Mamata Banerjee has been chiming for the central forces to be withdrawn from poll-bound West Bengal and even for re-election even before the 8 phases have concluded. Fearing defeat, Mamata Banerjee has now chimed in, on the back of the Madras HC order, suggesting that it is central forces that are spreading COVID-19 in the state and therefore, they should be withdrawn by the central government.
Reportedly, Mamata Banerjee said, “I welcome the Madras High Court order, which clearly said the EC cannot escape its responsibility. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EC are responsible for the (current) situation (of Covid spreading in the state),” Banerjee alleged at a workers’ meeting in North Kolkata where party candidates and workers were present.
She further said, “I am requesting please withdraw the around 2 lakh- strong central forces drawn from covid-hit states, who are camping in schools and colleges and safe homes hampering covid management operations 75 per cent of them may be infected by the virus. Please withdraw them in the last phase”.
It is pertinent to note that the Madras HC had observed that the central forces and the election commission cannot skirt blame for the spread of COVID-19 in the state.
However, what is an observation by the High Court has been turned into a reason for Mamta Banerjee to demand yet against that the central forces, who have been deployed to ensure free and fair elections, be withdrawn from the state.
This is not the first time that Mamata Banerjee has made such demands, hoping that the elections can be conducted without the fairness that is injected in it due to the presence of the CRPF.
As the result day for the assembly elections, 2nd May, draws closer, Mamata Banerjee had declared that she will be approaching the Supreme Court after the elections are over. Claiming that Election Commission had instructed officials to arrest TMC leaders during the Assembly elections, the West Bengal Chief Minister said that she will approach the Supreme Court to hole fresh ‘neutral elections’ in the state.
In a press conference held via video conferencing, Mamata Banerjee questioned the role of the Election Commission in the state elections, alleging that the poll panel was working to help BJP. The CM alleged that the EC was trying to make sure that the TMC workers can’t vote against BJP.
‘I am appealing to everyone starting from Birbhum, Murshidabad, Malda, everywhere where elections are to be held, remain alert, take precaution from now on, on the one hand we have the war against Covid, on the other hand we have to fight against Election Commission who is conspiring to ensure that our people can’t vote,’ the TMC supremo said institgating her supporters against the constitutional body.
She further added, ‘if the police detain anyone illegally, their family members go to the police station and sit there, gherao the police station, ask why illegal detention has been done, if needed go to the court. We will move everywhere from the high court to the supreme court. File FIR as soon as someone is detained illegally’.
Australian cricketer Pat Cummins on Monday took to Twitter to announce he has donated Australian Dollars 50,000 to the PM CARES Fund specifically for the purchase of oxygen supplies.
Cummins said that India is a country he has come to love dearly over the years and the suffering saddens him greatly. He expressed concerns over appropriateness of IPL at a time when the country is suffering. However, he also acknowledged that cricket may help give people some respite when things are so badly affected otherwise.
He said that as cricketers, the player have a position of privilege and hence he has contributed to PM CARES Fund in hopes the help would reach millions of people. He also urged fellow IPL players to contribute. He has donated Australian Dollars 50,000, which amounts to little over Rs 29 lakh.
“I know my donation isn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but I hope it will make a difference to someone,” he said in his statement.
The events of the past few days have been very educational in terms of American foreign policy, especially if one happens to be a starry-eyed liberal who believed Joe Biden was the best thing to happen since sliced bread. Nevertheless, the past few days have managed to turn even the staunchest of Biden supporters into lukewarm enthusiasts.
After Joe Biden won the presidential elections with Kamala Harris on the ticket, there was great elation among liberals in India. They hailed the election of Joe Biden to the White House as the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Thus, when it became evident that Joe Biden was blocking export of vaccine raw materials to India amidst the raging pandemic, they pretty much had eggs on their faces. Screenshots of their tweets went viral on Indian sections of social media and they were forced to make several tweets saying how disappointing it was.
The tweet has since then been deleted
But was it disappointing really? To those unaware of history, perhaps. But people who have observed American conduct in recent decades would have realised that it was perfectly in sync with American foreign policy.
Unlike what liberals in India would have us believe, American foreign policy cares very little about human rights. Indian ‘journalists’ and ‘intellectuals’ have quite clearly fallen hook, line and sinker to the USA’s own narrative about itself.
Thus, we have an entire cohort of Anglophiles in the elite opinion-maker class of India who genuinely believed that with Joe Biden as President, human rights will once again become the focus of American foreign policy. Such belief was born out of sheer ignorance or financial benefits but whatever the reason may be, no one has been more embarrassed by the current fiasco than western shills in our country.
