When the central govt. announced the package worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore and other relief measures, I couldn’t help but think about the obsession these days to jump the gun and criticise quickly without considering the time, energy and calculation required to take a decision by the govt (Especially in an emergency like situation). Of course, every move should be scrutinised but why make hypothetical situations and give opinions on that presumption?
For Instance
When Assam State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa held the 1st press conference, he clearly stated that it was a lockdown conference and talk of economic impact and subsidiaries will be discussed later. Because the immediate priority is to lockdown. Post that they would revise the budget and take economic decisions viable for the state. It is evident that to announce economic measures, they have to alter the Budget Estimates.
Fallout: People started criticising as to why “no financial help has been granted so far”. There was useless comparison of communism vs socialism citing examples of communist countries by selectively avoiding liberal countries doing well to combat COVID-19. Without even listening to the press conference regarding the future course of the government, people based their observations on a few quotes which are said in context to different things.
Then came Nirmala Sitharaman’s first address, where she relaxed tax fillings till June and additional financing activities were extended.
Fallout2: People started the criticism – that the govt. is not considering the underprivileged and has not taken any measures. Some started the usual Congress vs BJP linkages because apparently, that’s the only way one can understand issues.
Then came PM Modi’s national address, where he gave the clarion call for a 21 day National Lockdown.
Fallout3: This caused further panic not by common people but by social media vanguards – that PM Modi didn’t talk about providing the poor (similar to what happened after the Himanta Biswa lockdown press conference). Although, the speech was limited mostly to the shutdown.
Before You Accuse Me (said Eric Clapton)
I am not against criticism. Of course, there are many areas. Like when the lockdown measures were announced, govt didn’t consider the migrant labourers and IT workers stuck outside their hometown. Even before the pandemic arrived in the country, India continued exporting PPE (protective gear) to other nations although the WHO had warned the govt. We are also undertested due to lack of kits and that might also be the reason why our corona positive numbers are less. The fact that we have low beds per person ratio is worrisome and every govt. who has ruled us so far is accountable for that.
The B-side Of The Album
At the same time, with all its flaws and misses, the govt. has ramped up testing kits production, started increasing crucial care support and provided economic measures that will complement the lockdown. It has clearly addressed what needs to be addressed. So that along with lock-down, it can increase the testing and provide crucial care if the cases turn out positive. The mantra is isolation + testing + crucial care + monetary backup. These measures will also have their loopholes especially during the implementation, for which we need to be careful about and CRITICISE, CRITICISE and CRITICISE.
When the basis of criticism tries to convert everything into a binary, it becomes a drag and a bit rhetorical. Like the useless comparison of Socialism vs Capitalism in the context of Coronavirus. No country is purely one ideology these days. We all know that that ended in 1990-91. For example, South Korea has done well to combat the pandemic, but it uses capitalism for its economic development and strives for socialist welfare and demand equal distribution of wealth. The duality fails here.
Lastly, I see people insulting middle-classes alleging they are privileged enough to not understand the issue. Well, this affects everyone. People will obviously personalise the pandemic as to how they are affected economically. For a person who is working at a startup, it is equally worrying that the funders have decided to stop funding post new financial year. For a labourer, it might be to arrange two meals a day. Yes, the latter risks death but the former’s issue should not be trivialised. By comparing hardships, morality, and vulnerability, we can never establish a closure because there will always be someone more vulnerable to us and that doesn’t mean our struggles are any less.
What we need right now is a united fight that caters to all the stakeholders. After that, we can begin to kill each other for our luxuries.