Rakesh

  ‘Social endosmosis’ is what is needed right now... We need a free exchange of ideas and experiences of all social groups and they're coming together for a common agenda to fight the disease. Empathy and solidarity are the cornerstones of social endosmosis. ‘Social distancing’ in India is turning a crisis into an opportunity to widen societal inequalities. Recently, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court of India to issue directions to discontinue the use of the term ‘social distancing’ in government circulars because of its connotation to the centuries-old practice of ‘untouchability, and replace it with ‘physical distancing’, ‘individual distancing’ or ‘disease distancing’. However, the Supreme Court  disposed  of the petition without making any order on the plea and thus, chose to be insensitive and apathetic towards those in the lower rung of the society. Social distancing finds familiarity in India as it mirrors the age-old custom of social stratification of lo...