The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has put people in tragic circumstances. In Maharashtra’s Nashik city, a woman was forced to drive to the crematorium with the mortal remains of her mother as she could not find any hearse or ambulance to carry her body. Her mother had succumbed to Covid-19 infection, as per a TV9 report.
The woman received no help and was forced to carry the dead body of her mother in the backseat of her car and drive to the crematorium to perform the final rites. The passersby who witnessed the unfortunate incident were moved to tears.
In another heart-wrenching incident, the locals had to perform the last rites of an old man whose son lives abroad and grandson was stuck in Maharashtra’s Dombivali.
Corpses wrapped in garbage bags
Earlier today, Maharashtra BJP leader Kirit Somaiya shared harrowing visuals of corpses being taken for cremation from the Saket Global Hospital in Thane, wrapped in garbage bags and polythene.
Now Thackeray Sarkar using Plastic/Kachara Bags to Pack #COVID Deadbody
8 Coronavirus dead bodies burnt on a single pyre in Maharashtra
Last week horrifying reports emerged from Beed district in Maharashtra where corpses of 8 coronavirus patients were burnt on a single pyre due to a lack of space in a makeshift crematorium.
“It was a big pyre and the bodies were kept at a certain distance from each other,” informed Ambajogai Municipal Council’s chief officer Ashok Sabale.
Lack of space in Aurangabad crematorium, no wood for the pyre in Bhusawal
A shortage of space was reported in a crematorium in Aurangabad last week. As per a TV9 report, pyres have to be set on fire even before the previous one extinguishes completely.
The city of Bhusawal located in Jalgaon district reported a shortage of dry wood to light the pyre of the deceased. The relatives of the deceased have to queue up and wait for hours to perform the final rites.
The state of Maharashtra is exploding with new corona cases every single day. 51,751 new cases and 258 deaths were recorded by the state in the past 24 hours. Amidst rising concerns, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut while addressing the media blamed people coming from other states for the spike in Covid-19 cases in the state.
He further claimed that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray leading the Maharashtra government is the most efficient authority governing the state right now. Raut while declaring Maharashtra’s health infrastructure to be the best in the country said that despite the rise in cases, the situation will be brought under control at the earliest under the leadership of CM Uddhav Thackeray.
Sanjay Raut went a step ahead to blame the Uttarakhand government for permitting Kumbh Mela while on the other hand, lauded the Maharashtra government for imposing stringent restrictions on the festival of Gudi Padva which is being celebrated today across the state.
“It is painful for the Shiv Sena to put restrictions on our festivals and religious celebrations but the party dares to do so to save the lives of people. Our priority is to save as many lives as possible. I believe that people coming from the Kumbh mela will cause further spread of COVID-19 cases, which will cause havoc,” Raut said.
Maharashtra Cabinet minister Aslam Sheikh was also heard singing the same tune. In a video interaction, he compared the congregation at Kumbh Mela to Tablighi Jamaat. Citing devotees returning from Kumbh Mela as a potential threat, he said, “There will be strict SOPs for upcoming festivals. Otherwise, you can see how there is a rise in COVID-19 cases due to permission by a government for Haridwar Kumbh. They are the same people who defamed Tablighi Jamaat and accused them of spreading the disease.”
It is imperative to note that the Kumbh Mela under the Uttarakhand government is taking place with strict rules and regulations. A Covid-19 negative RT-PCR report, not more than 72 hours prior to arrival, has been mandatory for attending the festival. In addition, all entry-points to Uttarakhand have Covid-19 testing points.
it is pertinent to mention here that Maharashtra has been consistently far ahead than any other state in contributing to the Covid-19 tally in the country. They have consistently managed to contribute over 30% of daily new for months on end. Therefore, Sanjay Raut to turn around and blame others for the situation in Maharashtra does not make any sense.
Prepare for lockdown says Maharashtra’s Health Minister
No amount of curbs or restrictions has been able to flatten the curve in Maharashtra. As a result, Maharashtra’s Health Minister Rajesh Tope has confirmed that a lockdown will be imposed in the state soon.
“Prior information will be given to people before the lockdown is implemented. At this point of time all that I would want to say to the residents of the state is that they should mentally prepare themselves for a lockdown,” informed Tope.
