Humans from the inception have faced multiple challenges andvulnerable situations thus posed innumerable threats to their existence fromtime to time. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emerged as epidemic and isglobally accepted hazard for entire humankind is one new such challenge. Thevirus has shaken the structural foundations of the so called civilized andknowledge based global world. It has also created a social discourse among theintellectuals, ruling class and common masses across the globe. In the centurythat passed since 1918, mankind has seen many epidemics with a heavy toll onhumanity but due to creation of knowledge well in time; humanity was saved frombig disasters. The COVID-19 that took its birth in Wuhan City of China is now asocial reality across the world besides a biological truth and has put manychallenges before the global village. Asa researcher, I cannot rule out the creation of COVID-19 as a biological weaponby genetic engineering and other scientific processes but the fact is thatCOVID-19 is a biological creation functions like other world creations.Nevertheless, COVID-19 has unlocked many myths of this so called technologicalworld and its knowledge resources. The real antidote to epidemic is not socialdistancing, but rather research and innovations in the medical sciences.
A century which is proud of its knowledge banks, knowledge baseseconomy, robust information communication technologies, strong scientificinnovations, artificial intelligence, e-learning and the strong health systemacross the world has failed to sustain before a tiny creation. This tinycreation has substantiated the theory of falsification put across by Karl Poperthat all knowledge is subjected to falsification. Credit goes to him who inadvance predicted the task of researchers is to falsify knowledge rather thanto maintain the status quo. Perhaps, our researchers have ignored thefalsification principle as result nature has to activate its own mechanism.However, the job of falsification has in a brutal way is imposed by theCOVID-19 by posing incomparable challenge on all knowledge resources of West,Europe, Asia and Africa. It has proved that knowledge created by humans hasalways a limited temporal validity and oceans of knowledge should always remainin flux. Despite the fact, that history has produced a good number of Nobellaureates and other scientists but the present situation has made us to realizethat humans are peculiar creation on this earth with limited cognition. TheCOVID-19 has also compelled us to rethink the way we used to ponder about oureducational institutions who are actively involved in knowledge creation.Knowledge creation is a pious activity that is why Allah (SWT) in holy Quranaddresses to whole humanity to pray like “Oh-Lord advance me in knowledge”.
This century which has proud on its research domains likeartificial intelligence, big data and machine learning, has failed to fightwith a micro creation at international level. It speaks volumes about ourknowledge industry and research scenarios. Despite having a good source ofartificial intelligence and machine learning in the medical field, it failed topredict well in advance the COVID-19 tsunami. The century which has spentmillions of dollars to boost its human intellect failed to respond COVID-19 theway it should have. These are just observations to argue that we should neverbe over assertive on our knowledge resources and innovations. Political,economic or intellectual arrogance has proven always anti humanity. Instead, weshould work hard humbly to create more knowledge and innovations. In 1597, theBritish philosopher Francis Bacon beautifully said; knowledge is power andpower is control but during the time of emergency it works as tool forsurvival, safety and love for whole humanity.
The world academia is constantly working hard to discover thevaccine. The scientists are rushing against the clock to answer pressingquestions about the nature and life style of hazardous virus. According to anarticle by Karen Halo, published in the technological review on 16th March,2020 it has been reported that with the help of artificial intelligence 24000coronavirus research papers are now available in one place for the researchersand scientists. The data sets aims toaccelerate research that could fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
As number of novel coronavirus infections rises daily across theworld, strategies for developing a safe and effective medicine are rapidlymoving forward among the academic circles. Humans have potential to respond toany vulnerable situations like present one because nature has endowed us withgreat gift that is our cognition. I was surprised to see a paper published byGerman researchers on persistence ofCoronaviruses in one of the leading journal of the Elsevier namely Journal ofHospital Infection and the paper was accepted on the same day it was submittedto the journal (31, January, 2020). Academia has realized that muchresponsibility lies on their shoulders to save the humanity at this crucialjuncture and scientists are working day and night to fight with this unseenenemy. Time will tell us whose knowledge resources are so advance and strong tobeat this new enemy. It will create a new hegemony in the coming days. Awell-known Kashmiri social scientist, Sheikh Fayaz from Zhejiang University, Chinabelieves that “…Covid-19, I am sure will have great implications too. It is upto us to both learn from the Covid-19 experiences and smash the hegemony ofglobal thugs and filthy elites once for all. Else, wait for another post-virusunequal, brutal and sickening world. Choice is ours!”
