6 THE HIMALAYAN MAIL SATURDAY JULY10, 2021

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

Life is slowly turning to itsnormal pace nearly over ayear after the Covid-19 struck

India and the world and led to theimposition of restrictions and lock-downs. Yet as Dr Saleem AhmedKhan, Community medicine expertof the Srinagar medical college hascautioned the public against lower-ing their guard by believing that thepandemic is finally over. The expe-rience of this virus all over theworld shows that it is highlyresilient and stages a comeback inmore dangerous form the momenthumans become complacent.Therefore, a level of restrictionsshould remain in place – this timethese have to be voluntary. Thepublic should not be tempted togather in crowds; rush to picnicspots and markets and more impor-tantly hold the big fat weddings.The human congregation is a recipefor disaster.Life will not going to be the samefor quite some more time becauseof the virus. With the monsooncoming in most parts of India, theconditions for any pathogen to pro-liferate become favourable. Thethird wave seems to have alreadyarrived; what we see in states likeKerala and Maharashtra is the thirdwave of the pandemic. As suchpost-monsoon is the time for viralfevers etc. With people travellingfor work and businesses, no part ofthe world is immune from infec-tion. Overall if people keep all thisin mind the spread of the virus willbe curtailed and we can avoid athird wave that some say would bemore dangerous than the previouswaves.The government must also keeptabs on peoples’ behaviour. Regularnorms for workplaces and publictransportation should be intro-duced and implemented with publicsupport. Any government worth it'ssalt will be tempted to work onimproving the economy and offi-cials may overlook the lowering ofthe guard. There has to be a finebalance between the revival of theeconomy and the prevention of thepandemic.

MASKED LIVES

Abhishek Tandon

Even as the curve of new Covid-19 in-fections is flattening across the country,the pandemic has left several adults vul-nerable and children orphaned. Whilesordid stories surfaced from various cor-ners during the pandemic, several socialgroups and good samaritans alsolaunched commendable initiatives toreach out to vulnerable sections. And de-spite the long periods of confinement,the outbreak of Covid-19 yet againshowed us the strength of a collective ef-fort.

Hence, it would be immoral of us as asociety if we leave the fight against thepandemic only to the frontline workers.In these unprecedented times, it is uponour student organisations as well to stepup and rise beyond campus activism tohelp the people in need.

The perception of a student organisa-tion is of a political group active in col-leges and universities that remains lim-ited to student welfare. However, historytells us that the participation of studentscan lead to a positive transformation insociety.

Acknowledging the need to reach outto the marginalised sections of the soci-ety, the Akhil Bharatiya VidyarthiParishad (ABVP), arguably the biggeststudent organisation in the world,launched several relief campaigns dur-

ing the pandemic.The three-million-strong organisation

devoted itself to delivering medical sup-plies, running awareness drives, helpingin funeral rites, making online educationaccessible for financially weak students,and other such causes.

During the first wave of the pandemic,there was hardly enough informationconcerning the virus and the only way tostay protected was to stay at home. Whilethe fortunate could afford the confine-ment, things were quite rough for the fi-nancially weak, especially as this virusspreads fast in cluster settlements.

Like many other frontline warriors, theABVP members also braved the pan-demic to launch a massive Covid-19 test-ing drive in Mumbai’s Dharavi, whichhas a population density of nearly threelakhs per square kilometre. Thousandsof people were tested for the virus andthose found positive were isolated withthe help of local hospitals. In the process,thousands of lives were saved.

In Delhi, a similar drive called “Mis-sion Aarogya — Sarve Santu Niramayah”was launched. Under the drive, our stu-dent members went door-to-door innearly 100 Delhi slums and JJ clusters toscreen people for Covid-19 symptoms.The student activists also encouragedpeople to get vaccinated during the drive.

