Years ago
You imposed lockdown
On our actions
Aspirations
Choices
Voices….
You imposed lockdown
On our thoughts
Our minds
Our movements
Our expressions ….
We were ‘socially’ distanced
Discriminated
Oppressed
Repressed….
Now you are promoting ‘social’ distancing
Instead of explaining ‘physical’ distancing
Paving way to convince people of tradition
Glorifying caste system and its logical coronation ….
Your lockdown of stay safe and stay home
Helped elite employees ‘work from home’
Stars posing selfies with kitchen wares,
Broom -sticks and cutting knives
Serving ‘chai’ to posh-looking wives …
Your lockdown broke the back of workers
Jobs lost resulting in suicide of daily wage earners
Increasing risk to the manual labourer cleaning sewage
And clearing roadside as well as domestic garbage
Migrants walking miles without transport
Dying on the way without official report
Children succumbing to malnutrition and hunger
Women exhausted of journey and unable to walk any longer
Open the hardened lock of go-down and granary
Stuffed with food grains rotting to people experiencing jittery
Down with your system of hypocrisy !
Full of misinformation double standards policy!
Sheshu Babu is a poet and political commentator
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Sheshu Babu, thanks.