Covid19 has posed a set of problems which governments are trying to deal with. There is no do-it-yourself (DIY) format to follow since the problem is unprecedented. When did we ever have a lockdown in this country? When has life come to such a standstill? The answer is – never before. Hence the coping mechanisms too are evolving every day. The challenge with a lockdown is that it creates a panic that food will run out; that medicines will not be available; in short a goodbye to normal life for 21 days. People know it is in their collective good that the lockdown has been ordered so that India beats the pandemic but explaining that to 1.3 billion people is a mind-boggling exercise.
In Meghalaya when the curfew was lifted on Friday for people to get their rations from designated stores, there were localities where people ignored the mandatory physical distancing. The urge to get those groceries before they fly off the shelves dominated the human psyche, physical distancing be damned. And this precisely will be India’s Achilles heel. At times like this it is important to also understand how the human psyche works. Social media is a harbinger of gloom and doom. Videos and messages that the Virus could make a comeback and that the shutdown could last beyond April 14 seems to have triggered a real fear leading to panic buying, despite government’s assurance that there is enough food in the country.
At this time of crisis the Dorbar Shnongs have responded with the maturity and sagacity expected of them. Without their cooperation and organization it would have been impossible to distribute the essential commodities in various localities. Going by the present trend of Government-Dorbar Shnong collaboration, this should be made the sine-qua-non for future interventions much after the battle against this pandemic is won. These last few days have been lessons of cooperation well learnt. True there are a few slip-ups in coordinating the supply of essentials but these have been sorted out in a spirit of solidarity and with one common purpose – to serve humanity at a critical time in our history. It is the Dorbar Shnong assisted by the government which can enforce the mandatory lockdown and the physical distancing that is imperative to beat Covid19.
Indeed, Covid19 will require a tenacious solidarity from all to endure the months ahead. People will be bored and desperate for normal human contact. But citizens will have to stay home for the common good. It’s an odd kind of heroism that this crisis calls for. Those also serve who endure and wait.