Superstition and overwhelming religion aid second wave of Coronavirus in India

 

I was amazed when one of my friend and former corporator of Ajmer Municipal Corporation told me that in a funeral of his relative, a covid death, dozens of relatives gathered despite they knew that the death was of Coronavirus. Moreover, I was shocked that they also performed a ritual of eating bread together to show that in the eyes of god now the whole community is together and with the mourning family.

It is also shocking for me that in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan, people suffering from cold and fever were going to Tantrik (self proclaimed gods’ man) rather than to doctors. It was also awful that fake doctors are working in rural regions and treating covid patients while the country is struggling from the second wave of Covid very badly.

The second wave of covid really hit hard and being as a journalist, I am working and reporting cases and deaths and funeral (which is really depressing) and reporting about oxygen to patients, about mismanagement of government and panic and also crowd in markets despite a strict lockdown and lastly relatives of covid patients folded hands demanding beds and oxygen in hospitals.

But the major shock came out that when on one side the virus is spreading and infecting large number, on other side, people, rather than praising science and understanding the pandemic and keeping themselves safe, they went overwhelming religious and superstitious. Even teachers, professors, advocates and other professionals on social sites were not discussing to help people but talking religion.

One of the post on social site shocked me when a teacher posted that with one hundred particular prayers during day time, the god will come and sit in your lungs, disgusting and disgusting that hundreds of people following that post.

Now on social media that the scarcity of oxygen cylinders can be resolved by planting trees (There is no shortage of oxygen in atmosphere but lungs of patients went weak) and one of the sudo- intellect advised to eat leaves of Pipal tree (Ficus religiosa) that provide oxygen. There are hundreds and hundreds of such advises showing how to come over the virus of Coronavirus.

The smartest clip came from educated people of Gujarat where people were shown bathing with cow dung and they are challenging that after bathing with cow dung they will not get Coronavirus.

I feel that the superstation and over powered religious attitude made the situation worse in India and therefore from 05 of May of 2021, the spread of infection speed up in rural parts and it will be hard to curb such infection in large area. It came out that hundreds of people gathered in marriages conducted in last week of April and first week of May month and therefore Rajasthan government banned any marriage ceremony till 31 of May.

Here in villages, mostly in Rajasthan marriage means community gathering for days and to perform all rituals and therefore more women died with Coronavirus as they remain in contact for hours with relatives. Marriage ceremonies are banned   but later people started gathering at funeral to perform all rituals of the dead. They remained in crowd for hours suggesting their theory of Coronavirus and the anger of god. It can be good to be religious but it is really bad to be fool.