New Delhi, Apr 16: Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday directed state waqf boards to ensure strict implementation of lockdown and social distancing guidelines during the holy month of Ramzan starting next week amid the coronavirus pandemic.
At a meeting via video conferencing, Naqvi asked the state waqf boards' officials to create awareness among people to offer prayers and perform other religious rituals like "iftar (breaking of fast)" during Ramzan, which begins on April 24 or 25, staying inside their homes.
More than seven lakh registered mosques, eidgahs, imambadas, dargahs and other religious and social institutions come under state waqf boards across the country. The Central Waqf Council is the regulatory body of state waqf boards in India.
"We should cooperate with health workers, security forces, administrative officers, sanitation workers. They are working for our safety and well-being even putting their own lives at risk in this coronavirus pandemic," Naqvi said.
"We should also demolish rumours and misinformation being spread about quarantine and isolation centres by creating awareness among people that such centres are only meant to protect people, their families and the society from the pandemic," the minister said.
Naqvi told all the state waqf boards and religious and social organisations that everyone should remain cautious of any type of fake news and conspiracies aimed at creating misinformation.
"Authorities have been working for safety and well-being of all citizens of the country without any discrimination. Such type of rumours and conspiracies are a nefarious design to weaken the fight against coronavirus," he said.
"We should work united to win this fight against corona by defeating any type of rumour, misinformation and conspiracy," the minister said.
Naqvi asked officials of all the state waqf boards to play an active and effective role in ensuring that people follow the guidelines of the Union Home Ministry, state governments and the Central Waqf Council while fulfilling religious responsibilities during Ramzan.
In view of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, all religious and social activities and mass gatherings in all the temples, gurdwaras, churches and other religious and social places of the country have been stopped, he said.
Similarly, any mass gatherings in mosques and other Muslim religious places of the country has also been stopped, Naqvi said.
He said that due to the COVID-19 threat, religious leaders as well as religious and social organisations from all regions of the country, have appealed to people to offer prayers and perform all other religious rituals staying inside their homes during Ramzan.
Most of the Muslim nations of the world have also banned mass gatherings at mosques and other religious places during the holy month, he pointed out.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in cooperation with all the state governments, has been working effectively for the safety and well-being of the people, he said.
The cooperation of the people has brought great relief to India in the war against COVID-19 Naqvi said, adding that several challenges are still there before the country.
"We can defeat these challenges of the coronavirus pandemic by following all the guidelines of the central and state governments strictly," he asserted.
Chairman and senior officials from state waqf boards such as Uttar Pradesh (Shia & Sunni), Andhra Pradesh, Bihar (Shia & Sunni), Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar, Assam, Manipur, among others participated in the meeting.
State waqf boards from Rajasthan, Telangana, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttarakhand also participated.
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Elite Indian nationalism defined: Every elite Indian can give his/her life for learning English if he/she needs to live in New York or London. But no elite Indian will sacrifice even a penny for learning Kannada if he/she needs to live in Bengaluru. Nationalism of jokers is always like that. (There are some rare exceptions to that, of course).
Look at how much useful English has been to India: India is one of the worst countries in education; the most starved country; suffers trade losses of more than 40 billion US dollars each year with China alone (I hope you know China doesn't teach in English); ranks 150th in per capita exports; administratively the most stupid one because administration is being carried out in language whish people don't understand; Also read this quotation from a worldwide study carried out by UNESCO, ‘What seems to be standing in our way is a set of myths about language and learning, and these myths must be revealed as such to open people’s eyes. One such myth is that the best way to learn a foreign language is to use it as a medium of instruction. (In fact, it is often more effective to learn additional languages as subjects of study.) Another is that to learn a foreign language you must start as early as possible. (Starting early might help learners to have a nice accent, but otherwise, the advantage goes to learners who have a well developed first language.) A third is that the home language gets in the way of learning a foreign language. (Building a strong foundation in the first language results in a better learning of additional languages.) Clearly, these myths are more false than true, yet they guide the way policymakers tend to think about how speakers of other languages must learn dominant or official languages.’ I will like to discuss with you further Mr. BigZero. If you agree, mail me at [email protected]
Can anything be more anti-national and educationally more stupid than what these 'Crazy' Board of Secondary Education people are saying? Kindly give your arguments if your answer is in Yes. Today itself, I stated in my TV interview that I don't find any education Board educationally as illiterate as the Indian 'Crazy' Board of Secondary Education. This is one more evidence of their illiteracy. I have mailed to the CBSE sataraps about their illiteracy on educational matters. But they never replied.
ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಮಾತೃ ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸುವತ್ತ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ. ಸರ್ಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು....
I find this interesting: "It is not a prestige not to learn Kannada...". Unfortunately,
many "elites" speak in other Languages - particularly in English - to show off.
There are problems with Kannadigaas too - we can't speak Kannada
without 80% English in it....
Court must be moved to knock out a ridiculous order. Language is correctly the choice of schools, parents and students. And students should not be burdened to learn languages that will have no use to them.
Karnataka govt. should close these schools if they refuse to comply.
When Hindi & English are mandatory and they did not make a hue and cry against these, what is their problem teaching Kannada in Karnataka?
UP-Bihar's Hindi language mandatory in Karnataka is OK, but not Kannada? What kind of nonsense is this?
@Ravi: Very correct and logical. Moreover, Karnataka and Kannada have been
taken for granted, by most of the people from outside.
People who don't want to learn Kannada in Karnataka and want to treat this place just as a safe haven for jobs, property and weather should leave the state. We have enough freeloaders here from all parts of the country resulting in the chaos in the city. Its time for the Govt. and Courts to tighten the strings.
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