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Uttar Pradesh: Cops arrest 2 people for organising Iftar party in Noida amidst Coronavirus lockdown, FIR against 19 others

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Cops arrest 2 people for organising Iftar party in Noida amidst Coronavirus lockdown, FIR against 19 others

On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh police had reportedly arrested two men, namely, Pappu and Mausam, for organising a public Iftar party in front of Jama Masjid in Mohalla Chauthaiya Patti in Greater Noida amidst Coronavirus lockdown. Moreover, a case has also been filed against 19 other people for flouting social distancing norms and lockdown guidelines under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Following the nationwide lockdown that was imposed in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak, all forms of public religious gatherings were banned. Ahead of Ramzan, the Government had appealed to people to stay at their houses and celebrate Iftar party with their families instead.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone III) Rajesh Kumar informed that the Jewar Police rushed to the scene around 7 pm and nabbed the two accused, on receiving information about the Iftar party. He said that the other people involved in the case are absconding and a search is underway to apprehend them.

Social Distancing goes for a toss

Earlier as the month of Ramzan commenced, crowds were seen shopping and moving around at various places completely flouting the lockdown and joining the public gatherings. One of the areas was the Shastri Park area of North-east Delhi, that witnessed a huge crowd on April 22 morning despite lockdown orders. In another instance, the Lal Kuan area of Delhi, a highly populated and a minority-dominated area, was also the busiest market on April 22.

The Hindu publishes fake news claiming that Railways is charging extra money from stranded migrants to travel in special trains: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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The Hindu publishes fake news claiming that Railways is charging extra money from stranded migrants to travel in special trains: Read details

Following the decision by Modi government to run Shramik Special trains to help millions of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and others stranded by the lockdown return home, there has been a concerted campaign to discredit the efforts of the Modi government.

In a similar effort to create confusion among the public, the ‘liberal-secular’ media network – ‘The Hindu‘ reported that railway department will be charging Rs 50 extra per passenger addition to the sleeper class fare for migrants travelling in the special trains being operated between various states.

The Hindu report

Soon, social media users including few journalists shared the report on social media platforms to claim that it was wrong to charge enhanced passenger fare from the stranded migrants and the Modi government should provide the funds through the PM-CARES fund.

Rohini Singh, who claims to be a journalist and notoriously known for spreading fake news on social media did not lose out an opportunity to target the Modi government. Falling for the fake propaganda by The Hindu, Rohini Singh insinuated that funds from PM-CARES should be used to pay for the movement of migrants.

Various other netizens also latched up to the false reportage of the The Hindu to claim that the central government should have used funds from PM-CARES instead of harassing poor migrants to pay for their one-way journey back home.

Fact Check about the Special Trains:

In a hurry to attack the Modi government, perhaps the Hindu has chosen to deliberately misreport as it forgot to mention that the passengers need not pay anything for the journey as the state governments have in fact decided to pay full fare including the extra 50 rupees per passenger.

According to a senior official, the special trains are for people who are registered by state governments and are not open to the public at large. The passengers who have been brought to the railway stations by government officials of the sending state will be allowed to board. If the state government then charges the passengers to make good on that payment, the Railways cannot be held responsible for that decision.

Most importantly, passengers will not have to buy tickets as the state governments concerned will have to coordinate and pay for the tickets. As these are not regular trains, but special trains which will run on the request of state government, there is no provision to buy tickets for those trains. The respective state governments will book the trains by making the payment as charged by the Indian Railways, and the passengers do not have to pay anything.

The railway ministry officials said the special trains will run from point to point on the ‘request of the state governments’ concerned according to home ministry protocols. 

The extra charges are being collected as meals and drinking water will be provided to the passengers by the sending states at the originating station. On longer routes, the railways will provide a meal during the journey. Hence, the Railways have been collecting extra charges, which will be paid by the state government.

Railways Ministry sources told OpIndia that the Superfast charge of Rs 30 is being taken as per existing policies of Railways, because all the Shramik Special trains will run as superfast trains as they will run point to point with only a few stoppages. Moreover, no additional charge is being charged from passengers. Food and beverages are provided to the passengers as complimentary by the Railways, and only Rs 20 as additional charge is being collected. As the trains will run at 50% capacity to ensure social distancing as per MHA guidelines, the Railways is spending considerable resources for this movement of migrants.

