By January 2021, Covid-19 cases were showing a clear downward trend. The government accepted that they had the pandemic and the economy under control. Little did they know that Corona yet had a few tricks under its sleeve. The Holi festival, Kumbh Mela, and political rallies in West Bengal were three tricks that bested the government in a triple dhamaka that led to the third wave of the pandemic that might call for another nationwide lockdown.
Over the last few months, the word “politics” has often induced a discussion on the West Bengal elections. Any political aficionado will bring up Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election campaigns and political rallies in West Bengal, along with those of Chief Minister Mamta Bannerjee and Home Minister Amit Shah. The only part of the rallies that is more notable than PM Narendra Modi’s iconic “didi” speech is the sheer lack of social distancing and covid protocols. About two months back, when Bengal election campaigns started to rise in popularity, the cases were already on the upsurge. As of 13th April 2021, Bengal set its record on the highest number of daily cases of COVID-19 since the last wave of over 4500. Political leaders retracting their statements, however advising the public to stay indoors and follow strict covid protocols gives an image of hypocrisy in the political system. Parties being allowed to conduct campaigns and rallies despite the outbreak of the new and allegedly deadlier strain in Bengal is highly concerning.
On a separate note, the Kumbh Mela has been going on as per pre-covid plans. The Kumbh Mela is celebrated four times every twelve years in the Hindu religion in Uttarakhand. It is celebrated across four sites with different rivers. It is believed that these were the locations where the amrut (sacred nectar) split when the Hindu Gods and Demons were fighting each other for it. The historic event was initially scheduled for January but was postponed to April during the previous wave of covid cases. The Mela-related ceremonies like “Shahi snan” (royal bath) expect to witness over 5 million converge on a single day, lasting up to a whole month. While the festival attracts a total of 100 to 150 million devotees, the sole focus remains on crowd management. The government has urged to “scrupulously follow” the Health Minister’s guidelines. The government has not been pushing for any further postponement of the event. Needless to mention moving forward drastically increases the chances of spreading the novel coronavirus. Apart from this, there has been media coverage of this, being the BJP government portraying a biasness by favoring the Hindu religion, Hindutva. These accusations are based on the government response to the Jamaat, a Muslim festival celebrated last year, whereupon celebration the participants were referred to as “corona jihadis”. The Kumbh Mela is expected to continue until the 30th of April. It is impossible to bound norms like social distancing, distributing hand sanitizers, or even conduct mandatory testing protocols at the mela location.
While some parts of Northern states in India had low-key celebrations, millions across the nation gathered for the festival of colors. The health experts transparently warned that Holi could become a “super-spreader” if Covid-19 protocols are violated especially during the ongoing scenario and that has become a present-day phenomenon.
Recently the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Chief Randeep Guleria said, “Laxity shown by people following coronavirus or COVID-19 protocols and mutant strains of the virus is the main reason behind the sudden spike in cases in India.” Adding to the statement, he warned that the situation could get ‘severe’ if norms were not followed properly.
The country witnessed the highest single-day spike this year with over 68,000 fresh cases with a significant rise from below 9,000 in early February. Mumbai reported more than 6,900 new cases which set a record for the city of 20 million and more than double last year’s peak. Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan ranked highest amongst large-scale violations. In poll-bound West Bengal and Assam, several candidates from various political parties were reported celebrating in a crowd of voters. Media reports several pictures evident of massive crowds in violation of the Covid-19 guidelines, celebrating the festival in Vrindavan and Gorakhpur. A large number of people, the majority of who were without masks gathered on a road in the Mahim area of Mumbai.
These three issues India has run into are because of nothing but a lack of speedy, effective, and strict action. The chances of India getting out of this pandemic once and for all appears to be bleak if the nation continues to remain careless as it has in the past few months. If India is to get back to its pre-covid levels, it is of vital importance that the nation works together and makes getting out of the pandemic the priority.