The globally renowned historian and writer Yuval Noah Harari appealed Indians to practice peace and harmony, avoid hatred to combat the COVID-19 epidemic.
Yuval Noah Harari is acclaimed globally for authoring Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2014), Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow (2016), and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (2018). All of these books are bestsellers.
Harari pleads Indian Citizens to maintain solidarity during the COVID-19 outbreak
Talking to TV anchor Rahul Kanwal at India Today Group’s E-Conclave Corona Series, Harari voiced his concerns regarding people blaming the COVID-19 outbreak as an act of terrorism by Muslims. He said that such an allegation is “complete nonsense” and “extremely dangerous”.
Source: NY times
He said, “we don’t need more hatred, we need solidarity, we need love between people.”
Harari joined the conclave for examining what the post-COVID-19 world could look like. When Harari was asked regarding India in context to COVID-19, he said the country faces an uphill task. He urged citizens of India to not react with hatred but with solidarity, specifically with different communities in the country.
Source: QZ.com
“I was very worried about some stories I heard that people are blaming the epidemic on Muslim minorities saying that it is a deliberate act of terrorism of people spreading this epidemic, which is complete nonsense and extremely dangerous”, cautioned Harari.
The Sapiens writer also stressing on the significance of social harmony, said: “In this time we don’t need hatred, we need solidarity and love between people. I hope that Indians can connect to their best religious tradition, and develop the solidarity and benevolence in this crisis and overcome the inner demons of hatred and greed. If they do that, India will emerge from this crisis even better than before.”
Harari highlights the importance of scientific knowledge to combat COVID-19
Harari further added: “We are in a much better situation when compared with other pandemics in history. More importantly, we possess all the scientific knowledge to stop this pandemic. We understand perfectly what is happening today. We are no longer blind and powerless. The big question is whether we know how to use our power responsibly.”
Harari spoke at length about the way the United States is handling the pandemic, surveillance, dictatorship, globalization and so on.
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