However, the Hindu has decided to leave it out from its report to mislead public and create confusion among the masses. It is interesting to note that in its report on the special trains yesterday, The Hindu had mentioned that “passengers are not required to buy the ticket. The fares will be paid by the state governments.” But still, it went ahead and published a fake report today.

Hounding of Arnab Goswami is unsurprising: This is what happened to me at a media event when I was just a law student

Rucha Dhakras
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Hounding of Arnab Goswami is unsurprising: This is what happened to me at a media event when I was just a law student

The recent incident of the attack on TV Journalist and editor in Chief of Republic TV Mr Arnab Goswami brought a flashback of events that happened around six years ago. Although, Mr Goswami received support from various parts of the society, yet the staggering silence of the left-liberal personalities or their hasty criticism and justification of the incident comes as no surprise. This lot has been loyal to a certain ideology or rather certain political dynasty for a very long time. Their loyalty knows no bounds and at times, it has taken an ugly shape of a hood of a cobra spewing venom at anything that is said to the contrary. This bunch of intellectuals has constantly targeted Indian ethos. There are shining examples of Macaulay’s Education System. So, for them to target Mr Goswami and continuously spew hate against his brand of journalism doesn’t come as a surprise. In fact, it reminds me of an event that I participated in years ago, when I was the target of the leftist journalists.

Six years back, I was invited to an event organized by a forum where an interactive session was held with a journalist of a leading Marathi News Channel. People from all walks of life were invited and as a person representing the field of law, I was given an opportunity not only to attend the event but also a chance to ask a question to our guest. Back then, I was a naïve young law student, championing the freedom of speech and expression and thought this opportunity to be a golden chance to ask the guest of honour the question that had been troubling me for a very long time. That’s why me and one of my friend, decided to attend this event. 

I was surprised to see that even though the program was for all to attend, maximum attendees were journalists and reporters of various news agencies based in my city. Majority of the attendees were from those Newspapers that are known for sympathizing with the anti-establishment elements. Needless to say, only a handful of us were from the field of literature, law, psychology and politics. As was the protocol, our guest was given the stage to speak about his experience as a journalist for 20 minutes and then the floor was opened for questions to be asked. Maximum of them were from reporters and not more than three were from other fields. 

When I was given the chance, I asked two questions. 

1. Does the media have a problem with Right Wing Ideology? Why is it that a Hindu ideologue or a BJP politician or even RSS leader is hounded for any statement of theirs whereas no matter how silly statements are issued by politicians of other political parties like Congress etc, there is a pin drop silence?

2. We recently saw what happened with Rajdeep Sardesai at Madison Square garden. I believe it was a genuine reaction coming from common man after the merciless criticism of their leader Mr. Narendra Modi. Especially on social media platforms. Don’t you think that people have started questioning the credibility of media and because of the biased reporting done by a section of media, people have started reacting. What is your take on that?

Never in my life had I been particularly drawn to politics but the 2014 campaign and the overwhelming support of BJP and PM Modi in particular piqued my interest and I observed the difference between the media reporting done as regards Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. I did some research as to why this lot seemed to target Mr. Modi and realized that they don’t have a problem with Modi. They have problem with the ideology he represents. I scanned through interviews after interviews and it dawned on me that their hatred towards Mr. Modi is deep entrenched to their hatred for Hindus. That’s what triggered me to ask as to what the reason was behind the hate. It was a very innocent curiosity on my part. I was blinded by my quest to find answers and the idea of free speech so much that I had no idea what was to be unleashed on me in matter of next ten minutes or so. 

The thing that shouldn’t surprise us that our guest of honour could not answer any of my questions. Instead, he explained how there’s nothing such as right-wing and how social media is a bane for today’s journalism. It was as if I opened a platform for him to speak on the bane of social media. As mine was the last question, the closing ceremony concluded and it was finally snack time. My friend and I were standing in the corner, not engaging with anyone, happily munching over the delicious Samosa and chips when we were approached by a bunch of our journalist friends. 