Last week, the state government imposed additional restrictions, including weekend lockdown and night curfew, to contain the spread of COVID-19 but nothing seems to be working. The state has been unsuccessful in getting the public to abide by the Covid-19 restriction norms.
BJP, which is the opposition party in the state, is still opposing a full lockdown.
Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis remarked, “I can understand locking and unlocking (to contain the spread of coronavirus) is important but when a lockdown is imposed, people lose their jobs. Unfortunately, the state government is not at all conscious about providing financial help to the (vulnerable) people.”
The MVA government is likely to announce its decision on lockdown after the state cabinet meeting which is scheduled for April 14.
Troubles for suspended ASI Sachin Vaze only seems to be mounting. Mumbai Police has initiated the process of dismissing from service suspended cop Sachin Vaze, arrested by the NIA in the case of an explosives-laden SUV found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence and the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran.
According to reports, the process of dismissal has been initiated under Article 311 of the Constitution, which enables the competent authority to dismiss the erring officer in larger interest without conducting a departmental enquiry.
In the normal course, the competent authority has to hold a departmental inquiry and get charges proved before dismissing an officer. But in some cases, this condition can be waived. In order to do so, the city police will invoke Article 311 of the Constitution, which deals with the dismissal, removal or reduction of the rank of those employed in civil capacities under a state or Union.
“We have received the report from NIA on Vaze’s role and invoking of UAPA. Vaze was involved in anti-national activities (planting explosives), which is enough material to proceed for dismissal. We have started the process and are taking legal opinion”, said an IPS officer, adding that Vaze’s past including his involvement in the custodial death of 2002 blast accused Khwaja Yunus and suspension of 17 years will also be taken into account.
The decision of Vaze’s dismissal was taken following a report submitted by NIA on his involvement in planting the gelatin sticks in the SUV found outside Mukesh Abani’s residence.
Besides, the report from NIA, the Mumbai police had written to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and sought documents pertaining to the case. It also procured a copy of the FIR registered in connection with Hiran’s murder and the statement of the businessman’s wife in which she raised suspicion over Vaze’s role in his death.
After receiving all the documents, the special branch recently initiated the process to dismissing Sachin Vaze from service under Article 311 of the Constitution. Based on the documents received from the ATS and the NIA, the Mumbai police special branch will send a proposal to the government to dismiss Sachin Vaze from service and a decision will be taken accordingly.
Prior to this, Sachin Vaze’s close aide API Riyazuddin Qazi was suspended from service on Monday after he was arrested by the NIA in connection with the investigation into the Antilia Bomb Scare case. The suspension was reportedly issued by DCP (Local Arms) on Monday.
A Dutch movie titled “The Columnist”, or “The Pussy Whore” in its original Dutch, has become the subject of internet mockery after its trailer went viral on the social media platform Twitter. The movie follows Westworld-fame Katja Herbers playing the role of Femke Boot, a newspaper columnist facing pressure from her publisher to complete her book and a seemingly endless stream of online harassers.
In order to deal with this endless online harassment, the journalist character decides to hunt down and murder people who write mean or rude stuff about her online.
To the surprise of no one, the movie has garnered immense praise from fellow journalist movie critics. The Columnist currently holds an 82% “Fresh” rating on the review-aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. Fellow journalist movie critics have described the film as “smart, stylish, subversive”, “a gleeful joy” and “an excellent black comedy thriller about the price of free speech and its problematic consequences.”
However, internet users have not taken kindly to the premise of the movie, describing the concept of the film as a “power trip” for journalists. Twitter users were quick to pounce on the absurdity of the movie’s concept, mocking the movie and journalists wholesale.
Is it going to try and take itself seriously and think everyone would be on the journalist’s side or is it going to be absurd satirical comedy? ?
According to a 2017 study reported in Business Insider, the brains of journalists show a “lower-than-average” level of executive functioning, which results in them having a “below-average ability to regulate their emotions, suppress biases, solve complex problems, switch between tasks, and show creative and flexible thinking.” The study blames this on the tendency of journalists to self-medicate with alcohol, caffeine, and high-sugar foods.
