It is that time of the year when we do stock-taking of the year gone by, and for those of us in the media, we pick a Newsmaker of the Year. Unfortunately, the newsmaker is still the coronavirus or more specifically the horrid Delta variant that ravaged so many homes and lives. And if we’re looking for a positive role, then surely we will have to take into account our healthcare workers and the vaccine-makers. Of the two, perhaps Adar Poonawala gets an edge for as Sanjay Jha pointed out on Roundtable recently, Poonawala is responsible for 80% of our vaccinations as well as the fact that he went into a tie-up with AstraZeneca well before the second wave and without much government support. It was he who kept the stocks replenished until Bharat Biotech got its act together.
But, what if we do a reverse stocktaking and take into account those who were missing in action. Those who should have taken charge and become newsmakers especially in a crisis of such magnitude, but were missing. That is when we shift our focus to the role played by our government and the opposition. Both were more or less missing when we needed them the most. At that time, when there was a shortage of oxygen cylinders, hospital beds and essential medicines, the system should have stepped in, and that is when it failed us.
In fact, that was the biggest learning curve for most of us but especially for Delhi’s Middle Class that is so fond of stating—don’t you know who I am and who all I know? In those dreadful summer months of April and May 2021 it did not matter which politician or industrial house you were connected to, you still could not get a bed in a hospital for your family. In the end, it was not your contacts that came through for you, but the kindness of neighbours, RWAs, Whats App connects and strangers like Sonu Sood. We also saw some good where earlier there had been so much hate—the social media. Suddenly it was not a vicious world where one was trolled and abused but a web of extended family that reached out and helped you find that plasma donor or that elusive Remdesivir. In times of crisis, the virtual world passed the test.
And when we are counting citizen power how can we ignore the farmers, who braved both the weather and the government to stand their ground. The government may give whatever spin it wants to for the rollback on the controversial farm laws. But in the end, it was the indomitable spirit that won the day; and also sent out a powerful message, that there is still space for dissent in India’s democracy.
Politically of course one cannot ignore Mamta Bannerjee who won the Bengal election and is now seeking a larger role for herself. As the year ends, the political theatre has shifted northwards, to Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand that are going to the polls (as well as Goa and Manipur). But that is for next year. However, the high stakes involved have ensured that at least the politicians have begun to show up once again. And so while Omicron looms large over our New Year celebrations, we are at least armed with the promise of booster doses and (hopefully) a more comprehensive vaccination plan than last summer.