COVID-19 in Kashmir: Kashmiris Double Struggle Against

Modi's Coronialism & Colonialism

By

Mehr-un-Nisa

Introduction

Since the 1980s, India has implemented a colonial-style military occupation in Indian occupied

Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK), marked by killings, threats, detentions, state terrorism,

disappearances, etc. India has put the Kashmiris behind the iron curtain. In the wake of the Novel

Coronavirus (2019-nCovid or COVID-19) pandemic, the Indian government protects the lives of

people of IOJK by grossly inhuman behavior and directly attacking the residents already

precariously living in IOJK. Moving around Kashmir is not easy due to a large number of military

and police check posts and particularly in the complete absence of public transport.

Internet blackout in the region is a blot on democracy. In a state where a doctor is unable to

download a 25mb 2019-nCoV prevention guidelines for his patients, where a medical student is

unable to open Google search results, where a journalist can’t send a news-story to his bureau,

where a normal resident can’t upload a photo on social networking site, one should forget about

the privilege to work from home. Modi has setback Kashmir for almost two decades.

On the other hand, racism in India, spreading as fast as the COVID-19, becomes an excuse for

Indian nationalists to attack Muslims. As the world is focusing on fighting the COVID-19

pandemic, conversely, Muslims in India are facing the allegation of "the reason for spreading the

virus”. Since 2016, the Hindu nationalist government led by Narendra Modi came to power in

India, the 200 million Muslim-population has been systematically discriminated and this situation

aggravated during the period of 2019-nCoV pandemic. The propaganda that the spread of the

Pandemic in India began with a Tblighi Ijtemah (Religious gathering), in which Muslims took part,

laid the foundation of a new wave of racist attacks in India.

In India, the COVID-19 pandemic crop-up as a boon for the Modi government, taking advantage

of the chaos caused by the virus, the Indian government consolidated powers that would have been

impossible to imagine half a dozen years ago. The extremist groups of Hindu nationalists attacked

mosques, hospitals denied to test & treat Muslims and now they are even subjected to boycotts.

This testifies that hatred reached a trial by ordeal for Muslims.

Tectonic Shifts in Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir

The novel COVID-19 pandemic is not the first shock that the Kashmiris are facing nowadays.

Kashmir has undergone countless shocks throughout its history. People have faced depressions,

sufferings, miseries, traumas, terrorization, killings, detentions, humiliation, damages, destruction

and dehumanization by Indian forces. There is no doubt in it that the pandemic is more likely to

benefit the Modi government as they have successfully distracted the attention of local plus

international media from many globally disliked decisions made by the Indian government.

Before 2019-nCoV reached Kashmir, the valley was already facing lockdown for seven long

months after the Modi government launched a controversial move to seize control of the Muslim-

majority state Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on 5th Aug. A harsher approach and increased repression

imposed in Kashmir under Modi’s regime. Immediately, the central government put the region

under brutal military pressure to thwart any opposition.

Figure 1 : Indian Army in Jammu & Kashmir.

(Source: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/india-arrests-top-kashmiri-leader-amid-crackdown/1411950

As the unrest spread after 5th Aug in IOJK, India the greatest democracy in the world, blocked

roads, closed schools, took

up positions on roofs, cut off

access to the Internet,

mobile communications and

landlines. Even the most

pacifying political leaders

have been placed under

house arrest, one can only

fear the worst for the rest of

the population of the region.

The worst part is that

residents have no control over

what is happening and what is not happening, which leads to panic. The people of Jammu and

Kashmir are already facing a very stressful and repressive environment and now this 2019-nCoV

has given another chance to Indian authorities to turn Kashmir into “Ghost Town”.

Ailing Medical Facilities in IOK

Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir reported the first confirmed case of 2019-nCoV on March 18,

2020. As of Sunday, May 3, 2020, there were

701 confirmed coronavirus cases in IOJK,

with eight deaths.1 The hospitals in IOJK

have already reported shortages of essential

equipment for the treatment of 2019-nCoV

patients, including ventilators for patients,

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for

medical staff, pharmacies run out of

medicines and hospitals struggle to deal with

the crisis. A local newspaper wrote that in

1 Nusrat Sidiq, “Jammu and Kashmir: COVID-19 cases cross 700 mark,” Anadolu Agency, May 3, 2020, accessed on May 3, 2020,

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/jammu-and-kashmir-covid-19-cases-cross-700-mark/1827503

Figure 2 : Security personnel stand guard during a lockdown in Srinagar, Kashmir.

