Defence and security come first In the context of the pandemic affecting the world, India being amongst the worst impacted countries DC Pathak (The writer is a former Director Intelligence Bureau) In the context of the pandemic affecting the world, India being amongst the worst impacted countries, the fundamentals of the State-Citizen relationship in a democratic dispensation have come under the focus in terms of defining where the nation's energies and resources would be devoted first. The health emergency caused by Covid-19 has been with us for more than a year – and still persistent – leading to enormous loss of lives, destruction of employment and a sharp rise of poverty posing the unprecedented challenge before the ruling dispensation of reviving a derailed economy.