These days, expectations run high for a post-pandemic world. One is that it is going to bring a paradigm shift in the way people pattern their lives, an assumption grounded on the premise that the shock is so devastating that under no circumstances the old order can be allowed to return.
Many blame an imperfect alignment between man and nature for this tragedy. This link has been underscored for many years, though contested by western industrial players. All norms to nurture ecofriendly progress have been flouted with impunity.
With the Himalayan scale of the calamity, it is hoped that where sane advice failed, the mind-numbing lesson delivered by a micro-organism will help.
The million rupee question is, “Is this optimism well placed or misplaced?”
The potential fear of invisible organisms, ready to strike at will, gets manifested in myriad ways. Yet, one is optimistic because the very survival instinct may instil a sense of responsibility. It may goad humans to be humble and sensitive to the flora and fauna. In short, a lifestyle that is nature-friendly and society-centric.
Some reports blame the industrial scale of the multinational meat industry, with an eye on huge profits and using cheap Chinese labour, for a surge of pathogens around the world. With this kind of capitalist greed, one’s hunch is that it is not reasonable to believe that the pandemic would lead to a rethink and a better future.
In peril
What about the Indian leadership? Is it visionary? There are many practical problems of the lockdown that have been causing immense misery to the voiceless. One is troubled to note that not enough attention has been paid to these sufferers.
The problem is, it is not wisdom to lose hope. It is unmanly to be pessimistic. Yet, at a time when uncertainty is the only certainty, when everything is in a flux, the inherent progressive temperament of anyone demands giving the benefit of the doubt and looking for a positive turn of events.
In conclusion, one’s optimism is further bolstered by the fact that human history is always a collective culmination of people-centric mass events. The presence of seemingly unquestioned leaders at a particular point of time in the world is just incidental, despite the great pitch Thomas Carlyle put on a great leader’s ability to change the course of history.
lative significance of the leader and the people in the unfolding of human history is an enduring debate of years. It is yet to be settled either way.
yalamudik@gmail.com
