The first announcement of a lockdown in India, a year before when this Pandemic first struck, was avowedly made to save people from a catastrophe that was then thought of as unmanageable for the healthcare system of India. Its long term fallout on economy, and its immediate impact on the people-caught-unawares generated lot of debate. Later it was thought that in the countries like India a full scale lockdown may not be the first choice. Gradually the lockdown was relaxed till we had things back on rails. A year later when the catastrophe actually hit we were caught off guard. In J&K things were, and still are considered, as relatively better than some of the places in India, where it is a scene of near collapse, if not total. But it was no reason to be complacent, hence the government announced a incremental lockdown. Its downside cannot be ignored, but to break the chain a smart application of lockdown is an effective weapon against the spread of pandemic. But it is time to make some points and except the administration to take note of it; and this is in the spirit of contributing to handling of this crisis, and not throwing blame at anyone. The ultimate purpose of a lockdown is to ensure that people stay indoors and the amount of human to human contact is minimised to the extent possible. When the situation comes to this pass what is the point of asking many of the government, and semi-government employees to attend offices, when without them the official work can be managed. At a time when the big corporate houses are shifting to near-total online mode, it is incumbent on the government to shun this colonial mindset of ensuring that the staff is in the room. It is better to facilitate the staff to work from home. After all focus should be the work, not the attendance. This mindset of having the entire staff at the beck and call mostly satiates the ego. The actual focus should be the work, and that is what a government servant is supposed to do. It is time that a long term policy framework is envisioned where government services are managed from home. This would not just make the government services more efficient, it will also be a stroke of liberation, and emancipation.
Smart Lockdown, Smart Governance