Historically, the USA has been extremely antagonistic towards India for varied reasons. While the relationship between the two countries has improved vastly since then, old suspicions continue to linger. That is precisely why it is even more perplexing that the Indian liberal class was so enthusiastic about Biden’s victory.
For instance, the USA has been the major backer of Pakistan, despite knowing fully well that our neighbouring country harbours, nurtures and funds terrorists. This is by their own admission. Pakistan committed a genocide of Bengali Hindus in 1971 and yet, suffered no consequences from the USA.
That was in 1971. In this century, they have bombed countries into slavery and plunged an entire region into chaos while facilitating a genocide in Yemen. All of this should have made it clear to liberals in India that human rights is the least of American concerns.
Now, they are embarrassed and forced to admit that the US decision to send vaccine raw materials to India should have been taken long ago. We could agree on that. There is good reason why the Indian liberal class is so enamored by the West.
Part of it is just basic influence of money. The West spends a great deal of money to influence media coverage abroad and shape the narrative about itself. The NGO industry in India is financed mostly from the USA and rich European countries.
The money spent on NGOs and the media naturally tends to influence opinion in other areas as well. The donations come from, both, private actors and government funded institutions in the West. It is not only Christian evangelism that is financed by money abroad, liberal evangelism receives a boost as well.
The other part is the fact that American dominance in global culture is absolute. The American entertainment industry, fashion, technology and even fast food, the USA has a domineering lead in all such fronts. And in the United States, liberalism is the ideology of the ruling elite. So, naturally, the ideology they popularise either by design or by the virtue of their own endorsement is liberalism.
Therefore, in developing countries such as India, especially in sectors closely aligned with the West such as the media, the overarching influence of their American counterparts is almost oppressive. And in the West, the media went all in to support Joe Biden’s candidature for President.
In order to gain approval of their American counterparts, with respect to whom Indian liberal media feels a definite sense of inferiority complex, Indian media devoted themselves entirely towards a glowing coverage of Joe Biden without the faintest of a critical outlook.
It is understandable that American media worked in tandem with Democrats to ensure Trump’s defeat, why would Indian media’s coverage of American politics make them come across as an ‘IT Cell’ of an American political party? Simple, because they are desperate for their approval.
The current embarrassment that Indian liberals have suffered should ideally give them cause to look at the West through a more critical lens. There is no reason why Indian media should give the USA a free pass while focusing, rightly, on human rights violations in China and elsewhere.
Indian mainstream media has allowed the West to lecture other countries on human rights while turning a blind eye to the humanitarian crisis the USA has perpetuated in the Middle East. Indian mainstream media has allowed the West to lecture other countries on press freedom without offering the slightest bit of criticism for the inhuman manner in which they are treating Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
Too many from the Indian liberal class are either professionally or financially invested in the US Liberal Complex and their livelihood and reputation is dependent on upholding the American narrative abroad. Therefore, it is hopeless to expect them to reverse their stand anytime soon.
But those who genuinely look up to the West as a shining beacon for human rights around the world, it is well past time that they open their eyes and smell the coffee.
Yesterday, former Union Minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram shared a headline from a Times of India report, without any context, in an attempt to spread misinformation about airfares online. “A Delhi-New York economy class, one-way ticket costs 7.2 lakh”, wrote Chidambaram on Twitter, insinuating that the extraordinary fare of 7.2 lakhs is widespread.
“Is the passenger buying a ticket or is he/she leasing the aircraft?”, added Chidambaram, trying to create a narrative based on an uncommon, extraordinary fare which is not the standard fare even at this moment.
“A Delhi-New York economy class, one way ticket costs 7.2 lakh”.
Is the passenger buying a ticket or is he/she leasing the aircraft?
A little research into current-day Delhi to NYC airfares will reveal that the average COVID-affected fare for a one-way trip is about Rs. 1.2 lakhs, which is mentioned in the TOI report.
A reasonable and rational consumer, who will compare the airfares amongst different flights with relation to flight layovers, number of stops, etc. will find economical flights in the first week of May in the 1.5. lakh range with only a single 3-4 hour layover. Therefore, any rational consumer will instead book a relatively reasonable 1.5. lakh ticket with a 3-4 hours layover, instead of a non-stop, one-way, ridiculously charged 7.2 lakh ticket.
Here are just some of the relatively reasonable airfares for a Delhi to New York flight for the 1st week of May with just one 3-4 hour layover.