The dramatic surge in Covid-19 casesduring the second wave of the pandemic

left hospitals overwhelmed. Meanwhile,the spurt in Covid-19 infections triggeredmassive demand for medical oxygen andCovid-related drugs and a consequentdrop in their availability. In such times,we, at ABVP, started drives to connectthe people in need with verified suppli-ers of medical essentials. To ensuretimely delivery of medical supplies inDelhi, the national capital was dividedinto nine zones among ABVP members.Besides, we also carried out the distribu-tion of food packets among the people inneed.

Despite the best efforts of our doctors,several people lost the battle to Covid-19.Unfortunately, in some cases, the be-reaved family members could not partic-ipate in the funeral rites as they were alsodown with Covid-19. Thus, ABVP mem-bers, country-wide, pledged to help suchfamilies by performing the last rites ofthe victims.

Our members took all precautions andensured that victims receive an hon-ourable farewell. Carrying out the lastrites of Covid-19 victims was a difficult,emotional task for us. I applaud myyoung colleagues who were headstrongand helped such families in their mostvulnerable times.

In a bid to help pandemic-hit schoolstudents, the ABVP, in July 2020,launched “Parishad Ki Pathshala”. Un-der the campaign, students with no ac-

cess to the logistics required for accessingonline classes were taught by ABVP ac-tivists and teachers in small groups. Thestudents were taught several subjectsfree of cost. During the first and the sec-ond wave of the virus, we also helpedthousands of students — a substantialnumber from North-eastern states andtribal areas in the country — reach theirhomes safely.

Ancient wisdom teaches us that thetrue character of a person comes out in acrisis. In 2020, the outbreak of Covid-19brought forth an unprecedented crisisthat tested our resilience. At a time whena majority of us feared even the idea ofstepping out of our homes, our youngABVP members actively participated inrelief works, braving the possibility ofcontracting the virus. I believe that ifmembers of all student organisationscome forward with their innovativeideas, our nation will be able to tide overthis crisis sooner. Additionally, workingon the ground with the less fortunate willmake students more sensitive and self-less, probably, the two most importantvirtues needed in a leader.

At ABVP, we believe in punar-nirman(reformation) of the nation throughcharitra nirman (character building). Tothis end, I urge more and more youth towork for the welfare of society. As SwamiVivekananda said, the youths should be-come the torch-bearers of change.

Helping beyond the campus walls

Neerja Chowdhury

The Prime Minister hastried to re-seize the polit-ical initiative with his

Wednesday reshuffle of the councilof ministers. Since April, he hasbeen on the back foot. When thesecond Covid-19 wave hit thecountry, many died reportedlyfrom oxygen shortages and a gen-eral lack of government prepared-ness. Losing West Bengal also didnot help, particularly when thePrime Minister and Home Minis-ter had campaigned intensively inthe state.

The reshuffle has turned out tobe more than an exercise to fill va-cancies. Few had believed thatNarendra Modi could axe a dozenministers, for it would amount toadmitting that all had not beenwell. With his tough leader image,Modi is not given to undoing hisdecisions. But that is preciselywhat he did on Wednesday. Hesacked 12 ministers, particularlythose at the head of ministries,which had brought criticism to thegovernment in the last year andmore.

There was the inept handling ofthe second Covid wave, and Unionhealth minister Harsh Vardhanhas had to go. There was mass mi-gration last year, with lakhs trudg-ing back to their villages, some-thing India will take a long time tolive down, and labour minister

Santosh Gangwar was shown thedoor. Education minister RameshPokhriyal was axed for the confu-sion that prevails in the educationsector.

The sacking of Ravi ShankarPrasad and Prakash Javadekar,who were fielded most frequentlyto defend the government, cameas a greater surprise. As Communi-cations, Electronics and Informa-tion Technology Minister, RaviShankar Prasad’s handling of theimpasse with Twitter and the in-creased criticism of Modi on themicroblogging site, may have costPrasad his job. It was social mediathat built Modi’s image in the firstplace, helping him to bypass con-ventional media. Javadekar, too,may have been found wanting forhis inability to prevent criticism ofthe government in the media, do-mestic and foreign.

