The Delhi government led by Arvind Kejriwal appears to have caved in under the pressure of Delhi Minority Commission, which had demanded the AAP government to drop any reference to Tablighi Jamaat in its daily bulletins on coronavirus cases in Delhi. Conceding to the Minority Commission’s demand, the Delhi government has removed any reference to Tablighi Jamaat super-spreader and instead clubbed the positive coronavirus cases emerging from it under a tab named ‘Special Operations’.
The bulletin released by the health department of the Delhi Government last night has no mention of Markaz Nizamuddin induced coronavirus cases in the national capital and instead has a column with the title named “Special Operations” to include the positive COVID-19 cases due to the congregation that was organised by Tablighi Jamaat in mid-March. It is pertinent to note that the Delhi government, until a day ago, April 10, were cataloguing the positive coronavirus under the tab “Markaz Related” to provide the information about the cases that had links to the fateful event.
The move by the Delhi government to drop the reference to Markaz Nizamuddin related incidents in its daily bulletins came after the DMC Chairman Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan wrote a letter to the Arvind Kejriwal government asking him to discard the separate column ‘Markaz Related’ from its daily bulletin.
In the letter, he said: “Your bulletins of Coronavirus victims are showing a separate column ‘Markaz Masjid’. Such thoughtless classification is feeding into the Islamophobia agenda of the lap media and Hindutva forces and has been easily turned into a handle to attack Muslims across the country. As a result, Muslims are being attacked in various areas, calls are being made for their social boycott, one boy has been lynched in the North-West Delhi village of Harewali, others attacked.”
The DMC letter further said, “World Health Organisation has taken cognisance of this phenomenon, unique to India. WHO Emergency Programme Director Mike Ryan said on 6 April 2020: ‘Countries should not profile novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in terms of religion or any other criteria.’ Two days later he asked governments not to politicise the issue and stop profiling people on a religious basis.
The role of Tablighi Jamaat in the spreading of the Wuhan Coronavirus across numerous states of India had come to light when 10 people who had attended the congregation at Markaz Nizamuddin died of COVID-19. Muslim clerics of Tablighi Jamaat organised a congregation in violation of the government’s lockdown orders, providing a conducive environment for the novel coronavirus to proliferate. As per conservative estimates, the congregation organised by Tablighi Jamaat was attended by more than 2000 people, both from various parts of the country as well as from abroad. A staggering number of cases in the country are attributed to the Markaz Nizamuddin event where scores of Muslim clerics attended the event and later travelled to different parts of the country, carrying the infection with them.
About 130 Wuhan Coronavirus hotspots (roughly 90%) in the State of Telangana are linked to the members of the Tablighi Jamaat who had attended the religious congregation held in Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz between March 13 and March 15, reportedThe Sunday Guardian Live. Along with that, around 120 hotspots in Andhra Pradesh are connected to the Tablighi Jamaat members and their associates.
Telangana Health Minister Etela Rajender said that the State would have been free from the Chinese virus, in the absence of the Jaamatis. Around 15 such hotspots are in Hyderabad while the remaining 115 are in other districts of the State. All Coronavirus positive patients are being treated at 3 hospitals in Hyderabad. A task force of 1300 teams comprising of the police and medical staff have been deployed in such 130 containment zones.
According to the ICMR guidelines, people with symptoms of fever, cough, and cold will be tested in Coronavirus containment zones. Earlier, the labs had been testing only symptomatic patients with respiratory ailments, besides international patients and those who came in contact with them. The lockdown in hotspots will be extended if new cases of Coronavirus are reported from such an area. Such localities are under surveillance due to the several complaints against infected people deliberately wandering around in a bid to transmit the deadly pathogen.
Identifying the clusters of containment zones had helped the cops and the government to implement in the lockdown in a better way. This has also helped reduce public inconvenience ensuring public safety. Moreover, the police have sought the help of ‘Gully Warriors’, a group of young boys and girls who inform about those miscreants that move out of the restricted areas.
Reportedly, Hyderabad Mayor Bonthu Rama Mohan had informed about the door-to-door delivery of essential items for people residing in such zones. “For any medical emergency, the people here should dial 100 or 104 for ambulance services,” he reiterated. Massive police deployment in Muslim-dominated areas has also ensured that none stepped out of their houses for offering Friday prayers at mosques.
