Public Comment

India is about one third the size of the U.S. with four times the people and much, much poorer. Large numbers of the population are dayworkers, clerks, savants, secretaries, and hawkers – a sea of humanity dependent on subsistent wages in order to survive. 

Prime Minister Modi of India hasty lockdown without adequate preplanning will condemn millions of poor Indians to a certain painful death. As usual he has gone for the optics making headlines when he announced the stay at home order. His earlier decision to implement demonetization in 2016 was taken without appropriate consultation and was a huge disaster for the economy causing immense hardships for the poor. 

His lack of humanity is extremely troubling. He failed to offer any words of compassion to the families whose loved ones were beaten to death in the recent communal riots in Delhi. His recent response to the pandemic is puzzling. How does he expect 1.3 billion people to remain 6 feet apart? 

Local Indian officials ignored the views of international experts, who warned the coronavirus was being transmitted within communities. For weeks they failed to impose a strict testing regime especially for international travelers and their immediate contacts. 

Much like the rest of the world India is facing crucial shortages of ventilators, testing kits, masks, gowns and other protective equipment for health workers. 

It is baffling to understand why India continued exporting medical equipment which was urgently required by local hospitals. Does corporate profits triumph concerns for human life? 

Modi’s announcement “left a gaping hole,” tweeted P. Chidambaram, a former finance minister. “Who is going to provide cash to the poor that they need for the next 21 days?” 

In Chandigarh, one the wealthiest cities in India the curfew is more draconian than the rest of the country. There is fear of Non Resident Indians (NRI’s), over the age of 62 returning from Italy infecting the local population. These Punjabis are famous for their mozzarella. The local government promised home deliveries of essentials like bread and milk but after three days the deliveries stopped. Crowds of starving poor are crowding around food stores negating the purpose of the shutdown. 

It is estimated that there are 50 lakh crores of rupees of gold stashed in Indian Temples. Perhaps the government could consider commandeering the gold to lessen the impact of the lockdown. 

The important lessons of China, Italy and Spain have been ignored. India does not need a “brown Trump.” It needs a rational leader like Mario Cuomo who thinks strategically and compassionately. 

The rich and well connected will survive, the poor, oppressed minorities will not. The only silver lining in the dark foreboding clouds is the improvement in India’s air quality which will save lives. It will be interesting to map the ecological windfall from a worldwide shutdown of humans.