A
Tablighi Jamaat
Tablighi Jamaat (, also translated as "propagation party" or "preaching party")
is a transnational Deobandi Islamic Dawah, missionary movement
that focuses on exhorting Muslims to be more religiously observant
and encouraging fellow memb ...
religious congregation that took place in Delhi's
Nizamuddin Markaz Mosque
Nizamuddin Markaz, also called Banglewali Masjid, is a mosque located in Nizamuddin West in South Delhi, India. It is the birthplace and global centre of the Tablighi Jamaat,
Jeffrey Gettleman, Kai Schultz, Suhasini RajIn India, Coronavirus Fans ...
in early March 2020 was a
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
super-spreader
A superspreading event (SSEV) is an event in which an infectious disease is spread much more than usual, while an unusually contagious organism infection, infected with a pathogen, disease is known as a superspreader. In the human-to-human transmi ...
event,
with more than 4,000 confirmed cases and at least 27 deaths linked to the event reported across the country. Over 9,000 missionaries may have attended the congregation, with the majority being from various states of India,
[
][
] and 960 attendees from 40 foreign countries. On 18 April, 4,291 confirmed cases of COVID-19 linked to this event by the Union Health Ministry represented a third of all the confirmed cases of India.
[
][
] Around 40,000 people, including Tablighi Jamaat attendees and their contacts, were quarantined across the country.
The Tablighi Jamaat has received widespread criticism from the Muslim community for holding the congregation despite a ban on public gatherings being issued by the
Government of Delhi
The Government of Delhi, officially the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) is the governing body of the Union Territory of Delhi, whose urban area is the seat of the Government of India. It also governs the city or l ...
on 13 March.
Criminal cases were registered against the congregation attendees in the courts across India. However, in a landmark judgement in August 2020, the Bombay High Court quashed three FIRs against 35 petitioners – 29 of them foreign nationals – who attended a Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin in March and travelled from there to different parts of India. The court observed: "A political government tries to find the scapegoat when there is pandemic or calamity and the circumstances show that there is probability that these foreigners were chosen to make them scapegoats." Some of the Muslims with chargesheets neither attended the Delhi congregation nor were they inclined to the Tablighi ideology, as evidenced in the case of eight individuals with chargesheets, whose case was dismissed by the Saket district court on 25 August 2020. The
Chief Justice of India Sharad Bobde observed "evasiveness" in that the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
's affidavit filed in response to petitions challenging the discriminatory and communal coverage of the Tablighi Jamaat incident by some sections of the media. He termed the statements in the document as "unnecessary, nonsensical" averments. On 16 December 2020, The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of a Delhi Court, Arun Kumar Garg, acquitted the 36 foreign nationals from 14 countries of all the charges levelled against them. They were facing charges under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), Section 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the
Indian Penal Code
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established ...
(IPC), Section 3 (disobeying regulation) of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and Section 51 (obstruction) of Disaster Management Act, 2005.
Senior BJP leaders like
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Shivraj Singh Chouhan (born 5 March 1959), is an Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the 17th and current Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, having been elected to the same position 3 times in the past, and a Member ...
attributed Tablighi Jamaat congregation for a spike in cases of COVID-19 in the country, a claim which was disputed by experts from
Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College in
Indore
Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...
saying that they have no data to link the spread of the pandemic to the congregation. On the other hand, according to the first report in India tabled before Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan by the Department of Biotechnology in July 2020 on the genome of SARS-CoV-2 has found that a particular variant of the virus brought into the country mainly by travellers from Europe had become the most prominent across the country. India's first COVID-19 patient was a Keralite student from a state-run university in Wuhan city of China, the centre of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Timeline
Nizamuddin Markaz events
The Nizamuddin Markaz's calendar shows three events scheduled during March: ''Aalmi Mashwara'' (international executive committee meeting)
during 8–10 March, and provincial gatherings ''Andhra Pradesh jod'' during 15–17 March and ''Tamil Nadu jod'' during 22–24 March.
