The vaccination drive in terror-hit regions hasn’t run into any problem, which is a good sign
On June 8 last year, Weyan, a tiny hamlet in Kashmir’s Bandipora district, became India’s first village to vaccinate its entire adult population against COVID-19. In a few days, Jammu and Kashmir will become India’s second State, after Himachal Pradesh, to vaccinate all those over 18. The achievements are noteworthy considering health workers had to brave inaccessible terrain, non-existent communication facilities, terrible weather and terrorism to complete the process of giving the first dose of the vaccine to all. The State’s vaccination drive carried on in the face of frequent incidents of cross-border terrorism in one of the most hostile international border areas of the world. The drive stayed on course despite a wave of killings throughout October 2021 when terrorists targeted non-Kashmiris, members of minority communities and did not spare even daily wage labourers. The surge in violence left 33 dead. However, the health workers were welcomed wherever they went, especially in areas known for separatist sentiments. The presence of security forces accompanying the teams caused no reservation among the locals, who overcame their wariness to receive the doses. The possibility of some separatist elements or sympathisers surreptitiously getting a free dose by the State cannot be ruled out. For once, the fear of terror paled before the fear of the unseen virus. That brings us to the moot issue: Do anti-State elements, whether terrorists, militants, insurgents, Naxalites or Maoists have a right to COVID-19 vaccines?
Under international humanitarian law, in situations of conflict, the wounded and sick are entitled to medical care. During the pandemic that we currently face, such care can include a vaccine. The State, which alone can acquire the vaccine, arranges for it to reach across the country. It will respect its human rights duties towards the population living in the conflict areas. The resistance groups have the primary responsibility for the wellbeing of those living in their area of influence. Whether in J&K that witnesses terror attacks, the ‘Red Corridor’ districts in central India that brave Maoist attacks, or the deep interiors of some States in the Northeast which have a brush with insurgency, the issue must have cropped up when security agencies were preparing for the vaccination drive. In Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, there were reports of the virus infecting Maoist cadres deep inside forests. Many may have succumbed for lack of medical care. The lockdowns or movement restrictions prevented couriers and sympathisers from reaching medicine or oxygen cylinders to them. What we do know is that the vaccination drives were never disturbed. In the Northeast, too, the drives never met with harm. The insurgents, like the Maoists, must have realised the danger of the virus spreading in their areas. The States did offer anti-COVID treatment and vaccine doses to those who surrendered. It is not known how many acceded to the call. Parliament must debate the issue and give shape to a protocol for the future.
