It is an article about how Indians can defeat coronavirus and it provides the historical proofs.

1. Indians Can Defeat Coronavirus (COVID 19)
Dr. Visweswara Rao. Chenamallu
Abstract
The world fearfully witnesses the merciless Coronavirus and its invasion on all corners of the
globe for the last four months. It started its journey in Wuhan city of China and slowly crept into
other countries making people helpless and hopeless. There is no place untouched by this
transmittable virus on the earth and now the entire world is under the cruel grip of the lethal
virus. Thousands of people died of coronavirus all over the world and uncountable number of
people have been suffering from it. Unfortunately there is no remedy for it and prevention is the
only measurement for avoiding this dangerous virus. It entered India also and the Indian central
government as well as the state governments has taken preventive steps to check coronavirus.
But it slowly spreads all parts of India and people get panic. The aim of this paper is to explain
that Indians can defeat the dangerous virus as they have done with other dangerous viruses in the
past.
Keywords: coronavirus, state of uncertainty, children of victorious people, duties of citizens,
Indians, Precautionary Steps
Introduction
Till a few days back in India people watched the video clippings pertaining to the outbreak of
coronavirus, preventive steps taken by medical and police personnel in the city of Wuhan, China
and made pranks and mockeries on them and shared them with their near and dear making fun
out of the pathetic situations taken place in China. But, the entire Indian nation paid its full
attention and started thinking of COVID 19 seriously only after PM Modi’s 30-minute speech on
19th
of March, 2020 on Coronavirus in which he announced the nation should observe the
Janatha Curfew on 22 March, 2020 as an initiative to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
State of Uncertainty
With the Outbreak of the naval Coronavirus or COVID 19 across the world and its massive
destruction affecting human life, the higher authorities at central level started taking protective
steps as to check the perilous virus which has entered India. As a first and major precautionary
step, the center and the state governments, one after one, ordered to close educational
institutions, shopping malls, cinema theaters, hotels, restaurants, bars, nonessential business
houses and other public and private places where there is a chance of people’s gathering in large
number.

2. Following the instructions our college management also stopped all its functionaries and closed
the institution till the further instructions issued. No one can predict when the further instructions
would come out. Everyone including the young technocrats teaching and nonteaching staff
realised the fact that our country also went into the merciless clutches of the infectious virus. A
sense of fear and graveness entered into everyone’s mind. Everyone on the campus became
gloomy in their minds and suspecting how many of us would return to college when the college
reopened. There were questions like, ‘how many of our students would turn on the opening day?’
Even I was no exception to those feelings. Even at my home, in the streets, on the TVs, in the
newspapers everywhere it is about coronavirus. People were struck by the terror of coronavirus
all over. It seemed a state of chaos and uncertainty.
We are the Children of the Victorious People
In that state of fear and helplessness, a ray of hope struck my mind according to which we,
Indians, could defeat the most hazardous virus. We, Indians, can defeat coronavirus successfully
and survive it because we are the children of victorious people. Every time whenever such a
deadliest pandemic like COVID 19 occurred, our ancestors fought bravely against it and
survived successfully. Being the descendants of such brave and triumphant people, we are not
here to succumb to any calamitous situation. It is the need of the hour to prove ourselves to be
the offspring of the conquering people. We must prove that the blood of the victorious people
run through our veins by waging war against coronavirus and by curbing it effectively.
To understand the victorious path of our ancestors who successfully curbed many epidemics in
last four hundred years and how they became a guided lamp for the present world, we need to
have a peep into the past. It is believed that for every hundred years, there has been an epidemic
occurred in India killing thousands of people. We can comprehend the fact how these epidemics
have taken a heavy toll on not only human life but also economical growth. Plague was the
constant epidemic that hit the world mostly the Central Europe from 1347 to 1720. Eckert
mentioned in his article that there was local plague hit India in the same period of time (Eckert,
1). The Great Plague of Marseille (1720) killed around 100,000 people around the world. The
First Cholera pandemic 1820 (1817-24) in India and South Asia caused for the death of 21,000 to
143,000 people. The 1920 Spanish Flu in India and other countries swept around 100 million
lives (India Today).
Thus it is not the first time that human race faces such calamitous situations and every time we
prove victorious. During these tough and challenging times, as successors of the winning people,
we need to exhibit the same kind of caliber and courage facing this catastrophic coronavirus. It
is noteworthy to mention here in this context that we are fighting against an invisible enemy and
it is a tough fight for now but we need to understand the fact that our ancestors have also fought
against the same kind invisible enemy and of course, they have won their battles every time.
Duties of Citizens