(Source:https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/silent-rage-fills-the-ghost-town-of-kashmir-as-they-experience-a-crackdown-like-no-other/news-story/a5dc0a5746064ad22808240 )

Figure 3: Population 7 Million, Ventilators 97, Kashmir Valley Braces For

COVID-19

(Source: https://kashmirobserver.net/2020/03/19/population-7-million-ventilators-97-kashmir-braces-for-covid-19/)

Kashmir alone, which has a population of around 13.62 million, there are currently only 97

ventilators and almost all of them are already occupied by patients suffering from other illnesses.

In South Kashmir, having a population of around 30 lakh (3,000,000), there are only two

ventilators to fight the virus.

A local newspaper quoted a doctor in one of the hospitals of Kashmir said: "Forget the ventilators,

we do not even have masks for the medical staff. I wore this mask at 8:00 a.m. today and it is now

4:00 p.m. and I still wear the same.” Another doctor from Srinagar hospital said that "Paramedics

working in intensive care units don’t even have N95 masks and hand sanitizers." In this situation,

doctors are at high risk who are being directly exposed to the virus-infected patients. Two doctors

from Srinagar have been put in quarantine after tested positive for 2019-nCoV. Doctors in IOJK

are demanding higher authorities to provide appropriate and adequate personal protective

equipment, particularly N95 masks, coated gowns PVC, protective glasses, and other equipment

but all in vain.

2 Jaffrey Gettleman, “India Revokes Kashmir’s Special Status, Raising Fears of Unrest,” The New York Times, Aug 5,

2019, accessed on May 2, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/05/world/asia/india-pakistan-kashmir-jammu.html

Figure 4: Police in Jammu beat up two men who said they were pharmacy workers.

(Source: https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/03/31/indian-security-forces-assault-healthcare-workers-in-kashmir/)

Therefore, 2019-nCoV has highlighted the

fragile health system of Kashmir. A big

problem facing the healthcare system is the

lack of preparedness and capacity to tackle

health emergencies. Reports from various

parts of the region suggest that a major

health crisis is unfolding and given the

current environment of uncertainty & fear,

people experience stress, panic & anxiety.

All this indicates that Kashmir was not

prepared for a pandemic than the other states of India.

Kashmiri Prisoners

The Public Safety Act (PSA) violates articles 7, 9, 10 and 11(1) of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights and Articles 9 and 14 of the ICCPR. More than 5000 people have been detained

under (PSA) in the region by the Indian government

since Aug 5.3 There are more than a hundred

Kashmiri leaders, activists, journalists, civil society

members, students and teachers among the detainees.

The detentions were carried out in accordance with

the law of PSA, which allows the Indian authorities

to detain a person for up to two years without any

trial. After making amendments in PSA law

authorities lodged detainees out of state as there is no

space left in Kashmir prisons. At least 1,249 innocent

people including 34 children are detained without any

charges. Avinash Kumar, the executive director of

3 “End Internet Shutdowns to Manage 2019-NCOV, Blocking Access Could Cost Lives,” Human Rights Watch, March 31, 2020, accessed on April 30,2020

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/31/end-internet-shutdowns-manage-2019-nCoV

Figure 6: Jammu Kashmir Salvation Movement Chairman Zafar Akbar Bhat suffers alarming health condition under

Indian detention.

(Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2185005/1-india-urged-

release-ailing-kashmiri-leaders-amid-coronavirus-fears/)

Figure 5: A dialysis patient shows his documents. Indian authorities defunct

Ayushman Bharat golden cards during pandemic times & left many dialysis

patients in the lurch.

