Volunteering COVID management: Letters to The Editor

The unemployed doctors, nursing students, laboratory technicians, and pharmacists in Mizoram have voluntarily agreed to assist the government in COVID management. The 412 medical professionals willingly engaged themselves in different works, including sample collections, screening of patients, contact tracing, and providing care to the patients in COVID care centres. Moreover, the Central Government has also allowed its employees with recognized qualifications to undertake medical practice or teleconsultation on a purely charitable basis. The voluntary service by trained professionals would be a great help for the authorities to deal with COVID management. The Centre and State Governments should provide incentives to volunteers and recognize their work.

Amit Singh Kushwaha,

Satna (M.P.)

Global protest against atrocities in Bengal

The news of post-poll violence in West Bengal has elicited strong reactions from the Indian Bengali diaspora in more than 30 cities spanning America, Asia, Australia, Africa and Europe. Vigils and protests were organized in the wake of the violence that has left several dead and displaced close to 100,000 Hindus from their homes in West Bengal. The global protest was done during the weekend of May 8 and 9 across the cities.

Protestors carried placards drawing attention to the spate of killings, gang rapes and arson witnessed in the State following the declaration of results of the State election. Judhajit Senmazumdar, a technology entrepreneur from Silicon Valley who frequently travels to Bengal said the anguish felt by the diaspora was palpable. "After the results were announced, my friends and I got frantic calls for help from people facing targeted attacks; shops were being looted and bombs were being thrown inside houses," he said.

The anguish coalesced into a spontaneous protest in the major cities of the US, Canada, UK, Australia among others. Gatherings also took place in Lagos, Tokyo, Germany, Belgium and many other locations. "I've been deeply pained by the violence unleashed on Hindu families all over West Bengal," said Sujoy Ghosh from Nigeria. "Even though I live in Lagos, I felt compelled to raise my voice and draw attention to the lack of action and outrage," he said. He noted that it is the State government's primary responsibility to protect people irrespective of their electoral choices.

The protestors pointed out that many BJP voters came largely from the most vulnerable sections of society; the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, Adivasis from remote villages and other backward classes.

"My mind recoils at how Hindu women have been dragged by the hair, flung on the floor, battered and raped," said Houston-based author Sahana Singh. "I grew up in Kolkata and soaked in the culture of the Divine Feminine. So I cannot fathom how a state with a woman at the helm of affairs can sanction such cruelty and vendetta against women simply due to differences of political opinion."

Debajit Paul

(debajitp@yahoo.com)