Centre for Public Policy hosts talk by Harsh Mander on his book: ‘Burning Pyres, Mass Graves and a State That Failed Its People: India's Covid Tragedy’
22 November, 2023, Bengaluru: “I always try to study how Public Policy impacts society. I try to understand the world from the position of empathy and care, in a bid to build a better world, and that is what I do in this book too, which is a result of intensive research”, said author, and social justice and human rights activist Harsh Mander, during a talk hosted by the Centre for Public Policy (CPP) at IIM Bangalore on his book: ‘Burning Pyres, Mass Graves and a State That Failed Its People: India's Covid Tragedy’, on 22nd November 2023.
Harsh Mander is the author of several acclaimed books on contemporary India, including, ‘Looking Away: Inequality, Prejudice and Indifference in New India’, ‘Ash in the Belly: India’s Unfinished Battle Against Hunger’, ‘Fatal Accidents of Birth: Stories of Suffering, Oppression and Resistance’, ‘This Land Is Mine, I Am Not of This Land: CAA-NRC and the Manufacture of Statelessness’, and ‘Locking Down the Poor: The Pandemic and India’s Moral Centre’.
Prof. Deepak Malghan from the Public Policy area of IIM Bangalore introduced the speaker, and moderated the session as well as the interaction between speaker and the audience that followed the book talk.
Harsh Mander started his talk by reading out excerpts from his book to give an essence of the message he wanted to convey, based on what he said were facts, data and human stories. “A pandemic of this magnitude with all its impact needs to evoke a range of emotions within us. We should not forget all of what happened, so quickly and easily. We need to first grieve individually and collectively to underline that every life lost was of value, followed by a feeling of rage. But most important of all is to continue to hope and build the resolve that crises arising out of such pandemics do not happen again, or at least are curtailed.”
He went on to discuss the country’s Government’s policy choices in dealing with the pandemic, the healthcare measures, migrant crisis, and the sudden shutdown of the economy due to lockdown, and “how the people lived and survived in our country.”
“But in all this – hope stands out. We saw a circle of kindness during the crisis when ordinary citizens rose and worked tirelessly, providing food, supplies, oxygen cylinders and much more for others, risking their own lives, sometimes even in the shadow of death of their loved ones. People of our country went out of their ways to help one another, beyond the realms of caste, religion or any other divide, and such people are our anchors of hope.”
Discussing the learnings from the pandemic, he said Covid also revealed what kind of people we were and what we have become, and the possible moral collapse of a section of the population. “Our feelings of caring for each other may be challenged by external forces, and then loneliness can grow into a pandemic. But we need to leave all that behind and use the pandemic as a portal to rebuild our country to be more just and equal, with solidarity being the backbone. What we need is a moment of civilizational introspection. We have to build a universal social contract because that is the way forward to a caring society. We need to acknowledge that all our destinies are welded together, and we belong to, and with, each other.”
He said in such a place of kindness, if a pandemic were to hit us again, there are several things we would do differently, with regards to planning, protecting businesses, arrangements to deliver food and other supplies to the needy, ensuring seamless delivery of education and healthcare services, and even displaying sensitivity. “And all these to fight such a crisis more effectively and equitably”, he added.
“Solidarity is what will save the day for all of us – it is the moral resolve to take care of each other in the face of every situation or calamity. The collective struggle is our only way to survive as mankind. So, promote fraternity – it is already in our tradition, we just need to reclaim our lost selves.”
Centre for Public Policy hosts talk by Harsh Mander on his book: ‘Burning Pyres, Mass Graves and a State That Failed Its People: India's Covid Tragedy’
22 November, 2023, Bengaluru: “I always try to study how Public Policy impacts society. I try to understand the world from the position of empathy and care, in a bid to build a better world, and that is what I do in this book too, which is a result of intensive research”, said author, and social justice and human rights activist Harsh Mander, during a talk hosted by the Centre for Public Policy (CPP) at IIM Bangalore on his book: ‘Burning Pyres, Mass Graves and a State That Failed Its People: India's Covid Tragedy’, on 22nd November 2023.
Harsh Mander is the author of several acclaimed books on contemporary India, including, ‘Looking Away: Inequality, Prejudice and Indifference in New India’, ‘Ash in the Belly: India’s Unfinished Battle Against Hunger’, ‘Fatal Accidents of Birth: Stories of Suffering, Oppression and Resistance’, ‘This Land Is Mine, I Am Not of This Land: CAA-NRC and the Manufacture of Statelessness’, and ‘Locking Down the Poor: The Pandemic and India’s Moral Centre’.
Prof. Deepak Malghan from the Public Policy area of IIM Bangalore introduced the speaker, and moderated the session as well as the interaction between speaker and the audience that followed the book talk.
Harsh Mander started his talk by reading out excerpts from his book to give an essence of the message he wanted to convey, based on what he said were facts, data and human stories. “A pandemic of this magnitude with all its impact needs to evoke a range of emotions within us. We should not forget all of what happened, so quickly and easily. We need to first grieve individually and collectively to underline that every life lost was of value, followed by a feeling of rage. But most important of all is to continue to hope and build the resolve that crises arising out of such pandemics do not happen again, or at least are curtailed.”
He went on to discuss the country’s Government’s policy choices in dealing with the pandemic, the healthcare measures, migrant crisis, and the sudden shutdown of the economy due to lockdown, and “how the people lived and survived in our country.”
“But in all this – hope stands out. We saw a circle of kindness during the crisis when ordinary citizens rose and worked tirelessly, providing food, supplies, oxygen cylinders and much more for others, risking their own lives, sometimes even in the shadow of death of their loved ones. People of our country went out of their ways to help one another, beyond the realms of caste, religion or any other divide, and such people are our anchors of hope.”
Discussing the learnings from the pandemic, he said Covid also revealed what kind of people we were and what we have become, and the possible moral collapse of a section of the population. “Our feelings of caring for each other may be challenged by external forces, and then loneliness can grow into a pandemic. But we need to leave all that behind and use the pandemic as a portal to rebuild our country to be more just and equal, with solidarity being the backbone. What we need is a moment of civilizational introspection. We have to build a universal social contract because that is the way forward to a caring society. We need to acknowledge that all our destinies are welded together, and we belong to, and with, each other.”
He said in such a place of kindness, if a pandemic were to hit us again, there are several things we would do differently, with regards to planning, protecting businesses, arrangements to deliver food and other supplies to the needy, ensuring seamless delivery of education and healthcare services, and even displaying sensitivity. “And all these to fight such a crisis more effectively and equitably”, he added.
“Solidarity is what will save the day for all of us – it is the moral resolve to take care of each other in the face of every situation or calamity. The collective struggle is our only way to survive as mankind. So, promote fraternity – it is already in our tradition, we just need to reclaim our lost selves.”