(Source: https://kashmirobserver.net/2020/04/03/during-pandemic-dialysis-is-a-new-

deadly-distress-in-kashmir/)

Amnesty International India, said such actions were “in absolute contravention” to international

law.4

This is the before 2019-nCoV situation however after a pandemic the situation is even more

aggravated as prisoners are being released around the world to stem the virus infection, ironically,

Indian authorities are detaining people in IOJK. In reality, the Indian government is using the

2019-nCoV to lock up people without providing them any necessary health protection. The senior

Hurriyat leaders are still house arrested or lodged in jails outside the state. The many old

caged/prisoners are facing health problems like diabetes, kidney-related issues, chronic pains and

injuries during custodial torture. However, the fear of catastrophic conditions raises as the

coronavirus reaches the detention centers. Access to medicine and healthcare is almost

nonexistent. The 2019-nCoV is additional stress facing the prisoners and their families as if the

virus ignites, it will be a disaster.

Journalism under Threat

A Kashmiri journalist who had returned to Delhi after spending two days in IOJK was asked about

the situation of Kashmir. He responded with one word, “Falasteen (Palestine)” – a clear reference

to the settler-colonialist occupation in IOJK. Since August 5, Indian security forces have cut off

the Internet, mobile and landline telephone and blocked the roads in Kashmir which disrupted the

communication system in IOK.

Before 2019-nCoV few newspapers were

allowed to get printed. The editor of

Kashmir Times, one of the oldest

newspapers in Kashmir, filed a complaint in

the Supreme Court of India, claiming that

restrictions on press are unconstitutional

and violate freedom of speech. The work of

independent journalists in the state is

4 “India Covid 19 Response: Government Must Refrain From Abuse Of Power And Immediately Release All Arbitrarily Detained In J&K,” Amnesty International India, March 31, 2020, accessed on May 2, 2020

https://amnesty.org.in/news-update/india-covid-19-response-government-must-refrain-from-abuse-of-power-and-immediately-release-all-arbitrarily-detained-in-jk/

Figure 7: Kashmiri journalists hold placards during a protest against the ongoing internet blockade in Indian Kashmir on Jan. 6, 2020

(Source:https://ipi.media/journalism-in-kashmir-state-of-repression/)

seriously hindered. Journalists are not allowed into the state; other media persons cannot get to the

printing houses, which begin to run out of ink and paper.

Among other things, the police do not allow reporters to move freely within the state and to

communicate with people on the streets. Kashmiri journalists do not have access to news feeds or

social networks, they cannot check on the Internet that how things are going in other regions, and

they cannot even make calls. You have to work in the old way with notebooks and pens. At night,

many reporters sleep in the newsroom, because of the curfew, they can't go home. There are

journalists who are working with international media and the slow speed of the internet made it

even harder to do their job.

In addition, on 20th April 2020, Masrat Zahra, a 26-year-old photojournalist from Srinagar, woke

up to learn that she has been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act

(UAPA) for indulging in "anti-national activities" on social media.5 According to police Zahra’s

photographs on her Facebook account “can provoke the public to disturb law and order” and

“glorify anti-national activities and dent the image of law enforcement agencies”. Ms. Zahra

claims that she posted her archival photos which she had already posted a few days back. She is

not alone other renowned journalists like Qazi Shibli, Asif Sultan and Adil Farooq are also accused

of tweeting and posting anti-national posts.

5 Rayyan Naqash, “Intimidation is in the air’: How the Indian state is suffocating Kashmir’s journalists,” News Laundry, April 24, 2020, accessed on April 30, 2020

https://www.newslaundry.com/2020/04/24/intimidation-is-in-the-air-how-the-indian-state-is-suffocating-kashmirs-journalists

Figure 8: Peerzada Ashiq (L), Gowhar Geelani (C), and Masrat Zahra (R) are all Kashmiri journalists targeted by India's far-right regime.

(Source: https://www.telesurenglish.net//opinion/Indias-Charges-Against-Kashmiri-Journalists-Send-Colleagues-at-Swords-Point-20200422-0024.html)

The Indian government has taken almost complete control over what information comes from the

region. Earlier Indian authorities called communication restrictions necessary to prevent unrest in

the region and now they blocked all the means of communication in the name of 2019-nCoV

pandemic. Kashmir residents mostly rely on TV news and radio alerts to get informed & updated

about the pandemic, but TV channels report news about politics and politicians.

