నైరూప్య

Covid-19 Challenges and Opportunities

Dr. Awadhesh Kumar Dubey

Human beings right from the Paleolithic age have not only been accepting diverse challenges but also been able to surmount it successfully. It is due to these challenges the human history starting from the stone age has entered in to a digital age. Every age coming with eliminating threats to humanity has empowered us with new lesson in the treasury of knowledge. The Challenges have motivated and spurred our innovation. The competition between the challenges and mankind is still going on with each trying to outsmart the other. Beginning with the food crisis and passing through mountains and oceans, deserts and ice lands, floods and famines, world wars and terrorism, space and stars, capitalism and class conflict it has entered into more delicate zones like pollution, illiteracy, poverty, recession with pandemic being its ultramodern face. The micro, the invisible, the 200th part of a dot is the latest challenge which has traumatized the entire world. The developed and the developing, the rich and the poor, the powerful and the meek, the profound and the ignorant are all humbled by the microbe. This is the toughest challenge that we are going to fight with as the deadly virus is novel and we have no weapons or only few weapons like Corona Vaccine (i.e. Under Trail phases). The Enemy is invisible and without any mala fide intention. The pathetic picture of bare footed hungry returning migrant laborers, helpless doctors and overcrowded mortuaries, locked down big and small industries, standing still means of transportation, adverse geared economy, sine die closure of academic institutions may appear the enemy getting an edge over us. Howsoever adverse situations may be, but the ultimate victory belongs to human being. It will give a big blow to all our established customs and institutions. The age old ideals that we have been living with – ‘social creature’ ‘community’ ‘togetherness’ are shattered into ‘quarantine’ ‘isolation’, containment and ‘social distancing’. United we stand and divided we fall is reversed into divided we live and united we die. Everest problem is replaced by paradoxical corona problem. Like the previous challenges it also will add some new lessons while demolishing others. Every system and each concept have to be rejuvenated as per the dictates of the virus. The post corona world will no doubt be the same as before corona. The challenges have to be converted in to opportunities. Medicine and medical equipment are the urgent demands which must be grabbed with both hands. Helping hands extended by the nation companies in this hour of crisis compel us to rethink about ‘Swadeshi’. Work from home, online classes, selfdependence, village empowerment, cleanliness, boosting immunity with ‘Ayurveda’, returning to our roots etc. have the immense possibilities which should be explored. Corona centric feelings and expressions are going to enrich literature with new lexicorona, covidioms and coronalogy. With China being the corona culprit, India is now emerging as epicenter for investment and MNCs. My paper is focusing on the roots for providing the new opportunities to middle class families, who were lost their jobs, not once but twice (Firstly on First Wave and then after the new wave make him hopeless). It is rightly to be said that ‘after a dark night, a fresh morning came’. My Socio-economic study must be helping them for searching their livelihood and standing on future. For such objective my current research is originated.