With a Brahminical touch, this Karnataka Dargah attracts Hindus in large numbers

Bengaluru, Mar 10: A 75-year-old man who arrived in Kalaburagi from Saudi Arabia on February 29 has been admitted to the isolation ward at Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) after he showed symptoms of coronavirus. 

His throat swab has been sent to the laboratory of Bengaluru’s Victoria Hospital. The district Health and Family Welfare Department is waiting for the report. 

The aged man who arrived from Saudi Arabia on February 28, was admitted to a private hospital on March 5 following fever and cough. As he showed the symptoms similar to coronavirus, the health of his family members has also been examined by the doctors and a close watch on them is being kept.

Recently, first confirmed positive case was reported from Whitefield in Bengaluru. The state government had also declared holiday for all primary schools in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru, Jul 1: Karnataka government has announced a complete lockdown on Sundays till August 2. "There shall be complete lockdown on Sundays from July 5 and followed by next four Sundays till August 2," stated the government. 

"However, essential activities allowed during night curfew will be permitted during Sunday lockdown too. Marriages already fixed on Sundays will be permitted as per norms," also said.

The government further ordered, "All government offices, Boards and Corporations, except those operating and maintaining essential services, shall remain closed on all Saturdays till the second week of August."

Employers should ensure that the Aarogya Setu app is downloaded and used by the employees. The app enables the identification of potential risk of infection,

Regarding Sunday Lockdown, it said, there shall be complete lockdown on Sundays with effect from 5th July, 2020, and followed by next 4 Sundays till 2nd August, 2020.

However, the essential activities as above permitted during Night Curfew shall be permitted during the Sunday lockdown also.

Lockdown in Containment Zones in Karnataka

Lockdown will continue to remain in force in the Containment zones. In the Containment Zones, only essential activities shall be allowed. There shall be strict perimeter control to ensure that there is no movement of people in or out of these zones, except for medical emergencies and for facilitating supply of essential goods and services. In the Containment Zones, there shall be intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, and other clinical interventions, as required.

All vulnerable persons, individuals above 65, persons with comorbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years are advised to stay at home, except for health and essential purposes.

Karnataka saw 947 new coronavirus cases, including 503 cases from Bengaluru Urban, taking the total number of cases to 15,242. Death toll has jumped to 246 after 20 deaths were reported on Tuesday, according to the data released by Union Health Ministry. 

Even as the Muslims of undivided Dakshina Kannada district broke out of the “spiral of silence” and made history by leading an unprecedented protest against CAA, NPR and NRC as well as the categorial mistreatment of non-saffronites at the hands of the police across the country, mainstream media turned a blind eye to the spectacle at the Shah Garden Maidan in Mangaluru’s Adyar where about two lakh patriots with tricolor in their hands converged to assert themselves on January 15th, 2020, a date which will be remembered by the people of coastal Karnataka forever.

The largest gathering in the history of Mangaluru was absolutely peaceful, law-abiding and respectful. While the slogans of ‘Azaadi’ were reverberating in the atmosphere, the protesters were seen making way for vehicles and passersby, taking care of women and helping elderly citizens on the highway adjacent to the ground. Though the organisers and most of the participants were Muslims, they collectively identified themselves as “We, the people of India”.

The district administration and the police department hadn’t imagined or even dreamt of such a mammoth gathering after blocking the highway and banning public transport from 9 am to 9 pm. Many opine that this action was taken only to discourage the concerned from participating in the protest and to create fear in the hearts of the people who are yet to process the unjustifiable deaths of two innocent citizens in an unwarranted police firing a few weeks ago.

What has since surprised the protesters most is the mainstream media’s blatant attempt to downplay the significance of this largest ever gathering. Shockingly, it could not make it to the front pages of any of the state-level Kannada daily newspapers except city-based Vaartha Bharathi. In the absence of The Hindu, which had announced a holiday on account of Makar Sankranti, most of the English newspapers too pitilessly buried the historic event in their inner pagers. National TV channels too were evidently reluctant to cover the event until NDTV started telecasting the news of the protest.

This uneasy relationship between the media and minorities in coastal Karnataka has long existed, but the non-coverage of the huge protest of Jan 15 marks a quantum leap beyond the media’s traditional pro-Sangh Parivar stance and biases –– which in the past had often demonised non-saffronites –– to now completely ignore and suppress the people’s voice. This media bias has naturally evoked a sharp response from netizens, who took to social media to issue clarion calls to boycott the mainstream media forever.

Cleanliness Drive

Most major protest meets and rallies –– both religious and political –– leave behind tonnes of garbage, especially water bottles, placards and buntings. However, the organisers of the Jan 15 protest meet led by example by launching a cleanliness drive in the area soon after the protesters left the venue peacefully. The drive continued on Jan 16 too. (Ironically, amidst this ongoing cleanliness drive, a local news portal captured photos of a few plastic bottles scattered along the road at Adyar and published a report accusing the event organisers and participants of polluting the area!)