Lockdown has Multiple Benefits
Imprisonment, even in a grand golden cage, is imprisonment in this world,” said the poet. None of us is guilty or dangerous to be restricted and the lockdown is no punishment. We are in our own homes, with the basic amenities and the Government is alert to our welfare. A break from the routine of rushing around is welcome. What COVID-19 has brought into our life is an emergency protocol to prevent people moving from place to place to protect ourselves and others from an invisible enemy, which is taking innocent lives around us. It is like walking on a minefield, not knowing when the ground will explode under our feet
Today, the entire humanity is in some form of lockdown, ranging from legally binding prohibition against any movement to restrictions of various kinds. The logic is that since the virus is transmitted from person to person through physical contacts, the less contact we have among us the better it is for prevention. But the fact remains that social contacts are the glue of humanity and many will feel deprived by this extraordinary means of dealing with an unprecedented pandemic.
I have been an inveterate champion of lockdown right from the beginning of February because of its evident success in China, but both the Central and State Governments were reluctant to impose it for political reasons. Then came the orders to close down schools and colleges, with the proviso that the teachers should continue to attend their offices even if the students were not there. The Government took its own time to find the logic of allowing the teachers to work from home But even after that, there was inexplicable hesitation to have a lockdown. The Government kept hoping against hope that such measures would not be necessary. The Central Government brought in the Janata Curfew as a prelude to a lockdown to soften the blow. By the time the complete lockdown was enforced, it looked like shutting the barn after the horse had bolted.
Now that we are in a lockdown till April 15, we should not expect a complete lifting of restrictions till the virus becomes manageable and the casualties become zero. We should realize that there is no other way to save lives and to end the misery. We should begin looking at ways and means to turn the lockdown into an opportunity and a challenge. It is believed that the human body requires a rest occasionally and that is the reason for some minor ailments knocking down people for short periods. Now that the whole of humanity is in danger, we should make a virtue of necessity and accept all the restrictions that it entails.
The most shameful development is the tendency of a large number of people all over the country to defy the shutdown in various ways. Many people outside Kerala wondered why Kerala, known for its literacy and social responsibility should battle the police for several days. Thoughtless assemblies have played havoc, contributing to much of the new infections in the country. The most important lesson we should learn is that social distancing should be practiced as a way of life till the virus disappears.
Japan, where social distancing is a way of life has performed better than all others. The Japanese bow to each other at a distance to greet and rarely hug each other. It is a common sight to see people working in essential services to wear gloves and masks. Even a slight touch of cold will bring out the masks to save others and it is appreciated. India’s folding hands have caught on around the globe since the outbreak of the virus. We should go back to our social distance habits even if social etiquette is turned on its head. Allowing others to enter our private space was the norm, but today civility amounts to how much distance we keep between ourselves.
The national lockdown has accomplished something we could not do even when Delhi and other cities were suffocating. Even the experiment of restricting traffic in the city was a total failure. In Panama, they have devised a system by which men are allowed to go out on three days a week and women on the other three days. Once in a week nobody is allowed to go out. Nigeria had a system of allowing odd numbered and even numbered cars on alternate days, but every car had two number plates to beat the system. Such is the kind of human ingenuity that should be defeated in the mind. The lockdown has already brought in a dramatic drop in the deadly pollutants. Pictures of the blue sky in Delhi, which people had not seen for ages, began to appear. Air pollution makes people vulnerable to coronavirus and the present reduction in pollution is welcome as part of the fight against the pandemic. If the present opportunity is taken to reduce the use of fossil fuels and move to renewable energy, it will be a great blessing.
At a personal level, many of us may have decided to make a virtue of necessity and use the time for doing many things for which we had no time so far. I pulled out the fattest books I had always wanted to read and also decided to reorganize my library to get better access to the books. But I discovered that I did not have the kind of time I expected to have. Following the news through television and WhatsApp messages and the flood of other communications keep me busier than normal. When the news get depressing, I turn to reading or writing, but the anxiety about the growth of the pandemic takes me back to the news. Looking around for supplies was never part of my responsibility before, but it is now an important preoccupation. The delivery agencies are unpredictable and when the supplies arrive, we get more of what we already have and less of what we need. New recipes have to be found to consume the extra carrots and bitter gourd! The books remain unread and disorganized. Spring cleaning is still a distant dream.
The other hazard of the lockdown is the demand for instant analysis of the post-corona world through columns, podcasts and other exercises devised to replace the seminar culture. We have no idea where the pandemic is heading and what we need to know is the demographic shape of the world before we predict the strength of the economy and the geopolitical configuration of the future. But there is no dearth of people who have handed over the world to China and speak admiringly about the Chinese tactic of placing the whole world in ICU and then exporting masks, gloves and ventilators to the world. In contrast, they say India is simply taking care of its sick people and lighting lamps for unity and applauding to appreciate the work of the health workers. If only we had a strategy to spread a virus, control it and become an exporter of medical supplies, they would have applauded India!
Symbols and prayers have their own value when humanity is in despair. Most places of worship are closed and the host of godmen and others have not come up with magical solutions. The Prime Minister’s appeal to express appreciation for the health workers by ringing bells and applause at a particular time on the day of the Janata Curfew received universal support. A similar appeal has been made by the Prime Minister to jointly light lamps for 9 minutes at 9 PM on April 5. This has been justified by astrologers too who found the moment propitious for the world. Musicians, painters and poets are devising ways in which they cooperate for human welfare. All these will supplement the battle of the doctors and others to fight COVID-19.
Three shameful tendencies during the lockdown should be universally condemned. Where domestic harmony should have grown on account of togetherness, domestic violence has been reported. In Kerala, liquor was upgraded as a survival medicine to be sold with medical prescriptions. Mercifully, the doctors refused to give such prescriptions and the court has upheld the decision of the doctors. It would have been the greatest irony if liquor consumption was encouraged at a time when the immunity of the people needed to be strengthened. Another shame was the closing of the borders by Karnataka, which resulted in several deaths of sick people who could not reach the hospital on the other side of the border.
The ultimate absurdity was a massive gathering of a religious group in Delhi in early March after the restrictions were put in place. Thousands of people from different parts of India and abroad not only held the meeting, but also violated all instructions on social distancing by staying together for several days and dispersing to different parts of the world as carriers of the virus. Many of them died raising the number of casualties by more than 60%. Thousands have been infected and the effort is still on to identify and quarantine the infected. No religious sentiment can justify such anti-national and inhuman behavior.
Reports from the western press indicate that the scenes of the police taking action against the violators of the lockdown have made a good impression in the US and Europe. Those countries are victims of the citizens not abiding by the rules and the police normally do not take strict action. They believe that India has a better record in controlling the pandemic because of the strict enforcement of the law.
There may be a case for a calibrated liberalization of the lockdown, but the basic restrictions on movement of people except in emergencies must remain in place. If the enthusiastic and thoughtless public go haywire In the first moments of relaxation, the whole thing will become counter- productive. Saving of lives is the highest priority for every country even though economic activities need to resume to avoid an economic catastrophe. Hope remains eternal that we will be able to resume our normal lives, but the lessons of the lockdown must be learnt and implemented.
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The views and facts mentioned in the article are that of the author