Air fares from Delhi to NYC, screenshots from Make My Trip
It is important to note that these are exceptional times, with the COVID-19 pandemic raging throughout the world. Many complicated factors have contributed to the increased airfares, however, an airfare in the range of 7.2 lakh is a rare exception, not the rule.
According to the TOI article, the 7.2 lakh airfare only existed for the Air India flight to New York via Tokyo on Saturday, 01 May, which requires a flight change to the All Nippon Airways of Japan. This seems to be a significant factor as to why the airfare of this particular flight is extraordinarily high. Another Air India- All Nippon Airways flight from Delhi to New York via Tokyo on May 1 is similarly priced at ₹ 7,22,253, showcasing a pattern.
Air fare on one Air India flight with a flight change to All Nippon at Tokyo
Therefore, it is reasonably clear that highlighting the sensational airfare of over Rs. 7 lakh was an attempt from Chidambaram to create a narrative of exorbitant prices being charged, a misleading claim.
The COVID-19 second wave in India has reached massive proportions with over 3 lakh cases per day. While the curve is supposed to take a downward turn by the end of May 2021, the ‘liberals’ and several from the opposition parties are simply indulging in tragedy porn, going as far as to spread fake news and panic amongst the people.
On the 26th of April, Congress took to Twitter to target Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
BJP's Modus Operandi:
If citizens are telling the truth – attack them
If citizens are criticising the govt – attack them
If citizens are questioning the govt – attack them
Quoting a report where Yogi Adityanath had said that those spreading rumours will be prosecuted, Congress insinuated that Yogi Adityanath was actually ordering people to be prosecuted when they criticise him and his government amidst raising Coronavirus crisis.
Congress tweeted, “BJP’s Modus Operandi: If citizens are telling the truth – attack them If citizens are criticising the govt – attack them If citizens are questioning the govt – attack them If citizens are dying – look the other way”.
However, one look at the report quoted showed just how Congress tries to spread rumours and panic even as the country is coming together to fight the worst pandemic that India has seen.
The Hindu report quoted by Congress says that Yogi Adityanath has asserted that there was no shortage of oxygen in Uttar Pradesh, either in private or public hospitals, and the real problem was actually black-marketing and hoarding. Earlier, it is pertinent to note that Yogi Adityanath had said that anyone who was found black marketeering would be booked under NSA and the Gangster Act.
Further, in The Hindu article, it said that Yogi Adityanath had elaborated how a private hospital had reported a shortage of oxygen, but when it was investigated, it was found that the hospital actually had sufficient oxygen and was hoarding, thereby creating fear amongst the people.
Article published by The Hindu
It is this report that Congress essentially tweeted insinuating that Yogi Adityanath had issued this order simply for people who were criticising him.
It appears that Congress is of the opinion that even black-marketing in a time of acute crisis and spreading fear and panic amongst the people is acceptable as long as it can be used to settle political scores with opponents.
Interestingly, only recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to social media to urge fellow Congress workers to come forward and help amid the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
Rahul Gandhi, without mentioning the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, claimed that the country needs responsible citizens and urged his Congress colleagues to help ‘ease the pain of countrymen’. He claimed this is the ‘Dharma’ of the Congress family. Incidentally, this sermon from Wayanad Congress MP came just a day after ‘neutral platform’ The Quint published an elaborate video promoting Indian Youth Congress. It is evident that Congress is using this pandemic to market itself, even if that means harming that interest of the nation and spreading panic.
At a time when Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should have been in isolation after his wife tested Covid-19 positive just five days ago, he was seen flouting the basic Covid-19 norm. In an unexpected event, Kejriwal on Monday was seen visiting the ITBP-run Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre in Chhatarpur.
Delhi: CM Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia & Health Minister Satyendar Jain visit the ITBP-run Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre, Radha Soami Beas, Chhatarpur. The centre begins operation today. pic.twitter.com/464NdZXqS9
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had visited the Covid centre for inspection along with Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain.
Meanwhile, Sunita Kejriwal, wife of CM Arvind Kejriwal had tested positive for Covid-19 last week on April 20 and is being treated under home isolation currently.
Shortly after the news of Sunita Kejriwal testing Covid positive surfaced in the media, the chief minister announced that he will be isolating himself and urged people to stay at home during the six-day lockdown in Delhi which commenced last Monday.
दिल्ली में आज से लॉकडाउन शुरू हो चुका है। ये फ़ैसला आपके स्वास्थ्य और सुरक्षा के मद्देनज़र लिया गया है। कृपया इसमें सरकार का सहयोग करें, अपने घर पर ही रहें, संक्रमण से बचकर रहें।
Giving home quarantine a miss, Kejriwal himself tweeted and shared images of his visit to the Radha Soami Beas facility where he can be seen in close proximity with at least 10 others.
