India's beloved prime minister, Narendra Modi called for the nation to bang thalis and clap hands from their balconies on the 22nd of March, 2020, as a symbol of national unity in the fight against COVID-19. Some see it as a political power play to gain national popularity, and some, as a legitimate attempt to unite and encourage the citizens of the country to lead a national effort against a global pandemic. Whatever the intentions may be, it is almost undeniable that it fostered national fervour and gave a "banging" start to self isolation efforts. There may have been several isolated events of social gatherings, quite the antithesis of the main idea, however, in a country with India's population, it was almost inevitable.
However, it can be reasonably inferred that the event did more good than harm. It played with human nature. It fed the fundamental and intrinsic need of humans to act as social animals during times in which the same was exceedingly deficient. It spurred a national response and delivered a cardinal message to all the factions of Indian society.
In a country like India, this event was felicitous. With a large uneducated populous, it was crucial to send a message with means other than media or literature. A medium, inordinately larger than the spoken word was needed. Thus, in a country like India, which is cloaked in the shrouds of festivities, what better way to do so, other than a large festivities. It is common knowledge that in India, festivities hold a paramount place in people's life, they yearn for it. Thus, this event was well thought out and essential.
A great vindicator of the success event is the current situation of India. The aim of the event was to promote self isolation in India, and well, this has worked brilliantly. India, a country with a large uneducated populous, unaware of the impact of the disease, has led a more successful self isolation effort than myriad countries where the people are well aware of the sheer gravity of the problem. Furthermore, many parts of India are very densely populated, which is all the more reason for the virus to have spread. Yet, India's figures are near miraculous. Only 4.7 people per million are affected by the virus, whereas, countries like Italy and Spain are well over a thousand. For holding 1/6th of the world's population, India only has 1/200th of the COVID-19 cases in the world as of the 13th of April 2020. Furthermore, Indian figures should have been exponentially higher, as not only is India a neighbouring country to China, the epicenter of the pandemic, but it also has one of the highest rates of intercontinental travel in the world.
The bottom line is, even though there may have been other factors leading to India's relative success in containing the virus, it is undeniable, that this event played a large role in sparking a national fervour for self isolation. It showed the unity of India as a nation and is a matter of national pride.