COVID Files: Racism

As Samuel P. Huntington says, “It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. Nation-states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs,but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations. The clash of civilizations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.”

Is the virus deadly or our ignorance? Well,this article is going be a self-realizing mirror, so that you can realize what's going wrong except for the pandemic. Of course, Coronavirus is a deadly virus and has affected millions and the entire global economy. Not only the developing countries are affected but also the developed nations are extremely shaken up by this pandemic.

The sad part about this pandemic is not the virus, but it is the aftermath. This virus has taken many jobs and opportunities from many of us, have destroyed many businesses and has brought a major divide in many communities. If we watch the news these days, the fight against Coronavirus has become more of communal war from news channels, social media platforms accusing Tablighi jamaat for the rise of Coronavirus cases in India and now racism in the rise, not only in India but globally as well.

"United We Stand, Divided We Fall",why don't people believe in this phrase anymore. As earlier said, the virus is not deadlier than its aftermath because those who were not exposed to the virus are now exposed to hate and racism, and it is as deadlier or maybe more deadly than the actual virus. Rightly said, "The wounds given by a sword can be healed but nothing can heal a wound given by words." 

During our school years we learn about our Fundamental Rights and various social problems affecting them, it is so sad we forget to implement them in real life. Nothing justifies racism or discrimination, and it’s a shame to have to discuss the same as a social problem in 21st Century, when we claim to be evolved and developed. There have been multiple cases of racism reported in India, and the victims being the people from the North-Eastern region of India.From calling them "Cheeni" to"Corona"/"Coronavirus", "MOMO","Chinki" and even chanting "GO CORONA GO" at them in public. There have been instances of spitting, renting property,beating/lynching, restricting entry at enter public places, throwing racists slurs, etc. The treatment is inhuman and based on the presumption that those who appear to be of a certain ethnicity may be the carriers or host of this virus.

Article 21, gives every citizen the right to life, a life with dignity. Article 15, prohibits such acts of discrimination that are mentioned above. Our ignorance of all these rights guaranteed to us by the supreme law of the land may lead to a clash between many communities. Even before the pandemic, the people of North-East were always mocked for their appearance.It is high time to understand that our physical appearance, place of birth and our biological features are not predetermined. The next question to ask would be, why are the north-east people being treated this way? We do have a strong legal framework to stop such hate crimes but why aren't we talking about this? These questions are for all of us. Many North-East students all over India were treated extremely poorly during the lockdown just because of their appearance.

It is high time now, for us to believe in the foundational pillars of our Country, It is time to answer the unanswered questions, and to understand that every life matters and that nobody is superior over the other.

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