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FROM THE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
E
very country in the world is battling the novel corona-
virus in its own way. Epidemiologists are churning out
computer models of how the infection will spread and
how many people will die. Scientists are struggling to
understand the nature of the virus. Countries are looking at how
each has fared and wondering which model to follow to minimise
death and economic disruption. As the very articulate foreign
affairs minister of Singapore, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, put it, “In
fact, this is an acid test of every country’s quality of healthcare,
the standard of governance and the social capital. And if any one
of this tripod is weak, it will be exposed quite unmercifully.” Of
course, India cannot be compared with Singapore, but the points
he makes remain valid. India is unique for several reasons. With
1.3 billion people, we are the second most populous country in
the world and, with 420 persons per square kilometre, the 31st
most densely populated. We are a poor country with a per capita
income of $8,378 at purchasing power parity compared to China’s
$19,503. India is 124th in per capita income among 191 countries,
according to an October 2019 IMF report. This is reflected in
the shabby state of our general infrastructure, and healthcare in
particular. Every Indian is familiar with our slothful bureaucracy
and self-serving politicians. Though there has been considerable
improvement in recent years, we still have far
to go for a responsive and efficient government.
The social capital of a country refers to the trust
its society has in government and its compliance
with rules. This was dreadfully on display when
www.t.me/magzsenglish
hundreds of thousands of poor urban migrants
defied lockdown orders and started to march to
their villages. Rural India is troubled too. It is at
a standstill, with the 205 million people engaged
in agriculture waiting to harvest their crop and
those who cannot access the markets.
Of course, India being a democracy with
a free press cannot do many of the things
autocratic China can to deal with this crisis.
Besides, one cannot be sure what the actual numbers of infec-
tions and deaths in China are. We also cannot blindly follow
developed countries because they have social security benefits
for the unemployed and satisfactory healthcare. India has too
many vulnerable people living on the margins of subsistence. It
has 260 million workers in non-farm sectors such as services,
manufacturing and non-manufacturing businesses. Of these,
the lockdown has put an estimated 136 million at risk as many
of these people are self-employed or work as casual labourers, in
non-registered nano-businesses or registered small companies
without written contracts.
The government was faced with a Hobson’s choice: risk the
infection spreading as it has in other countries, or impose a total
lockdown causing tremendous socio-economic disruption. It is
now Week Two of the unprecedented three-week lockdown, the
largest in human history. Several countries that did not lock down
are now facing devastating consequences. The United States, with
3,100 deaths, will shortly surpass China’s death toll. Its health of-
ficials admit they could see upwards of 240,000 deaths.
The 2,015 cases and 53 deaths in India, as on April 2, are still
a fraction of the over 1 million cases and 50,000 deaths reported
worldwide. But these numbers could be an illusion. Four weeks
into the pandemic, we still have one of the lowest testing rates in
the world—32 tests per million compared to China’s 2,820. The
Illustration by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY
fact that we are teetering on the precipice of a health catastrophe
was highlighted only recently when a gathering of Tablighi Jamaat
members at its New Delhi headquarters triggered the single-larg-
est number of COVID-19 infections across South Asia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set up 11 empowered
groups to speed up the government’s response to the pandemic.
Given our limited capacities in the health sector—from critical
care equipment to protective gear—the government is clearly
saving resources for a contingency. A lockdown buys it time
by breaking the infection chain, despite the setback from the
reverse migration of people and the Tablighi Jamaat congrega-
tion. In the next few days, it needs to sensitise people, enforce the
lockdown and prevent community transmission.
A
t the same time, with the lockdown in place, it needs to avert
the very real danger of a complete nationwide breakdown. It
has to keep the wheels of the economy moving lest the health
crisis become an economic one. Economic activity has ground to
a complete halt, with March and April having been wiped off the
economic calendar. The wheels have come off the logistics sector,
halting the free movement of essential supplies. Agriculture, which
employs the largest number of workers, has been severely affected
as farms and fields lie idle. If the lockdown isn’t
lifted by April 15, it could imperil the rabi crop
harvest, which reaches its peak this month. The
urban poor, most of them daily wagers, are on the
brink of starvation. As one of them, an unem-
ployed artisan, told one of our correspondents,
“The lockdown has turned Delhi’s air pollution-
free, but to enjoy it, I need food to stay alive.”
Our cover story, ‘How to Prevent a Break-
down’, examines the challenges ahead and
highlights what India needs to do to meet the
crisis head-on. Senior Editor Sonali Acharjee
assesses our capacity deficiencies in critical
healthcare. Executive Editor M.G. Arun, Deputy
Editor Shwweta Punj and Senior Editor Anilesh S. Mahajan look
at the paralysis of the road transport sector which ferries more
than 50 per cent of cargo across India. Senior Editor Kaushik Deka
examines the plight of the urban poor and how to protect their
livelihoods. Consulting Editor Ajit Kumar Jha finds outs how the
agriculture sector is faring. Associate Editor Shougat Dasgupta
documents how the migrant worker has been left in the lurch.
On April 15, the government will again be on the horns of a
dilemma: lives vs livelihood. One thing is for sure: we are in for
a long haul even after we overcome the corona crisis. We have to
brace ourselves for it and not act in panic. These are truly trying
times. The government has a humongous task in dealing with
this pandemic. There is only so much it can do. The rest, literally,
is in our hands.
(Aroon Purie)
P.S.: In this crisis, authentic information is your best weapon. We
at india today remain committed to bringing you clarity and
correct information. A PDF version of this issue is available free
on www.indiatoday.in/emag or www.indiatoday.in/magzter. We
also bring you daily Insights on India’s response to the crisis. Log
in to www.indiatoday.in/india-today-magazine-insight.
www.indiatoday.in

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6
Volume XLV Number 15; For the week
April 7-13, 2020, published on every Friday
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E SSEN T I A L SU PPL I E S
20
MEETING
THE DEMAND
FOR SUPPLY
What the government needs
to do to put the Rs 15 lakh
crore transport and logistics
sector back in gear
UR BA N POOR
28
CITIES OF GLOOM
www.t.me/magzsenglish
Already on the margins, the
disadvantaged in cities stare at
economic obliteration. Can their
livelihoods be salvaged?
M I G R A N T WO R K E R S
44
AFTER
THE FLOOD
Jobless and stranded in cities,
they are risking it all trying to
head back home. How can the
government help them?
O B I T UA RY
56
The life and times of painter, sculptor
and muralist Satish Gujral, who passed
away on March 26
12 H E A LT H C A R E
ARE WE READY TO
FACE THE WORST?
The shortage of health
professionals and hospital
equipment needs quick fixing
as COVID-19 tightens its grip
AG R I C U LT U R E
SAVING THE HARVEST
36
Hopes of a bumper rabi
crop crash as the lockdown
cripples the movement of farm
labour and machinery
TA B L I G H I J A M A AT
52 INSIDE A
SUPER SPREAD
The Jamaat’s congregation
in Delhi has created COVID
clusters around the country.
Where do we go from here?
FORCE AND
COMPOSURE
Presenting India Today Insight
Sharp daily insights into the Corona crisis
by IndIa Today editors, log on to www.
indiatoday.in/india-today-magazine-insight
THE BIG STORY
CAN YOGI MANAGE THE
HUMAN FLOOD?
by Ashish Misra
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister faces
an enormous humanitarian crisis
caused by the lockdown
https://bit.ly/2X2PsW2
GROUND REPORT
How Bhilwara became a
COVID-19 hotspot
by Rohit Parihar
At the centre of the affliction is Bangur
Hospital, which serves patients from
across Rajasthan and other states
https://bit.ly/2xBIFbb
GROUND REPORT
Telangana pads up
by Amarnath K. Menon
How KCR is marshalling his forces
to fight the corona battle
https://bit.ly/3aCsl8F
GOOD NEWS
Feeding fellow men
by Kiran D. Tare
A bus conductor and his family
turn philanthropists for Thane’s
homeless during the lockdown
https://bit.ly/3aMGcsY
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK
LEAD ESSAY

www.t.me/magzsenglish
HOW TO
PREVENT A
BREAKDOWN
Midway through the lockdown, India has contained the
spread of the novel coronavirus but at an enormous socio-
economic cost. It now needs to ramp up its healthcare
facilities, ease the flow of essential supplies and formulate
an exit strategy that includes a financial stimulus package to
get the economy and its people going again
By RAJ CHENGAPPA
 LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Social distancing at a
cabinet meeting chaired by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
in New Delhi, March 25

www.t.me/magzsenglish

T
he decision that Narendra Modi took on March 24, 2020—to impose a total lockdown in the
country—will go down as among the most important prime ministerial acts since Independence. Never
before in human history have a billion-plus people been forced to confine themselves to their homes.
Not even in China, where the novel coronavirus—which causes the disease called COVID-19—made its
first appearance, did the leadership resort to such a drastic countrywide shutdown.
In the four wars that India fought since Independence, barring night-time blackouts, people moved
around freely, as did goods and services. The wheels of industry never stopped. During the Emergency
of 1975-1977, fundamental rights were severely curtailed as was public assembly, but transport and
all other activity continued—perhaps even more efficiently, out of fear. Modi and his team, therefore,
had no past experience of their own to fall back on or, for that matter, of other countries handling the
pandemic to guide their actions after the country went into lockdown.
Officials in the know reveal that they even had to scramble to find out a law they could use to
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK

pass a decision, short of declaring a na-

tionwide Emergency. Apart from the
stigma attached to that event and the
legality of imposing such an order, the
assessment was that using the provision
might disempower the states at a time
when their full cooperation was needed
to win the battle against the virus. They
then studied the Epidemic Diseases Act
that was first promulgated in 1897 to
tackle the bubonic plague in Mumbai.
That legislation, however, largely vested
state governments with limited powers
to impose regulations in the event of
an outbreak of a dangerous epidemic.
The Centre’s powers under this act were
restricted to regulating the entry of in-
dividuals at various ports.
Finally, officials advised Modi to use
the powers the Disaster Management
Act, 2005, vested in him as chairperson
of the National Disaster Management
Authority to impose a national lockdown

www.t.me/magzsenglish
whose measures the states would have to
comply with. Immediately after, princi-
pal secretary to the prime minister, Dr
BANDEEP SINGH

P.K. Mishra, and cabinet secretary Rajiv

Gauba held a meeting with all state chief
secretaries and director-generals of po- ENDLESS WAIT A man and his young son wait for hours in the
lice to ensure the lockdown was strictly hope of finding place on a bus from Delhi to Jhansi, UP
enforced and only movement of essential
goods and services was permitted.
expand the screening progressively to ber of deaths rose to 4,291. The num-

T
he decision, say senior of-
ficials, came after much de-
liberation within the Prime
Minister’s Office (PMO) and
key ministries. Steps to fight the virus
had started soon after China on Janu-
ary 7 finally admitted that it had identi-
fied the coronavirus as the cause of the
flu that had swept its Wuhan and Hu-
bei provinces, infecting, at last count,
81,589 people in China and resulting in
3,318 deaths. Soon after, the Indian civil
aviation and health departments began
screening all international passengers,
particularly those flying in from China,
at key airports.
The measures were stepped up af-
ter the PMO held a review meeting with
key departments over preparedness on
January 25. Orders were then issued to
all airports, all state health ministries
were alerted and brought into the loop
and the National Institute of Virology
labs across the country equipped to test
the virus. On February 3, Modi consti-
tuted an empowered group of ministers
chaired by the Union minister for health
Dr Harsh Vardhan, with ministers from
the external affairs, home, civil aviation
and shipping ministries as it members,
to enhance the country’s preparedness.
At this point, India had reported only
three cases of COVID-19.
It was in the first half of March that
things began to “get really scary,” as a
senior official put it. On March 11, the
World Health Organization (WHO) de-
clared COVID-19 as a pandemic, after
the worldwide number of cases crossed
118,000 in 114 countries and the num-
ber of cases in India then was 57, and
deaths just one—fairly low compared
to its viral spread in Europe, East Asia,
particularly South Korea, and, subse-
quently, the US. But even as India was
relatively safe, specialists warned Modi
that there was no room for complacency.
The country had proceeded to the sec-
ond stage where local infection had be-
gun to take root after the first travellers
returning to the country were found to
be infected. However, it was the Stage
3 of the disease that was the real worry
when the virus would spread through
community transmission, leading to
an exponential rise in the number of
cases within days. It could, thereafter,
enter the dreaded fourth stage where
large clusters of population would be
afflicted, turning it into an epidemic.

8 INDIA TODAY A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0

The prime minister was well aware
that Indian health facilities were ill-
equipped to meet the onslaught of com-
munity transmission, especially if the
numbers grew from a few thousands to
a hundred thousand in a matter of days.
Studies of the way the pandemic struck
other countries indicated that while 80
per cent of those infected would experi-
ence a milder form of flu that could be
treated at home, the remaining 20 per
cent would need hospital care. Of these,
8 per cent would require Intensive Care
Units (ICUs) for treatment. Currently,
India has just about enough ICU facili-
ties to treat around 29,000 patients,
but these are spread across the country.
For instance, Maharashtra, which has
recorded the highest number of cases
so far, is equipped with only 2,500 ICU
beds. Should the epidemic be confined
to a single state, as in China, then the
health system in that state would col-
www.t.me/magzsenglish
lapse and the death toll escalate. With
no vaccine on the horizon for at least the
next six months, the only way to stop
the COVID’s spread is through social
distancing and ensuring that infected
persons are quarantined so that they
don’t infect others.
Modi and his team then debated
the cluster approach, locking down only
those places that were infected as China
had with its two provinces. By March
19, when Modi announced a ‘Janata
Curfew’, 75 districts had reported cases
and had to be locked down. The plan
initially was to observe frequent Jana-
ta Curfews rather than impose a total
lockdown. But the number of districts
under lockdown soon shot up to 548, or
three-fourths of the 720 districts in the
country. Most states had brought their
districts under some sort of curfew. The
piecemeal approach, therefore, then had
to be ruled out. It was at this point that
Modi decided to waste no more time and
take the tough but necessary decision
to impose a 21-day countrywide lock-
down, beginning March 25. As a senior
official explained, “It was a difficult de-
cision, but deferring it would have been
devastating for the country. The choice
was between life and livelihood, and we
chose life. Also, if we gave a three-day
window, the rush for trains, buses and
flights would have seen people flock in
enormous numbers and defeat the pur-
pose of the lockdown.”
Y
et, while officials claim
they anticipated “95 per cent
of the downside the lockdown
could cause”, they admit they
were not prepared for the large-scale re-
verse migration to rural areas of those
working in the unorganised sector. They
blame it on rumours that the lockdown
would run on for three months and that
workers would not be paid wages by their
The 11 empowered
groups of the
Centre are
transforming how
the crisis
is being handled,
instilling a new
sense of purpose
and confidence
in tackling
the challenges
of the lockdown
employers. With over half a million such
workers leaving cities for their homes in
the hinterland, there is a real danger that
the infection could spread to rural India.
Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee warns
that given the weak rural health infra-
structure, India could end up facing a
massive tragedy. He also points out that
these migrant workers propped up much
of the rural economy with their earnings
in the city and if the situation didn’t im-
prove, the impact could be debilitating.
A day after the lockdown, finance
minister Nirmala Sitharaman an-
nounced a slew of measures to provide
relief to the poor, especially migrant
LEAD ESSAY
workers, who were most severely im-
pacted by the lockdown, apart from
farmers—totalling Rs 1.7 lakh crore. This
included providing an additional 5 kg
of wheat or rice and 1 kg of pulses every
month for the next three months—dou-
bling the current entitlement for grains.
Some 204 million women with Jan Dhan
accounts were promised Rs 500 per
month over the next three months. And
farmers, it was announced, would be giv-
en Rs 2,000 as upfront payment in April
as part of the Rs 6,000 that had been
promised to them annually under the
PM-Kisan Yojana. Experts were divided
on the impact of these measures, with
some saying that rather than disburse
them through various schemes, a univer-
sal basic income to tide over this period
might have been better. Sitharaman had
earlier unveiled a host of measures for
small and medium businesses, including
a moratorium on loan repayments and
deferment of both direct and indirect
taxes till June 30 to tide over the crisis.
The Reserve Bank of India also stepped
in by cutting down interest rates and eas-
ing the cash reserve ratio requirements
for banks to enable greater liquidity in
the stressed economy.
Meanwhile, another major crisis
started brewing in the economy. De-
spite orders that essential goods could
be transported, state police forces under
pressure to enforce the lockdown went
about dealing with the situation ham-
handedly. Over 1.3 million trucks carry-
ing fruits, vegetables and other essential
supplies were left stranded across various
highway checkpoints. With all passenger
flights cancelled and only 10 cargo flights
operating daily, moving goods became
difficult. In one instance, the govern-
ment reportedly had to charter an entire
flight just to lift a sample of an imported
Hazmat suit that needed to be urgently
replicated for mass manufacture by a
factory in Tamil Nadu. In another case,
a charter was hired to transport over
40,000 handheld thermal thermometers
from Hong Kong to West Bengal.
Realising that the situation called
for extraordinary crisis management
A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 9
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK LEAD ESSAY
strategies, Modi set up 11 empowered
groups consisting of top Union secretar-
ies and experts to plan and swiftly imple-
ment actions needed to ensure that the
lockdown remained effective, disruption
was minimised and adequate steps were
taken in advance to face any eventuality.
Four of these groups have been tasked
specifically to deal with the vital health
sector requirements, including rapidly
expanding medical emergency facili-
ties and ensuring enough equipment
for testing, protection and treatment
of patients. One group focuses on fa-
cilitating the supply chain and logistics
management to move essential goods.
A third group is tasked with examining
how technology can help monitor the
spread of the virus and its victims. And,
importantly, one group is working on
an exit strategy for lifting the lockdown,
whether to do it in phases or in toto, so
that the economy can be rebooted.
C
www.t.me/magzsenglish
onstituted on March 29,
five days after the lockdown
was imposed, these groups
have begun transforming the
way the crisis is being handled, instill-
ing a new sense of purpose and confi-
dence in tackling the key challenges the
lockdown poses. An official of one of the
groups says, “We have been working day
and night, including holding conferences
through Zoom. We act like backroom
boys, giving out recommendations for
the ministries to execute. Many times,
we act like Phone-a-Friend.” Among the
first things the logistics group did, for in-
stance, was to remove the rule according
to which only essential goods could be
transported—which had caused the pile-
up of trucks at check-posts. Group mem-
bers also act as troubleshooters to remove
choke points. For instance, when the
mandi in Nashik, the onion centre of the
country, remained closed, truckers were
told to go directly to farmers and pick up
the crop while state officials enabled the
produce to be sold to wholesalers. The
new system of empowered groups will be
severely tested, though, when the harvest
of the rabi crop reaches its peak in mid-
April. Arrangements need to be made to
10 INDIA TODAY A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0
transport grain to mandis and have it
purchased—otherwise it would be disas-
trous for farmers and the economy.
Yet, even as the Modi government ap-
pears to be getting a grip on the situation,
it has a long way to go. So far, the number
of COVID-19 cases and deaths are still
relatively low—2,015 and 53, respectively,
as on April 2—compared to the 1 million
cases and over 50,000 deaths worldwide.
The low numbers in India could also be
because it has tested mainly those who
showed symptoms of the disease. The
government has now rightly decided to
increase the number of tests across a wid-
Indian industry is
now looking at the
Modi government
to provide a major
economic package
to act as a financial
ventilator to an
economy that is
headed to the ICU
er spectrum to get a better understanding
of the spread. The key is boosting health-
care facilities to meet any challenge. As
a senior official says, “We are preparing
for the worst—even planning to tackle
over 2 lakh cases if it happens—including
quarantine and ICU facilities.” Mean-
while, efforts are being made to mobil-
ise doctors, including those practising
Indian medicine, and training them to
handle corona cases. All the stops are be-
ing pulled out and no expense spared to
purchase personal protection equipment
(PPE), especially for medical personnel,
apart from ventilators from abroad. For
instance, orders have been placed for
45,790 ventilators, three times the cur-
rent availability of 15,000 in the country,
even as both the public and the private
sector have been asked to manufacture
some in India. Government ordnance
factories are to manufacture 300,000
PPE pieces while another 8 million are
being imported. In all, orders have been
placed for a total of 11 million to beef up
the current number of just 350,000 in
various states. These are good signs, but
swift implementation remains key.
While the Modi government cor-
rectly put personal safety ahead of all
other considerations, it now has to get
down to working out an economic revival
package to rebuild the economy that has
all but ground to a halt. Rating agencies
like Crisil have already slashed the coun-
try’s GDP growth forecast for fiscal 2021
from 5.2 per cent to 3.5 per cent. While
the RBI did come out with measures as
did the finance ministry, what the indus-
try wants is for the government to com-
mit large sums of money to stimulate the
economy and bail them out of the mess.
They point to how US president Don-
ald Trump recently signed a $2 trillion
bailout package—the largest-ever US fi-
nancial stimulus package—that includes
direct payments to individuals and com-
panies affected by the pandemic, money
to state governments for its unemploy-
ment benefits and loans and tax breaks
to companies that are going bankrupt
because of the shutdown of economic ac-
tivity. Several European countries too
have announced generous packages to
help their individual citizens and compa-
nies in these tough times. Indian industry
is now looking at the Modi government to
work on a major economic package that
would help businesses get back on their
feet and provide a financial ventilator to
an economy that is headed to the ICU.
The prime minister is personally
monitoring the situation daily. On April
2, he held a second round of consulta-
tions with state chief ministers, in which
he even asked them to work out how the
country could remove the lockdown in
phases to prevent a second wave of infec-
tion. So far, no official in the government
is willing to commit to whether the lock-
down would end mid-April as scheduled.
But one of them offered this reassurance:
“While we are preparing for the worst, we
do not expect a doomsday scenario. There
will be no collapse.” Keep your fingers and
toes firmly crossed that he is right and
keep safe by staying at home. n
www.t.me/magzsenglish
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 COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK HEALTHCARE

