The corona pandemic has taken everyone by surprise. But in India, it has not made the system collapse, rather it has exposed that we did not have a system worth the name to begin with. Here is a quick list of what else we have learnt about ourselves, our leaders and the state of our countrymen and the nation in the past two months...
The pandemic has shown that this country has nothing in place; that there are no set procedures in place about what to do to ensure that everyone has at least food and shelter, no matter what the emergency. That the government did not even know that the migrant labour force would have problems; forget the labourers, they did not think it even necessary to allow people -- salaried people, business people -- who were away from home for whatever reason, to get back home, before the start of the lockdown. Shopkeepers were not allowed to go to close down their shops, switch off the lights, turn off the air condition, office people were not allowed to go back and get their essential files needed to work from home, trucks and trains were left stranded in the middle of their journeys,.. one wonders how such things can be allowed in a democratic set up. You can keep wondering, but it will not help,
The pandemic has shown that this country has nothing in place; that there are no set procedures in place about what to do to ensure that everyone has at least food and shelter, no matter what the emergency. That the government did not even know that the migrant labour force would have problems; forget the labourers, they did not think it even necessary to allow people -- salaried people, business people -- who were away from home for whatever reason, to get back home, before the start of the lockdown. Shopkeepers were not allowed to go to close down their shops, switch off the lights, turn off the air condition, office people were not allowed to go back and get their essential files needed to work from home, trucks and trains were left stranded in the middle of their journeys,.. one wonders how such things can be allowed in a democratic set up. You can keep wondering, but it will not help,
No, the great man likes high drama and his whims must be entertained!
That 3-week long total lockdown (which was extended by another 3) with just 4 hours notice was the biggest mistake any leader could have committed. The man has to be brought to account for all the misery, all the suffering, he should be made to resign, made to apologise, and made to pay for his actions, at the very least. But there is no opposition, there is no one who can pose a threat to the great man, so we shall have him for as long as he wants to stay there...
In those initial couple of days after the announcement of the lockdown, people tried to understand what had happened and make sense of it, for themselves; Those who could went inside their own homes and stayed there. Even the government. Only the journalists kept reporting as the disaster began to unfold slowly. The government watched, did nothing. If trains could start after 50 days, they could have started right then. But no, they watched as the poor lost their jobs, were evicted from their homes and had no choice but to start their long track back home on foot.
Very slowly some people started to get their act together -- the film industry started doing something for their own people. But not many others followed -- I had imagined at least the absolutely rich ones like cricketers and industrialists would take similar steps to protect those they employ, but not much was heard. Maybe they expected the government to act. But the government just set up the two PM/CM CARES Fund and waited for the money to pour in. The state governments were left to arrange for the food and accommodation of the poor homeless as best they could. But they had not asked for the lockdown, they were not consulted, they did not know it was coming, they had not prepared for it, they were taken unawares, just like everyone else.
The big industrialists (and those construction moghuls), who employ most of the migrant labour force thought only about themselves and their own interests -- if the factories and construction sites are shut, why should they pay their employees. Throw them out. Leave them to fend for themselves. The Indian labour laws are such that there was no way they could be made to take care of their own people. Or maybe there are laws which were not enforced because the industrialists have friends in all the high places. So no one raised a voice (except for a few civil society organisations of Yogendra Yadav and others) and watched mutely as disaster unfolded. The Delhi and Maharashtra governments tried their best to cope with the situation but the dimension of the whole problem completely overwhelmed them -- and they could not do much more than just trouble shoot.
And in all this while the disease spread and spread in the densely populated shelter homes that were put up for the lucky ones among those rendered homeless, and among those who were crowded into their friends little room, or among those who were packing themselves in, as thin as possible, in trucks and tempos, to get a ride for part of the way to their homes thousands of kilometres away. So much so that by the time the trains started again, 50 days later, most of them had got the disease; this meant that by this one stroke of transporting migrants back home, the disease is now being transported to every nook and corner of the country, even to all those places where the disease had not been able to get in so far.
If the Tablighi Muslim fanatics were to blame for spreading the virus in the initial stage to various parts of India, it is the Indian government and its idiocy that is to blame for spreading the virus to ALL parts of India now. And while the Tablighis are in jail, our revered leaders are still being prayed to and showered with veneration and adulation. 'Don't you see that the man who is almost 70 and in the high risk category himself is doing so much for the nation, and not bothering about himself,' a friend told me recently. My answer to that is, if you are the nation's PM then you are obliged to work for the people, no one is asking you to stay if you feel you are too old for the job. Make way.