Limping Internet

In situations of conflict or pandemic, there is always a high need for information, however, people

of Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir have spent more than half a year without internet access.

Since 2012, India has blocked 385 times the internet in IOJK.6 David Kaye, the U.N. special

rapporteur on freedom of expression called the blockage “draconian” and “worse than collective

punishment.” According to the Software Freedom Law Center, it accounts for more than 60

percent of the blackouts in the country. On January 10, the Supreme Court of the country declared

the Internet blackout as unconstitutional and illegal. The authorities executed the judgment in a

peculiar way and in the last week of January, access to the 2G low-speed network appeared in the

region, while all social networks remained blocked, access was open only to a limited list of

allowed sites. Even after the outbreak of a pandemic, the situation remained the same.

People cannot get updated information

regarding pandemic even doctors are unable

to get online guidelines proposed by doctors

from other countries. Due to slow internet

speed, doctors cannot download the COVID-

19 prevention manual of just 25mb. The

Internet is terribly slow, sites with text

loading take several minutes to open. A

regular Facebook picture takes at least five

minutes to upload.

6 Hilal Mir, “Death of Kashmiri leader in jail spread worries Relatives in Kashmir unable to meet prisoners lodged in far off jails in India for want of travel expenses, communication,” Anadolu Agency, Dec 27, 2019, accesses on May 3, 2020

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/death-of-kashmiri-leader-in-jail-spread-worries/1685203

Figure 9: Young Kashmiri men protest against the internet, SMS and prepaid mobile services blockade, in Srinagar.

(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/05/the-personal-and-

economic-cost-of-kashmirs-internet-ban)

People are scared, confused and now frustrated by the sudden turn of events. They were already

in isolation but due to 2019-nCoV fuss, they are worried about their loved one's health who are

living outside Jammu & Kashmir. The slow speed of the internet has handicapped people. They

neither have access to the internet nor to any newspaper, they need news.

Educational Disruption amid Lockdowns

Wasted time can never be regained. This is the story of every student and scholar of Kashmir. The

studies are standstill for consecutive three breaks, Aug crackdown, winter break and pandemic

lockdown. In IOJK, schools and universities had to reschedule their academic calendars due to an

abrupt lockdown for seven months by the Modi government. The icing on the top for the Indian

government is Covid-19 as authorities are using pandemic to impose strict crackdown in IOJK.

The students are confined inside their houses for more than 7 months. After losing much time due

to more than a half year’s clampdown when the educational institutes had just reopened the classes

in the month of Feb 2020, there was this pandemic outbreak in March and once again educational

institutes are off since then.

Amidst virus lockdown, the absence of high-speed internet makes it impossible for students to take

classes online or download reading material. The MPhil and Ph.D. scholars don’t have access to

Figure 10: Kashmiri students queue up to use internet facilities at the divisional commissioner’s office in Srinagar.

(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/05/the-personal-and-economic-cost-of-kashmirs-internet-ban)

the internet and online libraries or e-notes. If this situation continues for one more month it would

cost the whole academic year of the students and they have to pursue the same degree next semester

too. Access to the internet is not a privilege, it is a necessity, but the authority’s denial to restore

4G internet services in J&K causes a huge loss and mental disturbance of students and if this is

jinxed then students have to face it till May 17th.

The Economy in Tailspin

The world is facing socio-economic problems due to COVD-19 pandemic while Kashmir has been

facing it since 5th Aug, 19. Public transport is inaccessible in many areas and most businesses are

closed due to constant lockdown in the region. In addition, there is a shortage of skilled labor,

since about 400,000 people left the state in search of a better earning in the beginning of the

lockdown. This aggravated situation has led to the loss of thousands of jobs. Laborers and daily

wage workers, who have lost their work due to lockdown, are waiting for a financial assistance

package.

The streets are deserted in J&K, there is no tourist in the town, the tourism business which served

up to 700,000 people a year, simply ceased to exist.7 There are about 3,000 hotels in IOJK, and all

of them are vacant. The owners have business-loans that need to be paid and daily expenses can

also be not ignored. The industries were just reopened after the 7 months long lockdown than

covid-19 gave an excuse to Indian authorities to impose even stricter lockdown. The lack of

Internet has led to the loss of more than 5,000 travel agents jobs.

