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itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle" role="main" class="single-post"><meta itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" content="https://caravanmagazine.in/health/covid-denial-spreads-india"> <meta itemprop="url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20201228210353/https://caravanmagazine.in/health/covid-denial-spreads-india"> <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2020-11-30T18:30:00.000Z"> <meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2020-11-30T18:30:00.000Z"> <header class="post-header header-short-horizontal"><div class="wrap"><div class="details-wrapper"><div class="details"><div class="markers container"><div class="pre-heading is-montserrat"><meta itemprop="headline" content="COVID-19 denial spreads to India"> <h2 class="title is-5"><a href="/web/20201228210353/https://caravanmagazine.in/format/the-lede" class="topic-name"> The Lede </a> <a href="/web/20201228210353/https://caravanmagazine.in/health" class="theme nuxt-link-active">Health </a></h2></div> <h1 class="title post-title is-serif is-2-desktop is-3"> Mask Off </h1> <p class="short-desc is-roboto"> COVID-19 denial spreads to India </p></div> <div class="author-details is-size-7 is-montserrat"><div class="w"><div class="authors-wrap"><span class="main-authors"> <div class="authors is-montserrat"><div class="author"><span itemscope itemprop="author" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"> <a href="/web/20201228210353/https://caravanmagazine.in/author/24">Rajni George</a> <meta itemprop="sameAs" content="https://caravanmagazine.in/author/24"> <meta itemprop="name" content="Rajni George"> </span></div></div></span> </div> <span class="date">30 November 2020</span></div></div> </div></div> <div class="cover container"> <figure itemprop="image" content="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Omak6b0IbLyGMFuQI1z6cjP5vhFHeDjj7NbcJWEmRxYeKwLBttJnqOfv_LGsLJJVhQpqKuZt-dKqBlVURGxfd4f64hs"><div class="figure-wrap"><div class="img-wrap"> <img height="1000" width="1500" data-srcset="//web.archive.org/web/20201228210353im_/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Omak6b0IbLyGMFuQI1z6cjP5vhFHeDjj7NbcJWEmRxYeKwLBttJnqOfv_LGsLJJVhQpqKuZt-dKqBlVURGxfd4f64hs=s640?nocheck=gplus 640w, //web.archive.org/web/20201228210353im_/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Omak6b0IbLyGMFuQI1z6cjP5vhFHeDjj7NbcJWEmRxYeKwLBttJnqOfv_LGsLJJVhQpqKuZt-dKqBlVURGxfd4f64hs=s800?nocheck=gplus 800w, //web.archive.org/web/20201228210353im_/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Omak6b0IbLyGMFuQI1z6cjP5vhFHeDjj7NbcJWEmRxYeKwLBttJnqOfv_LGsLJJVhQpqKuZt-dKqBlVURGxfd4f64hs=s1200?nocheck=gplus 1200w, //web.archive.org/web/20201228210353im_/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Omak6b0IbLyGMFuQI1z6cjP5vhFHeDjj7NbcJWEmRxYeKwLBttJnqOfv_LGsLJJVhQpqKuZt-dKqBlVURGxfd4f64hs=s1500?nocheck=gplus 1500w, //web.archive.org/web/20201228210353im_/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Omak6b0IbLyGMFuQI1z6cjP5vhFHeDjj7NbcJWEmRxYeKwLBttJnqOfv_LGsLJJVhQpqKuZt-dKqBlVURGxfd4f64hs=s1900?nocheck=gplus 1900w" class="type:primaryImage"></div></div> <figcaption><span class="caption is-roboto">The protests in India seem to be inspired by similar ones in developed countries, such as this one in France.</span> <div class="credits is-montserrat"> ewan bootman / nurphoto / getty images </div> <div class="line"></div></figcaption></figure></div></div> <div class="caption-content container is-roboto"><figcaption><span class="caption">The protests in India seem to be inspired by similar ones in developed countries, such as this one in France.</span> <div class="credits is-montserrat"> ewan bootman / nurphoto / getty images </div> <div class="line"></div></figcaption></div> </header> <div class="container"><div class="columns"><div class="column content-container align-center"><article id="single-article" class="post is-short-horizontal"><div class="content is-relative"><div class="w is-calluna"> <div itemprop="articleBody" class="t">   <p>“I have never worn a mask,” Jagdish Chandra told me, in November. The 51-year-old businessman from Kolkata said that he had taken six flights since September and that he carries documents that supported his right to not wear a mask while travelling. “The security person may try to say, ‘I won’t scan you,’” he added. “But, more than following the rules, I need to protect myself.” Chandra, who claimed to have filed around twenty right-to-information requests regarding the government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has taken part in several recent anti-mask protests in India, which he described as part of an awareness initiative.</p><p>“There is nothing like virus,” Ashok Patel told me, a month earlier. “How can something so small harm us?” The 65-year-old former sweet-monger from Rajkot said that he is unafraid of death. “I believe in a soul, not the body. It is the government whose health is failing.” Patel has performed a sort of satyagraha over the past fifteen years, courting arrest ten times for the goal of a “party-less India.” He was part of a group of 27 people who wrote to government authorities for permission to mingle with COVID-19 patients, without any protection, to show up what they see as a hoax. (They have not received a response to date.) As part of a nationwide protest on 1 November, he wanted to present the entire Bhagavad Gita on placards displayed on the bodies of protesters; when we spoke again in late November, he told me he had been detained by the police for around four hours that day.