Two diseases stalk India — one new and mysterious confounding scientists worldwide, the other decades old, all too familiar, nurtured by the politics of hate and bigotry. The coronavirus disease has so far taken less than 1,000 lives in India. But the disease of religious hatred has killed thousands over the years.
As Covid-19 spreads, anti-Muslim sentiment is raging. A media narrative, pushed by a few toxic television channels, is that the Nizamuddin Markaz Mosque in Delhi — the venue of a Tablighi Jamaat meeting in March — is solely and singly responsible for the spread of coronavirus infections all over India. A Muslim man was beaten up by a mob in Delhi. A Muslim mother and daughter have been abused Read More