It’s easy to say but difficult to do…

R K Sinha

Corona has emerged as a worldwide epidemic, which is being witnessed in the entire world just like the third world war. All the heads of state are fighting their own way in their respective countries. This epidemic started from China. China also had a lockdown of about three months.

After that, China opened the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic, for functioning, after one hundred and seven days because, according to China regime, all infected people were either cured, or died. In China, the number of dead is said to be around 4000 but people say that China has not given the exact number of dead. There have been more deaths.

I do not want to get into this controversy. If we assume that data given by China is correct, then till Sunday, 23,95,636 people have been infected in the world, out of which 1,64,565 people have died and 6,15,668 people have gone home after treatment. In America, this fight is being fought in the worst way. America is the most prosperous and developed country.

All types of medical facilities are available there, but despite that 7,59,134 people have been infected, out of which 40,265 people have died and only 69927 people have gone home. In Spain, out of total 1,95,944 cases reported, 20,453 people have died and 77,357 returned home, which, in a way, is better than the US.

Italy is a country which stands as the second best in the matter of medical facilities in the world after America, but 1,78,972 people were infected even in this prosperous country, out of which 23,660 people have died. In France 1,52,894 people were infected with 19,718 deaths and in Germany 1,45,184 people were infected with 4586 deaths. India is better placed in comparison to these countries. As of Monday morning, only 16116 people have been infected in India, out of which 2302 have recovered and gone home and only 519 people have died.

India is the second largest populous country in the world and in the name of medical facilities, India does not stand anywhere in front of America, Spain, Italy, Germany, France and even China. However, the present leadership of India is very determined and strong. Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to lockdown the entire country at the right time and due to this lockdown, this transition has not yet touched the third stage, i.e., community level, in India.

Out of 15552 so far infected, more than half are those who did not listen to the advice of the Prime Minister, rather followed orthodox views of Maulana Saad of Tabligi Markaz. Instead of taking hospital treatment they roamed about here and there with the intention to spread the infection. As a result of this, infection spread more among Muslims causing their unfortunate deaths. Had they sincerely followed government’s instructions, perhaps by now India would have won the battle against the Corona epidemic.

Now let’s move to the states. When we talk of states, first we have to understand how we can evaluate it. Corona is a contagious infection. That is, it spreads from person to person. If one does not meet other, there is no question of its spread. In light of this, I have taken the basis of the density of population per square kilometer of the state, i.e., how many people live in one square kilometer.

Bihar is the highest among the big states in terms of density. Although Delhi is also almost the same, but Bihar has more population, that is, in the third place in the whole country. In other words 1102 people per km. According to the 2011 census, there were 1,03,84,637 persons in Bihar. Only 86 people have been infected in Bihar out of which 37 have been cured and gone home, and occurred only 2 deaths, which is negligible.

After Bihar, the state with the largest population is Uttar Pradesh, where the total population was 19,95,81,477 in the census year 2011 and the density here is 828 persons per square kilometer which is fourth. But till date 1084 persons were infected in Uttar Pradesh out of which 108 people recovered and returned home and 17 died. Here too, Tablighi Jamaat contributed more. Maharashtra is the second largest state in the country by population.

The population here was 11,23,72,972 according to the 2011 census. There was a terrible storm of Corona here. Density-wise population of Maharashtra is just 385 persons per square km. Nevertheless it is at number one in corona infection. Here, 3651 people were infected, of which only 365 went home safe and secured and 211 died. However, it is different matter that even in this terrible number of Maharashtra, the Tablighi Jamaat who returned from Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz has a big hand.

Now let us see what is happening in West Bengal. In West Bengal too, the density of population is the third number in the country, i.e., 1029 persons per sq km. Here, 310 people were infected. Of this, 62 people recovered and 12 died. The effect of Tablighi Jamaat can also be seen here. Similarly, Delhi’s figure is much more in terms of density. There are 1029 people per square kilometer living in which 1893 people were infected, 72 were cured and 43 died.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain is saying on television every day that only the people belonging to Tablighi Jamaat are more infected, due to which their deaths are increasing. Whatever the reason may be, Delhi is at number two after Maharashtra due to poor performance. Now come to Delhi’s neighboring Haryana. The population density here is slightly less, i.e., 573 persons per sq km.

Here too, 233 people were infected, 87 people recovered and returned home and 3 deaths occurred. It is ranked 14th in this battle. After Haryana, Tamil Nadu has a density of 555 per km where overall 1372 persons were infected. Of this, 365 recovered and 15 deaths occurred. Thus, Tamil Nadu ranks 23rd in the country in terms of poor performance. The density of Punjab is 550 per square kilometer and here 219 people were infected, 31 recovered and 16 deaths occurred.

In this way, Punjab ranks 21st in poor performance. After this, the density of Jharkhand is 414 per square kilometer. Only 35 people have been infected here. No one got cured and 2 deaths have occurred. Yet Jharkhand is ranked 28 in poor performance. That is, its performance is very good in terms of infection control.

In Assam, 397 people live per square km. Of these 35 people have been infected, 12 have been cured and only one has died. Thus, Assam is also ranked 27th in poor performance, i.e., better in infection control. Now speaking of Goa, it also has a density of 397 per square kilometer. Only 7 people were infected here and all have recovered. That is, Goa has become the only state of the country which has been cleared of infection. It is important for a tourism oriented state.

The density of Andhra Pradesh is 308 persons per square kilometer. Here also 603 people have been infected, 42 have been cured and 15 have died. In this way, the performance of Andhra Pradesh will also not be considered good. Here too, the Tablighi influence is responsible for its poor performance. The condition is worse in Gujarat. In a density of 308 per sq km, 1604 people were infected out of which 94 were cured and 58 died.

Here too, the administration is blaming the Tablighi Jamaat, that they came back from Delhi Markaz in large numbers and spread the infection. Gujarat ranks third in poor performance. The performance of Odisha is also satisfactory. Out of a population density of 308 per square km, 61 people have been infected, 24 cured and only 1 has died. The condition of Madhya Pradesh is also very bad. 1407 people have been infected in this state with a density of 236 persons per square kilometer, out of which only 127 have been cured and 70 people have died.

The Government of Madhya Pradesh is also accusing the Tablighis for this wrongdoing, especially in Bhopal, Indore and Ujjain. Now look at the situation in Rajasthan. Here the density per square kilometer is 201, out of which 1351 people were infected, 183 were cured, and 11 died. The performance of Chhattisgarh would be considered better as against this. Only 23 people have been infected here, out of which 10 were cured and no one has died.

Similarly, in Uttarakhand, where against the density of 189 per square km, similar to that of Chhattisgarh, 42 people got infected, of which 9 have been cured and not a single death has taken place. Both these states have done a good job in infection control. 11 people have been infected in Meghalaya, none has recovered but one has died. In Jammu and Kashmir, out of 381 infected, 51 people have recovered and 5 died.

All these deaths have happened to the people who returned from the family of Tablighi Jamaat. In this way, all the states are giving a tough fight. The noticeable thing is that Goa, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Assam have performed better than other big states. Therefore it is essential that all people follow the lockdown in unison and help their governments. Only then we will be able to win this battle properly, which is in everyone’s interest.

(The author is a senior journalist, columnist and former MP)