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‘Teachers are the instigators, University is the hotbed of Maoism, Naxalism and Jihad’: Jamia Millia Islamia student reveals

Nirwa Mehta
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‘Teachers are the instigators, University is the hotbed of Maoism, Naxalism and Jihad’: Jamia Millia Islamia student reveals

On 25th March, 2020, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) professor Dr Abrar Ahmad tweeted that he failed 15 non-Muslim students in his class as they supported the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Hours after OpIndia reported it, the University administration suspended him pending inquiry. Prof Ahmad also claimed later that his tweet was ‘parody’ and that he did not fail any non-Muslim student for supporting CAA. Even if one concedes that the particular tweet was ‘parody’, the professor’s various social media posts reveal a very problematic mindset. This raised the question that even if the tweet was ‘parody’ as Prof Ahmad claims, it could still fall under bullying tactics a professor could use his position of power to intimidate students.

OpIndia reached out to a few current and former non-Muslim JMI students who revealed a shocking scenario which pulls down their veil of ‘solidarity’ of their students and teachers’ community.

“Communal riots are not new to India. But what was different about these recent Delhi riots? Difference being the intellectual support provided by Jamia teaching community and students. Teachers deliberately try to draw communal, minority and majoritarian lines in the minds of the students and provide them an identity which is alien to India.” This victimhood implanted in them isolates them and then they easily fall prey to ideas like ‘the police is state-sponsored terrorist and that the police only carries out encounters of Muslims’, the Jamia alumni revealed.

“That is why the ‘yeh jo gundagardi hai, uske peechhe vardi hai(there are goons under the uniform)’ slogans were chanted. Not only that. Many students from places like Kupwara and Sopore from Kashmir use the same language as the separatists. They have no rationale for democracy,” another former student from JMI revealed. “Hatred is so deep-rooted that ‘radicalised’ is a mild word. More than the students, it is the teachers who are deeply hateful. Students come and go, but the banyan tree of hatred is busy growing deep roots on campus as teacher,” the alumni revealed.

Elaborating on this, the ex-student explained that under the UPA, former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram launched the Operation Green Hunt. Maoist terrorists were eliminated and terror camps were destroyed. “The professors in Jamia were also questioned by Police but they never revealed students with Maoists and Naxalite links,” a former student who studied on campus around this time revealed.

As per the alumni, these teachers are ‘handlers’. “The students are pushed in the front line. If police takes action, then they are on the receiving end of the lathis. That way, they play victimhood all the while keeping their hands clean. On the basis of this, they will write opinion pieces in international publications to show India and Indian government in bad light. Modi is their current enemy, but they dislike anyone in power. They only hate Modi a little more,” the alumni explained. “People will forget Sharjeel Imam some day, but he will be used by these teachers to write opinion pieces in international papers that freedom of speech in India is dead,” a student tells OpIndia on condition of anonymity.

Narendra Modi swore in as the Prime Minister of India for the first time in 2014. Prior to that he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. “When I was a student, UPA was in power. They still hated Modi. Why? 2002 riots. In my first year, my internal marks were great and I scored very well. But in my second year, I pointed out that the Godhra carnage preceded the riots. In my second year, my viva and internal marks were so low that if you compare my mark sheets of two years you won’t believe they belong to same person,” the alumni said.

“Dalit-Muslim unity is the biggest joke they tell. Jamia is a minority institute and hence does not have reservation for SC/ST. We had one Dalit student as a classmate and not a single Muslim student sat with him and had lunch with him. It was only us, who were anyway in a minority, who would talk to him. And forget Dalits, one of our classmates was a Shia. Jamia is a Sunni dominated university. Nobody talked to her. Nobody even acknowledged her,” said the Jamia alumni.

“Food-jihad is too strong a term but that is exactly what happens there. I dare you to take your Jagrate ka prasad and offer it to any of the Muslim student or professor there. ‘Humare mein yeh mana hai (this is forbidden for us)’, they will say. And if you say no to their sevaiyan or biryani on Eid, you will be called a ‘Sanghi’ and looked down upon,” a student currently studying in the varsity said.

A current student studying at Jamia was critical of the teacher’s political opinion. He had to pay the price with his marks. “While rest of the class got A+ or A, I got C. When I asked the professor, he asked me to be happy with this otherwise he’d fail me,” the student said. While there is no official prohibition on celebration of Hindu festivals, the students who wish to celebrate them get strong resistance from the administration. “They can’t tell us we cannot celebrate Holi or Saraswati Puja. But they will try to resist these celebrations on campus,” a student said.