For more than a week, Muslim hardliners in various cities have been protesting against Dasna Devi Temple’s head priest Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati for his statements against Muhammad. Endless calls for the beheading of the priest have been made by several Muslim groups and even mainstream political parties for his alleged ‘blasphemy’.
Yesterday, the Kanpur unit of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) had put up incendiary ‘sar tan se juda’ posters with gory images, calling for the beheading of Narsinghanand Saraswati and Wasim Rizvi. Another despicable poster had a dog and a child urinating on Narsinghanand Saraswati. Similarly, videos surfaced where young Muslim children could be seen calling for the beheading of the priest on open streets.
Enraged by the Islamic fanatics openly calling for murder under religious and political sanction, Hindus from various corners of the country are now coming together in large numbers to voice their support for Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati.
Hindus organise processions in support of Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati
In a video shared on Twitter, Hindus are seen carrying out a huge procession in support of the Hindu priest. Swami Yati’s supporters are seen crying a poster that reads: “We support the truth, we support Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati”. They raised slogans in support of the Hindu priest.
Hindus demand ‘Z’ category security for the Hindu priest
Additionally, members of the Hindu outfits like the Shakti Dal, International Hindu Council and many Bajrang Dal activists gathered at the Collectorate campus in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh on Monday to protest against the violent threats being issued against Narsinghanand Saraswati.
According to a report by Hindi Daily Amar Ujala, the Hindu leaders handed over a memorandum to the UP Chief Minister demanding ‘Z’ category security for the Hindu priest whose life has been under threat ever since Muslims across the country have been calling for his beheading.
Speaking on this occasion, the National Senior Vice President of Hindu Shakti Dal, Puneet Hindu said that Swami Yeti Narasimhanand has been opposing issues like Love Jihad, Muslim fundamentalism and terrorism from time to time. For this reason, he has been on the hit list of the Islamic fundamentalists many times in the past too. Puneet said that since Yati Narasimhanand lives in Muslim-majority Dasna town there is a constant threat to his life, which is a matter of grave concern. The Hindu leader feared that if not stopped here, this episode might be a rerun of the Kamlesh Tiwari episode. He added that Hindus need to come out on streets to stand in solidarity with Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati.
In a separate incident, members of Hindu Sangharsh Samiti gathered in front of the secretariat in Haryana’s Yamunanagar demanding ‘Z’ category security for Narsinghanand Saraswati and Wasim Rizvi, the former chairman of the Shia Central Board of Waqf in Uttar Pradesh. According to a report by Jagran, the members of the Hindu outfit raised ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans while holding counter-protest against mobs calling for beheading of Narsimhanand Saraswati.
This demonstration by the Hindus saw resentment from the people of the Muslim community, who also gathered and raised slogan against Dasna Devi Temple head priest in front of the Secretariat, forcing Yamunanagar police to intervene.
To avoid any untoward incident, added police force was immediately called for. While the Muslims were restricted in front of the Secretariat, the police convinced the Hindu outfit members to shift towards the Anaj Mandi gate, where they continued the protest.
In what culminated into a brawl, police barred both sides from using loudspeakers or mics while demonstrating. The Muslims, however, did not pay heed to the request and began using mics to raise slogans against the Hindu priest. This enraged the Hindus, who in turn asked the Muslims to stop using microphones and loudspeakers. This led to a confrontation between the members of both communities. The police, however, intervened and brought the situation under control.
Remarks by Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati on Islam
On April 1, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, head priest of Dasna Devi Temple in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, had spoken at an event held at the Press Club of India when he urged Hindus to be fearless in highlighting the characteristics of Prophet Muhammad.
Following Swami Yati’s remark, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan had last week called for the beheading of the Hindu priest through his verified Twitter account. Amanatullah Khan’s tweet calling for the beheading of Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati was taken down by Twitter and subsequently, a first information report (FIR) was filed against Khan for fostering enmity and criminal intimidation by the Delhi police. Despite these actions, Amanatullah Khan’s post has put the Hindu priest’s life at a huge risk. Ever since, Khan’s viral tweet, thousands of Muslims have been advocating his call.
