Prominent individuals look at the Covid-19 scenario and visualize the way forward for the nation. –EDITOR
Science fiction writer Kim Stanley opines that what was felt impossible becomes thinkable and this would start rewriting our imaginations amidst the outbreak of Covid-19. Many, including WHO, have warned that this virus could cause havoc across the globe. There were errors in the way this situation was handled in the beginning. It is now time to see how to retrieve the situation and get back to normal life.
After the detection of the first COVID case in this country in January, the first few weeks did not see any preventive action. Turning a deaf ear to dire warnings about COVID, Prime Minister Narendra Modi went ahead with holding gala events like the Namaste Trump and also went in for an extension of the Parliament sessions. Worse, the government did not stop international flight arrivals. These proved costly. It is also significant that the lockdown was announced only by March 24, after a calculated wait to see that the toppling game in Madhya Pradesh was complete!
Also, the way the central government handled the issue — by asking people to clap and light lamps, getting the Navy to put on lights on its ships and asking for a shower of flower petals on hospitals — was utterly ridiculous and a waste of money and resources. Then came the abrupt announcement of the lockdown. The migrant labour was unaware of its implications. With no money even for a square meal a day, they started a journey along the highways with women carrying their children on one hand and holding the other belongings on their heads and shoulders. This desperate exodus from cities to far-flung native villages reminded us of the Partition days of 1947.
While the privileged people both within and outside the country was handled with care, precaution and speed at the cost of the state exchequer, the migrant workers were treated with apathy and contempt. This made a mockery of the claim that India is a socialist country. These migrant labourers formed the backbone of the country, as they push the engines of growth and build infrastructure like the highways. Ironically, they trudged long distances through these highways in these times to reach back their villages.
Strangely, the ruling BJP and its allies put the entire blame for COVID spread on the Tabligi Jamaat gathering in Delhi. This was to cover up the government’s failures evident in the Trump Namaste event etc. The Muslims here should thank their stars as the virus did not originate in the Gulf. Else, the communal forces here would have made a bigger hue and cry against the minorities. If this trend of religious-bashing continues, I wonder what would happen to the Scheduled Castes and the other downtrodden who have since ages been treated with contempt in this society.
About the way forward: It’s high time we begin to think as to why there has been a mere 2 per cent budget allocation for health and a 20 per cent allocation for defence, while our main enemy is within the country, in the form of poverty. As Nobel Prize-winning economists like Amartya Sen, Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo advocate, poverty can be more dangerous than a virus.
Let’s rise above the sectarian feelings and start giving money and food immediately to the 60 per cent of the Indian population. This will not only take care of the national economy, hard-hit as it is now, but also increase the immunity levels of the poor to combat the COVID menace successfully by way of enhancing their buying capacity.
The writer is a former Member of Parliament.