By Rajdeep Pathak
A photograph of adivasi (tribal) women in the Khuntiapalla village in Odisha’s Koraput district, standing at an encircled distance of approximately 3.2 meters while fetching water from the tube well in the village is doing rounds on WhatsApp and other social media platforms. This image of these women in the interior village in Odisha has once again reiterated the belief that wisdom is not about education and that responsibility has nothing to do with status or affluence.
The social distancing and health advisory measures by governments across the world is in place to further contain the spread of COVID-19, which has claimed almost 76,404 lives across the world (till this point) and leaving over a million infected. The rate is likely to escalate. The latest being British Prime Minister Borris Jhonson who has been taken to the intensive care unit with worsening symptoms posing a grave question to Britain’s initial ‘herd community’ strategy of immunising a certain percentage of the population.
Back in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a countrywide lockdown from March 24 has received a phenomenal response. It may also go down in history as one of the most important decisions taken by the head of a country of over 130 million people.
While the opposition may call this move arbitrary and the economists may term it as the major fallout of an already staggering economic condition, on a hindsight this drastic measure had but saved India from becoming one of the worst affected countries — given her geopolitical divide — surpassing Italy, the US and Spain in the death ratio.
The Prime Minister’s appeal to a nation, which was recovering from the stigma of the Delhi riots, was a strategic move even though many would term it a hasty and unprepared decision. This was seen as thousands of migrants in different parts of the country started moving to their respective home towns to be with their loved ones as lockdown had brought the daily wage earners’ income to a standstill. This exodus triggered fear and concern.
Tracking down symptoms with patients in this vast country is a major concern for the government given the limited healthcare infrastructure. While preparedness of the government to tackle any grave outbreak may be in place, however, until people who have similar symptoms voluntarily open up to get their tests done, it will be impossible to come out with an exact figure of the infected patients.
Delayed test result is also a concern for delayed treatment. Moreover, as reports suggest, there isn’t enough statistically significant data to estimate conclusively how many persons can get the virus from a single infected person.
While the government is leaving no stones unturned towards ensuring safety and security of every individual, many in their foolishness have turned a deaf year to the government’s plea towards maintaining social distancing and ventured out into the streets to show their loyalty towards the nation when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed to the citizens to join in creating a rhythmic vibration of sounds from their balconies as a solidarity and encouragement to the foot soldiers — doctors, nurses, police, army personnel, public health workers, volunteers — who are out in the streets to ensure that a majority of others remain safe at home.
One may recall that this was purely a call for thanking these unsung heroes and sheroes from the balcony only, which many in their excitement mistook it as a celebration, overcrowding streets by dancing and singing their way out, breaking the quarantine, so much so that forces had to intervene to bring the situation under control.
The Prime Minister had therefore in his second appeal for April 5 cautiously mentioned that only lamps are to be lit at the galleries. Even then many defied norms of lockdown and marched onto the streets. This isn’t loyalty or a show of solidarity. This is mere stupidity and recklessness.
This had invited criticism, given the fact that in the face of the coronavirus outbreak health officials are on their job 24×7 advising citizens to avoid crowds whenever and wherever possible so that they do not come in close contact with strangers and this form of public gathering was not an act of wisdom and maturity from citizens who are otherwise pro-active with flooding information in social media in their attempt towards proving their point or being heard.
Even doctors believe that overcrowding places can increase a person’s risk of catching a respiratory infection (associated with coronavirus) and that ‘herd immunity’ may not hold ground for India, since it’s a new virus strain.
Special efforts are being put in to ensure cleanliness and hygiene in public places and at interface points. The congregation of almost 2000 members of the Tablighi Jamaat that included even foreigners had taken the danger level a step farther.
The fear that such individual cases will become small clusters and these clusters may, if not isolated and quarantined, spread to communities making the situation for India grave. Experts believe that isolating hotspots to deal with this contagion is the best approach. The Bhilwara (Rajasthan) model is now being adopted by all other states.
Having said that, it cannot be denied altogether that while there is strict directive regarding the lockdown protocol, incidents of huge congregation of Tablighi Jamaat, or banquets and large number of children still at Madrasas or not birthday bash celebration by one of the people’s representatives in Karnataka, are incidents of sheer callousness and imbecility.
COVID -19 cases have touched the figure 1.6 million and 100,000 deaths worldwide. In India alone over the past few days, the number of cases has risen to 7,447. Given the sheer stupidity of few people, this figure may rise soon enough.
There are few states in the north east like Mizoram and especially Meghalaya which have on several occasions imposed curfew to ensure complete compliance of lock down, but they’ve also at the same time made it a point to provide basic requirements to the people of the state. Local MLAs have come out and provided free ration to people in need. Various social organisations and community members with the district administration have also ventured towards providing meals to the poor. Photographs circulating on social media of empty streets in Mizoram are an example of what lockdown protocol actually means.
Many others from the civil society have also joined in the campaign to ensure that adequate supply of food and ration is being provided to the poor and needy at both the central, state and district level by authorities. For if people can’t get access to their basic requirements, the whole idea of self/social-distancing or isolation would be impossible in the days to come.
Lockdown buys us time to address issues that are hitting us straight in our face – the primary being preventing the spread of the coronavirus infection for which hard measures, if necessary has to be undertaken. As a country which has an overstretched healthcare system, scholars point to the fact that India also has the highest number of uninsured people who are at higher risk of fatalities due to this contagion.
As experts believe, this is perhaps the time to bring into shape our primary needs in this direction such as going ahead with more testing units, identifying and isolating cases (a difficult task), strengthening quarantine areas by empowering frontline health workers with PPE (personal protective equipment) and having a more proactive approach – which the government has already done – towards handling of this pandemic. More than anything else, experts are of the opinion that community inspection and contact tracing has to accelerate to flatten the coronavirus curve as has been done by states like Kerala.
The choice of strategies used to educate the public becomes paramount as well in this matter. But with so much awareness campaign on prevention of COVID-19, to see people crowding streets breaking the social distancing norms either in markets or festival gatherings, it seems that the wisdom of the rural adivasi women of Odisha maintaining distance while fetching water sets an example for others to follow and respect.
Does that lead us to the point that ‘education’ kills ‘wisdom’?
(The author is Programme Executive, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, Rajghat)