Sir — The pandemic has dealt a blow to human vanity — we have all been made aware of how helpless we are before nature, regardless of affluence. There might, however, be a silver lining for women. More often than not, women are shamed for having facial or body hair. Most women cannot afford regular beauty treatments. Now that women from well-to-do families, too, are finding it difficult to visit beauty salons — these can be especially dangerous during a contagion — perhaps body hair will become more acceptable to society and shatter the conventional standards of feminine beauty.

Noyonika Sen,

Calcutta

Dangerous game

Sir — It is unfortunate that at a time when the country is being besieged by an unprecedented public health crisis, right-wing propaganda is busy communalizing the public discourse. This time, at the centre of it is a gathering organized by the Tablighi Jamaat between March 13 and 15 at its headquarters in Nizamuddin, Delhi (“Blame game over Nizamuddin meet”, April 1).

Days before the event in Delhi, the followers of the Tablighi Jamaat had held a similar congregation in Malaysia. This resulted in the emergence of arguably one of the biggest Covid-19 clusters in Southeast Asia, and Malaysia banned such gatherings immediately. It was thus highly irresponsible of the Tablighi Jamaat in India to go ahead with the ceremonies in Delhi in spite of this decision. Yet, selectively scapegoating the jamaat or painting the whole Muslim community with the same brush is wrong and dangerous. When the event had been hosted, there was no lockdown in place. In fact, on March 13, the health ministry of India had issued a statement declaring that India was not facing a health emergency.

This, however, does not absolve the Markaz. But not all religious sites or events were criticized as much as the Tablighi Jamaat. For instance, the Tirupati temple closed its gates only on March 20. In Uttar Pradesh, the government-led by Yogi Adityanath cancelled plans for a massive Ramnavami celebration only days ahead of the event. Even on March 25, in the midst of the 21-day lockdown, Adityanath held a religious gathering in Ayodhya.

While the Tablighi Jamaat should be held accountable, so must the Delhi government and police, who were aware of the events and yet did not act as they should have. Should not the foreign participants at the Delhi jamaat have been quarantined as soon as Malaysia had drawn the world’s attention to the crisis there? When neither the Delhi government nor the Centre acted on time, it is a shame that the entire blame is being put on the shoulders of a particular community.

Shovanlal Chakraborty,

Calcutta

Sir — At least six of the nearly 2,000 participants in the religious congregation which began in the Nizamuddin area on March 13 are already reported to have died of Covid-19. Further, it has become difficult to trace the rest who have now disappeared among the masses. This news received extensive coverage in mainstream media. But on the following day, March 14, a ‘gau mutra party’ was held on the lawns of Hindu Mahasabha Bhavan, where a number of enthusiasts drank cups of cow urine as preventive medicine against Covid-19. Now that a case has been filed against the organizers of the Nizamuddin meet for the violation of the Epidemic Diseases Act, should not similar action be taken against the other group as well?

Sukhamay Biswas,

Calcutta

Sir — At a time when the entire world is unitedly fighting a decisive battle against a disease as deadly as Covid-19, it is not just unfortunate but also condemnable that some groups are trying to communalize the issue. The Markaz of the Tablighi Jamaat had reportedly informed the

authorities about the event in writing, and even asked the Delhi government and police the week before to make arrangements for the participants to be transported back home, as many workers had been stranded at the Markaz after the sudden lockdown.

However, several news agencies are trying to sensationalize this tragedy to mislead the people by presenting only one side of the situation. The government should acknowledge that the Delhi administration took no precautionary measures in this regard even when all the information had been brought to its knowledge. If a report has been registered against the Nizamuddin officials, then there should be also be one against the government officials who neglected their duty.

A. Malik,

Navi Mumbai