There is no indication of an ''
ijtema
Ijtema ( ar, اجتماع) is an Islamic congregation organised by Islamic organisations in association with millions of Muslims. It is an essential part of the Tablighi Jamaat around the world as it plays a significant role on the lives of Musli ...
'' held in March.
[
] An ''ijtema'' would have been too large a gathering for the Markaz building to hold.
[
The ''Aalmi'' ''Mashwara'' probably attracted 1500 persons from different states of India as well as various countries in Asia and Europe.][ The ]Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
gathering would have also attracted similar numbers from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...
and the neighbouring states.[ In addition to these, the Markaz receives a regular year-round traffic of visitors from India and abroad who come for preaching activity and are dispatched to various locations in India. It is common for them to stop at the Markaz for a few days at the beginning and end of their travel.][
The activities at the Markaz apparently went unhindered until 22 March, when a ]Janata curfew
On the evening of 24 March 2020, the Government of India ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21days, limiting movement of the entire 1.38billion (138 crore) population of India as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 pandemic in India. It wa ...
was observed throughout India at the instance of prime minister Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
. At the end of the Janata Curfew, a lockdown came into effect in Delhi. The group said that it was able to move out around 1,500 people on the following days with some difficulty. On 24 March, when a nationwide lockdown came into effect, the Markaz received a notice from the SHO
Sho, Shō or SHO may refer to:
Music
* ''Shō'' (instrument) (笙), a Japanese wind instrument
* ''Kane'' (instrument) (鉦), a Japanese percussion instrument
* Sho?, a Dubai rock band
People
* Shō (given name), including ''Sho''
* Shō (su ...
of the Hazrat Nizamuddin Police Station (which is the next door neighbour of the Markaz) asking for the closure of the building. The following day, a tehsildar
In India and Pakistan, a Tehsildar or Mamlatdar is a tax officer accompanied by revenue inspectors. They are in charge of obtaining taxes from a tehsil with regard to land revenue. A tehsildar is also known as an executive magistrate of the relev ...
with a medical team visited the Markaz and many of the visitors were examined. On 26 March, the group was called for a meeting with the District Magistrate
A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reve ...
. From 27 March onward, small groups of visitors were taken for medical check-ups. On 29 March, the Markaz responded to a notice from the Assistant Commissioner of Police of Lajpat Nagar stating that it had abided by all orders and did not allow any new visitors to enter the premises during the lockdown.
On 30 March, the authorities evacuated the building and sent about 2300 inmates to hospital wards and quarantines. Mawlāna Muhammad Saad Kandhlawi
Muhammad Saad Kandhlawi (born 10 May 1965) is an Indian Muslim scholar and preacher. He is the great-grandson of the Tablighi Jamat founder Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi. He heads one faction of the Tablighi Jamat.
Early life
Saad Kandhlawi was b ...
, the head of the Markaz, was not found in the building. He later responded to police enquiries stating that he was self-isolating at an unknown location.
Government measures
Delhi is a Union territory with a legislature, which in effect means that it has a divided government
A divided government is a type of government in presidential systems, when control of the executive branch and the legislative branch is split between two political parties, respectively, and in semi-presidential systems, when the executive ...
. Most governmental functions are under the control of the elected government
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...
, while law and order is under the control of the lieutenant governor. The Delhi Police reports directly to the Union Home Ministry, rather than any branch of the Delhi government. The parties in power in Delhi and the Union are rivals, adding to frictions and lack of coordination.
For its part, the Union government ordered thermal screening of passengers arriving from Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and other Asian countries from the end of February. From 4 March, thermal screening was extended to passengers from all countries. None of the foreign attendees of the Tablighi events were caught by these measures. As of 13 March the central government had maintained that there was no health emergency in the country. There were no restrictions on gatherings until this date. Home quarantine for international arrivals was not mandated until 17 March.
On 13 March, the Delhi government issued an order prohibiting sports gatherings, conferences and seminars with over 200 people. The order has been described as being vaguely worded. A second order was issued on 16 March, banning all gatherings over 50 people. The government also ordered the closure of gyms, clubs and spas. But it was not until 24 March that the Delhi Police sought the closure of the Nizamuddin Markaz.