There is also soft subversion of the Indian constitution. “They will never say that Sharia is above Constitution, but they will always tell you how the Middle East has a better system in place for law. They will glorify Middle East to subtly justify the Sharia. They will praise the Quran and say how the Constitution is inspired from the Quran. They will lace it with hyperbole to undermine the importance and significance of Constitution,” a former student told OpIndia.

Speaking on the bullying by teachers and some students, another alumni explained, “If you disagree with what they say, you will be marked. They will make sure to show you your place.”

Pakistan and Tableeghi Jamaat: Breeding grounds of Wuhan Coronavirus that are jeopardizing the health of entire South Asia

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan and Tableeghi Jamaat: Breeding grounds of Wuhan Coronavirus that are jeopardizing the health of entire South Asia

The world is struggling to grapple with the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. It has spread across the world within a very short span of time and is overwhelming the healthcare facilities of some of the most developed countries in the world. Italy is being ravaged by the virus. People are dying in great numbers in France and Spain as well. Iran has been devastated by the virus.

The USA is struggling to tackle the virus as well. Large parts of the world are currently under lockdown as countries took severe measures to curb the spread of the pandemic. One country, however, that has been extremely lax in its approach and is contributing immensely to the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus is Pakistan.

Even as Iran cancelled the weekly prayers and Saudi Arabia suspended the Ummah pilgrimage by the end of February, Pakistan permitted the Tableeghi Ijtema organized by Tableeghi Jamaat to play out as planned. It was ultimately called off on the 12th of March but by then, around 2,50,000 people had already attended the event.

The event drew participants from numerous countries across the world. Even more bewilderingly, by the end of February, Pakistan had already recorded its first cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus. Nevertheless, the event which was scheduled to occur between the 11th of March and the 15th was not postponed despite numerous calls.

Raiwind in Lahore hosts the annual Tableeghi Ijtema. When it was called off on the 12th of March, the reason cited was not the pandemic but ‘rainy weather’. All the while, Islamic Clerics in Pakistan were issuing diktats that Islam will somehow protect the country from the Wuhan Coronavirus. Some claimed that the cure for the disease was the recital of certain Quranic verses which had been revealed in someone’s dream.

Another person said that he has the cure for the infection but won’t reveal it because he was afraid to be mocked like Aristotle and Socrates were. The Chief Minister of Punjab in Pakistan, Usman Bazdur, assured a delegation of Islamic clerics that Mosques will not be shut down to curb the Wuhan Coronavirus.

The end result of it all is that Pakistan is becoming a breeding ground of ‘super-spreaders’ of the Wuhan Coronavirus. On Sunday, Palestinian authorities revealed that two of its citizens with a recent history of travel to Pakistan had tested positive for the virus. They had attended the congregation in Raiwind.

A resident of Kyrgystan, who was staying with the Tableeghi Jamaat, has tested positive for the same. Even within Pakistan, the congregation has assisted the spreading of the infection greatly. Islamabad’s union council of Kot Hathial was placed under quarantine after six members of the Tableeghi Jamaat who live in the area tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus. Earlier, four people in Sindh had tested positive after attending the Tableeghi Ijtema.

In India, a member of the Tableeghi Jamaat with an extensive history of travel in the country died of the Wuhan Coronavirus in Srinagar. It’s not clear yet if he visited the congregation in Pakistan. However, it is reported that the Islamic preacher had travelled in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Samba, Jammu, Srinagar and Sopore to participate in religious events. Four others contracted the virus from him.

It is also reported that of Jammu and Kashmir’s eleven Wuhan Coronavirus patients, five of them had attended a religious event where the deceased religious preacher was also present. It is not yet clear how the person contracted the virus. According to reports, he was not cooperative during the investigation. “He wasn’t very forthcoming…not cooperative,” said a government health department official. However, it is speculated that he either travelled abroad or came into contact with those who had travelled abroad.

Meanwhile, Tableeghi Jamaat has surfaced as a great super-spreader of the Wuhan Coronavirus. Malaysian authorities reported that 624 of the 1030 cases in the country as of Friday were linked to a gathering organized by the Islamic missionary movement at a mosque outside of Kuala Lumpur. Over 1,500 foreigners from a dozen countries had attended the event. Most of the 73 cases in Brunei are connected to the event as are 10 cases in Thailand.

