By Benjamin Lyngdoh
The media across all forms is filled with data/information related to the novel coronavirus commonly referred to as ‘covid – 19’. Some of the terms used to describe it are ‘uncharted waters’ and ‘unprecedented times’ and even ‘war’. These terms are still used extensively; except for ‘war’ (which has died down significantly). Nobel Laureate Prof Amartya Sen openly denounced the use of the term as it misconstrues the nature of the fight against covid – 19; that it is a decentralized fight of the people at large and not a centralized flow from any leader/military/dictator. Amidst all this, India is caught in a precarious position of being ‘one amongst the last of nations’ to fight against the deadly virus. As of today, the global covid – 19 figures indicate that much of the developed world will be able to somehow move on from ‘mid-May’. Well, China has already moved on. For India, it is still debatable and keeping in mind the limited health infrastructure, strained essentials supply chains, migrant workers, struggling village economy and so forth, this pandemic is a disaster at the very least. While covid -19 is a global pandemic this article focuses on the specific context of Meghalaya and the numerous covid – 19 related issues which have been bundled together under the heads of trust, resilience and uncertainty.
Firstly, ‘trust’ has become a pivot around which our daily lives revolve and shall continue to do so into the foreseeable future. Do you trust your government to deliver? When Prime Minister Modi announced the 21- day lockdown, just moments after that there was a flurry of posts on social media questioning about the provisions of essential items and how one was to survive for that period. However, as expected, the state government came out with assurances through our Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and related notifications on the supply chain of daily essentials. Nonetheless, there was a lot of panic buying in the initial days as many did not believe that the government would be able to ensure a continued supply of basic needs. Clearly, there is a trust-deficit on the ability of the government to deliver! Now, do you trust your colleagues of being covid -19 free? The truth is that the workplace will never be the same again for many months to come. We will view each other with suspicion in addition to the social distancing norms. Falling sick and coughing/sneezing is now a taboo. You will be angrily frowned upon for that. Our tea/lunch breaks will be affected. In all probability even our work will be affected. Do not be surprised if you are not welcome inside the chamber/room of your colleagues. To this end, there is going to be a trust-deficit at work. Most importantly, do you trust your family members without an iota of doubt? Staggered movement of people will be a reality in Meghalaya. One way or the other, we will all be moving out gradually. What if our family members return home? I guess different families will address this differently. Be that as it may, there will be doubts lingering in the family; even more so in the mind of the very person who returned home from outside the state. Sad but true, there will be a trust-deficit here too! Only time will undo this trust-deficit across all levels.
Secondly, ‘resilience’ is a strength needed now more than ever before. There is a need for ‘mental toughness’ so as to get by this difficult time. Perseverance and hobbies (whether existing or newly created) do go a long way in dealing with the boredom and the occasional neuroticism that comes with it. However, while all of this seems bearable, we must note that there is basically a two-fold measure of resilience at this time. On one hand, we have people who are employed in governmental and quasi-governmental organizations. For such, resilience is only about getting through time. On the other hand, we have people who live ‘from hand to mouth’ through daily/weekly wages. For such, resilience is a matter of life and death. We have contractual and gig workers a plenty. Like the national scenario the unorganized sector in Meghalaya is huge and they have no protection what-so-ever. Today, we are asking them to be ‘resilient’! However, if this situation continues; these people will have no strand of resilience to hold on to. When the stomach is empty it would be unfair to expect people to be tough and fight back. In fact, they will be pushed into more abject streams of multi-dimensional poverty (across food and clothing and education and health, etc). It must be noted that the demands for resilience under the covid – 19 pandemic is totally different as compared to other normal circumstances. As such, in the short-term the only way out is ‘direct cash transfers and dry rations’ in meaningful amounts. Cover as many people as possible under this scheme/arrangement. With this intervention, the unorganized sector can rise to the challenge as and when the situation improves for seeking employment again. Till then, support people to be resilient!
Thirdly, ‘uncertainty’ is the only thing that is certain today. When will things get back to normal? No one has a definitive answer. However, one thing is for sure; Meghalaya will not get back to normal times till India as a whole gets back on track. As such, it may well be till August-September, 2020 that we will be able to get back to our old normal. What happens till then? Will we be exposed to the pangs of ILP/Residents’Act all over again? If that happens then this entire year 2020 will end up in smoke! The point to be factored in is that this covid – 19 pandemic will go, but the socio-economic healing will take a long time. At such a time, there will be a need for all the stakeholders to work together. Nonetheless, these issues are for the near future. As of today, the real uncertainty is on education. If anything, this pandemic has shown how unprepared we are when it comes to IT related education dissemination. There is a push now for executing online classes. Fair enough; but what about our students in the rural areas where the internet penetration is low, or students/families do not have a smart phone, or students/teachers don’t know how to run online classes? In meetings where discussions are made for online classes the above questions are always raised and the answer is always. ‘let us help those whom we can.’ But I say that is unfair! We are expanding the gap in education between the haves and have-nots even wider. As such, this is one important red-flag for the government from this pandemic. There is a need to dedicatedly invest on online class mechanisms for the entire state. Here, training on using IT related class solutions is the key. Do it before the next pandemic hits!
Lastly, although the covid – 19 pandemic is unpleasant for all and we dearly want it to pass, let us not be blind to the lessons it has taught. The lessons on acting fast, streamlining our essentials supply chains, healthcare preparedness, developing a baseline database on the unorganized sector, teaching-learning continuity and most importantly the value of societal cohesiveness and the spirit of cooperation amongst all.