The Coronavirus has had many negative effects in all fields. Healthcare, education, poverty, supply chains, etc. Besides just creating new problems however, it also reveals underlying problems that arent being addressed. One of these problems is becoming dangerously obvious; the stigma around Islam in India.
Hindutva, the idea of Hindu nationalism, is becoming increasingly more and more popular as news reports flash that hundreds of COVID-19 cases can be linked to a Muslim pilgrimage. This combined with outcry of Muslims supposed intent to spread the virus has sparked anger across India.
The Indian government has recognized - perhaps somewhat belatedly - that it is counterproductive for hate campaigns, especially in India, to spiral out of control and spread to Islam. Despite this, Hindutva promoters, who repeatedly target Indian Muslims for alleged pan-Islamic loyalties, are commonly favored by citizens when compared with radical Islamic terrorist attacks domestic and abroad. This mindset is still prevalent even when preceded by a riot by Hindu nationalists in which 36 Muslims were killed in Delhi.
In many cases, the violence was perpetrated by right-wing groups that claim to be part of the BJP. Hindutva nationalism, is rapidly infecting the majority of the country's Hindu population and, in turn, subjecting its 201 million Muslims to unspeakable horror. State-sponsored Islamophobia, sparked by misinterpreted statements by those in power, has spread like a pandemic of violence engulfing India.
Just as the COVID-19 pandemic was making headlines and killing thousands, Hindutva leaders saw an opportunity to further justify their persecution of Indian Muslims by blaming the community for the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in India. Blaming Muslims for the spread of the novel virus throughout India provoked a fierce reaction from the Muslim world.
In a statement, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed concern about rising anti-Muslim sentiment in India and the increase in violence against Muslims.
The group, which represents 56 Muslim countries, condemned the targeted attacks on Muslim minorities at a time when the situation required it. Many influential personalities have criticized hostility toward Muslims,
Worryingly, India has already invoked the anger of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which has set up a panel of experts and announced intent to take the case against them to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHRC).
At the time, there was a ban on assembly in the country and no information was published on this matter. Muslim organisations such as Tableegi Jamaat, a Muslim organisation blamed for the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic in India, gathered for a public meeting in New Delhi. The report was dismissed as an attempt to make accusations against Muslims because Tableau Jamaicaat had not obtained permission for a community.
Instead of using a pandemic to solve problems, some people are using it to spark hate and violence. If this continues to happen, then India will be no better than the likes of a war stricken country. India needs a new mindset that sees everyone as equal. All leading countries will have mass immigration which will increase the number of non-Hindus. Despite this however, people need to learn how to have acceptance. That is what makes a country united.
Image Courtesy of Institute for Policy Studies