Thursday | 16 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Thursday | 16 January 2025 | Epaper

Corona’s violence, God’s residence

Published : Thursday, 27 August, 2020 at 12:00 AM  Count : 550
Chinmay Prasun Biswas
Deadly corona virus has disrupted the whole world during last few months. Some people strongly believe that it is a curse from almighty god whereas others think that it is nothing but a terrible disease. This debate is unpleasant but certainly there are similarity and difference between God and corona virus. Like God corona virus is also invisible and has become highly powerful. Irrespective of age and sex, social status, caste and creed corona virus considers everyone equally and here lies the difference between these two. Class character corona virus may be termed as socialistic.                                               

Social structure here and in the west is capitalistic. Coming in contact with capitalist corona virus has lost its socialist character. Pressure of sufferings from corona pandemic is more on the poor than people of upper class. Take protein, stay home and remain protected, such publicity is going on from different sides to create awareness among people. These foods will increase immunity of human body and corona virus will be defeated. Sources of protein are fish, meat, milk, egg, peanu are obviously costly.

For the sake of argument we can say that middle or lower middle class people may arrange these even through hardship but what about the poor? Some people say that lentil contains protein. No doubt. One, whose only paraphernalia is coarse rice, his last resort of protein is nothing but lentil. No specialist's prescription is required for it.

Are these people included in the range of any publicity? Language of publicity gives no such indication. Here lies a similarity between God and corona virus because both exist but invisibly. Unless any peculiar situation arises nobody speaks or feels for them. As they are not organised society and state are always indifferent to them.       

God must be a resident of gentlemen's area. Manik Bandopadhay has portrayed a very realistic pen picture of poverty stricken lower class people of Bengal. In his famous novel Padma Nadir Majhi (published in 1936) he has written -"God lives in that gentlemen's village. He can't be found out here." Cyclone or rain, the poor fishermen are the worst sufferers. Even after 84 (2020 - 1936) years, God has not changed his abode. Leaving the comfort of gentlemen's village (read locality) he has never come down to visit his ultra poor children though slums are adjacent to sky scrappers. Gentlemen are storing oxygen, medicine and food turning their houses into food godowns, pharmacies and hospitals.

Gentlemen are still propagating that the poor have one kind of immunization which protects them from massive corona attack. Is it so? The rich are confined to their homes but the poor were swarming towards Dhaka on feet like insects some days ago. What invisible rope dragged them and why? Cows for sacrifice are brought to Dhaka by truck or train but these people are not fortunate like cows.

Socially they are ranked below animals. No God is with them. Who will bear the expenses if they fall ill? Instances need not be multiplied and this is the crude reality of millions of ultra poor. Statistics of death shows the number but their financial status remain unknown. If any survey exposes that most of the infected persons are from gentlemen's area, it does not end the topic. Gentlemen are more affluent with better opportunity of treatment but what about the poor and ultra poor living without minimum medical facility? Who will conduct that survey?               

Many people are leaving big cities. Life of middle class is already toppled. Lower class people are under serious crisis. They have no work, no earning. Savings is exhausted or at the bottom. How farmers, day labourers, porters, weavers, fishermen, potters sex workers, housemaids will maintain their families? Though not directly, these bottom dwellers of society like Kuber of Padma Nadir Majhi, also pay tax. Owners of big business get incentive out of their money but they are never included in incentive package.                 

Trickle down and trickle up (may sound absurd) is a big headache of state. Rescue ship pulls out a drowned vessel. Money of common people is spent for private industries. In this way rich businessmen preserve profit for themselves and shift the burden of loss upon the slender shoulders of the poor. What they get from the government is nothing but a cow's footprint. Mountain high wealth of capitalism never changes the fade of the poor. Poverty is never removed and never will be. So, trickle down is replaced by trickle up. State will have to look after the interest of the lower class and ultra poor. They are to be brought at the centre of development.

From time immemorial development has flowed from top to bottom but the poor are revolving within a nexus and are being victims of a systematic deprivation in the name of development. Now time has come to follow the bottom up system. Root draws food from ground and makes the tree strong. Bottom holds the pyramid straight. So, crores of poor people are to be considered as the main target of development.    

Change never comes automatically, it is to be brought. For want of money the poor can't buy higher education, nutritious food and treatment and die early. Rich people are also dying of corona virus but they have the ability to get treatment. How long this disparity will continue? It is time to drag God out of the gentlemen's area.         

Corona virus is neutral but structure of society and state is not so. That is why two policies are followed and the poor become scapegoat. The neutral no longer remains neutral. Though written by poet Nazrul, death is not the equaliser now. Indranath in Srikanta said, "What to do with the caste of a corpse?" Reality is reverse now. They have been proved wrong because incentive for government officials have been declared. If a government employee dies of or is attacked by corona then his/her family or he/she will get compensation ranging from Tk. 5 to 50 lakhs depending on pay scale probably because they are gentlemen. But what about others who are beyond pay scale? They are living just like dead and are being sacrificed in the festival of capitalism.

Corona virus changes its character frequently. Declaring themselves as corona free, nine countries are offering alternative residence against investment there starting from Tk. 15 crore. Many people in Bangladesh are wealthy enough to avail this opportunity. God is believed to be almighty and merciful but where lies his might during this pandemic? Not mercy but medicine cures a disease. Being powerless to prevent corona he is also looking for such alternative residence because so called gentlemen's areas are no more safe. So, better to escape.  
The writer is a former
Commissioner of Taxes




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