Telangana: How Hindus & Muslims Are Fighting Both Hate & COVID-19

Ellamma, a 65-year-old woman from Nirmal in northern Telangana, breathed her last on 27 April when India was under lockdown due to COVID-19. She and her husband Kishan were homeless and stayed at a roadside shelter. Their neighbors refused to cremate Ellamma, suspecting that she died of coronavirus.

Shaik Irshan, a local activist who had come to check on the elderly couple for ration, was met by a sobbing Kishan. Irshan then called up his friends and organised the last rites of Ellamma after securing permission from the police.

The northern part of Telangana… has witnessed severe clashes in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic has further worsened this problem of communal disharmony across India, including Telangana state.… However, there is also reason for hope and optimism as at the grassroots level, many people in Telangana have responded to the pandemic with a show of communal solidarity.