Defecating in corridors and licking money: Corona in India

Nahla Abdel Moneim

In recent weeks, Indian newspapers have traded ideological debates between the government and the country’s Tablighi Jamaat regarding the corona virus. The former seeks to secure the people from a global pandemic that does not understand religious and ethnic differences, while the latter claims that the virus is a punishment from God and has no cure, calling for it to be spread among citizens.

As the virus became a reality for them, the Tablighi Jamaat decided for its elements to spread it in various disgusting ways in order to increase the rate of infection in areas with high population density, while the authorities fear that more pressure on the hospitals could collapse the country’s healthcare system.

Licking money

A video clip has been circulated on social media of a Tablighi man claiming the virus is a punishment from God and calling for it to be spread among citizens by licking banknotes.

The clip raised fears on a larger scale, so the authorities immediately announced on April 2 that the police forces had arrested the man for interrogation.

Organizing gatherings

The Tablighi Jamaat’s lack of interest in the virus is represented by it organizing gatherings and celebrations with thousands of people, with no concern for the state’s decisions about limiting gatherings to reduce opportunities for the spread of the virus. On March 31, the authorities announced the closure of the Nizamuddin Markaz mosque (headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat) after it turned into a hotbed for a corona outbreak due to their continued gatherings and celebrations inside. The government then accused the group of directly causing the spread of the virus among thousands across the country.

During the period from March 13 to 15, the movement held a gathering attended by about 9,000 people, after which 1,023 confirmed cases of infection were detected in people from different parts of the country who were present at the gathering, forcing the state to put them in quarantine and who Mix them to increase the number of hospitals.

Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Health Lav Agarwal announced that about a third of those infected with the virus in the country have been linked to this Tablighi gathering.

Defecating in corridors

After decisions to close the mosque and impose a quarantine on the thousands who attended the gathering, the government was forced to use its military to compel the group’s elements to remain at the quarantine site and adhere to instructions, as the group also sought to spread the virus among the nursing staff, doctors and all hospital workers in the Narela district of Delhi.

The hospital administration complained about people intentionally spitting everywhere, throwing their contaminated mucus on the ground, and even defecating in the corridors, which will inevitably lead to the virus spreading among medical staff. The Indian army was therefore forced to intervene and monitor the situation.