Visited the Radha Saomi facility this morning. 500 oxygen beds start today. More beds will be added in the next few days. We will also start 200 ICU beds here. Grateful to Babaji for helping us. Thank you Central govt for providing doctors and medical staff of ITBP. pic.twitter.com/23j4uNewsa
The Covid Care Centre with 500 beds was made operational from today which is intended to be increased to 7000 beds with 200 ICU beds.
Delhi government’s damage control
After being slammed by the Delhi High Court for utter mismanagement, the Delhi government is now busy doing some damage control.
After Kejriwal complained of an acute shortage of oxygen supply, the Court questioned the Delhi Government on its inability to take any steps to collect the oxygen allocated to them by the Centre. The Court remarked, “Every state is arranging its own tankers, if you’re not having your own tanks, arrange them. You will have to do it, get in touch with the Central govt officers. We are not here to facilitate contact between officers.”
Arvind Kejriwal is now putting out ads requesting individuals and organizations for cryogenic tankers to facilitate oxygen supply to the national capital.
Hospitals in Delhi came down hard against the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi High Court today over the bungled handling of the oxygen crisis in the wake of the resurgent coronavirus outbreak in the national capital. The hospitals alleged that the Delhi government has no understanding of the oxygen supply chain.
Senior advocate Sachin Dutta, representing Jaipur Golden Hospital in the Delhi High Court, today slammed the Arvind Kejriwal-led Government for the ongoing oxygen crisis in the national capital and accused them of disrupting the oxygen supply chain.
The Delhi High Court on Monday was hearing a plea highlighting the COVID-19 outbreak in Delhi and the issue of oxygen supply in the city.
“I got 3.6 MT. I was supposed to get at 5 pm. I’m normally in touch with my supplier. Supply chain is disrupted by Delhi government,” Dutta submitted.
Enormous sos calls were made. They arranged something from AIIMS but it was (some minutes) late. There is shortage and uncertainty. Delhi govt doens’t understand the Supply chain : Dutta
The Jaipur Golden Hospital’s counsel alleged that Delhi government’s mishandling of the crisis has disrupted the oxygen supply chain, causing inordinate delays for the hospitals to receive oxygen.
“Enormous SOS calls were made. They arranged something from the AIIMS but it was minutes late. There is shortage and uncertainty. Delhi government doesn’t understand the supply chain,” Dutta said.
Dutta also took a swipe at Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia’s remarks that hospitals in Delhi raised unnecessary oxygen-shortage alarms. “How long after patient dies should hospitals issue SOS?,” Dutta questioned sarcastically.
Dutta also prayed the High Court to keep Delhi Government away from his client’s oxygen supplier. Dutta said that his hospital’s supplier Inox should directly communicate with them instead of having to go through the Delhi government’s bureaucracy.
Another counsel, advocate Alok Aggarwal, representing the Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, also echoed similar sentiments. He said that the problems facing the hospitals in Delhi are that they are not aware of how much and when will they get oxygen. He said a wave of anxiety has swept across the hospitals because of a lack of clear communication from Delhi’s nodal officers.
Adv Alok Aggarwal for Maharaja Agrasen: Prob is we are not aware of how much we will get and when. It would reduce the anxiety of hospitals. We can report to nodal officers.
The lawyer appearing for Shanti Mukund hospital in Delhi said that his hospital’s oxygen supplies are already stretched thin, and they had to send the patients away because of lack of oxygen supply.
Senior Adv Viraj Datar for Shanti Mukand : I have 96 patients on oxygen support. I’m having to turn away patients. I’ve sent WhatsApp, calls. My buffer stock will also run out
“I have 96 patients on oxygen support. I’m having to turn away patients. I’ve sent WhatsApp, calls. My buffer stock will also run out,” Senior Advocate Viraj Datar for Shanti Mukund said.
NSA Ajit Doval’s call with US NSA Jake Sullivan jolted the entire US administration making them realise the urgency to be shown in sending raw materials to India for manufacturing its Covid-19 vaccines.
The call which seems to have brought about a change of heart, has also ignited a race amongst the US officials to extend unconditional support to India.
Tweets in this regard were made by some of the top officials of the US government.
US President Joe Biden expressed his determination to help India just as India assisted the US when the country’s health infrastructure was strained early in the pandemic.
Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need. https://t.co/SzWRj0eP3y
In April 2020, at the beginning of coronavirus pandemic, India had relaxed blanket ban on export of hydroxychloroquine which to countries that needed it, especially the US. Hydroxychloroquine at that time was administered to combat coronavirus as not much information was available for treatment of patients at that time. The then US President Donald Trump had said that America will not forget this gesture. However, America did forget.
The U.S. is working closely with the Indian government to rapidly deploy additional support and supplies during an alarming COVID-19 outbreak. As we provide assistance, we pray for the people of India—including its courageous healthcare workers.
Vice-President Kamala Harris informed that the US government is working closely with the Indian government to tackle the crisis at hand.
I’ve been in close touch with FS @HarshVShringla and Amb @SandhuTaranjitS in recent days. The American people stand in solidarity with our friends in India during these difficult times. We are rapidly providing therapeutics, ventilators, PPE, raw material for vaccines, and more. https://t.co/2izPobvN8k
Deputy State Secretary Wendy Sherman informed through her tweet that the US is sending ventilators, PPE and raw materials to India rapidly.
Extending support, Secretary Antony Blinken assured additional support to India’s health care heroes.
Our hearts go out to the Indian people in the midst of the horrific COVID-19 outbreak. We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India’s health care heroes.
NSA Jake Sullivan expressed deep concerns and the will to ensure uninterrupted required medical supplies to India.
The U.S. is deeply concerned by the severe COVID outbreak in India. We are working around the clock to deploy more supplies and support to our friends and partners in India as they bravely battle this pandemic. More very soon.
Assuring immediate help US NSA Jake Sullivan to NSA Ajit Doval said, “United States has identified sources of specific raw material urgently required for Indian manufacture of Covishield vaccine that will immediately be made available for India.”
An official statement issued by Sullivan read, “US has identified supplies of therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators and PPE that will immediately be made available for India. US is also pursuing options to provide oxygen generation & related supplies on an urgent basis.”
NSA Jake Sullivan’s official statement on his call with NSA Doval
Embargo on raw materials
Justifying invocation of the Defence Production Act which led to the curtailment of exports on raw materials for making the Covid-19 vaccines, the State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said, “We have a special responsibility to the American people. It’s, of course, not only in our interest to see Americans vaccinated, it’s in the interests of the rest of the world to see Americans vaccinated.”
The Biden administration thereafter came under severe criticism from across the globe, including from members and supporters of the Democratic party, for holding back the unused surplus COVID-19 vaccines to India when the country is facing a health crisis.
Citizens were quick to remind the Biden administration of the help extended by India for supplying hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug being cited as many as a game-changer in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 when no other scientific solution was available to fight the deadly pandemic.
The Indian manufacturers started to face a shortage of supplies since early April. Adar Poonawalla, CEO and owner of Serum Institute of India, took to Twitter to appeal to US President Joe Biden to lift the embargo on the export of raw materials essential to the manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccine Covishield amidst the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic.
On April 16, 2021, Adar Poonawalla said that “if we are to truly unite in beating this virus, on behalf of the vaccine industry outside the U.S., I humbly request you to lift the embargo of raw material exports out of the U.S. so that vaccine production can ramp up. Your administration has the details.”
Respected @POTUS, if we are to truly unite in beating this virus, on behalf of the vaccine industry outside the U.S., I humbly request you to lift the embargo of raw material exports out of the U.S. so that vaccine production can ramp up. Your administration has the details. ??
Wanting to protest himself, Poonawalla in an interview with India Today remarked, “I wish I could go there and protest in the US myself to say that you are holding back critical raw material that are required for Covaxin and so many vaccine manufacturers in India and other parts of the world.”
However, Poonawalla assured that the shortage and the struggle to procure raw material will not prolong because in a few months, they will be able to develop other suppliers.
India receives aid from across the globe
India has received help in kind from many countries which were once supported by India while dealing with the pandemic.
After criticizing the slowdown of the export of vaccines from India, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed solidarity with the people of India and said that they are preparing a “mission to support” to aid India’s fight against the pandemic.
The European Union (EU) has also pledged its support to India amid the second wave of coronavirus.
“The EU together with its member states will do its utmost to support India in this difficult moment,” said Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India and Bhutan in a tweet.
India has also received backing from the UK government with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeting, “We stand side by side with India in the shared fight against COVID-19. Vital medical equipment is on its way from the UK to India to help stop the tragic loss of life from the virus and we’ll continue to work closely with the Indian government during this difficult time.”
We stand side by side with India in the shared fight against COVID-19. Vital medical equipment is on its way from the UK to India to help stop the tragic loss of life from the virus and we’ll continue to work closely with the Indian government during this difficult time.
