Stigma and Discrimination: the Twain Impact on Mental Health During COVID-19 Pandemic

The real tragedy of COVID-19 is the social and cultural stigma associated with the infected people from the disease. Taking forward from one of the celebrated works of Erving Goffman, known as stigma (1963), this article offers a critical understanding of different fractions created during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indian society. Following the qualitative research method, the study interviewed twenty COVID-19-positive people selected from different age groups, sex, and socio-economic background of the state of Odisha in India. The participants attended the interview through telephonic and video conferencing to throw light on the conundrum of COVID-19 and discrimination. The interview outlined the link between prestige and economically marginalized and how social stigma brought about catastrophe to the different sections of Indian society and culminated in 'Twain Untouchability. Besides this, the article also includes content analysis of some of the newspaper articles published in 2020. The article examines the lived experiences, discrimination, and stigmatization of COVID-19 infected people through phenomenological analysis in the following ways. Firstly, the study analyzes people’s social and emotional experiences in pre, post, and during the COVID-19-positive phase. Secondly, it examines the people and their relatives social and emotional perceptions about COVID-19-affected people. Thirdly, it suggests some ways to mitigate the stigma experiences during COVID 19 pandemic.