-The Hindu Community leaders and democratically elected office holders must play a key role in preventing dangerous rumours In 1984, just as Delhi was engulfed by a pogrom against the Sikhs, the city was rife with the rumour that they had poisoned the entire water supply. Such rumours are not new. For centuries, European Jews were falsely accused of poisoning wells during wars, Epidemics or civic unrest. Late 18th century Paris, witness...
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Needed, greater decentralisation of power -Suhrith Parthasarathy
-The Hindu Even as States have taken up positions of leadership in the pandemic response, federal limitations are becoming hurdles Over the course of the last few weeks, as we have found ourselves in the throes of a pandemic, one of the striking features of governance has been the signal role played by State Chief Ministers across India. Even before the Union government invoked the Disaster Management Act, 2005, many State governments...
More »India's Tumultuous History of Epidemics, Religion and Public Health Policy -Kiran Kumbhar
-TheWire.in In the 19th century, fierce opposition from Indians to Epidemic control measures forced British officials to reach out to community leaders for help. This could help India tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. There are many terrains where public health and religion cross paths, but Epidemics are certainly the most bumpy. Contemporary examples include the large gatherings of people at several religious sites in India, including the Nizamuddin markaz and an Akkalkot temple,...
More »Why everyone should wear masks -T Jacob John
-The Hindu The pandemic can be slowed only by a lockdown as well as by ensuring universal mask use Flattening the Epidemic curve (case distribution curve) is the need of the day. On the curve, Y axis and X axis represent case numbers and time, respectively. A normal Epidemic curve is bell-shaped, with an early ascending slope (first phase), a peak (second phase) and a declining slope (third phase). The area under...
More »Explained: Who are the Tablighi Jamaat? -Stanly Johny
-The Hindu The Islamic Organisation has presence in 150 countries and millions of followers The Tablighi Jamaat, a little known Islamic organisation, has been at the centre of a controversy after dozens of people who attended a religious congregation the group held at its headquarters in Delhi in March tested positive for COVID-19. At least 2,000 people, both from across the country and foreign nations such as Indonesia and Malaysia, had attended...
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