It is hardly a secret that the gov-ernment is driven by the PrimeMinister’s Office, not by individ-ual ministers. The ministers couldnot have done what they did with-out the clearance of the PMO.Ministers today essentially playthe role of implementers. It is pos-sible that the roadmap suggestedby the PMO was not opera-tionalised to the satisfaction of thePM.

Given the unhappiness at theway the second Covid wave washandled, some heads had to roll.Else, the anger would have singed

the Prime Minister further. Ac-cording to surveys, his ratings hadfallen after April. Even middle-class families, once solidly behindhim, were becoming disen-chanted. Almost every family hadlost someone they knew, or knewof, to Covid.

The PM has signalled that hewants a purposeful government.That there has to be accountabil-ity in a parliamentary democracy.And that the new entrants have toshape up. Protecting Brand Modiwas an important part of the exer-cise. By holding only ministers re-sponsible, the PM has made a dis-tinction between those individualsand the Modi sarkar.

Modi has his eye on the forth-coming state elections in 2022 and2023 — and the general elections in2024, and beyond. The PM hastried to represent every state of In-dia, in some cases sub-regions instates, as well as different castes,particularly OBCs, Dalits and trib-als, in his ministry. For the firsttime, there are 11 women minis-ters in the government. Womenhave emerged as an importantvote bank, and bailed out NitishKumar in the recent Bihar elec-tions and Himanta Biswa Sarmain Assam.

While every state is important,it is Uttar Pradesh that is critical.In 2014, had UP not elected 71 BJPMPs, it would have been a hungParliament, and Modi’s political

trajectory might have been verydifferent. If the party loses groundin 2022, it will lose steam for 2024.With seven new inductees fromthe state, the number of ministersfrom UP has gone up to 15 — inother words, one-fifth of the totalstrength, which is supposed tosend its own message.

The BJP is especially reachingout to the OBCs again, whose sup-port in UP is vital for it to ward offthe challenge from the SamajwadiParty-RLD combine. The “man-dalisation” of the BJP is takingplace; the party can no longer becalled a Brahmin-Bania outfit.There are now 27 OBC ministersout of 77 in the Modi ministry.Modi is the first OBC to sit on theprime minister’s chair. In 2014,his OBC credentials were talkedabout in undertones. Now, he maydecide to play the OBC card moreopenly.

Undoubtedly, satta meinshirkat (participation in power),as former Prime Minister VPSingh used to say, has its ownlogic. But will it offset the re-sentment that has been brewingin UP with the loss of life andlivelihoods, and the growinganger amongst farmers, particu-larly in Western UP?

When Modi came to power in2014, the Atal -Advani era inBJP came to a close. In 2019,the phase dominated by “Gen Xleaders” also came to an end.

Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj,Ananth Kumar passed away.Venkaiah Naidu became thevice-president. Now, there areonly a handful of leaders left ingovernment from the “old BJP”such as Rajnath Singh and NitinGadkari. The latter has lost oneof the ministries—MSMEs—which was under him.

The PM is now putting inplace his own team. It is a youngministry, the average age being58 years. Modi is known tofavour former bureaucrats, pro-fessionals and experts morethan old-school professionalpoliticians. The new whizkid isWharton-educated AshwiniVaishnaw, who has been givenrailways and IT to turn around.There are experienced hands inJyotiraditya Scindia and Sar-bananda Sonowal. The questionis this: Will they, and others, getthe space to generate new ideas,innovate, take decisions and begiven the freedom to make mis-takes, so as to be able to deliver?

The new ministry is rich insymbolism. But with petrolprices crossing the Rs 100/litremark, 230 million reportedlyunder the poverty line, millions ofjobs reportedly lost in the organ-ised sector alone since the pan-demic began, and a third Covidwave a possibility, people will needmore than symbolism to disregardtheir suffering.