Eleven out of twelve people who tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus on March 16 in Cambodia had attended the Islamic evangelical event in Malaysia. The Muslims attending the event were religious despots who congregated at the Mosque despite the obvious risks associated with it. Seven Indonesian nationals who had tested positive for the virus in India had attended a Tablighi Ijtema in Telangana’s Karimnagar.

It is quite clear that Pakistan has become a breeding ground for the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus due to the whimsical approach of the authorities and the government in the country. Furthermore, organizations such as the Tableeghi Jamaat are still having an almost free run in the country, thereby, not only putting Pakistanis in jeopardy but citizens of other countries as well. They appear more concerned with ensuring that Islamic clerics are not miffed than with containing the spread of the virus. The predicament of Pakistan is comparable to that of Iran, another country that has been devastated by the Wuhan Coronavirus due to the pervasive religious fundamentalism of its population.

As the world grapples with Wuhan Coronavirus, China engages in daylight robbery, theft and increased military activity: Read how

OpIndia Staff
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As the world grapples with Wuhan Coronavirus, China engages in daylight robbery, theft and increased military activity: Read how

The Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic has the world struggling to grapple with the greatest crisis it has faced in decades. As countries are being overrun by the pandemic, large parts of the world have enforced a lockdown to prevent the further spreading of the virus. But even as countries are working hard to prevent a catastrophe due to the Coronavirus, China is up to its usual tricks again. After silencing whistleblowers and attempting to cover up the pandemic which has resulted in the calamity that the entire world faces today, China is now resorting to what can only be described as daylight robbery and theft.

A Chinese Government-backed Fortune 500 company has raided in bulk Australia’s supplies of masks, hand sanitiser, antibacterial wipes and essential medical supplies and shipped them back to China, the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported. The Greenland Group, a real estate giant, has practically drained Australian medical supplies which were to be used in fighting the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. Three million surgical masks, seven lakh hazmat suits, five lakh pairs of gloves and bulk supplies of sanitizer and wipes were bought up in Australia and other countries where Greenland operates and whisked off.

The entire exercise occurred over January and February. The staff of the company was instructed to halt their regular work and stock essential medical supplies so that the could be shipped off to China. “Basically all employees, the majority of whom are Chinese, were asked to source whatever medical supplies they could,” one company insider was quoted as saying. The accounts department, contract managers, the human resources team and even receptionists were part of the daylight robbery. “There were numerous requests from the HR manager and even our direct reporting line [which] prioritised the assisting of the company in gathering these supplies over other work activities,” a source told the SMH.

Read: China refuses to allow discussion on Wuhan Coronavirus in UNSC, blocks draft that called for “full transparency” over the outbreak

A whistleblower from the company told SMH that it was a worldwide effort not limited to Australia alone. The supplies were sourced even from Canada, Turkey and other countries. Meanwhile, the Greenland Group confirmed the scoop in a statement to the newspaper. The company claimed that it “felt compelled … to assist in efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus, which had caused a shortage of crucial medical supplies in China.” Greenland Australia supported the initiative “by arranging for medical supplies to be dispatched to China, which at that time, was the epicentre of the outbreak,” the statement said.

Sherwood Luo, the managing director of Greenland Australia, even posted photographs of this occurring on social media. As per the newspaper, on February 13 he posted on WeChat “#CombatCoronavirus, Greenland Australia is Taking Action. The second batch of non-contact forehead thermometers will soon take off to China! Coronavirus situation is serious, Chinese people, local and overseas, are trying their best, fighting together to combat the virus.”

Meanwhile, China is supplying Wuhan Coronavirus test kits to countries that do not work. The 5.5 million rapid test kits that were bought by Spain recently have been found to be wanting. As per El Pais, the widely circulated Spanish daily, several microbiology laboratories of large hospitals in the country have confirmed that they do not work as they should. “They do not detect the positive cases as expected,” a source who participated in the tests said on the condition of anonymity. One of the microbiologists who has analyzed the Chinese test stated, “With that value, it does not make sense to use these tests.”

Read: ‘Culture of eating exotic mammals in southern China a time bomb’: Read how paper published 12 years ago predicted Coronavirus pandemic

Similar results have emerged from Czech Republic. It was reported by Czech news site Expats.cz that as much as 80% of the much-touted traunch of Wuhan Covid-19 rapid test kits “donated” by China were faulty, forcing healthcare workers in the country to rely on conventional laboratory tests. While China tried to give the impression that it had ‘donated’ the test kits, in reality it was bought and paid for by the Czech government.

