Full disclosure
Indeed, the community leaders who organised the Nizamuddin event were irresponsible. It may even appear that it contributed significantly to increasing the total number of cases in India. However, it is far too early to jump to any far-reaching conclusions from these numbers, given the low testing rate in our country. Worse still is the tendency of a few to add communal flavour to the virus spread. In this context, the editorial rightly highlights the possibility of many other similar mass gatherings seeding the virus into the population (Editorial, “Beyond the blame game,” April 2). Indeed the infection is irreligious and apolitical; it can, and it will spread under the right circumstances dictated by laws of science. But what can be done at the time of a fast-spreading pandemic? It is better to publish all such significant events that happened before the lockdown and ask people who attended such events, even if they are asymptomatic, to come forward and inform the authorities. It won’t hurt if screening and testing are carried out on those people who attended the mass gathering, including migrants gathering in a few cities during the lockdown.
A. Venkatasubramanian,
Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu
At a time when the country is mobilising all its energies and resources to fight the dreaded SARS-CoV-2 virus, it is unfortunate that a religious congregation has become a potential tool in the hands of some unscrupulous politicians to promote communal hatred among the people to derive political mileage. We all know that places of worship of all religions remained open beyond the dates of Nizamuddin congregation and thousands of devotees flocked in to these temples. The ruling establishments are more culpable than anybody else for these religious gatherings which could have been avoided had there been effective political and administrative measures. Attempts to target a particular community because of the Nizamuddin religious congregation and holding it responsible for spreading the virus alarmingly are deplorable. More importantly, painting the incident with communal colours can’t hide the inexcusable lapses on the part of the governments. Let the communal virus not be set free among the people at this time.
N. Raveendra Babu,
Hyderabad
The right to question
Apropos the editorial, “Uncritical endorsement” (April 2), in times of crisis, especially a health crisis without prophylactic or cure, clear messaging by those in charge is imperative. So is creating a space where questions can be asked and addressed. The Supreme Court has rightly directed the government to activate a mechanism for delivering official updates on the crisis and measures to contain it. As the WHO chief has said, humanity is fighting two foes — a pandemic and an “infodemic”. But the antidote is not to rely on an authorised version. The media is the enabler of that choice. It was put on the list of essential services so that it could bring credible news of the pandemic both to the people and the state.
S.S. Paul,
Chakdaha, Nadia, West Bengal
Speaking of experts
It presumptuous and condescending to theorise that the uninformed masses should always defer to the superior knowledge of the experts. It is not expertise for which there has never been a lack of respect, but experts who fell from public favour because of their conflation of professional knowledge as infallible wisdom (Editorial page, “The return of the expert,” April 2). When experts proffer the prevailing expert opinion as a settled truth and refuse to review their conclusions in the face of new facts, they shut themselves in cocoons of dogmatism. Instead of celebrating the so-called “return of the expert” in the public sphere, professionals should articulate their knowledge with humility and desist from viewing themselves as an anointed class.
V.N. Mukundarajan,
Thiruvananthapuram
