Pressure must remain on India not to allow pilgrimage in Kashmir

It’s a global tragedy. The pandemic cataclysm in India has exploded with gory and unforgiveable consequences. It has crushed the Indian health system, taken several hundred thousand lives, infected tens of millions, and eradicated any hope of containing the contagion. 

What is worse, is that with the appropriate medical provisions, the crisis could have been prevented or at least better managed. Instead, there was trauma and scenes of horror and heartbreak. 

No one was spared; neither rich nor poor. Doctors begged for oxygen for loved ones, a son for help for his mother, a retired army general died in front of a military hospital that refused him care. 

There was not even enough wood to burn the bodies in accordance with Hinduism's last rites. Out of desperation, people were dumping bodies into the Ganges, or, burying them in shallow graves. The stench was overwhelming. It was all horrifying and should have aggravated soul-searching, introspection and a resolve to not allow such devastation to resurface. Yet, those lessons have not been learnt. Why? 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the coronavirus variant in India as a "global concern." It said preliminary studies show the B.1.617 mutation spreads more easily than other variants. 

In addition, According to the WHO, the deadly Indian variant has already spread to more than 30 countries. Despite that, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fascist government has ignored all the devastating signs and refused to announce a nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of the virus. 

Actually, in a brazen disregard for human life and global safety, he continues to allow massive gatherings at election rallies and Hindu festivals, in the same fashion as the previously allowed Kumbh Mela – a super spreader event and catalyst for the upsurge in pandemic cases.  

Worse, even though  there  is some reassuring  news that the pandemic is slightly improving in India, there are credible accusations that the Indian government is fudging numbers. Or, simply put, lying.

Responding to that criticism, the Hindutva modus operandi is to follow a blinkered policy of pretending  they don't hear what the world is saying. After all, if they can convince people that banging pots and pan will drive away the ghost of the invisible plague, then what good is truth.

The Hindutva-led Indian government has been accused of seriously underreporting the crises. In fact, a New York Times article unambiguously stated that the ‘official Covid-19 figures in India grossly understate the true scale of the pandemic in the country.’ 

Then, using reliable data and expert opinions they asked ‘Just how Big Could India’s True Covid Toll Be? The results are staggering.

Admittedly, getting a clear picture of the total number of infections in India is hard because of poor record-keeping, a lack of widespread testing and political implications for speaking truthfully. In consultation with more than a dozen experts, The New York Times analysed case and death counts over time in India, along with the results of large-scale antibody tests, to arrive at several possible estimates for the true scale of devastation in the country. 

Even in the least dire of these, estimated infections and deaths far exceed official figures. More pessimistic ones show a toll on the order of millions of deaths — the most catastrophic loss anywhere in the world.

Then, if things could not get any worse, they did: the rise of the terrifying Black Fungus – a disfiguring disease that attacks those with already compromised immune systems.  This has crippled any chance of India quickly rebounding from this unheard of devastation. Now, despite all this, on June 3, 2021, the Indian occupation army in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir stated it was ready for the Amarnath Yatra. This is unconscionable. Gladly, only after an international outcry over this potential super-spreader event going forward was it just cancelled. However, following past  examples, the Indian government has utilised a strategy of claiming something – to lessen pressure, then go ahead with it when the  spotlight is no longer on them. For instance, when they would shut down and temporarily unblock the internet. 

The Amarnath Yatra  is a yearly Hindutva pilgrimage, originating in the late 19th century during the Dogra Rule. During this pilgrimage, upwards of 600,000 Hindu devotees are expected to travel to a cave shrine housing an ice stalagmite that is seen as a symbol of Shiva – a deity in the Hindu pantheon.

Despite the coronavirus ravaging India, the Indian government initially stated that the pilgrimage will take place as scheduled from June 28 through August 22, 2021. This would have been an unconscionable action and the weaponisation of a Hindu Pilgrimage. The consequences of such actions would lead to grave breaches of the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions including inhumane treatment and willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health. What could be more catastrophic than facilitating a super spreader event in the disputed territory of Indian-Occupied Kashmir? 

Unquestionably, facilitating Hindu devotees to visit the Amarnath cave shrine, perched 3,880-meters (12,730 feet) above sea level in the Himalayas, will result in a devastating wave of the coronavirus in Kashmir, which already has severely under-equipped health care facilities. 

While the Indian government claims to have cancelled it, they have in the past recanted after international pressure subsided. We need to ensure that it stays this way.