Fighting COVID-19 and Beyond
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has implied that the current economic slump was triggered by COVID-19, it is to be noted that the GDP growth rate had declined for successive quarters even before the pandemic.
In a column in The Indian Express, P Chidambaram writes that it is the government’s immediate responsibility to support businesses that have failed, provide funds at lower interest rates and a monthly allowance for farmers and non-agricultural daily workers.
“There is not yet an estimate of the money that will be required. The central government’s total expenditure in 2020-21, as per the budget, will be Rs 30,42,230 crore. All state governments together will spend about Rs 40-45 lakh crore. Given that scale of expenditure, it is possible to find, say, Rs 5,00,000 crore towards mitigating COVID-19 over the next 6 months. This is a moral and economic imperative and we must find the money and spend it.”
Involve Women in the Battle Against COVID-19
Lalita Panicker calls attention to consider women as a specific target group for awareness campaigns amid the coronavirus outbreak. In a column in Hindustan Times, she writes about how it is time to take into account the particular vulnerabilities of women who have higher exposure, yet are helping battle the outbreak.
“Women also constitute the majority of domestic workers. While people are stocking up on masks, sanitisers and food, there is little thought that is being spared for the help at home, who are as vulnerable to the virus outbreak. For most women in low-paid jobs, staying in isolation is not an option. Women must have a more active role in the protocols – prevention, identification of the disease and surveillance – that accompany any contagious disease outbreak. In fact, given that women are in caregiver and health worker roles, they are a vital part of this chain.”
Why Akbar the Great Remains So Relevant
Karan Thapar believes the stark difference between king Akbar and the leaders of today is that the former attempted to negotiate a place of dignity for each person and every creed, even in a complex setting. In the Hindustan Times, he writes about how Akbar believed all religions are equal, didn’t force his Rajput Hindu wives to convert to Islam, prohibited the slaughter of cows and the eating of their flesh.
“After all this, it hardly merits saying Akbar was also a great general. ‘He disregarded all the old rules of warfare,’ writes Mukhoty, ‘and used speed, fury and firepower in such a manner that it appeared as though he was able to bend the very forces of nature to his will.’ Among his innovations were ‘ingenious rockets’ and ‘lightweight canon.’ Yet – and this is the paradox – Akbar was ‘effectively unschooled and practically illiterate.’ As a child, he was ‘distracted, undisciplined and rambunctious.’ Mukhoty says: ‘In the parlance of the 21st century, (he) may have suffered from attention-deficit disorder.’ Other historians have said he was dyslexic.”
COVID-19 Must Be Defeated
While social distancing is imperative right now, what about those who live in the crowded slums of our cities, asks Tavleen Singh in The Indian Express. Prime Minister Modi has announced an economic task force, but will it be responsible for compensating ordinary, daily wage workers and those whose small businesses are likely to die before the virus does, she asks.
She urged the Centre to take urgent steps in public hospitals, to meet the basic international standards of hygiene.
“Clean water and soap have become necessary safeguards against this virus and yet this is not possible in a country in which clean water is such a luxury that 20 percent of the world’s population living without access to clean water are believed to be Indian. In rural India, there are villages in which water is so scarce that it would be impossible for people to wash their hands many times a day. The prime minister has made water the most important mission of his second term and a special ministry has been created to ensure that every Indian has access to clean water before the next general election. But, so far, this goal remains a distant dream. So that most basic tool to fight the virus remains unavailable to millions of Indians.”
Not Enough to Douse Corona Fire, Govt Also Needs a Roadmap for Recovery
To battle challenges in a post-COVID-19 India, Swapan Dasgupta writes in The Times of India, that the Modi government will need to deploy all its resources to keep people pandemic-free, ensure that the livelihoods of people are safeguarded and provide financial assistance and jobs so that the economy does not slump to rock-bottom.
“There are divergent estimates of the numbers of Indians likely to be infected with coronavirus. Going by medical wisdom, it will depend on the extent to which Indians take to social distancing – something alien in a country where crowds are the norm – and act sensibly. However, even if the prognosis of an impending tsunami turns out to be politically motivated, there is little doubt that the stringent measures necessary to keep people COVID-19-free will take a toll on the economy. Indeed, the more drastic the precautionary health measures, the greater will be the fallout on the economy.”
India’s Descent From a 50-50 to a 30-70 Democracy
Detailing how we are living in a disastrous democracy, Ramachandra Guha writes in Hindustan Times about the misdoings of the Delhi Police in Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University, how they have facilitated the characterisation of India as a majoritarian Hindu state bent on repressing its minorities, the power play in Madhya Pradesh demeaning the people’s right in a democracy, how the Supreme Court has not yet heard the electoral bonds case or the much-criticised appointment of Ranjan Gogoi to the Rajya Sabha.
“Our democracy was always imperfect and flawed. It was the Congress which, when in power, first politicised the police and civil services, first destabilised elected state governments, first compromised the independence of the judiciary. But the Modi-Shah regime has taken this process much further and deeper. Back in 2007, I characterised India as a 50-50 democracy. On our last Independence Day, I downgraded this to 40-60, warning that we may soon be at 30-70. We are there already, and our democracy seems set to decline and degrade further yet.”
Corona Will Kill Trump’s Chance to Be Re-Elected
SA Aiyar is sure that in the upcoming US presidential elections in November, Donald Trump will lose as he has already failed politically. He writes in The Times of India about how Trump cannot escape the blame of coronavirus and while this is a peculiar situation when a recession has been deliberately called for, handing out cash cheques is not going help with economic recovery.
“Not a chance. They will spend on necessities but will hoard part of the money for contingencies, including health contingencies. Make no mistake, this recession can quickly snowball into massive business failures, which will then hit the banks and may cause another financial crisis. Not till 2020-end can we know if we have another financial crisis. Till then, modesty in household spending is no more than common sense.”
British Plan for Judges Way to Go for Rajya Sabha?
Meghnad Desai writes about how the nomination of the Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to the Rajya Sabha has raised doubts about the independence of the judiciary. He suggests in The Indian Express to adopt the British reform, making all retiring justices of the Supreme Court automatically nominated members of the Upper House. Since their appointment would be automatic, there would be no question of patronage of the powers and the nominated members can also behave in a non-partisan way.
“The House of Lords has Cross Bench Peers (Judges sit as Cross Bench) who bring a lot of ballast to the system by their independence. It would require a constitutional amendment to make this change. If nomination is automatic upon retirement and the tenure 10 years, there is no scope for doubting the independence of such new members in the Rajya Sabha. They could elevate the Upper House to a level it deserves.”
Journalistic Challenges in Reporting COVID-19
AS Panneerselvan outlines ethical journalistic practices to be followed during a pandemic, such as the COVID-19 outbreak. He writes in The Hindu about how good reporting expects journalists to avoid using sensationalist language, inform and not cause panic, avoid speculations and not pay heed to rumours.
“I also draw from an essay by Bill Hanage and Marc Lipsitch, professors of epidemiology at Harvard University, in Scientific American, titled ‘How to Report on the COVID-19 Outbreak Responsibly.’ They write: ‘Good reporting and science have to distinguish legitimate sources of information from no end of rumors, half-truths, financially motivated promotions of snake-oil remedies and politically motivated propaganda.’”
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