COVID-19: Leadership and Crisis Management in India
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Pooja Paswan March 29, 2020
“The biologists are right about the past, but the proponents of intelligent design might, ironically, be right about the future. The replacement of natural selection by intelligent design could happen in any of three ways: through biological engineering, cyborg engineering (cyborgs are beings that combine organic with non- organic parts) or the engineering of inorganic life.” ~Yuval Noah Harari (Sapiens: A brief history of Humankind)
As the whole world is shaken by an invisible predator, countries work in tandem to fight and survive the COVID- 19 disease. In just a few weeks, the virus has crossed borders to threaten economic and regional stability, as has been demonstrated by the HIV, H1N1, H5N1 and SARS epidemics and pandemics in the past. Beyond its debilitating and fatal consequences for those directly affected, pandemics have a huge range of negative social, economic and political consequences. The key trading routes of regions have already proven to be a hot spot for novel infectious diseases. The COVID -19 pandemic has disrupted economies and social order apart from causing death and illness. It has reduced quality of life for families and communities, and has disrupted essential services such as education, transportation, tourism, security and access to healthcare, etc.
Life in the time of Corona
While countries struggle to discover the virus’s antidote, a dangerous pattern was seen emerging worldwide. The excessive hoarding of essential commodities which eventually led to the breakdown of the demand—supply chain. Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, liquid soaps and various grocery items disappeared from the shelves of the supermarket. An ordinary day at the market looked like black Friday. This fear-shopping among citizens exhibits their lack of faith in the administration’s ability to protect their future.
This pattern of citizen behavior challenges the current leadership and demands that countries use all their resources and unite for the survival of the humanity.
The threat is in numbers
India, with a population of 1.3 billion, struggles to battle the deadly coronavirus. The citizen are now, more than ever before, looking up to their current government for their protection. As the borders close, flights are cancelled, cities are under a lockdown and businesses are shut down, the individual isolated silos are increasingly seeking the comfort of the virtual world, which the internet provides. The number of people infected and the number of casualties is steadily rising. “Social distancing” and ‘work from home” is the new mantra which is being shared and hashtagged on various social media platforms.
The current government under the leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been proactive in taking strict measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. India is fighting an uphill battle towards protecting its second largest population of 1.3 billion. India is a welfare state, ergo the majority of the population depends on the state for providing most of the essential service. Hence, THE STATE CANNOT SHUT DOWN. Also it bears the cost of the pandemic.
How high is the tab?
COVID- 19 pandemic has proven to be a serious threat not only to the population of India, but also its economy. The impact of economic loss has resulted in economic instability. The impact is through direct costs, long term burden and indirect costs. The direct costs of dealing with the disease outbreak can be very high. Indirect costs are also very heavy. They include everything that contributes to a decline in GDP.
The social impacts of the COVID -19 pandemic are equally severe, which has resulted in strictly limited traveling and closing schools, markets, sports and other social activities. The government is repeatedly appealing to its citizens to practice social distancing and complete isolation to stop the spread of the virus.
In a national broadcast, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged the nation to follow “JANTA (public) CURFEW” on a Sunday and had requested to applaud with gratitude, the services of the health workers, sanitation workers and other service providers who were keeping the essential services running. The nation responded by following both the curfew and the gratitude practice by participating in large numbers.
Furthermore, the workers from the unorganized sectors were provided with economic relief packages. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has put a check on the escalating price of hand sanitizer and other coveted items. The elderly beneficiary under the National Food Security Act of 2013, Targeted Public Distribution System, are being provided door-to-door service to avoid risk of infection.
We are all in this together
An effective and efficient emergency response can reduce mortality and morbidity and its economic and social impacts. The world needs more collaborative research in the field of medicine. A joint government exercise to chart the course of rescue and relief in the event of a pandemic like this one in the future is a prerequisite to protect humanity. The war against COVID -19 will not only require governments to unite but also for citizens to come together. We must not forget that political will can only be achieved if citizens unite with the government and trust its leadership. The social apathy must be replaced with social empathy to ride out this storm.