www.t.me/magzsenglish

ANUPAM NATH/AP
 By SONALI ACHARJEE

www.t.me/magzsenglish

FIELD HOSPITAL Beds being

prepared for COVID-19 patients at
the Sarusajai Stadium in Guwahati
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK HEALTHCARE
L
Laxmi Meena, 37, an auxiliary
midwife nurse (ANM) in Bandri
village of Jaisalmer district in Raj-
asthan, has never tackled infectious
diseases before; all her training has
been in vaccinations and maternal care.
She currently has 20 families, or 300
people, under her care. But ever since
news of a cluster outbreak of COVID-19
www.t.me/magzsenglish
at the BBM Hospital in Bhilwara
600-odd kilometres away broke out, she
is spending more time with those in the
high-risk category—her oldest patient
being Dadi, 73. Asked if she is ready for
the challenge of COVID-19, Meena’s
simple response is—“I am ready to do
my part when the time comes.”
That time may not be far. India,
the second most populated country
in the world, had officially reported
1,637 cases and 38 deaths till April 1.
That may seem a tiny fraction of the
855,000 cases and 42,044 deaths
reported worldwide, but we have so
far also had among the lowest rates of
testing in the world. Four weeks into
the crisis, India’s rate of testing is still
32 per million (38,442 overall for its
population of 1.3 billion) compared
to upward of 1,000 per million other
countries are testing.
As early as February 27, the Indian
Council of Medical Research (ICMR),
in a report titled ‘Prudent public health
intervention strategies to control the
coronavirus disease 2019 transmis-
sion in India’, had used a mathematical
model to predict 1.5 million sympto-
matic cases in Delhi, with roughly
14 INDIA TODAY A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0
500,000 each in Mumbai, Kolkata and
Bengaluru in a best-case scenario. This,
it said, would peak over 200 days from
the beginning of February. The worst-
case prediction was more dire, pegging
cases in Delhi at 10 million and in
Mumbai at 4 million, with the peak oc-
curring in just 50 days. Though predic-
tive models, they hint at the crisis that
awaits if steps aren’t taken now. In the
US, predictions are that the virus could
claim 240,000 lives in their country.
Should there be an exponential
rise in COVID-19 cases in India, how
prepared are we? New York, home to
some of the best hospitals in the world
and the largest concentration of doctors
and hospital beds in the US, has already
seen 75,000 cases and a thousand
deaths, 300 in just 24 hours on March
31, including the first of an under-
18-year-old. In Europe, France reported
418 deaths on March 31 alone, its single-
highest toll for a day, while the UK saw
the number of deaths double in four
days between March 28 and April 1.
Of course, weather, demographics
and individual genetics affect morbidity
across geographies, and the trajectory
of the spread of the disease could be
different here than in the West. The
three-week national lockdown, too, has
helped keep numbers under check—
though many believe the number of
cases and deaths are under-reported. A
lockdown, however, is not a permanent
solution, and India needs to devise an
exit strategy once it is lifted on April 14.
Though we are yet to report an official
HOW READY
ARE WE?
India needs to ramp up
capacities for testing and
critical care—and ensure that
its overburdened healthcare
professionals have enough
personal safety equipment.
A snapshot of the most
pressing priorities
TEST KITS
Most medical profes-
sionals seem to agree
that India needs to test
more. For perspec-
tive, India has tested
32 per million, the
UK 1,921, US 2,600. As per the last
official communication from ICMR,
the government had 150,000 test kits
on March 17, and received 500,000
more kits from the US on March 26
Action Needed
 ICMR estimates India will need
700,000 test kits
 South Korea has 51 million people
and has done over 200,000 tests; India
has 1.3 billion people and has done
38,442 as of April 1
 Most experts agree that large-scale
testing is necessary, especially in
viral hotspots, to ascertain the
spread and transmission of COVID-19
Action Taken
 ICMR has invited quotations for
700,000 test kits, no orders placed
yet; 16 companies have been cleared
to sell commercial test kits in India
PPE (PERSONAL
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT)
The PPE paraphernalia, which
consists of a mask, an eye shield, a
gown, gloves and shoe covers, is a
must for all healthcare workers in-
teracting with COVID-19 patients.
As of now, we have 334,000 avail-
able in various hospitals
 THE TEST CASE
High cost and low availability of
testing kits so far have hampered
India’s effort to test larger numbers

ON YOUR MARK Staff at the Uttar Pradesh

ICU of a newly-inaugurated
hospital in Chennai
12.2
ARUN SANKAR/ GETTY IMAGES
Rajasthan
Action Needed
 India needs 6.2 million pieces of
5.95
PPE to cope with COVID-19, says an
Invest India report Madhya
 PPE kits are single-use and stocks Pradesh
deplete fast in a pandemic. A national
stockpile of PPE is necessary before 8.3 West Bengal
India enters the community transmis-
sion phase
5.3
Kerala
Action Taken 200.3 Tests per million
 Govt has ordered 2 million PPE kits population

www.t.me/magzsenglish
via MEA
 Red Cross has donated 300,000
PPE kits
 15 domestic companies have been
granted licences to manufacture PPE
kits in India
VENTILATORS
In a COVID-related critical
care situation, where
respiratory distress has
to be managed, this is
possibly the most des-
perately needed piece of equipment. India
has about 40,000 ventilators; the US has
160,000 and is running short
Action Needed
 Doctors suggest keeping 100,000
ventilators in ready stock. About
10% of COVID-19 patients might
require ventilator support; India
has 100 million people over the age of
60, the highest-risk category
Action Taken
 Govt has ordered 50,000 ventilators
 Another 50,000 might be available
by May, with ventilator manufacturers,
and auto companies, also enlisted to join
production, announcing plans to ramp
up production
 Only 30% of testing capacity used so far, says ICMR
 There’s wide variation across states: Kerala has done 7,000
tests, but Uttar Pradesh, with many more people, only 2,824
ICUs
 We have
about 100,000
ICU beds. This
varies from
state to state.
Madhya Pradesh, for example,
has 2.5 ventilators per million.
Italy, which has a comparable
population, has 26 ventilators
per million population, and is
falling short
Action Needed
 Even if 1 in 10 patients needs
an ICU bed, we’ll fall short. The
mortality rate, top doctors
say, is inversely linked to ICU
beds. Germany has a death rate
of 0.3% and 29 ICU beds per
100,000 citizens. India has 2.3
ICU beds per 100,000 citizens
Action Taken
 States are converting district
hospitals into ICUs. There is no
national tally on how many beds
have been created
DOCTORS
 A 2019
report by the
US-based
Center for
Disease Dynamics, Econom-
ics & Policy says India is
about 600,000 doctors and
2 million nurses short
Action Needed
 Many western countries
are allowing in foreign doctors
to work on COVID-19 cases.
India needs numbers and
training: even healthcare pro-
fessionals will need training in
safety and treatment proto-
cols before deployment
Action Taken
 The MoHFW is considering
a proposal to allow final-year
medical students and retired
medical staff to work in CO-
VID-19 facilities, if needed
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK HEALTHCARE

case of community transmission, when facilities are available. NITI Aayog

the virus is at the peak of community
transmission, it has to be dealt with on
a war footing—any gaps in equipment,
expertise and planning will reflect
in more deaths. With India’s health
infrastructure already riddled with
critical gaps—whether in the number of
doctors, nurses and other medical staff,
or in terms of hospital beds and critical
care equipment—and the challenges of
COVID-19, be it test kits or personal
protection equipment (PPE), the coun-
try has a major fight on its hands.
On March 29, the central govern-
ment constituted 11 empowered groups
under the Disaster Management Act to
plan and quickly implement decisions
on COVID-19 and its aftermath. Each
of the groups will look at a specific as-
pect and have a representative from the
Prime Minister’s Office and the cabinet
secretariat. A group headed by Dr V.K.
CEO Amitabh Kant will coordinate
with private and international organ-
isations on COVID response activities.
Other groups will look at capacity-
building, food supply and addressing
public grievances. All groups will work
with state governments.
In the next few days, we have to
build up a national stockpile of essen-
tial and reliable-quality medical equip-
ment, ramp up testing and prepare
for a possible Stage 3 of the disease.
Fortunately, we have a two-week lead
in preventing community transmission.
Meanwhile, everyone is pitching in,
from final-year medical students and ANI
retired doctors who have volunteered
help, to automakers who have offered
to make ventilators. Hospital beds are
being set up in stadiums, hotels, schools
and even rail coaches across states. The
question is: will it be enough?

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Paul, member, NITI Aayog, will ensure
availability of doctors and medical staff
at COVID-19 facilities. Another group
under P.D. Vaghela, secretary, pharma,
will ensure there is regular supply of
medical equipment, including PPE. En-
vironment secretary C.K. Mishra will
head the group tasked with ensuring
that enough quarantine and hospital
If there is an
outbreak, I’ll
have 15 days to
order ventilators.
But these must
be available
through a national
stockpile”
— DR AYYAJ TAMBOLI
District collector, Bastar,
Chhattisgarh
PPE: NOT QUITE
GEARED UP
With doctors and medical workers
across the country beginning to report
positive for COVID-19, the need for
PPE has assumed critical proportions.
PPE kits, which have a mask, an eye
shield, shoe covers, a gown and gloves,
are essential not just for doctors but for
all medical staff, and not confined to
those who are interacting directly with
COVID-19 patients. In fact, Ranjana
Nirula, convenor of the All-India Coor-
dination Committee of Asha Workers,
recommends PPE for Asha (accredited
social health activist) workers too.
India has some 900,000 Asha workers,
whom many states have enlisted to
help with community outreach. “Ashas
are not a part of the formal system, but
going house to house to meet possibly
infected people puts them at risk too,”
she says. However, when nurses, ward
boys and health workers on outreach
duty in Maharashtra demanded PPE
kits, state health minister Rajesh Tope
told them that “PPE is only for those
doctors, nurses and ward boys who deal
with patients in isolation wards”.
India needs
to start
producing
PPE on a war
footing”
— DR N.N. MATHUR
Director, Lady Hardinge
Medical College, Delhi
However, the severity of the disease
varies with the amount of exposure one
has to the virus, and medical staff are
especially at great risk, both to them-
selves as well as to others. On April 1, five
doctors from Delhi hospitals, includ-
ing mohalla clinics, tested positive for
COVID-19. In Chandigarh, 12 PGIMER
(Postgraduate Institute of Medical
Education and Research) and GMCH
(Government Medical College and
Hospital) doctors, and 45 nurses and
other medical staff were quarantined
after a doctor and nurse tested positive.
Two nurses tested positive at Mumbai’s
Wockhardt Hospital, after coming in

contact with a 70-year-old patient who
underwent angioplasty. Hospitals were
major hotspots for local transmission in
Italy, which has seen 100,000 cases.
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According to a report by Invest
India, an investment promotion and fa-
cilitation agency, India needs 38 million
masks and 6.2 million PPE kits. What
we actually have are about 334,000
kits in various hospitals. Doctors at the
All-India Institute of Medical Sciences
in Delhi reportedly made their own
handrub sanitisers and face masks out
of plastic sheet after they ran out of PPE
in early March. It was only on March 24
that the Resident Doctors’ Association
got in touch with various vendors. Since
then, Bharat Dynamics has pledged
Rs 50 lakh, POSCO India Rs 10 lakh
and the hospital corporate social
responsibility fund Rs 60 lakh for PPE
kits in AIIMS. However, if India does
reach Stage 3, time will be of essence.
As N.N. Soni, medical director of the
Barmer Medical College & Hospital in
Rajasthan, says of his state: “Rajasthan
has less cases now but should use this
opportunity to stock up on PPE. You
cannot lose doctors in this crisis to
something as simple as protective gear.”
The government has already given 15
domestic companies approval to make
PPE and ordered 2.6 million kits. An or-
der for 2 million kits has been given to a
LINE OF CONTROL
Thermal screening of
migrants from Delhi in
Gorakhpur, UP, Mar. 27
company in South Korea. “We have a
shortage,” says Dr N.N. Mathur, direc-
tor, Lady Hardinge Medical College &
Hospital, Delhi. “We need uninterrupted
supply for the next six months. States
must take weekly note of the shortfall
and address it on a war footing.” A few
states have already started implement-
ing measures. Bihar, for instance, has
Serology tests or rapid tests
can help map herd immunity
as well as reduce load on the
standard PCR test”
— DR ARJUN DANG
CEO and patholog ist, Dr Dang’s Labs
issued 6,165 PPE kits to medical profes-
sionals in the past five days. “There is no
shortage,” says state principal secretary,
health, Sanjay Kumar.
CRITICAL CARE: IN NEED
OF LIFE SUPPORT
Many public health analysts have linked
mortality rates in countries to the
number of ICU beds available. Germany
has 29 ICU beds per 100,000 citizens
and a mortality rate of 0.3 per cent. Italy,
by contrast, has 13 beds per 100,000
and a death rate of 9.26 per cent. India,
in comparison, has only about 2.3 ICU
beds per 100,000 citizens. This is espe-
cially worrying as the country has over a
hundred million people over 60—the age
group most vulnerable to COVID-19.
Taking note, the government has
asked states to set up ICU facilities in
district hospitals and medical colleges.
In Maharashtra, Dr Sanjay Salunkhe, a
civil surgeon in Sangli district, says he
has reserved a 315-bed hospital in Miraj
for COVID-19 patients. “We are treating
all other patients in a general hospital
in Sangli city. The Miraj hospital will be
exclusively for COVID-19 patients.”
But ICUs without ventilators will
serve no purpose. About 10 per cent of
all COVID-19 patients need critical care,
including ventilator support. Doctors say
a national stockpile of 100,000 should
be kept ready as pandemics outpace
manufacture, shipping and installa-
tion of ventilators. The US has about
160,000 and is running short in many
places. “We have a 200-bed hospital for
COVID-19 with a separate entrance,
but only six ventilators,” says Dr Ayyaj
Tamboli, the district collector of Bastar
in Chhattisgarh. “We are manufacturing
PPE in the state, we need to do the same
for ventilators too.”
The government has already or-
dered 10,000 ventilators from China.
Back home, Agva Healthcare in Noida
has received 10,000 orders and Bharat
Electronics Limited (BEL) another
30,000. There are plans to scale up
domestic manufacturing too. Skanray
Technologies, the leading manufacturer
of ventilators in India, has partnered
with BEL, Bharat Heavy Electricals
Limited and Mahindra & Mahindra
A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 17
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK HEALTHCARE

to ramp up production from its usual
2,000 units per month to 30,000 units
per month by May. Dr Mathur has
another piece of advice. “We don’t need
active care for every COVID-19 patient—
those with mild symptoms should be
fully isolated at home or in a COVID-19
facility,” he says. “This frees up hospital
resources for critically-ill patients.”
TESTING: A SLOW
PROPOSITION
South Korea, which has a population
of 51 million, tackled COVID-19 by
opening up testing—it tested 270,000
people—and manufacturing 2.5 test
kits per second at its fastest lab, SD
Biosensor. India, on the other hand,
has come in for criticism for its low
testing rate, with wide variations even
within the country. So, while Kerala
has conducted 7,000 tests so far, the
more populous Uttar Pradesh has done
only 2,800. The low testing rates are
test is expensive and laborious since it
requires lab facilities, trained personnel
and test kits. Right now, there is also a
global shortage of these test kits.
“Testing,” adds Dr Dang, “can help
map herd immunity and contain the
spread of infection through asymptom-
atic and symptomatic carriers. While
Drugs for the RNA test is the major confirma-
COVID-19 tory test, we also have serology tests, or
should be rapid tests, which look for antibodies in
sold only on a blood sample.” Serology tests also take
less time and India has more facilities
prescription” to do these. The National Institute of
— T. NARAYANA Virology (NIV), Pune, has approved the
President, Indian Singapore-based Sensing Self Ltd and
Pharmaceutical China’s Wondfo to provide rapid test
Association kits to ICMR, which has announced it
will start serology tests as a preliminary
screening test, not a confirmatory one
for COVID-19. Symptomatic and as-
ymptomatic people can be checked for
CHANDRADEEP KUMAR

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probably a factor of shortage of testing
kits. Realising this, the government has
greenlighted two companies—MyLabs
and Altona Diagnostics—to produce
test kits. The Central Drugs Standard
Control Organisation, which gives the
final approval for any drug or diagnos-
tic kit sold in the country, has also fast-
tracked the process. India has approved
16 test kits to be sold domestically.
However, while clearance for commer-
cial kits was given two weeks ago, there
is no word on delivery as yet.
“At Dang Labs,” says Dr Arjun
Dang, CEO and pathologist, Dr Dang’s
Labs, “we have done a few hundred
tests, and all labs are supposed to
upload results on to an internal ICMR
portal regularly.” The ICMR has ap-
proved the use of FDA- and European
CE-cleared test kits for 16 private labs
in India. This is only for the standard
RT PCR (reverse transcription poly-
merase chain reaction) test that detects
RNA (genetic material of the virus) in
a throat swab. The genetic sequence of
ESSENTIAL SERVICE A
the novel coronavirus is different from
drugstore in Ghaziabad,
other coronaviruses such as the com- Uttar Pradesh, during
mon cold or the Severe Acute Respi- the 3-week lockdown
ratory Syndrome (SARS). The RNA

