Implications of
Lockdown for Diverse People
Author: Dr. K.S. Kang
Meaning of Lockdown had different
connotations for different group of people. For the rich and the middle class
lockdown had merely been a change of routine. They can not go out as frequently
as they like but as they have less worries about their meals and livelihood so
they are utilizing the loads of free time that they have in pursuing their
hobbies like music, dancing , reading, writing, gardening and the like. As they
do not have any immediate risk so they are just staying indoors and have little
problem in following the directions of the administration like wearing masks,
washing hands, sanitizing things, social distancing and of course staying at
home. They are devoting their time to family members and neighbors as they have
come to realize their significance in the times of crisis. Roof tops have been
rediscovered as earlier roof tops were visited infrequently and that too
briefly to check the overhead water tanks. But now the roofs have shown the
signs of people walking on their roofs at least in the morning and in the
evening and having informal chat with their immediate neighbors. Indoor
activities have been revived including a number of indoor games have come out
of closets that were gathering dust from atleast a couple of years like Carrom,
Ludo, Playing Cards, Chinese Checkers, Chess and the like.
But for the common and poor people
lockdown has again brought out this dark truth that nobody stands for the poor
and the resourceless. Even law, and the administration turns against them even
in a democratic society. They are not even allowed to choose their option of
death, leave aside living. When country needed them for industrial development
and prosperity these poor labour were employed and exploited also to some
extent and when everything has been closed down due to lockdown they have been
deserted by the society and country and left to live or dies on their
resources When employer has fired them
they have no food or money left to give their rent to the landlords they are
left with no other option but to start for their villages in the hope that the
earth that had given them birth would give them shelter also in this crisis.
But buses and trains have been stopped in the name of lockdown and even if
Labour Special trains had started but it was too little and too late as very
few of them could take its benefit. Most of them were left to walk on the road
all the way to their village or use their own resources like cycles, small
vehicles like tempos and autos and in trucks, tankers and even mixers and for
that too they had to pay the price to the owner. But establishment wherever it could
disrupted the journey of the native to his village. These suffering people
having bare minimum necessities in this harsh summer weather without any proper
shoes and conveyance they are trying to reach their haven of native village
that has reared them since their birth. These struggling men, women and
children struggling in harsh weather to get to their native places were none
other than the citizens of this Great Nation that wants to become World Guru. .
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