March 24, 2025, marks five years of full lockdown that was imposed in 2020 to contain the spread of COVID-19. On this day, India came to a standstill when Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24, 2020, made the announcement to impose a 21-day nationwide lockdown to prevent the growing cases of coronavirus.
"The next 21 days are of critical importance for us. As per health experts, a period of at least 21 days is extremely critical to break the infection chain of coronavirus. If the situation is not handled in these 21 days, the country and your family could go back 21 years. If the situation is not handled in these 21 days, several families will get devastated forever," PM Modi had said in his address.
Five years of janata curfew
The announcement from PM Modi came five days after he had urged the public to follow a self-imposed one-day 'janata curfew,' which meant not leaving homes or roaming on the streets. This decision was taken when the country had approximately 500 confirmed cases of COVID-19. By imposing a full lockdown on the movement of people and closing non-essential services, the government took bold decisions to prevent the healthcare system from becoming overwhelmed by a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The sudden announcement of lockdown triggered panic. Public transport was stopped overnight, leaving millions—especially daily wage migrant workers—stranded with no way home.
Hardship of migrants during lockdown
The regulations restricted the movement of India's 1.3 billion population, with essential services like hospitals and grocery shops operational. To address the crisis, the Centre allocated Rs 15,000 crore for health infrastructure, including personal protective equipment (PPE), testing laboratories, and quarantine centres.
One of the most spectacular impacts was the mass migration of migrant workers, estimated at over 120 million, who formed the backbone of India's urban economy. Many of these workers lost their jobs overnight as industries shut down, leaving them with no income and no savings. They were forced to leave Delhi and other big cities, and they were seen walking barefoot to their villages on the roadside. With the suspension of buses, trains, and flights, millions began walking hundreds or even thousands of kilometres to their villages, often carrying their belongings and families.
Work from home for employees
On the other hand, several initiatives were taken by private companies, including work from home and later hybrid modes of working for employees.
Five years of lockdown and COVID-19 cases
As per the updates from the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 778 million COVID-19 cases were recorded worldwide. India alone reported approximately 45 million cases, and China, the origin of the virus outbreak, recorded 99.4 million cases, according to the WHO.
'Go corona go' meme on social media
Recalling the COVID-19 outbreak, several social media users took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and wrote, "Happy go corona day. 5th anniversary of stupidity."
Taking to social media, one user said “5 years ago today while the world was shivering with fear of Corona, Indians celebrated Corona (sic).”
Yet another user added: “5 years ago on this day when the whole world was struggling to tackle Covid-19, we Indians (from commoners to influencers) were banging utensils in the name of Janata Curfew to shoo corona away. Never forget! Happy 5th anniversary of Janata curfew! (sic)”
More users talked about lessons learnt from covid era and said, “Just 5 years ago on this day life changed temporarily into a situation which we or our previous generations had never experienced before! #COVID”.