India's media must promote science, not superstition, in COVID-19 fight

Drinking cow urine and practising yoga have been tipped as coronavirus cures

Raoof Mir

April 6, 2020 14:00 JST

An Indian Hindu woman drinks cow urine during an event organized by a Hindu religious group to promote consumption of cow urine as a cure for the new coronavirus in New Delhi on Mar. 14. © AP

Raoof Mir teaches journalism at Delhi School of Journalism and has a Ph.D. in Media Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Although India has, as yet, only 1,250 cases of COVID-19, the pandemic is already revealing the profound and disturbing link that exists between public misunderstanding of science, religion and media consumption in the country.