What is the reason behind PM Modi’scouncil of ministers reshuffle?

APARAJITA BHARTI , RO-HIT KUMAR

In the wake of the second wave ofCovid, our failure as a country to holdour government accountable is evi-dent. Many voices from within themedia acknowledged that a large sec-tion of the press had been too busyfollowing the cues, distractions andnarratives set by the government toquestion it on issues that really mat-tered. Civil society perhaps alsoneeds to re-examine its role. Didn’twe too — as civil society members —fail in holding the government ac-countable?

India’s civil society has many ac-tors — grassroots organisations thatconnect to the last mile and provideessential services; think tanks andacademic institutions that churn outnew policy ideas and generate evi-dence; advocacy organisations thatamplify and build support for causes,and large impact funds and philan-thropists who decide how these or-ganisations get funded.

However, successive governmentshave been wary of this tribe and itsenergy. Both the UPA and the NDAgovernments have significantly cur-

tailed the kind of activities that civilsociety actors can engage in. Philan-thropists and donor organisations of-ten find themselves unable to sup-port initiatives that strengthenIndia’s democracy and its account-ability mechanisms, for fear of retri-bution. Many civil society actors alsofocus on engaging with narrow pol-icy problems to be able to measureimpact and demonstrate quick“wins”, ignoring the fact that “smalltweaks” can never fundamentally al-

ter the way India is governed. By ig-noring the politics around policy andfocussing disproportionately ontechnocratic solutions, civil societyhas also missed the wood for thetrees.

Today, it is easier to find money tofund a policy tweak than to fund acampaign to reform Parliament orthe judiciary, because such a cam-paign is harder to measure and sus-tain and involves taking on the power-ful. A report by McKinsey and

Company estimated that close to 90per cent of total donor interest in In-dia was targeted towards primary ed-ucation, primary healthcare, rural in-frastructure and disaster relief,leaving areas such as human rightsand governance with minimal fund-ing.

Unfortunately, in the absence of astrong push from civil society, ourdemocratic institutions have no in-trinsic incentive to reform, with theresult that in India’s gravest hour, we

had no effective mechanism to holda sitting government accountable.There was palpable helplessness inthe judiciary, with judges havingtrouble in getting answers from thegovernment. Even Parliament wasunable to perform its oversight duty— it barely met in 2020 and a notice-ably short monsoon session has beenplanned for 2021.While those of uswho study India’s democratic insti-tutions have long been worried aboutthe crumbling system of checks andbalances in our democracy, the pan-demic has put a spotlight on the is-sue. We need to re-examine parlia-mentary rules that are heavily tilted infavour of the sitting government,strengthen the hands of the judiciary,bolster federalism and the indepen-dent media, while creating trans-parency in decision making withinthe executive. Civil society has an im-portant and irreplaceable role to playhere.A framework by the University ofPennsylvania’s Centre for High Im-pact Philanthropy suggests that phil-anthropists need to fund initiativesthat empower citizens, build fairprocesses, call for responsive policy,strengthen information and commu-

nication networks, and bolster socialcohesion. These are the forces thatfundamentally shape a democracy.Civil society organisations too needto broaden their agenda to include is-sues that strengthen India’s institu-tions while collaborating to presenta strong unified voice that demandsmore transparency and accountabil-ity in all areas and levels of policy-making. This involves taking morefights to the courts on transgressionsby the government, building publicopinion about expectations from awell-functioning democracy and cre-ating tools and fora that help citizensengage with policymaking morereadily.Unfortunately, no matterhow many small tweaks we make topolicy, how many platforms we buildto deliver citizen services and howmuch evidence we gather to solvespecific developmental challenges,unless we preserve the political in-centives to act in the interest of thepeople, we risk all our efforts comingto naught. To not see the strengthen-ing of institutions and the deepeningof checks and balances as importantareas of work is our collective failure,one we must address immediately.

Civil society must accept its failure to hold government accountable