It must be remembered that Kamlesh Tiwari, the former Hindu Mahasabha leader was brutally murdered in 2019 in his own house by a group of radical Islamists for his 2015 statements criticising Muhammad. Back in 2015 and early 2016, lakhs of Muslims had taken to streets in several cities of India, openly calling for the public beheading and murder of Kamlesh Tiwari. The slogans calling for murder were actively encouraged by Islamic leaders, politicians and Imams.
In 2020, French schoolteacher Samuel Paty was beheaded by a Muslim man for sharing the Charlie Hebdo cartoons that had mocked Muhammad.
Protests swept western Delhi’s Dwarka neighbourhood this morning after devotees reportedly discovered idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses at the Mata Sahaj Kaur Kuldevi – Hanuman temple desecrated, says VHP.
Hundred of demonstrators, along with VHP and Bajrang Dal members, staged a protest against the egregious defilement of idols by unknown miscreants. The protesters took to the streets in Dwarka, demanding the police to arrest the culprits responsible for the idol vandalism at the Hindu temple that is located in Kakrola village in Dwarka.
Vinod Bansal, the National Spokesperson for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, took to Twitter to share the video of vandalised idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Bansal added that the growing number of attacks on Hindu places of worship in Delhi and the apathy of the police administration in this regard have further raised concerns among Hindus.
राजधानी दिल्ली में हिंदूओं व मंदिरों पर बढ़ती हमलों की घटनाओं व पुलिस-प्रशासन की उदासीनता ने हिन्दू समाज की चिंताओं को और बढ़ा दिया है। दोषियों के विरुद्ध @DelhiPolice द्वारा कठोर कार्यवाही जरूरी है। pic.twitter.com/TtkkpuPNTe
The VHP functionary has asked Delhi Police to find out the culprits responsible for the temple vandalism and take strict action against them. The video shared by Mr Bansal shows visuals from the temple where idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses were vandalised.
A protest was also launched demanding justice.
मंदिरों में देवी-देवताओं की मूर्ति विध्वंस से आक्रोशित हिन्दू समाज पश्चिमी दिल्ली में सड़कों पर उतर आया है। देखना यह है कि यहां की सरकार हिन्दू रक्षार्थ कब अपनी तन्द्रा से जागेगी..!! pic.twitter.com/FkFDTItSFO
Growing number of idol vandalism incidents in Delhi
This incident s not the first time that Hindu temples in Delhi have come under attack. There have been several cases in the past when places of Hindu worship had been targeted and vandalised. In February last year, during the anti-Hindu riots in Delhi’s northeast, rioters and vandals had attacked the Shiv Mandir in Chand Bagh.
In November 2020, dozens of Hindu god and goddesses idols were found desecrated in a temple at Kailash Vihar Pansari in Begumpur, Delhi. The incident happened on the night of November 24 at the Shiv Shakti temple in Begumpur. The antisocial elements mainly separated the head from the torso of all the Murtis installed in the temple, left it behind and fled.
Back in 2019, the desecration of the Durga Temple in Delhi’s Hauz Qazi brought under the spotlight the rampant vandalism of Hindu temples in the national capital. A mob of over 300-400 people vandalised a temple in Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi on the night of June 30, 2019. According to locals who posted videos of the temple on social media, the Durga Mandir came under attack by 300-400 people belonging to the Muslim community at around midnight. Not just the temple, but the mob also attacked the Hindu residences in the neighbourhood, the locals claimed.
Yesterday, the Chhattisgarh High Court struck down various First Information Reports (FIRs) filed against BJP National Spokesperson Dr Sambit Patra and BJP Delhi Spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga which were lodged in May 2020. Two FIRs were lodged against Dr Patra in Raipur and Durg, while one case was filed in Kanker against Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, Dr Patra’s lawyer Sharad Mishra said.
Two FIRs lodged against Dr Patra were quashed, one under Sections 499, 500, 501 & 505(1) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and another under Sections 298, 153A & 505(2) of the IPC. These FIRs were lodged against Dr Patra for making allegedly defamatory remarks against the Congress party and its leadership, including former PMs Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi.
Similarly, an FIR filed against Tajinder Bagga under Sections 153A, 505 of the IPC and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 was disallowed by the Hon’ble High Court. The FIR against Tajindar Bagga was filed in relation to a complaint about Bagga for merely retweeting Dr. Patra’s Twitter post about former PMs Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi.
