There have not been any Bollywood film releases since the lockdown of March 2020, but after a brief lull tinsel town was back in the news and currently the country appears to have got caught up, first with Rhea Chakraborty and then with Kangana Ranaut. As sections of the media scramble to follow these two actors and what is going on in their lives, other serious issues that are of concern to the country and to the people do not receive the attention they merit.
If one glances at the COVID-19 graph for India, it is only going uphill. India is now the second country after the United States of America in COVID-19 cases, and in the last few days the numbers have been increasing by nearly 90,000 a day and deaths by over a thousand daily. It could well even reach a lakh a day and if these are not figures of concern and no measures are taken to bring them down, the country could even overtake USA that currently is over 20 lakh cases ahead of India. This is serious, but somehow the severity has been glossed over for other stories.
India can, and is taking consolation in the fact that though the the daily increase in cases is among the highest in the world, the total cases when compared with the population, is among the lowest. According to the Centre the number of COVID-19 cases per million population in the country stands at 3,102, while the number of COVID-19 cases per million population in Brazil and the US – countries that are at the number one and number three – is six times higher. Even countries like the United Kingdom, France and Italy that saw a flattening of the COVID curve earlier on, have a higher per million of population cases than India.
The rise in cases, however, remains a matter of concern as the lockdowns and the staggered reopening of sectors has dealt a massive blow to the economy. Almost all sectors have now been allowed to open, even though there has been no tappering of the numbers of COVID-19. The opening was considered a necessity due to the failing economic conditions. This, however, should not give the people the licence to ignore the safety guidelines and the standard operating procedures. One merely has to look at the figures across the world, where the virus has already killed more than 8,70,000 people and infected more than 2.6 crore to realise that it cannot be taken lightly. Though vaccines are in various stages of experimentation and trials, World Health Organization does not expect widespread vaccinations against COVID-19 until mid 2021.
One would have expected that these issues – mainly the rise in COVID-19 cases and the badly falterring economy – would have been what was to be discussed, but instead the country appears to be caught up in debates involving Bollywood actors. It is time to move to the more serious topics that are affecting the life of the common man across the country. The deeds of the actors does not matter to the millions who are struggling due to the lockdown and the falling economy.
The world is not going to recover from the current crisis quickly. What is required is informed debate on who best to handle the current situation and also be able to forecast what could happen in the months ahead. That is what should be the focus. The deeds of individuals and the private life of actors are not important and will not change the fortunes of the economy. Let the focus be on issues that matter, so that India can battle the virus and turn around the economy after the pandemic ends.