18 INDIA TODAY A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0
antibodies against an infection (which
need not be COVID-19) using a serology
test, and those testing positive can be
given a PCR test (which checks for spe-
cific COVID-19 genes) for confirmation.
Not only does India need to ramp up
testing to identify asymptomatic carri-
ers, it also has to understand the nature
and reach of the virus in India.
TREATMENT: NOT WITHOUT
A PRESCRIPTION
On March 30, a senior anaesthetist in
Guwahati, who was on hydroxychloro-
quine (HCQ), died of a heart attack. In
a WhatsApp exchange earlier, he had
told colleagues he was having problems
after taking the medication. Overdose
or extreme reaction to anti-malaria
drugs ICMR has prescribed for health-
care workers is, indeed, becoming an
www.t.me/magzsenglish
Isolate high-
risk areas in the
weeks ahead. A
cluster approach
will help pool
resources and
contain the
infection”
— DR NAGESHWAR REDDY
Chairman, Asian Institute of
Gastroenterolog y
area of special concern. The drugs
went out of the market after ICMR’s
announcement, but Cipla, the main
producers of the drug, introduced about
5 million tablets in the market in the
week beginning March 30.
“There is no treatment for CO-
VID-19,” says T. Narayana, president,
Indian Pharmaceutical Association, “so
one can’t say exactly which drugs work.
As of now, doctors are using HIV drugs
Lopinavir and Ritonavir to break the
chain of the virus, paracetamol for high
fever, HCQ to improve immunity and
other drugs for pneumonia.” Usually a
five-day course, it can be extended de-
pending on symptoms, he adds. How-
ever, all drugs for COVID-19 need to
be sold only on a prescription, to avoid
misuse, self-medication and to ensure
supply for hospitals.
LOCKDOWN AND AFTER:
NEEDED, AN EXIT STRATEGY
In a country as large and diverse as
India, where around 20 per cent of the
population lives below the poverty line,
disaster planning and management
play as large a role as the resources
available. With some 200,000 migrants
en route to their villages and home
towns across India, the risk to rural
India is very real despite the three-
week lockdown. Many economists and
doctors are now advising the national
lockdown be replaced with lockdowns
of high-risk areas. It would be more
feasible to control pockets of a few thou-
sand than 1.3 billion. “COVID-19 is 10
times more infectious, and has 10 times
more mortality than a common cold, so
lockdown is needed. But not for the en-
tire nation. A cluster approach will help
pool in resources to an affected area,”
says Dr Nageshwar Reddy, chairman of
the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology
in Hyderabad.
The Nizamuddin area in the na-
tional capital became the first example
of a high-risk neighbourhood being put
under state lockdown, after it became
increasingly clear that the headquarters
of the Tablighi Jamaat had been a source
of coronavirus infection in the country,
resulting in 35 positive cases and nine
deaths. Some 2,000 people, including
from other countries, had attended a
gathering in the first week of March.
On April 1, the Centre announced a
list of 10 hotspots where viral infections
are higher. Along with the Nizamud-
din area, they included Dilshad Garden
in Delhi, Noida and Meerut in Uttar
Pradesh, Bhilwara in Rajasthan, Kasar-
god and Pathanamthitta in Kerala,
Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Pune. These
hotspots will be useful for targeted test-
ing and medical resource allocation and
to keep infection from spreading.
Indeed, India is yet to see the kind
of COVID-19 numbers the West has.
But this could well change once the
lockdown is lifted. Meanwhile, we need
to rapidly fill the gaps in our healthcare
infrastructure, or risk a situation where
we will have more COVID-19 patients
than doctors, ICUs, labs and isolation
wards can handle. It is a long battle
ahead, against an enemy both un-
known and unassailable. Nothing short
of a concerted, multi-pronged strategy
will help kill the virus. n
with Amitabh Srivastava
and Kiran D. Tare
A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 19
www.t.me/magzsenglish

COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES

DEMAND FOR SUPPLY

The Rs 15 lakh crore transport and logistics sector is the beating
heart of the Indian economy. The sudden national lockdown on
March 24 paralysed it, worsening the already gloomy economic
outlook. The government must move quickly to mitigate the crisis
By M.G. Arun, Anilesh S. Mahajan and Shwweta Punj
Photograph by MANEESH AGNIHOTRI

www.t.me/magzsenglish
I
n ordinary times, the Indian transport
and logistics sector sees perhaps 7.5 mil-
lion trucks, 7,400 freight trains and scores of
cargo planes criss-crossing the country every
day, alongside millions of vehicles carry-
ing raw materials to factories and goods to
grocery shops, supermarkets and customers’
doorsteps. The Union government’s an-
nouncement on the evening of March 24 of
an almost immediate national lockdown—beginning
midnight that very night—brought all essential supplies
to a dead halt. Realising soon, but perhaps not early
enough, that this was a disruption India could ill afford,
the Centre issued fresh orders next week to clarify that
transportation of all goods—not even just essentials—
would be exempt from the lockdown. But by now the hu-
man chain of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers
that keeps those wheels turning were returning in their
STUCK Trucks loaded
with coal destined for
Bhutan parked on the
Lucknow-Agra expressway
droves to the sanctuary of their villages, raising the very
real prospect of acute shortages in markets across India
in the coming weeks.
This sudden seizure in the country’s economic body
has also doubtless further impaired economic growth
projections, with ratings agencies raising red flags soon
after the lockdown was imposed. On March 26, Crisil
slashed its growth forecast for India’s GDP in fiscal 2021
from 5.2 per cent to 3.5 per cent. On March 27, Moody’s
Investors Service revised its estimate of growth in the
current fiscal to 2.5 per cent, less than half its earlier
projection. Experts say the pain will remain for several
quarters to come, especially if the government is forced
to extend the lockdown beyond the initial 21 days.
At the end of March, as the first week of the lockdown
ended, Union minister for railways, Piyush Goyal, and
minister for external affairs, S. Jaishankar, got on a call
with some of India’s top industrialists to get a sense of
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK

the situation on the ground. Participants

included Reliance Industries chairman
Mukesh Ambani, Kotak Mahindra
Bank MD Uday Kotak and Tech Mahin-
dra CEO & MD C.P. Gurnani. Sources
say a major point of discussion was how
to get freight moving again, with busi-
ness leaders highlighting the crippling
difficulty of transporting even essential
goods, talking of truck drivers being
harassed by officials and red tape, with
cargo of all kinds stuck on highways
across the country.
Although Prime Minister Narendra
Modi had, while announcing the lock-
down, said the government had “made
provisions to ensure that the supply of
essential items continues smoothly”,
Ready to Go,
the legal vagueness of ‘essential items’
resulted in transport paralysis. To
break the logjam, on March 30, the
Unable to Leave
Union ministry for home affairs (MHA)
HARISHCHAND YADAV, 55

www.t.me/magzsenglish
permitted the transport of all goods—
‘without distinction of essential and
non-essential’—throughout the country.
Driver, Shreya Logistics Mumbai

Highlighting the complexity of economic
supply chains and the confusion in ad-
ministrative processes, the notification
even took pains to name specific grocer-
ies that were considered essential items,
such as ‘hand wash, soaps, disinfectants
[and] body wash’, among many others.
“There is paralysis across the entire
supply chain,” says an official with a
large fast moving consumer goods
(FMCG) company, asking not to be
named. “Things were expected to ease
up a bit after the clarification from the
MHA, but the supply chain cannot be
restarted with the push of a button.”
T
he national lockdown has
come as a nightmare for
Uttar Pradesh-based Ya-
dav (in white). His truck has been
parked since the announcement
on March 24. His employer,
Lalit Kumar Pathak, has a fleet
of 25 trailer trucks, but all of
them are now idle at the firm’s
garage at Jasai, near Jawaharlal
Nehru Port in Navi Mumbai. No
one knows when the textiles,
rubber and steel firms that his
company works with in cities like
Vadodara, Vapi and Silvassa will
get back to business. Some of
Pathak’s work also relates to agri
products, but these shipments
were also being frequently
stopped at checkposts, leading
to the decision to pause opera-
tions. “Most of my 50 staff are
from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya
Pradesh. Since they cannot go
home, I have to provide for their
upkeep, which comes to around
Rs 6,000 a day,” says Pathak.
—M.G. Arun

OFF-ROAD TRANSPORT
While the core of the problem is the

$
200 1.5 3.5
COVID-19 pandemic, a major problem
relates to the transport sector’s size and
complexity. A single major event—like
a sudden freeze in the movement of BILLION MILLION PER CENT
vehicles—can have consequences that or Rs 15 lakh crore, trucks stuck on Crisil’s revised
reverberate for days and weeks. the size of India’s highways, as per projection of
For instance, according to the All logistics sector, as the All India Motor India’s GDP growth
India Motor Transport Congress Toll per the India Brand Transport Congress in 2020-21, down
Committee, an apex body of Indian Equity Foundation Toll Committee from 5.2 per cent

22 INDIA TODAY A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0

transporters, the sudden announce-
ment of the national lockdown has left
20 per cent of the 7.5 million trucks—or
1.5 million—stuck on highways and
roads across the country. Along with
these vehicles were stranded nearly
3 million drivers and helpers. At the
time of writing, many long-distance
shipments that were en route when the
lockdown was announced remain stuck
on highways and at toll plazas and pet-
rol pumps across India. The immediate
hope is that the MHA’s March 30 noti-
fication will unclog these bottlenecks,
but this has not yet happened.
How does this affect the movement
of goods across India? What is crucial to
note is that the Indian transport sector
is primarily truck-based—a November
2019 report by Care Ratings estimated
that roughly 60 per cent of India’s logis-
tics movement is by road, with 30 per
www.t.me/magzsenglish
cent by rail. What is also unavoidable is
that last-mile transport from railheads
to warehouses and markets remains
dependent on trucks. India has a total
road network of around 6 million km,
of which national highways comprise
about 114,000 km, and state highways,
175,000 km. The fact that most goods
transport takes place by road is borne
out by the sector’s contribution to the
national GVA (gross value added, a mea-
sure of the value of goods and services in
the economy). In 2016-17, the transport
sector accounted for 4.85 per cent of the
country’s GVA , with road transport ac-
counting for 3.12 per cent, railways 0.77
per cent and air transport, 0.16 per cent.
Visible signs of the transport paraly-
sis are there to be seen at the Agricul-
ture Produce and Market Committee
(APMC) markets across the country.
These markets, dealing in fresh agri-
cultural produce, are normally bustling
with activity. However, in the early days
of the lockdown, they were deserted,
with trucks carrying supplies held up
on roads and highways. There are over
2,400 APMC markets in India, of which
Maharashtra has over 300. An estimat-
ed 500,000 trucks transport perishable
GET THE
WHEELS
TURNING
Six steps to quickly
get the logistics
sector back online
 Iron out administra-
tive glitches. Fast-track
permissions for food
processing units for
procurement, processing
and supply of goods
 Establish a central
control agency. This
includes an online portal
to apply for permissions
and exemptions as well
as uniform guidelines
across the country
 Implement a clear
system to issue pass-
es. This incudes the
documentation required,
process guidelines and
timelines for issuance. A
dedicated helpline would
be helpful
 Issue guidelines on
sanitation. Clear rules
for the handling of goods
are also essential
 Improve connectiv-
ity to airports. This
would facilitate better air
cargo transport
 Increase invento-
ries. Retailers need to
beef up their stockpiles
to ensure they can tide
over unexpected delays
in shipments
ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES
items—like processed food, vegetables
and fruits—to these markets from across
the country on a daily basis. Now, with
truck movement partially restored, ship-
ments have started to trickle in, though
levels remain far below normal. For
instance, the APMC market in Vashi,
Navi Mumbai, normally sees between
400 and 500 trucks arriving daily with
farm produce from various parts of
Maharashtra. On the morning of April
1, only 80 such trucks had arrived for the
day. Some 150 trucks are directly sup-
plying markets in Dadar, Ghatkopar and
Byculla in Mumbai, but even these have
witnessed abnormal delays.
The Indian Railways has also been
transporting essential commodities on
freight trains, which meets the needs of
bulk transportation. For instance, much
of the transport of foodgrains from the
Food Corporation of India (FCI), which
stockpiles and distributes foodgrains
across the country, takes place via
rail. As much as 40 million tonnes of
foodgrains are transported by the FCI
every year, around 85 per cent of which is
by rail. The FCI depends on road trans-
port only in areas with poor rail con-
nectivity. A small tonnage of foodgrain
is also transported via ships, for instance
to the Lakshadweep and Andaman &
Nicobar Islands. The FCI owns 98 rail
sidings, where foodgrain rakes arrive
directly at FCI depots. Reports suggest
the FCI is currently focused on supply-
ing grain to food-deficit states like Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh.
According to a PIB press release, on
April 1, it transported 148,000 metric
tonnes of grain to food-deficit states,
with a total of nearly 1 million metric
tonnes of grain having been transported
to various states since March 24.
Another problem is that, as a result
of the pandemic, drivers are also now in
short supply. “Truck drivers now either
say that they are unavailable, or unions
ask for more money,” says the CEO of a
leading food company. Underscoring
the pain to come, he adds: “It will be
impossible for companies to pass these
A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 23
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES
added costs on to consumers.” Explain-
ing the lack of manpower, Sanjeev Di-
wan, a prominent truck union leader in
Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana, says
that “many drivers are not reporting for
work because their families are wor-
ried”, also emphasising the many ship-
ments stuck on Indian highways. And
adding to the difficulty of getting road
freight moving again is that some state
governments have imposed lockdowns
of their own. For instance, on March
30, Punjab chief minister Amarinder
Singh both extended the Union govern-
ment’s lockdown in his state to April 14
and directed its borders to be sealed.
Efforts also appear underway to
increase cargo flights—if only to ensure
the movement of essential medical sup-
plies. On March 30, the Union ministry
for civil aviation announced that it had
been (and would be) requisitioning Air
India and Alliance Air aircraft to ‘carry
www.t.me/magzsenglish
out supply operations across the coun-
try’ in coordination with state govern-
ment requests for medical supplies. As
per the announcement, on March 29,
an Alliance Air flight from New Delhi
carried such supplies to Kolkata, for
Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Agartala. On
other occasions, shipments of ICMR
(Indian Council of Medical Research)
COVID-19 kits have been transported
to metros like New Delhi and Chennai.
On the commercial side, the picture
is more mixed. SpiceJet’s air cargo arm,
SpiceXpress, says a major focus in recent
days has been the transport of medi-
cal goods—diagnostic kits, face masks,
sanitisers and surgical equipment—with
SpiceJet even repurposing passenger
aircraft for cargo to fulfil government
transport requisitions. A spokesperson
also notes that the firm has faced prob-
lems in first-mile pickup and last-mile
delivery, saying that regulations on the
movement of goods have taken longer
than expected to be implemented.
SpiceXpress has a fleet of five dedicated
freighters criss-crossing the country
every day, also flying to countries in
West Asia and Southeast Asia with car-
gos of fresh fruits and vegetables, cold
chain medical supplies and medicines.
The firm says there has been an uptick
in demand for the transport of meat,
fresh fruit and vegetables to West Asia
from India. “The pipeline is now flooded
SAURABH KUMAR, 36
Founder, Grofers NCR
A Day of
Absolute Chaos
A
s soon as the lockdown was
announced, there was a com-
plete breakdown of work for a
day. Kumar says his delivery agents
couldn’t get to warehouses. “There
was complete chaos, everybody
knew that essential services were
allowed, but on the ground, there was
a lot of confusion on day one. Getting
permissions was cumbersome—we
had to apply in each district we work
with charter enquiries from across the
world, including Korea, Argentina and
Canada,” adds the spokesperson.
THE BUSINESS HIT
The FMCG sector, one of India’s eco-
nomic engines, is totally dependent on
a healthy transport network. Industry
spokespersons talk of huge business
disruptions in the first days of the lock-
down following the sudden restrictions
on the movement of goods and workers.
Mumbai-headquartered Hindustan
Unilever, India’s largest FMCG firm, was
able to operate only a handful of its 28
factories in the days just before and after
the lockdown. To prevent the spread
of the virus, local administrations had
imposed strict curbs, preventing workers
from travelling to and sometimes work-
ing at factories. Later, many factories
were closed as local authorities issued
curfew orders, and, as in Maharashtra,
ordered private offices and factories to
be closed. Spokespersons from FMCG
titan ITC tell a similar story. “While we
have since then obtained permission
[to operate and transport our goods] in
some states, the lack of trucks remains a
in and each district had different
rules.” His business now faces
a labour shortage and problems
ensuring a supply of goods.
“Delivery to consumers will get
sorted out, but getting raw mate-
rials to manufacturers and ensur-
ing manpower and the supply of
goods from brands are points
of worry.” Most brands say they
have their supply chains stocked
for a month, but if the lockdown
is extended, there could be short-
ages in supplies of essentials. Ku-
mar says that the implementation
of a centralised control agency,
an online portal for permissions
and uniform guidelines across
the country would have helped
prevent the chaos.
—Shwweta Punj
 and Big Basket, despite expecting the
surge in demand, found it impossible
to complete orders—to transport goods
from warehouses to customers. “In the
days between the Janta Curfew and the
national lockdown, there was so much
confusion—every state administration
was taking independent decisions on

SANDEEP SAHDEV
restrictions on movement and trans-
port,” says an industry source. “Even
some district administrations were
throwing spanners into the works.”
Matters have improved somewhat
since then: “With the increased clarity
SANJEEV DIWAN, 47 regarding essential goods, we have
Owner, Chandigarh Indore Roadlines Chandigarh decided to deliver only those items,” say
sources at Amazon India.
Even so, many online vendors report
Far from Normal severe problems in completing orders.
This is so widespread that Paytm Mall,

D
iwan’s company is one of the biggest in Chandigarh, operating for instance, has temporarily waived
about 40 trucks. He says that more than 10,000 of his peers’ penalties on merchants for cancella-
vehicles are stuck on highways across the country. And many tions and delays in shipping orders.

www.t.me/magzsenglish
of the drivers and cleaners who have made it back are unwilling to
get back behind the wheel. “Their families are worried,” says Diwan.
Long-distance shipments are stranded at various toll plazas and
petrol pumps. Stranded drivers have no option but to fend for them-
About 100,000 orders on the platform
are pending due to government restric-
tions. Srinivas Mothey, senior vice
president at Paytm Mall, says, “[Our]
selves, but being far from home and without reliable access to even support teams are working hard to en-
groceries has made life difficult. Worse, since the Punjab government sure that all seller queries are resolved
sealed the state borders, movement has become almost impossible.
and updated information about order
—Anilesh S. Mahajan
processing is shared regularly.”
Even the currently most critical
sector—pharmaceuticals—has not been
spared. While the central government’s
major challenge,” says a spokesperson. their daily (and perhaps panic) buying. department of pharmaceuticals issued
This story of frozen supply lines As the crisis intensified, platforms like directives on March 26 to ‘ensure the
has played out in any number of India’s Amazon and Big Basket were reduced unobstructed movement of raw mate-
economic sectors. The sudden lockdown to selling only essential goods. Then, rial, packing material and manpower’
meant that interstate and local truck on March 25, transport networks froze for the ‘production, packing and dis-
movement was severely impacted across entirely. Making a quick recovery im- tribution’ of drugs and medical devices
the country, breaking supply lines—and possible was the vague regulatory envi- during the lockdown, experts have
with the added shortage of workers ronment—while the prime minister had questioned its implementation.
in factories because of the pandemic- announced that passes would be issued The Medical Technology Asso-
induced fears and restrictions, condi- to transporters for ‘essential goods’, no ciation of India (MTaI), an apex body
tions became ripe for ‘confusion in the clear administrative protocols to do representing large medical technology
business ecosystem’. so were immediately forthcoming. For firms, says that state governments and
firms, this meant delayed orders and local level administrators are not acting