I was left speechless when they bombarded me with sermons as to how it was disrespectful my line of questioning was. How I should have considered the seniority o the journalist and how wrong I was to question the integrity of media! So I countered them that my questions were mere observations after having done an extensive study on the pattern of reporting done by media. And as a citizen of this country, I have right to question the media establishment. I also asked then to pay more attention to their respective twitter handles so they could understand that I was not the only one asking questions. I was thankful to the support of my friend who had my back because I was sure,  otherwise, I would have drowned in the sea of insults thrown at me. 

I was told that I’m a mere student who cannot understand the complexities of governance that establishments and how they act against the law. This premise gives the media to question the government. The media was to uphold the right of ignorant citizens like me. Some of them gave me their visiting card and asked me to contact them so they could explain to me how transparent and independent the media is and to clear the confusion in my mind about right-wing. I was stunned, to say the least. It was then, I realized, that our media, who are supposed to be the fourth pillar of democracy, is not as free as it wants people to believe. 

Today, when I reflect back to the incident, I realize that the verbal attack on me wasn’t because I asked them questions. It was because I had managed to pinch their jugular. The media is tolerant as long as you don’ question them. The moment you question their bias and their ideology you become their target of hatred. It was the first instance of intolerance I encountered and it was prior to the whole Award Wapsi drama. These people are vicious and go as far as insulting a woman in public for her fault of merely questioning them. They don’t spare the likes of Union Minister Smriti Irani, I’m just a common citizen, a mere first step on the ladder. Their hatred for everything that stands for Indic values and Hindutva runs far too deep. They don’t want India to rise to her full capacity. They are the stooges that want India enslaved to the western ideals. 

Therefore, when a journalist, who is one of their own fraternity, comes up with a new brand of nationalist journalism is not spared. He’s maligned, questioned about his ethics and is called a Hashtag Journalist. All because he has managed to defy their brand of journalism that mocks the nation and national sentiments. That is why when Mr Goswami exposed Mrs Gandhi’s hypocrisy, he was attacked. The likes of and Nikhil Wagle immediately jumped to question if Mr.Goswami can even be considered a journalist. 

The problem lies not with loyalty but their steadfast sycophancy of the dynasty and the Queen. Apparently they still adhere to the norm of “The Queen Is Above All”

Watch: 18 people found travelling from Maharashtra to Lucknow inside a concrete mixer

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: 18 people found travelling from Maharashtra to Lucknow inside a concrete mixer

In a shocking incident, 18 people desperate to return to their homes in Lucknow from Maharashtra were found travelling inside a concrete mixer tank by police in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. A video of the said incident has now gone viral on social media. The men holed up insider the tank could be seen coming out of a narrow orifice, one at a time, in the presence of police officials.

The truck was stopped by the cops at the border between Indore and Ujjain to check for the illegal movement of people. Cautioned by the driver’s nervousness, the police officers stationed at the border checked the massive concrete mixer drum. To their surprise, they found 18 men sitting inside when they opened the lid of the tank.

The migrant workers were then sent to a local quarantine facility for Coronavirus testing. The Madhya Pradesh Government is meanwhile arranging a special bus to take them to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. DSP Umakant Chaudhary informed, “The truck has been sent to a police station and an FIR has been registered.”

Migrant Crisis

Following the imposition of the nationwide lockdown in the wake of the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic, economic activities have come to a standstill. With daily wage workers left with no food, shelter, and job, travelling home seemed to be the last option for them. Given that public transport was unavailable owing to social distancing guidelines, several people began their journey on bicycles and even barefoot.

The nationwide lockdown which was announced on March 24 and later extended to May 3 and now further been prolonged to May 17. Several restrictions have been eased out in non-containment zones in the country.

Special trains for stranded people

Easing the movement of migrant workers, tourists, students, pilgrims stranded at different places, the Union Government on May 1 allowed the use of trains for transporting the stranded people to their home states.

Earlier the Home Ministry had allowed the movement of stranded people to their home states using chartered buses. But due to do the huge number of people, especially migrant workers, stranded at various places, several states had requested special trains to transport them as buses will not be enough to handle such a massive migration.

Gujarat: School reopens in Rajkot in violation of Coronavirus lockdown rules, probe ordered

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: School reopens in Rajkot in violation of Coronavirus lockdown rules, probe ordered

On Saturday, students studying at the Pardi Swami Vivekananda School at Rajkot in Gujarat were asked to attend classes by their teachers, in complete violation of the lockdown guidelines that were imposed in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak.

