Covid-19: People’s White Paper

In the first and second lockdown, it was expected that India would control the pandemic of Covid-19. But as of now, with the first phase of unlocking, the government and the Supreme Court have more or less accepted inherently that the pandemic has become a community spread and now safety of the people is dependent on their own understanding and caution. The challenges before the country, such as security, unemployment, starvation, poverty, etc., outside and within the borders, have forced the governments to believe that this pandemic is not going to be contained due to their efforts, and now everyone has to learn to live with it.

The United States and Europe did not have opportunity to understand and contain the disease until they were caught.  But in India, the Novel Corona was given red carpet welcome by malicious thinking and vested interests. Destiny gave India two months' time, but the blind politics spoiled everything out of the electoral and power games ongoing in some states during February. The first case came to the fore when covid-19 entered this country on 30th January, 2020. On February 3, the number went up to three with return of the group from Wuhan by air. It was a remarkable signal.  The next warning was received on March 4 when 22 people out of those returning from Italy came out positive. But all these warnings were grossly ignored. In the beginning of the second week of February, international flights should have been stopped completely. If there was high pressure to bring the relatives of the leaders and capitalists, they could be allowed to come to India on the condition that till the end of the pandemic, such people would be kept in isolation, not at Jodhpur, but in any uninhabited island of Lakshadweep or Andaman, at the expense of their own or of those who called for their return, in the larger interest of the nation. Had that been done, it was certain that 99 per cent of these patriotic air passengers who escaped thermal scanning by taking fever pills, would have preferred to remain where they were then. At that time, if elections became a hindrance in the process, they also should have been cancelled unflinchingly.

 

Had there been high opposition to this policy by those whose voices remain pitched very high on the support of money and power, the national emergency should have been imposed without hesitation or delay in the larger interest of the country, until this pandemic was over from the world. The idea of immediate imposition of national emergency was raised several times at that time, but the rulers and their incapable and sycophant advisers entangled the whole system severely by their fatalistic, irresponsible and lackluster attitude. Had this been done, there would have been no issue of jamatees, no drama of drunkards, no plight of migrant labour families, no lockdowns; neither the community spread of the pandemic nor the dangers to the lives of corona warriors alongwith the public. India could have prevented the deep recession, avoided this new crisis of poverty and unemployment, and also not faced the series of multisided threats from neighbors on the borders. But the right steps were not taken in time to just avoid the displeasure of a few people. At that time, if the national emergency had been imposed, certainly, the professional opponents would have called it 'strangulation of democracy in the name of Corona'. But the leadership should not bother about such hollow criticisms at all.  

But, at that time, all the attention of the political leaders was in the forthcoming assembly elections in the second week of February. Today's central leadership has developed a tendency to glorify the state level elections more than needed, over and above the interest of the country. Day and night, the overzealous devotees crying every time for nationalism and Bharat Mata completely ignored this impending crisis on the country. Well, as is the intention, so is the implication. As the election results did not come to expectations in five states, with the minds aggrieved, the centre was totally entangled in all this rubbish. When they came out  of this total intoxication of elections and the ensuing hangover of disturbing results in the third month of March, it was too late. Now the curfews and lockdowns were the last ways left.

The situation that has arisen today is a result of poor understanding of global conditions, wrong priorities of politics, poor thinking of pseudo spineless experts and very wrong policies. For example, the Trump administration's proposal on the border dispute that China has generated with India was very hastily rejected, while this was a great opportunity for India to expose China. Suppose India accepts this proposal and China does not accept, the message in the international community will go that China is not willing to have peace and tranquility. The Trump proposal to mediate in Pakistan's case was, of course, totally different and unnecessary.

The role of the media is misleading in many cases. Some press media, social media and many doctors of corona are claiming that the corona has weakened in India and the world's mortality rate is seven percent whereas that is only 2.5 per cent in India. It is a totally wrong assessment. The period of doubling of corona positives in India is still going on for 16 days. In this respect, the correct mortality rate is more or less seven per cent in India as a percentage of corona positive patients 16 days ago. So, it is not proper to take it lightly.

The difficulty of the present leadership and followers is that in political and professional matters, their intellects run in a very fine way with unnecessary complexity. But as soon as it comes to the national interest, their superficial nationalist minds get heated very easily, the omissions of the opposition from Nehru till today are so dominating their minds that their creative rationality is easily disturbed and, at least, in the case of the Novel Corona, they could not rise above the note and vote politics, timely lapses happened and the national interest was really and completely ignored. The compulsions of pseudo-capitalism and crony-capitalism have left no stone unturned to entrap the country in corona. Their tendency of getting irritated and perturbed over every criticism by the opposition and negating even constructive suggestions of theirs has proved to be disastrous for interest of the nation. The people at the top leadership exhort spirituality, yoga, religion, culture and 'Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam' in a very waxed manner, it has also proved to be beneficial in the politics of vote, but there is a great lack of in depth understanding and sincere meditation on these issues, especially the brilliant indications of the supreme consciousness; their understandings and skills of yoga and spirituality are very superficial. So, in this the most important matter of national interest, they failed to take decisions with due wisdom in time. Now it is their compulsion to blame others for covering their mistakes and hurling other things around for diversion.

In economic policies, 'Make in India' is fit for the short run only for the sake of transfer of technology and foreign capital. It is fair weather friend. In the long run, it is only a way to impose capitalism and the opportunism of outside companies on the system. The sustainable path is 'Made in India'. It is also advisable to run 'Make in India' under at least 51 per cent government/public control.

The resurgence of the local economy has now become an immediate obligation. I suggest that give top priority to labour-intensive techniques, projects and activities in the short run. In the long run, capital intensive techniques should be carried out through coordinated cooperatives in medium-sized enterprises and the large enterprises and projects under at least 51% public and government control.

Most of the agricultural holdings have been quite small in size and hence inefficient. They should be pooled into coordinated cooperative farming. Each farmer pooling his land in such cooperative should be guaranteed individual ownership right for return of that land when the venture is closed or restructured. In case he goes out earlier the society may resort to four options depending upon consent of the two parties.

a) The society may continue giving him rent in cash or kind for use of his land.

b) The society may simply return his land if feasible.

c) The society may purchase the land from him by paying adequate compensation in cash or public bonds or both as the resources permit.

d) The state government may allot him equivalent land upto his satisfaction.

 Managerial, attitudinal and conceptual training as well as technical and accounting skill support as per need should be arranged from time to time by the governments and cooperative bodies as an enabling measure. It is far more important than direct financial support as part of turning around the weak and loss prone cooperatives.

Decentralized planning has to be adopted at village and block levels. The central government has announced a plethora of schemes for small businesses and farmers. These can be taken advantage of properly through coordinated cooperatives. Governments should also announce a scheme for promotion of and also for giving priority to coordinated cooperatives and self help groups in support and lending. It is necessary to divert all incentives and subsidies of individual farmers and businesses to coordinated cooperatives and self help groups for the sake of efficiency and promotion of teamworking.

In order to ensure speedy use of local resources in the short run, the states and schemes should be restructured by bringing the local politico-economico-cultural voices and identities into effect at the earliest. Inclusion of these people in the operation of units through coordinated cooperatives in construction; industrial production; production, processing and marketing of agricultural produce, dairying, services etc. is one important way. 

Prof. R.P. Singh,

Department of Commerce,

 Gorakhpur University

E-mail: rp_singh20@rediffmail.com

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