Officials fret as Malana villagers refuse jabs citing deity’s diktat
For two months, health care workers have been trekking 7km every alternate day of the week to reach the remote villages of Malana in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. Their aim: to take the Covid-19 vaccines to a remote corner of the country -to the villages nestled in the Himalayas at an altitude of around 9,900 feet.
But their efforts have been in vain.
Not a single person in the two villages in Malana, with around 2,000 residents, has been inoculated yet. Health care workers say villagers, who believe they are the descendents of Greek king Alexander, repeatedly refused to get the jab because it is against their beliefs.
The residents of Malana have followed their traditions for centuries now. Most decisions are taken by their own local governing bodies, but the local deity -Jamdagni Rishi or Jamlu Devta -- has the final say.
“I’ve been trying to convince the villagers, but they refuse citing the deity’s diktat. In 2015, it took me three months to convince mothers to get their children vaccinated (for newborns). But this time, not a single person in the village has come forward for vaccination and my attempts to convince them have proven futile,” said 35-year-old Nirmala Devi, an accredited social health activist (ASHA) who has been working in the Kullu district for several years and has been walking up from the nearest bus station in Jari to Malana for weeks now. Villagers in the area refused to comment on the matter. “Himachalis have faith in mystical powers of deities. The deity culture is a part of our daily life but at the same time the safety of people is of importance. Residents are reluctant to get inoculated but I’ll try to persuade them again,” Kullu legislator Sunder Thakur said on Friday.
Panchayat secretary Tek Chand, too, said he has been trying to convince the villagers to get vaccinated since the government launched the drive for senior citizens in the first phase. But “they have immense faith in the deity and it’s difficult to convince them. I have tried to educate panchayat representatives during our meetings, but in vain,” he said.
“The final decision will be taken by the village parliament. Its meeting is to be held shortly (next week). I’m trying to persuade residents too,” said panchayat pradhan Raju Ram.
The Malana panchayat comprises two villages of Saura Behad and Dhara Behad and has a total population of 2,041 in 475 households, comprising 1,039 men and 1,002 women. The main occupation of villagers is sheep rearing and agriculture.
Locked down
India’s second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic crept up to several regions that were previously unaffected, but Malana’s relative isolation has kept it from seeing a full-blown outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic.
Early last year, the two villages banned more than 20 guest houses in their vicinity from operating. According to them, the local deity, Jamdagni Rishi or Jamlu Devta, had prohibited the entry of outsiders after the Covid-19 outbreak.
The village also closed entry to outsiders a week before the first nationwide lockdown was enforced on March 25, and although the self-imposed restrictions have eased now, there are no tourists who visit.
“We deputed people to guard the trails leading to our villages to restrict entry of tourist, we had eased them but now no outsiders visit the village,” Bhagi Rama, a Malana resident, said.
So far, Malana has not recorded any Covid-19 case and death linked to the illness.
Not just Malana
It’s not Malana alone, the vaccination drive in the entire Kullu district has been slower than other districts. Around 135,077 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Kullu so far, lagging behind Kangra’s 464,172, Mandi’s 352,285 and Shimla’s 278,041.
Till Saturday evening, Himachal Pradesh administered a total of 2.2 million doses of the vaccine. Vaccination for the 18-44 age group is yet to begin, and will start on Monday. “We are analysing the progress of vaccination in the state. Where people are reluctant, we will seek the help of motivators,” said Dr Gopal Berry, deputy mission director of the National Rural Health Mission.