The Venice of the East, 1,000 iconic

floating houses of Srinagar, also

remained empty. For many residents,

it is the only source of livelihood and

each houseboat needs maintenance

up to $ 7,000 a year. It was not only

tourism and related sectors of the

economy that suffered heavy

7 “Kashmir Conflict: Woes Deepen As Lockdown Stifles Economy,” BBC News, Oct 8, 2019, accessed on May 2, 2020

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49956960

Figure 11: Houseboats lined up on edges of Nigeen or Nagin Lake in Srinagar

(Source: https://www.inditales.com/houseboats-in-srinagar-living-experience/)

losses. The carpet handicraft industry has also been affected, Kashmir is a prime exporter of carpets

but the internet shut down has caused communication problems between manufacturers and

importers & due to lockdown this industry has lost more than 50,000 jobs.

The surprising move of a clampdown by Modi during the harvest season in IOJK affected the fruit

industry. The apple industry also suffered and plunged into the turmoil as the blocked transport

links cut-off the communication between buyers and traders.

The locally-produced apples rot on the

branches in orchards. Shops and cold stores

remained closed amid lockdown. Apples

make up 12-15% of the economy of Jammu

and Kashmir, but due to the current situation

of pandemic-lockdown more than half of this

year's harvest will never be harvested. If the

situation is not resolved by the end of the

year, the consequences for Kashmiri

gardening may be irreversible.

Poor are doomed in IOJK. People have no means of survival without going out, the daily food of

poor people depends on their work in sweatshops, small jobs that they do here and there. No

provision is made to ensure the payment or compensation of small workers during the lockdown

period when several dozens of daily wage laborers/workers are forced to stay at home without

having the means to meet their daily subsistence needs. Pandemic has increased brutalities of the

fascist state of India in IOJK. How could daily wage labor work from home? How would they

survive in these circumstances? Moreover, access to information is necessary to deal with the

Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and in Kashmir where more than 2,000 people have been

quarantined the lack of high-speed Internet access makes things worse. The negligence of the Modi

government towards Kashmiris is nothing more than a genocidal act.

Figure 12: (Video Screen grab) Kashmiri Apples rot in orchards amid Lockdown

(Source: https://www.newsclick.in/kashmiri-apple-growers-taste-bitter-fruit-lockdown)

Modi’s Response towards the Novel COVID-19 Pandemic

After China and Europe, now India is facing a surge in the number of novel COVID-19 pandemic

cases. The extreme density of the Indian population and the government’s inability to tackle the

2019-nCoV pandemic make fear the worst for the coming weeks. In an attempt to stem the Covid-

19 pandemic, on 24th March, Narendra Modi with his folded hands announced the first lockdown

of the country for 21 days without saying how to gain access to food & medicine and without

organizing the supply chains of essential services during this period. Modi’s double-quick &

consecutive third lockdown can outburst the coronavirus in India. After having no 2019-nCoV

case until early March, India has now entered the exponential phase of the pandemic in recent

days. By the morning of 3rd May, the country already counted 40,263 cases and 1,306 deaths. The

country is not well-equipped in the health sector moreover, the social and economic tensions across

the country are likely to settle nothing. Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Center for

Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) has already warned authorities on March 19

that if this situation persists India has to prepare for a “tsunami” of 2019-nCoV cases and the

death toll can be reached at 30,000 by the end of May.8 India has only 0.7 hospital beds per 1,000

people according to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data.9

Indian states, such as Uttar Pradesh, have both a very dense population and poor health facilities.

