Indian Muslims Are Being Scapegoated for the Coronavirus – By Namrata Kolachalam
In the weeks since India announced the world’s largest lockdown to protect its 1.3 billion people from the spread of COVID-19, millions have participated in government-instigated shows of unity and solidarity, from collectively banging on pots and pans to lighting candles.
Unfortunately, but perhaps predictably, as criticism of aspects of the lockdown has grown, so has Islamophobia. Across cable television and India’s ubiquitous WhatsApp groups, the country’s 200 million Muslims have become a useful scapegoat for the spread of the virus. As the centerpiece of this campaign, government and media figures have implied sinister intent behind a peaceful religious gathering that was held in the nation’s capital, New Delhi.…
Joshua Castellino, the executive director of the London-based Minority Rights Group International, says many Indian government leaders appear to be focusing on assigning blame rather than channeling their energy into responding to the crisis. “If your house is on fire, you need to put it out—not figure out if it was the neighbor in house 3 or house 10 that started it.”…
SEE ALSO
Islamophobia Is Making the Coronavirus Crisis Worse – By Ravi Agrawal (Apr 7, 2020, Foreign Policy)
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/07/islamophobia-coronavirus-crisis-worse-india-tablighi-jamaat/
Islamophobia taints India’s response to the coronavirus – By Rana Ayyub (Apr 7, 2020, Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/06/islamophobia-taints-indias-response-coronavirus/
How Islamophobia Is Hurting India’s Battle Against The Coronavirus – By Betwa Sharma (Apr 6, 2020, HuffPost)
https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/islamophobia-india-coronavirus_in_5e8a314cc5b6cc1e47776ae1
Lockdown may contain Covid-19, but it can’t curb the virus of Islamophobia in India – By Priya Ramani (Apr 10, 2020, The Print)
