The fog bursts and a NEW world rises

 

 

The Corona virus has cast its ominous spell worldwide. The whole world is going through a serious crisis. There is a lot of confusion, instability, and fear everywhere. Lockdowns, curfews, statistics of new infections and deaths is all we are hearing of. Life has come to a standstill.

 

When will all this stop? We all have the question of when life will resume to normalcy. Unfortunately, no one really has the answer at the moment. The whole world is facing this crisis together, keeping aside their, differences, grievances and discrimination. All the major nations are in constant touch with each other and are conducting research to find a permanent remedy to prevent and cure COVID-19. According to experts, it will take at least 18-20 months to find a suitable remedy. Thereafter it will take another 6-12 months to develop a vaccine on the same. In short, it will take another 2-3 years to completely overcome the corona crisis. But what do we do until that happens?

 

The only effective solution at present is to break the corona chain by maintaining social distancing. Social distancing, like all other social measures, is easier said than done, more so, in a country the size of India. Although difficult, it is not impossible, looking at India’s proven track record of facing several such crises and epidemics and overcoming them successfully. No doubt COVID-19 poses a great challenge to India; however we are sure that we, as a nation will emerge victorious in this battle.

 

The media is flooded with news and statements about the Corona war. When we talk about the war it’s obvious that the soldiers will definitely be at the forefront. The strategy of every war is different, and so are the soldiers. In this war against corona, soldiers are not necessarily the ones dressed in khakis. Rather they are found in the form of our doctors, nurses, health workers, hygiene workers, police and the likes, who are risking their lives, and those of their families, in order to safeguard the nation. In a war-torn situation, we all wish to contribute in some way. Though it is not possible for everyone to fight a battle by landing on the actual battlefield, we can make a huge contribution by staying at home, and not leaving without having an urgent need. In fact, this should be seen as a golden opportunity to be in the comfort of your home, surrounded by your family and loved ones. This is a chance to spend quality time with them, which we rarely find, in our otherwise fast-paced lives. Try connecting with relatives and friends over the phone, video calls, and revive old memories. This is also an opportunity to pursue your talents and give justice to your hobbies. I have never had such an opportunity till now and I don't think there is any chance of getting it again because once the black clouds of crisis lift themselves, we will have to run a lot, run fast and it is best to keep up tremendous strength and energy required to do so. 

 

All this while, we must not forget to do our bit by cooperating with the administration. Of course, COVID-19 has caused a major disaster in the world. But sometimes good things happen out of bad ones. Same can also be said about this disaster, for, something similar is about to happen for India. The corona virus originated in China and has wreaked havoc across the world. 

 

 

 

Nearly 203 countries globally, have been affected by the virus, and are suffering serious consequences. The worst hit are the United States, Spain, Italy, and China. Realizing the impending threat, India seems to have managed to keep the Corona crisis under control to a large extent by implementing immediate and effective austerity measures. Shortly before the outbreak of the virus, there were predictions of a global recession. The lockdowns declared in several country will further decelerate economic activity and add fuel the recession. It won’t be wrong to say that another Great Depression is looming overhead. All of this will have a very serious impact on the world economy and will have far-reaching consequences.

 

When the corona virus originated in China, China did not devise effective measures against it. Moreover, they concealed many references, and did not give other nations timely and accurate information. Many such serious allegations are currently being hurled at China. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been accused by several nations of indirectly encouraging China's misguided policies by not handling the issue properly. Now it will be very interesting to see how all these developments affect India.

 

China's suspicious handling of the Corona crisis has angered many major nations, including the United States, India, Japan, Spain, Germany, Italy, Korea, Great Britain, Israel, and the Gulf. As a result, many countries are more likely to divert their businesses from China. In fact, Japan is preparing to pull out of China at a cost of $ 2 billion. India, which has established very good relations with all the major nations and is heading towards becoming a superpower, can certainly be considered as a viable alternative to China. One of the recent positive and important events that every Indian is proud of is India's export of medicines to other developed nations. It is indeed laudable, that in spite of such a crisis, our forex reserves increased. There is no doubt that India is being applauded everywhere and this will definitely benefit India. As the Corona crisis gradually subsides, many such developments will take place at the international level. Foreign investment in India will increase, giving an impetus to employment. Tourism will also increase, and so on.

 

All this will happen gradually, when things develop at the international level. But as far as India is concerned, each one of us can easily play a significant role in getting India's economy back on track as soon as possible through simple and small actions. In the post-Corona world, we all need to make a decision – whatever we will buy it will be made in India. We will not accept foreign-made goods, especially China-made goods or services. During the days of lockdown, we all have realised one thing for sure – that we can actually survive on much lesser money, goods and services than we think. There is nothing wrong with not having comforts and luxuries. But the more important lesson is to realise that, no multinational company came to our aid during this difficult time. No online marketing company could meet my daily needs. All the essential groceries, medicines, vegetables, fruits and my other daily needs were met by the shopkeepers on the corner. It is now our duty to support them firmly. 

 

 

 

Once we decide to reject foreign-made goods and start buying only India-made goods, every shopkeeper will automatically start selling only make in India goods. As demand increases, so will production. This will give a boost to employment thus result in an improvement in the Indian economy.

 

I would like to put forth another very important thought that comes to mind. I urge you to give it a serious thought. There are signs of great changes in many important things in the social environment – festivals, celebrations, meetings, lectures, events, daily necessities, business, travel, lifestyle, sports types. We need to develop a mindset to accept those changes in the post-Corona world, with an open mind. We will definitely have to make changes in our typically structured life, job, business. Depending on the changing needs and demands of the customers, you may have to make some changes in your business. So, my dear fellow countrymen, utilise this time you have on hand, to plan and gear up for the future. It will be up to us to make the most of the opportunities that are available, rather than fearing the new challenges that will come our way. If we accept these changes with a positive mindset and change ourselves accordingly, we are sure to succeed.