Author: Pooja Paswan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, India. She has Ph. D in Public Administration and specializes in Public Policy. She was recipient of the ASPA 2019 Founders Fellow. She has worked extensively in the area of development administration and policy. She can be reached at https://jmi.academia.edu/PoojaPaswan and [email protected]. Twitter @poojapaswan
COVID-19: Leadership and Crisis Management in India
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Pooja Paswan
March 29, 2020
As the whole world is shaken by an invisible predator, countries work in tandem to fight and survive the COVID- 19 disease. In just a few weeks, the virus has crossed borders to threaten economic and regional stability, as has been demonstrated by the HIV, H1N1, H5N1 and SARS epidemics and pandemics in the past. Beyond its debilitating and fatal consequences for those directly affected, pandemics have a huge range of negative social, economic and political consequences. The key trading routes of regions have already proven to be a hot spot for novel infectious diseases. The COVID -19 pandemic has disrupted economies and social order apart from causing death and illness. It has reduced quality of life for families and communities, and has disrupted essential services such as education, transportation, tourism, security and access to healthcare, etc.
Life in the time of Corona
While countries struggle to discover the virus’s antidote, a dangerous pattern was seen emerging worldwide. The excessive hoarding of essential commodities which eventually led to the breakdown of the demand—supply chain. Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, liquid soaps and various grocery items disappeared from the shelves of the supermarket. An ordinary day at the market looked like black Friday. This fear-shopping among citizens exhibits their lack of faith in the administration’s ability to protect their future.
This pattern of citizen behavior challenges the current leadership and demands that countries use all their resources and unite for the survival of the humanity.
The threat is in numbers
India, with a population of 1.3 billion, struggles to battle the deadly coronavirus. The citizen are now, more than ever before, looking up to their current government for their protection. As the borders close, flights are cancelled, cities are under a lockdown and businesses are shut down, the individual isolated silos are increasingly seeking the comfort of the virtual world, which the internet provides. The number of people infected and the number of casualties is steadily rising. “Social distancing” and ‘work from home” is the new mantra which is being shared and hashtagged on various social media platforms.
The current government under the leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been proactive in taking strict measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. India is fighting an uphill battle towards protecting its second largest population of 1.3 billion. India is a welfare state, ergo the majority of the population depends on the state for providing most of the essential service. Hence, THE STATE CANNOT SHUT DOWN. Also it bears the cost of the pandemic.
How high is the tab?
COVID- 19 pandemic has proven to be a serious threat not only to the population of India, but also its economy. The impact of economic loss has resulted in economic instability. The impact is through direct costs, long term burden and indirect costs. The direct costs of dealing with the disease outbreak can be very high. Indirect costs are also very heavy. They include everything that contributes to a decline in GDP.
The social impacts of the COVID -19 pandemic are equally severe, which has resulted in strictly limited traveling and closing schools, markets, sports and other social activities. The government is repeatedly appealing to its citizens to practice social distancing and complete isolation to stop the spread of the virus.
In a national broadcast, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged the nation to follow “JANTA (public) CURFEW” on a Sunday and had requested to applaud with gratitude, the services of the health workers, sanitation workers and other service providers who were keeping the essential services running. The nation responded by following both the curfew and the gratitude practice by participating in large numbers.
Furthermore, the workers from the unorganized sectors were provided with economic relief packages. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has put a check on the escalating price of hand sanitizer and other coveted items. The elderly beneficiary under the National Food Security Act of 2013, Targeted Public Distribution System, are being provided door-to-door service to avoid risk of infection.
We are all in this together
An effective and efficient emergency response can reduce mortality and morbidity and its economic and social impacts. The world needs more collaborative research in the field of medicine. A joint government exercise to chart the course of rescue and relief in the event of a pandemic like this one in the future is a prerequisite to protect humanity. The war against COVID -19 will not only require governments to unite but also for citizens to come together. We must not forget that political will can only be achieved if citizens unite with the government and trust its leadership. The social apathy must be replaced with social empathy to ride out this storm.
Author: Pooja Paswan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, India. She has Ph. D in Public Administration and specializes in Public Policy. She was recipient of the ASPA 2019 Founders Fellow. She has worked extensively in the area of development administration and policy. She can be reached at https://jmi.academia.edu/PoojaPaswan and [email protected]. Twitter @poojapaswan
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