France too has come forward to supply a significant supply of medical oxygen in the coming days to curb the acute shortage being faced by the country.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is shipping 80 metric tonnes of liquid oxygen to India as the nation is running low on supplies.
“Embassy of India is proud to partner with Adani group and M/s Linde in shipping much-needed 80MT liquid oxygen to India. Our heartfelt thanks to the Ministry of Health Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for all their help, support, and cooperation, the Indian mission in Riyadh tweeted.
Embassy of India is proud to partner with Adani group and M/s Linde in shipping much needed 80MT liquid oxygen to India. Our hearfelt thanks to Ministry of Health Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for all their help, support and cooperation.@MEAIndia@drausaf@SaudiMOH@HMOIndiapic.twitter.com/6j8NuGwtCB
— India in Saudi Arabia (@IndianEmbRiyadh) April 24, 2021
India fighting Covid
Meanwhile, in the past 24 hours India has recorded 219,272 discharges taking the overall recoveries to 14,304,382.
As per Ministry of Health data, more than 141 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered as of 8 am today.
One photograph that we saw splashed all over social media, Twitter, Facebook or even family groups on WhatsApp, was one that had an aerial view of a burning ghat in India by Reuters. Some shared it with ire, talking about the insensitivity of the journalist who clicked the photo, some to spread propaganda and a vast majority out of fear.
Sharing this picture on Twitter, Danish Siddiqui, the Pulitzer prize-winning chief photographer of Reuters in India, had written, “As India posted world record of COVID cases funeral pyres of people, who died due to the coronavirus disease were pictured at a crematorium ground in New Delhi, April 22, 2021”.
As India posted world record of COVID cases funeral pyres of people, who died due to the coronavirus disease were pictured at a crematorium ground in New Delhi, April 22, 2021. @Reuters#CovidIndiapic.twitter.com/bm5Qx5SEOm
Where there is death, there are going to be funeral pyres. But what really irked people about this photograph? The insensitivity of journalists clicking pictures while several were making their last journey was not lost on anyone. Dignity in death is certainly far more a precious right of any human being than the right to report. While COVID-19 is a crisis that must be reported, journalists who turn themselves into vultures and their profession into that of voyeurism often draw the criticism of their readers.
People all over the world died, and are still dying in large numbers since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. But the vulturism and morbid obsession over their funeral pyres is somehow seen only in India, for white publications that could not really care to accord dignity to Indians, especially, to Hindus.
This picture was shared by Danish multiple times of Twitter. Thanking people for the compliments.
It is our DUTY to document what is happening around us, he said. Nothing ‘heroic’ about it.
Thanks for your kind words. I don't think there is anything HEROIC about it. As journalists, this is what we signed up for. It's our DUTY to document what is happening around us. https://t.co/zuNkyK8Mt4
On April 15th, Danish posted more pictures of the deluge. Thousands of deaths. Many out of breath.
Everyone needs to realise that India’s healthcare system is under tremendous pressure. We were never fully prepared for this pandemic. Situation could have been a little bit better if we had made public healthcare as a priority over the last few decades. pic.twitter.com/kk7Y9XSUDh
While many complimented Danish for his heroism, Reuters milked the images of Hindus being cremated to the hilt. Current on their home page, there are several articles that talk about the COVID-19 deluge in India, several with pictures of the burning pyres.
Reuters headlines on their home page
Reuters headlines on their home page
Reuters headlines on their home page
Reuters headlines on their home page
Reuters headlines on their home page
And another, nestled in an article slideshow.
Another picture of the cremation grounds
6 articles and 7 pictures in a span of two days, splashed across their current homepage. This morbid obsession that Reuters seems to harbour of watching Hindus burn is not related to telling people about the COVID-19 deluge, as one would expect Reuters to say. To write about the COVID-19 deluge and tell people just how alarming the situation is, one does not need to splash images of burning Hindus on their front page, all over their website and in multiple articles published. One needs to only talk about the truth, the cold, hard numbers, even those of death.
But Reuters would rather splash images of crematoriums, denying Hindus dignity in death. And why not? After all, the photographer for Reuters is an Indian and Indian vultures are feasting on the dead as well.
One recalls how Barkha Dutt has parked herself in front of crematoriums and often, reports from inside them. After reporting from inside the crematorium a few days ago, Barkha Dutt was parked outside it yet again yesterday. Proudly patting herself on the back and calling this the ideal way to report a humanitarian crisis.
