Is the Solution Worse Than the Problem?

Lock-down is not a show or tapas. It is neither an event where one is rewarded at the end of the day for being a true law-abiding citizen. Instead it is a shield with which we protect both others and ourselves. The sole goal of this lock-down is to generate a proper social distancing, which would rightly facilitate in curbing the further community transmission of the virus Covid-19. In contrast, what we see today in the North Indian cities is alarming. There is a massive exodus of migrant workers fleeing from their work place to the respective hometowns. Hundreds and thousands of people are rambling hundreds of kilometers, snubbing the scorching sun, without food and drinking water. This exile of the poor mass of the country has caused the citizens to question the decision of the government to impose lock-down for such a long time. Was it unwise and done in haste, overlooking the subsequent consequences?  

Most of the migrant workers have taken up a drastic step to exile along with their family and meager possessions. However, they have rightly diagnosed the futility of staying back in the cities, which would not fetch them anymore food for their day today sustenance. There are no shops or restaurants to at least try their luck and buy some food. Often it takes days to get home, as all of them are on feet. Unfortunately, the project envisioned by the government fails here, as the social distance between these exiles is nil.  These poor people’s lives are at high risk, for they can be easily infected and turn out to be the carriers of the virus. If Covid-19 spreads in the interior Indian villages, there is nothing much we can do to curb the virus. The main problem of a complete lock-down is sudden unparalleled chaos and desperation.  The fact that there are millions of daily laborers stranded in the cross-roads who cannot but look out for their daily bread in their near vicinity. I am afraid if the Govt. has expediently neglected this alarming fact, while pushing the marginalized to go hungry indefinitely and causing an unprecedented state of mayhem. Before announcing a complete lock-down, the Govt. should have decerned enough to look for some ideal means to provide the citizens with ample time and space to gather adequate amount of food, clothing and other supplies.

Here, I am reminded of the words of Gandhiji, “Recall the face of the poorest and weakest man you have seen, and ask yourself if this step you contemplate is going to be any use to him”. This should have been the mantra of the Govt. before announcing the lock-down hastily. Take the case of the Tughlaq implementation of Demonetization, its biggest drawback was that the ordinary and poor have had to face the heat of the status quo. And this flow watered down the real spirit behind the Note ban. Daily laborers and workers from the unorganized sectors should have been given the chief priority. If such people are devoid of work, they lose the possibility to provide their families with a square meal a day. The failure of the Govt. is evident in not taking the marginalized class into confidence prior to such a watershed announcement. In other words, the right to life is compromised sloppily.  

Why such an unprecedented lock-down? Of course, it is to save precious human lives from the onslaught of the draconian pandemic infested among the human race. Regrettably, such a great feat of the Govt. ends up costing many more lives rather than guarding them. When people are made to walk hungry, it is heartening to see on the other side, country’s FCI warehouses are overflowing with food grains. Won’t this portrait disfigure the face of our country amidst this pandemic virus attack. A considerable junk of the population would tolerate a 21- day lock-down. But people living in the fringes of the society will find it a herculean task to cope with the shortage of essentials to sustain these days. This calls for a tremendous sacrifice. Ironically, the solution imposed is cruel than the problem, a kind of wild justice. The poor, the sick, the substance addicts, the elderly… these have been deprived of their due justice. Therefore, I feel that the denial of the basic justice to these dependent class is a grave crime, for this has already dilapidated their daily life pattern.

Therefore, the right cannot be wrongly executed. Janata curfew came in as a prelude to the pan-Indian shutdown for 21 consecutive days. The Govt. evidently fell short in making a proper discernment before imposing the shutdown, for they are seemingly diligent in delivering the packages to those in quarantine while forgetting the standard. One shouldn’t forget the fact that the medicine administered is for the speedy recovery of the patient not for the repose of their souls. The poor and depended do not fear the virus anymore but their hungry stomachs.