De Corona-crisis heeft de regering van India er toegebracht voor grote delen van het immense land een lockdown af te kondigen.

De beurs van New Delhi was er niet blij mee.

Zoals India ook wel de grootste democratie ter wereld wordt genoemd, zo is hiermee ook de grootste lockdown ter wereld in gegaan. De maatregel is voorlopig voor een week:

The economy has come to a screeching halt as residents in 75 districts across the country, including in major cities, such as the capital New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore have been forced into mandatory quarantine by the government until March 31.

Waar men in India niet aan doet is van die halfslachtige pogingen tot overreding waarin de Nederlandse regering excelleert. Van wie men denkt dat hij of zij lijdt aan het virus krijgt een stempel met een vooralsnog onuitwisbare inkt.

And now, as if the coronavirus containment scenes from around the world weren’t dystopian enough, the disturbing imagery continues in India, where those suspected of having the coronavirus are now being given hand stamps, according to Reuters.

Bovendien worden hun telefoons gebruikt om te controleren of ze binnenshuis blijven:

The same people are also being tracked using their mobile phones and personal data in order for the government to help enforce quarantines. The tracking effort raises obvious questions about both privacy and mass surveillance.

Een inbreuk po privacy? Absoluut. Aan de andre kant:

Archana Valzade, under secretary in Maharashtra’s health department said: “We found people who were stamped and were traveling. They had signed a self-declaration that they will not travel because they could be carriers of coronavirus. It is their duty as well to stop the infection. Stamping is essential and very useful to reduce the spread.”
Amar Fettle, who is heading the coronavirus control team in Kerala said: “People have been jumping quarantine and it has been a challenge to track them. But we have formed hundreds of squads, including policemen to track and ensure people follow the norms.”
Hospital physician Armida Fernandez concluded: “As a doctor who has worked in the public health service and in the community, I find people are not realizing the seriousness of the pandemic. Knowing the situation of public health in India and that we are dealing with 1.3 billion people … I am for the steps the government is taking.”

De Indiase regering lijkt vastbesloten deze aanpak te volbrengen.

Even his word choice left little ambiguity: “To save India and every Indian, there will be a total ban on venturing out,” Modi said Tuesday.

Formeel begon deze lockdown woensdagochtend pas, maar er werd op veel plaatsen al eerder de hand aan gehouden. In algemene zin lijkt het tot nog toe aardig te werken:

Al is de handhaving niet altijd even subtiel:

Indian police enforcement #StayHome pic.twitter.com/bTUaf5wbqB

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) March 24, 2020

Veel Indiërs hadden al eerder besloten dat de deur uitgaan op dit moment weinig verstandig is:

Nearly a billion Indians stayed indoors on Sunday.

India's 14-hour #coronavirus lockdown — in pictures https://t.co/j6MuwLiw3i pic.twitter.com/q2xVzvP5wH

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 22, 2020

De Indiase economie wordt al een paar maanden beschouwd als in slechte staat. Buitenlands investeerders trekken dan ook aan hun stutten:

It was only earlier this month that India organized a rescue plan for the nation’s fourth-largest private bank as a long-running crisis among shadow lenders threatened to spill over into the banking system.
With a nationwide lockdown underway, India’s economy could be on the brink of a significant downturn that would be absolutely devastating for the Modi government.

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