Social Impact of COVID-19 First Wave in India: Issues and Challenges

Abstract

The Government of India announced its nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 first wave in Indian society. It urged people for major behavioural changes of wearing mask, maintaining physical distance, preventing social gathering, work from home, and frequent hand washing. However, these lockdown restrictions gave rise to various social issues and social challenges. Against this backdrop, this article examines the major social impact of COVID-19 first wave under the theoretical framework of social inequality and social upheaval. This study unfolds that COVID-19 has not only widened the social inequalities between the rich and the poor but also paved the way for poverty, unemployment, starvation, domestic violence and unorganised workers. It forced nearly 400 million people into poverty while the unemployment rate was unprecedented from April to September 2020 in the last four decades. The non-universalisation of public distribution system and the bereft financial package posed challenges to people against starvation. The rate of domestic violence is unusual and such magnitudes of complaints have not been reported in the last decade. The unorganised workers lost their jobs, income and lives due to lack of social support, abject poverty and political reasons.