DEMOCRATIC OR AUTOCRATIC APPROACH TO CONTAIN COVID-19?

Reasons Bhutan coming up with more and more aggressive measures with a near lockdown approach should be construed from the aspect of alarming rise in the numbers of Covid-19 cases in Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a small European country with a population well over 600,000. For now, its neighbour Russia is very well managing under Putin despite its size and population. China, populated in a billion and epicenter of the outbreak, have showcased that they have been the best in this disease management. Why then Italy, European nations and the US are struggling to do so? 

Well, if we look at this scenario, it’s the system of the Government that matters now. In my opinion, it’s clearly about the contest of democracy versus autocratic systems. Does riding illogically on democratic rights around this time matter? Our best neighbor India under the leadership of Ap PM Modi is yet to test the deep underwater current of the world’s largest democracy in the way of tackling this deadly virus. Can he be as effective as Putin’s Russia and Xi’s China? Will the Government structure and economic situation of India not hinder implementation of desperate measures? If not, our region will see the biggest catastrophe in a couple of months with increasing collateral damages from Covid-19 ebbing cases in India. 

From this perspective, it’s must that good citizens of India listen to their own Government now more than ever and so do we to ours. As citizens of democracies, we very well deserve freedom but let us not ride on it when the world is fighting a global pandemic collectively. Give a break to democratic rights and immunities until the world becomes a better place to live without coronovirus.

For the citizens of Bhutan, if Luxembourg is experiencing such an alarming rise in the number of Covid-19 cases with eight deaths so far, we are certainly susceptible as they are and the consequences are no different from each other. Both the countries are small in population and countries like us cannot afford to lose a single person out of negligence. We must follow the Government’s directions as religiously as possible as if we are an autocratic system though we are not and we can never be.

Due to our porous border with India, there is no room for complacency now. Bhutan would have long contained rabies deaths but we couldn’t yet and the reason being our porus border with India. Similarly, to contain Covid-19, the Government must shut down the border gates until the situation normalizes.