If the Tablighi Muslim fanatics were to blame for spreading the virus in the initial stage to various parts of India, it is the Indian government and its idiocy that is to blame for spreading the virus to ALL parts of India now. And while the Tablighis are in jail, our revered leaders are still being prayed to and showered with veneration and adulation. 'Don't you see that the man who is almost 70 and in the high risk category himself is doing so much for the nation, and not bothering about himself,' a friend told me recently. My answer to that is, if you are the nation's PM then you are obliged to work for the people, no one is asking you to stay if you feel you are too old for the job. Make way.
But be that as it may, the hapless desperate migrants have a right to go home, and should go home, no one can stop them from going. Especially from places that have treated them so badly in the last weeks. But it is then and only then that those heartless industrialists suddenly heard the alarm bells ringing -- who will work in the construction sites and factories if all the people go home -- they have to be stopped. And idiot CMs like the one in Bangalore even listened to them and agreed to stop them by trying to cancel the trains. Thank God it did not work. While I am unhappy that the future of India's industries look very bleak now, post covid and given the fact that they will not be able to get going anytime soon without the necessary labour available, I really hope they have learnt their lesson -- this is what one gets when one treats the labour force not as fellow humans but something like water or electricity, that can we switched on and off to save money when not in use. And I hope that when the migrants return next time, they make sure they will demand a safety net and also better conditions and assurances, before they start working again.
The Sikhs are the only group who has consistently and without press cameras, helped everyone from day one, to running mass langars to bandaging the feet of the tired and hurt migrants; Many have come forward to show solidarity with the pain, misery and hunger of the millions who have suddenly found themselves completely forgotten. Ordinary middle class people in towns and cities have come together and tried to provide food for their hungry neighbours as best they could. Actor Sonu Sood has been single-handedly providing buses for migrants in Mumbai to go home. In the middle of the crisis, those who have very little have shared with those who have nothing; people along the highways have done what they could to feed people and to help the walking masses; the policemen have also tried to help although they have been quite brutal at other places with people violating lockdowns. All this shows that humanity is not dead in our country.
But that is only as far as the people are concerned. What we forget in all of this is that if our government had done its bit, then none of all of this would have been necessary in the first place. Civil society and individuals have struggled to fill the immense void which the non-performance of the government had left. And it has also shown that even besides the callousness of the leaders, the whole system itself is in dire need of an overhaul. Our healthcare system does not exist. And those helpline numbers and PPE kits and special hospitals that are being set up, are all avenues for our leaders to make more money. It is all so obnoxious. There is a labour department who has no idea how many migrants there are, and whatever labour laws existed have been relaxed now in the BJP ruled states to make it easier for the employers to exploit their workers. There is an employment department who has no records of how many people will be unemployed because of the lockdown; we have an industries department who is not able to enforce its laws and regulations for the safety and protection of all the industrial workers....we have a social welfare department, a rural welfare department, a skills enhancement department, many other departments but the truth is that nobody --not even the officers who man these departments -- has a clue about what these departments are good for. And now that millions of people are homeless, jobless and exhausted, they can expect no help from anyone...they are on their own.
But what did all the salaried middle class and affluent upper class do, after the initial stunned impact had worn off -- treat the lockdown as a welcome paid holiday to enjoy at home with family, cooking exotic dishes, baking, making videos of workouts, singing, whatever, completely oblivious to the human catastrophe that is around. Their only complaint -- we have to do all the housework ourselves now that the Bais are not allowed to come. Ask how many of them have paid their Bais and drivers during the last months when they were asked not to come to work, the answers will surprise you.
And if that is not enough, look at how we treat our 'Covid warriors' -- as long as we are required to clap hands or pans or shower flowers, we are fine, but the moment they become 'real' -- if they live in our block, then of course they and their family have to be treated like lepers -- and shooed away. And look at how we are treating those who have got the disease or died from it -- no, the dead bodies are discarded like garbage... what is wrong with us...why do we behave like this... do we not realise that tomorrow, if God forbid, we get the disease and die, we shall get the same treatment?
And these self-important petty government clerks who worked in the DC office, they all got themselves EMERGENCY ESSENTIAL SERVICE stickers to put on their cars, simply because they could. The Police started beating up people and doing push ups for violating lock down without bothering to find out why the people were outside. The big babus and their friends got themselves ferried from one town to another with police protection, for no bigger reason that they wanted to spend the lockdown period with their children. Our Babus, the big IAS/IPS officers violated all home quarantine rules when it came to their own children, returning from abroad. Our politicians relished flouting all social distancing norms when it came to making a huge spectacle to distributing largesse to their constituency. It does look as if we really get a kick out of being lucky to have some special privileges, and use them, simply because we can.