According to Pavla Svrcinova, hygienist for the Moravian-Silesian Region, the region will continue to rely on conventional laboratory testing. “We checked them at the University Hospital in Ostrava, but unfortunately the error rate was quite high. So now we are waiting for the results of further testing across the country, and we are considering using them only with people reach the end of their quarantine and have never tested positive, because it works with antibodies,” she said. “We tested those who searched for a sampling point. Fortunately, we were so farsighted that samples were immediately compared with traditional tests, and that just proved the error rate of the [Chinese rapid] tests,” she added.

Meanwhile, China has upped the ante with regards to its military movement. Times of India reported on the 24th of March that India is keeping a close watch on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) amid reports that China has deployed underwater drones apart from hydrographic survey and oceanic research ships in the region. China also conducted an anti-submarine drill in the South China Sea this month, apparently in response to patrols by U.S. warships. “Training for war preparedness will not be stopped even in the middle of the COVID-19 epidemic,” Chinese state-controlled Global Times said on March 25 following an aircraft carrier-based exercise in the region. China has continued to assert its presence in the South China Sea in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus crisis by deploying maritime militia around disputed islands and reefs in the Spratly island chain, according to vessel tracking data and satellite imagery reviewed by Radio Free Asia.

While the Chinese government is engaging in dubious propaganda in an obvious attempt to shift blame for its disastrous handling of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak, it has engaged in atrocious behaviour by seeking defective test kits to affected countries and draining others of necessary medical supplies. Simultaneously, China has also ramped up its military exercises in the disputed South China Sea region as the world grapples to combat a crisis of China’s making. Meanwhile, the Chinese regime is accusing everyone who called the virus ‘Wuhan Coronavirus’ or ‘Chinese Virus’ of being racist.

Belgaum, Karnataka: Police thrash people violating Coronavirus lockdown as they left Mosque after Namaaz

OpIndia Staff
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Belgaum, Karnataka: Police thrash people violating Coronavirus lockdown as they left Mosque after Namaaz

Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a full lockdown of India in the wake of the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus spreading across the country. The Wuhan Coronavirus has claimed 13 lives in India with the positive cases going up to 649. While the Government is imposing stringent restrictions to ensure that the spread is contained, several people throughout the country were seen violating the lockdown. A video emerged where Karnataka police was seen thrashing people as they left the Mosque after Namaz, and were violating the lockdown.

In the video, a group of Muslim can be seen coming out of the Mosque after offering Namaz. At that point, the police took action against the congregation in the bid to disperse the crowd that was violating the lockdown. In the lockdown order, it was specifically mentioned that all religious institutions will also remain closed for the period of 21-days of the lockdown.

Earlier today, in yet another shocking act of deliberate violation of lockdown, a Muslim mob not only assembled at a local mosque in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh but also attacked the policemen for asking to avoid mass prayers (namaz) in the view of nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Muslim had assembled at a local mosque in Bhogaon, Mainpuri on Wednesday to offer namaz at a time when Uttar Pradesh government has issued orders that no religious places will be kept open for prayers during the lockdown. The local administration had also appealed the Muslims to not assemble at the mosque. 

However, the Muslims had defied the rules to assemble at the mosque. On receiving information that people had gathered at the mosque located in Mohalla Mohammad Saeed town of Bhogaon, Inspector Pahup Singh reached the mosque with fellow policemen. When asked to open the door of the mosque, the mob became angry and refused to open the doors of the mosque.

Despite all the efforts, the police could not convince the Muslim mob. They tried hard to open the doors but they were not allowed inside the mosque. Then, the Muslim mob unleashed themselves on the policemen as they attempted to disperse the mob. The police had to call for reinforcements to control the mob.

No International passenger flights in or out till 14th April: India extends restriction in a bid to control Wuhan Coronavirus spread

OpIndia Staff
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No International passenger flights in or out till 14th April: India extends restriction in a bid to control Wuhan Coronavirus spread

In a circular issued on the 19th of March 2020, the Government of India had imposed a restriction on International flights in and out of India, effective from 22nd March till the 31st of March. In a fresh circular, the Government of India has extended that restriction till the 14th of April in a bid to control the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus that has till date, 649 positives in the country.

