The recent discovery of a Covid-19 cluster in Delhi is witnessing some quarters impart an unhelpful communal edge to the contagion. The cluster involves a congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat that saw around 2,000 delegates attend the event in the early part of March. Many of the delegates stayed on in the city while others travelled to other parts of the country. The authorities came to know about the congregation only after the country-wide lockdown to tackle Covid-19 was imposed. Ten people who had attended the Delhi event have succumbed to the disease and another 24 have been found positive so far. 

Now, there is no denying that the congregation should have never happened. In fact, Delhi government had imposed restrictions on such large gatherings much before the present lockdown. Therefore, how the Tablighi Jamaat was able to hold their event — which included a significant number of foreigners — is baffling. Even more surprising is that the authorities did not know this was happening right under their nose. This is a huge lapse, notwithstanding the irresponsible behaviour of the Tablighi Jamaat. 

But giving a religious tone to the whole issue is not only wrong but counterproductive. It takes away focus from the need of the hour which is to devote all energies to identifying such clusters, carrying out effective contact tracing and implementing tight quarantine measures. Remember, this is not the only Covid-19 cluster that has been discovered in the country. Authorities have identified several more — Noida and Meerut in UP, Bhilwara in Rajasthan, Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Kasargod and Pathanamthitta in Kerala, and Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra. 

The last thing we need is to vilify one group of people or one particular community. Such prejudice will only lead to misery for all and undermine our efforts to fight the virus. After all, we are all in this together. We cannot protect ourselves without protecting others. The virus won’t disappear if we marginalise one section of people and leave them to their fate. This virus is really showing how connected we all are. Either we all win or nobody wins. We all have to be responsible and help each other through this difficult time. 

Besides, we have a limited window to do all of this. We can’t sustain the lockdown beyond 21 days — doing so will be the death knell for the economy. So let us not waste our time with distractions. Prejudice and bigotry undermine societies in the best of times. In times of crisis such as this, they threaten humankind as a whole. 

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Views expressed above are the author's own.

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