</p><p>In various towns and cities across the country on 1 November, an eclectic group of people—spanning various age groups, professions and hometowns, but most of them belonging to the upper and middle classes, and gathering in groups of a hundred or so—demonstrated against government restrictions imposed in response to the pandemic, including a directive on wearing masks in public. These followed on the heels of earlier demonstrations at Mumbai’s Marine Drive and Delhi’s Rajghat on 2 October, and an anti-mask video released on Independence Day. Under the banner of “Awaken India,” groups of protesters in Delhi, Mumbai, Rajkot, Ranchi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and parts of Uttarakhand and Haryana took to the streets to assert their freedom from state control, and have subsequently taken part in forums such as a public meeting held in Mumbai on 21 November. Patel said he was planning to march from Rajkot to Mumbai with eight others, all styled like MK Gandhi, in December.</p>  <div><div class="subscribe-plan"><a href="/web/20201228210353/https://caravanmagazine.in/subscribe?ref=7149"><div class="paywall_wrapper"><h4 class="title is-4"> Get unlimited access <br> to India's finest Magazine <br> of Politics and Culture </h4> <img width="495" height="306" data-src="//web.archive.org/web/20201228210353/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Nu3M93Xu31UoEzh6Qj5oNz-G2Gmcfxdx3XqIBuRWgqBe4QIpDW-VMejn3uZuQ0hfgNGKaTDPAWd_Ag8w1lgkIUmwC5eRxG6-nah9wHg=s500" class="lazyload blur-up"> <div class="plan_list is-roboto"><div class="item"> Print + Digital Plans at <b>₹ 1800/year</b></div> <div class="item"> Digital Plans at <b>₹ 1200/year</b></div></div> <button class="button is-primary is-montserrat"> Subscribe </button></div></a> <p class="hint is-roboto"> Already a subscriber? <strong><a href="#">Sign in</a></strong></p></div></div></div> <div class="authors is-roboto"><div class="about-author"><p><a href="/web/20201228210353/https://caravanmagazine.in/author/24">Rajni George</a> <span> is a writer and editor based in south India. She was the Fiction and Poetry Editor at <em>The Caravan</em>.</span></p></div> </div> <meta itemprop="keywords" content="COVID-19,protests,social distancing,World Health Organisation,vaccines"> <span class="tags is-roboto-en"><span class="key-word-title">Keywords: </span> <a href="/web/20201228210353/https://caravanmagazine.in/tag/covid-19" class="tag"> COVID-19 </a><a href="/web/20201228210353/https://caravanmagazine.in/tag/protests" class="tag"> protests </a><a href="/web/20201228210353/https://caravanmagazine.in/tag/social-distancing" class="tag"> social distancing </a><a href="/web/20201228210353/https://caravanmagazine.in/tag/world-health-organisation" class="tag"> World Health Organisation </a><a href="/web/20201228210353/https://caravanmagazine.in/tag/vaccines" class="tag"> vaccines </a></span></div>  </div></article></div> </div></div> <div itemprop="publisher copyrightHolder provider sourceOrganization" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"><span itemprop="logo" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"><meta itemprop="url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20201228210353/https://caravanmagazine.in/caravan-logo.png"></span> <meta itemprop="name" content="The Caravan"></div></article> <div class="container"><div class="columns"><div class="column comments-container align-center"><div id="list-all-comments" class="article-comments is-relative"><div class="create-comment-wrapper is-montserrat"><div class="w is-flex"><h5 class="title is-montserrat is-6"><span>COMMENT</span> </h5> </div> <form action="/web/20201228210353/https://caravanmagazine.in/comments" method="post" class="comment-form"><div class="field"><textarea rows="2" placeholder="Type your comment" class="textarea is-roboto"></textarea></div> <div class="field float-right"><input type="submit" value="Submit" class="button is-primary is-montserrat is-large"></div></form></div>  <div class="comment-list is-roboto"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="columns"><div class="column is-12"><div class="related-articles"> <div class="wrap"></div></div></div></div></div>  </div></div> <footer class="footer"></footer> <div class="modal is-roboto user-modal" style="display:none;"><div class="modal-background"></div> <div class="modal-content"><div class="card"><div class="card-content"><div class="field align-center"><p class="control login-controls is-serif"><a class="is-active">Login</a> <span> / </span> <a>Register</a></p></div> <div class="field"><div class="line"></div></div> <div class="field align-center"><a class="button button is-default is-montserrat google-login"><span class="icon is-small"><i><img data-src="//web.archive.org/web/20201228210353/https://storage.googleapis.com/caravan-b/assets/google-signin.svg" alt="" class="lazyload"></i></span> <span>Sign in with Google</span></a></div> <div class="field align-center"> OR </div> <form action="" class="logon-form is-montserrat"><label for="" class="label">Email</label> <div class="field"><input type="text" name="email" autocomplete="email" value="" class="input"></div> <div class="field"><label for="" class="label">Password</label> <input type="password" name="password" autocomplete="current-password" value="" class="input"></div> <div class="field center-button"><button class="button is-primary is-montserrat">Login</button></div> <div class="is-clipped"><p class="is-pulled-right is-size-6"><a href="#">Forgot password?