Today India crossed 4 lakhs infections in a day. If we just check some historic data, we will get to know that this is 4 times more than what India had at the peak of the last wave in Sep 2020. And if experts have to be believed, this time we haven't reached the peak yet.
So when I look from here, 2020 doesn't seem to be the worst year. The worst is yet to come, for sure. Why I am saying so because India is way far from getting the whole country vaccinated. The data suggests that if we continue our vaccination drive at the same pace, only 30% of the population would be vaccinated by end of 2021. That means there would be another wave, cases would rise, and if correct measures are not taken, the death toll will go up again. So firstly, let us all accept that the virus is not going anywhere, at least till next year. It doesn't mind waiting for few months till we drop our guard so that it attacks again, with more force. And that's why, no matter how safe we feel, we need to wear masks and ensure social distancing, even after we get vaccinated.
Now let's talk about what the government is doing to repair the irreparable. Honestly, I don't know much, because I can't see any difference in the situation today and a week back. Unfortunately, people are still dying due to the lack of oxygen or hospital beds, or relevant medical aid. We, the people of India, may not deserve a lot of things due to our unruly behaviour - damaging public transport, littering on the streets, spitting everywhere, not following any rules, not paying taxes, or abusing the democratically elected Prime Minister of India - but we surely deserve to live. Yes, I am not asking for state-of-the-art healthcare system, I am just asking something enough for us to survive.
Today all the state governments and the center should put all their energy and resources into building a healthcare system that can survive this tsunami. India has to stop, doing anything and everything else, and focus only on saving lives. Taking down the tweets, or threatening the world newspapers of changing their headlines, is only going to hurt us more. As it is said, the actions should speak louder than words. We need to lift ourselves, we need to save our lives, and then we will be able to dictate our terms with the world.
The Indian government's vaccine diplomacy and helping the world last year has got us some good fortune as the help has started pouring in from over 40 countries. We need as much as help possible to become 'aatmanirbhar' again.
But I guess we haven't yet accepted the reality. We haven't accepted that it was our failure. By nature, it is very difficult to accept our mistakes or error. In a country like India, where every move of the Government, is discarded or criticized, and people are just looking for reasons to abuse the Prime Minister, acceptance of a failure is strictly prohibited. It's ingrained in our culture, that we do not accept failure, come what may. So how do we expect anything different from our government?
I wish the Prime Minister in any of his next addresses or his Mann ki Baat expresses deep concern on the healthcare system and accepts that we were caught off guard. The government of India had not prepared for it. But we are now doing the best we can, to save every Indian citizen. I feel this much is a must. This is what he owes to the people of India. The thing is that this has impacted everyone, the majority of the population. That means it has affected all those people who voted this government to power, who supported this government through thick and thin. And this is not how they should be treated.
The government needs to retrospect what went wrong. If there was even an iota of intelligence in Oct 2020 on the new Indian variant of the virus, we should have taken that seriously. During March this year, even when the cases started rising, we should have regrouped to prepare for the battle. One can tolerate a few members of the government for not practicing what they preach, as long as the leaders are doing what they say. But flouting all the covid norms during the election rallies was not expected from the supreme leaders of the country. The messaging was completely wrong. People will do what they see their leaders doing, be it opposition or the government. I do not care about the opposition or whatever wrong they are doing for the country. I don't hope for anything from them. But I am hopeful from the government who I voted for, and I don't want them to blame the opposition just because they couldn't do their expected work even when they were in power.
All has not been lost, and will never be, but if the government is unable to heal those who have been hurt, this is going to leave deep scars for life.