On 16 March, the same day the Delhi order was issued, ten Indonesians who had attended the ''Aalmi Mashwara'' event in Nizamuddin were being isolated in Hyderabad. Eight of the ten men eventually tested positive for COVID-19. The Home Ministry stated that it informed all the state governments about this development on 21 March. On 21 March again, Jammu and Kashmir officials informed the Union Health Ministry's control room that a 65-year-old patient, who had been to the Nizamuddin Markaz, had tested positive for COVID-19. They said that he possibly contracted the virus from Indonesian or Thai Tablighi members in Delhi.
As late as 5 April, various government agencies were trying to blame each other with none of them taking responsibility for the lapses.
Spread
A cluster spread became apparent in the following days as cases traced back to the event were reported in several states. In Telangana, five people who attended the event died on 30 March. Dozens of people tested positive in other places such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
, Uttar Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...
. State governments scrambled to trace the whereabouts of the attendees.
As of 3 April, more than 950 confirmed cases were detected across 14 states and union territories in the country, including 97 percent of the total cases confirmed in the country on 2 and 3 April (647 out of 664 cases). Tamil Nadu was the worst affected state, as 364 of the 411 people who tested positive had attended the event. 259 of the 386 cases in Delhi and 140 of the 161 cases in Andhra Pradesh were linked to the event. All nine deaths reported in Telangana until 2 April were of people who had returned from the congregation.
The Srinagar man who died on 26 March was identified as a super-spreader
A superspreading event (SSEV) is an event in which an infectious disease is spread much more than usual, while an unusually contagious organism infection, infected with a pathogen, disease is known as a superspreader. In the human-to-human transmi ...
as he travelled by road, rail and air from Delhi to Srinagar via Uttar Pradesh, as officials feared that he may have spread it to several people along the way.
Tracing of attendees
By 2 April, Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
traced down 1,325, 1,064 and 800 attendees of the event respectively. Tamil Nadu identified and quarantined 1,103 of the 1,500-odd participants from the state. Andhra Pradesh reportedly detected around 800 of the 1,085 people of the state who attended the congregation. Gujarat Police identified 72 attendees from the state who attended the event. Uttar Pradesh managed to track and quarantine 1,205 people who participated in the congregation by 5 April. On 4 April, it was reported that the Delhi Police had found more than 500 foreign preachers "hiding in 16–17 places" in the city.
Cases linked
According to health authorities, until 2 April, among 2000 positive cases in India nearly 400 cases can be epidemiologically traced to the Tablighi Jamaat cluster. By 3 April 647 cases are reported which are related to this cluster. By 4 April, 1,023 cases with links to this cluster were reported which is about 30% of total cases in the country. On 18 April, Union Health Ministry said 4,291 out of 14,378 confirmed cases in 23 Indian states and union territories have been linked to this event, around a third of all cases.
Following are some of the positive cases from different states as reported in media.
March
* On 18 March, Eight Indonesians of Tablighi Jamaat were tested positive in Karimnagar
Karimnagar is also known as Elagandula (Ancient name)
is a city and District Headquarters in the Indian state of Telangana. Karimnagar is a major urban agglomeration and fifth largest City in the state. It is governed by Municipal corporation a ...
in Telangana. They had arrived from Hazrat Nizammudin, Delhi on 14 March. Security agencies had traced the link of these cases to Nizamuddin Markaz.
* On 21 March, two Thai Nationals in Erode
Erode () is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in the state, after Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruppur and Salem. It is also the administrative headquarters of the ...
, Tamil Nadu were reported as positive case number 5 and 6. They had attended this congregation in Delhi in early March.
* On 26 March, Jammu and Kashmir reported first death to the pandemic, a 65-year-old who had attended this congregation. At that time, more than 40 of 48 cases in the region was tracked back to this patient.
* On 31 March 57 new cases were reported in Tamil Nadu. 80 out of total 124 cases in the state are linked to Tablighi Jamaat cluster.