Roughly, 712 live cases of Coronavirus in Delhi are also linked to the Jaamatis. They also account for 2/3rd of the total cases in the National Capital that has reported a total of 1,069 cases as of April 11. About 77% of the new 128 cases are associated with the Nizamuddin Markaz. It is interesting to note that the Delhi Government has reclassified Chinese virus cases related to the Tablighi Jamaat as “Special Operations.” The Tamil Nadu government had also earlier started to refer the Jamaats as the “single source”.
I bet that in some parts of the world, Hinduphobia must have been classified as an essential service. Because it appears that the global elite cannot go without their regular supply of it. In spite of all the lockdowns in the world.
With even more time on their hands than usual, the elite has to invent new examples of “thoughtcrime” to keep their minds and their audiences engaged. Blaming the government of China is a strict no-no. So where does the global liberal go right now with their righteous, moral outrage?
To India of course. There’s one billion Hindus out there, the biggest of all soft targets in the world. And now this, in the Atlantic, from the poison pen of Aatish Taseer.
The Atlantic article by Aatish Taseer
Facing the brunt this time is the word “Bharat,” which is sought to be declared “exclusionary.” The reasons given include Bharat being a Sanskrit term and Bharat being the word used for India in Indian languages.
Ooh! Indians have been using a secret term to refer to their own country, away from the eyes of the world. How very sinister.
The surprising part is how it took so long for the liberal world to discover this crime of thought / speech committed by Indians in their daily lives. After all, this genre of Hinduphobia has produced several gems already, from diatribes against everything from sarees to rasam to sambhar to diyas and Hanuman stickers. In other words, every single thing about India that may not be widely known in the West is a ripe target for being framed as a sinister conspiracy against humanity. An attack on the word “Bharat” was only a matter of time.
Of course, we hardly need to explain how ridiculous Taseer’s attack on the word “Bharat” is. The national anthem refers to India as “Bharat.” Even the Indian Constitution begins with the phrase “India, that is Bharat…” But the point is that not many in the West have heard the word Bharat. This makes it a prime target for Hinduphobia.
It is not difficult to see what comes next. Incidentally, Aatish Taseer actually responded to my tweet. This time, he seems to suggest that the idea of Bharat could be similar to the self-image of Nazi Germany.
Aatish Taseer comparing idea of Bharat to Nazi Germany
(Side note : Germans never refer to their country as “Germany”. Instead, they always say “Deutschland”. Or as Aatish would probably put it, a word used away from the eyes of the world. But then, it’s not easy to stigmatize a Western European country, is it?)
But the ball has been set in motion, nevertheless. The stage has been set for the word Bharat to be stigmatized, effectively ‘criminalized.’ Just like the word ‘Hindutva,’ which has been defamed to the point that liberals openly raise slogans of “Hindutva ki kabar khudegi” (Dig a burial pit for Hindutva). Nobody thinks any more that a largely Muslim mob raising slogans of digging burial pit for Hindutva is offensive. Nobody sees the echoes of Nazism in that.
The same is about to happen to the word Bharat. The ‘woke’ classes among us will be the first ones to catch on to the new trend. They will start shunning the word. Gradually, they will wear us down, let it filter down, seep in and settle. Ultimately, it will become a tag that most common Hindus will run away from.
As a matter of fact, the word Bharat has been on the chopping block before. Who remembers the slogan ‘Bharat ke tukde’? That was roughly four years ago. Out of that great media event, the names of three young leaders, all reportedly Communist and atheist, entered the public consciousness : Umar Khalid, Shehla Rashid and Kanhaiya Kumar. Two of them went on to become outspoken defenders of the One True Faith. The third one went on to become a warrior against ‘Hindutva.’
Therein, you can understand the real trajectory of where Indian secularism wants to take us.
There are two important lessons here, one for the Hindu right and the other for the left.
For the Hindu right, it is a chance to understand how the left is always on the offensive in this game of labels. Notice that they always fight battles on our turf, putting us on the defensive. They take terms like ‘Hindutva’ or ‘Bharat’ and start defaming them relentlessly.
Yes, we push back, but they have already factored that into their model. Their aim is to first take these perfectly innocent labels and make them appear controversial. The controversy drives away the bulk of common people who are not looking for conflict over words. This is how they win.
In 2016, the nation was furious with slogans of “Bharat ke tukde”. But the left will work relentlessly to make Bharat an ugly word, synonymous with Nazism. By 2026, people may not be outraged by that slogan any more. Just like in 2020, people are no longer outraged by “Hindutva ki kabar khudegi.”