Non-cognizable offence
In the judgement, Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal observed that as far sections relating to defamation are concerned, the police do not have the power to investigate non-cognizable offences without the permission of a competent Magistrate. A non-cognizable offence is usually a minor offence, mentioned in the First Schedule of the IPC, for which the accused cannot be arrested without a warrant.
The judgment further elucidated upon the illegality of a police investigation into a non-cognizable offense without the competent Magistrate’s permission. It states that any subsequent permission granted at a later date cannot fix the illegality of the police officer initiating the investigation without permission of the Magistrate with jurisdiction.
About Section 505 of the IPC which deals with statements conducive to public mischief, the Hon’ble Court observed that making allegations against leaders of political parties, even if they turn out to be incorrect or untrue, does not constitute an offence under Section 505(1).
The Hon’ble Court also refused to consider the complainant, who is neither a family member nor near relative of either PM Nehru or Rajiv Gandhi, as an “aggrieved person” under Section 199(1) of the Criminal Code of Procedure.
The Court also observed that Section 298 of the IPC applies only in cases where oral words are uttered in presence of the person, and not in cases of written articles or social media posts.
“There is also no allegation that the petitioner wounded the religious feelings of any person including respondent No.4. As such, none of the ingredients for constituting the offence under Section 298 of the IPC is available against the petitioner. Therefore, taking the contents of the FIR as it is so far as the offence under Section 298 of the IPC is concerned, offence under Section 298 is not made out against the petitioner.”, the Chattisgarh HC said.
The Court also quashed the FIR filed under Sections 153A & 505(2) of the IPC, stating, “it is not the allegation that in the said tweet, two different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities are involved and as such there is no two different religious groups which is sine qua non for attracting offences under Sections 153A & 505(2) of the IPC and one of the essential and basic ingredients of the above-stated offences of involvement of two different groups is totally missing.”
The quashed complaints
On May 11, 2020, the Chhattisgarh Police had registered a case against Dr. Sambit Patra for supposedly promoting animosity between different groups and hurting ‘religious sentiments’ for his tweets against Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi. The FIR was lodged against Patra on the complaint of Chattisgarh Youth Congress President, Purna Chandra Padhi at the Civil Lines Police Station of Raipur under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 505(2) (public mischief) and 298 (uttering words to wound religious feelings).
According to the complainant, the tweets by Dr Patra could scare and provoke members of the Sikh community which may, in turn, disturb public tranquillity. He had also argued that tweeting such things was “prejudicial to the maintenance of peace and harmony between religious groups”. Refuting claims of the complicity of the two former Prime Ministers in either riots or corruption, Padhi had said that they were not convicted by any Court of law and as such the allegations levelled against them by Dr Patra were baseless.
On Tuesday (April 13), Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson slammed ADL (Anti-Defamation League) for making outrageous claims against the former about allegedly supporting white-supremacist ‘great replacement’ theory. His strong remarks against the ADL, which seeks to stop the defamation of the Jewish people, comes at the backdrop of a debate on population demography change.
In a Fox News segment on Friday (April 9), Tucker Carlson remarked, “The government has shown preference to people who have absolute contempt for our customs, laws and system itself. And they are being treated better than American citizens. I know that the Left and the gatekeepers on Twitter become literally hysterical if you use the term ‘replacement.’ If you try to suggest that the Democratic party is trying to replace the current electorates casting ballots with new obedient people from the third world, then, they become hysterical. This is what is happening actually.”
“This matters on a bunch of different levels but on the basic level, it is a voting rights question. In a democracy, one person equals one vote. If you change the population, then, you dilute the power of the people who live there. Every time you import a new voter, I become disenfranchised as a current voter… Everyone wants to make a racial issue or white replacement theory. This is a voting rights question. I have less political power because they are importing a brand new electorate…They are not allowed to do that? Why are we putting up with this,” he inquired.
(Video Courtesy: Youtube/Fox News)
His comments were directed at the Chief Executive of Delta Airlines named Ed Bastian, who had recently criticised the newly enacted Georgia voting law that called for voter identification for absentee balloting to ensure free and fair elections. Earlier, Bastian said, “I need to make it crystal clear that the final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta’s values.” Tucker had then pointed out his hypocrisy by emphasising that an ID was required to board a Delta flight and how Ed Bastian did not want this to be the case for elections.