April
* First positive case from Dharavi
Dharavi is a locality in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, considered to be one of the world's largest slums. Dharavi has an area of just over and a population of about 1,000,000. With a population density of over , Dharavi is one of the most dens ...
in Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
who eventually died on 1 April, has hosted 10 Tablighi Jamaat members between 22 and 25 March.
* On 1 and 2 April Tamil Nadu reported 110 and 74 positive cases respectively, all of them had related to this cluster.
* On 3 April 100 cases in Tamil Nadu and 42 in Uttar Pradesh are related to this cluster.
* On 4 April, in Tamil Nadu 73 people who had taken part in congregation are tested positive. In Assam, 25 out of 26 cases reported until this date had taken part in this event.
* On 5 April, Tamil Nadu positive cases reached 571 in which 522 are related to this hotspot. In Uttar Pradesh, out of 139 out of 283 cases reported until this date has linkage to this cluster and in Delhi it is 320 out of 503 total cases.
* On 9 April 97 new cases, all linked to the Tablighi Jamaat event, were reported in Delhi, bringing the total number linked to this cluster to 430 in Delhi, out Of 669 for all cases.
Aftermath
Legal action
The Union Home Ministry instructed state governments to track down the 824 foreign attendees of the congregation, asking them to screen, quarantine and deport such individuals. On 2 April, the Home Ministry identified 960 foreigners who took part in the event and blacklisted their visas for violation of The Foreigners Act, 1946
The Foreigners Act, 1946 is an Act of the Imperial Legislative Assembly enacted to grant the certain powers to the Interim Government of India in matters of foreigners in India. The Act was enacted before India became independent.
Provisions
T ...
(by violating visa norms by entering India with a tourist visa and indulging illegally in missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
work) and the Disaster Management Act, 2005
The Disaster Management Act, 2005, (23 December 2005) No. 53 of 2005, was passed by the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India on 28 November, and the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament, on 12 December 2005. It recei ...
, and asked the DGPs of respective states and union territories to initiate legal action against them.
The Delhi government ordered an FIR against Muhammad Saad Kandhlawi, the head of Nizamuddin faction of the Tablighi Jamat, on 30 March. On 1 April, the Delhi Police launched an investigation into a leaked audio clip in which Kandhlawi was allegedly heard asking his followers to not be afraid of the COVID-19 pandemic and to gather in mosques to pray. He was also heard saying, "This is not the time when you leave your prayers or meeting people just because doctors are saying. When Allah has given this disease, then no doctor or medicine can save us." On 16 April, Kandhlawi was charged with manslaughter over the gathering.
According to reports, around 160 attendees who were quarantined at a railway facility in Delhi "misbehaved" and "spat on" doctors and healthcare personnel who were attending to them. They also allegedly raised objection to the food served and roamed around the facility in violation of the norms of the isolation ward. Attendees quarantined at a facility in Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziabad Mun ...
reportedly roamed around naked in the facility and made lewd comments and directed vulgar signs at the nurses. However, a medical officer with the Delhi government, who also helped evacuate the Nizamuddin Markaz, told ''The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' that she did not face any incidents of misbehaviour from the suspects. She stated that they mostly kept to themselves, reading ''namaaz'', and seemed unaware of what was happening beyond their world.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister condemned the actions and invoked the National Security Act against them. In Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
, stones were pelted at police officers who had gone for tracking Tablighi Jamaat attendees. On 6 April, news sources reported that some television anchors and journalists were being threatened by Tablighi Jamaat members for covering the "role of Tablighi Jamaat in the spread of coronavirus."
On 14 April, Patna Police
''Patna Police'' (Hindi: पटना पुलिस) is the police service responsible for law enforcement within Patna district, including the capital city of Patna in an Indian state of Bihar. Patna Police is the largest police service in th ...
arrested 28 preachers (17 of whom were foreigners) and on 23 April, Tablighi members (including foreigners from Bangladesh and Malaysia) were arrested at Thane
Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven taluk ...