T
his was clearly visible in the
e-commerce sector. Before
March 24, the government’s
call for self-quarantining led
to a number of people staying home and
logging on to e-commerce platforms for
jammed delivery pipelines.
As a result, e-commerce majors
experienced a virtual, prolonged
breakdown of business from March 22
to 29. For instance, during the March
22 Janta Curfew, Amazon, Flipkart
in concert with the directives. “They
seem not to have understood that this
21-day lockdown is to prepare hospitals
[and stockpile resources for what is to
come],” says MTaI chairman Pavan
Choudary. He says that trucks carrying

A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 25

RUN AGROUND On
March 26, Mumbai’s
Sassoon Dock was
largely deserted
vital raw materials remain stuck at city
and state borders, and though some
manufacturing and warehousing firms
have been issued official paperwork
exempting their operations from the
www.t.me/magzsenglish
lockdown, they are caught up in endless
litigation with local police and admin-
istrative bodies over the movement of
their materials.
A HERCULEAN TASK
On March 30, a consortium of CEOs
from the food processing industry
spoke with Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the
Union minister for their industry. They
raised a number of issues, such as state
authorities not adhering to central
guidelines on transport during the lock-
down, asking for official directions on
the matter to be issued to state police
stations. They also say the multiple ex-
emptions and permissions required to
reopen factories are an unsustainable
burden on the industry.
Other major issues exist as well. For
instance, as Rajnish Gupta, an edible
oil wholesaler in New Delhi, points out,
the production and supply of edible oil
is permitted, but not of empty bottles
and caps. (This problem also affects
industries like pharmaceuticals.) “On
an average, food processing units have
stocks [of packaging materials] for
about a week,” estimates a CEO from
that industry. The non-availability of
26 INDIA TODAY A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0
ANSHUMAN POYREKAR/ GETT Y IMAGES
labour is yet another problem—work-
ers are not reporting to work for fear
of the novel coronavirus. “Although we
are trying to convince workers that we
are ensuring the highest standards of
social distancing and hygiene, many
are not returning,” he says.
On March 29, officials from the
Prime Minister’s Office briefed the
secretary of the ministry for drinking
water and sanitation, Parameswaran
Iyer, about the setting up of 11 work-
ing groups to oversee the government’s
crisis response, anchored by Prime
60
PER CENT
The approximate share of
road transport in the Indian
logistics sector in 2019,
according to Care Ratings
4.85
PER CENT
The transport
sector’s share of India’s
GVA in 2016-17
ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES
Minister Modi’s principal secretary,
P.K. Mishra. Iyer—who is known for his
execution skills and has worked with the
prime minister on the Swachh Bharat
initiative—has been assigned the work-
ing group on logistics. He heads a team
of senior bureaucrats from several major
departments, including those of food
procurement and public distribution,
consumer affairs, border management,
the CBDT (Central Board of Direct Tax-
es) and the NDMA (National Disaster
Management Authority), among others.
The most critical of his tasks is bringing
the food processing sector back online. A
measure of how serious this moment is
lies in the immediate target—experts say
it will be a great success if Iyer’s group
can quickly return the sector’s output to
even 40 per cent of its capacity.
The issues that Iyer’s group needs
to solve are myriad. One major issue
to be addressed is that the government
needs to quickly create, publish and
implement a clear system for exemption
papers to be issued to various industries
in various states. Some states and local
administrations are doing their bit to
help—the Delhi Police has said it will
expedite transport passes, while the
Bengaluru Police has issued guidelines
for curfew passes and the Maharashtra
government has begun issuing passes
and guidelines to transporters.
In the face of the COVID-19
pandemic, the government’s decision
to impose a national lockdown has
generally been regarded as a neces-
sary evil. However, for the cure to not
exact a worse toll than the disease, it is
essential that the country’s production
and distribution of essential supplies—
which rests entirely on a functional
transport and logistics sector—remains
robust and active. If the looming crisis
in the production and supply of these
commodities—including food, medi-
cines and medical supplies—is not ad-
dressed on a war footing, the national
lockdown will impose an insupportable
burden on the nation. n
—with Kiran D. Tare
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COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK URBAN POOR

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CRAMPED QUARTERS Mohinder

(in red, standing), 37, with 10 other
family members in his one-room
house in a South Delhi slum
www.t.me/magzsenglish
www.t.me/magzsenglish
www.t.me/magzsenglish

By KAUSHIK DEKA
Photograph by BANDEEP SINGH
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK URBAN POOR

Rani’s find themselves bearing the

A
Alpa Rani, a 40-year-old domes-
tic help living in a 10x10 ft room in
a south Delhi slum, looks baffled when
asked if she, her husband and their two
fully-grown sons are practising social
distancing and hand hygiene in the
face of the Novel Coronavirus outbreak.
economic brunt of the three-week
COVID-19 lockdown that has resulted
in widespread job losses in the unor-
ganised sector, wiped out the paltry
savings of the poor, leaving them facing
a future of hunger and uncertainty. The
2011 Census estimated the country’s
urban population at 377.1 million, with
about 14 per cent, or 52 million, below
the poverty line. It is this segment that
needs the government’s helping hand
the most to see past the prevailing
restrictions—primarily in the form of
cash in hand and supplies of food and
other essentials.
The Narendra Modi government
responded to these concerns on March
26, the second day of the lockdown,

KIRAN TARE
“We consider it a blessing if there’s with an exhaustive Rs 1.7 lakh crore
enough water available to wash utensils. relief package for the urban and rural

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Washing hands with soap frequently is
out of the question,” says Rani, whose
dwelling abuts an open sewer running
the length of the slum. It’s a cheek-by-
jowl existence with neighbours, mostly
migrants from Katihar in Bihar. Late
afternoon, men and women escape their
cramped spaces to take a nap on the
roof, separated by a distance of not even
3 ft. Families share utensils, buckets
and towels. They say neither municipal
workers nor voluntary organisations
have come to provide soap, sanitisers
and masks or to disinfect the area.
“I know about the disease, but I
have no idea what to do if I get it,” says
Rani. Hygiene is her least concern right
now. Since the nationwide lockdown
kicked in on March 25, most men in
the slum, including Rani’s husband,
have lost their jobs as daily wagers,
auto-rickshaw drivers and delivery boys
at local shops. Some women continue
to find work as cooks and house helps
in nearby colonies, but they aren’t sure
how long they can rely on even this
meagre income if things don’t go back
to ‘normal’ soon.
Across Indian cities and metropo-
lises, thousands of poor families like
poor under the Pradhan Mantri Garib
Kalyan Yojana. Some experts, though,
found the measures limited in scope and
said more funds were needed to meet
the stated objectives (see What Needs
to Be Done). Much also depends on the
time-bound delivery of the benefits, they
said. Doubts have also been raised about
whether the money will reach the ben-
eficiaries without being pilfered. Nobel-
winning economists Abhijit Banerjee
and Esther Duflo have said the govern-
ment should make good use of the ‘JAM’
(Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar, Mobile
connectivity) infrastructure it has been
promoting, to transfer benefits directly
to the bank accounts of the poor, with
an accompanying electronic receipt.
Let’s examine if, and how far, the
urban poor stand to benefit from the
Centre’s relief package. While over 200
million women account-holders under
the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
have been assured a monthly ex gratia
benefit of Rs 500 for the next three
months, there are fears that such trans-
fers will cover only a section of the urban
poor. “What about the roadside pakoda
vendor and his four or five employees
who do not have Jan Dhan accounts?”
asks Gurcharan Das, author and former
CEO of Procter & Gamble India. Or the
likes of 29-year-old Asaram, a gardener
in Delhi’s Rajokri Pahari, whose month-
ly earnings have taken a hit due to the
lockdown and forced him to dig into
his savings (see ‘We have left it to God’).
Nobody in Asaram’s six-member family
owns a Jan Dhan account and he has
never been a beneficiary of any govern-
ment welfare programme.
Others find the support of
Rs 500 too little. Former Union finance
minister P. Chidambaram has said the
government should transfer Rs 6,000
at one go into the Jan Dhan accounts.
He also suggested that bank accounts
be opened for the homeless and Rs
3,000 transferred into each of them.
In their action plan laid out for the
Indian government, Banerjee and
Duflo have called for “much bolder”
social transfers schemes. “Without that,
the demand crisis will snowball into an
economic avalanche, and people will
have no choice but to defy orders,” they
wrote, terming the government’s offer-

30 INDIA TODAY A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0

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“Social isolation
is impossible
for us”
ANIL SHELKE, 35
Daily wage labourer, Thane
T
he lone earning member in a family of five, including his wife
and three children, Anil Shelke did not stock up enough ra-
tions to survive the lockdown. “Now, I am worried,” he says,
unaware how to avail himself of the Maharashtra government’s
scheme of providing three months of ration. Worse still, Shelke
does not have a ration card. “My landlord has so far not asked for
the rent (Rs 2,500), so I can spend that money on food,” he hopes.
“But I will be in deep trouble if the lockdown extends.” Shelke un-
derstands the importance of social distancing, but with 26 houses
adjacent to each other and a common toilet, it’s a futile effort.
“Isolation is impossible for us.”
— Kiran D. Tare
ing “small potatoes”.
The relief package provisions for
free supply of food grains—five kilos
of wheat or rice and a kilo of preferred
pulses every month—to some 800
million poor people for the next three
months. However, despite a food grain-
surplus, India suffers from an ineffi-
cient distribution system, and succes-
sive governments have failed to revamp
the model. That the movement of goods
has run into further constraints due
to the lockdown diminishes 38-year-
old Kamal Khan’s hopes of any food
support from the government. A week
into the lockdown, the carpenter from
Secunderabad, who supports a family
of seven, is yet to receive the 12 kilos of
rice and Rs 500 in cash announced by
the Telangana government (see ‘We will
soon have to go hungry’). “Three weeks
of such trying conditions without any
work is a long time. I wish I could take
my family back to Ugwa near Jaisalmer
because we will be assured of food there
and I will not have to pay the Rs 8,000
rent for my home at a time when I have
no earnings,” says Khan.
In neighbouring Maharashtra’s
Thane, 35-year-old daily wage la-
bourer Anil Shelke fears he may lose the
foodgrain entitlement for his family of
five as he does not possess a ration card
(see ‘Social isolation is impossible for
us’). “Even in the best of times, the PDS
(public distribution system) suffers from
significant inefficiencies. With added
pressure in the prevailing crisis, it will
be interesting to see how efficiently the
deliveries can take place,” says Santosh
Kumar Mehrotra, professor of econom-
ics at the Centre for Informal Sector
and Labour Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi.
Chidambaram has called upon the
Union government to scale up the food
grain entitlement to 10 kilos of wheat
or rice in the next 21 days itself, while
exploring a home delivery option in light
of the prevailing restrictions.
The declaration of the lockdown on
A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 31
 COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK URBAN POOR
March 24 was followed by guidelines
from the Union home ministry that
essential services, including PDS and
shops dealing with the supply of fruits,
vegetables, groceries, dairy products,
meat and fish, were exempted. But the
lack of a structured response and co-
ordination among the various agencies
was glaring as trucks carrying daily
food items were not allowed to cross
state borders, and the police, unsure
of how to enforce the lockdown, are
reported to have shut down vegetable
and fruit kiosks at many places. The
worst affected were the urban poor as
they mostly buy essentials on a daily
basis. Mehrotra says the sudden job
losses and the supply disruptions trig-
gered panic among migrant workers,
who feared that hunger would catch
them before COVID-19 did. “In their
villages, they would at least have some
food or the hope of getting work under
www.t.me/magzsenglish
MGNREGA. The rabi crop harvest
could give them a source of earning.
The cities offered them no incentive to
stay back,” he says.
But leaving for one’s hometown
is not an option for Delhi resident
RAJWANT RAWAT
Ramesh Meena. The 60-year-old
craftsman, who makes curtains and
mattresses, is entrenched in the city’s
Khanpur locality, where he lives with
his wife in a two-room house in a din-
gy lane. Meena has been without work
for a week and is not hopeful of any
income during the remaining period
of the lockdown. While his savings can
sustain the family for a month or two,
a prolonged economic disruption, he
says, will force him to seek assistance
from relatives and friends. While the
Centre’s package mentions an ex gratia
payment of Rs 1,000 for some 30 mil-
lion poor senior citizens, poor widows
and poor disabled, Meena does not
know what he needs to do to be eligible
for it. “The lockdown has turned
Delhi’s air so fresh and pollution-free.
But to be able to enjoy it, I need food to
stay alive,” he jokes.
A large chunk of the urban poor
is made up of migrant labour, which
powers numerous sectors and services
in cities. While the 2011 Census esti-
mated that the country had some 139
million internal migrants (inter and
intra-state movement), the 2017 Eco-
ASARAM, 29
Gardener,
Rajokri Pahari, Delhi
“We have
left it to God”
A
saram came to New Delhi from
Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh,
a decade ago. Before the
lockdown, his family—wife, two sons
and two daughters—survived on his
monthly earnings of about Rs 12,000.
With work drying up, Asaram’s sav-
ings won’t last beyond another 15
days. His landlord Mange Ram has
waived the monthly rent of Rs 1,700
and even offered monetary help. But
WHAT NEEDS
TO BE DONE
The Centre’s Rs 1.7 lakh
crore relief package
is a good start, but not
enough to alleviate
widespread misery
 The Union and state govern-
ments must work in close coor-
dination so that the benefits can
be delivered on time and without
administrative hurdles. The PDS
system should be streamlined for
effective functioning
 Local administrations should
quickly identify the unregistered
labour force and devise a way
to provide them with financial
assistance
 The Centre must take advan-
tage of the JAM (Jan Dhan,
Aadhaar, Mobile) infrastructure
to transfer cash benefits to as
many poor people as possible,
without overlaps
 The Union government should
unveil an economic package for
small businesses to save them
from collapsing and triggering
massive unemployment
 A massive awareness pro-
gramme should be conducted in
slums and other congested urban
clusters where social distancing is
next to impossible. Regular supply
of water and hygiene products
should be ensured
Asaram, who has no bank account
and is not a beneficiary of any gov-
ernment scheme, knows he cannot
depend on such mercies. He wears
a mask, but finds it tough to maintain
hand hygiene and social distancing.
“Soap and water don’t come free, so
I cannot keep washing my hands all
the time. We take whatever little pro-
tection we can and have left the rest
to God,” he says. — Kaushik Deka
 KAMAL KHAN, 38
Carpenter, Secunderabad

“We will soon have to go hungry”

K
amal Khan realised early that his family legacy of folk mu-
sic will not be a paying proposition and decided to learn
carpentry. He used to earn Rs 500 a day and lived in a
two-room house in Anjaiah Nagar with his wife, three school-
going sons, school-going nephew and niece, and a jobless
younger brother. But the lockdown wiped out his livelihood.
Maintaining social distancing, too, is not feasible in his 300 sq
ft tenement. With the Telangana government’s offer of 12 kilos
of rice and Rs 500 in cash not reaching him a week into the
lockdown, Khan is worried. “We will have to go hungry by the
10th day if no help arrives,” he says. — Amarnath K. Menon
A. SHIVA

nomic Survey said nine million people clampdown. Did the government then dinary situation. The world is facing an
migrated annually from one state to fail to fully anticipate the impact of the unprecedented crisis and every country
another for work or education. The lockdown on the lives of the margin- is reacting by considering its own risks

www.t.me/magzsenglish
Union labour ministry does not keep
data on migrant workers. However,
economic surveys in the past have put
them at around 20 per cent of the total
workforce. Most of them are employed
with the construction sector.
While a report by Invest India, a
national investment promotion and fa-
cilitation agency, estimates the number
of construction workers at 51 million,
alised? “Else, why is the government
reacting to situations instead of pre-
empting those,” asks Mehrotra. “The
poor are fleeing because the govern-
ment neither gave them time to prepare
nor prior assurance that they would be
taken care of. It is not pragmatic to ex-
pect them to stay put without livelihood
and food security.”
and limitations. Look at how even devel-
oped countries have faltered,” said the
official, on condition of anonymity.
According to the Economic Survey
of 2018–19, almost 93 per cent of the
country’s total workforce—an esti-
mated 437 million people—is informal.
This includes agricultural, construc-
tion, manufacturing, sanitation and
domestic workers. Although the

the welfare fund proposed under the
PM Garib Kalyan Yojana targets only
35 million registered construction
workers. “We have ensured wages and
supply of essentials at our construction
sites, but cannot promise such support
beyond a specific duration. Though
most workers have stayed put, six left,”
says Dipankar Mazumdar, partner at
Delhi-based architectural firm Enar
Consultants. He says the government
should have anticipated the migration.
“We saw the same trend when construc-
tion work stopped in Delhi for two win-
ter months because of the pollution.”
Some experts say that instead of is-
suing a few hours’ notice, the lockdown
could have been planned better. A case
in point is South Africa, where a three-
day notice was served before a similar
T
hat the lockdown lacked
thorough planning is some-
what evident from the home
ministry’s regular additions
to the list of essential items and services
that are being permitted. On March
26, the ministry issued a clarification
that the exemptions included ‘animal
feed and fodder’ and acknowledged that
some states were not allowing the same.
On March 27, it issued another ad-
dendum about various farming-related
goods and services being among es-
sentials. On March 29, the Centre went
beyond essential commodities and lifted
restrictions on transport of “all goods”.
A senior Union government official,
however, points to the “uniqueness”
of the situation. “It may not have been
perfect planning, but this is an extraor-
informal sector contributes to nearly
half of the country’s GDP, most of its
workers operate in poor conditions and
earn paltry wages. According to the
Periodic Labour Force Survey 2017-
2018, among casual labourers in the
urban areas, men earned Rs 314-335 a
day while women earned far less—Rs
186-201— denying them an opportu-
nity to save money. What’s worse is that
the measures announced in the relief
package, under the PM Garib Kalyan
Yojana, may not reach them.
The Centre and several states have
asked shops, establishments and other
commercial units to continue paying
wages to their workers during the lock-
down. However, how far it will be ad-
hered to is debatable because such enti-
ties are informal in nature and scores

A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 33
MANISH BHANDARI

URBAN POOR

Rajan, the immediate need is to ensure

that cash reaches the right hands and
at the right time. “We need bridges
between now and then, for the most
vulnerable households in India—for the
poor and the migrants. We need ways
to get money to them,” Rajan said in an
interview to India Today TV. He also
emphasised the need to protect firms.
“We need to keep firms alive, keep them
from closing down if they are viable.

