HONG KONG (SE): India is facing a devastating second wave of Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infections. The country has confirmed more than 20.2 million cases and more than 224,000 deaths, with some reports concerned that the number of deaths is just the tip of the iceberg because of under reporting.
“The flood of new infections has already overwhelmed the healthcare system, leading us in to a helpless but not a hopeless situation,” Father Paul Moonjely, Executive Director of Caritas India, said in a letter to the Caritas family.
“Our frontline health workers and volunteers are working round-the-clock to keep up with the pace of health measures—such are the heart-breaking messages and haunting images that highlight the formidable second wave of the coronavirus pandemic raging through the country,” Father Moonjely added.
“The Church in India has lost many of its faithful laity and religious brothers and sisters in their pursuit to serve the distressed population. There is a strong urgency to reach out to the strained and stranded population that has been dispossessed and isolated,” he noted, adding, “We are faced with a massive challenge of preventing our healthcare system from further collapse until enough people can be vaccinated to significantly reduce the flow of patients.”
The bodies of Covid-19 victims were piling up in mortuaries and abandoned bodies were left near crematoriums amid a thriving black market for medical oxygen as Covid-19 cases spiral in India’s capital.
Fear of infection, a lack of medical facilities and days of waiting for cremations are said to be the reasons for the dozens of bodies seen abandoned at crematoriums in New Delhi. “We Indians talk big about humanitarian aspects and religious ideologies, but people display their baser instincts when faced with life’s realities,” says Pongsing, a resident of Delhi who lost a family member to Covid-19.
‘We are faced with a massive challenge of preventing our healthcare system from further collapse until enough people can be vaccinated to significantly reduce the flow of patients.’
Father Paul Moonjely
“There is rampant black marketing of oxygen and some medicines. A cylinder of oxygen is sold at 30,000 to 40,000 rupees (US$400-500) on the black market. As we suffer, some people are focused on minting money,” Pongsing said. The black market price of an oxygen cylinder is up to 10 times more than the actual of cost of 4,000 rupees ($420).
Pongsing’s cousin lost his wife in the second Covid wave that hit India in April.
As cases of infection spiraled up in the second half of April, there has been an average of over 300,000 new cases of infection reported every day. Some sources have said that actual numbers could be three times more than the official figures. The official figures show the number of cases reported, while numerous people fail to go to the hospital, because there are no more beds or treatment available. Such cases fail to get reported.
“There was no one to help. I think the entire atmosphere around Delhi hospitals is of utter frustration now,” says Pongsing. He added that, “Those who bring their near and dear ones to hospital look almost reconciled that they will not get back their relatives.” Some 300 people are dying daily in New Delhi. The death toll has increased rapidly in late April. India has been reporting more than 3,000 deaths each day, up from 2,000 in the previous week.
In most cases, no relative comes to claim the ashes or perform the rituals that Hinduism demands are necessary for the repose of the departed soul. ‘Faith has become secondary in a country where we make a big fuss about rituals and religiosity. Now, everyone is busy saving their own life. It is a sense of reconciling to faith,’ Delhi resident Mohini Sachdeva, remarked.
The Catholic international development charity, (CAFOD) in England and Wales, reached out to Caritas India, promising help to fight the pandemic and has already pledged £200,000 ($2.16 million). It will be distributing medical kits and setting up temporary treatment centres as well as providing PPE (personal protection equipment) to frontline health workers. It will also help families provide home-based care for mild cases, raise awareness of the vaccine and how to avoid further spread of the virus.
Crematoriums in the capital are burning multiple bodies and, in most of them, bodies are lined up in the open because of the backlog.
In most cases, no relative comes to claim the ashes or perform the rituals that Hinduism demands are necessary for the repose of the departed soul. “Faith has become secondary in a country where we make a big fuss about rituals and religiosity. Now, everyone is busy saving their own life. It is a sense of reconciling to faith,” Delhi resident Mohini Sachdeva, remarked.
The mass burning of bodies and the utter confusion over who is taking the ashes of whose bodies has sparked a discussion on the concept of last rites and Moksha (end of the death and rebirth cycle). Hindus believe that a deceased’s ashes need to be immersed in the River Ganga at Varanasi or in other temple cities for the soul to attain Moksha, the union with the supreme God ending the cycle of rebirth.
But a temple priest in Delhi explains that all rituals are linked to faith and liberal Hinduism can be practiced in any situation. “Hinduism is very liberal and flexible. Our ancestral sacred books say that all rituals should be pragmatic and realistic. If you cannot find the Ganga in your neighbourhood, other water bodies are allowed for the immersion of ashes,” he says.
“The Antyeshti, or last rite, is linked to the faith that the soul or Atman is immortal. So, it is not a sin to not cremate the body or not to collect the ashes. If one cannot collect the ashes, the son of the deceased or a close relative can make a formal request to the priests to hold the last rite without ashes,” the priest, who requested anonymity, said, “In today’s circumstances, survival would get precedence even over prayers and rituals. All these have been made and followed for human beings; the human beings are not made for rituals.” He added.
On the other hand, opposition parties say the chief failure for the present mess must be attributed to the federal government led by prime minister, Narendra Modi.
Delhi is building cremation platforms in parks to ease the pressure on its crematoriums. But amid the helplessness and utter frustration, the roles of administrative authorities have been found wanting. The Delhi High Court has criticised the city government’s handling of the pandemic and threatened to dismiss the government led by chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, and hand it over it over to the federal government.
On the other hand, opposition parties say the chief failure for the present mess must be attributed to the federal government led by prime minister, Narendra Modi.
However, local leaders of Modi’s pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) say it is not the time for a political blame game. “It would be unfair to blame one party or the other. This is crisis time on the global stage. We do not want politics. India has suffered, it is true,” Pankaj Chaturvedi, BJP spokesperson for Madhya Pradesh state, said.
However, he conceded that as India is a federation of states, “the role of the state governments cannot be ignored either.” The second Covid wave has resulted in the emergence of the virulent Indian variant of the virus and the World Health Organisation says it has already affected 17 countries.
Some 38 per cent of global cases have been reported from India in late April. The trajectory of infections in India is alarming. Daily infections hovered above 350,000 for more than a week since April 25. The figure rose to 380,000 on April 30 before reaching a record high of 401,993 cases and 3,523 deaths on May 1.
In his letter, Father Paul appealed to the Caritas fraternity to come together in solidarity.
“On behalf of the Catholic Church in India, may I make an earnest appeal to all the members of the Caritas fraternity across the globe to come together in solidarity and encourage the community of faithful institutions and people of goodwill to contribute generously to this humanitarian call, and express our solidarity at this crucial moment,” he wrote.