Epidemic killed millions of people long before the current age ofglobalization. However, with the emergence of global world the catchment ofepidemic has increase drastically. Manypeople blame the coronavirus epidemic on globalization and argue that the onlyway to control such epidemic outbreaks in future is de-globalize the world.However, to my understanding once the war of COVID 19 is over, a new worldshall emerge with new political and social order. On one side, there is aprobability it will boost the hegemony of already existing power structures andon other side it may work as tool for colonizing the minds of wholehumanity. We cannot rule a new globalcapitalism, new political discourse and new colonialism the way globaleconomies are collapsing and once the world will be back to work. Let us putthese speculations for the time to prove.
We cannot rule out the political obstacles in the development ofvaccine for this unseen enemy. Once the vaccine is discovered, it willexperience more politics and hurdles. A globally known health leader Dr.Jonathan Quick of Duke University in his famous book, The End of Epidemics(2018) writes “virus biology and vaccine technology could be limiting factors,but politics and economics are for more likely to be the barrier toimmunization.” The global leadership has also failed to handle the virus crisesand shown more interest in their own politics with the slogan of Chinese virusand Janta curfew. According to the Guardian newspaper, President Trumph showed confusion when, at ameeting held at Trump House on 2 March, 2010, he emphasized for a vaccine to beready by the US elections in November. This kind of global politics will dividethe world more and humanity has to be more in crises.
This century has seen many bloodbaths and wars across the world inthe form of armed conflicts, wars, and military oppressions. Many innocenthuman lives and children were killed brutally. Thousands of people arehomeless. Their economic and social lives were made deliberately miserable. Allthis was done with will by so called civilized countries with the support oftheir united organizations. Death was institutionalized and humanity wassnubbed. Political elites are still least concerned about human values.Sanctions are yet to be lifted on Iran. Market driven interests and security concerns are the only bench marksfor marking the global relations. COVID-19 has exposed all powerful countriesbefore the world and has provided them an opportunity to revisit theirworldview. Viris-19 has a potential to accelerate a new dawn in the dark cloudsand can work as paradigm shift for a new global order based on humanity andlove. COVID-19 has also taught many lessons to the world that there are somemoments in life where religion, class, greed of power and economy is of novalue and love for humanity surpassesthem all. We should awake from the darkness that has sealed our thoughts andheart. Let us restart a new hope for thewhole humanity particularly for the people who are oppressed, traumatized andhumiliated by the hands of the strong, growing and robust political powers ofthe world. What we have learnt from COVID-19 is that death is ultimate realityand humanity is immortal.
In nutshell, what we have realized at the global level, in thebattle against coronavirus, humanity lacks effective research in medicalsciences and dynamic leadership. No country on this planet can wall itself offfrom the impact of this coronavirus epidemic. It has badly impacted the social,cultural, political, educational and economic life of humans across the globe.According to UNHCR, the coronavirus is a test of our system, values andhumanity. The coronavirus will undoubtedly test our values, principles andconcerns for humanity. At the end, I shall like to quote Micheal Bachelet, UNHigh Commissioner for Human rights who has said;
” …if our response to coronavirus is grounded in the principles ofpublic trust, transparency, respect and empathy for the most vulnerable, wewill not only upload the intrinsic rights of every human being. We will beusing and building the most effective tools to ensure we can ride out thiscrises and learn lessons for the future”
(Dr. Habibullah Shah is working as Assistant Professor Educationin the Directorate of Distance Education, University of Kashmir and can bereached at habibullah@kashmiruniversity.ac.in)