Religion is supposed to be well established system of belief and practice. Our daily behaviour – whether good or bad, moral or otherwise, is influenced by such a time tested system.
2) One had been taught that religion was neither scientific nor unscientific. Instead , it is a non-scientific entity.Neither it can be proved nor can it be disproved. Looking at the ongoing struggle of the common man vis a vis never ending mutations and variants of the waves of Covid, Can we dare to State that unprecedented anxiety pertaining to Corona Auntie or Coronatic uncle has taken the shape of a fresh OPIUM for the masses?
Afterall, poor and rich alike have been in a ‘fix’ situation, suffering and departing from Earth at a much faster pace.
Conceptual Part
3) While there has been a renewed inclination towards moral education in schools and colleges due to gradual fall in values and While same keeps getting debated here and there, one should take note of steps already taken for moral education & Ethics in schools run by the Christian Missionaries.It may or may not have led to conversions.One has no wish to support conversion in a secular set up but the early ‘penetration factor’ into the ‘needy poor’ minds by providing early access to health and education should be taken note of.
Ethics is a study of what is right and what is wrong with the human behaviour or a belief system about what is morally correct or acceptable.The fact remains that it is and should be an intrinsic part of our day to day primary and secondary socialization patterns.
It should always matter as it may guide the action patterns of a group,while stressing upon respect, trust and rational behavior vis-a-vis much wider groups.
A society is supposed to be a smooth sailing one if individual entities not only follow but also reciprocate the moral behaviour. Thus what may be good or bad ,could be also considered moral duty and obligation.
Need OR Greed ?
4) It is rightly believed that surge in greed element may lead to compromising one’s moral or ethical standards.You tend to deviate from main line,at times.Gradually,there may be a competition between the meritorious and strenuous considerations.In the long run, we become victorious if we follow ultimate moral and ethical standards and stick to same till we depart..
Past & Present Icons
5) In the public life ,even if there are multifarious challenges,threats and calamities of Corona,Cyclone,Flood or Landslide kind,we need to follow brilliant examples of ever shining heroes and numerous basic need institutions who could keep public welfare away from profit motive.
To name a few,Mahatma Gandhi, J.L.Nehru,Dr.Rajendra Prasad,Sardar Patel,J.P.,Dr.V.Kurien,Dr.APJ Kalam,Aziz Premji, Ratan Tata, Dr.Pramod Karan Sethi,Mother Teresa,Anna Hazare,Dr.Devi Shetty,Dr.R.K.Pachauri,AIIMS, Tata Memorial Hospital,C.M.C,Vellore,Shanker Netralaya,Chennai etc come to our mind,bereft of any doubt..
Integrity & Dignity,Key To Success
6) For want of simplicity and sincerity,how can one hope for integrity during the irritating course of Corona.?
Will self reflected dignity be possible ?
It may not be out of context but in overall human interest to politely ask a former super power Head of State as to where was the urgency to show undesirable interest in an European drugs firm,as early as June 2020 for ensuring supplies of a particular brand ,when trends of Covid-19 were very much in mystery.It was different that his own country had been world leader in cases and casualties.Also his reckless remarks about current Indian P.M.were totally uncalled for.
Personal Hygiene & Treatment Protocol
7) There should be no harm in taking additional care of personal hygiene in the wake of seriousness of Covid situation.But a pertinent question may arise-If a soap or its liquid form can work ,why should we need sanitizer ? If a Gamcha,Chunni or Hanky (as initially prescribed )come to our aid,why do we need a factory produced mask ?Breathing through a mask is a tough proposition. If Home Isolation or in a health facility by taking usually prescribed headache,cough and fever medicines can mostly save ,is there a requirement for expensive beds ,Oxygen Cylinders ventilators and thus exposing yourself to the risk of organ extraction ?
OR when the Ayurveda or any other Indian system of medicine is showing the desired positive results in many cases,why not to keep trying them ?
E- LEARNING
8) IMPOSED E-learning, is leading to undermining physical exercise /running around by the school and college students is already showing a negative trend and anxiety syndrome. Apart from the need to buy expensive ‘Smart Phone’,there has been also rise in needed quantity.
Parents, especially single parents are compelled to run from pillar to post and at times, have to resort to loans or out of way means to meet growing
demands of their sons and daughters. Side by side, it should not be forgotten that the regular use of electronic devices may also aggravate anxiety,apart from fresh personality and medical challenges,yet to be known.