“The government should That decision is a careful one as we

cannot keep every firm alive, given the

give me alternative livelihood”

limited resources.”
While many state governments have
also announced measures to protect the
urban poor, the need clearly is for these
CHANDAN KUMAR, 29 to implemented before it’s too late. As
Tourist guide, Bodh Gaya, Bihar former chief statistician Pronab Sen has
warned, “food riots” are a real possibility

A
t one point, Chandan Kumar, his elder brother Suraj, who if the food requirements of the jobless
is a salesman, and father Kamlesh, a mechanic, together and penniless urban poor and migrant
made a monthly income of Rs 30,000. The lockdown has workers are not addressed. “We had food
rendered all three jobless. The family is left with Rs 12,000 and riots during times of famine. We could

www.t.me/magzsenglish
some food reserves. “My brother and father can start working
again when normalcy returns, but I am staring at a dark future
as tourists are unlikely to come back to Bodh Gaya before the
year-end. The government should provide me alternate liveli-
have food riots again if food is not made
available,” Sen said in a recent interview.
Mehrotra seconds the warning and
proposes that all stakeholders be roped
hood,” says Kumar. in to ensure food supply to the disad-
— Amitabh Srivasatava vantaged on city streets. “The govern-
ment, NGOs and corporates should
come together to feed the poor. With the
help of private players, the district ad-
ministration can keep the supply chain
of unorganised sector workers in the Services Tax (GST) and urging Union uninterrupted,” he says. Some states are
states are unregistered. Chidambaram finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman already providing free food to the poor
has even urged the government to to devise a “small businesses relief at government shelters. Delhi chief min-
direct all registered employers to main- programme”, he cautions: “India ister Arvind Kejriwal has claimed that
tain their current levels of employment survives on SMEs (small and mid-size his administration is capable of serving
and wages while assuring them that enterprises). If you do not protect them, two meals a day to about 400,000
the wages paid will be reimbursed by you cannot protect India. You will face people at over 224 night shelters, 325
the government within 30 days. Also, mass unemployment.” schools and other locations.
small-scale shops and establishments The Congress has asked the Union Officials, however, rule out food
generally keep buffer capital for about a government to bear 70 per cent of the riots and point to the excess stock of
week’s expenses in order to pay salaries salary and wage bill of the 42.5 mil- wheat, rice and pulses with the Food
and make purchases. In which case, lion MSMEs (micro, small & medium Corporation of India, state agencies and
the three-week lockdown threatens to enterprises) in the country for the next the National Agricultural Cooperative
severely impact their economic viability. three months—according to its esti- Marketing Federation of India. “The
“This package will fail to save millions mate, to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. challenge, however, is to take this stock
of small businesses, which might shut It has also demanded a law forbidding to the people who need it. With the
down because they do not have holding retrenchments in any sector for the next government now taking measures to
capacity,” says Das. Calling for lessons six months. ensure the smooth movement of goods,
to be learnt from demonetisation and According to former Reserve Bank the situation should soon be under
the implementation of the Goods and of India (RBI) governor Raghuram control,” says a senior official. n

34 INDIA TODAY A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0
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www.t.me/magzsenglish

PILE OF WOES A labourer

sits atop sackfuls of onions
at a mandi in Jammu during
the lockdown, Mar. 29
 COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK AGRICULTURE

SAVING
THE
HARVEST

By AJIT KUMAR JHA

www.t.me/magzsenglish

B
arely a fortnight ago, rural India
appeared to be brimming with hope
and optimism. Rabi crops like wheat,
pulses, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits
such as grapes, pomegranates and
even the early mangoes appeared
ready for a bumper harvest across the
country. Even the March rains and
hailstorms in some areas in the north
had not disheartened the farmers. Amid the slowdown,
agriculture appeared to hold out a glimmer of hope for a
revival of the economy.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant national
lockdown put paid to all that. Overnight, that earthy rural
optimism has dissipated into deep pessimism. The three
week-long officially imposed lockdown--which has brought
to a screeching halt the movement of agricultural workers,
temporary farm migrants, and farm and related machin-
ery such as combine harvesters, threshers, tractors, trucks
and other equipment–has set off panic in the villages and
fears of a rural distress return. If the lockdown remains in
place beyond April 14, the entire rabi crop in most states,
dependent as it is on migrant labour for procurement and
farm machinery for harvesting, would be devastated. If the
kharif sowing season in May-June, which is 100 per cent
dependent on farm workers, ends up being disrupted due
to the extension of the lockdown, the entire agricultural
system in the country would be on the brink of a disaster.

CHANNI ANAND/AP
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK AGRICULTURE

PERISHABLES HIT
THE HARDEST
Perishables like fruits and vegetables
have taken the worst hit. The lockdown
has totally destroyed the market for
these products. There are simply no
buyers. Talk to the grape growers in
Nashik in Maharashtra, 80 per cent of
whom export their grapes, or the ones
Agriculture in Maharashtra and
Karnataka had already been affected
by unseasonal rains and a delayed
winter. And now came the lockdown.
February and March are when most
farmers in the two states harvest crops
like grapes, pomegranates and jowar.
In grapes and pomegranates, initial
estimates of losses are as high as 40
transport or market for the produce.
Thete had taken a loan of Rs 3.5 lakh to
cultivate grapes on seven acres. He fears
the investment has gone down the drain.
“It is impossible to get labourers to cut
the grapes,” says Thete. “I transported a
few quintals to Uttar Pradesh, but they
are rotting in the trucks there.”

from Chikkaballapur in Karnataka; the
mango farmers of the Konkan region;
or the tomato and cucumber farm-
ers of Nashik, the story is the same, a
chronicle of rotting produce and misery.
per cent of the produce. The individual
stories are gut-wrenching.
In Sinnar, Nashik, grape farmer
Manoj Thete finally destroyed his fully
ripe crop as there are no labourers,
S
atish Ugale, a farmer from
Dindori in Nashik district, took
100 crates of juicy capsicum
from his farm to the agricul-
ture produce marketing committee
(APMC) in Nashik city on March 30.
He was expecting at least Rs 100 for a

“Let someone eat it”

crate (one crate holds 20 kgs). Instead,
the trader offered him Rs 15 per crate. As
it did not even cover his transportation
cost, Ugale distributed the capsicum free
CHETAN BHOR, 27 to the poor people in the area. “It was
Farmer, Sanjegaon, Nashik, Maharashtra better to feed the poor than the greedy
trader,” says Ugale.
Augustine Varkey, a farmer in
vegetables every al- Chikkaballapur, Karnataka, dumped the

www.t.me/magzsenglish ternate day during the

two-month-long har-
vest season (February
to April). Each crate
holds 20 kgs of toma-
toes, gourds, pump-
kins or cucumbers,
the popular crops
here. The tomatoes
have all ripened at the
same time, but the
200 farmer families
here have nowhere to
sell them. “We hope
grapes from his vineyard straight into
the compost pit and then took to Twitter
to tell his tragic tale. Rajaram Goverd-
hane, a farmer in Sanjegaon village of
Igatpuri in Nashik, is feeding his cattle
juicy tomatoes and fresh cucumbers
nowadays (see ‘Let someone eat it’).
Maharashtra’s mango market,
including the world-famous Alphonso
variety, clocks an annual turnover of
up to Rs 3,500 crore. The best variety
from Konkan’s Devgad taluka arrive by
Akshay Tritiya, which is towards the

E
very morning, in Ghoti or Nashik end of April. Farmers in a single taluka
that at least sauce and
many farmers in since the lockdown make around Rs 300 crore from exports.
ketchup manufactur-
Sanjegaon now began. A few traders Unless the lockdown eases, the losses to
ers will come and buy
empty out crates of from Mumbai came the mango crop would be unimaginable.
these tomatoes and
tomatoes and fresh with tempos and took With its biggest markets—Europe and
cucumbers so that
cucumbers for their crates of vegetables, the US—now epicentres of the pandemic,
they are of some use,”
cows and buffaloes. but without paying. there is little hope for the fruit. Likewise,
says Bhor. And now
The rabi harvest has “They told us they will
the summer crop also kokum processing is a major small-scale
been good here, but pay if they get to sell
looks doubtful. “Farm- industry for women in rural areas in the
there are few takers the produce,” says
ers used to earn up to state. That trade, too, may turn sour now.
for the produce, so farmer Chetan Bhor.
Rs 3 lakh during this In the Nilgiris tea gardens in Tamil
they feel it’s better to “We don’t know if we’ll
period, but with no Nadu, tea cultivators are a worried lot.
feed the livestock than get any money, but
income now, people Thousands of growers harvest green tea
let the harvest rot at least somewhere
do not have money to leaves between March and May to supply
away. Most farmers someone will eat it.”
invest in new seeds,” to the tea factories in the region and are
in the village have not On an average, the
says Bhor. unsure of how the lockdown will impact
been able to access marginal farmers here
the wholesale markets harvest 30 crates of —Aditi Pai their produce. Meanwhile, in Bengal and
 40% OF THE FRUIT HARVEST IN
MAHARASHTRA HIT BY LOCKDOWN
Area under Export Nashik’s
GRAPES cultivation destinations contribution
to exports
300,000 Netherlands,
hectares
UK, Russia,
Germany
80%
Export
Lockdown
197,000 Loss 40%
metric tonnes
Source: APEDA and Ravindra Borade, president of the Nashik
division of the Maharashtra Rajya Draksh Bagaitdar Sangh

KEY AREAS OF
POMEGRANATE CULTIVATION

Area under
cultivation
Nashik
164,000 MAHARASHTRA
hectares
Ahmednagar
Pune
Lockdown Key areas of Osmanabad
Satara Solapur
loss cultivation Ratnagiri
Sangli Grapes
Solapur,
Nashik, Sangli, Pomegranate

40% Satara, Devgad Mango

www.t.me/magzsenglish
Ahmednagar
and Pune

MANGO WILL BE IMPACTED IF

LOCKDOWN EXTENDS
BEYOND APRIL 14

Area under Key areas of Total Total turnover

cultivation cultivation production `
2,500-
157,000 Ratnagiri, (2016-17)
`
3,000 CR
hectares Devgad 515,000
metric tonnes

Source: National Mango Database; Dr Ganesh Hingmire

Assam, the Indian Tea Association
estimates the loss to the north Indian
tea industry at Rs 14,000 crore (see
‘We’ve taken a huge hit’).
Even the high and mighty have
not been spared. Nationalist Congress
Party (NCP) boss Sharad Pawar,
whose party is part of the ruling coali-
tion government in Maharashtra, is
also impacted by the lockdown. His
banana crop on 10 acres is ready for
harvesting, but has found no takers.
“As there are no labourers, the crop
will rot,” he said in a Facebook chat
with people on March 30. A positive
sign: he also added that he was “sure
the government will pay compensa-
tion to everyone for the loss”.
Similarly, floriculturists have
a bountiful harvest of flowers but
no takers,with celebrations and
religious events being cancelled.
In Chennai, the otherwise busy
Koyambedu wholesale market, one

Graphics by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY

SONIA JABBAR
Owner, Nuxalbari Tea
Estate, Darjeeling
district, West Bengal

“We’ve
taken a
huge hit”
T
ea is a continuous
processing industry—
we have to harvest
everyday and we were
in the middle of our first
flush. This year it was a
really good crop, with good
prices. And then boom!
Without any advance
notice, we had to shut
down. The way it’s been
done doesn’t make any
sense at all. They should
Here, all that’s happened
is that work has stopped,
but workers are allowed
to go to the market, kids
are playing together. Is
COVID-19 only going to be
spread if tea is produced?
All other activities are ok?
We already had pre-
cautions and protocols
at the garden and fac-
tory. And at weighment,
strict distancing had been
We have been told—in-
formally—that we will have
to pay labour during the
lockdown (the tea garden
has some 600 employees).
Now I’ll have to borrow
from the bank to pay the
wages. The government
should have said, ‘Pay your
workers and you’ll get zero
interest loans.’ But there
has been nothing so far.
We have taken a huge
basically means taking a
machete to them, and then
it takes the bushes 3-4
weeks to recover. April is
the driest period, and you
never put a knife to the
bushes. So the delay will
be even longer. We’ve lost
half of March and prob-
ably all of April—and with
the skiffing we will lose
our prized second flush as
well. This doesn’t bode well

www.t.me/magzsenglish
have treated each garden
as one unit and monitored
the lockdown strictly.
enforced with a facial rec-
ognition system to record
each plucker.
hit. We’ll have to slash or
‘skiff’ the bushes when we
reopen in mid-April. That
for the tea industry or for
Indian tea exports.
-as told to Kai Friese

of Asia’s largest for perishable goods,
wears a deserted look with business
said to be down by half. This is despite
the free movement of essentials across
districts. In late March, Tamil Nadu
shut its borders with Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh and Kerala until
month-end for all vehicular move-
ment except essential goods. Among
the affected agricultural areas are
regions that are approximately 70 km
from Bengaluru. “The city absorbs
almost everything that grows in the
border areas of Tamil Nadu. A lot of
horticulture farmers are dependent
on Bengaluru for their sales,” says
Sudha Narayanan, development
economist at the Indira Gandhi
Institute of Development Research
(IGIDR), Mumbai. Six days after
the statewide lockdown, the Tamil
Nadu government relaxed restric-
tions for those engaged in the agri-
cultural sector.
THE NORTHERN DISCOMFORT
The same doomsday story stalks the
countryside across the northern states,
a common tale whether you are travel-
ling through Punjab and Haryana, or
the less prosperous Madhya Pradesh, ,
Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odi-
sha and West Bengal.
The agricultural fortunes of the
labour-exporting states of eastern India
are interlocked with the labour-im-
porting states of western India through
There were no clear instructions from
the district administration. And then
social media was flooded with videos
of police beating up people. We had to
harvest our crop during the wee hours”
—MALKIT SINGH
Chickpea farmer, Chamkaur Sahib, Ropar district
a complex system of migration of
labour. While rabi harvesting and
procurement suffer as a result of
severe shortage of labour in Punjab,
Haryana, Gujarat and other states,
labour-exporting Bihar and UP, Odi-
sha and Jharkhand suffer because
their landless poor have no jobs and
no remittances for their families
back in the villages.
In fact, the labour-exporting
states have been struck by a

40 INDIA TODAY A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK AGRICULTURE
double whammy. While the tempo-
rary migrant labour, who travel in
large numbers during the rabi crop
season and work mainly in procure-
ment, are stuck helplessly at home (see
‘Migrating is their only hope’), there
is a reverse migration of millions of
urban migrants from Delhi and other
cities on. The visuals of them trudging
on foot hundreds of kilometres with
their meagre belongings will add to
the many more in coming days—that
of hungry people, those without jobs,
without food, and now with the risk of
community infection too.
“If the lockdown goes beyond April
14 and if there are no serious govern-
ment initiatives beyond the welfare
packages already announced, this
could lead to a famine-type situation in
Bihar and UP, with starvation deaths
spiking along with deaths from the
pandemic in the coming months,” says
Praveen Jha, labour migration expert
www.t.me/magzsenglish
and professor of economics at the
Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.
“The outmigration from Bihar alone
is anywhere from 5-10 million per year,
out of the 123 million population in
2020,” he adds, warning of the effect
the swarming returnees could have on
the state. Farmer leader Binod Anand
pegs the figure even higher, at 20 mil-
lion, or one-sixth of the state’s popula-
tion (counting both the short-term
temporary migration and the longer
term permanent migration).
PUNJAB’S BURDEN
Punjab produces 13.5 million tonnes of
wheat and 18 million tonnes of paddy
each year. Both the crops and, indeed,
the entire agriculture sector in the state
are heavily dependent (80 per cent) on
Bihari workers. On top of that, a large
amount of farm machinery used during
harvesting and procurement in Punjab
and Haryana is stuck in MP and else-
where as the central states began rabi
harvesting earlier in February-March.
The lockdown has brought other
kinds of trouble, too. Dilbag Singh, 45,
a farmer in Punjab’s Jalalabad area,
grows mustard on nine acres and wheat
EXPERTSPEAK
A WIDE SWATHE
Revive supply chains through the APMCs, use
digital trade, mechanisation to beat infection
 Implement the e-National
Agriculture Market (e-NAM)
since digital trade can be
done even during a lock-
down. But digitalisation
levels are low, there are
just 585 e-NAMs across
the country. Karnataka is a
model state, it also has 163
Rashtriya e-Market Services
(ReMS). The 2,700 agricultur-
al produce market commit-
tees (APMCs) countrywide
closed during the lockdown.
On March 27, the government
issued fresh orders that all
mandis must remain open.
The APMCs are critical to
revive the supply chain. They
also protect the interests of
the farmers.
Sudha Narayanan,
Indira Gandhi Institute of
Development Research
(IGIDR)
 Agricultural procure-
ment can be carried out with
due lockdown protocols.
But strict social distancing,
sanitising of all vehicles,
godowns, hazmat suits,
etc. are essential. Digital
payment schemes like PM-
Kisan and Direct Benefit
Transfer (DBT) are excellent
tools to help farmers and
workers now.
Ashok Dalwai,
Secretary, Agriculture
 Ensure the exodus of
migrants does not take place
again. Provide medical insur-
ance/ packages to them in
addition to training on carry-
ing out work while respecting
lockdown protocols.
Prof. Praveen Jha,
Labour migration expert,
Jawaharlal Nehru University
 Replicate the Punjab
model for mechanisation
as it helps social distanc-
ing. Mechanise agricultural
harvesting as far as possible
by using combined harvest-
ers, threshers, shellers, etc.
Also encourage more inter-
district agri trade compared
to inter-state activities since
state boundaries are locked
down completely.
Prof. Sukhpal Singh,
IIM Ahmedabad
 The Centre has asked
farmer-producer organisa-
tions (FPOs) to shut opera-
tions. Unclear directives like
these have led to the disrup-
tion of the critical supply
chain. Revive these, and
take help from FPOs as they
represent the farmers.
Binod Anand,
Confederation of NGOs of
Rural India (CNRI)
A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 41
 COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK AGRICULTURE

J
ai Prasad Sah is a
busy man these days,
distributing loans and
advances to the hundreds
of migrant workers who
work for him. Sah sends
hundreds of them every
year to Ludhiana in Punjab,
specifically to the Goyal rice
mills. He worked there as
a labour supervisor for 30
years and so understands
the type of skills required at
the mills. “This lockdown has
come as the biggest chal-
lenge in the last decade for
poor migrant farm workers
of north Bihar,” admits Sah.
“I give them advance money
and loans, otherwise they
JAI PRASAD SAH, 61 will simply perish.”
The workers usually
Labour contractor, Nirmali, Madhubani, Bihar migrate in two tranches: in
March-April and October-
as wheat, pulses, legumes
and oilseeds. “Some of the
skilled workers make as
much as Rs 1,000 per day in
Ludhiana,” says Sah.
Nirmali, a city on the
banks of the turbulent Kosi
river (known as the ‘Sorrow
of Bihar’), is built almost on
the embankments. The river
Kosi, which floods north Bi-
har almost every year, forms
a funnel here along with
another parallel river, the
equally turbulent Kamala.
The area sends the high-
est number of migrants all
across the country. Nirmali’s
fortunes began changing
after the national highway
linking Delhi to Guwahati
came up close to the town.
But now, it’s an endless wait
again. “For these people, mi-

“Migrating is
November. They work for grating for work is the only

www.t.me/magzsenglish
their only hope”
the Goyal rice mills during
the kharif season and for
procurement activities in the
rabi season for crops such
way out as harvesting is
totally mechanised in Bihar
now,” says Sah.
—Ajit K. Jha

on 16 acres. Punjab is under full curfew
till April 24, so Dilbag and his brother
Jaskaran, along with some local labour,
harvested the mustard crop very early
at dawn to avoid trouble. Malkit Singh,
a farmer in the Chamkaur Sahib area
of Ropar district, says, “There were
no clear instructions from the district
ready before April 15”, says Siraj Hus-
sain, former Union agriculture secretary.
A delay in the harvest season and the
lockdown being eased by April end are
the only hope for farmers now. Other-
wise, the rabi crop is doomed in Punjab
and Haryana, given the labour shortage.
A more immediate problem in
Punjab is that almost all of the 39
COVID-19 positive cases have come
from the villages. The state has already
quarantined more than 30 villages in
the Doaba region, where most of the
migrant labour are conventionally en-
gaged, along with the southeastern part

administration. And then social media
was flooded with videos of the police
beating up people. We had no option
but to harvest our chickpea crop during
the wee hours.”
Dilbag says wheat growers are
luckier, as the showers in March and
extended winter has pushed the harvest
season by at least a fortnight. The har-
vest season for rabi crops such as wheat,
mustard and chickpeas in the north and
central Indian states is usually around
April 1. But this time, “the harvest
should be delayed, the crop will not get
T
he Union ministry for agricul-
ture expected this year’s wheat
crop to be around 109 million
tonnes, some 6 per cent more
than the previous year’s output. “We are
keeping a close watch. There will be no
harm if the harvest season is scattered
this time. In previous years, we have seen
the harvest go on for 6-8 weeks. This
time, it may take an additional fort-
night,” says Ramesh Chand, member,
NITI Aayog. A delayed schedule for
central and state procurement should
also help mitigate some of the pain.
of Punjab (Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib,
Anandpur Sahib, Ropar district, etc).
WHAT NEXT?
The finance ministry is considering
an improved disbursal mechanism for
minimum support price (MSP) to kick-
start the rural economy. It has allowed
states to take public distribution system
(PDS) supplies for the next three months
on credit and has allowed 750 million
beneficiaries to take an additional three
months PDS quota for free.
Before the pandemic, the Food

