Why are we such chronic flouters?

Nani Palkhivala, champion of constitutional morality andperhaps the greatest jurist of all time, in his book ‘We, the Nation: The LostDecades’ had sagely remarked that all nations, just like humans, have positiveas well as negative attributes and qualities that determine its trajectory.Nani gave examples of Japan, a country managing to have a superlative economyand growth despite its debilitating lack of natural resources due to itssuperior human resource and intrinsic respect for authority. Nani alsopostulated his theory with the example of Middle-Eastern countries having allperceptible natural resources but still considered as backward andunderdeveloped due to its poor human resource. When it came to India, Nanilauded the people for their intelligence and skill but also lamented on thelack of civic sense and spirit of public duty.

The words of Nani could not have been more prescient inlight of the present scenario where flouting lockdown orders are commonplaceand news-feeds are rife with violation of social-distancing by all and sundry.While it cannot be denied that these are desperate times and a human crisis ofglobal scale, it is also undeniable that the lack of public cooperation andviolation of safety rules was wholly avoidable. One could also argue that suchwanton disregard for community safety and self-discipline stems from aninherent and somewhat inextricable apathy for public duty which is now well andtruly entangled with our DNA.

   

Historical accounts are surprisingly paradoxical dependingon which perspective we may see it. The Britishers thought it fit to employ Indians for clerical jobs for our propensity to besupine and servile in face of authority. On the other hand, after the Britishsun set at the Indian shores, Winston Churchill famously said that India wouldbe ruled by goons and would be lost in political squabble. While one can surelysay that we have made great technological advancement and giant leaps ineconomic indices, the under-current of Churchill’s words somehow still resonatesvestiges of truth.

Democracy is messy

Ranging from true democracies to flawed ones, democracy isdefinitely the most desirable form of governance in modern day politics ifcompared to any other form. However, compared to other forms of governance, beit single party regimes to monarchs to outright dictatorships, a democraticbody politic is far more chaotic and difficult to manage in terms ofadministration and enforcement of law. On the other hand, an autocratic regimewould be easy to control, govern and administer, and one does not have toventure too far from India for examples, as China, a tightly run and regimentedsingle party communist regime, managed to control the spread of COVID -19 byimposing severe restrictions on its population which are unimaginable in ademocratic setup like USA or even India.

Ironically, in times of crises like the present one,autocratic regimes fare better at governance than their democratic counterpartsmainly due to monolithic systems of top-down structures and a populace whichgets regimented over the years to obey the commands of the sovereign.

Socio-economic index

It’s a no-brainer that countries which fare well on thesocio-economic index would generally fare well in most human endeavours. Thepresent pandemic is no exception to the same rule with Nordic countries faringexceedingly well in terms of reported cases of COVID-19 as compared to theirEuropean counterparts especially the big three – Italy, Spain and France whichfare much lower on the said index.

It is not difficult to see the co-relation which thesocio-economic score of the country may have with the likelihood of itspopulace respecting the health advisories and guidelines. The superioreducation, healthcare and social security infrastructure of the Nordic nationsnot only foster better interface between the governing and the governed butalso ensures that the trust enjoyed by the administration occasions lowerlevels of panic.

Contradistinguish that with India, where poorersocio-economic factors viz. lack of meaningful education, inadequate healthcareinfrastructure and virtually inexistent social security setup have caused panicwhich have in-turn led to the worried masses to violate the lockdown orders insearch of food, shelter or in some cases long distance transport. One can seethe difference domestically as well where states like Goa, Manipur and Keralahave fared extremely better than other states in India having lower levels ofeducation, healthcare facilities and social security measures.

Kashmir : survival of the fittest

The socio economic argument would certainly fail when itcomes to the example of Kashmir which fares pretty well as compared to manystates in India. However, the current public behaviour can be attributed to thelong decades of turmoil in Kashmir. Certainly, the long years of conflict havenot only festered adversarial outlook to the machinery of the state but havealso moulded the psyche of the citizens by infusing a survival instinct whichin times of crisis disregards all social niceties and reverence to the publicadministration.

Conclusion

There is no quick fix for this pandemic, and more so, thereis no ad hoc solution to hindrances indicated above. The solutions wouldrequire generational reform with equal measures of statesmanship andconstructive public participation. Even then, certain problems like GordianKnots are too politically complex, and no measure of statesmanship can resolvethem unilaterally. Unfortunately, in such unsolvable cases, the malady is not justa novel virus but a much more morbid malady which compromises human ideals.

Shadab Showkat Jan is Advocate, Bombay High Court

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