A Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi became one of India's largest COVID-19 super-spreader events, linked to a third of the country's confirmed cases by April 2020.
Key Facts
- Confirmed cases linked
- 4,291 by 18 April 2020
- Deaths linked to event
- At least 27
- Estimated attendees
- Over 9,000 missionaries
- Foreign attendees
- 960 from 40 countries
- People quarantined
- Around 40,000
- Share of India's cases
- One third as of 18 April
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In early March 2020, the Tablighi Jamaat held a large religious congregation at the Nizamuddin Markaz Mosque in Delhi, drawing over 9,000 attendees from across India and 960 foreign nationals from 40 countries, despite the Government of Delhi issuing a ban on public gatherings on 13 March 2020.
The congregation became a major COVID-19 super-spreader event. Attendees subsequently dispersed to states across India and abroad, carrying the virus with them. By 18 April 2020, the Union Health Ministry had linked 4,291 confirmed COVID-19 cases to the event, representing approximately one third of all confirmed cases in India at the time.
Around 40,000 people, including attendees and their contacts, were quarantined nationwide. Criminal cases were filed against participants, though courts later acquitted foreign nationals and quashed several FIRs, with the Bombay High Court noting that foreigners appeared to have been made scapegoats. The event triggered widespread criticism of the Tablighi Jamaat and sparked controversy over discriminatory media coverage.