Context: Pandemic has given us a critical moment for reflection, for re-examining our way of life, and striving to emerge from this with hope.
Things we did wrong in pre-Corona world:

• Lack of care for vulnerable section– There was lack of social security for vulnerable sections and with the sudden lockdown; we left labourers, poor migrants, women and children stranded without work and pay. They walked hundreds of miles to get to their families and homes, with many of them collapsing on the way. This is, thus, a matter of collective shame for all of us.
• Economic slowdown– With oil prices being low, India still witnessed the growth rate of 4.2 per cent, the lowest growth seen in the last 11 years. This could have been averted with better economic policies focussing on structural reforms in manufacturing, agriculture and financial sector.
• Over-exploitation of resources– To meet the economic needs, we over-exploited the resources and environment which led to degradation of environment and contributes in global warming phenomena.
• Lack of empathy for vulnerable as well as environment resulted into rising poverty and unemployment despite abundance, rising intolerance and violence, and environmental catastrophe.
• Rising poverty and unemployment– After the lockdown, India’s unemployment rate shot up to a record high of 23.8 per cent in April. Most of the unemployed being labourers as industries were closed during the lockdown. This deprived them of wages and forced them to walk to their villages to escape poverty.
• Rising intolerance and violence – There has been a steep rise in crime against women across the country amid restrictions imposed due to the corona virus outbreak which is termed as shadow pandemic.
• Environmental catastrophe– Cyclone Amphan and Nisarga amidst the lockdown highlighted the vulnerability of our systems when it comes to environmental, health and economic issues. Despite of the better standard of living that development has provided in many nations, there are concerns emerging all around the world regarding this model of development which is consumption orientated.

Suggested solutions to overcome these challenges in post-Corona world

• Gandhiji’s Talisman– This is time to “recall the face of the poorest and weakest man you have seen and ask yourself if this step you contemplate is going to be any use to him” as this will make us think for the poor, labours and migrants whom we left stranded amidst the pandemic. Only then actions can be taken for their care and justice will be ensured for them.
• Consequentialism  needs contemplation– Our economic and political policies must not be ends in themselves, but instruments for building a society that is secular, inclusive and nurturing, where people of all religions, caste, race and gender feel wanted and at home.
• Following Categorical Imperative– It refer to duties which are absolute in nature and must apply in all circumstances. Categorical imperatives are objective and unconditional principles that originate out of rationality and free will.
• It is obeyed purely out of sense of duty and not due to emotions, feeling or desire which is must for protection of rights of vulnerable.
• Embracing Eco-centrism– Ecocentrism is the broadest term for worldviews that recognize intrinsic value in all life forms and ecosystems themselves, including their abiotic components. Thus, in longer run we need to be compassionate for not only poor but also other living beings irrespective of their economical value for humans.

Road Ahead

• There is a lot in the nation’s culture and wisdom that we can draw on and try to lead a life that nurtures the soil and creates an environment which sustains future generations. We should, thus, strive to create a society that respects knowledge, science and technology, and culture.