Novel Coronavirus: An Opportunity in Remaking History

Pandemics really are threats to human civilization as they ravage lives of people and animals, spread horror and terror throughout the society and paralyze the whole human world. They make human life troublesome and pathetic compelling people to live in fear and doubt every moment. Moreover, Pandemics are endemic; no single corner of the world is unaffected by them. With very short time of their beginning, they rampantly hook the world. They are severe in the globalized world like today. Prevention, treatment and control are very difficult as Corona Virus Pandemic today. They can lead the world to the collapse of human civilization. Therefore, pandemics are certainly the dangers for the human world.

Looking from the other side, Pandemics can provide opportunity to remake history. They offer chances to people to think, behave and live life differently. Furthermore, they can advance and civilize the human world differently. Let’s look at the proverb: ‘Necessity is mother of invention’. It means when there is a problem, there is a solution. The great problems and the dreadful casualties not only leave the deep stigma but also open up so many alternative ways of living life teaching great lessons to the people. Like the previous pandemics, this Corona Pandemic has opened up ample opportunities to the human world which can lead to remaking human history and civilization.

Pandemics and Opportunities in the History

Pandemics come up with the origin of human race. We have heard that Maya civilization of Central America, Indus civilization of Indian Subcontinent, Anasazi civilization of North America, Cahokia civilization of Mexico, Esater Island civilization of Latin America, etc. have vanished today. The reasons may be any- some pandemics and some others. But the fact is they are not in existence today. They have been totally disappeared. But they have given us great lessons to live our life differently today. From their realities, we are living in today’s capitalistic advanced civilization of the twenty first century.

In the Medieval period, there was a pandemic called Black Death (1346-1353) which originated from rat flea, tolled around 75-200 million people in Europe, Africa and Asia. It destroyed lives of people troubling human lives. But, it also provided opportunities of research, industrialization, scientific invention, man-centric philosophy and getting mastery over nature in the Renaissance period (1485-1660). Similarly, the plague in 1665 killed 100,000 people in London. It also provided opportunities to the Londoners to advance themselves in art, literature, philosophy, science and commerce. Likewise, the Third Cholera Pandemic (1852-1860) originated in India killed 1 million people spreading in Asia, Europe, North America and Africa. It was not only disastrous but also an eye opening to people to the health and research sector. People started focusing on sanitation thereafter. Also, the Flu Pandemic (1889-1890), which is also called Asiatic Flu or Russian Flu originated in Turkestan, took lives of 1 million people. But it also opened up opportunities like scientific inventions, new philosophies and health research leading to paradigm shift in psychology, science and politics.
Correspondingly, the Sixth Cholera Pandemic (1910-1911) originated in India and spread to Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Russia, killed more than 800,000 people leading to invention of various vaccines for the diseases like cholera, malaria and so on. Equally, the Flu Pandemic (1918-1920) also called Spanish Flu destroyed lives of 20-50 million people throughout the world. It also gave chance to human advancement leading to capitalistic civilization. In the same way, the Asian Flu (1956-1958) originated in China tolled 2 million people in the world. It led to the invention of Polio Vaccine, Breast Implant, birth control pills, techniques of blood transfusionand so many others. Alike, the pandemics like Rubela, Hong Kong Flu, Ebola, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), etc. killed so many people of the world leading to the advancement of medical world. Because of the same pandemics, the world has become successful to even change the gender and make male pregnant challenging the law of nature.
Corona and the Opportunities
Corona or COVID-19 originated in China and now is spreading throughout the world taking lives of around forty thousand people. It has become the greatest terrorist of the human world and people are calling it the Third World War. No doubt, it is a virus war upon human race and civilization. But, it can be the great opportunity to the human race to live their lives differently. The world can have the following chances:

1. To bring the whole world together to rescue the human race
2. To make further research and predict the future
3. To minimize capitalism and promote humanity-based socialism
4. To respect and promote nature (balance ecosystem)
5. To minimize production of both bio and non-bio war weapons
6. To minimize human arrogance
7. To focus on health andsanitation
8. To emphasize on sustainable development
9. To create harmonious and peaceful humane world
10. To reestablish the relationships among the countries
11. To remake human history and civilization

Corona Pandemic can be not only the challenge but also the opportunity to humans today like the previous pandemics. It may lead to a simple life with nature preserving it rather than deteriorating it. It is sure that people will change their lifestyles, behaviours, activities, life-philosophies and thoughts. The political leaders will also think about being super power not only by military power but also by leading the voice of real humanity alternative to fake humanity of capitalism.

Prospects for Nepal
Nepal, an undeveloped nation ending transitional phase and moving to prosperity implementing new structure and constitution, is also affected by Corona Pandemics. Like the world, it is also fighting with the pandemics. It has locked the nation for two weeks. People are suffering more by the horror and terror of Corona than by its infections and casualties. It can be dire to Nepal as it has no technologies, preparations and strategies to tackle with the pandemics. The infections and casualties may increase in the days to come. The country may suffer from economic, political and psychological crisis leading to price hike, uncontrolled market and people-government problems. However, Nepal can take the pandemic as an opportunity.

The following can be the opportunities:
1. To succeed in managing uncontrolled urbanization initiating the ‘go back to village’ slogan
2. To prioritize research and development esp. in health and medicine
3. To build rapport with the world- leading super powers
4. To start industrialization and make nation prosperous
5. To create unity among people for nation building
6. To orient people towards natural local life styles
7. To nationalize all the private institutions and achieve the constitutional goal of socialism
8. To promote PPP model of development
9. To minimize corruption and prioritize transparency
10. To stop brain drain and manage the skilled human resources within the nation
11. To launch health awareness programmes
12. To develop sense of humanity among people within the nation
13. To remake human history making Nepal as center for the mission

Together with the challenges, Nepal can have opportunities from the Corona Pandemics. It can learn a great lesson that precaution, prevention and preparation are necessary to deal with the pandemics. At least, the government can establish national hospitals and schools and minimize the evils of capitalism as capitalism is the sugar-coated poison. The two-third majority government has got the right time to discourage privatization, market-controlled economy and comprador bourgeois structure and culture and to promote nationalization, humanization and sustainable development.

Conclusion
Since the historical period, pandemics are both the challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, they destroy human lives, races and civilizations collapsing humanity and economy, but on the other hand, they help to dismantle the evils of inhuman culture and structure and establish the whole world as a good place for human dwelling with equality, justice, life-affirming philosophy, cordiality, humanity, peace, harmony, prosperity and true civilizational advancement where a human behaves another human as a human like himself/herself. Corona, prevalent today, can also be both death-initiating and life-reforming bringing the whole world together with the feeling of real humanity in order to remake human history.

Nepal, an economically backward nation, though suffering from hazards of Corona, can learn a great lesson from it and start from today building nation with full commitments, dedications and strategies abolishing all the inequalities, corruptions, middle-manliness and discriminations. It may open the eyes of the leaders and lead them to work for the nation selflessly. Together with the world, Nepal also can fight for humanity. It can establish research centers, medicinal industries, and national educational and health institutions for making culture, system and humanity. Nepal can play a vital role to change the world minimizing the evils of capitalism and initiating socialistic culture and system binding the super powers of the world which really can remake human history.

Dhungel is the Permanent Faculty of Tribhuvan University, Department of English and view expeessed in the article is his own.