42 INDIA TODAY A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0
 Corporation of India (FCI) was clear-
ing their foodgrains stock by offering
12-15 per cent discounts. And now the
additional PDS supplies should free
up more space. The finance ministry
sees this as an opportunity to procure
additional wheat this season. FCI pro-
cures wheat from three states—Punjab,
Haryana and MP. All three states are
now seeking an additional bonus of Rs
100 per tonne for the farmer to battle
the pandemic.
But these are all piecemeal mea-
sures, a coherent strategy to deal with
the impending crisis is yet to emerge.
“Till last week, a critical fallout of the
lockdown was a combination of confu-
sion, uncertainty and anxiety for farm-
ers and consumers alike as to what lies
in store in the coming weeks,” says Na-
rayanan. Today, she admits the critical
factor is shortage of labour migrants,
both in north as well as south India.
The closure of APMC mandis in

www.t.me/magzsenglish
VIPAN AHUJA
several states has left farmers haplessly
SANJEEV KUMAR GOYAL, 44 stuck with their harvests, largely of per-
ishables, without any end consumers or
Wholesale procurement agent/ rice mill owner, Ludhiana, Punjab
trader-buyers. Farmers who usually sell
their crops through established supply

“If there’s no Bihari labour, chains set up by the APMCs are now
trying to avoid the market yards and

the rabi crop is finished” sell produce from their doorstep. But
profits are still a long way away as the
entire rural marketplace has come to a
grinding halt. Reports of police high-

F
or the past 10 arrive—and latest by labour here comes from
handedness and petty corruption while
days, ever since mid-April—the entire rabi Bihar (the other 20 per
cent comes from UP, Raj- handling transporters and traders, who
the lockdown was crop will be destroyed,”
announced, Sanjeev says a worried Goyal. asthan and other states). they claim were violating the lockdown,
Goyal has been busy dis- “The harvesting is Goyal’s main labour threw the entire goods transportation
tributing food, medicines mainly done by harvest- contractor is Jai Prasad network into a tizzy. In a typical case of
and other essentials to ers and threshers but if Sah, from Madhubani the state unleashing its coercive app-
the Bihari labourers he there is no procurement district of Bihar. Sah aratus, rural markets were brought to
oversees. by the Food Corporation supplies 500-600 a screeching halt with various farmer
Goyal lives near Ahm- of India and the private migrant workers each producer organisations (FPOs) ending
edgarh mandi, 20 kms players, there is no use. year, for procurement up cancelling and suspending their
from Ludhiana. Although The crop will simply be activities during the rabi activities, says Narayanan.
harvesting activities destroyed on the farm crop and to Goyal’s rice The lockdown across the country has
in Punjab are totally itself,” he says. mills in the kharif season. turned the hope of a bumper rabi harvest
mechanised now, the Punjab produces 13.5 “Sahji is like my brother. into utter despair. The only saving grace
procurement process is million tonnes of wheat I have worked with him will come from the delayed harvest and
still dependent on farm and 18 million tonnes of since I was 13 years old,” procurement, and the lockdown being
labour. “If the labour- paddy annually. Some 80 says Goyal. either relaxed or lifted by April 14. n
ers from Bihar do not per cent of agricultural —Ajit K. Jha —with Anilesh S. Mahajan,
Kiran D. Tare and Aditi Pai

A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 43
 COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK MIGRANT WORKERS

THE EXODUS
AND AFTER By SHOUGAT DASGUPTA

www.t.me/magzsenglish

SOLDIERING ON Migrant
workers near the Delhi-Uttar
Pradesh border, walking to
their native places
 Stranded in cities with no jobs, homes or food, migrant workers
across India are trudging home to their villages, burdened with
their possessions and supporting hungry, tired children; or
packed in buses with no scope of ‘social distancing’. Their drawn
faces reflect the real toll COVID-19 has taken on people’s lives.
What the government must now do to help them

www.t.me/magzsenglish

QAMAR SIBTAIN / MAIL TODAY

 www.t.me/magzsenglish

STRANDED Families reach Pari Chowk in

Greater Noida, UP, after walking many
kilometres, to catch a bus to Agra, which
never arrived, Mar. 28
Photograph by BANDEEP SINGH
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK
T
There is no official number for
those who have died as they
trekked hundreds of kilometers from
their cramped, basic rooms in cities to
their home villages, but various reports
tabulate at least 20 deaths, a likely
www.t.me/magzsenglish
underestimate. Panicked, hungry, and
desperate, these migrant workers feel
forsaken by their government. The
scenes have been seen around the world,
thousands walking in slippers, carry-
ing their children, their few belongings,
with barely enough to eat on journeys
that will last several days. That is if they
get that far. Most are being intercepted
and held in camps, now that the Centre
has told states to seal their borders. The
images were especially jarring after
the faux-festive clangour at five in the
evening on the day of the Janta Curfew
on March 22, when India responded to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call
to show appreciation for those fighting
on the frontline of the so-called war
against COVID-19 by banging pots. To
see just days later, the drawn faces of
those suddenly without homes, income,
food and, in many cases, family, walking
in the dark, in the heat of the afternoon,
through the police gauntlet, was to see
the real toll taken by COVID-19.
Munna Mehta, 38, had a steady
job in Bengaluru, making Rs 18,000
a month, until he lost it because of
the pandemic. With no income, he
and three other men from his village,
over 2,000 kilometres away in Bihar,
walked to the railway station the day
before the Janta Curfew and boarded a
train to Ranchi. The plan was to board
another train to Bhagalpur. After Modi
declared a 21-day lockdown, just a day
later, the men could find no further
onward transport and tried to walk to
Ranchi, only to be stopped by the police
and moved into a government shelter.
The men say they are grateful that the
government has given them a “roof over
our heads” and one meal a day, but their
frustration is obvious. Munna tears up
when he says he has children awaiting
his return. He did not want to stay on in
Bengaluru and spend the money he had
saved for his family, when he knew he
might not be able to make that money
For the poor, it
has been a double
whammy: living in
their cramped urban
quarters poses a
health risk; and,
besides, if they can’t
earn, how do they
survive?”
—REETIKA KHERA
Development economist,
IIM Ahmedabad
MIGRANT WORKERS
again, at least not soon.
Stories like this abound across the
country. Kamla Devi, 45, is a widow
who worked in a paan masala factory
in Kanpur. A labourer under contract,
she found herself out of work on March
22. With “very little money” and three
sons under 10 years of age to look after,
she tried to make it home to Bahraich. It
took her and her sons four days to walk
to the Charbagh bus stand in Lucknow,
arriving there on the morning of March
28; like them, thousands of others
were waiting for buses laid on by the
state government to ferry them home.
The Uttar Pradesh government had
arranged 1,000 buses for migrant work-
ers; the Delhi government, too, provided
buses, though Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal would have to field criticism
from his counterparts in UP and Bihar
for not doing enough to stop migrant
workers trying to get home in the first
place. The Centre too, mindful of accu-
sations of a lack of planning in advance
of its dramatic 8 pm announcement of
a nationwide lockdown, has tried to put
the ball in the Delhi government’s court.
Lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal wrote a
letter to Kejriwal in which he expressed
disapproval of the state government’s
failure to impose the Centre’s lockdown
orders. “This single lapse,” he wrote,
“could defeat the very purpose of the
‘lockdown’ and impose a very heavy cost
on the entire nation.”
A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 47
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK

While state governments have to bear

the brunt of the responsibility to feed,
house and keep safe those within their
borders, legitimate questions are being
asked about the Centre’s role in sowing
alarm among indigent workers, whether
migrants or simply those hundreds of
thousands who eke out a hand-to-mouth
existence on the streets of Indian cities.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Ba-
ghel has said in interviews that since the
onus is on states to implement the lock-
down, the Centre should have extensively
consulted with the states. “Did the prime
minister talk to any state governments
before making his unilateral announce-
ment?” he asked rhetorically. Prima facie,
it’s hard not to accuse the Centre of negli-
gence, of failing to anticipate the effect of
its draconian orders on the poor.

Twww.t.me/magzsenglish
he labour ministry has
responded by directing all
states and Union territories
to divert Rs 52,000 crore in
unused cess, collected under a welfare
scheme, into the pockets of some 35
million registered construction workers,
but millions are unregistered and, hence,
ineligible. Finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman’s Rs 1.7 lakh crore stimulus
package has been criticised by analysts,
including leading economist Jean Dreze,
as inadequate because it offers very little
immediate relief. “Most of the measures,”
he said in an interview, “will take effect
after the lockdown and by then millions
will be starving, unless they have access
to emergency assistance.” Development
economist Reetika Khera criticised the
Centre for not making adequate provi-
sions for casual labour to sustain them
through the lockdown. Left to fend for
themselves, they had no option but to try
to get home. “Over 80 per cent of India’s
workforce,” she says, quoting a 2015-16
employment survey, “is employed in the
informal sector. A third are casual la-
bourers. For the poor, it has been a double
whammy: living in their cramped urban
quarters poses a health risk; and, besides,
if they can’t earn, how do they survive?”
She added that schools and community
KARAN KUMAR (L), 22
MANOJ KUMAR (R), 35
Contract labourers, Uttar Pradesh
“We can’t pay our rent”
M
anoj Kumar and Karan Kumar were found walking, along
with many others, to the Anand Vihar terminus for a bus to
return to their hometown Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The two
had been walking from their rented accommodation in South Delhi’s
Rajokri Pahari, an urban migrant cluster adjacent to the posh farm
houses of Vasant Kunj, after the lockdown threw their lives into
disarray. Manoj, a plumber, and Karan, who does odd jobs, were
working under a contractor in Delhi and earning around Rs 13,000
and Rs 9,000 a month, respectively. However, now, not only have
they lost their jobs, but neither has been paid their last month’s
salary. With their savings fast depleting, the two want to go home
to their families. “We have some money left which will sustain us for
15-20 days. But with no work, we cannot pay our rent of Rs 2,200.
How would we send money to our families? The mobile recharge
shops are shut, so how will we talk to them when our plan ends?
There is no worry of food in villages, and, at least, we will be among
our people,” says Manoj. The two will spend the lockdown period
helping their family during harvest season. This is the harvest time
of rabi crops, when most migrant workers go home to help, says
Santosh Kumar Mehrotra, professor of economics, Centre for
Informal Sector and Labour Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
He also points that many of them also hope to find employment with
MGNREGA programmes in the villages. —Kaushik Deka

48 INDIA TODAY A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0
 MIGRANT WORKERS

Did the prime exodus of migrants since Partition to

Photographs by RAJWANT RAWAT
centres could have been converted into
“fake and misleading” news reports and
minister talk social media rumours. On March 31, a
to any state two-judge Supreme Court bench, led by
governments S.A. Bobde, the Chief Justice of India,
before making told the media to publish the “official”
version of events around the pandemic.
his unilateral
This is in keeping with the govern-
announcement ment’s own view of the media as a link
(about the nation- between it and the people, as a vehicle
wide lockdown)?” for reassurance that the government is
meeting the coronavirus challenge head
— BHUPESH BAGHEL
on. India reported its first coronavirus
Chief Minister, Chhattisgarh
case on January 30. In the two months
since, at the time of writing, there have
been 38 deaths from 1,637 cases. There
is still disagreement in official circles
the chaos it has inflicted on their lives over community transmission. Given
appear to have been an afterthought. how early, even accounting for chronic
In response, the government made under-testing, India is in its encounter
a defensive statement insisting that with the virus, which has cost (by April
“India’s response to COVID-19 has been 1) nearly 43,000 lives worldwide, could
pre-emptive, proactive and graded”. On it be argued that such a draconian

www.t.me/magzsenglish
shelters and soup kitchens. Few critics
of the government deny that a lockdown
was necessary—though India’s lock-
down, enforced by the lathi-wielding
police, is more drastic than nearly any
other country’s—just that the poor, and
social media, the ministry of informa-
tion said the government has made a
“robust response to the public health
crisis right from the beginning”. To the
Supreme Court, the Centre has attribut-
ed what is being described as the largest
lockdown came too suddenly? Mexico,
for instance, to a chorus of international
criticism, has put off a nationwide shut-
down in cognisance of its impact on the
poor. Countries such as Bangladesh and
Sri Lanka have enacted partial shut-

RELIEF IS THE PRIORITY

Three experts consider what must be done to help poor
people who stayed put and those on the move
Rajiv Khandelwal, their rightful wages. Avinash Kumar, Reetika Khera,
co-founder and Immediate clearance executive director, Am- development economist,
executive director, of MGNREGA dues with nesty International India IIM Ahmedabad
Aajeevika Bureau
advance cash payments
The government It is not too late to
The Centre needs to through a rigid deter-
must implement set up community
urgently facilitate ac- mination of universal respectful, people- kitchens to help those
cess to food and cash basic income is needed. friendly measures to who stayed put or
by universalising Restricting movement battle the pandemic. supply them with food
PDS at the local level of migrants is unac- Amnesty International packets. Those who
and see to it that people ceptable. Protocols for India calls on the have already set out
have access to ration airports and railway Centre and states to must be given the
irrespective of docu- stations need to be put take measures to option of being ferried
mentation; it needs to in place to allow move- widen access to home or living in
ensure workers are paid ment across borders. social security. temporary shelters.

A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 49
COVER STORY
CORONA FIGHTBACK MIGRANT WORKERS
downs or given daily-wage labourers the
opportunity to return to their homes.
Sweden, admittedly an international
outlier, has still kept its parks, restau-
rants and schools open, only advising so-
cial distancing, working from home and
banning gatherings of over 50 people.
Epidemiologists, doctors and most
health experts across the world have con-
demned moving too slowly to counter
the virus, and would agree that India has
been suitably decisive. But at what cost?
India’s already sluggish economy has
undoubtedly suffered a body blow. The
anger at the government’s actions, how-
ever, is not fuelled by macro-economic
concerns but the very real risk of lives
being lost due to hunger and poverty.
As many migrant workers told report-
ers as they made their way towards the
border, “hunger will kill us before corona
does.” Rajiv Khandelwal, co-founder
and executive director of Aajeevika
Bureau, an NGO that works for the
www.t.me/magzsenglish
welfare of migrant and seasonal labour,
acknowledges that our “thresholds are
being exhausted by COVID-19, but had
the lockdown been planned keeping the
vulnerable in mind, its effects could have
been relatively contained”.
The question for the government
is if there is still time to mitigate some
of the unintended consequences of
the lockdown on the poor. Lives have
already been lost, but can cash be put in
the hands of those who need it imme-
diately? In a society as unequal as ours,
COVID-19, a disease of the middle
class, at least in its initial spread, af-
The finance
ministry’s measures
will take effect after
the lockdown. By
then, millions will
be starving, unless
they have access
to emergency
assistance”
— JEAN DREZE
Economist
SHEIKH MIRAJUL, 34
Construction worker, West Bengal
“Our legs were bruised”
O
f the 209 km between Kolkata
and his hometown Rejinagar
in West Bengal’s Murshidabad
district, Sheikh Mirajul covered around
40 km on foot. After a lockdown was
implemented in the state, Mirajul and
12 of his co-workers were evicted
from their accommodation in Dum
Dum. They walked 18 km to Sealdah
railway station only to find that the
trains had shut down operations and
had to resort to booking an ambulance
(at Rs 2,000 per person), to take them
a distance of 122 km. “We reached
Nadia around 10.30 pm on March 24.
The ambulance dropped us on the
highway. It was dark. There was not a
fecting those who had travelled abroad,
has inevitably had its most distressing
impact on the poor. It is, after all, poor
migrant workers who have been hosed
down with chemicals intended to clean
buses. It is they poor who don’t have the
option to work, and so make money,
from home. It is, largely, the children of
the poor whose educations have been
interrupted. For the well-off in major
Indian cities, children continue to at-
tend school online. And for those less
inclined towards relentless productiv-
ity, or self-improvement, pizza and ice
cream are still being delivered to soothe
any hunger pangs during hours of
uninterrupted time on social media or
streaming services.
Many of the migrant workers en-
countered on the highways out of Delhi
recognise this gap in their experience of
the lockdown and those of the comfort-
able classes. Modi’s solution, one said, “is
ideal for the rich, but what are the rest
of us to do?” There is something deeply
unedifying, too, about the frequent
expressions of outrage on social media
over people, mostly poor, who do not
single vehicle and our mobile phones
had run out of charge. We kept lighting
matches to read the signboards,” says
Mirajul. “It was past midnight when
we reached Palassey, 20 km still from
home.” The last leg of the journey was
the hardest. “Tired, with our swollen
and bruised legs, we literally dragged
ourselves, lest police sent us to jail,”
he says. Fearing harassment from the
police for having migrated home in the
times of a lockdown, Mirajul doesn’t
want to be photographed (his family
sits for a picture instead). “Can you
ensure my safety? Or even financial
assistance?” he asks.
—Romita Datta
 giene rules. But three deaths attributed
to COVID-19 in three days forced Chief
Minister Amarinder Singh to reinforce a
strict curfew until April 14.
Borders have been sealed—after
the heartrending scenes since the an-
nouncement of the lockdown that will
have both shamed and embarrassed the
Centre—and states are scrambling to
erect shelters. In Greater Noida, India’s
only Formula 1 track, the Buddh Inter-

UNENDING JOURNEY, national Circuit, has been repurposed

into a shelter and quarantine facility. In

INTERMINABLE WAIT
Haryana, Chief Minister Manohar Lal
Khattar has said there are 467 camps
already set up in the state to house up to
70,000 migrant workers, with 10,000
PREM KUMAR, 32
already living in these camps. In Bastar,
Mason, Madhya Pradesh a doctor who did not want to be named,
said schools had already been turned