And these self-important petty government clerks who worked in the DC office, they all got themselves EMERGENCY ESSENTIAL SERVICE stickers to put on their cars, simply because they could. The Police started beating up people and doing push ups for violating lock down without bothering to find out why the people were outside. The big babus and their friends got themselves ferried from one town to another with police protection, for no bigger reason that they wanted to spend the lockdown period with their children. Our Babus, the big IAS/IPS officers violated all home quarantine rules when it came to their own children, returning from abroad. Our politicians relished flouting all social distancing norms when it came to making a huge spectacle to distributing largesse to their constituency. It does look as if we really get a kick out of being lucky to have some special privileges, and use them, simply because we can.
So I don't know who I dislike more -- our leaders in government for having utterly failed its citizens when they needed help most, or the likes of me who are just so small-minded that we cannot look beyond our own noses. We have to be safe, to hell with everyone else...
The final lesson is that we are a nation that loves high drama and a good story, we are all very good at thinking with our hearts, at feeling sorry and crying to see the plight of the migrants, feel very patriotic about our brave covid warriors who are fighting this battle for us, we are good at doing useless things -- banging plates, lighting diyas and and showering flowers -- for some idealised cause, but let it come closer, let it touch us, the moment we need to make a decision, we need to stand up to something, then we are lost, what should you do if someone in your neighbourhood gets covid, what should you do if your driver comes knocking at your door looking completely haggard and ill, what to do with a dead body, or with a doctor or nurse or policeman who lives in your locality...then we have no clue, not just that, we will then hesitate to take action, and then later find fault with what was done.
We love good stories, so while we are all praise for our wonderful health minister who is working round the clock to create capacity to treat covid patients, we forget that that is his job and that he would have not had to work so hard if he had done his homework properly, or even used the many years he has been health minister to create a better health care system in the state. What is more, we are also good at one-off shows of solidarity -- so a one-time payment to the PM cares fund, a one-time effort at a webinar to discuss the plight of the migrant worker, etc. what we are absolutely weak in is sustained action and institution building. So while we will give a person some money if he comes asking for help, if I ask you to take responsibility to understand and help the fellow to reach a stage when he can help himself then you will back down. We like quick fixes, when the problem is at the door then we can move heaven and earth to so something, but we cannot be bothered to make sure when the going is good that the emergency systems are in place and will function as and when we need them. So till such a time as we change as people and learn that there is no point waiting for things to happen before trying to start looking for solutions, we shall have to do with make-shift hospitals in schools and stadiums and with being terrified about what could happen because we did not bother to find out how it would be while the going was good.
The final lesson is that we are a nation that loves high drama and a good story, we are all very good at thinking with our hearts, at feeling sorry and crying to see the plight of the migrants, feel very patriotic about our brave covid warriors who are fighting this battle for us, we are good at doing useless things -- banging plates, lighting diyas and and showering flowers -- for some idealised cause, but let it come closer, let it touch us, the moment we need to make a decision, we need to stand up to something, then we are lost, what should you do if someone in your neighbourhood gets covid, what should you do if your driver comes knocking at your door looking completely haggard and ill, what to do with a dead body, or with a doctor or nurse or policeman who lives in your locality...then we have no clue, not just that, we will then hesitate to take action, and then later find fault with what was done.
We love good stories, so while we are all praise for our wonderful health minister who is working round the clock to create capacity to treat covid patients, we forget that that is his job and that he would have not had to work so hard if he had done his homework properly, or even used the many years he has been health minister to create a better health care system in the state. What is more, we are also good at one-off shows of solidarity -- so a one-time payment to the PM cares fund, a one-time effort at a webinar to discuss the plight of the migrant worker, etc. what we are absolutely weak in is sustained action and institution building. So while we will give a person some money if he comes asking for help, if I ask you to take responsibility to understand and help the fellow to reach a stage when he can help himself then you will back down. We like quick fixes, when the problem is at the door then we can move heaven and earth to so something, but we cannot be bothered to make sure when the going is good that the emergency systems are in place and will function as and when we need them. So till such a time as we change as people and learn that there is no point waiting for things to happen before trying to start looking for solutions, we shall have to do with make-shift hospitals in schools and stadiums and with being terrified about what could happen because we did not bother to find out how it would be while the going was good.
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