, Maharashtra. All were arrested for not following lockdown rules and visiting mosques.
As of 8 May, 3,013 members of the Tablighi Jamaat were still waiting for their release, despite being under the long quarantine period and testing negative.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had initiated a preliminary inquiry into the financial affairs of the Jamaat for "dubious cash transactions" and for concealing foreign funding from the government. However, the union government submitted before the Supreme Court that there was no need for a probe by the CBI in connection with the congregation.
The Karnataka High Court
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
placed a 10-year restriction on visiting India on at least nine foreigner Tablighi Jamaat members who had attended the Nizamuddin Markaz event. However, this order was struck down by the Supreme Court in response to a plea by one of the attendees for its repeal. The court directed the Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
that in the event of these participants applying for visa to visit India, their applications be treated on merits uninfluenced by the state high court's order.
Acquittals
On 15 December 2020, the Delhi High Court
The High Court of Delhi ( IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S ...
acquitted 36 foreigners who were detained for allegedly violating COVID-19 norms after the prosecution failed to "prove the presence of accused inside the Markaz premises" and due to the contradictory statements given by the witnesses.
Reconciliation efforts
In a letter issued on 19 April, Maulana Saad urged all the Tablighi Jamaat members that had survived COVID-19 to donate their blood plasma for the treatment of others. Hundreds of recovered Tablighi Jamaat members came forward or expressed willingness to donate their blood plasma in an organised way in Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Delhi. However, in late April, the Union Health Ministry stated that there was no concrete evidence yet to support plasma therapy. In response to this, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
Arvind Kejriwal (Hindi: ɾʋin̪d̪ ked͡ʒɾiːʋaːl born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat, and activist who is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. Currently, he is the national co ...
stated that the Delhi government would not stop plasma therapy trials since the "initial results have been promising". As of 1 May 2020, the plasma of over 300 recovered attendees was extracted. Since the plasma donation was done during the daytime in the month of Ramadan, the donors broke their fast during the process. In some quarantine facilities, female Jamaat members donated their plasma. One of the Tablighi donated multiple times. They considered blood donation as their duty towards the nation.
In the immediate aftermath of the Delhi event, at least three mosques of the Tablighi Jamaat were turned into quarantine centres. These included the Jama Masjid Moazzampura in Mallepally and the Masjid-e-Alamgir in Shanti Nagar, both of which are located in Hyderabad.
Related casualties
In Prayagraj
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...
in Uttar Pradesh, a man was shot dead for making remarks against Tablighi Jamaat. In Una district in Himachal Pradesh, a man hanged himself due to taunts from fellow villagers for having come in contact with Tablighi Jamaat missionaries. Several truckers belonging to the Muslim community were allegedly beaten up in Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...
, following which they fled to neighbouring Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, leaving their vehicles behind, on 5 April 2020. A Muslim man in Delhi was beaten up by a mob which accused him of spreading coronavirus.
Discrimination against Muslims
Some social media users projected Muslims as the spreaders of COVID-19 in the light of Tablighi event in Delhi. As a result, Muslim vegetable vendors were barred from selling on the streets at many places by the locals in India, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, especially Dakshina Kannada.
The Hindu Mahasabha national secretary and two BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...
MLAs from Uttar Pradesh were arrested for their discriminatory remarks about Muslims and members of the Jamaat. Muslims and their families were attacked in parts of the country. In some cases, Muslim women were attacked and pregnant Muslim women were denied timely healthcare, ultimately leading to the loss of their babies' lives. Multiple cases of healthcare professionals discriminating against Muslims were reported across the country. In one such case in Ahmedabad, Hindu and Muslim coronavirus patients were allegedly separated from each other. Muslim students, too, faced discrimination while appearing for the class XII Board exams. According to media reports, in the wake of coronavirus spread, Muslims converted to Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
in several villages of Haryana, for a variety of reasons.
Islamophobic smear campaign
Several media houses were accused for instigating communal Islamophobic sentiments by blaming Indian COVID-19 outbreak on Tablighi Jamaat and spreading misinformation.
