10 June 2020, NIICE Commentary 5289
Dr. Rajkumar Singh
The effect of COVID-19 has not been equal on all segments of the society. As it is a condition of people who are most deprived in the social structure, it hurts them who are easily vulnerable to viruses and other diseases. In this category we can put several kinds of work force, engaged in agricultural, household works, migrant workers, moving from one place to another and poor settlers of urban and rural areas. Even the experiences of countries don’t match with each other as they all belong to different status of health system management. Health of an individual is closely attached to the health facilities provided to them by the government and other relevant agencies. Especially for developing countries like India which is facing the problem of over- population with worried form of its density, an easy solution is easier to say, but very difficult to find. For the want of resources, they are bound to bear the pain of hunger and starvation which ultimately result in death in the absence of proper health facilities and money power. In addition, it is also a testing time for the privileged class, being a soft victim of the pandemic, to come forward and help the needy to save their life .
Economic Survey and Status of Cities
Alike other countries of the world, several economic surveys have been conducted in India from time to time. As per an estimate of 2018-19, about 93 percent of the workforce are engaged in informal or the unorganised sector. From earlier this major portion of population was working in different agencies/ factories for their livelihood but without any security measures, which means with high risk of life for himself and the family he is attached to. In this situation, the long period of lockdown and opening of the economy has slowly pushed them in a further phase of distress and uncertainty. In several industrial cities, medium and lower size of factories which made a large variety of essential goods were forced to shut down due to the existing pandemic, leaving the workforce in lurch. The workers, engaged in those establishments have either lost their jobs or are bound to be on leave without pay. Both these situations are very painful, especially for those who don’t have any alternative means of resources to support the family expenditures. No availability of any source of income has compelled them to leave the place they have made and created, if not forever, surely, for the time being.
With the rise in population, there has also been an increase in the number of domestic workers in the country from 740 thousand in the year 1991 to 162 thousand in 2001. In the lot of the most sufferers, as earlier, the marginalised Dalits and Scheduled Tribes are inlcuded. This group whenever opposed or gave a call to strike against their masters’ exploitation and low wage payment, were expected to lose their job with layers of threatening. Even in this context, women are the worst-hit victims.
Caste Composition and Wealth Distribution
In a hierarchical society like India, the middle class and upper middle class play a dominating role. It was made clear in a study conducted recently by the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies (IIDD), who concluded that around 22 percent upper castes are prevalent in the middle class which occupy about 41 percent of national wealth. Next to them is the position of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) who positions 36 pecent of the total population and 31 percent of the country’s wealth. In the structure of the middle class, the SCs and STs are mostly underrepresented and their voices are crushed on regular basis. In the present circumstances, this group is alienated especially because they are out of the Public Distribution System (PDS) which provides help under different schemes of the government. Hence, the group of migrant workers are not getting either cash or food security at local level. The laws made for their safety and security – the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act (2008) and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, enacted in 2013, are although effective, but not implemented strictly and honestly. Thus, all hopes during this time are from the government side which is trying to do its best. As the graph of domestic violence is rising by the day, it has also increased the worry of human rights workers and they are pressuring the authority to implment.
Status of Gender Equality
In the whole socio-economic set up of India and especially during COVID-19, the women of the society are in distress. On the one hand, they have lost their jobs due to the lockdown to control the pandemic, closure of schools and colleges have increased the domestic work pressures. In comparison to men, they are suffering more and are bound to perform the work related to cooking, cleaning and childcare, along with the issue of domestic violence and sexual abuse. As the position of COVID-19 is increasing vastly in India, the women of the society are most prone to exposure. In government hospitals and private clinics, where Corona patients are treated, the main burden of caretaking is on the lady health workers. They fully take care of them, taking health risks for them and their families. Several available data also indicate clearly the pitiable condition of women in the society, a general shame for all of us.