The only option is to strike back at labels that are dear to the left. Such as ‘liberal’ or ‘secular.’ Rather than accuse them of betraying liberalism or secularism, the right must focus its attack on the labels themselves. So much so that common people would be put off from calling themselves liberal or secular.
The other lesson is for Indian leftists themselves. I performed a simple experiment and googled the words “Chinese virus” along with “Atlantic”, the name of the publication where Taseer’s article appeared.
The Atlantic result for ‘Chinese virus’
Five articles in the last one month complaining in whole or in part about the term “Chinese virus”. The same publication which is now out to stigmatize the term “Bharat.” Turns out that liberals are forever worried about inciting prejudice against entire nations, as long as the victims are not Indians!
I want to remind the Indian left that in 2014, Sonia Gandhi herself went on television, asking people to show their “Bharatiyata” by voting against Modi! At that time, Bharat was considered a good, noble word.
By 2016, the left wing view on Bharat had shifted. There were leftists who were calling for Bharat ke tukde.
It’s 2020 and the word Bharat is already being pushed into the same column as Nazi. Do you see where this is going?
Indian leftists with Hindu names need to understand. Sooner or later, the global left is coming for you as well. They hate you just as much as they hate me. How much longer before they pick up a label that is dear to you and demonize it? Perhaps your mother tongue, or your name and whatever it means. They will demonize it sooner or later. They intend to strip away every marker of Hindu culture and leave the land of Bharat barren, devastated and without a history. As Faiz would have put it, bas naam rahega …. ka.
In yet another cowardly attack on the policemen, a mob attacked a police team by pelting stones at them in Mathura after the police personnel had asked the villagers to stay inside during the lockdown.
According to the reports, 10 persons have been arrested for violating lockdown and pelting stones at a police team in Govardhan area, Mathura on Saturday.
SSP Gaurav Grover said that the police were informed that lockdown was being violated in Bhim Nagar village after which a police team reached there. He added that not only were shops open in the village, people were also playing cards in the open. The crowds had gathered outside shops and norms of social distancing were being flouted.
As the police team tried to drive sense into the crowd gathered there, the mob suddenly became violent and attacked the cops with lathis, rods and even pelted stones at them.
Later, an additional force had to be called to the area to disperse the crowd and 10 persons were arrested, while 28 identified and 24 unidentified persons managed to escape.
In the attack, a cop sustained injuries. A case was registered and efforts were being made to arrest the miscreants.
In a similar attack, a team of police personnel and district officials were attacked by locals in Meerut’s Jali Kothi when they reached there to seal a part of the area following a confirmation about presence of coronavirus patients in a mosque in the area.
Ever since the nationwide lockdown was announced in the country, there have been concerted attacks against healthcare workers, policemen by Muslim mobs, who are risking their lives to limit the spread of the Chinese epidemic. We had reported regarding the series of attacks unleashed against frontline health workers by Muslim mobs during the coronavirus epidemic.
In an effort to trace the Tablighi Jamaat members, who have now gone into hiding after attending a religious meet at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi- the epicentre of coronavirus cases in the country, the Uttar Pradesh police have decided to reward people for helping to trace the Tablighi Jamaat members who are yet to report to the authorities despite several warnings.
According to the reports, Azamgarh Superintendent of Police Triveni Singh announced that those informing the police about the Tablighi Jamaat members will be given a cash reward of Rs 5,000, adding their identity will be kept a secret.
“The Jamaat members are still hiding. We have made an appeal to them that if they come up and appear before the authorities, no action will be initiated against them,” Superintendent of Police Triveni Singh said.
“But, if the information about them comes to us through another source, strict action will be initiated against them,” the official said.
Similarly, Santhosh Kumar Singh, SSP of Bulandshahr on Friday had announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for people who would provide information on Tablighi Jamaat followers who have been in hiding after returning from the controversial religious gathering at Nizamuddin Markaz last month.
The Nizamuddin Markaz of the Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi has been the epicentre of the spread of Wuhan Coronavirus all across India. The role of the Tablighi Jamaat in the spreading of the Wuhan Coronavirus in India came to light when thousands of Jamaatis were found holed up in the Markaz Nizamuddin in violation of all guidelines and orders. Subsequently, numerous people across numerous states of India who had attended the Islamic event at the Markaz Nizamuddin tested positive for the virus.