Reportedly, 100 students attended school to take their test results, despite Rajkot being one of the containment zones in Gujarat. This has prompted the district administration to swing into action and initiate a probe into the matter.

It must be mentioned that the State Education Department had directed all schools, colleges, and educational institutions to shut operations during the pandemic. As of May 2, Gujarat has reported 4,721 cases and 214 deaths due to the Chinese virus.

Anil Ranavasiya, District, Development Officer informed that schools were asked to prepare question papers and allow students to take exams at their homes. Moreover, school authorities were told to send test results to the respective houses of children.

While assuring of strict action in case of violation, he added, “It is also possible that there was miscommunication or misinterpretation of the order. These things will only be clear after the inquiry.

5-year-old complained to police on tuition Classes

Agitated for being forced to attend tuition classes amid lockdown, a 5-year-old toddler in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, took the police to his tuition teacher’s house. In a video that went viral, it can be seen that as the woman tutor opened the door, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Batala) Gurdip Singh interrogated the lady teacher.

The shocked teacher denied having taken classes but the child pointed out to the policeman that three kids came for tuition classes. “Who gave you permission for teaching children?” the DSP further asked her. Once the boy blurted out the information, Singh admonished the tutor for taking classes during the lockdown. The DSP said that they had been asking people not to move out of their houses and scolded her for conducting classes.

15 people test Coronavirus positive after attending a prayer meeting held by a family in their own building, TOI gives it a ‘Hindu temple’ spin

Jhankar Mohta
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15 people test Coronavirus positive after attending a prayer meeting held by a family in their own building, TOI gives it a ‘Hindu temple’ spin

Amidst coronavirus pandemic, a family in Chennai’s Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zone held a prayer meet in the ground floor of their own building. Fifteen of them have been tested positive on April 26. The family members reside on different floors of a three-storey building and the prayer meeting was held on the ground floor recently.

According to Corporation officials, the source is suspected to be a couple among them who are sanitary workers.

“Investigations are still on as to whether people from outside the family were present at the meeting but so far, we have traced the family members,” said a Corporation official.

How Times of India uses a temple image to give incident a ‘Hindu spin’

However, Times of India has proceeded to give this incident a ‘Hindu spin’ by using the picture of the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Mylapore, Chennai, as its featured image.

While reporting how the coronavirus scourge has reached the heart of Chennai and how Chennai faces the threat of community transmission, Times of India in its report published on April 30, titled: “Covid battle enters heart of Chennai”, mentions this incident and a few other similar ones. However, going by the deliberation of Indian media to give every crime a ‘Hindu spin’, Times of India uses the image of the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, confusing its readers by insinuating that the prayer meeting was held in a temple.

TOI article dated April 30

Meanwhile, The New Indian Express had on April 26 reported about the same incident where it mentioned that the prayer meeting was held at the ground floor of the private building in which the family was living.

When Times of India uses an image of a temple in its article about a family being infected with Coronavirus in their own building while holding a prayer meet among family members, the insinuation for the reader, is, the automatic assumption that the said prayer meet was being held at a temple.

Times of India has indulged in similar chicanery in the past

There are several times in the past that the media has resorted to such chicanery. In July 2018, Times of India reported that in Maharashtra, a ‘godman’ forced his male devotees into ‘unnatural sex’. As per the report, one Asif Noori, a 38-year-old self-styled godman was arrested in Buldhana district in Maharashtra days after video and audio clips of allegedly forcing male devotees into unnatural sex went viral on social media.

As per reports, a preliminary police investigation has revealed that Noori took his victims to a room where he would allegedly drug them on the pretext of performing a ritual and force them to have unnatural sex with them.

However, The Times of India, while tweeted the same report, used a misleading image to report the crime. The image of a sketch of a sadhu was used for a crime where the accused is a Muslim insinuating that the crime was committed by a Hindu.

Incidentally, TOI had earlier too given misleading spins to many more such incidents. In fact, in 2018 Times of India was served a legal notice for hurting the sentiments of Hindus by portraying ‘Veda Pathshalas’ (pious institutions which impart Vedic knowledge) as Human Trafficking centres. In the report about child trafficking in Madrasa, Times of India had force-fitted ‘Veda Pathshala’ in the headline.

