By Shravani Thota
While the Covid-19 Pandemic defies all social constructs and spreads across 216 countries(/territories) around the globe, affecting people across all religions and classes, some deeply rooted differences in the society still seem to persist. The rich, the people of power, the people who are thought to be at the top of several Social Hierarchal constructs still seem to have a better chance at surviving – The instances of unheeded hardships of the migrant laborers during the lockdown that they didn’t see coming and simultaneous rescue missions (carried out with full vigor) to bring back Indians stuck in other Nations prove the same to us. There are so many more things I’m glad I could understand better through the lens of Anthropology. Here, I mention a striking few of them.
The text about Power, Conquest, and a World-System mentions to us how the European Colonialism was aided with spread of epidemics they were seeming to be more immune towards. Author Parvati Sharma also quotes in her book “Jahangir: An Intimate Portrait of a Great Mughal” -” Jahangir found himself exiled from his own capital for months because of a virulent plague.”. Such is the ability of a wide spread disease –neither can be seen coming nor be fought physically even by the mightiest of empires or countries. Though the disease carried by the Englishmen was not intentional all the time, many claim –taking examples from the history- that this had been a crooked strategy played out by China to disrupt the world economy. The fact that China was the first to encounter the pandemic yet recovered fast having no alarm bells ring as they were to face the pandemic- raises many brows. The India-China standoff in Ladakh, China moving forward its strategic relationship with Nepal while it continues to crush down on the protestors in Hong Kong and continuously opposed Taiwan’s participation in the UN. Major countries including the US first led by Australia backing Taiwan’s entry may essentially prove to us that the world is not happy with China and wants it to take responsibility for its irresponsibility concerning alerting the world about the pandemic. ISIS asking its terror groups to "stay away from the land of the epidemic" for the time being has been a very bizarre outcome.
Nevertheless, some parts of the world recovered well and are still recovering. Women led nations did extremely well in containing the virus and continue to strive towards the eradication of the disease. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern led her country to triumph over the disease with her promising governance. Germany led by Angela Merkel, Finland led by Sanna Marin and Tsai Ing-wen – the President of Taiwan are few notable leaders who have done exceptionally well in containing, tracing and eradicating the virus proving time and again that women can lead, women can excel beyond the domestic spectrum. All the remarkable women around the world – be it the World leaders or millions of health workers around the globe have stepped out during these tough times to provide their services, again crushing the belief that women are “powerless” and have to stay and live a “content” life within domestic quarters- very much imposed by the society. The text on Gender quotes “principal cause of the subordination of women in the fact, ultimately rooted in biology, of women’s lack of physical mobility during pregnancy and suckling. These impediments to free movement serve to link the woman to the home”. Virologist Minal Dakhave Bhosale, our Indian example and a great inspiration defied the very text by leading her team and providing India’s first ever coronavirus testing kit for evaluation just a day before she delivered her baby.
Chores like cleaning and cooking which were then imposed as gender specific on women are now no longer gender specific. With maids not available during the lockdown and women sometimes being the frontline workers, men working from home have taken up house chores. Kids, men and everyone has been urged to do chores and are being lauded for the same on social platforms. The fact that the reaction to such good deeds (sharing of responsibilities and defying the belief of gender specific activities) would not have been much encouraging in the past and now is being publicly appreciated makes me feel optimistic about the future and that the world is changing for better (at least through the lens of gender equality).
Differences continue to persist. The trans society in India which was already devoid of any good employment opportunities, is now facing a rough time. There had been several instances that they came out to ask for support and help and listed out their problems. Influencer Bhuvan Bam captured their problems and released a video stating their hardships amongst several others seeking help. People came forward to donate and do their bit to protect the trans society. It is a pleasant response that people are more at ease with people of all genders and that the stigma surrounding gender is slowly being deconstructed.
The concept of Religion played a crucial role through and through the pandemic. As quoted in the text, religion generally serves the needs of the powerful, religion may provide an outlet for individual frustration, resentment, and anger. The same has happened throughout the narrative of the “Tablighi Jamaat” narrative. The tourists who attended the religious event in Delhi and the religious heads were in all terms answerable for their irresponsibility and the threat they posed to the country during pandemic but the anti-Muslimism propogandists gave it a subtle religious angle and were to an extent successful on imposing the ill effects of the incident onto the entire religion. Hate messages went rampant, people were asked to abstain buying goods from Muslims, in fact, boycott Muslim merchants. People who opposed this started posing questions, asking why Tirupati was still functioning around the same time and why Yogi Adityanath kept up with Ram Navami Celebrations until the very last moment. Both the sides contributed to turning the issue entirely into a Hindu- Muslim narrative instead of focusing on holding the rule breakers responsible and how to contain the virus and be vigilant of instances like these.
As the text suggests - “The less predictable an outcome is, the greater the likelihood they (religious rituals) will be used.”. Religion can be a means of reducing anxiety and increasing control and as anxious the times are, people are desperately looking towards something they could hold on to, essentially- Religion and God. All the crucial places of worship have organized prayers, namaz and yagnas in order to please god. The older members of most families are taking to some form of rituals at home. “God will take care “has become a way to calm ourselves down of all the chaos and deaths the pandemic is causing.
