Ramaswami: How does one practice social distancing and not social distance (even the Wikipedia entry on the latter specifically distinguishes the term)? The hierarchical social distance and stigma practices that exist on the basis of caste, gender, disability, race in India—how are they strengthened as a result of the government advisory on social distancing? Does social distancing legitimise new forms of distances to the already existing ones? In some housing societies, helps and ayahs have been prevented from entering the premises. Whereas it is those with foreign travel histories who are possible carriers of the virus, yet, the suspicion and discomfort was immediately directed to the poor. Interestingly, after the lockdown was announced, residents of these housing societies also worried about whether domestic workers have to follow stay-at-home rules? ‘Who will do everyday household work’ was a concern in middle and upper-class households. It is actually an important question for households where only senior citizens reside, who are dependent on informal paid domestic help for their survival. Is this public health crisis a juncture to remind ourselves of the importance of neighbours, who could help with cooking for other homes? Also, this is a moment to realise how strongly the middle and upper middle class is dependent on domestic help—and the need, therefore, to standardise wages, leave and other benefits for them. In the last few days, many residents of various neighbourhoods are trying to assist their domestic workers by not deducting their salaries for the period that they will not come, and also with rations. While these are very important acts of solidarity-building across classes, yet one definitely is looking forward to a structured distribution of food and basic necessities to many kinds of workers. At the end of all this, will we emerge a society who will connect with and empathise with more people, or become more socially distant—that remains to be seen. The author is professor of sociology, School of Liberal Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi. The views are personal.