Mainstream India media propagated conspiracy of Muslims deliberately spreading coronavirus called ''Corona Jihad''. this went viral in Social media.Organizations such as Human rights watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
condemned this islamophobic campaign.
Attacks on Muslims
Hindu extremists blocked Muslim vegetable vendors from selling their produce. A Muslim couple was blocked from entering hospital before taking corona test. Muslims across India were attacked in the name of COVID-19 surge. Tamil Nadu became first Indian state for setting up detention centers for 129 foreign nationals who had stayed in Nizammuddin center at Delhi. All cases were based on anti-Islamic sentiments rather than facts or evidences.
Action against Aaj Tak
Between 4 and 5 April 2020, TV channel Aaj Tak
''Aaj Tak'' () is an Indian Hindi-language news channel owned by TV Today Network, part of the New Delhi-based media conglomerate Living Media group (India Today Group)
Aaj Tak HD
On 14 December 2018, Aaj Tak launched India's first Hindi h ...
had broadcast reports about Tablighi Jamaat. A complaint was filed with the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) in which Aaj Tak was accused of intending to "develop hatred in the minds of the people against a particular community" during the COVID-19 pandemic in India
The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...
. On 16 June 2021, the NBSA directed that Aaj Tak's broadcasts be taken down from all Internet platforms that linked a COVID-19 outbreak with Tablighi Jamaat in 2020, citing potential "errors in the figures telecast". The NBSA said that the media has "complete freedom to report on the Covid pandemic", but "such reporting must be done with accuracy, impartiality and neutrality", and added "NBSA noted that the broadcaster had admitted that there may have been chances that there were some miscalculations as pointed out by the complaint, which were inadvertent, and the broadcaster had no intention to communalize the issue or malign any community."
Reactions
Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian politician and was the Union Minister of Minority Affairs. He had served as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from 2002 to 2022 and was Deputy Leader of the House in Rajya Sab ...
urged people to not hold the entire Muslim community for the "crime" of one group. However, he further criticized the Tablighi Jamaat for organizing the events.
Responding to the spate of attacks on Muslims in Karnataka in the wake of Tablighi event, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa issued a stern warning, stating, "The entire Muslim community cannot be held responsible for an isolated incident that happens somewhere. I've given strict orders that action must be taken against the people responsible for violence against Muslims."
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh
Anil Vasantrao Deshmukh is an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra. He is a senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party. Deshmukh served as the Minister for Home Affairs in Government of Maharashtra between 2019 and 2021.
Deshmu ...
criticised the Delhi Police for inaction. He questioned why the Tabligh event at Nizamuddin was allowed to go ahead. Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis
Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis (Marathi pronunciation: ेवेंद्र फडणवीस born 22 July 1970) is an Indian politician serving as the 9th and current Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra since 30 June 2022. He served as ...
criticized the Tablighi Jamaat attendees and demanded their tracking and screening. The incumbent Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray
Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022. He was also the president of Shiv Sena prior to ...
warned against communalising the fight against coronavirus, saying, "This COVID-19 sees no religion".
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani
Vijaybhai Ramniklalbhai Rupani (born 2 August 1956) is an Indian politician who served as the 16th Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2016 to 2021 for two terms. He is a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, representing Rajkot West. He is a ...
blamed the Tablighi Jamaat event for the sharp rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the state. However, the opposition Congress blamed Namaste Trump
''Namaste Trump'' (stylised as नमस्ते TRUMP) was a tour event held on 24 and 25 February 2020 in India. It was the inaugural visit of the then US President Donald Trump and his family to India. A rally event of the same name was hel ...
event organised by the state BJP government on 24 February as principal reason for the spread of coronavirus in the state and demanded an independent probe by a Special Investigation Team
The are tactical detective units of Japanese prefectural police. Special Investigation Teams are maintained by prefectural police headquarters and are trained to handle critical incidents including criminal investigation and tactical operatio ...
(SIT) into the matter. On 24 February, US President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
took part in a road show in Ahmedabad which was attended by thousands of people.
Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
's Health Disaster Program, said in response to a question regarding the incident that patients infected with coronavirus should not be classified on the basis of race, religion or opinion.
Princess Hend bint Faisal Al-Qasimi, a member of the royal family of the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
, called out a series of "Islamophobic posts" on Twitter which targeted the Tablighi Jamaat's congregation and linked it to the spread of coronavirus in India.
The Tamil Nadu BJP spokesman Narayanan Thirupathy thanked the Tablighi attendees who donated their plasma, on behalf of his party.
The Uttar Pradesh state government filed an FIR against Siddharth Varadarajan
Siddharth Varadarajan (born 1965) is a journalist and editor in India. He was a former editor of the English language national daily ''The Hindu'', and is one of the founding editors of the Indian digital news portal The Wire (India), ''The Wi ...
and The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...
for a report on the spread of coronavirus post the Jamaat congregation while recalling UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's plans, as late as 18 March, to proceed with a religious fair at Ayodhya and his flouting of the national lockdown and social distancing norms by taking part in a religious ceremony along with others on 25 March. More than 4,600 jurists, academics, actors, artists, writers and people from all walks of life endorsed a statement expressing shock at the action of the Uttar Pradesh government. These included two former Chiefs of Naval Staff, Admiral Ramdas, and Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat
Vishnu Bhagwat, Param Vishisht Seva Medal, PVSM , Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, AVSM is a former Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, Chief of the Naval Staff of India.
He is the first and only Chief of Naval Staff who was relieved from office ...
who have also signed the statement, along with Yashwant Sinha
Yashwant Sinha (, born 6 November 1937) is an Indian administrator and politician. He served as the Minister of Finance from 1990 until 1991 under Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar and again from March 1998 to July 2002 under Prime Minister Atal B ...
, former external affairs and finance minister of India.
Editors of the English Wikipedia
The English Wikipedia is, along with the Simple English Wikipedia, one of two English-language editions of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia. It was founded on January 15, 2001, as Wikipedia's first edition, and, as of
, has the most arti ...
deleted and later restored an entry about the incident called "2020 Tablighi Jamaat coronavirus hotspot in Delhi", which project co-founder Jimmy Wales said "was incredibly poorly written and had zero sources". Wales responded to accusations on Twitter stating that Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...
did not accept payment for the article's deletion.
A reference book for the second year MBBS students published in 2021 in Maharashtra had been withdrawn after objections were raised over some part its contents that allegedly linked the Tablighi Jamaat's congregation in New Delhi to the outbreak of coronavirus in India. The authors tendered an apology for linking the two events. This follows a representation by the (SIO).
In November 2021, Delhi High Court reprimanded Delhi Police for failing to prove any offence committed in their initial status report, and reminding the Police that since a nationwide lockdown was imposed, giving Jamaat members a shelter to stay was not a crime and a humane step.
Maharashtra Minister Aslam Shaikh
Aslam Shaikh is an Indian politician from the Indian National Congress. He is serving as Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly representing the Malad West Assembly Constituency in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was serving as the Textile, Fish ...
said the same people who accused the Tablighi Jamaat of spreading COVID-19 in the country have allowed thousands of people to gather at Kumbh Mela.
See also
* 2020 Tablighi Jamaat COVID-19 hotspot in Malaysia
A Tablighi Jamaat religious conference that took place at the "Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling" in Kuala Lumpur's Sri Petaling district between 27 February to 1 March 2020 became a COVID-19 super-spreader event with more than 3,300 cases being linked ...
* 2020 Tablighi Jamaat COVID-19 hotspot in Pakistan
A Tablighi Jamaat religious congregation that took place in Lahore's Raiwind Markaz in early March 2020 was a COVID-19 super-spreader event with more than 539 confirmed cases linked to the event being reported across the country. Science and T ...
* COVID-19 pandemic in India
The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...
Notes
References
External links
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{{COVID-19 pandemic in India
March 2020 events in India
Tablighi Jamaat
2020s in Delhi
COVID-19 pandemic in India