Manikya Manaswini Week 7

We are all aware that Ambedkar had a big hand in the struggle to unveil the evils of casteism. But, despite this struggle by him and many other Dalit leaders we see no change in the scenario today or perhaps it has worsened. The year 2020 has not been easy on any of us but most definitely has had a worse impact on the poor and marginalized. The privileged may not realize the implications of using words like “social distancing” but the marginalized do because they experienced it, being socially distanced and isolated.
The lockdown has had a drastic effect on the informal sector, driving daily wage earners into unemployment and their families into poverty with nothing left to eat. How were daily wage workers who live off of their daily wages and have absolutely no savings to be capable of storing groceries for their families during this lockdown expected to survive?
The society is shaped in such a manner that it has left this section vulnerable to not only the spread of Covid-19 but also the dormant unjust treatment, in the name of “social distancing”, by the other classes. The strategy for epidemic management needs to be changed to ensure that it’s not colored with class bias.

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