A 35-year-old man, who was desperate to consume alcohol, has died after drinking sanitiser in Tamil Nadu amidst coronavirus lockdown. According to the reports, the deceased has been identified as E Bernard from Coimbatore. He worked as a gas cylinder delivery man in Coimbatore.
Bernard was found unconscious at home early on Saturday morning at around 3 am. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead. The medical examination revealed that he had consumed hand sanitizer before his death.
According to the police, Bernard was an alcoholic and was suffering from withdrawal symptoms for the last week due to the lockdown.
It was suspected that someone told to Bernard that the sanitizer had an alcohol content equivalent to liquor. He had also heard that drinking alcohol could help him fight the coronavirus. So, he used the sanitizer as an alternative for liquor, police said.
The hand sanitiser he consumed as an alternative for liquor was provided to him by the agency he worked with. As the TASMAC liquor shops have been closed, Bernard had been desperate for alcohol.
Priya, the wife of Bernard, said she was at home at the time of the incident and took Bernard to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, where he was declared dead. An investigation is underway, said police.
The ‘Nihangs’, who had attacked the Punjab policemen and chopped-off hands of ASI Harjeet Singh have been arrested at a local Gurdwara Khichri Sahib near Patiala. Reportedly, after an initial standoff, the police managed to arrest all the ‘Nihangs’, who were hiding in Gurudwara Khichri Sahib, Balbera. Seven fugitives, including one who was injured in police firing, were taken into the custody.
The operation was supervised by IG Patiala Zone, Jatinder Singh Aulakh, said KBS Sidhu, Special Chief Secretary, Punjab.
Earlier today, a group of five ‘Nihangs’, armed with swords and iron rods, had attacked two policemen and chopped-off hands of ASI Harjeet Singh. The armed Sikhs were travelling in a vehicle and they were asked to stop at a vegetable market at 6.15 am by Mandi board officials.
“They were asked to show (curfew) passes. But they crashed the vehicle against the gate and barricades put up there,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Patiala, Mandeep Singh Sidhu said. The group then attacked the police personnel on duty, he said.
Soon after the incident, the Punjab police teams, led by Patiala SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu, had reached the Gurdwara Khichri Sahib and urged the ‘Nihangs’ to surrender. The police sealed the area around the gurdwara and the village with three-tier security so that no one can escape.
Senior officers at the spot said that the total number of armed ‘Nihangs’ inside the gurdwara was not known initially. However, the police then reached out to Nihang leaders including Baba Balbir Singh, the head of the Buddha Dal Nihang faction—one of the biggest and richest in the country. However, the accused did not turn themselves in. Speaking to Times Now, Baba Balbir Singh has said that these men do not belong to their sect and strictest action should be taken against them. Now that they are arrested, the police will take the investigation further.
At a time when entire country is shutdown due to the nationwide lockdown following the outbreak of Chinese coronavirus, the Indian Railways came to rescue of a mother, who was in the dire need of camel milk for her three-and-a-half-year-old autistic child. The child is allergic to goat, cow and buffalo milk and they had run out of stock of camel milk.
The Indian Railway transported 20 litres of camel milk to a family in Mumbai from Rajasthan after the mother tweeted about the non-availability of camel milk in Mumbai.
On April 4, Chembur resident Neha Sinha tweeted tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “Sir, I have a 3.5 yrs old child suffering from autism and severe food allergies. He survives on Camel Milk and limited qty of pulses. When lockdown started I didn’t have enough camel milk to last this long. Help me get Camel Milk or its powder from Sadri (Rajasthan).”
@narendramodi Sir I have a 3.5 yrs old child suffering from autism and severe food allergies . He survives on Camel Milk and limited qty of pulses. When lockdown started I didn’t have enough camel milk to last this long. Help me get Camel Milk or its powder from Sadri(Rajasthan).
Soon, the tweet went viral across social media. Netizens suggested that camel milk is available from suppliers in Rajasthan, however, lamented over the non-possibility of transporting the camel milk from Rajasthan to Mumbai due to lockdown.
Following Sinha’s request, Odisha-cadre IPS officer Arun Bothra reached out to the Chief Passenger Transport Manager of North-West Railway to seek on how to transport frozen camel milk from the supplier in Rajasthan to Mumbai.
Final update
20 lts. camel milk reached Mumbai by train last night. The family has kindly shared part of it with another needy person in the city.
Jain, in turn, discussed the matter with Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Mahesh Chand Jewalia, after which parcel cargo train number 00902, running from Ludhiana to Bandra Terminus, was given permission to make an unscheduled halt at Falna station, near Ajmer.
