"It has been more than 10 days since he came from Hyderabad and he hasn't come out of the house since then. He has got coronavirus." In a village in the outskirts of Warangal, this is the rumour that did the rounds about Sukumar (name changed) – a student who returned to his native village from Hyderabad on March 16.
As the rumour spread, local residents reported Sukumar to community health workers in the area, who visited his house. Soon, Sukumar got a visit from a police patrol team. A call was made to the 100 police emergency helpline, and the police came to verify that he was alright. But despite health workers – and the police – ruling out COVID-19 or any other health issue, the rumours didn’t stop. Sukumar and his family started facing the stigma of coronavirus in the village, and everyone started questioning them about his health and his travel history.
This isn’t Sukumar’s story alone. This is what several people in many areas of rural Telangana are facing when they return from Hyderabad or any other city where they were working or studying. And these rumours – and the stigma attached to them – are compounded by caste and religious discrimination. And the term, ‘social distancing’.
And students and daily wage workers are the worst hit by these rumours, spread due a cocktail of ignorance and bias.
“My family is given a strange look by the people in the village,” says Sukumar, speaking to TNM, as he explains how people like him are ostracised. “In cases like mine, it starts with someone enquiring about the ‘health condition’ of the family member who has come home, and suddenly, neighbours and other relatives start getting phone calls. The unwanted attention is not just a threat to privacy – it results in stigma and mental trauma.”
As if the lack of awareness about the pandemic was not enough, uncontrolled spread of fake news and misinformation on social media platforms like WhatsApp, TikTok and Facebook is further worsening the situation.
Even when people are staying in isolation and adhering to the lockdown and following guidelines issued by authorities, others in the locality are spreading rumours that the abiding of rules must be because the person has the disease.
Following the lockdown across the country, village Sarpanches and elected representatives in Telangana villages were advised to stay vigilant about public gatherings, and to ensure that everyone maintains appropriate physical distance. While this is fair, the campaign seeking 'social distancing' was however understood very differently: it saw dozens of people gathering in groups at village entries, and taking selfies while placing makeshift barricades, which defeats the very purpose of the ‘social distancing’ in the question. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised everyone to maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between each other to prevent spread of virus besides certain other guidelines.
Several social scientists have argued that using the term ‘social distancing’ instead of ‘physical distancing’ can be problematic – and lead to severe repercussions in a caste-ridden society such as ours, which is obsessed with untouchability and actual social distancing for generations.
In fact, COVID-19 has given several casteists online an opportunity to justify – and promote – untouchability, because their practices of ‘purity’ and ‘pollution’ now have scientific sanction in the term ‘social distancing’.
As if the existing social atmosphere was not enough, thanks to the village and community level WhatsApp groups, where irrational and unscientific content spreads much faster than anything of use, there is further panic and anxiety among people.
It has to be understood that WhatsApp has become more mainstream in villages than mainstream media platforms. People give more credibility to what comes on WhatsApp. People consume a lot more fake news here than in cities – and tend to reproduce the fake news with some added local flavour.
An example is that of a person who was tested negative for COVID-19 in Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad, but was rumoured to have COVID-19 in his village in Kamareddy district. As a result of the rumour, there was panic and chaos, as WhatsApp forwards were sent out in the village to “be careful” with the family.
And overwhelmingly, the people who are at the receiving end of such rumours are from marginalised castes or minority religions. This writer has spoken to several victims of these vicious rumours.
While the Telangana government is working to fight COVID-19, they need to consider the lack of information and awareness among people who are not living in cities, and should focus on busting misinformation in rural areas. Besides a fight against COVID-19, there should be one against misinformation/fake news and rumour mongering.
Fear of the spread of COVID-19 is understandable – but that should not subvert the scientific approach to dealing with disease. Any spread of retrograde ideology in the guise of preventive measures would make our journey towards achieving the principles that our country's constitution, much more difficult.
(Views expressed are the author’s own.)