Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on Tuesday was on expected lines. The three-week shutdown needed an extension. The gains India achieved from such a hard push so far cannot be squandered for cheap applause. Yet, the nation badly needs to get out of the present suffocation. Pressure cannot be sustained over longer periods. Word from the PM is that the present lock-down will continue in its full force for a week more, after which calibrated relaxations could be expected. Overall, the lock-down is extended up to May 3, a fortnight hence, facilitating a gradual draw-down of its force.
What happened in the US, major European nations etc in the past few weeks should be educative. Indians do not have a reputation for discipline even as the society is far from being anarchic. This lock-down season made it amply clear that the people would stand as one if a situation so demands. Sitting tight at home for three weeks is no easy drill for a nation of 1.3billion. The nation persevered. It understood the danger that lurked in the corner. No ham-handed efforts, as did take place in China, were required to keep the people confined to their homes here. A word from the Government did it. Modi did it in form. A Janata Curfew was the rehearsal.
Hard work lies ahead for India and the world at large. Even China, despite the bold front it put up, could not fully contain the pandemic it unleashed on the hapless world. Here too, hotspots like Dharavi and Govandi slum sprawls in the western metropolis are still a worry. Parts of Delhi too! Governments have taken the work seriously. It is proven that India’s health sector has its areas of strengths. Covid-19 has largely been neutralized. The fear of a community spread is diminishing. Yet, as the Centre gauged rightly, a week or two more of controls must see the nation out of a bitter struggle on the health front.
The economy has, however, been put on the death row. It was already ailing and Covid-19 did it in. A slump to a 1.5 GDP growth is the projected scenario. That’s where the government would now increasingly require to devote its time, energy and effort. China shows the way there too. It earned billions in dollars from the Covid-19 linked medical equipment and sanitation ware it exported to the affected nations, principally the US and Europe in a jiffy. Speed mattered. It’s time to think anew.