TWO MIRACULOUS DROPS

11. The Quack Shouts "Poison"

The oils and other medicines prepared by him were enriched with Vitamin D via the ultra violet or infrared rays by exposing the filled in bottles to the sun for 21 or 41 days at a stretch according to the interval he had before the next outing. The array of bottles on his window sill was a warning to the wives and the customers that his disappearance was imminent. Of course that served as an advertisement for his medical service to the poor and needy who could not afford the treatment by the Doctors or Vaids and whom Jalaluddin obliged without fee or cost.

While in Jehangirnagar he was confined to his tailor-shop, which also served as laboratory and work space for chopping and grinding. His wives and children collected the fuel wood required for boiling the herbs from the babul and other shrubs that grew in the way side open land across the highway. They had to be selective in choosing the wood for the quality of the preparations depended on the kind of the fuel-wood burned, the unsuitable pieces being kept for the household use. The entire 2mx2m kitchen was occupied by the 'herbs' and vessels. Jalaluddin, however, was careful not to disturb the kitchen until the containers for Atta and Dhall were empty.

The team of vaccinators had arrived at Jehangirnagar around ten in the morning and were making their rounds starting with the section at the temple end of the settlement. They made good progress and completed almost half the population by noon. The team then settled on the verandah of the Cooperative Society opposite the Mosque, the volunteers went round collecting the children from the Muslim families.

Jalaluddin was watching from his shop-window which opened towards the verandah of the Cooperative Society, as the children were being administered the drops. All on a sudden he rushed out of his shop and jumped up the verandah and shouted.

"Stop it! I say, I don't want these drops. Take another bottle"

"What is wrong with this bottle, I just now opened it, it is full."

"Keep it aside. I want another bottle. Not this." Jalaluddin stood between the girl carrying the child and the vaccinator.

"You can't keep the bottle once it is opened. The medicine will go waste, I must finish this before I take another."

" I don't know all that. I want you to take another bottle" He opened the cold box and picked up a bottle and said "Open this one."

"Are you mad or what? It is all the same. I am not going to waste this one."

The vaccinator was adamant. By then a big crowd formed around them. Jalaluddin turned towards the crowd.

"This is poison. Poison brought for killing our children. I won't allow this to be given to our children here."

"There is no poison. This is polio vaccine from the government." The vaccinator interfered.

"I know this is poison; or else why can't he give from the bottle I chose. It is poison and there is a design behind it. Nobody will take these drops. You go away." He then picked up a few empty bottles and kept the full one with him.

The people took away their children as some started supporting Jalaluddin.

"Master is right. There is already news that the drops have caused even deaths."

"I told you yesterday itself, don't give children these drops, that will be the end of your race."

The volunteers pleaded with them for more than an hour and by then the people had grown more adamant and the women and children disappeared into their homes, never to come out even under coercion. There were at least 300 - 400 children yet to be served.

The vaccine which was opened had by then become useless and had to be discarded. The vaccinator also cooled down. He was now ready to open a bottle of Jalaluddin's choice, but now the attitude of the crowd had already changed. They did not want the drops at all. The elements which had lied low in the beginning were now active and forced the people to refuse to vaccinate their children.

All efforts by the volunteers failed. They needed some external help; some force. But there were instructions not to ask for police help except in a law and order situation.

Dr. Anil Tomar had already talked to Dr. Rajan Babu, the District Medical Officer on Sunday night, when he and Dr. Amanullah met the latter, about the problems caused by the interference of the police. By then news arrived that there was a clash between the police and the resistors at Moradabad where the police was compelled to fire two rounds into the air in order to disperse the crowd and that two persons were reported killed with bullet injuries. Instructions were flashed over the radio and mobile phones to all the medical officers concerned not to involve police under any circumstances, lest it should become a serious political issue; a political issue it had already become though it did not assume serious dimensions.

Dr. Ashok Agrawal was a young physician who had recently joined the State Medical Service. He was responsible for the monitoring of the NIDs at the Taluka level, reporting to Dr. Avinash Patel, the Block Medical Officer. The vaccinators telephoned both Dr. Patel and Dr. Agrawal and gave the details. Dr. Agrawal was on his rounds of the villages in his jurisdiction to oversee the work being done. Jehangirnagar was also on his schedule. On receiving the message he skipped a station or two enroute and rushed to Jehangirnagar.

When he arrived the crowd had already dispersed and the team of volunteers and vaccinators, along with their immediate supervisor Manorama Dixit, were sitting idle under a tree on benches provided by the Madrasa adjacent to the mosque.

Jalaluddin had already been elevated as the hero of the day and was flanked by a group of admirers who encouraged his obstinacy. To him, it provided a glorious opportunity to excel as a 'to be leader', having failed both as a tailor and a medic.

Dr. Agrawal was led to meet Jalaluddin at his shop. He refused to talk on the matter. He said it was the decision of the people to boycott the vaccination. It was for them to change their decision and not him. The fellows around him bluntly refused to budge. The only threat Dr. Agrawal could wield was to say that he would stop all medical facilities to the settlement. The people only laughed at it as they knew very well of its hollowness. A phone call by Jehangir Miah would see the doc out in the bush. In fact Jehangir Miah had already obtained consent from the CMO to put up a permanent dispensary at the settlement !

Dr. Agrawal could not persuade the people with all his appeals and justifications. He talked to Dr. Patel and was asked to wait for further instructions.

In about ten minutes Dr. Patel came on the line. He had discussed with the CMO and was told that Dr. Amanullah is being contacted and the operations could be stopped for the time being to be resumed after getting the response from Dr. Amanullah. It was then that he received the SOS message from Annamma and Fatima.

He asked the two youngsters who brought the message to climb behind him and left on his Hero Honda for Naipura village.

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