Letter To My Grandchild (Part 3)
3 April 2020
Dear Child,
In my first letter, I promised to tell you the story of this new virus that turned our life upside down. Yesterday, I promised to narrate a story of another non-virus related lockdown that affected millions of people in the not-so-distant past. Here it is.
Have you heard of Kashmir? Sure it is the land of natural beauty and tulips and the Dal Lake. But, its distinctive factor is that it is the only land mass in the world that is squeezed between three nuclear weapons armed countries. Scary? Yes!
Do read up about the history of Kashmir and why it is disputed. I shall limit myself to telling you how Kashmir is relevant to our story of the nation-wide lockdown.
Just seven months ago, in August, the Narendra Modi government had put Kashmir under a curfew. A curfew, to be sure, is worse than a lockdown.
For starters, a curfew is not voluntary. Second, all communication lines were cut off. Unlike our lockdowns, where internet companies promised more data per user, Kashmiris had no functional phone lines, no internet and no venturing out at will.
There was even a joke about how the Indian government disallowed pigeons into Kashmir, fearing people might send pieces of papers through trained feathered messengers.
In effect, the government created a large — rather scenic — jail to imprison millions of people. The rest of us went on with our lives.
Why are we talking about the curfew in Kashmir, when it was clearly a lot different from the lockdown where people were sitting in their homes swiping through Tik Tok videos? Because, my child, the principal reason for the sudden imposition of a curfew in Kashmir was unchecked power.
And, I fear, our lockdown might be handing over more power to those who might misuse it in the future. Let me explain.
Barely a week into our voluntary containment, there were talks about how to develop an application which will track our movement, our body temperatures, maintain a list of our illnesses, who we come into contact with, at what time and where.
Yes, it sounds like a fantastic tool to control the pandemic, doesn’t it? Hell, countries such as Taiwan (yes, I am going to go ahead and call it a country) and South Korea already used such technologies effectively to keep the disease in check.
But, my child, pause and think.
Think about whether there is another way to ensure we remain safe while sharing less and less about ourselves. Because giving up rights under fear is easy. Earning them back is next to impossible.
When you have the flu, have you not been unreasonable with your parents? asked them for food at odd hours or to read you stories through the day or for your favourite TV show to be on all the time?
Now think, if you had the power to make your parents play to your fancies even after you were well and fit, would you ever want to give it up?
So, while we were locked down for 21 days, some of us carefully listed out the rights we were giving up. Hoping to claim them back once the restrictions were eased.
In Hungary, we witnessed it happen. Their leader, Victor Orban gifted himself certain unbridled powers with no end date. That meant, he would decide when he would give them up. Ha! Funny, isnt it?
Europe has suffered far worse in the hands of a dictator just about 100 years ago. Yet, when Orban amassed power, no country raised a voice. Such is the nature of power.
While we saw the upside of the containment, we were very aware of each and every step the government took.
Memories of Kashmir were fresh, where the first power that was taken away from the Kashmiris was to question power itself.
So, we ensured we didn’t give that up. Some of us questioned everything — under what law did the government take control? Is the government doing enough testing? Should we go the Europe way or the South Korea way? What kind of test kits were approved? What is the government doing for those that need most help? Is the government being communal in its functioning?
The last question reminds me — the one unique aspect of India’s lockdown was its umpteen religious congregations. And, that, my child, I shall tell you about tomorrow.
Stay safe. Stay happy.
With love,
Yours,