IMPACT OF VACCINES
9) Introduction of now eight vaccines since first week of December, 2020 has not made much impact, rather, many Cases keep resurfacing even after two doses. A cocktail of two vaccines,once considered risky, has been looked at afresh.In regard to two vaccines introduced in India , one cocktail has recently proved beneficial (effectiveness was claimed upto 77%). In normal course,both from clinical and MORAL angles, the identified health personnel of a PHC in U.P. could have been liable for penal action when a “mistake” was committed by them. Based on trial & error strategy, none of the researchers or the medical practitioners had something called prior experience,thus they need to be pardoned.
HOW TO FIX MORAL RESPONSIBILITY ?
10) However, fixing MORAL responsibility for fiddling with a case or spoiling it further or an ultimate demise may have to be made loud and clear in the mind of treating doctors. It is not that doctors and para medics or other front liners have not died or suffered for long,but it needs to be felt deeply by them that much more suffering is in store for thousands of relatives of the Covid dead .
If many of them were IMMORALLY mistreated by the chemists,traffic Police,Taxis,Three Wheelers,as also profit minded hospital staff,they are destined to face much more louder music one day. We need to take a cue from Western countries to improve things.
DEDICATED DOCTORS & STAFF NEED ENCOURAGEMENT
11) Side by side,one has to laud and salute the untiring efforts made by many top and new doctors(for instance,Late Dr.K.K.Agarwal, Dr.R.Guleria, Dr.
V.K.Paul, Dr.Arora,among others) & para medics as also Heads of Ministry of Health & F.W., AIIMS,ICMR, NITY AAYOG, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital,J.P.Trauma Centre,Sir Gangaram Hospital etc.
During the hour of acute crisis,especially during the second wave peak period of 4th April to 15th May’21, mental strength of patients and attendants had hit an all time low,so much so that unfortunate expressions, such as , home hospitalisation had to be coined & acted upon.
To avoid and get rid of desperate patients, especially in the “claimed ” Oxygen cases,many private hospitals in Metro cities not only resorted to IMMORAL practices but some of them probably ought to have been reminded of their Hippocratus Oath and the GROUP ETHICAL practices, they have to follow during rest of their years.
TINGE OF MORALITY IN ANALYSING CORONA FIGURES
12) MALAISE or Connivance sets rolling from reporting daily cases,number of tests,Positivity ratio,Case Fatality Ratio,Daily Vaccinations,Casualty figures etc.
Primarily owing to habit of taking a task merely as a routined one,mistakes are bound to happen at the cutting edge. Due to tremendous long hours leading to stress situations also ,one may have a tendency to FALTER. Wrong reporting takes place also due to peer group differences and at times, undesirable pressures from superiors.The phenomenon of Cascading Effect may also take its toll. In addition ,situations,such as Mahakumbh in Haridwar and fortcoming festivals force Labs,companies,Government employees too to act and perform in IMMORAL WAYS in a haste, by adding to number of tested individuals. Inquiry ordered in respect of malpractices of three labs in regard to Haridwar tragedy drags on and on.They still figure in the”official list”.
We will later see how official Covid death figures have differed DRASTICALLY from various registers maintained by Cremation Grounds AND Office of Registrar of Births & Deaths in many States.There are also a number of cases of creating confusion between normal deaths,accidental ones and Covid related deaths.
When it comes to worse,religious beliefs & faiths are not respected.AND unthinkable takes place- Dead People donot get the dignity they deserve,rather, many who should be cremated ,get thrown into river or or have to be buried on account of reasons of time, precaution or cash or perpetual fear of Dom Raja, who may not understand basics of Ethics & Morality . Why only to point fingers at an End of Social Strata and outright ostracised individual like him, when there are”sophisticated” players at work.
13) At a Bazar of a Ganga river bank in U.P. some people from so called Upper caste have been also found removing Kafans,sheets,Gamchhas etc.from half cremated/half buried dead bodies and reselling them afresh.Such a highly IMMORAL & unthinkable act may not happen in other societies.
Its Atrocious ,its Mind Boggling in a country wherein family values steeped in customs,traditions,mores,folkways and ultimate religious beliefs are taught from the beginning to end.
