The Covid-19 pandemic was an unexpected global crisis. Similar measures have been taken all over the world due to the pandemic. Masks, lockdowns, disinfectants, cleansing rituals, etc. many new phenomena have penetrated the life of society. However, when looked carefully, it will be seen that every nation reacts differently to this “crisis”. The sudden pandemic crisis could not only test states in areas such as health, governance, domestic- foreign policy and economy. It also revealed the characteristic features of the societies that make up the states. In fact, such unexpected situations make the societies reflect the reality. What happened in India is an important example to observe this. For this, it is necessary to analyse the reactions of the Indian people against Covid-19 in about a year.
Covid-19 and Hindu Gods
Despite the pandemic, the Indian people seemed determined to fulfill their religious duties. The Durga Festival was celebrated in some parts of Assam despite the coronavirus and the Covid-19 theme was handled in the festival in order to raise awareness against the pandemic. For example, Sanjib Basak, working in the Disaster Management Department in Assam, made the statue of the Goddess Durga with the medical waste he collected. Due to his duty, Basak, who frequently visited pharmacies during the pandemic process, had completed the idol in 60 days with more than 300.000 capsules and syringes that were out of date.
The Indians, with the idol of Goddess Durga, also displayed the suffering of migrant workers, perhaps the most damaged during the pandemic. Idols such as Saraswati, Laxmi, Ganesh and Kartik, who were worshiped as the four children of the Goddess Durga, were also used to glorify the struggle of migrant workers in pandals (this year’s theme was relief) held for the Durga Festival in West Bengal. Instead of Durga, the immigrant mother was depicted, a shirtless child instead of Kartik, and a pot-bellied child instead of Ganesh. Instead of goddesses, daughters of immigrant workers carrying ducks and owls (in Hindu mythology these animals are vehicles of gods) were put.
The Indian people saw the coronavirus as asura and while conveying what they had in mind as “coronasura” with rhetoric, they did not neglect to turn it into visual art. Representing the figure of the devil in Hinduism, the asura was identified with the corona. This time, referring to mythology, Goddess Durga was depicted as a doctor killing the coronasura with a syringe in her hand instead of a trident. His four children were depicted as police (Ganesh), nurse (Laxmi), teacher (Saraswati) and cleaning worker (Kartik), considered Covid warriors. It was no coincidence that such samples originated in Bengal. For in Bengal, creativity is a part of worship and religion is essential to appeal to emotions.
Another practice was the arrangement of the puja as a “goddess” to the coronavirus in states such as Assam, Bihar and Kerala. Many of the people in Assam and Bihar, especially women, even organised a ritual called Corona Devi Puja, which they saw as the only way to get rid of the corona. In states such as Andra Pradesh, Madya Pradesh, Maharashtra, both police officers and some citizens wandered the streets dressed as the god of death Yamaraj to raise awareness of coronavirus.
In an Oxford journal, it was stated that the teachings of Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna gave important lessons for today’s world in the fight against Covid. Hospitals were likened to the Kurushetra, where the war took place in the Hindu scripture, while healthcare professionals were described as today’s Arjuna.
Ayurveda Against Coronavirus
Another issue was that people turned to old herbal formulas to strengthen immunity, since no effective drugs or vaccines could be developed against Covid-19. In India, the orientation to herbal medicines was more “official”. Because, under the leadership of the Modi government, the Ayush Ministry was established in 2014, which reflects the ancient wisdom of India and incorporates Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, which are now called alternative medicine methods. However, the work to formalise Ayurvedic medicines can be traced back to the first official list, called pharmacopoeia, published in 2003.
During the pandemic period, the Ayush Ministry published a guide for asymptomatic Covid cases. He made recommendations for preventing Covid, treating mild symptoms, and post-Covid self-care, which he claims will help strengthen immunity, such as yoga, turmeric, kadha, Ayush 64 tablets (Anti-malaria drug developed by the Ayush Ministry), guduchi, pippali and ashwagandwa. Again, the government decided to sell Ayurvedic medicines in Jan Aushadhi stores. Farmers are also encouraged by the government to grow Ayurvedic plants. Although the budget allocated to Ayurvedic drugs has doubled with the Modi government, the issue of safety and efficiency of drugs still creates concerns for the consumer. However, it is thought that it will become an important export item for India when the right investments and policies on Ayurvedic products are implemented. Because India, which is qualified as the pharmacy of the world, has the opportunity to penetrate the world markets with its natural medicine products.
In addition to the recommendations of the Ayush Ministry, haldi dooth (turmeric milk) and the herb mixtures of the ancients called kadha became fashionable during this period. These and similar drinks have been added to the cafe menus. Products such as desserts and bread prepared with different spices to strengthen immunity took place in the showcases. With the coronavirus, preventive medicine and personal hygiene have become the most important issues for the consumer. In addition, religious figures also took steps in the treatment of Covid-19. For example, an Ayurvedic medicine called Coronil was launched under the leadership of a famous Hindu cleric known as Baba Ramdev. However, controversy continues regarding the safety and efficacy of the drug.
Covid and Hinduism
Throughout the pandemic, the basic concept emphasised all over the world was social distance. However, the provision and sustainability of social distance also revealed different dynamics in different societies. In India, social distance was bringing caste practices come back to light. The way of greeting in the India, which is a clear sign of the importance of social distance in Indian culture, has become a trend. Even world leaders, afraid of the spread of Covid-19, preferred an Indian-style greeting. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also stated that the world would increasingly adapt to the non-contact greeting style and encouraged the “namaste” greeting. On the other hand, although it is seen paradoxically from the outside, it was difficult to maintain social distance in a society with high community consciousness due to the close relationships within the caste. However, despite the coronavirus, the fear of social exclusion made it mandatory for the Indian people to attend religious ceremonies and weddings.
Another issue was that the coronavirus also digitised religious practices. Throughout the restriction, many temples held puja and darshan ceremonies on the live broadcast, especially on Facebook pages, to keep in touch with worshippers. Those who started the day by visiting a temple performed these rituals online. For example, many temples in Uttar Pradesh state performed rituals such as aarti and darshan on the web. Hindus were not the only ones reaching their coreligionists online. Golden Temple, the great Sikh temple in Amritsar, also made kirtan from its Facebook page. These rituals were broadcast for a few hours in the morning and evening, not only on social media, but on a special channel. These live broadcasts were followed by millions of people from all over the world. Similar practices were also carried out by the Muslims and Christians. However, there were also those who opposed these practices. For they believed that if temples are not properly respected, God will punish them.
It was also reflected in the media that Hindus had fears about performing the funerals of Hindus who died due to Covid. In fact, there have been many examples of the last ceremonies of some deceased Hindus being held by their Muslim neighbours.
Of course, extreme rhetoric was not absent. Then the construction of the Ram Temple will end the pandemic, Pragya Thakur’s recommendation to read Hanuman Chalisa to destroy Covid were some of them. While consumption of the sacred cow’s urine was recommended, the coronavirus disaster was interpreted by God as a punishment for non-observance of the vegetarian diet rule. Similarly, religious sensitivities continued to manifest themselves with the discovery of the vaccine. While Hindus demand a document stating that there is no cow blood in Chinese vaccines, Muslims have expressed their concerns about whether the vaccine contains porcine product.
As a result, the Indian people welcomed the Covid-19 crisis exactly like an Indian. We were faced with an Indian society that performed their worship despite all restrictions, tried to seek an answer in its essence against the coronavirus, and activated its social codes while fighting the pandemic. Although the Covid crisis has dragged the whole world towards a new order, how the nations react it points to “unchanged” issues when carefully examined in this new order.