It’s hard not to talk or think about Corona, in fact it’s
impossible. Everywhere people are talking about it. You can’t switch on the TV
or open a newspaper without finding it being widely discussed. I saw a video in
which a Chinese gentleman advised against watching TV news channels, reading
newspapers or interacting on social media to avoid being depressed in these
tough times. “We’ve been through it”, he says. “Read a book, watch a funny
movie, exercise in the home, do anything which doesn’t remind you of the virus”.
But it’s virtually impossible to do so. The world’s incompetent
leaders (especially that troika of Trump, Imran Khan and Boris Johnson) were
united in thinking that Corona is just like the flu, it attacks only the aged
and those who have underlying health problems. Initially their attitude was
like “Corona say darona” (Don’t be scared of Corona). Now both Trump and our
Very Dear Leader have revised their opinions. The third member of the troika
(UK’s Bois Johnson) is himself under isolation after having tested positive and
having a fever.
Our own politicians, of course, are a class apart. They
are usually from among our vast number of ignoramuses, the kind of people who
have never read a book in their lives. It must have been shocking to them that
Corona is not an insect but a virus, and like all viruses it is infinitesimally
small, so small that there are billions of them in a cup of water (assuming
that such people know how many zeroes there are in a billion, which is doubtful).
And what about those who believe Chinese trains can travel at the speed of
light? Due to Covid-19, they have found that there are more than two hundred countries
on the planet earth. You can imagine their amazement when they heard this for
the first time.
Two stalwarts of our government (the Dear Leader himself
and his Wasim Akram plus) say they were both aware of the crisis much earlier,
even before it struck the country. They say they started preparing for the
crisis on January 3 and January 15, in fact even before The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak to be a Public
Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020. The question arises, what
were their preparations, why did they not take it seriously in the beginning? Why
did the Great Khan criticize the imposition of lockdown by the Sindh Chief
Minister? There are credible reports of crowds being allowed to visit some shrines
even today. Why is it being allowed?
As expected, despite being told not to hold Friday
congregations, some of our citizens did just that yesterday. Not only that,
they attacked policemen who tried to prevent them from doing so. They
apparently believe that the lockdown and other measures are part of a
Hindu-Christian-Jewish conspiracy to prevent Muslims from practicing Islam.
They ignore that curfew has been imposed even in the two holiest cities of
Islam (Makkah and Madina), as well as churches and temples being shut down wherever
the virus has struck.
I hold no brief for the Tableeghi Jamaat, in fact I’ve
often said that it is harming Muslims themselves by turning them into fatalists
who can’t do anything except preach their version of Islam, but the way a
couple of Indian TV anchors have treated them is outrageous. I don’t know their
names but you can be sure that Indian P.M. Modi will hear of their obnoxious behavior
and will suitably reward them for it. One of them insisted on calling the organization
“Taliban Jamaat”, the other yelled repeatedly at a very humble preacher to
speak in a low voice. Of course, in countries where the vast majority is
illiterate, it is normal for minorities to be targeted in times of crises. The
Indian government has issued warrants for the arrest of some leaders of the
Jamaat, ignoring at the same time the
thousands of Hindus who flocked to temples in Kolkata and in other towns and
cities in India, on the occasion of Ramnavami (April 2). So don’t be surprised
if thousands of Muslims are persecuted and even killed in India as the death
toll rises.
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