P
rem Kumar’s journey from Gurgaon, where he works as a into makeshift quarantines, with up to
mason at construction sites, to his home in a village in Tika- 100 beds in each. “Though there aren’t
mgarh district, Madhya Pradesh, has been a harrowing one. many patients in them right now, they
After the site he was working at shut down on March 21 and with will fill up,” he added ominously. The
the city on lockdown, Kumar, 32, had no other option but to find a

www.t.me/magzsenglish
way back to Tikamgarh with his wife and four daughters. Kumar
has two more daughters who live with his parents in the village.
With Rs 2,000, a part of his wages (the rest is promised to him
on his return to work), and a small loan from his landlord in Gur-
PM-CARES fund, set up on March 28
for tax-exempt donations, has already
attracted a couple of thousand crores to
help ease hardship, presumably with the
poor being the primary recipients.
gaon, Kumar set out on foot on March 26 with his wife, daughters
and brother. They walked about 20 km before some police person- It will take a lot of coordination
nel helped them flag down a truck that dropped them till Kosi Kalan, and effort, though, from both the state
Uttar Pradesh. Another truck took them till Mathura, from there a and Centre to undo the damage done
bus helped them reach the Madhya Pradesh border and finally a by a decision to hold an entire country
truck dropped him to his village on March 28. All in all, Kumar spent under effective house arrest for three
about Rs 5,000 on this journey. “We met all sorts of people—some weeks without apparent consideration
charged us a lot of money to ferry us between two small towns, for millions of people so poor that even
but there were many who gave us food and a place to sleep,” says a few days without work makes it near
Kumar. “I will return to Gurgaon when my contractor asks me to. Till impossible for them to eat. The World
then, I will help my father work on his land in the village.” Bank expects that coronavirus will push
—Rahul Noronha millions into poverty, many of those,
unfortunately, in India, where recover-
ing from the cure will take longer than
the 17.8 days that studies say takes most
adhere to social distancing norms that The Punjab and Haryana High Court people to recover from COVID-19. “I
are a pipe dream in country as densely appeared to recognise the need for some know we are supposed to stay indoors,”
populated as India. In his weekly radio mitigation, ruling that shops could stay says 37-year-old Krishna, who left Delhi
address, the prime minister acknowl- open from 10 am to 6 pm, so long as on March 23, walking from sunrise to
edged the particular burden borne by social distancing and hygiene guidelines sunset to try to reach Bihar, relying on
the poor, but, he insisted, there was no were maintained. Taking their cue from the kindness of strangers for food, and
other way. Certainly, the weight of expert the court, Punjab bureaucrats allowed even eating grass for sustenance. “But
opinion is on his side, but the obvious the reopening of some factories and sometimes you have no choice.” n
distress on highways in various parts of kilns, if the establishments could ensure —with Sonali Acharjee, Anilesh S.
the country surely cannot be excused on food and accommodation for workers, as Mahajan, Amitabh Srivastava
the grounds of a necessary lockdown. well as abide by social distancing and hy- and Shwweta Punj

A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 51
SPECIAL REPORT
TABLIGHI JAMAAT

INSIDE A
SUPER
SPREAD
www.t.me/magzsenglish
How a religious outfit’s congregations have
been responsible for a virulent spread of
COVID-19 in India and parts of South Asia
By Sonali Acharjee and Uday Mahurkar with Gulam Jeelani

AS
the number of novel coronavirus cases
in India crossed 2,000, the Nizamud-
din basti neighbourhood in South Delhi
has emerged as the country’s pandemic
hotspot. A gathering of an estimated
3,400 members and preachers of the Tab-
lighi Jamaat here in early March has left a
trail of infection and deaths from Kashmir
to Tamil Nadu to even the Andaman
Islands. Hundreds among the attendees
resided, in close proximity, in the six-
storey dormitory at Banglewali Mosque,
the markaz or global headquarters of the
organisation in Nizamuddin. The Jamaat
is a global Islamic evangelical movement
that originated in India in 1927.
As of April 2, 15 COVID-19-related
deaths in the country had been linked
to the March 10-13 congregation at the
markaz—nine in Telangana, two in Del-
hi, and one each in Jammu and Kashmir,
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The dead
include a Filipino national, say officials.
Around 400 attendees have tested posi-
tive for novel coronavirus. Around 9,000
people—Jamaat members and their pri-
mary contacts—have been quarantined
across the country. Of these, some 1,800

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people are under watch in nine hospitals
and quarantine centres in Delhi. “The
recent rise in COVID-19 cases in India
does not represent a national trend. The
numbers rose because of [infections
caused by] the movement of people of
the Tablighi Jamaat,” said Lav Agar-
wal, joint secretary, Union ministry for
health, at a media briefing on April 1.
It took the intervention of Na-
tional Security Advisor Ajit Doval to
get the Jamaat to vacate the Banglewali
Mosque. Doval drove down to the centre
to meet Maulana Saad, the Jamaat’s
chief since 2015 and grandson of the or-
ganisation’s founder Maulana Muham-
mad Ilyas Kandhlawi. Maulana Saad
relented only after Doval reportedly
threatened police and even commando
action to clear the mosque. The premis-
es were vacated on April 1 and residents
shifted to quarantine facilities.
The Union home ministry is now
preparing dossiers on each individual
who was present at the markaz. Their
travel histories are being ascertained,
mobile data is being scanned and techni-
cal intelligence is being used to identify
COVID SCARE
A group of men in Delhi’s
Nizamuddin area, which
houses the headquarters of
the Tablighi Jamaat, wait to be
transported for quarantine
GOING VIRAL
Feb. 27
A 16,000-strong gathering
attends a Tablighi Jamaat
event in Sri Petaling Mosque,
Kuala Lumpur. Over 600 test
positive for COVID-19
Mar. 10-13
Jamaat gathering in Delhi’s
Nizamuddin draws 3,400; in-
cludes attendees in Malaysia
Mar. 11
WHO declares COVID-19
a pandemic
Mar. 13
Delhi govt prohibits gather-
ings of more than 14 people
Mar. 17
COVID-19 cases start surfac-
ing among Jamaat attendees,
including 10 in Telangana
Mar. 26
An infected Jamaat member
from Kashmir dies
Apr. 1
Jamaat’s Nizamuddin HQ
sealed; 2,361 people
AP evacuated from premises
who all they came in contact with.
The markaz is a transit point for the
Jamaat’s India-bound missionaries. It is
from here that they set out in groups to
other states where, as per tradition, they
stay in local mosques. “The preachers
and followers assemble at the markaz.
From here, they journey out into villages
and towns,” says a Jamaat member who’s
a regular at the headquarters. The main
task of the preachers is to prod Muslims
‘gone astray’ to return to the faith.
The Tablighis are orthodox Islamic
evangelicals. They are regarded with
 SPECIAL REPORT TABLIGHI JAMAAT

INFECTIOUS 9,000 400 15

ASSEMBLY Tablighi Jamaat
members and their
primary contacts
COVID-19 positive
cases across India
linked to Jamaat’s
COVID-19 deaths
linked to Jamaat
event (includes
The Tablighi Jamaat gathering dealt a quarantined so far gathering in Delhi Filipino national)
body blow to India’s COVID-19 fightback

JAMMU & KASHMIR HIMACHAL PRADESH BIHAR

61 29 1 167 30

HARYANA UTTARAKHAND JHARKHAND

503 173 2

DELHI UTTAR PRADESH ASSAM

1,804 47 2 569 230 16

RAJASTHAN WEST BENGAL

550 11 54

GUJARAT ODISHA
72 0

MADHYA PRADESH CHHATTISGARH

82 101

MAHARASHTRA TELANGANA
1,300 2 275 33 9

GOA ANDAMAN

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9
KARNATAKA
800 11 1
Quarantined
ANDHRA PRADESH
543
9

67
9

KERALA Positive Dead TAMIL NADU

40 1,103 173 1

Test results/ updates from some states are awaited. Some contacts linked to the Jamaat gathering are still being traced for quarantine
Source: Union health ministry and state governments

suspicion by the government, but have
remained an entirely legal entity. That
they are now considered as complicit as
vectors of the corona contagion, howev-
er unwittingly, is likely to enhance state
scrutiny of their religious activities.
So how did the members get infect-
ed in the first place? Fingers are being
pointed at a Tablighi Jamaat congrega-
tion held in Malaysia in February, in
which Indian members from the Niza-
muddin markaz had participated. On
February 27, the Sri Petaling Mosque
in Kuala Lumpur was packed with an
estimated 16,000 people. In the next
one week, more than 620 people who
attended the four-day conclave tested
positive for COVID-19. Several attend-
ees carried the infection back to their
home countries—73 cases reported in
Brunei, 10 in Thailand and 35 in Paki-
stan were confirmed to have links with
the gathering in Malaysia. Some attend-
ees from Malaysia accompanied their
Indian counterparts returning home
and stayed at the Nizamuddin markaz.
This when WHO declared COVID-19
a pandemic on March 11 and, two days
later, the Delhi government prohibited
gatherings of more than 14 people.
It was on violation of this order that
the Delhi government recommended
an FIR against the organisers of the
gathering, but only after six COVID-19
cases were reported from the markaz
on March 28. “It was criminal negli-
gence and a violation of orders banning
gatherings since March 13,” said Akshay
Marathe, spokesperson of the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP). The Delhi police
said it had issued notices to the markaz
administration. “We made consistent
efforts to convince the organisers to get
the people inside the markaz to leave.
We even held a meeting on March 23.
But they wouldn’t pay heed,” says a po-
lice official on condition of anonymity.
An FIR was eventually lodged against
Maulana Saad and others on March 31
for violating the prohibitory orders.
There are three theories as to why
the congregation in Nizamuddin led
to such a virulent spread of the virus.
The first hinges on how many infected
people had attended the gathering.
There were around 62 attendees from
Malaysia, but it is not clear if all or any

54 INDIA TODAY A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0
of them had attended the Kuala Lum-
pur event or how many were already
infected when they came to India.
Also, several attendees stayed in close
proximity even after the Nizamud-
din event and many travelled back in
groups. So even if it is assumed that the
Delhi gathering itself had infected few
people, they could have passed on the
infection in the days to come.
The second theory is that there is
close proximity in general between
people at religious congregations. Of
the total COVID-19 cases in Delhi,
more than 100 have been linked to such
gatherings. In South Korea, a 61-year-
old woman, identified in healthcare
circles there as ‘Patient 31’, had attended
two meetings of a Christian cult and
became the source of over a thousand
infections. Back home, Baldev Singh, a
preacher in Punjab who visited Europe,
defied quarantine orders on return.
He has been linked to 32 COVID-19
cases in the state. “We are increas-
ingly getting proof that the virus can
www.t.me/magzsenglish
be airborne—for how long is yet to be
established as that would depend on
humidity, temperatures, wind condi-
tions and so on,” says Dr Om Shrivas-
tava, director of infectious diseases,
HIV medicine and immunology, Jaslok
Hospital, Mumbai. “When you are in
close contact with a large group, the
virus could be in the air, in the form of
a droplet from an infected person, and
could settle on any surface. People could
even breathe it in if they are extremely
close to an infected individual.”
T
he third explanation could
be ‘viral load’ or how much of
the virus enters our bodies.
A higher viral load has been
linked to more severe symptoms
of COVID-19, and this could be why
most cases found to have links with
the Nizamuddin congregation have
shown very pronounced symptoms, and
several of them have succumbed to the
infection. “We are only four months into
studying this virus, so there are many
unanswered questions about how it
spreads. But it’s certain that it is highly
contagious and large gatherings must
be avoided,” says Dr Shrivastava.
GETTY IMAGES
The Delhi police said it had issued
notices to the markaz administration
and even held a meeting to get them to
end the congregation, but to no effect
Though the Jamaat headquar-
ters gets a regular stream of visitors
throughout the year, according to eye-
witnesses, the first week of March saw
a surge in numbers from both within
India and abroad. An estimated 2,500
people of various nationalities had
assembled at the markaz by March 10,
says a follower of the movement from
Haryana’s Mewat.
The first evidence of a possible infec-
tion at the markaz came on March 17
when a Jamaat member from Kashmir
tested positive on returning home. The
businessman from Srinagar’s Hyder-
pora area died on March 26. He had
been at the markaz on March 7, before
leaving for Deoband in Uttar Pradesh
and reaching Srinagar on March 9.
It is estimated that since January 1,
more than 2,000 foreigners have visited
India for preaching activities. On March
21, the home ministry informed state
governments about 824 foreign nation-
als who had visited the Jamaat head-
quarters and further travelled to other
states. On March 25, as a three-week
nationwide lockdown came into effect,
officials from the local district mag-
istrate’s office and a medical team in-
spected the markaz and compiled a list
of visitors. Medical check-ups started.
After COVID-19 cases surfaced, Union
health ministry and Delhi government
UNDER WATCH
Tablighi Jamaat
members being taken
to a quarantine
facility in New Delhi
officials began tracking down the infec-
tion spread in the neighbourhood.
Jamaat members, however, claim
that the markaz had, on March 23,
informed the Delhi police and the Delhi
government about people staying inside
the premises, but nothing was done. A
member said some 1,500 preachers had
left for various destinations by March 23
after some members developed ‘symp-
toms’, though no one suspected it to be
the virus. “Many left for their towns/ vil-
lages unaware that they were potential
‘carriers’,” added another member.
The markaz, in a statement, said
that a large group of visitors was unable
to vacate the premises on March 21 due
to rail travel restrictions and movement
was difficult the next day as well due to
the ‘Janta Curfew’. ‘On March 24, police
issued a notice to shut down the prem-
ises. We responded that compliance was
under way,’ the statement said.
On April 1, Delhi deputy chief min-
ister Manish Sisodia announced that
2,361 people had been evacuated from
the markaz in a 36-hour-long opera-
tion. The area was cordoned off and the
building sanitised and sealed. As health
officials scramble to contain the virus
spread from the Jamaat congregation,
there are fears that the damage has al-
ready been done. There’s a question too:
could this have been prevented? n
A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 55
 OBITUARY

SATISH GUJRAL | 1925-2020 |

FORCE AND
COMPOSURE
KRISHEN KHANNA REMEMBERS
THE PAINTER, SCULPTOR,
MURALIST, ARCHITECT AND FRIEND
WHO PASSED AWAY ON MARCH 26

www.t.me/magzsenglish
M
y friendship with Satish Gujral
feels eternal—did I know him
for fifty years, or a thousand? I
first met him around the early
1960s. S.H. Raza, who had al-
ready won the Prix de la Cri-
tique, visited his show, and we all wanted to know what
this established artist thought. Satish described taking
Raza around in a very funny manner. “He came to the
first picture, and”—Satish pursed his lips, imitating
Raza grunting. “At the second, he mumbled, ‘Hmm,
hmm’, melting a bit. He came to the third. ‘Ae gal hui!’
he shouted.” Now we’re talking!
Satish had a great sense of wit and humour—per-
haps more so with me because I was Punjabi, like him.
I also had the patience to get past his lack of hearing.
Punjabi was his first language, and we would crack
jokes, rib each other. He’d say, “Tu bada badmaash hai!”
When he talked, there were no whispers involved,
no sotto voce. He was direct and forceful—that was his
stamp. Unlike, say, the American action painters who
depended on the way the brush functioned, Satish cre-
ated his imagery with great determination. He devel-
oped a style which was very overt and big. I wouldn’t say
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this had a direct relationship with his lack of hearing,
but he did choose this particular territory. There are no
tricks involved whatsoever, no side effects.
In a way, he was different from the dominant group of
artists, who were nurturing an inward-looking sensibil-
ity that allied with what was going on in Europe, Paris
particularly. Satish was against painting for painting’s
sake; the absolute value of painting without recourse to
any other meaning. Instead of Picasso and the French lot,
Satish chose very fortunately to go off to Mexico, in 1952,
and work with the muralists Diego Rivera and David
Alfaro Siqueiros. Their angle of vision was very much
the population of their country—the people around them
mattered, and the heroes who fought for independence.
Satish was able to connect with all of that, particu-
larly given his experience in 1947. He was among the few
artists who painted the aggrieved people of the Partition.
His paintings harkened back to Punjabi funeral customs,
which involved loud cries and beating of breasts. A huge
performance in which people got rid of their angst, their
sorrow—so they’d be washed out. I don’t think anybody
portrayed the agony of people who had been deprived as
straightforwardly as Satish did in these extraordinary
paintings. And his contemporaries were people like Pran
Nath Mago and Harkrishan Lall, both very fine painters.
Satish always captured the political imagination, whereas
politics was almost taboo with most painters at that time.
Satish very positively had a political angle, even
when his work evolved to be more abstract. He never let
Photograph by BANDEEP SINGH
go of his particular steam, his own vision. In later works,
there’d be this great big horse-rider, a monument of a
thing charging, and you suddenly realise it’s got wheels
underneath, like a hobbyhorse.
Satish also thought that painting shouldn’t be some-
thing only for the sitting room. He took on huge murals,
for example at Panjab University . He took on huge enter-
prises: architectural projects like the Belgian embassy in
Delhi. I was amazed by the way he fashioned space, and
wondered how a painter could think about the third and
fourth dimensions. He’d say, “It’s very easy. You could do
it.” I knew I couldn’t. But one thing I did take from him
was to not be frightened by scale, by large areas and large
ideas that needed to be carried out not over one day, or 10
days, but a long period of time.
Satish also took up and excelled at ceramics. I remember
seeing him when he was quite ill at one stage. There he was,
lying in bed, with lots of books on getting various patinas
and colours around him. He would study these and write
out methods—the heating and timing had to be precise for
getting the right glaze. He got some fantastic colours—I
have a few pieces with me: a table, a tea set. I think one of
his daughters may have been helping him, or his wife Kiran.
He was deeply, madly in love with Kiran—and she managed
everything. When he was in his 70s and had the operation to
I WAS AMAZED
restore his hearing, he told me
that, really, he had just wanted
to hear Kiran’s voice. Theirs was
BY HOW A a beautiful marriage.
PAINTER COULD His knowledge of Urdu po-
THINK ABOUT etry was also extraordinary. He
saw one of my pictures of dogs
THE THIRD,
floating around and immedi-
FOURTH ately quoted Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s
DIMENSIONS. poem, Kutte, inscribing it in
HE’D SAY, “IT’S my sketchbook, in his beautiful
VERY EASY. YOU handwriting. He was elegant in
COULD DO IT” all matters, down to the way he
dressed. If I had to caption the
totality of his work, I would use
the words dignity and composure.
When Satish worked with the Mexican muralists, he
discovered a method they used for making paintings ab-
solutely impervious. My father bought a painting from
him, which I’ve had for years, with not one iota of dam-
age. It’s grey, narrow and shows Krishna and Arjun on
the battlefield. There’s a curtain of forms going down the
length—you’ve got to go through it to find out what is
actually happening. And the underpinning of paint and
mixed-in materials is so tough, you can scrub it, you can do
what you like, but you can’t destroy it. That was completely
like his character: indestructible. n
—as told to Sonal Shah
A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 57
www.t.me/magzsenglish
EXPORTING THE TILLOTAMA SHOME’S
PADMASANA INTERMISSION
PG 62 PG 64

SUMUKHI SURESH: FAR Q&A WITH

MORE THAN FUNNY MANISHA KOIRALA
PG 65 PG 66

www.t.me/magzsenglish

WRITING IN
I S O L A T I O N
WRITERS ARE USED TO SOLITUDE. IN THESE UNPRECEDENTED TIMES, THESE ISOLATION EXPERTS
OFFER ADVICE, TELLING US HOW THEY ARE COPING WITH THE LOCKDOWN