ADL harps tries to get the Fox News anchor fired
Tucker Carlson’s fear of demography change through illegal immigration of foreign nationals by the Joe Biden administration drew the ire of the CEO of Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt. In a tweet on Friday (April 9), he said, “”Replacement theory” is a white supremacist tenet that the white race is in danger by a rising tide of non-whites. It is antisemitic, racist and toxic. It has informed the ideology of mass shooters in El Paso, Christchurch and Pittsburgh. Tucker must go.”
.@TuckerCarlson: “replacement theory” is a white supremacist tenet that the white race is in danger by a rising tide of non-whites.
It is antisemitic, racist and toxic. It has informed the ideology of mass shooters in El Paso, Christchurch and Pittsburgh.
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) April 9, 2021
It must be pointed out that the Fox News host had specified in the Friday segment that his ‘replacement theory’ was not based on race and instead on voting rights. Given the toxic ‘cancel culture’ rampant in the United States, Jonathan Greenblatt seized the opportunity to get Tucker Carlson fired from his job. He had called upon Fox News CEO Lachlan Murdoch to sack Carlson over his alleged defense of white-supremacist replacement theory.
On Sunday (April 11), Lachlan Murdoch in a letter to ADL CEO responded, “A full review of the guest interview indicates that Mr. Carlson decried and rejected replacement theory. As Mr. Carlson himself stated during the guest interview: ‘White replacement theory? No, no, this is a voting rights question’…Fox Corporation shares your values and abhors anti-semitism, white supremacy and racism of any kind. In fact, I remember fondly the ADL honoring my father with your International Leadership Award, and we continue to support your mission.”
Yesterday, @FoxNews‘ Lachlan Murdoch responded to my letter on @TuckerCarlson‘s embrace of white supremacist theories. Unfortunately, it missed the mark. The message is simple: it’s a moral failure to not take action against this hate. My letter explains: https://t.co/aoWiChS0i5https://t.co/AF2qSxryfA
However, Jonathan Greenblatt was not impressed with the response of the Fox News CEO after his plans to get Tucker Carlson sacked, failed miserably. In a tweet, he lamented, “Yesterday, Fox News’ Lachlan Murdoch responded to my letter on Tucker Carlson’s embrace of white supremacist theories. Unfortunately, it missed the mark. The message is simple: it’s a moral failure to not take action against this hate.”
Tucker Carlson exposes the hypocrisy of Anti-Defamation League
On Tuesday (April 13), Tucker Carlson reiterated the nefarious plans of the Democratic party in undermining the US election process. “Demographic change is the key to the Democratic party’s political ambitions. Let’s say that again for emphasis because it is the secret to the entire immigration debate. In order to win and maintain power, Democrats plan to change the population of the country… Their goal is to make you irrelevant,” he said.
The Fox News host added, “It is immigration from other nations, more than anything else, that has driven political transformation,” he said. “Our leaders have no right to encourage foreigners to move to this country in order to change election results. Doing that is an attack on our democracy.”
(Video Courtesy: Youtube/Fox News)
Tucker Carlson was quick to point out the doublespeak of the Anti-Defamation League. He highlighted how in 2010, ADL had objected to the influx of Palestinian refugees in Jewish-dominated Israel, to avert potential demographic change and undermining of political representation and protection of Jewish community.
Quoting the statement by ADL, Carlson read, “With historically high birth rates among the Palestinians, and a possible influx of Palestinian refugees and their descendants now living around the world, Jews would quickly be a minority within a bi-national state, thus likely ending any semblance of equal representation and protection.”
He further read out the ADL’s statement, “In this situation, the Jewish population would be increasingly politically – and potentially physically – vulnerable. It is unrealistic and unacceptable to expect the State of Israel to voluntarily subvert its own sovereign existence and nationalist identity and become a vulnerable minority within what was once its own territory.” Tucker Carlson thus exposed the hypocrisy of ADL by pointing out its dual standards on external population influx in the US and Israel.
