all suffered loss and seclusion. As it changed individuals, it inevitably changed how they thought of their society, the world around them, and their place in it.

The prolonged economic contraction, the accelerated shift towards digital technologies, and the new culture of working remotely reshaped how we made a living.

The sense of utter incomprehension at the deep and sudden blow to our shared sense of stability led to a search for enemies. For many individuals, it became easier to blame and suspect, than to attempt to follow the science.

All this, in conscious and subconscious ways, determined how individuals vot...