COVID-19 and National Food Security Act, (2013): Analysing experiences of food security in Assam, India

Abstract

Availability, access, stability, and sustainability of food are four pillars of food security. In India, the pandemic has challenged these pillars, particularly for the most vulnerable and poor population. Scenes of empty shelves, long queues outside the fair price shops (FPS), community workers being jailed for questioning the siphoning of rice from the FPS stores, were widespread in the news channels and social media. They told of the anxieties surrounding glaring food shortages and supply lapses. The food security policy of India - National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) - was supposed to take care of them. People were worried: Will and from where and how will the food come? The key objective of the paper is to identify the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the food security of women in the informal sector, within the broader context of the food security policy of the country. Data for this paper is drawn based on a primary survey in India. Theoretically, this paper examines how food is used to reimagine the social contract between the state and its citizens. Our findings suggest: Firstly, the state's decision of providing a few kilos of rice and pulses looks like an active and planned site of defining a dehumanised citizen, meant for largescale governance policies. Secondly, there is a calculated attempt of the state to slowly do away with its' responsibility of distributing and delivering food, by shifting the task to nongovernment entities.