Will the lockdown in India end on 17 May or will we as a country go deeper into “economic hara-kiri” ? (Anand Mahindra)

The first lockdown was perhaps right. In the fog of war, you have to act decisively till you figure out a course of action. However, post mid-April, we seem to acting more out of fear, than with “systems thinking”.

• A medical professional will interpret his mandate to save lives at any cost.  They are not expected to come up with an economic argument on their recommendations to lock everyone up. However, we need to save livelihoods before the blood bath of job losses commence – business owners and banks don’t pay salaries – customers do (Manish Sabharwal).

• Millions in India die of water-borne diseases, poor primary care, malnutrition and plain neglect. Why has the Indian State chosen to protect us from Covid-19, while not attacking other health issues with equal gusto?

The Central Govt. is now trapped in a crisis which it inherited, but has now willingly escalated.  Its messaging of how “deadly” Covid -19 is, has been picked up by the media, which has found a new tool to spread fear (and attract eye balls).  The pace of opening is now a political issue.  State Govts. will not want to be burdened with the responsibility of deaths while they are happy to pass responsibility on loss of jobs to the Centre.

The average Indian lives perpetually in a crisis. Covid-19 induced misery is no stranger to us. To over-come this, we need a message of hope, courage and equanimity from our PM, and not one of fear and defensiveness.