Times of India has been a repeat offender. Despite attracting furore on social media for its transgressions the Indian media house refuses to refrain.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un makes first public appearance after weeks of rumours of his bad health and possible death

OpIndia Staff
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North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un makes first public appearance after weeks of rumours of his bad health and possible death

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un made a first public appearance in the last 21 days amid the speculations of his bad health and possible death. North Korea’s government news agency KCNA issued pictures in which Kim Jong Un is seen inaugurating a company on Labour Day.

The news agency reported that the Leader had attended the completion of the fertilizer plant in a region north of the capital Pyongyang. This was the first official report on the dictator’s activity since April 11.

The news agency mentioned, “all the participants broke into thunderous cheers of ‘hurrah!’. He inspected the facility and briefed about the production processes.”

Kim Jong Un was accompanied by several senior officials of North Korea including his sister Kim Yo Jong.

As per KCNA, Kim in a deep emotion said that “grandfather Kim Il Sung and father Kim Jong Il would be greatly pleased if they heard the news that the modern phosphatic fertilizer factory has been built.”

Rumors of illness and possible death

As per reports, Kim Jong Un presided a worker’s party politburo on April 11. The state media reported the next day that the leader had inspected fighter jets. After that Kim had vanished from the media reports of the country.

Speculations about his bad health and possible death emerged when he was found absent at April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather, who was the North Korea’s founder. The day is one of the most auspicious days for the country.

His absence triggered many unconfirmed reports over his condition. An online media outlet, that is handled by North Korean defectors reported that the dictator was undergoing treatment for the cardiovascular procedure last month.

It stated that Kim, who is in mid-30, needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue.

Donald Trump refused to comment on Kim’s re-emergence

After CNN and Washington Post reported quoting an anonymous official source that Washington is monitoring intelligence that Kim is in grave danger after unsuccessful surgery. President Donald Trump said that Kim was alive earlier that week.

Recently, Donald Trump refused to comment on Kim’s re-emergence. As per Reuters, Trump told the reporters at White House, “I’d rather not comment on it yet. We’ll have something to say about it at the appropriate time.”

Ranchi: Denied place for burial in Christian cemetery, the family of the deceased cremates the body with Hindu rituals

OpIndia Staff
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Ranchi: Denied place for burial in Christian cemetery, the family of the deceased cremates the body with Hindu rituals

In a heartrending incident, a family in Ranchi was denied a burial site in Christian cemetery citing that there was no space left in the graveyard to bury their deceased relative. The case pertains to an elderly man living in a town near the Harmu River who died on Thursday. When his family approached the Christian cemetery to lay to rest the deceased man, they were told that there is no space left in the cemetery for his burial. Finding themselves at their wit’s end, the family performed the last rites of the dead man in a crematorium with Hindu rituals.

According to reports, the deceased, Rasharan, was an adherent of Christianity for the last 15 years. Philip Tutti, Ramsharan’s son, said that all his family members routinely visited Saint Francis Church from the last several years. Following his father’s death, the family contacted the Saint Francis Church authority and sought a resting place for his deceased father in the Christian cemetery. However, the father of the church passed up their request claiming that there is no place available in their cemetery. Denying the permission to bury his father in the Christian cemetery, the father of the church suggested his family take the body of the deceased man to his village wand perform the last rites there.

When Philip expressed his inability to transport his father’s body to his native village Phudi, the father of the church urged him to seek local cooperation in shifting his father’s body to the village. He also asked Philip to hunt for an alternate option. Later, the family, in consensus with the locals decided to perform the last rites of the man according to Hindu traditions. The deceased man’s body was taken to Harmu Muktidham and cremated there in accordance with the Hindu customs.

However, according to a report published in Live Hindustan, P Aiind, a member of Saint Francis Church in Harmu denied being aware of any such incident. As per the rules mandated by the Saint Francis Church, every family has to buy a place for themselves in the cemetery. For this, donations have to be made. A person residing outside of Ranchi may not have donated to the cemetery. In such a scenario, the church management has the authority to prevent the burial, the report said.

