FROM DISASTER TO DEVELOPMENT: WE WANT A RESOLUTION AND A VISION

Being under lockdown at Kashipur, I get an opportunity to come alive in many ways as I am able to read and visualise how the entire world is coping up with COVID-19 Pandemic. I read a lot which are posted in the Internet; watch TV; discuss with friends who are also under lockdown; reach out to my colleagues who are trying to do something for the local communities though we are facing many constraints. At times, I try to reach out to friends who are in the Administration and watch their cautious responses. Things are not the same any longer! I also visualise the terrible suffering of masses who are facing shortage of food and no employment. And there are many such people around. I feel totally helpless as our cry is a CRY IN WILDERNESS!

I have always felt that all along the history, all disasters have led to development and progress for the Mankind. I remember in our student days, we have always faced debates on WAR AND PEACE, SCIENCE IS A BOON OR A BANE. Scientists like A N Whitehead ( Author of Classic Science in the Modern world) , Philosophers like Bertrand Russell( The Impact of Science on Society) , Writers like Arthur Koestler ( The Darkness At noon) and Sociologist like Eric Fromm ( Anatomy of Human Destructiveness) have influenced the human mind. There have been N number of Disasters which have contributed to the development of the Society. On the other hand, Society has learnt from each disaster in a significant way and have moved forward after internalising them with knowledge and wisdom.

It is really praiseworthy that our Scientific Community has risen to the occasion and have come forward to find a Vaccine against Coronavirus. Hundreds of Researchers are busy day and night with multiple interventions in different scientific domain and predicting that they would surely succeed in developing a Vaccine soon after due trials. This is the indomitable spirit of Man which we have to recognise.
We have to remain optimistic.

This Lockdown simple cannot imprison our resilient mind and responses as we have to express our creative energy somehow or other and in some way or other. I know many people belonging to the working class or on the edge of survival are thinking day in and day out how to overcome hunger and isolation. I think what is needed is pragmatic planning and execution. What is needed is a vision. I cannot say about urban population as many of the inhabitants have left their village home and hearth for good and it will be very difficult for them to make a U-turn unless the villages offer the same opportunities as the Urban Growth Centres. Looking at all these migrant labourers from Odisha , one wonders what has happened to the mega programmes like Western Odisha Livelihood Projects(ORLEP), Odisha Tribal Empowerment and Livelihood Projects (OTELP) , Odisha Livelihood Mission and so on and so forth. Why the sustainable livelihood has not been ensured for people living under $1 -$2 per day? There are many big NGOs -whether they are big and still beautiful- but their contribution is a matter of debate. It is undoubtedly admitted that things are going wrong at all levels both at policy and practice level.

I remember in 2001, there were Starvation deaths and Late Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. There was a criticism that Millions of Tons of Food Grains were rotting in the warehouses and yet the people were starving and dying. His aide late Mr. Ashok Saikia called me to know what was the reality and I had requested him that the PM should talk to tribal women to know the ground reality. Those days a special Video Conference was organised at Kashipur and the PM could know the reality from these simple women in a straightforward manner. And lo and behold, the millions of tons food grains were made available for the people and many kinds of food for work programmes were initiated. 

We have to go back to the basics of Gram Swaraj as Mahatma Gandhi has visualised and was demonstrated by the great Gandhian Economist Late Mr. JC Kumarappa. Let us revisit them not for theory but to begin a new Chapter. If one asks me, I can suggest that each Indian village can be converted into an ECO-VILLAGE and each Small Landholder must develop his/her Family Farm for sustainable Food and Livelihood Securities. The village must have enough Water ( Surface and Ground). The village commons must be revived. The Energy Security must be ensured also by having full use of renewable energy. Every village must have a School of its choice. We must have a blue print and engage with the Rural Poor in the most effective way to have zero distress Migration. The Lockdown may be a Law and Order situation from one point of view but it is also an opportunity for dialogue with the masses for DEVELOPMENT which is missing these days! We have to prepare ourselves as there is prediction that there would be much worse attacks in future.