‘Everyone is Touched by This’: Indian Diaspora Feels Collective Grief Over COVID Crisis

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In early May, India registered over 400,000 positive Covid-19 cases in one day and set a record with 3,689 deaths on May 2. Then, weeks later, the country saw 4,529 deaths in one day. To date, the country has reached more than 25 million confirmed cases.

The sheer number of infections and deaths in India has spurred fear and worry for many in the South Asian diaspora, Viswanath said.

“There is a sense of grief and concern and anxiety among people of South Asian descent,” Viswanath said. “We all have family, extended family back home who we are worried about.”

With limited options of hopping on a flight to be closer to family during this time, several people in the South Asian diaspora who spoke to NBC Asian America expressed an overwhelming sense of helplessness as they watched and listened to family members describe the situation unfolding in India.

This sort of helplessness is a form of invisible trauma that has become common in the pandemic era, according to Dorothy Holinger, author of “The Anatomy of Grief.” She described the phenomenon as collective grief, one that is different from the collective grief experienced by Americans during World War I, World War II or the Sept. 11 attacks.

Holinger said the grief people in the Indian diaspora are feeling right now is relentless.

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