“Sacred Narratives” is another very important aspect of religion. Sacred narratives are powerful ways of communicating ideas. Re-telecasting the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata during the lockdown can be seen as reinforcing these sacred narratives and ideas of Hinduism. It can also be looked at as an attempt to make the youth of the country aware of the age-old epics and make them appreciate the concept of all-powerful Gods with good intentions.
In the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, people took to creative solutions. There have been several instances where myths have been used for good while enforcing lockdown. Men dressed up as “Yama” and “Hanuman” went around and caught attention and conveyed importance of cooperating with the government during the lockdown.” Yama” (at least someone who dressed as Yama) warning people of death if the rules are unheeded does make a mark. The practice of “Harikatha Kaalakshepam” which was originally a dramatic practice in which storytellers went around and told stories of God through a mix of engaging songs and dance has now found a place in urban areas. Traditional Story tellers volunteered to take responsibility of conveying the information about the disease in the most engaging way.
Prime Minister’s call for appreciating the frontline workers by clapping from one’s balcony was essentially a symbolic act of coming together to show one’s gratitude and unity. It did reassure everyone that they weren’t alone in the “battle” against the pandemic.
The second call of Prime Minister of holding diyas/lamps for “nine minutes at nine pm” can essentially be considered a rite of intensification. Lighting lamps has always been considered a way to drive away darkness which is symbolic of “evil” in many cultures including the Hindu culture and this was the message that was expected to be conveyed through this act alongside ideals of unity. The second call was received with much criticism.
Religious beliefs did good sometimes, people gave away food in order to attain “punya”. Meditation and Yoga for immunity were promoted relentlessly.
Fake news still kept people engaged in doing silly things like piercing lemons and hanging them in several places amongst others. People increasingly started looking towards astrology for help predicting now and then that the number of cases would start going down. They looked for the Solar Eclipse hopefully and only realized to their bewilderment that the number was still going up and above unlike what was suggested by the astrological predictions. Some claim that diseases now and then- are Nature’s own way of cleansing itself, to keep a check on population again another aspect of symbolizing nature.
Globalization and Change is another crucial aspect which lets us understand more about the pandemic and its consequences. Globalization is one thing which is keeping up the world in these times also is the same thing which makes us realize how much we have relied on China. Globalization is an important policy matter. India changed its FDI rules to curb opportunistic takeovers and acquisitions (intended at China but not mentioned explicitly). Economy is losing pace. Raghuram Rajan , the former RBI Chief suggested in one of his interviews that the need of the hour is to pool resources from wherever available and put it to use on people who need it the most, which can be recognized as Human Needs Approach. It is important that the poor are protected from layoffs before we move on to focus on boosting the economy. Though received with great criticism- Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan” with a motto “Vocal for Local”. Instagram has launched a new sticker- “Support small businesses- go local” where you can easily tag your favorite local business and let your friend know.
Globalization has given so many people an opportunity for living but we cannot ignore how it contributes in making the poor the most vulnerable in times like these. Rapid Urbanization, demand for labor as new Industries came up in the cities pumped the cities with a lot of hopeful people from rural areas looking for jobs. They lived and continue to live in shacks amidst rubble with a little they can afford. The competition to survive and earn the meagre income silences them of any desire of protection or basic necessities. Dharavi as disease struck as ever, still fell vulnerable to Coronavirus. Epidemiologists feared a rapid spread of the virus given the conditions of the slum- home to over a million people. The Government however, pulled off a miracle along with the help of health workers and eventually contained the virus with extensive contact tracing. Migrant workers stuck in cities were the hardest hit. Facing layoffs and having nothing to eat, no transport available -the laborers set out on foot to get to their villages. They’re journey of hundreds and thousands of kilometers was sometimes called “Pilgrimage”. People lost their lives while Government stood as a mute spectator for a long time.
Another aspect of Globalization is Electronic Communication Technologies and essentially the Internet. Many continue to work from home which might not have been the case if it wasn’t for the internet. At least the Information Technology sector is keeping up. Education has been shifted to online platforms and didn’t need to be cut off. Digitized payments are safer and preferred since they need no contact. The same goes with Online Shopping- people look at sanitizing the delivered products as a safer option than to be out there in the Shopping malls or commodity stores to fetch groceries. Artists, entertainers from across the world are on a boom. Bloggers, Vloggers and most people from the Internet community continue to try and reach out to people who are finding it difficult to cope up in the limited space- physical and mental available to them. The pandemic gave us an opportunity to take time and appreciate so many new professions as relevant. The whole dating scenario moved online making long distance relationships with partners and family less bitter. Artists can still put their work for sale and people can purchase them though it would be called a luxury amidst the pandemic. Coronavirus patients and survivors are coming forth to share their journey with people around the globe which indeed helped people calm down a bit.
Nevertheless, all is not fine with such swift access to communication. Fake news is more rampant than ever. Hate is so easy to spread and too much exposure to news concerning corona may harm mental health. India went through this whole process of digital detox; it only reminds us to be more careful with our personal identity on internet.
I end this with a note that I am grateful that Cultural Anthropology has helped me become a better observer of my surroundings, helped me be kind and most importantly let me be what I am and trust what I have learnt to trust by applying my readings.
Picture credits: Alireza Pakdell
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