Order issued by the Government of India extending order to stop International flights to control Coronavirus spread
Order issued by the Government of India extending order to stop International flights to control Coronavirus spread

The circular says that in continuation of the previous circular issued on the 19th of March 2020, it has been decided that all scheduled international commercial passenger services shall remain closed till 6:30 PM GMT of April 14th 2020.

The order also says that this restriction will not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today held a press conference and announced a financial package which would take care of the welfare concerns of the poor and the suffering migrant workers after the 21-day lockdown has been announced to arrest the spread of Wuhan Coronavirus. The package was called ‘Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Yojana and totalled a whopping 1.70 lakh crores. The Finance Minister said that one side of the scheme would focus on cash transfers through DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) and the other would focus on food security as the government does not want anyone to remain hungry. 

The Government of India had announced a full 21-day lockdown of India in a bid to arrest the spread of the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus also known as Covid-19. So far, there have been 649 positive cases in India including 13 deaths and 42 people who have recovered.

Washington Post journalist says the term ‘Chinese Virus’ is racist, a term used by the publication multiple times

OpIndia Staff
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Washington Post journalist says the term ‘Chinese Virus’ is racist, a term used by the publication multiple times

Despite the fact that the Novel Coronavirus, which has descended as a global catastrophe, originated from Wuhan in China, the Chinese media, international ‘liberals’ and many organisations across the world have been trying to peddle victimhood, claiming that calling the pandemic a Chinese disease and terms like Chinese virus and Wuhan virus is ‘racism’ and ‘bias’.

One such woke journalist, Niha Masih, working as the Indian correspondent for the international media outlet, The Washington Post, today took to Twitter to denounce India for tweeting on “#coronavirus as #ChineseVirus19”. Niha called it a nasty and racist attempt to defame China.

Screenshot of Niha Masih’s Tweet

The visibly irked journalist could not control her emotions and merely a couple of minutes after the first tweet she once tweeted that she is shocked to see even India Today using this racist hashtag.

Screenshot of Niha Masih’s second Tweet

Well, Twitter can be really harsh on people sometimes. An alert Twitter user Harsh Gupta was quick to call out the journalist for her double standards. Sharing a snapshot of The Washington Post’s report where it referred to the Coronavirus as ‘Chinese virus’, Gupta asked Niha Masih to “resign from WaPo”.

Screenshot of Harsh Gupta’s Tweet

The Washington Post, in one of its report dated January 27, 2020, titled: “Chinese coronavirus infections, death toll soar as fifth case is confirmed in U.S.”, had itself called the Novel Coronavirus a ‘Chinese Virus’. It’s funny how one of its own journalists had now taken to Twitter to virtue signal on racism and Chinese virus.

Screenshot of the article by The Washington Post dated January 27, 2020

Well, Niha Masih will be delighted to know that this is not the only instance the American daily newspaper, which she is associated with, has referred to the Novel Coronavirus as the ‘Chinese coronavirus’ or ‘China virus’, but they have used the term multiple times. In another article dated January 22, 2020, titled: “First U.S. case of potentially deadly Chinese coronavirus confirmed in Washington state.” While talking about the first case in the US to be tested positive of the coronavirus, The Washington Post called it the “potentially deadly Chinese coronavirus”.

In yet another article published on 29th January, Washington Post had used the headline “China coronavirus: Party scrambles to avert a Chernobyl moment”, but later they edited the headline and removed the term ‘China coronavirus’.

Screenshot of Google search result showing the original title of WaPo’s 29th January article

It is well known now that the coronavirus infection had started and spread from Wuhan in China as early as November 2019, till January 14. A tweet by WHO, that had gone viral on social media, also revealed how China has been misleading the world about the pandemic.

The negligence and cover-up of Chinese authorities have pushed the world to battle a pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives and impacted global economies heavily. But China is ‘offended’ at the disease being called ‘Chinese’. And now this seems to be rubbing off on many woke ‘liberals’ and organisations across the world. Moreover, several other diseases are already named after places, like Japanese Influenza, Spanish Flu, German Measles etc, but only when a virus is named after China or Wuhan, China feels offended.