Illustration By SIDDHANT JUMDE

LEISUR

ANUJA CHAUHAN
Self-isolation is my
natural state. I was
an early believer in
JOMO (the joy of
missing out) and I
love being alone with my thoughts.
As a writer, I alternate between
two states, writing and lying
fallow. Fallow times are more
social, when you go out into the
larger world and mingle with
other folk to ‘gather life’, as Vi-
kram Seth once said—and writing
times are when you hunker down
in your cave and hammer away
with all your heart and soul. Both
phases are equally important to
keep the writing rich, informed
and free-flowing.
MEENA KANDASAMY
To be honest and
frank, I’ve not
from, say, being on a residency, or
a writing break, because those are
situations you have planned and
are hence welcome. Right now,
navigating the everyday (children,
food) is much more problematic
and urgent, and requires my atten-
tion more than writing.
SHOBHAA DE
I love chaos and
mayhem. Isolation
disorients me. I need
people and mad-
ness around me. I
don’t “get” isolation. I am a social
animal. My writing thrives on
noise, conversations, interactions.
During this lockdown, I am recon-
ciling myself to the eerie stillness.
I am unaccustomed to the quiet.
I long for bedlam. But deadlines
are deadlines and I am coping
somehow. I’m writing at my usual
frenzied pace, despite the silence
the house means more time for
reading, movies, playing with the
kids and getting writing done.
But we’re all suffering from cabin
fever, so some days are better
than others. Sealing off from the
world is the easy part, though.
Silencing the voices in your head
proves more challenging. Medita-
tion helps. As does wine.
AMIT CHAUDHURI
I’m an anti-isolation
kind of person. I
live in England
part of the year, but
the relative silence
there is uncongenial to me on a
fundamental level. When I need
to really focus, I shut myself in a
room. But I prefer to be distracted
by sounds and presences. Ordinar-
ily, complete solitude isn’t, for me,
conducive to creativity, because

www.t.me/magzsenglish
written a single line
since the lock-
down happened here. Even more
shameful, I cannot find the head-
space to finish reading 10 pages.
Part of it is the anxiety of the
news cycle—this quarantine, this
virus, these limitless deaths—
these will leave a lasting impact
on our generation. Part of my own
inability to be productive is the
self-introspection that accom-
panies writing. Is this relevant
at all? What’s the point? I think
this c rrent period is different
outside. I would like to tell people
who are in isolation: “Listen to
your inner music. Create your own
opera. Sing an aria. Dance!”
SHEHAN KARUNATILAKA
Both my wife and I
work from home, so
this is nothing new. I
work mornings, she
does afternoons, and
we share the kid-related chores.
I’ve actually been quite produc-
tive these past few weeks of the
lockdown. Not having to leave
I like being caught unawares
by what’s around me. Having
said that, the mind can find new
thoughts and ways of thinking in
response to the unprecedented.
No one has ever seen a universal
lockdown before. I’ve been thinking
about what touching and proxim-
ity and the desire for these things
mean. These thoughts might be the
beginning of a creative response.
I’m also reminded, quite sharply,
that there are diseases in the world
other than COVID-19, many of
them more dangerous. Threats are
a constant—they continue to take

OOKMARK YOUR SOLITUDE

i r z a Wa h e e d r e c o m m e n d s f o u r b o o k s
The Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
The Faraway Tree series has been a
favourite for children (and some adults)
for decades. I used to read a chapter every
night to my son and, now, as we complete
two weeks of near-contactless life in
London, we’re reading it to our five-year-
old daughter. You might need to navigate
some odd gender stereotypes, but what a
fascinating, riveting yarn.
Austerlitz, W.G. Sebald
I find myself going back to bookmarked
pages in Sebald’s masterpiece. The
looping sentences that conjure up entire
worlds, the gorgeous, moving passages
describing the child refugee’s early years
in Wales and the breathtaking beauty
and tragedy of Sebald’s writing in the
later stages of discovery and rediscovery
transport you instantly.

life and cause pain. Our exclu-
sive focus on the coronavirus
shouldn’t suddenly numb us to
the various forms of suffering,
death and disease that exist
around us at this moment.
It’s important today to follow
the regime but keep a sense of
distance intact: to let our
powers of observation and
humour remain.
MAHESH RAO
Isolation is
important
for me under
normal circum-
stances, both
while writing and during the
muddled, meandering peri-
ods that precede it. I live on
my own, so it has never been
a problem. Now, I may be bet-
ter prepared than others who,
K.R. MEERA
I don’t like
people around
me when I write.
Whenever I have
to write a long
piece, I will run away from
home. The current isolation
doesn’t make any difference,
as I am in the last lap of a
novel and in the middle of an-
other one, which means I am
more occupied than ever. If I
were not a lover of solitude, I
would use this time to work
out with my family members
and fall asleep reading a book
or watching a film. It is a
wonderful time to clean the
house, filter out the old and
non-usable things.
AMISH
I used to take
THE CORONA Q+A
SHASHI THAROOR
Q. How do you normally isolate
yourself in order to write?
By writing when people have stopped
importuning me. Most of my writing is
done either after 11 pm, or on planes.
Q. As a writer/ reader, how are
you dealing with this current
period of self-isolating?
I’m using it to catch up on writing
commitments I’m way behind on. I
have just finished the manuscript of
‘Tharoorosaurus’, to be published by
Penguin, and am starting work on a
long-delayed, extended book-length
Indian nationalism for
Book Co.
ealing yourself off
he world important
creativity?
s, hugely important.
iting is about You (your
nd, your thoughts, your
pirit, your essence,
the whole You!), the

www.t.me/magzsenglish
perhaps, have never worked
from home and am certainly
luckier than anyone who has
the added pressure of looking
after children or other depen-
dants. But this extraordinary
situation makes you want to
walk for miles, linger over
any mundane outside chore,
regain some small modicum
of your former freedom. In
terms of writing, there may
be a strange compulsion to
make sense of all this imme-
diately and to write about it.
But often it’s better to wait.
writing breaks
where I would
travel to a place
to be by myself
Word and the Page (or
screen). Any intrusion
into that sacred trinity
amages the process
reation, and frequent
and write full-time. But that’s usions can destroy it
not something that is a ‘neces- gether.
sary’ condition to write. I can
write anywhere. I’m not the What would you
most social person around. gest to those who
I didn’t really party much not used to it?
in India. In fact, one of the t write! Writing is a
challenges of my present dip- oundly lonely activity. If
an’t stand to be alone,
lomatic role in London is that
e other means of self-
I am expected to socialise. So sion—stand-up comedy
no, I am not really complai s!
ing about the isolation. n

Photograph by BANDEEP SINGH

10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in This Strange Haroun and the Sea of

World, Elif Shafak Stories, Salman Rushdie
Shafak’s latest starts with an explosive premise. A favourite from Rushdie’s
We are thrown into the mind of sex worker vast body of work. We all
’Tequila Leila’, who is dying in a garbage bin love it, including my son
in Istanbul. As her brain shuts down, Leila, who was utterly gripped by
digressive raconteur and her own biographer, it. A classic that shows you
traces the extraordinary tale of the little girl the enduring magic and
from the provinces who ends up as a tiny crime importance of stories and
story in the city’s newspapers. storytelling.

—as told to Bhavya Dore & Sukhada Tatke

 BOOKS

EXPORTING THE
PADMASANA Two new titles explain how yoga came
to acquire a passport

CALCUTTA YOGA THE STORY OF YOGA

How Modern Yoga Travelled to the From Ancient India to the
World from the Streets of Calcutta Modern West
by Jerome Armstrong by Alistair Shearer
PAN MACMILLAN PENGUIN
`607 (Kindle); 584 pages `359 (Kindle); 416 pages

IT’S
ITS
hard to restrain forms of physical training. This prac-

www.t.me/magzsenglish a jingoistic giggle

when you learn that
the exercise-oriented
yoga practised
all over the world
first emerg
ged as a reaction to cricket.
According g to Alistair Shearer in The
Story of Yoga: From Ancient India
to the Modern West, when the British
brought cricket and gyms to the sub-
continent to add muscle to the ‘weak’
Indians, nationalists created a form
of exercise that combined the ancient
principles of yoga with contemporary
tice, nearly 200 years later, is a $25
billion fitness industry in the US alone.
Sounds simple? Ha! As Shearer
shows in this popular history, there is
nothing simple about what yoga has
been through since its first mention in
ancient texts as a spiritual path to the
ultimate realisation of the ‘Self’. The
few asanas named in Patanjali’s Yoga
Sutra (possibly composed around 350
AD) are only about seating oneself
steadily for a lengthy session of medita-
tion. As centuries pass, a few more
postures appear in other texts, but

K E E P I N G T H E S P I N E S T R A I G H T Coupling

THE BUSINESS CASUAL YOGI

LIGHT ON LIFE Take Charge of Your Body,
by B.K.S. Iyengar Mind and Career
YELLOW KITE by Vish Chatterjee & Yogrishi
`254 (Kindle); 304 pages Vishvketu
Described by the BBC as MANDALA PUBLISHING
“the Michelangelo of yoga”, `672 (Kindle); 336 pages
B.K.S. Iyengar looks back The authors of this book promise
at his life in this book and that yoga’s benefits are a certifiable
explains how yoga postures ticket to professional growth and
and breathing techniques leadership development. Combin-
can help us in our quest for ing lifestyle philosophy and physical
wholeness. activity, they say, is the key.
 there is no dynamic asana such as the
Surya Namaskar. In any case, yoga
needed years of discipline to achieve
its objective and so was only practised
by people who lived apart from soci-
ety. And somewhere down the road,
the practice was adopted by tantriks,
so by the time the British arrived in
India, it had a bad reputation.
So how, from the early 1900s
onwards, did yoga become a physical
workout with roots in Patanjali’s
text? And when did the quest for
the ultimate realisation of the ‘Self’
become optional?
Shearer is mystified by this
transformation. Even as he takes us
on a merry, pun-filled ride through
the many reasons why yoga changed,
what those changes meant for India
and the world, how yoga spread in
the West, brief biographies of yoga
gurus, how different faiths reacted to
memory after their deaths, though
some of their students are famous
gurus today.
If the late Yogananda Parama- FINDING GOD THROUGH YOGA
hansa is still well-known in 2020, Paramahansa Yogananda and the
Making of a Global Religion
it’s partly because of the way he and by David J. Neumann
members of his family combined the SPEAKING TIGER
spiritualism of yoga with bayam, `525 (Kindle); 368 pages
the freehand exercises practised by Paramahansa Yogananda, you
Bengali body-builders and sports might think, had said it all in Autobi-
ography of a Yogi, but by tracking his
people. Paramahansa’s younger journey from India to the US in the
brother, Bishnu Ghosh, and Bishnu’s 1920s, this biography fills in some
close friend Buddha Bose, worked essential blanks.
out various asanas, created interest
by performing the asanas in shows
and circuses in India, Europe and
the US, taught these asanas at Yoga-
nanda’s US centres and wrote books
about yoga, complete with illustra-
tive photographs.
Between the two of them, their
families and their students, Bishnu
and Buddha virtually ruled the yoga

www.t.me/magzsenglish
a ‘Hindu’ form of exercise and what
yoga may evolve into, he remains
baffled by the concept of seeking the
‘Self’ via a certain number of asanas
practised every day.
In the fascinating Calcutta Yoga:
How Modern Yoga Travelled to the
World from the Streets of Calcutta, Je-
rome Armstrong doesn’t particularly
care why yoga changed. He just wants
to know who changed it and how. So,
he travels to Calcutta to learn about
two men who were widely admired in
their time for their popularisation of
yoga, but who vanished from public
scene in Calcutta between the 1920s
and 1940s. Today, however, they are
so unknown that though Paramah-
ansa is well-represented in Shearer’s
book, as is Bishnu’s student Bikram
‘Hot Yoga’ Choudhury, Bishnu is
mentioned only in passing and Bud-
dha not at all.
This is not the only way in which
these two yoga histories differ, though
they have much in common too. But
the greatest gift they give their read-
ers is their dive into parts of our past
we might never have questioned. n
—Kushalrani Gulab
BEYOND ASANAS
The Myths and Legends behind
Yogic Postures
by Pragya Bhatt; photographs by
Joel Koechlin
PENGUIN EBURY PRESS
`320 (Kindle); 256 pages
Yoga teacher Pragya Bhatt makes
connections between ancient
Indian mythology and modern yoga
practice. The 30 asanas she has re-
searched all become easy to follow
with Joel Koechlin’s photos.

breathing with reading techniques

SCIENCE OF YOGA
YOGA MYTHOLOGY Understand the Anatomy and
64 Asanas and Their Stories Physiology to Perfect your Practice
by Devdutt Pattanaik and by Ann Swanson
Matthew Rulli DK
HARPERCOLLINS INDIA `1,155 (Kindle); 224 pages
`231 (Kindle), 344 pages
Science now agrees that yoga has
How did yogic postures like Hanuman-asana countless benefits, and Ann Swanson
and Ananta-asana get their names? Along uses her book to reveal how various
with yoga practitioner Matt Rulli, Devdutt Pat- asanas affect your blood flow and
tanaik narrates the several myths that once respiration, your muscles and joints,
informed our postures. your mind and brain.
 LEISURE

T he month of March was meant to be

Tillotama Shome’s moment in the sun.
Angrezi Medium, a film in which she
played a no-nonsense education consultant, had just
released. She had made her web series debut in Alt Ba-
laji’s Mentalhood, and when the country started locking
down, she was promoting Sir, a film that had already
won her much acclaim. “For a film like Sir to release
theatrically was a huge act of defiance in any case,” she
says. “And its getting pushed was unfortunate, as was
the case with Angrezi Medium. But if I call the films not
releasing ‘unfortunate’, what adjective do I use for the
global pandemic that we face? How does one find a word

www.t.me/magzsenglish
to process the second partition—the exodus of migrant
workers walking for days with nothing?” She admits that
CINEMA

ONLY AN
film releases now “feel far away”.
For 15 years, Shome has lingered on the periphery
of the film industry, but her recent work is seeing her

INTERVAL
move to its centre. Speaking about earlier rejections
and a dearth of opportunities, the actor says, “Initially,
it was really hard. But if I am resentful of the people
who I felt should have given me chances, they might
pick up on it and may not want to work with me.” Her Coronavirus might have interrupted
reticence, Shome added, didn’t make it easier to survive Tillotama Shome’s forward march,
in an industry where networking is valued. So, what but she is again moving on
changed? “The tragic story of being overlooked was
not a good narrative,” she says. “I dropped the grudge
against the industry and started valuing the filmmak-
ers who gave me opportunities.” Some of these direc- one. These are skills an actor needs.” It also prepared her to
tors included Konkona Sen Sharma (A Death in the play characters that lingered on the fringes. In Sir, Rohena
Gunj, 2016), Saket Chaudhary (Hindi Medium, 2017) Gera’s sensitive examination of a forbidden romance, she
and Nandita Das (Manto, 2018). aces the part of a pragmatic and widowed domestic help who
With her father in the Indian Air Force, Shome spent is forced to negotiate a tricky situation.
her early years moving from one place in the country to These days Shome’s sole preoccupation is doing her
another. Though she later earned two master’s bit for those in her building who need help, but
degrees—English literature from Delhi Uni- TILLOTAMA once this storm settles, the actor will return to the
versity and educational theatre from New York SHOME FEELS independent film world. She has finished a Bengali
University—she feels it’s her childhood that THAT TO BE film with Madhuja Mukherjee. She also features in
helped “unconsciously train” her to become an AN ACTOR, National Award-winning director and writer Rima
actor. “You learn how to become invisible,” she ONE NEEDS TO Das’s next. “I have to completely surrender and for-
says. “You learn to camouflage and disappear. LEARN HOW get everything I have learned until now.” To Shome,
The idea to constantly embrace differences TO BECOME we know, that comes easy. n
and be okay with being the new one, the odd INVISIBLE —Suhani Singh

64 INDIA TODAY A PR I L 1 3 , 2 02 0
 W EB SER IES

Funny S
Far More than
umukhi Suresh’s Pushpavalli is for
Indian audiences what Phoebe Waller-
Bridge’s Fleabag perhaps was for the
British. Both feature protagonists
who revel in their flaws, both repeat-
edly go down the rabbit hole. In season
two, Suresh and her team of writers
are intent to not offer Pushpavalli any
redemption. The mistakes of the past
weigh heavily on her mind—stalking,
kidnapping her crush’s dog, constantly
lying—but rather than feel remorse, we
With the second see her want revenge. “All of us are
season of Pushpavalli, bitches somewhere,” says Suresh. “Men are too. I don’t
Sumukhi Suresh like women being portrayed as black or white.”
Much like Biswa Kalyan Rath’s Laakhon Mein Ek,
claims the grey area as
another Amazon Prime show created by a stand-up
her own comic, Pushpavalli shows there’s more to Suresh than
comedy. She can dig deep into our insecurities to
present an honest, heartfelt portrait of a woman.
“Debbie [Rao, the director], Sumaira [Shaikh,
co-writer] and I knew if we want the audience to be
with us, one needs to show an emotion,” says Suresh.
“It cannot just be fun. Give me an emotion that you
relate to, that’s important.”
Given the supporting characters, all full of idio-
syncrasies, we usually have more than just the one
emotion at hand. There is Pushpavalli’s hot-headed
friend Pankaj, her kooky landlady Vasu and the con-

www.t.me/magzsenglish niving roomies, Tara and Srishti, who Suresh says are
her tribute to Alice in Wonderland’s Tweedledum and
Tweedledee. In effect, they feel borrowed from Ste-
phen King’s The Shining. Suresh’s favourite character,
though, is the no-nonsense mother who is always
reprimanding her daughter for her weight. “I love
writing brutal moms,” says Suresh. “They
don’t have time for your bulls**t. Imagine,
they have gone through f***ing labour
and now you want them to have
empathy also.” It’s Suresh’s abil-
ity to not lionise her charac-
ters that makes Pushpavalli
such a delight. It’s a show
that doesn’t preach or play
to the gallery, but rather
lets the audiences decide
how they feel about a host of
unapologetic misfits.
The season’s open-ended-
ness suggests that Suresh has
more deceptive plans for Pushpa-
valli, but she is waiting for a green
light from Amazon. Meanwhile, she has
already started developing three shows
KHI and is also working on a stand-up special.
SUMU H
E S
SUR nt to “I am a greedy f***er. I am definitely going to
w a
doesn’t lay to the put myself in everything,” she laughs. But what
o r p
preach how Suresh would like is for other creators to write
ller y in her s
ga v i
all
Pushpa parts for her other than just of an amusing
best friend. “I want someone else to put me as
a lead, apart from my own self,” says Suresh.
“How much can I write for myself? I am also
a little bit tired.” n
—Suhani Singh
 Q A
Q. What was the hardest part about
playing an Irani cafe owner in
Maska?
The abuses she comes up with. I have
never cursed so much in my life. It
was new. But these were the charac-
ter’s nuances and one needed to say
and do them correctly.

Q. Where have you had the best bun

maska?
At Kyani’s in Mumbai. The owner was
closing for the day when we arrived,
but my Parsi dialect coach requested
him to let us in.

Q. Maska is your third project with

Netflix. Has this platform given you a
new beginning?
Absolutely. I used to watch documen-
taries on Netflix when I was recover-
ing from cancer in Virginia. My aunt
was a subscriber. Soon the service
would come to India. It’s a very pro-
fessional set-up. People say there is
lots of contractual detail one has to go
through but that only helps safeguard
everybody. There’s a new energy. It
has been a great ride so far.

www.t.me/magzsenglish Q. Maska releases at a time when

most people are at home due to
COVID-19. As someone who has
battled a disease, what’s the biggest
lesson for us in this?
Do the right thing and have faith.
During my cancer treatment and
three years after, my chances of re-
occurrence were 90 per cent. It was
after three years that I started feeling
safe. What did I learn? Don’t think of
how many months or years are going
by, focus on each day. Focus on your
surroundings, eat right and exercise
and sleep well. One’s mind always
tends to get hooked to fear, so it is im-
portant to be mindful and positive. n
—with Suhani Singh

STREAMLINING
HER ACT
AMAL KS/ GETTY IMAGES

Manisha Koirala is glad streaming platforms are

finally giving her the freedom of choice

66 Volume XLV Number 15; For the week April 7-13, 2020, published on every Friday Total number of pages 68 (including cover pages)
www.t.me/magzsenglish