The health system in India is largely made up of private clinics and those clinics are working only

in urban areas. In addition, 70% of the population lives in rural areas with little or no health

facilities and most of them don’t have health insurance. It is feared that many patients will stay at

home to avoid costs as the medical equipment, disinfectants, masks and medicines have

considerably increased the cost of access and pushed the poorest out of care. The Indian writer

Arundhati Roy has described this lockdown as world’s biggest, most punitive lockdown.10

8 Sanjay Ganguly, “'India must prepare for a tsunami of coronavirus cases,” BBC News, March 19, 2020, accessed on May 3, 2020,

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-india-51962813/india-must-prepare-for-a-tsunami-of-coronavirus-cases 9 “Health equipment - Hospital beds,” OECD Data, accessed on May 3,2020,

https://data.oecd.org/healtheqt/hospital-beds.htm 10 Arundhati Roy, “Arundhati Roy: ‘The pandemic is a portal,” Financial Times, May , 2020, accessed on May 3, 2020,

https://www.ft.com/content/10d8f5e8-74eb-11ea-95fe-fcd274e920ca

India: An Undemocratic Democracy

According to an Indian media, the patient who died in Mumbai on April 3 was a Muslim. He had

traveled to Delhi a few weeks before his illness to take part in a local Tablighi Jamaat Ijtemah

(Muslim religious gathering), more than 1,800 people participated in the Ijtemah. In response, New

Delhi quickly took measures to close the religious places of the Muslims and soon after these

catchphrases such as "Muslims spreading the new Coronavirus" & "Indian-Muslims launching the

new Corona Jihad" became popular in India in early April. This well-targeted public opinion war

reminds us of the disturbance and riots caused by the "Citizenship Amendment Act" (CAA)

throughout India from Dec19 to date. The turmoil against Muslims in India has caused people

from strata of society in the country to have a feeling of hatred against Muslims from the

perspective of 2019-nCoV pandemic prevention. Many Hindu groups demanded that the

authorities should ban Muslim’s religious activities and seize the bank accounts of the Muslim

Missionary Society.

The 2019-nCoV pandemic overshadowed

the immoral amendments to the citizenship

law that the Indian authorities passed in

December 2019. The government justified

the bill by saying that they intend to preserve

linguistic, cultural and social identity in

northeast India. This took public to the

streets. The clashes ended in pogroms of

Muslims in different areas of India and

consequently, about 50 people died, and the

wounded were in the hundreds.

The international media has condemned Modi and his party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for the

undemocratic steps taken by the democratic country. All these events have destabilized the Indian

economy even before the pandemic. Unemployment rose to 7-8%. The Bureau of Statistics of

Figure 13: Protest against CAB & NRC

(Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/what-is-nrc-all-you-need-to-

know-about-national-register-of-citizens-1629195-2019-12-18)

India and the World Bank expected that till the end of 2020 the growth of the Indian economy will

slow down to 5%.11

In India, the right-wing government has

left hundreds of thousands of migrant

workers stranded without work or

transport to their villages and towns of

origin. The Dalits (formerly known as

"untouchables") in Mumbai are asked to

clean the trash bins in the homes where

coronavirus patients live. Sadly, the

people of north-east India are already

victims of discrimination in normal

times, but as they are close to China they

are also accused of being responsible for

the influx of the virus. In Uttar Pradesh,

the federal state of more than 200 million inhabitants with a large Muslim minority, led by one of

the most radical yogis of the BJP, police ordered Muslims to return to Pakistan.

Amid the pandemic, some nationalist politicians stepped up with their anti-Muslim rhetoric, Raj

Thackeray, leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sen, stated that “members of the Tablighi

Jammat should be shot.” The hashtag “coronajihad, CoronaTerrorism & SuperSpreaders" are

using on Twitter and many handlers calling Muslims "ignorant" & "carriers of corona

infection". Recently a BJP leader calls for boycott Muslims and not to buy anything from them.12

11 “Growth in India projected to 'decelerate' to 5% in 2019-2020: World Bank,” The Economic Times, Jan 29, 2020, accessed on May 3, 2020

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/growth-in-india-projected-to-decelerate-to-5-in-2019-2020-world-bank/articleshow/73171778.cms?from=mdr

12 “Do not buy from Muslims': BJP leader in India calls for boycott,” Aljazeera, April 29, 2020, accessed on May 2, 2020

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/buy-muslims-bjp-leader-india-calls-boycott-200429034119722.html

Figure 14: Migrant workers crowd up outside a bus station as they wait to board buses to return to their villages during a 21-day nationwide lockdown to limit the

spread of coronavirus, in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of New Delhi

(Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/pictures-india-poor-struggle-

coronavirus-lockdown-200329133626495.html)

Quarantine: Expectations vs. Reality

Before the pandemic, India was already facing many tensions due to discriminatory policies of the

authoritarian Hindu nationalist government against minorities living in India. Narendra Modi’s

bigoted policy against Muslims & communal hatred resulted in deadly riots. In New Delhi, Hindu

nationalists accused Muslim traders of spreading the virus and attacked them with cricket bats.