Odisha government to set up the largest COVID-19 hospitals in the country with a 1000 bed combined capacity

OpIndia Staff
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Odisha government to set up the largest COVID-19 hospitals in the country with a 1000 bed combined capacity

Amid the grave health crisis in the country due to COVID-19 novel coronavirus that has led to a countrywide lockdown, the Odisha government led by CM Naveen Patnaik announced that the state of Odisha will be setting up two hospitals for COVID-19 patients with a combined capacity of 1000 beds.

The said hospitals, planned in collaboration with the SUM Hospital and KIIMS Medical College will be set up in a fortnight. OMC and MCL will provide CSR funding for the purpose. Both the new facilities will be functional in a fortnight.

The State of Odisha had yesterday announced an advance salary for doctors, nurses and healthcare workers for the next four months. In a video conferencing, CM Naveen Patnaik said, “Our doctors, paramedics, and healthcare workers are in the first line of defense providing relentless services amid these difficult conditions.”

The government of Odisha is also setting up testing labs in various districts and also announced earlier to arrange 2000 isolation beds for the coronavirus patients.

Earlier on Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a financial package that would take care of the welfare concerns of the poor and the suffering migrant workers after the 21-day lockdown which has been announced to break the chain of the novel coronavirus. The package is called as ‘Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Yojana and totalled a whopping 1.70 lakh crores.

The Finance Minister said that one side of the scheme would focus on cash transfers through DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) and the other would focus on food security as the government does not want anyone to remain hungry. The package will benefit medical staff, BPL families, farmers, MGNREGA, widows, pensioners and Divyangs, households under the Ujjwala scheme, self-help women who are dealing with Livelihood Missions, construction workers, District mineral fund and Organised Sector Workers.

Wuhan Coronavirus: If India is testing too few, why is the percentage of ‘positives’ in India so low?

Abhishek Banerjee
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Wuhan Coronavirus: If India is testing too few, why is the percentage of ‘positives’ in India so low?

Since the time the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic began, India has been facing a constant barrage of criticism. Why is India testing so few people? Are India’s stringent testing criteria leaving out too many affected people who are spreading the disease all around the country?

Let us hope at least some of this criticism comes from well meaning concern, although I suspect much of it does not. But without anyone on either side getting defensive about their position, they really do need to explain this.

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Tweet by Arvind Jain

While these numbers are changing rapidly in real time, these figures are broadly correct.  Till now, India has carried out a total of 25,144 tests and detected 693 cases, which comes to 2.7%.

Meanwhile the United States has carried out roughly 370,000 tests and detected around 60,000 infections, which is a rate of 16-17%.

Those two are very different numbers and very far from each other.

The irony here seems to be this: the wider you cast the net, you should have a lower and lower percentage of actual affected persons.

On the other hand, India is testing people who are already showing symptoms, have travelled abroad or have come into direct contact with those having a travel history. For a fairly long time, India was applying even more stringent criteria: only those with travel history (or direct contact with such people) and who are already showing symptoms. In other words, India was testing almost exclusively people in the highest risk category of contracting the Wuhan Coronavirus. This should have pushed the percentage of detected infections higher, not lower.

Read: Did Gujarat company ‘CoSara’ become ‘the first and only’ company to get ​license to make Covid-19 testing kits? Here are the facts

South Korea has drawn praise all across the world for its efficient and widespread testing after the breakout of the Wuhan Coronavirus. So far, Korea has carried out about 350,000 tests and detected about 9000 cases of the virus, which works out to 2.5%. That is strikingly close to India’s number.

This genuinely could be good news for India, a ray of hope. It does suggest that India might actually be testing at a very appropriate rate. So far, with around 700 infections, that means the disease might not have gone out of control in India. It might really still be stuck in Stage 2 instead of the truly terrifying Stage 3 (community transmission).

There are other considerations here, of course. We know that the number of infections goes up exponentially. The testing ability also goes up with time, but perhaps not as fast. Perhaps therefore the ratio between the number of infections and the number of tests will go up as time passes?

So what if we went back a little into the past and looked at these same countries when they had done fewer tests?

By Feb 29, Korea had done 55000 tests and detected 3000 cases. This works out to 5.7%, which is more than the 2.5% in Korea today. So the ratio went down with time, not up.

The French Health Agency has some data that is particularly eye opening in this regard.

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Data from French Health Agency

Till March 15, France had carried out 36747 tests (not far from our current 25000 tests) and discovered 6153 cases. That’s a rate of 17%, a very far cry from our 2.7%. As of now, France has carried out 1 lakh tests and reported about 20,000 cases, which works out to 20%.

