After Muslims, Sikh pilgrims face the grim repercussions of Hindutva politics, being blamed for spreading coronavirus in Punjab, India.
Indian state of Punjab has experienced a sudden spike in coronavirus cases, and Sikh pilgrims returning from Nanded are being nefariously blamed for it.
A propaganda campaign is underway on Indian mainstream media as well as social media against Sikh pilgrims, blaming them for the virus spread.
As per the details, around 4,000 pilgrims from Punjab were stranded at Huzur Sahib Gurdwara in Nanded, and were brought back to Punjab by Punjab government. Out of these 4,000 pilgrims, 183 have tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus which amounts to one third of the total cases in Punjab.
Expressing his concerns on the propaganda against Sikh community, Giani Harpreet Singh – the Jathedar of the Akal Takht, stated, “There was a frenzy to vilify the entire Muslim community by citing the case of Tablighi Jamaat, now there is a campaign to present Huzur Sahib as an epicentre of Coronavirus to malign the Sikh community. This is a conspiracy,”
Indian news channels have been terming Sikh pilgrims as ‘Corona vispot’, whereas previously similar hateful and inciting language was being used for the members of Tablighi Jamaat, and Muslims were being accused of ‘Corona Jihad’.
Giani Harpreet Singh has been highlighting the exploitation of communal fault lines and hate-politics by BJP workers and leaders.
“What sort of a country is this? What times are we living in? If a Hindu commits a crime, or a Sikh commits a crime or if a Muslim commits a crime, the standards are different in all three cases. When this happens, the head of any humanity-loving person will fall in shame,” he said last month on the issue of Muslims and Sikhs being blamed for the virus outbreak.
Communal politics and hate-crimes have been on the rise in India since the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. Narendra Modi led BJP government has passively or even in some cases actively supported such extremist Hindutva elements which have been inciting violence and hatred towards religious minorities, especially Muslims. People are being told to boycott Muslim vendors selling fruits and vegetables.
Earlier this week, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), had given India its harshest rating since 2004, saying the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promoted “campaigns of harassment and violence” against Muslims and other religious minorities.
