Among the visitors from around 45 nations at the Nizamuddin Markaz, the centre which serves as the movement's global headquarters, were individuals who had come in with unexpected baggage -
the coronavirus. They transmitted it to many others at the markaz's packed shared living spaces and these individuals later dispersed far and wide, not just as faithful foot soldiers of the puritanical movement but also as carriers of the deadly virus.
It was this centre's network that found itself at the
heart of India's Covid-19 pandemic over rapidly unfolding events last week . At least 1,023 coronavirus cases, spread in as many as 17 states in India, have been traced back to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation. That number constitutes about a third of the total cases in India, which stood at 3,374 on Sunday morning. Some deaths have also been linked to the same gathering.