The Need for Empathy: Understanding India's COVID-19 Lockdown (with Kalpana Kannabiran)

RightsUp: The Oxford Human Rights Hub Podcast

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of us in many ways. States around the world have imposed restrictions of varying levels of stringency to control the spread of the virus. The Central Government in India introduced a nationwide 21-day lockdown on 24th of March 2020. The lockdown saw an almost complete restriction on the movement of people and the closure of all establishments except those providing essential services. India’s lockdown has been described as the world’s biggest coronavirus lockdown and the harshest coronavirus containment measure in the world. The lockdown was declared with a four-hour notice period. It has been extensively reported that the impact of the lockdown has fallen most heavily on those most vulnerable. In this episode, we speak to Professor Kalpana Kannabiran, a professor of sociology and the Director of the Council for Social Development Hyderabad, about the Indian government's response to the pandemic and the impact on rights.

Full transcript and shownotes: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/media/the-need-f…pana-kannabiran/

Interview with: Kalpana Kannabiran (Council for Social Development Hyderabad)
Hosted by: Gauri Pillai
Produced and edited by: Christy Callaway-Gale
Executive producer: Kira Allmann
Shownotes: Sarah Dobbie
Music: Rosemary Allmann