What Could COVID Mean for the Social Fabric of India?

Abstract

The social fabric of India thrives on interdependence, both emotional and economic, within families, relatives and friends. Close physical interactions like living in crowded housing and other places, pushing and jostling are extremely common and are deterrent to ‘social distancing’ as dictated during this pandemic. Despite the lockdown, crowding has been observed in religious places, during travel (e.g. ‘herds’ of migrants on buses), or even while purchasing liquor at the shops. While ‘vertical distancing’ is the cause of inequalities in India, the ‘horizontal distancing’ put in place in the wake of COVID-19 has further exacerbated these inequalities.This article explores the emerged positive and negative outcomes of the pandemic situation that tend to impact the social fabric of the country

Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic, social fabric, citizens

JEL Classification: Z13