While listening to Bella Ciao, an Italian protest folksong we began reminiscing our memoriesof lockdowns and consequent razzmatazz of stones, bullets, blood and rushingambulances in our neighborhoods, melancholy struck us hard on our faces. Beingprivileged to have spent 30 months of our 28 years of our lives in lockdowns,21 day COVID-19 lockdown feels like “back to normal”. We (Kashmiris)have somehow managed to strike a cordial accord with such marshaling.
Being Kashmiri children, who used to participate inenforcing lockdowns during our early teens, can tell you with authority that itis easier said than done that too with a population majority of which is unwilling to live in a lockdownunder any state of affairs. A successful lockdown majorly needs to withstandtwo tests, one a clear idea behind the lockdown which shall connect to theminds of common masses individually as well as collectively, and second , arobust, committed muscle power that shall enforce it and maintain the requiredintensity amid creeping fatigue of each passing day.
In case of Kashmir 5 minutes video or audio messageunderlying dates and timings suffice it for thousands of school and college going students to turnbustling markets into ghost towns. Although it has more to do with deep rootedmainstreaming of separatism in Kashmir but still can be a convenient examplefor explaining the genesis of lockdowns.
In Indian context corona virus lockdown is not any movementfor rights or a protest against abuses but sole option to ensure survival of 1.3 billion Indians. Indian pubichealthcare system is beseeching not to be tested and every sane Indian who hasa basic understanding of the corona virus pandemic & our Public healthsystem will undoubtedly love to fight it by closing down streets, markets andoffices rather than taking the battle into our dilapidated hospitals.
India is blessed to have a prime minister like Narendra Modiin this hour of crisis. As somebody has rightly said crises do not createcharacter but it reveals one, Modi has revealed his character by taking a difficult decision of going intoa lockdown at a time when our economy is on a downward spiral. Suchcircumstance would have made any prime minister think hundred times beforeenforcing a lockdown but then there is Narendra Modi who always made politicalcommentators, economists and prime time TV pundits to consume dust by effectingunforeseen constitutional, legislative, & policy maneuvers(Demonatisation-GST-Article370-CAA).
Prime Minister Modi prioritized life over economy unlikemany other world leaders like Boris Johnson, UK prime minister whose governmentcame up with an absurd idea of “herd immunity” only to realize the extent ofhis absurdity when corona virus came knocking down his office door at10-downing street, infecting him and his health secretary. Donald Trumpssustained reference to it as Chinese virus only came to a pause when herealized that America has lived up to its tag “Nation Of Immigrants” bywelcoming a tinny minuscule immigrant in New York. Italy floundered its robustpublic health care system by responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in a tardymanner with temperate measures.
Corona virus is a Global health pandemic which poses one ofthe biggest challenges to post independence India. We all know we have missedthe bus on testing, we all know about the unavailability of any drug or vaccinewhich can treat this virus directly, under such circumstances it is imperativeupon us to maintain an aggressive personal hygiene, more essentially practicesocial distancing in both letter and spirit, isolate those who are infected,identify contacts of infected at the earliest and last but not the leastincrease testing. This is a novel problem and it needs novel preventivemeasures too.
In this hour of crises we will be judged by how we lookedafter the vulnerable sections of our society during this lockdown and we allmust do our bit where we are required to do. It will beegregious to assume that everything will be taken care of by the PMO, other ministeries; state government also need to augument allthe resources available to fight this pandemic. Various ministries ofGovernment of India are already running schemes for welfare of people ongrassroots level especially marginalized. All these schemes have communitylevel volunteers like PLVs or PLEs ,Asha,GRS at village,taluqa, District orstate level.All this manpower can be used to create awareness and become abridge between people and administration in this hour of need. Furthermore atrinity of Halqa Punchayats, Mandir/Masjid committees in collaboration withlocal administration at village level working in tandem can also help inensuring a smooth and purposeful lockdown. Opposition which unfortunately is sofragmented that it seems non existent should also leave politics aside andsupport government in its endavours to fight COVID-19 spread.
Jahingeer Ahmad Dar is lawyer & Phd scholar of Public Administration.
Nazia Hassan is pursuing LLM (constitutional law) at Kashmir University.