It needed, unfortunately, a disaster of this scale, and of such deadly consequences, to tell us that the entire human population is a single family. And the earth is our home. For more than a year now all of the humanity is facing a similar challenge, with similar consequences. The ways to meet the challenge are also the same. At many places we have succeeded in breaking the tide, at others we are yet some distance away from accomplishing the task, and at a place like India we are in the middle of the storm. Nevertheless, the idea that this pandemic cannot be fought by different countries separately, if it has to be fought successfully, is gaining ground. The ideas expressed by the UN chief, and even before him by other transnational figures of influence, is an indicator that we are evolving a global consensus over how to fight this pandemic. The understanding of this crisis, and the knowledge about how to overcome it, are the same. Even the methods of application are uniform. What does this teach us? It means that the permanent compartmentalisation of people into race, color, creed and nationality is a hoax. It means that a new global sensibility should take root that a problem faced anywhere by anyone is a problem faced by everyone, everywhere. It teaches us that the current crisis in which people are dying in thousands everyday in India, is not the problem of India alone. It can travel to other parts of the world. And before that, the people living in India do not belong to some other planet. They too are the children of the same Adam and Eve. So the countries and the institutions around the globe need to come forward and help people in India in this hour of dire need. It teaches us that there is no harm in opening up the channels of help and assistance. It also tells us that nation-state is not a construct that can, and that should, define our humanity. After the pandemic is over, and the world is back on rails, it would be interesting to follow how the experiences during this pandemic shape up the global mind.
Future of the global mind