On April 13, Mamata Banerjee did not appear in any election rallies or gave any statement regarding the ongoing Assembly elections in West Bengal after Election Commission banned her from campaigning for 24 hours on April 12. West Bengal CM spent her day binge-painting some ‘masterpieces’ out of which one in particular left netizens scratching their heads.
#WATCH | West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee paints & shows paintings as she sits on dharna at Gandhi Murti in Kolkata, to protest against a 24-hour ban imposed by ECI on her from campaigning from 8 pm of April 12 till 8 pm of April 13 pic.twitter.com/CvKHxTB53d
The miniature painting in question looked like an ‘abstract art’ at first glance, but the more people talked about it, the more speculations raised about the idea behind that painting. Netizen Payal Mehta posted the painting on Twitter and asked if someone can explain what she had drawn.
Here are some of the most interesting replies. Some users compared it with the painting by ‘Majnu Bhai’, a character played by Anil Kapoor in the movie Welcome.
The second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic has hit India pretty hard. While a significant share of the cases still continue to be from one single state, Maharashtra, cases are rising fast in other states and Union Territories such as Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi and Chhattsgarh as well. With rising cases, calls for a lockdown have suddenly become fashionable again.
‘Journalists’ and intellectuals are again piling up demanding a lockdown as India continues to record well over 150,000 new cases every day. The central government, on the other hand, has made it clear that lockdowns and night curfews have limited impact on slowing the transmission of the virus.
Even so, confronted with rising cases, demanding lockdowns appear to have become the go-to response for many in the media and others. This is not to say that the first lockdown was not useful or was altogether pointless. It did have its necessity and utility, which we shall elaborate on later in the article.
Before going into the human cost of the lockdowns, it needs to be made clear that there is very little evidence to suggest that lockdowns are especially effective in eliminating the spread of the virus.
Trends since the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic make the futility of lockdowns in this respect further evident. The first lockdown was imposed in India on the 24th of March, 2020 and lasted three weeks. Three weeks later, it was extended till the 3rd of May. Thereafter, the unlock was on in phases and from June, all spaces apart from containment zones and few other places, restrictions had largely been lifted.
Source: Worldometers
The data from that specific period is noteworthy. From March till June, cases were on the rise all the time despite the fact that the lockdown was in place and numerous restrictions were in order. From June till September, despite the fact that restrictions had largely been lifted, the cases do not show a disproportionate increase or a sudden spike.
What is really interesting, however, is what happens after September. After a peak, cases begin to drop precipitously despite the fact that no lockdown was in place and there wasn’t any strict enforcement of restrictions either. The drop from September 2020 continued well and truly into this year when cases suddenly started increasing in the middle of March.
Source: Worldometers
Even then, the overwhelming share of cases even until a couple of weeks ago were from Maharashtra and Kerala. The sudden uptick could be due to a new variant of the virus, seasonal factors or some other factors, we cannot say for sure and that is for the experts to determine.
Why Lockdown 2020 was justifiable
When the novel Coronavirus surfaced all over the world early 2020, there was very little that any government knew about the virus. What we did know was that the virus was extremely contagious and could be fatal. Therefore, governments worldwide were caught in a situation where there was fire at one end and a frying pan on the other.
Therefore, governments across the world took the tough decision to impose lockdowns in their respective countries. The purpose of the lockdowns was never to eliminate the threat completely. It was to ‘flatten the curve’ of the spread of the virus so that countries had more time to expand their medical infrastructure. The logic was to buy time so that the medical infrastructure could be equipped to handle the growing number of cases.
And India utilized the lockdown period extremely well. Beds were increased, isolation centers were set up, ventilators were procured and more Covid-19 relief centers were established in order to shore up our resources. Meanwhile, the Indian government knew that it could afford to feed the poor until the end of the year.
Thus, while the lockdown would lead to job losses, anarchy and deaths due to starvation could be avoided easily. The lockdown measure was effectively a ‘better-safe-than-sorry’ maneuver and it worked in achieving the desired objective. What it did not succeed in, however, was eliminating the spread of the virus, an objective that was never on the plate to begin with.
