India’s poor may die of hunger before they die of virus. Capitalism or Imperialism?
If you are hungry and you know it, clap your hands!
As the world is battling against a virus that has effectively forced us to have an almost global lockdown, I could not help noticing the flowchart of infection spread among the economic class structures. This virus which originated in one country has been wide spread by people who traveled overseas for various purposes and brought about a pandemic only they could afford to deal with. It is one of the rare flowcharts of transmissions that happened from the rich to the poor in India’s trickle-down economy system.
At the iconic time of 8PM, on 19th March, PM Modi addressed the nation. It had inspirational rhetoric a la of the speech held by President George W. Bush concerning the “Iraqi Threat”, and a dash of Mahatma Gandhi’s persuasive charm. But it failed to address one important thing, India’s poor may die of hunger before they die from the virus. And even if they get the ration, India’s healthcare has always been unkind to them.
India ranks worse than Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan among its neighbours
The 2016 ranking for healthcare access and quality (HAQ) index ranked India at 145. Why is it that one of the fastest growing economies ranks behind much poorer nations? 24 lakh Indians die of treatable conditions every year, 122 per 1,00,000 due to poor quality of care which is worst than our so called rival Pakistan, confirming the fact that the masses cannot survive by increasing GDP alone. India’s allocation to healthcare was 52,800 crore in 2018, which has remained just over 1% of the GDP since 2019. To put this to perspective, India's per capita expenditure on healthcare is around ₹3 per day on each citizen which stands to be among the lowest in the world. Even Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the most hyped healthcare program of our government would not be able to provide more than around ₹200 per person at the time of crisis. 90% of the bottom poorest still does not have any form of government or private health insurance.
The Wealthy are Healthy
In India economic disparity is an ever-growing case, with top 10 per cent holding almost 80 percent of the nation’s wealth, and India’s top one percent hoarding almost 4 times the wealth of the bottom 10 percent. If you earn more than 50 lakhs a year, you are in the top 0.3% of India. The Credit Suisse report ranked India fifth in terms of ultra-rich population. Despite such an increase in its wealth, the country is in the category of experiencing ‘serious level hunger’, so much so that 2 of 3 child deaths in India are due to malnutrition. The current scenario clearly shows the alarming rate of rising wealth inequality and how the current capitalistic model of our country can turn into a form of imperialism.
Hiding negligence by appreciation
India’s front line to this battle is struggling. Various cases have been reported of doctors being void of proper sanitized working environment and equipment necessary for their own protection. Several users have brought forward pathetic pictures of washrooms and handkerchief being used by staff as a mask. Even the Accredited Social Health Activists or “ASHA” for short, who are India’s commandos in this fight, are left on their own. They are entrusted with the task to track down people who might have been in contact of the virus through door to door visits and to monitor their health for 14 days. They had not been given masks or sanitizers, and were forced to buy them from there meagre salary that they got after their recent mass protest. Our own workers sanctioned by the government were not able to follow the WHO guidelines. Another one of the WHO guidelines came out on 27th February to gather Personal Protective Equipment, but our beloved rulers sought no time to relax the export of the PPE against the notification of government’s directorate general of foreign trade which prohibited its export. Even the testing kit manufacturing reeks of controversy as the American biotech company providing the technology to the first Indian company to receive a preliminary license to manufacture COVID-19 test kits sold just $700 worth of tests in 2018.
BHARTIYA JANTA PARTY-ED!
On 22nd March, some men abused the 5 women who sat at a distance of 1 meter in a silent protest at Shaheen Bagh, before they came out in huge groups to celebrate their glorious leader. The bells of temples echoed with the banging of utensils, accompanied by crackers. The IT cell took no time to spread information about how the vibrations will kill the virus. Our countrymen got stimulated by the news far more than they got by Press Information Bureau comment which stated it false. The last remaining spirit of rationality cut its own vein in melancholy, as India saw a mass roar of disillusioned army adhering to their demagogue. The entire process turned into a metaphor, showing us a propaganda so loud that it blocks us from any amount of sane and rational thinking. His move to ask the nation to do a mindless act together in a unison, has deeper psychological implication than we can imagine. Until now, we were only accepting what we were told. Our trait of skepticism was long diminished. With this move, we even acted together, like a herd of sheep. In those 5 minutes, India forgot the pogrom of Delhi that still has left people homeless, cries of our healthcare staff and ignored to address the masses who still survive on daily wages. In those 5 minutes, the idea of India died a slow death.
Only the rich can afford to be apolitical
In Uttarakhand, Moorat Lal who has had one meal in two days will cycle 800 km from Dehradun to Raebareli.
As we enjoy the comfort of our homes, several daily wage labourers walk back hundred’s of kilometers empty stomach. The government could airlift the businessmen from overseas, allocated ₹20,000 crores to renovate Lutyens’ Delhi, but failed to provide a transportation, if not immediate place to stay for the poor. The subsidized ration and emergency relief has often failed to reach the slum dwellers and daily wage laborers who still don’t have a bank account. If the schemes were working, we would not have deaths due to preventable disease and malnutrition.
It’s time the rich realize that they can’t “wash off” their hands from their civic and economic responsibilities. They get off to a posh hospital like Apolo or Max in the slightest of discomfort and live in a world that has a dome around it. In times like these, who can afford to work from home? Who can afford to provide online education to their children? Who can stock up food and medicines and who can avoid crowded narrow lanes with leaking sewage? This current scenario is a red flag for our current dysfunctional system. But the rich have never bothered about it, never raised their voice or never asked questions, because it has never affected them. Only the rich can afford to be apolitical.
The current actions of the government will remain unaccountable and unquestioned because we are crippled and are at the mercy of our policy makers. They have still not restored the network infrastructure of Kashmir when they need it the most. The doctors are unable to download a simple 24MB file stating the Covid-19 ICU guidelines. They have capabilities to set up infrastructure for NPR but cannot execute more tests. Amidst all this, when the nation is on knees, our government is deploying manpower to erase the beautiful artwork and murals at Shaheen Bagh. How scared do you have to be of the resilient voices that you have to prioritize such acts during fear and lockdown?
The response to the situation is not just ignorant, but symbolic. It is high time we analyse the system now, or there will be no system at all, just people who will be at the mercy of the rich and powerful.
If you have accessible food and healthcare during this crisis, then you should not feel superior or contempt. It should fill you with profound sadness at what the by product of capitalism is, an intense rage and desire not just to to criticize but to smash the system.
Note: The views mentioned are my personal opinions and I have no intention to hurt sentiments of any religion, region or community. I do not intend to target any individual, party or groups.
