By Adv. Seharfuddin Ahmad
The the word Covid-19 is self-explanatory as the disease was first identified in December 2019 at Wuhan city in China. The mysterious calamity has firstly, been thrust upon mankind emerging in China but in a very fast speed traveled to almost all parts of the globe which thereafter was introduced with a new way of life of lockdown first time from Wuhan . The entire world including the most developed countries, has lately felt that no preparation matches either medical challenges of Caronvirus or its aftermath social and economic changes. The core victims of pandemic as usual are the aged and deprived people in every country. India though had suffered with its first case in January itself yet the government mainly faltered and couldn’t rise to occasion due to political reasons as it miserably failed to timely act seeing clear writing on wall and continued normal functions till 21st of March a day before”Janata Curfew.”
The U.S. president Donald Trump meanwhile leaving his own country in mid of ensuing pandemic traveled all the way to India on hospitality tour of Ahmedabad at the show of a gathering of over lakh people on 23rd of February openly flouting the conditions of physical distancing and on next day reaching Delhi during worst communal violence in North East Delhi, along with thousands of suspect carriers of virus from his country as American delegates and security staff. It is said some among these American guests also went on picnic tour to Agra. All three cities subsequently happened hot-spots to fall to virus in very first phase in our country. The Session of Parliament, had intermittently continued and member after attending a party of film celebrity carrying virus from U.K. risked the spread of virus among other MPs. The Lòk Sabha finally could be adjourned on 23rd of March in glaring default of instructions of Circular of Union Government dated 9th March, prohibiting meetings and other public gatherings in view to imminent dangers of pandemic by maintaining physical distancing. The word social distancing is context to India is misnomer and existed to keep away fraternity and brotherhood among different groups of people in India
We don’t comparatively have a good structure and facilities of public health care in India in proportion to the size of population even in normal times so in this challenging period when there lurks possibility of a long and dark tunnel of lockdown as only the inevitable, subtle and preventive measure to save the humanity in lack of curative devices as it is guessed that the vaccine may be the earliest available not before the end of this year for public consumption so in giving situation, the govt. may not risk of lethal phase of community transmission of the virus by resorting complete removal of lockdown in our country.
The world, after pandemic 1918 when countries lost approximately 50 million people in such a calamity after a gap of hundred years again faces a worldwide disease. Our generation in above circumstances appears to be destined passing through process of paradigm shift. We as generation, may not afford to be indifferent, stoic or unaccountable to the emerging challenges so all of us are called upon to afresh and revive moral values for readjusting ourselves to the new way of life.We have to reset our political and social agenda re-addressing our priorities and to reaffirm our empathy and parameters of life to save lives and dignity of human beings. The challenges have multiple dimensions keeping in view of existing political bewilderness, economic disparity and social injustice in our country. It is a time; we have to urgently put ourselves in top gear of collective responsibilities. Since the lockdown, we have been witnessing the scenes of despair and deprivations. The daily earners, laborers in unorganized sector and petty business persons are already at brink of starvation while the hardest days are in the reckoning of happening.We cannot leave every responsibility to the shoulders of government. The volunteers of a number of organizations have courageously been discharging their social responsibilities in various fields but there persists lack of coordination in efforts and actions. It is also required to devise a mechanism ensuring that dignity of the marginalized and deprived people may at any cost be safeguarded.
It is urgently required to respond to social responsibility putting aside other agendas. The resources at hand as well as by procurement, must be pooled together to distribute among the needy, helpless and poor in a disciplined manner. The form of positive politics today is to shoulder responsibilities in view of new and changing circumstances or demands of society to arrange delivery of every and maximum possible help subsist those persons who are in dire need of help in existing circumstance. It is high time, while maintaining the highest possible physical distancing, may try our hard to uproot wide-spread disease of social distancing along with Coronavirus by our collective actions for social responsibilities. Social distancing historically created with social division, caste and communal hate, political opportunism and immoral media may be removed if it is conjoined in our fight against pandemic in India.