January 30th is observed as ‘Shaheed Diwas’ or Martyrs Day in India. The day marks the death anniversary of the father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi. The day is aimed at commemorating the contributions of the brave and courageous Indians that laid their lives in the service of the nation.
The year 2020 was marked as one of the most turbulent years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world, completely unprepared for such a pandemic struggled to contain it. More than two million people across the globe lost their lives because of the pandemic. Of them, there were many heroes who disregarded their own health in the favour of their duties and lost their lives to the disease, as a result. These brave hearts are no less than national heroes, and have been declared as martyrs.
On National Martyrs Day, 2021, let us honour these corona martyrs and pray that they are at a better place and their families are coping well.
Corona Martyrs
About 734 doctors have lost their lives due to COVID-19, as per the Indian Medical Association. One of them was Rs. 2 doctor from Andhra Pradesh. Dr Ismail Hussain, 76, of Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool was a testament to a life lived in benevolence. Over his stint as a doctor, Hussain is believed to have treated lakhs of poor patients for negligible rates. He kept a cardboard box at his nursing home and residence, where patients could pay as much as they wanted as fees. Hussain passed away on 14 April and was tested positive for Covid-19 a day later.
According to Kalkura Chandrashekhar, Ismail’s close friend of 40 years, the doctor continued seeing patients even when most clinics and hospitals shut over Covid-19 concerns.
Another casualty among medical Corona warriors is a 60-year-old general physician from Uttar Pradesh who was treating poorer patients at his clinic for a discount. Dr Lokesh Gupta had a clinic in Dadri for many years. He complained of high fever and breathlessness while working on Wednesday. He was rushed to Yashoda Hospital in Ghaziabad. His Covid-19 test result was positive. He breathed his last after finishing his breakfast on Sunday morning.
About 900 police personnel lost their lives in the pandemic while performing their duty, according to the data collated by Indian Police Foundation. In terms of total Covid positive cases among the personnel, the highest were reported from Maharashtra Police with 26,395 in total. More than 200 deaths were suffered by the state police force because of COVID-19. It has been said that most of the officers who lost their lives were affected by hypertension or diabetes, there have been cases where the officers were completely healthy but lost their lives to the disease. Of them was Bhagwan Parte, a 45-year-old constable in the Shivaji Nagar police deployed in a patrolling van in Shivaji Nagar which is among the worst affected areas in Mumbai. He contracted the infection from there, after which he was tested positive when he developed flu-like symptoms. He was then admitted to a hospital in Panvel, Navi Mumbai, following which he was admitted in a government-run hospital where he was kept on a ventilator. But his condition worsened and he passed away two weeks after his admission.
In addition to healthcare workers and the police, there are CAPF personnel who also served as frontline corona warriors to maintain lockdown restrictions. Among them, about 100 casualties were reported while serving Corona duty.