China launches ‘crusade’ against Christianity, begins to remove crosses from churches across the country

OpIndia Staff
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China launches ‘crusade’ against Christianity, begins to remove crosses from churches across the country

The Chinese government has decided to forcefully remove more than two thousand crosses from churches across China as part of a government campaign to regulate “excessive religious sites”. According to the reports, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has decided to pull down crosses atop of churches across the country as part of its post-coronavirus crusade against Christianity. The campaign is reportedly aimed at eradicating Christian landscape and its symbols from China.

The nation’s leadership has launched the crusade to eradicate Christianity in various provinces for two years now. Several members have been arrested for attempting to halt the government’s crude attempt to suppress the Christian faith, said a report published by Express.

Reportedly, on Easter Sunday, the Chinese authorities ripped down the cross that used to surmount the tympanum of a church in the diocese of Xinxiang in Henan province.

Fallout of the agreement between CCP and Vatican church

A blogger priest, Father Shanren Shenfu said that silence in the face of the destruction of crosses is part of the price to pay for the Vatican’s agreement with the CCP on the appointment of bishops in the country.

The provisional agreement allows the pope to appoint and veto bishops appointed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The agreement aims to merge the state-run open church with the underground church loyal to the Vatican.

Read- Demolition of mosques, ban on Arabic language, Islamic schools : China’s new war to confront Radical Islam

“Now when a cross is removed, Christians must be calm and smile,” said Father Shenfu.

He added, “Accepting the removal of the crosses as an everyday event, therefore, seems to be the only great contribution that the Chinese Catholic faithful and all the people of God can make to the continuation of the [Sino-Vatican] Agreement.”

The priest said if anyone was angry about the destruction, he would be considered a criminal.

Removal of Chinese symbols in various provinces across China

The authorities removed the cross from Our Lady of the Rosary church in the diocese of Anhui on April 18 after parish leaders unsuccessfully petitioned local authorities for permission to carry out repairs on the building. The officials denied the permission, saying the plan is to remove all crosses from Christian churches in the area, both Catholic and Protestant.

In a separate incident, authorities arrived at a church in Suzhou City belonging to the same Anhui diocese on April 19 and removed the cross from that church as well.

Read- China orders halal restaurants and food stalls to remove Arabic script and symbols associated with Islam from their signages

Similarly, authorities removed the cross from a historic Christian church in Hefei on April 27. The Hefei Christian Church (HCC), Hefei city’s largest Christian church, was founded by American missionaries sent by Disciples of Christ to China in 1896. HCC was the second victim of cross removal in Hefei city as Chinese authorities removed the cross from the Feixi Sanhe Church on April 15.

Generally, the security forces oversee such pre-dawn operations and make sure that people could not enter the church, gather outside, or take pictures of the demolition.

A priest from Anhui, identified as Father Chen said that the authorities use the same routine and tactics all across China. “This is not the case of a particular diocese or province. It is happening all over the mainland, but the mainland church is silent,” he added.

“If the churches don’t unite to resist, many more crosses will be removed,” the priest declared.

The church leaders in China have offered no resistance to the removal of crosses out of fear of losing the church building itself.

Restrictions on churches

In 2015, the Chinese province of Zhejiang had banned placing crosses on church rooftops and had ordered to remove hundreds of rooftop crosses from Protestant and Catholic churches, in an effort to prevent leaders from restoring the Christian symbol to the top of buildings.

Read- Satellite images show that China is building car parks, commercial complexes and playgrounds over Uighur Muslim graveyards

Since October 2018, hundreds of crosses across China have been removed in the campaign against Christianity. Dioceses in Zhejiang, Henan, Hebei and Guizhou provinces have witnessed several crosses being removed, allegedly after they violated planning laws.

In October 2019, a church in Guantao County in Hebei was demolished because it was accused of “illegally occupying cultivated land”. In 2020 alone, the crosses of two churches in Qiu County in Hebei have been removed.

There are stipulated rules that any crosses must be affixed to the facade of buildings and not above the roof. The crosses should also not measure more than one-tenth of the height of the facade. Since early 2014, Zhejiang officials targeted the city of Wenzhou, known as China’s Jerusalem as it had half of the province’s 4,000 churches.