Delhi tonight. The loneliness of the COVID Cremation ground. And if you start tabulating those dying at hospitals en masse amid oxygen shortages … 25 Jaipur Golden, 25 Ganga Ram.. 22 Nashik… anyone counting our dead ? pic.twitter.com/M1piN6FzEe
Frankly, the crisis is truly unfolding in government officers of the chief minister who could not care less. Of babus who did nothing knowing that the second wave was afoot. The news is how hospitals are ill-equipped to handle a calamity this size. The news is asking why private hospitals did not ramp up their oxygen supply or why state governments did not set up the oxygen generation plants they were allocated money for. The real story is how people are scrambling for beds and the fear-mongering in the media that is backing up our healthcare system. Those who don’t need hospitalisation or oxygen support are desperately running for it as well, because of the feeding frenzy in the media, leaving little space for those who need it. Those who are ending up in the crematoriums.
But those stories are not as enticing as showing pictures of them burning Hindus. Tragedy porn sells and Reuters is perhaps ensuring that they simply not let a tragedy go to waste.
The sheer lack of empathy is clear not only from how they splashed images of burning pyres across their home page but also from what they chose to cover and what they did not.
Reuters diligently covered the Kumbh Mela amidst the rising COVID-19 pandemic.
But even as the pandemic rages on and Reuters writes stories on pictures of Hindus’ funeral pyres, and their chief photographer in India talks about the Kumbh Mela amidst the rising number of COVID-19 cases, for some extremely odd reason, Danish has not managed to click even one picture of the farmers protest that is raging on till date. Or if he has, the editors at Reuters think it is a story unworthy of being covered by Reuters. They believe that the unmasked protestors who could just as easily become superspreaders have a right to protest amidst a growing pandemic because propaganda must always reign supreme.
Even as the Delhi government imposed lockdown till May 3rd, a piece of news reported by Reuters, none of their reporters has managed to reach the Delhi and Haryana borders where the farmer’s protest is still raging on unabated. None of them has managed to click pictures of the ambulances and other supplies that are sporadically finding it difficult to cross borders due to the raging protest and the borders that are still blocked.
Reuters has still not managed to report how Yogendra Yadav claimed that the government is trying to use the pandemic as an excuse to end the farmers’ protests. They have not managed to report how amidst the growing pandemic and with India looking at 3 lakh cases per day, the so-called farmers have yet against declared that they will march from Punjab to Delhi.
In a span of a week, this is how Reuters covered PM Modi, religious rallies and the farmers protest.
On the 16th of April, Reuters wrote about India battling record COVID surge as rallies and HINDU festivals drew huge crowds.
Reuters article from 16th April 2021
On April 20th, Reuters wrote about Prime Minister Modi being “scorned” over “reckless rallies, religious gatherings”.
Article by Reuters on the 20th of April 2021
But guess what they wrote on the 15th of April, just one day before they scorned Hindus festivals? Indian farmers vowing to carry on protest despite “concerns” about Coronavirus. Notice the difference in tone?
Reuters article on 15th April 2020
And only weeks ago, in the run up to the brutal COVID second wave, Reuters had reported how poor farmers are vowing to garner more support because PM Modi can be ‘scorned’ for religious gatherings, but out of control, violent protestors must carry on.
Reuters article on 22nd February 2021
Punjab has seen over 74 deaths and 7,000 cases in the last 24 hours. Delhi has seen thousands of new cases and an acute oxygen shortage with the Chief Minister being rapped by the Delhi High Court.
This is the graph that shows the number of new cases in Delhi.
Source: Google News
Of course, none of this really matters to Reuters. The pandemic, the suffering, the death, none of it really does. What matters is that India is suffering and that gives it an excuse to humiliate us even further.
We all remember those headlines wondering how India has managed to tame COVID-19 surge after the first wave. We all remember how western media almost denied India’s success and almost prayed for more deaths so they could watch us burn. Now that they have the opportunity, what would be better than images of Indians.. nay.. Hindus actually, literally burning?
The Scientists at China’s maximum-security Wuhan Institute of Virology banded together with the Chinese Army officials to study animal viruses and the diseases caused by them—something that has been vehemently denied by Beijing—but a report recently published by The Mail affirms.
The documents in possession of The Mail reportedly reveal that a countrywide plan, at the behest of a state body, was launched 9 years ago to investigate the origins of the new viruses and uncover the “dark matter” of biology responsible for the spread of diseases.
The project was a ‘success’ as one of the scientists involved in this collaborative initiative, who also published the first genetic sequence of the Covid-19 virus in January last year, discovered 143 new diseases in the first three years of the project alone.
