Facing the\nexceptional challenge of stopping Covid-19 from spreading further, the nation\nhas shown tremendous solidarity and patience. When it started, the lockdown\nseemed an impossible notion, more so in this country. Now, even after an\nextension, people remain steadfast in their resolve to protect themselves and\ntheir fellow citizens from the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The way 1.3 billion Indians\nhave joined hands against the pandemic is unprecedented in world history.\nGenerations to come will wonder how it was made possible in a country like\nIndia. I am convinced that this would not have been possible but for extraordinary\nleadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\ninfection is, of course, spreading and the battle is far from won. Yet, we have\nreasons to feel confident, because the magnitude of the outbreak has been very\nlimited in India, compared to the numbers in other parts of the world. This should\nbe surprising, because India is not only a developing nation with limitations\nin public healthcare infrastructure and resources; it is also a vast country\nwith high population density.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the\nonly way to stop the virus from claiming human lives was to keep a safe\ndistance from fellow human beings, then the battle might have been as good as\nlost even before it began. How do you get the message across to a vast\npopulation, with different levels of literacy and access to the news media?\nWhat about cultural barriers? It would be physically impossible for any\nauthority to enforce such a ban across the length and breadth of the nation if\nit failed to persuade people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet,\nthe impossible has happened. There were aberrations, yes, but they were\naberrations; they were the exceptions that proved the rule. The Tablighi Jamaat\nevent in the capital in March and the exodus of migrant labourers from some\ncities to their homes at the beginning of the lockdown were unfortunate, and\nyet they illustrate nothing more than stray cases of human frailties against a\nvast canvas of the whole population refraining from movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From\nArunachal Pradesh in the northeast to Kachchh at the other end, from Kashmir to\nKanyakumari, Indians have united for a common cause. How shall we explain this\nmiraculous show of self-restraint? The Indian psyche is part of the answer. So\nare our cultural traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\nmay be many more factors. Yet, the most crucial factor that brought them all\ntogether was the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The nation is\nfortunate, at such a critical juncture, in having a prime minister whose\nseveral qualities again came together in the right combination at this\njuncture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The PM\ndecided to impose the lockdown at a time when the number of infected patients\nwas quite low. This shows his concern but also boldness \u2013 something we have\nseen before in other circumstances. Bringing the whole country to a halt and\njamming the economy in order to save citizens\u2019 lives is an extremely hard call\nto take, as we know from the global response to Covid-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Modi\u2019s\npopularity ensured that the difficult decision was not opposed but welcomed,\nand people at large enthusiastically turned it into their own movement. As we\nsaw in the curtain raiser to the lockdown, the Janata curfew meant the people\non their own followed restrictions on movement. I can\u2019t think of any other\nleader, in India or abroad, who could have successfully modified public\nbehaviour literally within hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His\nappeals to people \u2013 first, about banging thalis as a gesture of gratitude\ntowards doctors and others and later to light lamps as a symbol of solidarity\nand positivity \u2013 should also be evaluated in terms of the results they\nachieved. I can recount many anecdotes of villagers in far-flung places to whom\nthe vibes of positivity would not have reached except through such innovative\nways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such\nmeasures from the PM have spread the good word about awareness among them. When\nI get a chance to speak over phone with old colleagues and other fellow\ncitizens from small towns and villages, I am amazed at the level of their\nawareness, their readiness to take precautions in spite of hardships, and their\npositive attitude. They themselves credit \u201cModi-ji\u201d for this dramatic\ntransformation. It is this trust of people in the PM that has ensured the\nlockdown is so supremely successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is\nnot to belittle the contributions made by the state chief ministers, district\nmagistrates\/ collectors and health officials. There indeed are several CMs who\nhave done wonderful work. A number of mayors and municipal commissioners have\ngone way beyond the call of duty to ensure the wellbeing of citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this new kind of battle, our armed forces, police and paramilitary forces have also risen to the occasion in ensuring order as well as in helping local authorities in providing succour to those in need. Yet, without coordination from above, such efforts were likely to remain localised, not delivering the overall results that we have before us. Moreover, what is heartening to note is that the PM has given priority to the marginalised, the daily wagers, labourers, and farmers. With the special package along with a slew of measures, the government is making best efforts to ensure that they do not have to bear a disproportionate part of the economic burden of the lockdown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Writer is the Defence Minister of India)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Facing the exceptional challenge of stopping Covid-19 from spreading further, the nation has shown tremendous solidarity and patience. When it started, the lockdown seemed an impossible notion, more so in this country. Now, even after an extension, people remain steadfast in their resolve to protect themselves and their fellow citizens from the virus. The way<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1157,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social"],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kamalsandesh.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kamalsandesh.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kamalsandesh.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kamalsandesh.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kamalsandesh.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kamalsandesh.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":508,"href":"https:\/\/kamalsandesh.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507\/revisions\/508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kamalsandesh.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kamalsandesh.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kamalsandesh.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}