The middle class was jubilant that the lock down would end large scale congregations in public places and thus minimize danger of spreading infection. They did not have to worry that the clamp of lock down would make the survival struggle for sixty per cent population that can have food only if they earn on daily basis. The government accepted the oversight 48 hours later by announcing the scheme to supply enough grain free of cost for three months. It was charity programme. The middle class will have to bear the cost as no government can afford expense of Rs. 1.80 lakh crore in a year without causing a huge deficit and without consequences to the total economy.

India is not only country with large proportion of population depending on daily earnings. But added dimension is the caste dignity considerations. Brahmins of Bihar would not perform manual labour jobs in the state but most guards in major towns are Brahmins of Bihar. As the economically backward states are unable to provide employment, many millions have migrated to major cities to work that does not call for specialized skills and require easily adoptable skills to work productively. The migrant workers waited for the administration to deliver promised food even though they were not sure of getting it in hand even though many hoped to manage cooking without the heat generating facilities. After futile wait of a week they began to walk back to their origins. They walked in groups and could not avoid mass contact. Their walk back in large groups for few hundred miles violated the basic objective of the clamp of the lockdown. Did anyone anticipate this exodus? The imposed closure of public transport, bus and rail services suggests that the government did not.

Moved by their plight of families walking with kids in large numbers without enough food stocks, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Aditya Nath Yogi organized free bus facilities for them. The middle class was happy with the humanitarian response without realizing that the humanitarian approach defied the original objective of the lockdown. The gesture clearly exposed the lack of cohesion. The trucks carrying even essential commodities were stopped at borders by many district administrations.

The classic example was the move by the Haryana government not to allow trucks carrying vegetable from Himachal for Delhi only because it did not want to facilitate the Delhi government. The union government did not intervene though the Haryana move was more of punishment to vegetable growers in the BJP ruled Himachal and consumers in Delhi. Prices collapsed in Himachal and soared in Delhi.

The home ministry directive allows several industrial units to restart their productions, especially in special economic zones though the Prime Minister indicated to be engaged in the process of consulting states on whether to end of the lock down on May 3 or continue further. The home ministry directive to partially end the lockdown and start manufacturing activities does not appear to be in consonance with the declared objective of the Prime Minister. However the home ministry directive is also not in consonance with the ground realities as many districts in Red zone cannot resume production for two reasons, one due to local administration’s directives that the units in Red Zones cannot operate and second more valid reason is unavailability of work forces. As the general manager of General Motors says, a car needs 1780 small parts including 27 varieties of screws. All small parts are manufactured in Pune district that remains in Red zone due to high intensity of corona infections. Without small parts car engines cannot be mounted to make cars to run.

Despite the Lock down of 40 days, incidence of corona infection and number of corona deaths continued to be on rise though not as much as in America. The difference in living style, geographic location and climatic conditions between India and America, attitude of Americans to defy the government directives restricting their freedom were cause of wide difference in the corona pandemic. Indian poor did not protest or defy even though the closure of their means of daily earning, rather they preferred to walk down to their home grounds. Various state administrations are contemplating of ways and means to get back their state people stranded in other states. States are already clamouring for more central assistance as their revenue collections have dipped down and yet they want to add to their responsibility by getting back huge lots of their stranded people.

Restart of industrial activities may not prove to be easy. The former governor of the Reserve Bank Raghuram Rajan warned of unemployment of 50 million even after slow restart. The middle class has to expect additional tax burden next year or stoppage of all essential development works to maintain the fiscal deficit within manageable and prescribed limits. Now they find comfort in the lock down though it depleted their reserves and denied the opportunity to earn more through stoppage of all economic activities for two months and due to slow restart.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meanwhile indicating his huge effort to get foreign capital to expand industrial base without explaining why he did not attempt in last three years of his first term. No one has so far succeeded in digging well to get water when throat is dry. It makes apparent that much thought was not devoted to consequences of imposing the clamp on activities of all kinds. No wonder the ruling party appears to be divided and influential part that had welcomed the lockdown as a right step is now clamouring to have his head at their feet so that more unimaginative head can take over.