STATISTICAL MISTAKES, MAGIC OR JUGGLERY ?
14) Talking of this vital index of Public Administration, Policy or Economics, the Centre For Global Development of USA,upon analyzing data from March ’20 to June’21 has reported on 24th August that India’s Corona death toll is upto TEN TIMES HIGHER than 4,15,000 fatalities reported by the authorities.Such a rise was partly” fuelled” by the Delta variant during April and May 2021. EASILY IT COULD BE THE WORST HUMANITARIAN DISATER since 15th August,1947.
Incidently,the official death toll of country as on date,I,e,4.36 Lakhs continues to be third highest ,after 609,000 fatalities of USA and Brazil’s 5,42,000.
SCOPE FOR DOUBT
15) While genuine doubts have been casted on country’s death toll, time and again, ALSO BY THE Courts,overstretched health services,lack of proper rest since the first wave,illness & deaths of immediate relatives could be also cited as contributing factors.These need to be considered.
Many large states have revised their Virus tolls in recent weeks, thus adding thousands of “Backlog” deaths. While major concern States of West Bengal and Assam are maintaining a safe silence since their Assembly elections,Bihar has divulged as many as 251,000 “Excess” deaths registered by Registrar of Births & Deaths under Civil Registration System(CRS) pertaining to the period March’20 to May’21. It is 48.6 TIMES, the official number of confirmed deaths(5163)in the state in the same time period.Undoutedly, it is a HIGHLY IMMORAL ACT on the part of the concerned persons, making it one of the largest deviations in Excess Mortality.The State Government had submitted earlier differing figures to Patna High Court at the level of Divisional Commissioner,Patna and C.S.of the State.
FURTHER DATA ANALYSIS
16) Deviation in Mortality figures has been also reported by a major national daily in respect of other states,such as,very crucial Southern States of Kerala,Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh Telengana and Karnataka in one category and Maharastra,Gujarat,Assam,H.P.and U.P. in the other. It has reflected a very wide range of undercount factors- as little as o.42 times in Kerala(otherwise having highest number of 24 hour cases & highest Positivity Rate of 19.03 %) to 43 times in U.P.(based on available data of 24 districts).
GLOBAL MESS
18) Globally also ,as per WHO, Covid-19 deaths may be as much as two -three times the official figures of 44.8 lakh deaths from 21.5 Crore cases.
SUPPRESSION OF DATA has been reported from time to time from China,Russia,Brazil,U.K,Italy,Peru,Mexico,South Africa and many poor countries of Africa. Thus the persons involved in tabulating & analyzing such figures in other countries ALSO NEED TO BE TAKEN TO TASK for their act of misleading.
GOOD SAMARITANS & ROAD AHEAD
18)A sizeable percentage of populace get perturbed after getting infected by Covid pandemic.
Moral or rational behavior & response patterns may not emerge, many a time. Nevertheless, one comes across Good Samaritans in all professions , who not only forget their family and health for the sake of duty but sheer magnitude and population of the country and almost absence of a work culture lead to several road blocks. These need to be reviewed and success stories should be replicated for common Good.
As regards issues of Ethics and morality,it can not be a positive scenario always,that too in a situation when profit makers refuse to budge. Rumour mongering and panic spreading should not have a place amidst us. When an usual kind of viral fever during a particular time of the year strikes,it has to be tackled , responsibly,in a human way.
LATEST VACCINE DEVELOPMENTS
19) Our sincere approach, reputation and character may help in winning over any epidemic.We have to keep trying by being in touch and correctly feeling the pulse of the people. While we spread the dictum of ‘protecting yourself & your family safe at home’, we should not be IMMUNE to the ongoing research on a Booster dose,3rd dose or a Nasal one. Such a behaviour pattern will not only be most effective weapon but ethically & morally correct also. While one may take note of 32.64 Crore cases against 60.24 Crores vaccinated with ONE DOSE (49.5% Adults)and 50.5 % of population yet to be vaccinated, one can IMAGINE the HERCULEAN TASK AHEAD IN 2022-23.
However, record One Crore JABS administered on 27th August may BOOST OUR MORALE.
About the Author : Dr. Aaloc Srivastav, Ex CS , Sikkim is a Senior Retd Bureaucrat and passionate about writing on his favourite subjects . The views shared by the author are his personal.