The recent findings by The Mail jibes with the longstanding accusations levelled by the United States that the Chinese Army had used the Wuhan Institute of Virology(WIV) for bequeathing the intractable coronavirus to the world.
The project included five team leaders, including Shi Zhengli, the WIV virologist who had earned the moniker ‘Batwoman’ for her passionate researches into bats and viruses. Curiously, Zhengli was honoured as ‘advanced worker of the Chinese Academy of Science(CAS) by Beijing in January 2021.
Zhengli was quick to dismiss the American allegations of collaboration between the Chinese military and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Denying the allegations, Zhengli had last month said: “I don’t know of any military work at the WIV. That info is incorrect.”
While Zhengli refuted the accusations of the Chinese military’s involvement at the WIV, the project included another team member—Cao Wuchun, a senior army officer and government advisor on bioterrorism. Wuchun is among those listed on project reports as a researcher from the Academy of Military Medical Sciences of the People’s Liberation Army and works in close collaboration with other military scientists. He is also the director of the Military Biosafety Expert Committee.
Wuchun, who studied at Cambridge University, is also on the advisory board of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. He was also the second-in-command of the military team that was rushed into Wuhan to combat the new virus and develop a vaccine, said the Daily Mail report.
The report also shed light on a project called the discovery of animal-delivered pathogens carried by wild animals, which investigated the evolution of organisms that could infect human beings. Launched in 2012 and financed by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the project was led by Xu Jianguo, who preened himself at a conference in 2019 that ‘a giant network of infectious disease prevention and control is taking shape’.
Interestingly, Jianguo also presided over the first expert group probing the emergence of COVID-19 in Wuhan. He denied human transmission initially, despite evidence to the contrary from hospitals across the city. He also insisted in mid-January that the epidemic was limited and would eventually fizzle out in the coming weeks.
In 2018, the findings by scientists published in international journals found four new pathogens and ten new bacteria while ‘more than 1,640 new viruses were discovered using metagenomics technology’. This research is based on extracting the genetic material from samples, such as those collected by Zhengli from bat faeces and blood in the cave networks of Southern China.
Such widespread sampling helped Zhengli make a revelation last year about RaTG13, the closest known relative to the new strain of coronavirus that causes Covid. And predictably, it was stored at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. It was later discovered that she had changed the name of the virus identified in a previous paper, in a bid to obscure its connection with three miners who died from a strange respiratory disease they caught while clearing bat faeces.
Prof Zhengli had also conceded that 8 more SARS viruses had been discovered from the mine. The institute took its database of virus samples offline in September 2019, just a few weeks before the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in Wuhan.
Chinese dissidents claim coronavirus was a ‘man-made’ virus at Wuhan Institute of Virology
In the last few years, under the leadership of Premier Xi Jinping, the Chinese military has scaled up its hiring of scientists, as a part of the country’s efforts to attain global supremacy. Lianchao Han, a dissident who used to work for the Chinese government, said Cao’s involvement raised doubts that military researchers who are experts in coronaviruses might also be involved in bio-defense operations.
In September 2020, Chinese virologist Dr Li-Meng Yan had revealed that the coronavirus was a man-made virus at a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan. She had contended that the coronavirus was made in a government-controlled laboratory in Wuhan and had asserted that she has scientific proof to back the claim.
Speaking at a British talk show, scientist Dr Li-Meng Yan said she was assigned to investigate “new pneumonia” in Wuhan when she discovered a cover-up operation by the Chinese government’s to publicly deny the virus pandemic despite being aware of its presence.
“This virus is not from nature,” said Yan, adding that the genome sequence had a human fingerprint. Dr Li-Meng, who was a scientist at the Hong Kong School of Public Health, had to flee the country because she feared retribution from the Chinese Communist Party.
Growing belligerence of China against nations demanding a probe into the origins of coronavirus
The US State Department also raised apprehensions over risky ‘gain of function’ experiments to manipulate coronaviruses at the Wuhan lab and alleged that researchers at the institute fell sick with coronavirus symptoms weeks before the outbreak ripped through the central Chinese city. The former US President Donald Trump too insisted that the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
China was recently under the firing line of Britain, the US and 12 other countries for denying to share key data and samples after a joint team of World Health Organisation and Chinese scientists termed the possibility of a lab leak being the reason for the pandemic as ‘extremely unlikely’.
However, China has been increasingly combative in tackling the allegations levelled against it. It has sought to economically punish countries who demanded a fair and impartial probe into the origins of the coronavirus. Beijing has also been belligerent in its denial of the accusations that the virus originated from Wuhan, launching aggressive propaganda campaigns instead to allege that the virus emerged from outside China.