Hence, while the lockdown was in place, cases continued to rise and after they were largely lifted in June, cases continued to rise without showing any sudden hike until daily new cases peaked in September at just under a 100,000. Since then, nevertheless, there has been a sharp decline in both new and active cases until March this year.
Thus, enforcing a lockdown now would be pointless because cases would continue to rise just as it did between March and June 2020. Since lockdown did not lead to eliminating the spread of the virus the first time around, it is bizarre to expect that one will now. Furthermore, we can say with some degree of certainty that at some point in the near future, the cases will peak and then start going down again.
In addition, we have a new weapon in our hands this time around against Covid-19. Vaccines. India has focused on inoculating the old and those over 45 years of age and the medical staff first. While there has been criticism of the same in certain circles, trends again demonstrate that the criticism is misguided.
Covid-19 is shown to be disproportionately more of a threat for senior citizens and those with comorbidities such as obesity and the young are relatively much safer from fatal infection from the virus. Therefore, to reduce deaths from Covid-19, it only makes sense that the old are inoculated against the virus on priority.
The human cost of lockdowns
The fundamental reason why further lockdowns should not be imposed, however, is the human cost of it. The economy suffers greatly and India is still recovering from the economic cost of the first lockdown that was imposed. The economic cost is not merely a number on the GDP or the stock market, there are actual jobs that are lost and actual human beings who suffer when they lose those jobs.
And there is sufficient indication that citizens, at this point, will not accept lockdowns as readily as they did the last time around. For instance, after a new lockdown was imposed in Maharashtra, against the recommendation of the Union Government, one fast food seller posted a video online asking the state government to give him poison instead.
In another instance, a video had gone viral from Gujarat where a woman had lost her temper completely after law enforcement officials had reached the spot to shut her shop as per restrictions. In Bihar, students resorted to violence and attacked police officials after attempts were made to shut down private coaching centers as per the orders of the state government.
All of this indicates that patience is wearing thin. While anarchy ought to be condemned, when governments make it illegal for people to earn their livelihoods through ventures which are perfectly ethical and legal right until the moment lockdowns are imposed, there will be pushback. It is not justification for lawlessness but merely a word of caution of what awaits us if lockdowns are imposed against the will of the people.
Small businesses have suffered immensely due to the lockdown and are yet to recover fully. While entire sectors such as tourism and hospitality have been torched, delivery services such as Amazon and Swiggy and Zomato and other avenues where employees can work from home have continued to prosper. Such disparities perhaps explain why lockdowns have support from certain sectors and complete opposition from others because they do not impact everyone equally.
We also have students in Universities who are now looking at an extremely uncertain future ahead and their futures will be further jeopardized if another lockdown is imposed. Schools have either been shut or opening at partial capacity.
Children who are fortunate enough to still be able to enjoy the company of those their age will perhaps be able to avoid any adverse long term impact. But those who do not have company their age at home or in the immediate neighbourhood, it could have consequences that show up in the future.
Thus, we need to expedite our efforts to open up schools and universities at full capacity, not impede the process with further lockdowns.
The Mental Health effects
Then, there is the mental health effects of lockdowns. It is undeniable that human beings do not fare well when forced to live in isolation. It is with good reason that forced isolation for extended periods is one of the most debilitating forms of torture.
While lockdowns do not take away the ability of people to communicate with each other, it does rob people of physical proximity and contact which are essential requirements for the mental health of individuals. Communicating with other humans only digitally, locked away from society, is bound to have debilitating impact on one’s sanity.
Humans are social animals at the end of the day. A lot is said about people not observing Covid-19 restrictions and there is considerable moral shaming that is being dished out. But we have to take into account that the lifestyle that Covid-19 restrictions mandate is fundamentally at odds with human nature.
Human beings are not psychologically equipped to live under such conditions for extended periods. Some obviously can but most cannot and it is unfair to blame them a year after of living through constant Covid-19 induced psychological pressure.
Covid-19 is a threat for sure but it is not the only threat that exists. Policymakers will have to take into account other threats that exist in society and respond accordingly. Poicymakers cannot afford a tunnel vision where they focus excessively on the threat of Covid-19 to the point of denial of all else.
Life often involves making a choice between two bad options. Not imposing a lockdown may be a bad choice but imposing it will prove to be infinitely worse.
