A mindless lockdown
Humra Quraishi
Migrant workers in New Delhi walking home to their
native villages
Sitting forlorn in this lockdown,
wondering rather aloud: What
takes place when the rulers of
the day turn a medical
emergency into a human nightmare!
Yes, our masses are getting subjected
to the worst forms of trauma. Shots of
our migrant workers and daily-wagers
getting sprayed with poisonous
disinfectants, walking hungry and
weary, only to be blatantly humiliated
and thrashed by the lathi- yielding
constables, who seem to be new rulers
of the day! In fact, a Jaipurbased
artisan had told me in
all earnestness that in
today's India "only two types
of people can live like
human beings — politicians
or police-wallahs!"
With the masses sitting
unfed and uncared for,
what would remain! What
future holds out, with
factories and mills and
warehouses shut. Shutters
down! How long with the
stocks last! To suddenly
announce lockdown,
without even the basic level
of preparedness, is akin to
dictating: from this hour no
food and water and shelter and no
money…do as you please to survive in
these corona- ridden times !
I'm told that even during the
Partition times, relief-camps were
functioning with the food and shelter
bandobasts. If that level of
preparedness could have been seen in
1947, then why not today, in 2020!
What about the funds and money
collected by the government in the
name of relief work and out-reach
schemes? Will it reach out to our
people today or the -day -after when
they are gone or going…fleeing like
refugees in their own ancestral land, in their own country. We have made our
people run about so very helplessly,
like hapless frightened refugees in their
own country …very, very disturbing
shots of our masses running from here
to there! Parched and hungry and
sprayed upon by poisonous sprays!
Mind you, even at this fragile stage,
there are arguments amongst the
political rulers, whether the fleeing
masses are from this state or from that
other state — whether from Uttar
Pradesh or Bihar or Madhya Pradesh!
They are our people. They belong to
this country. They have been there
working in our factories, mills,
construction sites… Rattled and fearing
for their children's survival, this hapless
lot decided to walk on and on…
Unbothered of the consequences.
Unsure what new destined turns would
come their way in the form and shape
of the brute force and dictates of the
day. Unheard those cries and queries
along the strain:: is this the way to
combat a medical emergency, is this
the way to treat your citizens, is this the
way countries like South Korea and
Japan have combated this virus, is this the way to silence your farmers and
workers and labourers, is this the way
to reach out to your masses!
Its time to sit up and see the dark
realities hitting millions amongst us.
Lack or rather the near-absence of
water. And when we say wash hands
every twenty minutes with water and
soap to keep off the Corona virus, do
we realize that millions do not have
access to water nor soap. At times not
even a drop of clean drinking water!
Nor do they have access to the basic
food grains and the
c o n n e c t e d
bandobast. They sit
awaiting death, with
parched throats and
empty stomachs.
What is happening
to our imprisoned
population in terms
of this virus and the
connected dos and
don'ts that come
along the prevention
format? Yes, we the
semi- imprisoned,
have got to ask what
is happening to the
formally and fully
imprisoned. Not to
overlook the fact that almost seventy -
five percent of the imprisoned
population consists of the under-trials.
That is, all those who are yet to be
proven culprits and are not convicted,
so technically innocent. How many
innocents sitting languishing could be
struck by this virus in this imprisoned
state. Can we save their lives? Shouldn't
we free ( at least temporarily) the
imprisoned doctors and nurses from
the prisons across the country, so that
they can reach out to the ill and dying?
Shouldn't the likes of Dr.Kafeel Khan
been tending patients than siting
languishing in a prison cell?
Restless sentiments
Misra Tripathi
New Delhi based poet – writer,
Jayshree Misra Tripathi, wrote this
poetic verse in the early hours of
28 March, 2020…wrote in the backdrop of the hitting realities of the day.
To quote her, "The images
of migrant workers, carrying a few
belongings, walking away from the
city in throngs, has filled me with
such dark despair. Another picture
of an inhuman policeman making
young boys, with bags on their
backs, squat and jump a few paces
at a time, to the border, fills me
with shame. They naturally want to
return home. There are no daily
wages for them during the
lockdown. No proper homes to live
in. So, they walk to the bus
terminus. The buses are full, so
they walk on. I could not help but
wonder what thoughts must be
flitting through their troubled
minds. How unkind are we in these desperate times - with the
imminent fear of death from the COVID 19 virus? And what about
those who live by themselves,
their angst…?"
A great artist
Satish Gujral
Satish Gujral passes away in
New Delhi at 94, on March 26,
2020 …we have lost a great artist
and also a great human being.
Gujral came across as emotional,
warm and forthright. If one were
to read his autobiography "A Brush With Life," it gets writ large
that he didn't shy away from
putting in details of the struggles and the challenges he faced.
During the interviews with me,
he would speak in
that whole- hearted
way, commenting
on a whole range of
aspects to his life
and his passion —
art and
architecture….
Though his elder
brother IK Gujral
was in the thick of
politics, Satish had
no political
ambitions. And on
the fact that Satish
was drawn to the
Left ideology he explained–"Today
I call myself a Leftist but not a
communist. Why? Because in
those early days when I was drawn
to the communist party and later
travelled on scholarship to Mexico
and then to New York and
intermingled with several communists, I was left
disillusioned. In Mexico, I met
many Russian
artists who told me
what had been
happening in Russia
and it opened my
eyes. Today I call
myself a Leftist and
not a communist."
When I had
nudged him to
comment on the
political scene in
the country, he
sounded very
disillusioned with
the political parties
and with the general prevailing
scenario in the country.
He would speak in great detail
about the Partition and with that
about his birth place in Pakistan.
Satish didn't mince words that he
was emotionally connected to
Pakistan.
Restless sentiments
New Delhi based poet – writer,
Jayshree Misra Tripathi, wrote this
poetic verse in the early hours of
28 March, 2020…wrote in the
backdrop of the hitting realities of
the day. To quote her, "The images
of migrant workers, carrying a few
belongings, walking away from the
city in throngs, has filled me with
such dark despair. Another picture
of an inhuman policeman making
young boys, with bags on their
backs, squat and jump a few paces
at a time, to the border, fills me
with shame. They naturally want to
return home. There are no daily
wages for them during the
lockdown. No proper homes to live
in. So, they walk to the bus
terminus. The buses are full, so
they walk on. I could not help but
wonder what thoughts must be
flitting through their troubled
minds. How unkind are we in these
desperate times - with the
imminent fear of death from the
COVID 19 virus? And what about
those who live by themselves,
their angst…?"
Misra Tripathi
Satish Gujral