“The supplier of the milk said he could send the consignment to Falna station since that was the closest. But the station was not a scheduled halt and it was decided that the train would stop there nonetheless. The goods booking counter at the station was also opened to collect the parcel. Last night, we received confirmation that the camel milk from Rajasthan to Mumbai milk was picked up from Bandra station and reached the lady’s house by 8.30 pm,” said a senior official from the North West Railways.
In the meantime, given that Sinha was in dire need for camel milk for her child, Bothra contacted the owner of Aadvik Foods, a company that manufactures camel milk powder, and helped arrange 400 gm of the milk powder through a shop in Andheri. This was to ensure Sinha’s child had something to go on till the milk from Rajasthan reached them.
Hi Ms. Neha, sorry to have missed your tweet earlier. We had been contacted by @arunbothra few minutes back and we are trying out our best to help you out, just give us some time.
“After taking permission from the appropriate authority, the train was stopped and the camel milk was delivered to the woman at Bandra. For us at the Indian Railways, this is not the time to look at commercial gains. We have been asked to help out wherever possible in whichever way we can. Our (NWR) trains run through 18 districts of the country and we will do whatever is needed to help people out,” Jain said.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal took to Twitter to hail the role of the railway officials in ensuring the essential item is delivered to the family in Mumbai. “Railways to the Rescue: Acting proactively on a mother’s request to PM Narendra Modiji, Railways delivers 20 litres of camel milk for the well being of her autistic child, from Falna in Rajasthan to Mumbai,” Goyal tweeted.
Following the 21-day nationwide lockdown, the Indian Railways has suspended all passenger, mail and express train services to combat the spread of Chinese coronavirus. Only freight and special parcel trains are running to ensure the supply of essential items.
In a shocking incident on Sunday in Patiala, Punjab, a group of ‘Nihangs’ (Sikhs armed with traditional weapons and dressed in loose blue top) injured two police officers and the chopped-off hand of another police officer at Sabzi Mandi, Patiala.
According to the reports, a group of five ‘Nihangs’, armed with swords and iron rods, were travelling in a vehicle and they were asked to stop at a vegetable market at 6.15 am by Mandi board officials. “They were asked to show (curfew) passes. But they crashed the vehicle against the gate and barricades put up there,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Patiala, Mandeep Singh Sidhu said.
The group then attacked the police personnel on duty, he said.
A video of the incident has now gone viral. In the video, it can be seen how Nihangs broke the barricade and attack the policemen. The chopping-off hands of ASI Singh can be seen in the video. (Note: contains gory images. Viewer discretion is advised.)
During the attack, ASI Harjeet Singh’s hand was chopped-off by the Nihangs while two other police personnel got injured. ASI Harjeet Singh has been admitted to PGI Chandigarh, said Dinkar Gupta, Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab.
“I have spoken to Director of PGI who has deputed top plastic surgeons of PGI for surgery, which just started. The Nihang group will be arrested and further action will be taken soon,” said Dinkar Gupta, Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab.
The Nihangs fled the scene after the attack, the SSP said, adding efforts are on to arrest them. The incident took place when restrictions are in place in the state because of the coronavirus outbreak.
On Saturday, Indigo Airlines informed that one of its employees had succumbed to the Wuhan Coronavirus infection on Friday. According to reports, the employee was an aircraft maintenance engineer in his mid-50s and was employed with the budget carrier since 2006.
We are extremely sorry and saddened by the demise of one of our employees in Chennai due to infection of #COVID19. We are providing all support to the family and stand with them at this hour of deep grief: IndiGo Statement pic.twitter.com/dLTIwjAQgd
An airline spokesperson was quoted as saying, “We are extremely sorry and saddened by the demise of one of our beloved employees in Chennai due to the infection of Coronavirus. This is a heartbreaking moment for all of us at IndiGo and in this time of sorrow we stand with his family and request that we respect the privacy of our employee and his family.”
All flight operations that were discontinued by Indigo during the nationwide lockdown will be gradually started post the lockdown. Reportedly, on-board meal services will be suspended for a brief period and the airline will run at a maximum load capacity of 50%. Earlier, aviation consultancy CAPR India had informed that the industry will incur a whopping loss of $3.3 -$3.6 billion if all flight operations remain suspended till June end. According to the Ministry of Health, the Wuhan Coronavirus has infected 7,367 people with 715 recoveries and 273 deaths as of 8 a.m. on April 12.