</a></p></div></form></div></div></div></div>  <div class="m-disturber"><div class="content-w" style="display:none;"><div class="container"><div class="columns"><div class="column is-8"><div class="tablet-wrapper"><div class="bottom-notifier"><div class="title-wrapper is-montserrat"><h6 class="title is-6"></h6></div> <div class="text-wrap"><button class="delete"></button> <p class="is-roboto-en msg"></p> <button class="subscribe button is-primary is-montserrat is-uppercase is-small"> Notify Me </button> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><script>window.__CARAVAN__=(function(a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y){return {layout:"default",data:[{data:{article:{id:"7149",title:j,slug:"\u002Fhealth\u002Fcovid-denial-spreads-india",printTitle:"Mask Off",subHeading:"",description:"Inspired by conspiracy theories and protests in the developed world, India's COVID-19 deniers have begun taking to the streets.",hasContributors:a,coverPhotoId:f,topicId:k,themeId:g,style:b,data:{type:"doc",content:[{type:"figure",attrs:{h:l,w:m,id:f,src:n},content:[{type:"caption",content:[{text:"The protests in India seem to be inspired by similar ones in developed countries, such as this one in France.",type:c}]},{type:"credit",content:[{text:"ewan bootman \u002F nurphoto \u002F getty images",type:c}]}]},{type:h,content:[{text:"“I have never worn a mask,” Jagdish Chandra told me, in November. The 51-year-old businessman from Kolkata said that he had taken six flights since September and that he carries documents that supported his right to not wear a mask while travelling. “The security person may try to say, ‘I won’t scan you,’” he added. “But, more than following the rules, I need to protect myself.” Chandra, who claimed to have filed around twenty right-to-information requests regarding the government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has taken part in several recent anti-mask protests in India, which he described as part of an awareness initiative.",type:c}]},{type:h,content:[{text:"“There is nothing like virus,” Ashok Patel told me, a month earlier. “How can something so small harm us?” The 65-year-old former sweet-monger from Rajkot said that he is unafraid of death. “I believe in a soul, not the body. It is the government whose health is failing.” Patel has performed a sort of satyagraha over the past fifteen years, courting arrest ten times for the goal of a “party-less India.” He was part of a group of 27 people who wrote to government authorities for permission to mingle with COVID-19 patients, without any protection, to show up what they see as a hoax. (They have not received a response to date.) As part of a nationwide protest on 1 November, he wanted to present the entire Bhagavad Gita on placards displayed on the bodies of protesters; when we spoke again in late November, he told me he had been detained by the police for around four hours that day.",type:c}]},{type:h,content:[{text:"In various towns and cities across the country on 1 November, an eclectic group of people—spanning various age groups, professions and hometowns, but most of them belonging to the upper and middle classes, and gathering in groups of a hundred or so—demonstrated against government restrictions imposed in response to the pandemic, including a directive on wearing masks in public. These followed on the heels of earlier demonstrations at Mumbai’s Marine Drive and Delhi’s Rajghat on 2 October, and an anti-mask video released on Independence Day. Under the banner of “Awaken India,” groups of protesters in Delhi, Mumbai, Rajkot, Ranchi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and parts of Uttarakhand and Haryana took to the streets to assert their freedom from state control, and have subsequently taken part in forums such as a public meeting held in Mumbai on 21 November. Patel said he was planning to march from Rajkot to Mumbai with eight others, all styled like MK Gandhi, in December.",type:c}]}]},wpId:a,writtenAt:o,createdAt:"2020-11-30T19:34:05.181Z",updatedAt:o,isPremium:1,isWeb:b,isPublished:d,lang:p,seoTitle:j,keywords:[q,"anti-mask",i,r,"anti-vaxxers"],design:a,preAuthor:a,freeUntil:a,hasNotified:e,hasAds:d,theme:{id:g,name:s,slug:t},topic:{id:k,name:"The Lede",slug:"the-lede"},themes:[{id:g,name:s,slug:t,parentId:"81",priority:b,lang:b,createdAt:u,updatedAt:u,hiName:"स्वास्थ्य"}],coverPhoto:{id:f,title:"01_MaskOff_TheCaravan_December2020.jpg",src:"caravan-b\u002Fimg\u002Frvdxm.jpg",path:a,data:{h:l,w:m,url:n},createdAt:v,updatedAt:v},authors:[{id:"24",name:"Rajni George",info:{data:[{text:" is a writer and editor based in south India. 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