Shame on us!

Mohali (Punjab) 28th April 2021

Supreme Court says National Crisis, can't be mute spectators. Election Commission says enforcing curbs is not it's job. Wah-bhai-wah... these are the headings of news appearing on the front page of The Tribune (Chandigarh Edition)! Where have we reached? Is there any more depth we can fall to? Can we ever rise yet again?

Sarcastically speaking - Yes, farmers have a right to protest; Yes, state assembly elections (not one but 3 of them) should be held even during a pandemic; Yes, sanskar (values) and sanskriti (culture) are important and so Shahi Snan and Kumbh mela is unavoidable while Markaz (remember Tabhligi Jamaat?) of thousands was considered a super-spreader event in Delhi in March 2020 and were rightly blamed by all of us. And oh yes, yes, cricket is a spectator sport and fans were allowed into the world’s biggest cricket stadium at Ahmedabad (total seating capacity for 110,000) to witness international matches between India and England during February-March 2021. Alas, where exactly are we heading to?

I personally have not yet been vaccinated not because of anything else but due to the feeling (illogical?) that it is not of much consequence since those who are vaccinated are turning positive immediately thereafter but that does not mean I won't! Now, considering that the vaccination is effective, the picture in India is not that rosy. It is estimated that, if the present rate of vaccination (3.5 million per day) continues, 40% of the population will be vaccinated by December 2021 and that the WHO threshold of 60% for herd immunity in India will be achieved only by May 2022. Good Lord, do we have so much time? Heard Remdesivir is being sold in black and still unavailable but my friends, medical experts are saying it time and again that it is only useful between the second to the ninth day of illness and that a careful mix of oxygen-therapy, vitamin supplements, blood-thinners and steroids facilitates faster recovery. Let us at least be a bit a little patient to hear out what the experts say than to become experts ourselves. Makes sense?

About lockdown (my humble take) - Though, it caused immense hardship to the common people but, nonetheless, it was a necessary step. To some extent, lockdown saved the country as proactive steps were taken inter alia to make PPE suits, hand sanitizers, vaccines, etc. Therefore, initially, position of India with regard to containment of spread of virus was far better than any other country in the world. We were able to break the chain and buy valuable time to upgrade infrastructure to meet the pandemic - which we did not and so facing the upsurge in the second wave – all advantage lost. As usual, complacency at its very best as is normal with we Indians. Ample time was available for the authorities to examine the situation prevalent in other countries like US, UK, Canada, Germany, etc. and take further precautionary steps in India to curtail the spread of virus in the second wave which was very much imminent as well as expected and, to put in more concerted efforts to improve health care facilities than to hear the “try to learn to live with the virus” comments from senior ruling party leaders who preached it and tried to convince the gullible public. And still life goes on - what a pity!

Instead of strictly monitoring and revamping the medical facilities, what we saw was huge gathering of people in farmers protest, kumbh mela, election rallies, mass movement of people around the country, opening of all outdoor entertainment activities, fully operational mass transportation system, etc. where no covid protocol was followed and even the authorities failed to enforce the law, albeit on political compulsion rather the need of the hour. A recent protest by shopkeeper in Mohali (they might have there logic too!) against the extension of curfew from 9pm to 6pm till 5am shows our attitude per se if not anything else. Ain't it not rather interesting?

As for our beloved (complete pun intended) authorities both elected and the ones who who sit in positions of authority - the things which they did not do in the last one year, they want to achieve it in next 15 days and while, they act swiftly, mortality rate will keep on increasing. During the first lockdown, I happened to read in the papers that many States were sanctioned funds by the Central Government to set up new hospitals. Did the funds reach the state governments? Did the State Govts. utilize the funds to set up hospitals? If not, where did the funds go? Is there any accountability for these beloved beings? Should these beloved gentlemen who matter, be made accountable at some point of time? Their greed for “vote bank politics” and “political compulsion” and "babugiri" and “kursi” by way of assumed constitutional obligations are the primary reasons why India is in such a crisis. Is there a goddamn way out? Sometimes I am convinced that we need to have the concept of “recall elections” as is prevalent in many countries, so that the elected representatives will not have the guarantee to hold the post for their entire official term. But is that an option or a solution?

It’s a shame that the world’s biggest democracy is in the hands of those people (both elected and un-elected representatives) who lack vision; who cannot even foresee a situation, and; who also cannot enforce rule of law, but, can create panic and chaos. It is a matter of fact that due to inaction on the part of the Governments, the active Covid-19 cases in India is at unprecedented levels and I assure you, it is bound to only increase leading to total collapse of the already negligible health care facilities and medical infrastructure.

People and policymakers together, guided by science, only can take on this virus. That too, if they have the will to take it head-on. Do we have leaders of that stature or can someone become one. “Yatha Raja tatha Praja” (as is the king, so are the people) is how the saying goes in our country but in a beleaguered democracy like ours, however, the saying should be “Yatha Praja tatha Raja”.

Lastly, if a factory owner is held responsible for a death happening in his/her factory, be it for whatever reasons, why is the Government in power and it's officers not held responsible for the deaths happening due to lack of Oxygen, hospital beds or even lack of medicines? Why not??

Yes, I am angry, embarrassed and ashamed too!