Things are getting worse outside our homes. The number of COVID 19 cases are rising exponentially in India. But that should not be a sign of worry. What it signifies is that there is a rise in number of tests as well. Hence, more positive cases coming out. It is a good thing. What is bad is if the number continues to rise, then our delayed and lacklustre healthcare planning may lead to loss of many lives.
The mind is full with questions. Anxiety has taken over. A lot of it has to be with what will happen to our families, financially, if this lockdown continues and at the same time, the fear of contracting the disease remains.
In the last week and a half, to add to our existing woes, country’s ever-existing disease, which is communalism, returned, with many of the members of the Tablighi Jamaat not bothering to listen to the government orders of the lockdown. There were stones pelted by a muslim community living in Indore at the healthcare officials, making it a horrific sight to watch. As terrible the visuals were, the event also gave a sense of relief to some of our TV news channels and bigoted news anchors, who played their old rotten agenda against the muslims, day in and day out, without any shame and without any fear. Ethics are a thing of past anyway.
It escalated to dangerous levels with Whatsapp flooded with videos of muslim men spitting on notes, on other people, mixing their saliva in fruits and vegetables.
Many factchecks were done to de-establish these whatsapp forwards with the present scenario. However, there were other videos which seemed true, courtesy of fascination among many for Tik Tok.
Stupidity by one group gave a chance to a large communal group in the country to spread fake news and eventually create an environment where another riot-like situation could emerge. One idiotic act by some muslims helped the hindu right wingers spread the fear among their own community that muslims were doing this in quest to fight Corona Jihad. Many still believe that there is a revolution brewing among the muslims, taking advatantage of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Not that this communal virus has been stopped completely, it has come to a break for sure. All that is needed is one message from the Prime Minister to the citizens to not engage in communalising a deadly disease; to rise above hate in these times, to put a full stop to it. Alas, it has not happened so far. To expect that from the man who was quiet throughout the Delhi riots which did not happen a long back, is also asking for a lot. Isn’t it?
Those criticising the government have been facing a lot of flak as well. There are abuses in inboxes, comment boxes and replies on twitter. ‘This is not the time for criticism’ is what many want us to believe. Others asking ‘how much have you donated’?
Donated where? To the PM Cares Fund? Where accountability of the person on whose name the Fund has been running, is zero. There have been many questions raised over the Fund. Despite that, people have donated, in large numbers. Celebrities have donated massive amounts. That is why the money available in the Fund, courtesy of the donation spree, asks for more questioning. What are they doing with it?
On 3 April, Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi released a public appeal, asking for donation of masks, suits and gloves in high numbers so that they carry on with their job at the hospital. This is one of the best hospitals in Delhi and I am telling this from a personal experience. There are quality doctors in Safdarjung and quality treatment as well. To see this hospital suffering in such times like this, is both painful and baffling.
There are high chances that deaths happening in rural areas will go unreported because most of these cases don’t make it to the hospitals files. We are not testing enough in big cities like Delhi and Mumbai, forget what is happening in Balia, Deoria, Ara and other small towns and cities. So, does government have a plan to establish new make-shift hospitals in rural areas? What is the doctor-patient ratio? How many beds do we have in every hospital? Communication will relieve us. Here, lack of communication between the government and public can create hysteria. Because lack of communication also reveals lack of planning.
Can you imagine the state of hospitals in second-tier and three-tier cities, if there is no plan to facilitate them with equipments to fight, once the virus reaches there?
Is asking such questions creating a panic-like situation? Does it take questions to tell us that there exists a panic-like situation? Does it mean not supporting the government? Does not it also mean supporting the government, by pointing out the loopholes in the system because this is not a simple matter. This is a matter of life and death. And both the critic and the government are in it together? Why and who is separating the critics’ from government’s fight?
What baffles me more is Modi fans can easily put the blame on 130 crore Indians for not following the lockdown measures but won’t ask questions to the man who they voted to power and put in charge to fight us through situations like these.
There is a government we have chosen. All of us. It needs to serve us and behave like a government.
You are expecting 130 crore people to adopt one lifestyle, lock themselves down, while knowing we are divided into many classes, castes, sub-castes and religions? Are you ignorant of the fact that your reality maybe different from the maid who comes to do dishes in your house. Their reaction to the pandemic will also be different, you won’t realise?
‘Don’t panic’ is a call that comes from a convenient position. The call oversees financial situations of many. How you reacted to the pandemic depends on where you are on the ladder.
Also, you are expecting everyone to walk on one line, while you never earlier wanted to even accept that ‘some people’ existed?
Like Mark Tully pointed in his book, the elite in the country wants to put a full stop on this country. Every time you do that, you run away from India’s reality. And create a chaos. Our roads saw the same when workers, labourers walked on foot to their homes, some managing to reach their destination, many dying on the way. Others returning to misery in cities.
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Criticism is not negative. What we do in jounalism, is ask questions. A question demands an answer from the people who are responsible. When answers are seeked from government, they come, in form of plans, policies, which eventually lead to something positive.
Asking questions isn’t a sign of negativity. Criticism will eventually lead to something positive. And whether we feel bad when we first listen to a good criticism of our work, and want to ignore it or not, it remains with us in our subconscious. So, even if you have unheard a criticism, it still is doing its job. It is changing you. In government’s context, it continues to keep the leaders in check. It is helping them get better.
And that is why today, when I see news anchors playing Antakshari on television, it makes me cry out loud.
So here is a humble request to you – it does not matter which political party you back, what ideology you support, if the PM asks you to light diyas, do it if you want to or don’t do it if you don’t want to, but there is one thing you need to be doing in any scenario – asking questions to the people in charge of running this nation.
Asking questions, is helping the government fight the disease. And if the government thinks otherwise, you know where we are heading. So when government questions your intentions, ask two questions more.
Questions, criticism are our only hope in these times.
The Spectator 