Syed Ali Ahmed | India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI, APRIL 10—Disturbed by the attacks on the Muslim community members and their economic boycott after TV channels and other media highlighting Tablighi Jamaat Markaz as coronavirus ‘hostspot’, Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) has asked the Delhi government to drop any mention of religious undertones in its daily bulletins on coronavirus cases in Delhi.
The Commission is a part of the Delhi government to check victimisation of minorities and also highlight the government schemes meant for their upliftment.
In a letter addressed to Delhi state government’s Health Secretary, DMC Chairman Zafarul-Islam Khan said, “Your bulletins of Coronavirus victims are showing a separate column ‘Markaz Masjid’. Such thoughtless classification is feeding into the Islamophobia agenda of the lap media and Hindutva forces and has been easily turned into a handle to attack Muslims across the country. As a result, Muslims are being attacked in various areas, calls are being made for their social boycott, one boy has been lynched in the North-West Delhi village of Harewali, and others attacked.”
The DMC letter further said, “World Health Organisation has taken cognisance of this phenomenon, unique to India. WHO Emergency Programme Director Mike Ryan said on April 6, ‘Countries should not profile novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in terms of religion or any other criteria.’ Two days later, he asked governments not to politicise the issue and stop profiling people on religious basis”.
Khan said that the Union Health Ministry followed suit and said in its advisory on April 8, “Despite all precautions, if anybody catches the infection, it is not their fault. In a situation of distress, the patient and the family need support and cooperation.”
Further, the health ministry advisory requested citizens “to never spread names or identity of those affected or under quarantine or their locality on the social media’”, the letter said.
The DMC letter made an earnest request to the Department of Health, Delhi to stop mention of any data which had religious undertones and which could be exploited for political or communal purposes by vested interests.
In an official release issued on April 6, the Delhi government wrote highlighting the number of coronavirus patients: “Rise in cases due to Markaz event, out of total 523 in Delhi 330 cases are from Markaz.”
A few days back in a programme on NDTV, Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia had pointed that out of 523 cases, 303 were from Markaz.
As of now, an official website of Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (www.mohfw.gov.in) has recorded a total number of a total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases at 6412, out of which 503 were cured/discharged, 199 died and one migrated. The active cases at present are 5709. Delhi has so far reported 720 cases, including 12 deaths, 25 cured/discharged or migrated
