C-O-V-I-D stand for….

It suddenly came to my mind that in a populist style oneneeds to attach meaning to the five alphabets that constitute the term Covidalbeit  without the 19  which of course is changing. Some of therecent write-ups have already named it as Covid-19-20. We are definitely in awar like situation and it is difficult to make a prognosis about what kind ofworld shall follow the Covid. The New York Times columnist Paul Krugmanrecently wrote that government in United States suffers from ” learnedhelplessness”. In the US 15 million people have become jobless and Krugmandescribes the happenings as “economic equivalent of medically inducedcoma”. This is what is happening in the first world and God save the rest.The meaning to five alphabets is induced keeping in view impressions andexperiences gained over the months. The five alphabets in “COVID” canbe read  in the following sequence:

The  alphabet ‘C’ in Covid  needs to  be read as communalizing the disease and its spread which certainly would amount to weakening the fight against it. Already in India left-liberal voices have strongly reacted to any attempt made to politicize or communalize the spread of the virus. True,  that Tableeghi Jaamat people should have shown seriousness about the times, and its leaders must provide full explanation about all matters connected to the event as and when the pandemic dies. But to attribute all things to their congregation is misleading. In a globalizing world it is difficult to stop the migration and mobility of the people. Fast travel has made it possible for preachers, teachers, talkers  and leaders to have global audiences. The pandemic  in South Korea  started  with  Shincheonji  Church of Jesus with a personality cult around 88 year Lee-Man-hee identified as messianic savior. The cult facilitated transmission of the virus from Wuhan to South Korea because of frequent travel among its followers. It is reported that 51 percent infections in South Korea are due to Church of Jesus. Further,  casualness also crept in at   different places unintentionally giving fillip to the spread of the pandemic. In Singapore 43 cases were attributed to a dinner party. In Austria 600 people got infected at a resort. At a funeral at Albany in USA 600 people got infected. In Japan at Osaka 80 persons got infected at a music party. Recently a BJP MLA in Maharashtra was allowed to host his birth day party inviting no less than 200 people. All this points to need for caution and restraint in difficult times so that incompetent regimes don’t  use these lapses as  diversionary tactics. There is need for developing a coherent institutional and intellectual approach  to the pandemic.

   

The alphabet ‘O’ stands for Office spaces so that work goes on and officials and officers can work even from home or makeshift places so that governance continues. The other day I got an order from my university to prepare on-line lectures for students so that they remain busy and there is no loss of time. At exactly the same time the ETV correspondent from  Bandipora area in the presence of  local people divulged that the electricity transformer in the village is out of order for last four months and no one is listening to the people. Further,  with 2G internet  we  wonder how anyone can go for this on-line transmission of knowledge when it takes ten minutes for opening the mailbox. If the pandemic continues in our region with low health infrastructure and high poverty indices a round of essential committee meetings (forget class rooms) must be convened on-line to plan for contingent futures. The demand for 4G services is not a luxury but a survival kit and Supreme Court needs to take a proactive position on the matter. The right to internet must be recognized as a fundamental right. Already the Gig economy-Ola, Uber and other livelihood issues are connected to it. The right to education, on-line examinations and  right to health too are aligned to the internet.

The alphabet ‘V’ likewise may be read as need for compassionate “volunteers” to help people particularly the marginalized and those living in multi-dimensional poverty. There is need for two types of volunteers. Medical and non-medical. As far as medical health volunteers are concerned it is for people having expertise in the field to invite or recruit them. Recently Jammu and Kashmir administration decided to hire the services of retired doctors to further build-up the capacity of health services. Dr Trehan of Medicity has suggested that medical students in the final year in different medical colleges can also be hired to further augment the system. There are of course critical issues involved and it is better to leave it for experts. The non-medical volunteers are needed for the reason that state as an institution in India over a period of time has not allowed the NGO sector to work and even civil society actors face problems. The state in India is suffering from not only intellectual bankruptcy but also from talent deficit. The plight of migrant workers has thrown new challenges. In deep rural clusters and mohallas in towns and cities volunteers can help in thousand ways and help the state functionaries in reaching out to people at this difficult hour. During 2005 earthquake in Kashmir the NGOs were first to reach to the affected people and in 2014 floods we saw how volunteers worked tirelessly to rescue the people.

The alphabet ‘I’ is  for  “isolation” and in this case social isolation. The latest news from Wuhan is that those of the Indians who stayed back and did not leave sent home the one lesson that of minimizing contact and maintaining the social distancing. The people in India-Pakistan can use the time for self-introspection and deep reflections. Governments and state functionaries likewise need to think whether surgical strikes and nuclear weapons can help us in fighting the tiny virus. Further, how justifiable it is to heighten the guard at Siachen Glacier but lower the budget on health services. Scholar Sudheendra Kulkarni recently wrote an article “In praise of corona induced solitude”. He quoted political philosopher Hannah Arendt who believed that “all thinking strictly speaking is done in solitude and is a dialogue between man and myself. But this dialogue should not lose contact with the world of my fellow-men with whom I lead the dialogue of thought”.

The last alphabet “D” is without any doubt meant for the Doctor, more in line of fire than duty. It would be too much at this point of time to figure out the deficiencies in training or health care when even the basic protective cover is not available to them. Globally the deficiencies are visible and as per reports it may take more than eighteen months to find a vaccine for the pandemic. I have heard some people talking about Fidel Castro’s doctor warriors in Cuba, China’s disciplined medical corpse etc., but the fact is that all countries were caught unprepared for the pandemic. Nearer home I would earnestly suggest that medical colleges in Kashmir need to make the  the work of missionary doctors (who worked here before and after 1947) a compulsory reading for fresh medical graduates. This will help the graduates to learn about two core values – empathy and discipline – fundamental to the job of health workers .Dr Mufti Gulzar – a Kashmiri born doctor working in England has written an excellent book  “Kashmir in Sickness And in Health” giving an account of missionary hospitals in Kashmir. He writes that one doctor Francis Peters was working at CMS Zenana hospital Rainawari  who was a strict disciplinarian. During his time “no one was allowed to blow horn on the main road adjacent to the hospital from Khanyar to Saida Kadal in either direction”. About Miss Mallinson (founder of Mallinson school) when it was rumored that she was going to bequeath her skeletal remains to the school against the wishes of students, Miss Millinson reportedly said:” May you learn from me even when I am no more. My bones teach you physiology”.

By way of conclusion it is appropriate for each one of us to draw lessons from this pandemic. There are lessons for nations, individuals and communities. The immediate lesson is what can be its economic fallout and how to cope up with that. According to World Bank data 76 percent of India’s workforce is in the vulnerable employment. Remember that Pandemics have potential to flatten  the world.

Prof Gull Mohammad Wani teaches political Science at Kashmir University.

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