Many Muslims across the country say that they are not allowed in pharmacies, shops. Some

hospitals in the state of Telangana refused to treat Muslims, hostility against them is increasing

day by day. On the other hand, the closure of temples, mosques and gurdwaras has additionally hit

the poor and homeless, who found shelter and food in the temples, gurdwaras and mosques.

For small vendors, drivers, hawkers and craftsmen, who see their business reduced to nothing

overnight, telework or telecommuting makes no sense. Now the question is how long would they

survive before they resume their work? In Uttar Pradesh, migrant laborers were sprayed with

chemical solution

upon their entry to

Bareilly in order to

contain the virus. The

Internet has been

flooded with videos in

which police are

toppling fruit and

vegetable stalls on the

street. The vegetable

and fruit merchants

have been arrested in

many places. The

medical personnel and journalists who were allowed to continue their jobs during the quarantine

period fell also into the hands of the police.

Figure 15: (Video ScreenGrab) Policemen in Ahmedabad's Krishnanagar seen cruelly upturning vegetable vendors' carts.

(Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/watch-ahmedabad-police-upturns-vegetable-vendors-carts-amid-

coronavirus-lockdown)

India has a fragile health system even in normal times and if pandemic sustains, then in a few

months, a disaster may break out in the country. India has only 0.7 beds per 1,000 people, ranking

177th among 217 countries in the world.13 The chaotic urbanization has made India not only the

most polluted but also the densest in the world. 85 % of Indians do not have a single room, in

Bombay, 50 % of the population lives in slums, where there are four people living in a single room.

The financial capital concentrates up to 200,000 inhabitants per square kilometer in certain slums.

Suffice it to say that "social distancing" is nearly impossible in these areas. Recently, the members

of the Indian Parliament said that the coronavirus will never go to rural areas of India because

there are many herbal remedies to kill the virus and called for protective measures to be taken only

in urban areas.

Now, in a situation where people need to trust their government to be able to influence the crisis

of the virus, people are clearly not doing it and rightfully so. For almost four weeks now, tension

has been escalating every day. The unfounded rumors, drinking cow urine as protection against

the virus, chicken meat containing the virus, and the hazard or spending fifteen minutes in the sun

each day, do not suggest anything good. Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called

for a partial curfew and urged the Indians to applaud and knock pans in public as if it would scare

the virus away. In fact, supporters of his right-wing party have circulated messages claiming that

the virus would be killed by noise. This is unfortunately not an antidote to anxiety caused by

COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion

Amid the period of a pandemic, the Indian government began to take measures against the

demographic composition of Jammu and Kashmir which has caused fear among the residents of

IOJK. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) breaks the principles of secularism & equality and

shows a malevolent attitude of Modi towards other religious communities. By denying nationality

to Muslim refugees, Prime Minister Modi is actually targeting Indian Muslims whom he wants to

make stateless. The Indian government is officially creating a Hindu nation-state by granting

nationality on religious grounds. Recently, on 31st March India imposed domicile law in the IOJK

13 “Health equipment - Hospital beds,” OECD Data, accessed on May 3,2020,

https://data.oecd.org/healtheqt/hospital-beds.htm

to reduce the Muslim population in their own homeland by giving residence, jobs and land to

Hindus from all over India. The message delivered to Muslims is clear “Don’t resist and accept

the new India. In return, you can live relatively peacefully, but on our terms”. The ordinary Indian

Muslims who are scattered all over India and living quite urbanely can’t say “No” to Modi as

Modi’s horrible impression of suppressing the Muslims when he was the minister of Gujarat is

enough for ordinary people to choose to protect themselves. Within a month, we have learned that

the virus is not as serious as we thought. And if it's a war, it's a communal war, it's an ethnic war,

it’s a religious war, it’s a war against Muslims.

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