They wanted the right of voting, which they obtained by using physical force. But real rights are a result of performance of duty; these rights they have not obtained. We, therefore, have before us in England the force of everybody wanting and insisting on his rights, nobody thinking of his duty. And, where everybody wants rights, who shall give them to whom? I do not wish to imply that they do no duties. They don’t perform the duties corresponding to those rights; and as they do not perform that particular duty, namely, acquire fitness, their rights have proved a burden to them”. -Mahatma Gandhi, Hind Swaraj or The Indian Home Rule
As the Corona clock is ticking every second the entire world is trying together to tackle the unprecedented health emergency called the Corona Pandemic. The Government agencies are working overtime to get the stranded Bharatiyas and also ensuring the safety and security of people on the domestic front through uplifting the quarantine facilities and awareness campaigns. The call by Prime Minister himself asked to give a few weeks in this fight to avoid the community transmission of the virus. All these developments have also exposed some mental viruses that are equally important to address while fighting the humanitarian crisis.
The first virus is that of ‘sense of entitlement’. There are some people, who consider themselves privileged and therefore finding excuses not to report their travel details, running away from quarantine facilities and contributing their worst to add fuel to the worst kind of situation. The story of a Kolkata-based youth, complacency shown by some followers and cases of complaining from Rome where the Embassy of Bharat made special arrangements to get back the trapped individuals amidst Corona scare in Italy exposed this class of Corona-terrorists. These ungrateful souls are of a most dangerous category as their irresponsible behaviour rooted in the sense of certain prerogatives by birth can jeopardise not just theirs but the lives of people around them. Stripping of not only privileges they claim but even their rights given by the Constitution through appropriate legal mechanisms is need of the time.
Equally reckless are the people who indulge in fear and rumour-mongering. For petty political reasons if the leader of the opposition is talking about the possible recession when the global economic scenario is already tumbling due to the health emergency, then he is not the leader of opposition but an opportunist who is spreading pessimism for political gains. A true leader should come up with solutions and alternatives. All such people, including some media houses, that are finding political opportunity to target the Government, instead of giving constructive suggestions, are also hazardous. Discrediting such elements is our national duty.
Along with the tendency of reaping political benefits, profiteers who like to hoard essential commodities or run fake rackets for financial benefits are not businessmen but worse than thieves who want to derive benefit at the cost of human lives. We should expose, inform the authorities and socially crackdown on such people.
The Corona crisis has brought the human security aspect to the forefront as it was never before. Rather than thinking from the border security from narrow considerations, every individual’s life is equally important. It has also provided us to reset the rules of the so-called ‘development model’ we have adopted in the name of globalisation and provided us with the opportunity to manage ourselves with the limited resources from a more futuristic perspective rather than mindless habits of consumption. Review of our health infrastructure is also necessary at this juncture. While thinking about all these aspects with a comprehensive approach, we also need to address these mental viruses related to the sense of entitlement without any responsibilities, spreading pessimism through rumour and fear-mongering and using the crisis for selfish-interests. We should fight out with these layers of mindsets along with fighting the threat of COVID-19 to ensure that we
shall overcome……
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