workers

lockdown

Trump

hydroxychloroquine

government

Kamal Nath

showmanship

Heis an incredible guy. Two Sundays back, as thousands of hungry, jobless migrants were trudging home to their villages hundreds of kilometres away from the cities where they worked, the prime minister told us to forget everything and vigorously beat metal vessels for five full minutes from our balconies. The purpose? A thank you gesture for healthinvolved in the battle against Covid-19. It was a Taali Bajao, Thaali Bajao event.I vividly recall the day. The intense quietude of the quarantine at home was suddenly shattered at 5 in the evening by the cacophony of a makeshift orchestra led by his devotees. They were laughing, joking and noisily beating any metal object they could lay their hands on - to drive away the tedium of the. Meanwhile, stragglers on the road quietly walked with their heads lowered, worried where their next meal would come from. A few stray dogs and cats in the neighbourhood panicked and ran. Some have still not come back. I know. I feed them.Not entirely satisfied with that noisy five-minute interregnum, his saffron foot soldiers in many states defied the lockdown and took out large processions, shouting and beating metal vessels the next day too. So impressed was he by the impact that he promptly announced his next big do - last Sunday’s Batti Bujhao, Diya Jalao. This time, citizens were told to switch off the lights at home and put out candles and diyas instead - at the auspicious hour of 9 on 5th April (which adds up to nine) for nine minutes. Why? To show stupid Covid-19 that although more than 4,000 Indians were afflicted by it and over a hundred had died, we are not afraid, we are still a united 130 crore people ready to fight back. And with the astrologically potent No 9 on our side -like Tendulkar’s 10 on his jersey - we need not fear fearsome Mars.Footnote: Not many noticed that 5th April was also the 40th birthday of the BJP. Even if they did, they kept quiet. India has been quiet for the past six years even as it has watched many of the nation’s hoary institutions crumble — and obscurantism take precedence over science.Covid-19 could not stop a minor fortune being spent (Rs 1.5 crore a minute) on theextravaganza where the US president was promised a welcoming crowd of one million people. Or so Trump claimed. What came of that much hyped two-day visit no one knows, but one hears that Trump has now arm-twisted us into exporting, a drug thehad banned for export in the wake of the pandemic, anticipating it may be required here. Covid-19 did not also stop the BJP from successfully dislodging’s government in MP.The real problem, as I see it, is what happens after the 21-day lockdown. Pandemics don’t just disappear overnight. Nor does their intensity reduce by beating metal or lighting lamps. Virus-ridden cities, we have seen, refuse to easily calm down. And small town India and villages will still be full of unemployed migrants who have returned home penniless. How will they survive the coming months? How will farmers sell their harvest in the market? Where are the truckers? Where is the money to buy overpriced essential goods? Most small businesses have shut down. Big businesses too are on oxygen. Millions are unemployed. Many more have joined them. And even if jobs revive in the cities, will they go back to their overcrowded, virus-infected dorms, many of which are now officially sealed? If they do, will that induce the next round of virus attacks that everyone is saying will come in the winter?There are no ready answers. No one is even looking for them. What we are all looking for is a compassionate, responsive government that is ready to face the enormous human tragedy and keep seeking solutions, some of which may well fail. The time foris over. It’s time to take real decisions that could help make things easier for those who are hurting most. The states are doing their best but they need more support, more money, and a national healthcare system that works. Doctors are overworked. Care workers are stressed. There are not enough PPE. And many are falling victim to the virus themselves, enfeebling an already overwrought system.It is time to take a call on the basics. To save businesses and help them rebuild. To protect jobs. To reduce taxes. To make bank borrowing easier. To shield the savings of senior citizens. To increase pensions. To protect the rupee. To heal the nation, as it were. It will take time, possibly a lot of time. But the preparation must begin. Or else the economy, currently in miserable shape, will further tank and the task of restoring it will become even more arduous.