Skip to main content

When there was racial tension in Singapore amidst controversy over Delta variant origin

By Atanu Roy* 

“What is there in a name”, a popular phrase originated from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". May be Shakespeare never imagined on the looming controversy surrounding Covid B1617 variant. B1617 variant has been the most contentious and ravaging Covid-19 variant from the very outset. A series of claims and counter claims ensured, whether B1617 variant originated in Singapore or India.
Some called it Singapore-Variant, some Indian-Variant and the World Health Organisation (WHO) finally devised a naming scheme with Greek alphabets which labelled it as Delta variant, the ‘variant of concern’ as per the WHO. 
Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, had tweeted to flag his concern over a "new form of corona found in Singapore", calling on the Indian government to cancel flights from Singapore. The variant he was referring, was in fact, first found in India, as confirmed by the WHO.
The Delta variant is considered more easily transmitted from human to human, and was what fuelled the massive spread of the virus in India. This variant was first picked up in India last October, but is believed to have made its way to Singapore and other countries later.
Kejriwal did not “speak for India”, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar declared after Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan objected to his claim that a highly infectious variant of COVID-19 affecting children came from Singapore. Jaishankar’s comment came after Singapore summoned the Indian envoy to protest Kejriwal’s remarks.
Singapore is a multiracial country, proportions of races are Chinese 76%, Malay 15% , Indian 7.5% , Others 1.5%. Total population of 5.6 million live in a complete racial and religious harmony.
Singapore is quite popular among expats (there are over 1.5 million), one will be able to meet people from around the world when one lives here.
Citizens of different races live at peace and in harmony with one another. The children and young people have the benefit of studying together in integrated schools and living in public housing, where people across different races live together. The workplaces are racially diverse. There are no ghettos in Singapore. The legal system protects the fabric of racial harmony.
Singapore allowed expats intake from different countries including India, as such, even after the Delta Variant surfaced. Proper precautions were in place, but some slippage, due to the unique nature of the Delta variant, caused an influx of expats carrying B1617, Delta variant. It led to some Delta clusters, and government had a trying time to contain the spread.
The rapid spread of Delta variant caused some panic, and Singapore witnessed some racial tensions, leading to unfortunate incidents. An Indian woman was confronted by a Chinese man for not wearing her face mask properly while brisk-walking. The man abused her verbally, using a racial slur, and kicked her.
In another incident, a Chinese man confronted a mixed-race couple in Orchard Road, telling them that it was a disgrace for a Chinese girl and an Indian man to be together. The government has taken adequate steps to stop further repeat of any such racial offensive, as it feels that, there is simply no justification for racist attacks, as simple as that.
The Delta variant, first identified in India, in October 2020, has become by far the most dominant strain in many countries. It now accounts for almost all new Covid-19 cases in the US, Britain, Russia, Germany, South Africa and Singapore, among other countries.
The Delta variant of the coronavirus has played havoc with many governments' plans to return life to some sense of normality. Fresh outbreaks fuelled by the highly infectious strain have forced major cities in China, Australia, the Philippines and elsewhere back into lockdown and spurred the authorities, particularly in Asia, to reimpose harsh restrictions as low vaccination rates leave people vulnerable to Covid-19.
Economies have taken a hit as manufacturing hubs like Thailand and Vietnam see their supply chains interrupted. Factories making goods for global brands are halting work and potentially missing out on the crucial holiday shopping season in major markets.
The most worrying, findings, till date are the diminishing efficacies of the vaccines to counter Delta and people with completed vaccines are getting hit, though in small numbers, as compared with the non-vaccinated.
To conclude, Delta variant has created controversies, as to where it originated, how it got originated and till date we don’t have a clear picture of its nature and directions.
---
*Belonging to Kolkata, relocated to Singapore in 1997, chartered accountant, heading an IT outfit

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, others ask Bangladesh PM to 'protect' Yunus

Counterview Desk  A campaign has been launched to support Bangladesh-based economist, micro-finance guru and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, seeking signatures from citizens across the globe in order to “protect” his work, life and safety.

Electricity sharing opens up new window for India’s eastern neighbourhood engagement

By Sufian Asif* Today, challenges like climate change, pandemics, energy reliance, economic crisis, and many more are concerning us. No nation can overcome these obstacles without the assistance and collaboration of other nations. Most importantly, many of these problems have international repercussions. South Asia is facing much more difficulty when compared to other regions. In South Asia, we have some regional organizations, but they are ineffective.

Regional political dynamics 'leading to' institutional violence in SAARC University

By Sandeep Pandey*  South Asian University is a university set up in Delhi by member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Maldives – which is open to students from all these countries. However, as SAARC is receiving little attention these days because of regional political dynamics, it appears as if SAU has lost significance too. Because of the hiatus in peace process between India and Pakistan, the Board of Governors of this University is dysfunctional.

'Vulgar display of wealth': Govt of India using G20 presidency for political, electoral gains

Counterview Desk  Seeking endorsement for a public statement on India's G20 Presidency, several people’s movements, trade unions and other civil society groups have come together to say that not only will G20 and its priorities “will worsen economic, social and climate crisis”, already, India’s presidency is being used “for vulgar display of pomp & for electoral gains.”