Sikh pilgrims test positive for coronavirus, India Today attempts to draw a parallel to Tablighi Jamaat superspreaders: Here is why they are wrong

Jinit Jain
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Sikh pilgrims test positive for coronavirus, India Today attempts to draw a parallel to Tablighi Jamaat superspreaders: Here is why they are wrong

A raft of Sikh pilgrims who had travelled from Punjab to pay their obeisance found themselves cooped up in the Hazur Sahib Gurudwara in Maharashtra’s Nanded after PM Modi’s enforced a nationwide lockdown from March 25 in view of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. Nearly 3,500 Sikh pilgrims who visited the hallowed Gurudwara and were stranded there since March 25 have returned after seeking approval from the Union government. They started returning to Punjab from April 22 but the order to quarantine them came five days later. About 197 of those returned from the Maharashtra Gurudwara, one of the holiest sites in Sikhism, have been tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The 197 COVID-19 patients form one-third of the total 585 cases detected in Punjab, sending ripples across the two states-Punjab and Maharashtra for the unusual spike in the number of coronavirus cases.

However, the alarming rise of coronavirus cases among Sikh pilgrims have provided an opportunity for some media outlets such as India Today to take up the cudgel for the delinquent Tablighi Jamaat members. The media group is brazenly and actively equating the much revered Hazur Sahib Gurudwara to the Markaz Nizamuddin headquarter of Tablighi Jamaat who had emerged as one of the most potent coronavirus hotspots in the country.

A report published in India Today read, “After cases in India exploded due to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, Sikh pilgrims now pose a new Covid19 threat in Punjab” essentially draws an equivalence between the Sikh pilgrims who remained penned up in the Gurudwara for about a month to the errant Tablighi Jamaat members, who defied lockdown restrictions and acted as a vector of the intractable contagion, deliberately taking the infection to different parts of the country.

In fact, the unscrupulous attempt to bracket the Sikh pilgrims with Tablighi Jamaat members was also acknowledged by Akal Takht jathedar Harpreet Singh who on Friday claimed that there was a conspiracy to “malign” the Sikhs just as the Muslims were after the Tablighi Jamaat episode

It is downright deplorable and a bit disingenuous that the report published on India Today ran a vilifying campaign against the Sikh pilgrims who have tested positive for the coronavirus and compared them to the Tablighi Jamaat superspreaders who had exhibited malevolent desires to intentionally spread the contagion to others. Not only did Tablighi Jamaat members hid in various parts of the country to avoid detection, but they were also found spitting at quarantine centres and on doctors, attendants and nurses with the evil wish to infect others. Tablighi Jamaat members sheltered in Narela quarantine centre were found defecating in the corridor. While on other the hand, the dignified Sikh pilgrims had dutifully honoured the lockdown called by the Prime Minister and remained hunkered down at the Gurudwara as long as they did not receive an approval from the Union Government to proceed back to their state.

In addition, the Sikh pilgrims are not absconding like many of the Tablighi Jamaat members who have displayed inexplicable obstinance in adhering to the enforced guidelines and a penchant for assaulting healthcare officials. The Sikh pilgrims are complying with the government mandates and fully cooperating with the authorities to stem the further spread of the infection. By drawing a preposterous analogy between the Sikh pilgrims and Tablighi Jamaat super-spreaders, these media outlets are not only attempting to shield the Jamaat members from their crass and patently malicious demeanour but they are also trying to extenuate their behaviour, even if that means casting smear on the Sikh community.

Tablighi Jamaat coronavirus super-spreaders

The Tablighi Jamaat time bomb erupted across the country in the last week of March when around 200 people with Wuhan Coronavirus symptoms were admitted to various hospitals in Delhi from the Markaz Nizamuddin and surrounding places. Subsequently, the area around the Markaz Nizamuddin was cordoned off by the Delhi Police. Soon, cases began to erupt across the country with links to the Tablighi Jamaat and the country stood horrified as the magnitude of the Islamic Missionary organization’s transgressions became known. But even so, a significant section of the media and the political class is going out of its way to whitewash and hide the crimes of the Tablighi Jamaat. By some estimates, it is believed that the 30 per cent of the country’s total coronavirus infection is linked back to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation.

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