From Atmanirbhar to Parmatmanirbhar

The collapse of governance

If we look at the events of the past one and a half years, we realise that the mishandling of the Covid crisis has shattered the very framework of our society. Fourteen months down the line, we are struggling for beds in hospitals, oxygen, medicines and ventilators. And that's not all. Unaccounted for deaths, bodies mixed up in hospitals, mass cremations/burials -- and the loss of hope. Though help is being rushed to us from all over the world, those who have lost their loved ones now fear losing more. Can it get any worse? The catchphrase "Atmanirbhar" has become "Parmatmanirbhar" (God-dependent).

With the lockdown came a migrant crisis, with workers leaving cities and walking hundreds of miles to reach their villages. Where things were worse because of the absence of any sort of medical facilities. There were no trains for them and those that were subsequently introduced, bled these migrants of their last pennies. It was made mandatory that tickets had to be bought. And the blame game started between the Railway Minister and the states. We will not easily forget that while these trains were belatedly introduced, for the Kumbh Mela, trains were made easily available.

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Organised presumably in keeping with the agenda of Hindutva, the Kumbh Mela turned out to be a giant wrong, held a year ahead of schedule and with crores in attendance. Last year, the Tablighi Jamaat was attacked by sections of people for being super-spreaders, when that congregation had only a fraction of the people allowed to convene for the Kumbh Mela. Is this what we believe to be a balanced society? In the same vein, the government explored the possibility of allowing the Amarnath Yatra with thousands of people, while there was bull-headed and mortifying opposition to allowing more than 50 people per mosque to offer daily iftaar during the period of Ramzan.

In parallel, the BJP's "Mission 200" for Bengal became a greater objective than controlling the pandemic. A war of egos, words and all else in between. All the energies of the political stalwarts were directed at defeating Mamata, and they were spectacularly unsuccessful, in part because of the mishandling of the pandemic.

Next year, we will have more state elections, including in UP, and the target will be "Mission 300," while people may struggle for beds and oxygen, and the dying will not get a dignified send-off. This is what we have become.

Also read: Covid carnage: Are states lying about death figures?

There are other huge mistakes. The Covid vaccination story is the biggest collapse of governance. The world over, people have realised that vaccination is the only gamechanger. India watched, pondered and deliberated, while other countries bought vaccines in large orders. And so, while we prided ourselves on being one of the world's largest vaccine manufacturers, we were out of the race. Now we are begging foreign manufacturers to send vaccines to India. It was elementary and uncomplicated arithmetic -- we knew that we have to vaccinate more than a billion people. And yet, we bungled it.

When the government realised that there was going to be an acute shortage, they postponed the administering of the second shot while declaring that everyone above 18 would be vaccinated. The universal vaccination programme is, however, a mirage. The Health Minister recently said that there was no shortage of vaccines. It is clear, however, that there is no truth in that statement since no slots are available on the much-touted Co-win site. Many states have also made fervent requests to the Centre citing shortages of vaccines, but to no avail. Those with the first shot need continuity, and the others are praying fervently for God's grace till they are vaccinated.

The Urban Development Minister in his tweet said that we are spending two times the cost of the Central Vista on health. If he were to be believed, then we would not have people dying from a lack of oxygen and ventilators. We would not have patients dying under trees and inside ambulances. No one answers who is responsible.

The Ayushman Bharat Scheme, launched in 2018, envisaged hospitals being set up in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Someone should answer how many hospitals have actually come up. If metros, including the national capital, are witnessing such a shortage of medical facilities, one shudders to think of the situation in smaller towns and villages. At this time of colossal calamity, when a National Medical Emergency should be declared, is anyone even listening?!

Even assuming that the rippling effect of the pandemic was not anticipated, is it not the duty of the Prime Minister to come forward and explain what went wrong and take ownership of the collateral damage? We all clapped with him, and switched off the lights when he asked us to last year, but did he do what needed to be done without asking? Instead of answers, we get press releases from the BJP explaining that nothing went wrong. The scientific adviser to the government told us that a third wave is inevitable and recanted the next day, saying that it could be prevented. The flip-flops must stop so that stock is taken of our readiness for a possible next wave.

My father, the late Kuldip Nayar, crossed the Wagah Border during Partition. He is undeniably looking at us from the heavens with moist eyes and would be profoundly aggrieved and agonised looking at what we have done to ourselves. Regretfully, I say that this is no one's India, not yours, not mine and certainly not our children's.

(The writer is a Senior Advocate at the Delhi High Court)

(This column was first published on ndtv.com on May 16, 2021)