Covid-19: India’s relative success and challenges - Hindustan Times
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Covid-19: India’s relative success and challenges

ByShashi Shekhar
Apr 20, 2020 09:15 PM IST

India has done well in seeking to flatten the curve. But there is a gap. Apply the law equally forcefully to VIPs

United States (US) President Donald Trump, arguably the most powerful leader in the world, has stated more than once that China could have minimised the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) if it had wanted to. He has consistently referred to the pandemic as being caused by the “China virus”. This echoes the blame game that other leaders are engaged in to avoid taking responsibility for the situation in their own countries. Trump, as always, has gone one step further. As the US grapples with the pandemic, he has been accused by many for not having acted in time.

At the wedding of former Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy’s son, social distancing norms were disregarded(ANI)
At the wedding of former Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy’s son, social distancing norms were disregarded(ANI)

The US is paying a huge price for this mismanagement. Left with no option, Trump has chosen the easy way — detract attention by shifting the blame to another target, be it China or the Democrats.

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The pandemic will eventually pass. But experience so far clearly shows that being a superpower does not imbue a country with powers to fight the virus any more than others. India, for example, with resources nowhere close to that of the US, has — and data suggests this — been able to control the pandemic so far, thanks to a timely lockdown. According to scientific evidence, India has had some success in flattening the curve. Two weeks ago, the number of infected people was doubling every three days, now the rate has almost halved.

Kerala has been a remarkable story. It was the state which saw the first cases of Covid-19 in India. It then saw a spike of cases, but has now, through effective political management, been able to reduce the rate of infections. So have some other states. In Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, this graph has fluctuated rapidly. The next two weeks are going to be very crucial for these two densely populated states; if the virus spreads rapidly in the Hindi heartland, given its weak health infrastructure, the challenges will intensify for India.

The Opposition has argued that the lockdown is a temporary remedy; what is needed is more testing. Maharashtra is an interesting example in this regard. The number of cases there appear to be the highest because the rate of testing is also high. Other states have also developed their testing capacity. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, personally took charge of the situation. As the testing kits reach distant areas, we will begin to get more accurate figures and will be able to tailor our responses accordingly.

The fact that India is doing reasonably well under the circumstances is what seems to have prompted the government to relax some restrictions and allow limited activities. But it is far too early to celebrate. The sheer size and diversity of India make the battle against the pandemic complex and time-consuming.

But even as the political class and citizens have come together, in large measure, to follow rules to beat the pandemic, there has also been a streak of irresponsibility.

A large number of people attended the wedding ceremony of former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy’s son, where norms of social distancing were clearly disregarded. Are these VIPs in a different category, which allows them to disregard expert advice and government rules?

On the day Kumaraswamy’s son’s wedding took place, thousands of kilometres away in Dibdiba village, on the border of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, a couple got married in the presence of a few select family members because the police had not allowed the “baraat”. There is clearly one set of standards for the ordinary people and another, more dangerous one, for the so-called VIPs.

Kumaraswamy’s son’s event is not an isolated case of entitled behaviour. Questions were raised over the way Shivraj Singh Chouhan took charge in Madhya Pradesh, violating social distancing norms. At a time when social distancing had become the accepted practice, many dignitaries and celebrities attended the now-infamous party in Lucknow, with singer Kanika Kapoor, who tested positive.

These dual standards are the biggest chink in our armour against the virus. The police, who are seen beating helpless migrant workers desperate in search of livelihoods, double-up as guards at the residences of political dignitaries when they indulge in risky behaviour.

Such life-threatening acts should be dealt with strictly. No quarter must be given to flouting norms, irrespective of how important or otherwise anyone may be. We must fight it together.

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan
The views expressed are personal
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