There is a very good chance here that India is doing something right. There is no room for complacency here, but definitely grounds for cautious optimism.

Chinese Coronavirus in Kashmir: 152 people with undisclosed foreign travel history traced by Srinagar Control Room, put under quarantine

OpIndia Staff
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Chinese Coronavirus in Kashmir: 152 people with undisclosed foreign travel history traced by Srinagar Control Room, put under quarantine

In the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus Pandemic, District Magistrate of Srinagar Shaid Choudhary has revealed that 152 people with an undeclared history of travel to UAE, Iran, Hungary, Taiwan, Malaysia, Cambodia, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Kazakhstan have been traced by the Control Room in Jammu & Kashmir and put under quarantine. He also urged people to come forward and report to the authorities on their own in order to help themselves, their family and fellow countrymen.

“Control Room traced 152 undeclared cases of persons returned from the UAE, Iran, Hungary, Taiwan, Malaysia, Cambodia, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Kazakhstan. Put under quarantine. We continue to request people to come forward and self-report. Help docs, Urself, family & society,” Choudhary said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Kashmir has recorded its first death in the pandemic. A 65-year-old Islamic preacher of the Tableeghi Jamaat with an extensive history of travel within the country died in Srinagar on Thursday. Four others had contracted the Wuhan Coronavirus from him. All are reportedly from Bandipora. Five of the eleven cases of Coronavirus in Jammu & Kashmir had attended an Islamic event attended by the deceased Islamic preacher.

Patna’s Hanuman Mandir trust donates Rs 1 crore to CM’s relief fund to fight Wuhan Coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Patna’s Hanuman Mandir trust donates Rs 1 crore to CM’s relief fund to fight Wuhan Coronavirus

As the scourge of novel coronavirus grips India, several companies from across sectors, as well as many organisations, have come forward to extend assistance to the government in their fight against the Covid-19. Like many others, the Mahavir Mandir Trust in Patna has donated Rs 1 crore to the CM Relief Fund for fighting Covid-19 pandemic in the state.

The Trust’s secretary Acharya Kishore Kunal said: “Our main motive is to strengthen the government’s plan to recover from the catastrophe and provide food to the poor people.”

Mahavir Temple Trust deposits Rs 1 crore to the CM Relief Fund for fighting Covid-19 pandemic in the state, Courtesy: Jagran

Notably, this is the same trust which had announced in November last year that it would donate Rs 10 crore to build Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. “We have already allocated Rs 10 crore on behalf of the Mahavir temple Nyas in Patna to be donated to build Ram temple in Ayodhya. Once the construction of the temple begins in Ayodhya, we will donate Rs 10 crore”, Acharya Kishore Kunal had said.

Meanwhile, Bihar LJP President and MP Prince Raj also donated Rs 1 crore from his MPLAD fund for protection from coronavirus. In a letter to the Samastipur district administration, Raj wrote that this fund might be used in purchasing sanitizers, masks and other medical kits for coronavirus-affected patients.

As India grapples to contain the deadly Covid-19, many business houses have also extended assistance to the government in their fight against the Covid-19. Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, Anand Mahindra, the chairman of Mahindra Group and Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal have pledged their support amidst the unprecedented crisis that has triggered widespread lockdowns across many parts of the country.

Besides undertaking a slew of measures to shore up India’s battle against the Covid-19, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance had also announced initial support of Rs 5 crores to Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to combat coronavirus spread. It also announced that it has set up India’s first COVID-19 dedicated hospital in Mumbai.

Anand Mahindra, the chairman of the Mahindra group, not only offered resorts under Mahindra Holidays as temporary care facilities for the patients, but he also claimed that his group’s project team would stand ready to assist the government and Army to help set up care facilities and that Mahindra Foundation will be setting aside a fund to help the worst-hit tide over the current crisis. 

Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal has pledged an amount of Rs 100 crores to fight the pandemic of coronavirus that has hit the nation. 

Yesterday, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) decided that 1 crore party workers are going to provide meals to 5 poor people each (5 crore poor people) during the India-wide lockdown. The decision had been taken after reports emerged that during the lockdown which came into force from 12 AM of the intervening night between 24th and 25th March, several poor people of the country were going hungry.

As of now, India has recovered 649 positive cases in COVID19 and 13 people have died till now. States across the country have announced stringent lockdown to curb the further spread of the disease which threatens to overwhelm the nation’s public health system.

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