As the U.S. reaches an important milestone in its Covid-19 vaccination program, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention issues new guidelines on masking in public, it is worth remembering that the pandemic is far from over. At this, writing India is being overrun with Covid-19, reporting a staggering 1 in 3 cases worldwide. Everything from medications to hospital beds and even oxygen are in short supply in India, with concerns that their medical industrial complex, the multibillion-dollar enterprise consisting of doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, insurance companies, drug manufacturers, and hospital supply and equipment companies, is on the verge of collapse.
In the midst of all this, the Indian Government confirmed that it would allow the pilgrimage to the sacred Amarnath cave shrine to go forward this summer after cancelling it because of the pandemic in 2020. The concern? An estimated 600,000 people attend the pilgrimage each year. That is 600,000 people gathering together…during a pandemic. The implications of such a gathering could force us to shine our sociological spotlight on health, a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, or even herd immunity, a populations’ ability to resist a disease because of a high percentage of its members being immune. Instead, let’s turn our attention to the behaviors often seen when large groups of people come together.
The first thing to consider when analyzing a large group of people gathered in one location is the carrying capacity, the numbers of people a geographic location or the earth’s ecosystems can support without deterioration. While the Indian government is considering building makeshift facilities and shelter for the pilgrims, the sacred destination itself is in fact a 130 ft. high cave located over 12,000 above sea level. In this situation, one could expect the large crowd to engage in spontaneous and unstructured behavior sociologically known as collective behavior. In fact, the specific nature of the gathering speaks to convergence theory, crowds forming due to like-minded individuals coming together. Of course, the like-mindedness is a pull factor that draws followers to the event. By being drawn together with a common purpose, the pilgrims establish a sense of solidarity or group unity that feeds into their religiosity, the beliefs and behaviors associated with transcendent or spiritual concerns.
The problem though is that this will all takes place on the backdrop of a pandemic. In large crowds, like those found during a pilgrimage, deindividuation, a loss of individuality often occur, with people ignoring fundamental health guidelines like wearing a mask and social distancing. Emergent norm theory, where members of the crowd serve as a reference group and new norms emerge that legitimize the behavior as appropriate, leads us to look at other examples of large gatherings to see how people behave. In a decidedly less sacred space, one just has to look at the Spring Break mega crowds that packed U.S. beaches in recent months. Crowds in an emotional fervor don’t always remember to take safety precautions, even during a pandemic.
The current Covid-19 circumstances has India is in a state of moral panic, a condition or event that is defined as being a physical or societal threat. People are dying at such high rates that crematoriums are running 24/7, with one having melted from the continuous fires. Families are being encouraged to bury dead relatives in their own backyards. All of this makes the decision to hold the Amarnath pilgrimage a curious choice. On the other hand, in times of great fear people want to, and in fact, need to cling to those things that bring them solace. Given the gravity of the situation in India is it no wonder that people cling to their beliefs, ideas generally held to be true within society, and are willing to risk it all on faith.
This blog post provided by the co-authors of SociologicalYOU (5e), a digital NextGen Introductory Sociology textbook engaging students in critical thinking to “Connect Sociology and YOU!” For more information, contact Support@SociologicalYOU.com or Amber@SociologicalYOU.com.