3. The victory over the invisible enemy which cannot be seen with a naked eye is not an easy fight.
We should notice an important point here is that without people's full cooperation, the
government and medical personnel cannot do anything to check the virus. The major
responsibility lay on the shoulders of the people to avoid the spread of coronavirus. Being
responsible citizens, we should to be vigilant in responding to the protective initiatives taken by
either health authorities or some other concerned authorities to check the fatal viral.
In spite of the restrictions laid by the officials against travelling, people see their own ways to
travel from one place to another place (mostly to their native places) by misleading the officials.
We have witnessed an incident in Maharashtra in which some people ventured to travel sitting
inside a milk tank to reach their native place.
It is also observed that as a rule, people who reach their native place from foreign countries or
other places within the country have to inform about their arrival to the officials concerned but
most people do not follow the rules. They keep the information about their arrivals secret. Even
well educated people and VIPs are also not willing to cooperate with health officials in this
regard.
The citizens should be aware of instructions such as the Union government closed all borders of
the country as well as between the states of the Union government imposed nationwide lock
down, ban on all large-scale gatherings, ban on the air travel, a 14 day compulsory quarantine for
those who have travelled from other places and they should undergo thorough medical tests.
It should be understood and remembered that unless we respond accordingly to the various
preventive measures taken to curb the COVID 19, it will become difficult either to you or to me
or to any other person to check the respiratory illness.
Precautionary Steps
People should understand the grave situation that the Coronavirus now is waiting at our doorstep
and the only thing one has to do is not to invite it into one’s home by touching it. Coronavirus is
strange in its characteristics which frequently changes its form and characteristics and it has
become difficult for the doctors and scientist to find an antidote for the virus. If no antidote to
coronavirus is found, prevention is the only way to protect ourselves. It is assumed and hoped
that coronavirus will prevail till mid April or till May first week. The logic behind this
proportion is that coronavirus cannot live in the scorching sun rays during April and May. It is
important to note that forty five or sixty days time is no little time for coronavirus to sweep the
human race away from this globe. The following tips are very useful to slow down or to prevent
the spread of the virus. Though the following tips seem simple, they play vital role in containing
coronavirus.

4. The past epidemics proved that social distancing help a lot in preventing the spread of epidemic
particularly communicable diseases. Here is no exception for that in the matter of coronavirus.
So, maintain social distance not only in public but also among the members of family.
Quarantine and isolation play vital role in preventing the spread of any disease. People who are
kept in isolation feel anxiety, boredom, stress, fear, guilt and there are incidents that such mental
conditions will lead to committing suicide. It is the responsibility of the people who around them
to take care of them and take care not to rise such feelings in them (Mukesh Rawat). Self-
discipline, self restriction, self-motivation and mental and physical preparedness are highly
required in this regard.
Self-help is the best help for you in these days. How can you help yourself? The answer is very
simple. You need to follow the instructions and precautions given by the governments, Health
organisations, doctors and the authorities of the law and order.
Another important precautionary is that one must inform their health provider if they are
suffering from fever, cough and/or difficulty in breathing. Strictly follow the instructions or the
guidelines given by the health authority or any other authority.
Other precautionary steps suggested by the WHO and other health organisations are listed below:
Wash your hands often and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid travelling unless it is very necessary and wear gloves and mask whenever you go out.
If you do not have handkerchief, cough into your elbow- not into your palms.
Don’t touch your face and others’ without washing your hands properly.
Lock down yourself in your home: have enough household items and groceries on hand and get
the necessary medicine using a mail-order option.
Keep the surfaces tidy and clean and disinfect the frequently touched surfaces daily.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick and maintain at least three feet distance between
yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
Avoid extreme body temperature and drinking water very often is one solution to this problem.
Persons of above 70 years and below 10 years and people suffering from diabetes must stay at
home.
Practice respiratory hygiene which is very necessary to overcome coronavirus.
References

5. Ajai Sreevatsan, Why 1918 matters in India’s corona war, Livemint, https://www.
livemint.com/news/world/why-1918-matters-in-india-s-corona-war-11584033795146.html,
Updated: 13 Mar 2020, Retrieved: 23-03-2020.
Eckert, E.A., The Structure of Plagues and Pestilences in Early Modern Europe. Central Europe,
1560-1640. Basel, Karger, 1996, pp 1-8.
Mukesh Rawat, Coronavirus pandemic and mental health: How we can help people in
quarantine, India Today, https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/coronavirus-outbreak-covid19-
cases-quarantine-mental-health-1652639-2020-03-05?utm_source=recengine&utm_medium=
web&referral=yes&utm_content=footerstrip-1, Updated: March 22, 2020, Retrieved: 23-03-
2020.
Sonali Acharjee, Pandemics of the Past | India Today Insight, India Today,
https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/coronavirus-pandemics-of-the-past-
1656730-2020-03-18, Updated: March 18, 2020, Retrieved: 25-03-2020.
From 1720 to 2020: How pandemics have threatened humanity every 100 years in India Today,
https://www.indiatoday.in/coronavirus-outbreak/photo/from-1720-to-2020-how-pandemics-
have-threatened-humanity-every-100-years-1659159-2020-03-24.
In 1720 plague, 1820 cholera outbreak, 1920 Spanish Flu, 2020 Chinese coronavirus--What is
happening in The News, https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/629878-in-1720-plague-1820-
cholera-outbreak-1920-spanish-flu-2020-chinese-coronavirus-what-is-happening, Updated:
March 16, 2020, Retrived: 24-03-2020.
BIODATA OF DR. VISWESWARA RAO. CHENAMALLU

6. Dr. Visweswara Rao. Chenamallu, Associate Professor of English and Author working with
Dept. of English, Raghu Institute of Technology, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, has
twenty one years of teaching experience and has authored two books and thirteen papers. Other
areas of his interest are English Communication Skills, Soft Skills, English Literature, Social
Psychology and Personality Development.
vissuenglish@gmail.com, 9492018580