Congress destroyed Karnataka, tainted Ballari’s image; BJP restored it: PM Modi

Bengaluru, Apr 17: Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, married Revathi, grand-niece of former Congress Minister for Housing, M Krishnappa, on Friday.

According to sources, more than 100 people participated in the marriage ceremony held at Kumaraswamy's farmhouse in Kethaganahally, Ramanagara.

There were around 50-60 members from former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda's family and more than 30 people participated from Revathi's family, sources added.

This comes in the middle of a nationwide lockdown which has been imposed to deal with the coronavirus threat.

Earlier, HD Kumaraswamy had said that the marriage ceremony would be held behind closed doors in the presence of family members.

Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who contested the Lok Sabha election from Mandya, is also the national youth wing president of Janata Dal-Secular.

Bengaluru, Jul 17: The Karnataka State Board of AUQAF has ordered that management committees at Muslim Khabarastans, shall not refuse burial to Muslims died due to COVID-19.

"...in exercise the powers conferred under Waqf Act 1995, it is hereby ordered that management Committees/Muthawallies/Administrators responsible for the management of Muslim Khabarastans in the state of Karnataka irrespective of registered or unregistered in the Waqf, shall not refuse the burial of Muslims died due to COVID-19 pandemic," read an order from the Karnataka State Board of AUQAF on Thursday.

"They shall co-operate with all the Nodal Officers designated for this purpose regarding the decent burial. Non co-operation or refusal on the part of the management will be construed as an insult committed to the deceased. Any violation of the above order will attract the punitive provision of Indian Penal Code and removal from the management as per the provisions of the Waqf Act 1995," the order read.

It further said that the Waqf Officers, District Wakf Advisory Committees of the state, shall ensure the adherence of this order, and circulate the same to all the Khabarastan managements, registered or unregistered in the state.

"No further deliberation in this regard is solicited except compliance of the order in letter and spirit. Any dereliction in this regard will be viewed seriously," it read.

Giving a background on the issue of burial of COVID-19 deceased, the order read, "It is observed that, number of deaths are being occurred in various Districts of Karnataka, due to COVID-19 pandemic and it is reported that, some of the management committees of Khabarastan, are not cooperating to bury the dead bodies of COVID-19."

"A decent burial is a right of the dead person" as per the law of the land and the Islamic jurisprudence. It is needless to emphasize the importance of burial of Muslim dead bodies in Shariah. The dead body of a Muslim is treated with the utmost respect by the Ummah, joining in the funeral (Tadfeen), participating in the Namaz-e-Janaza and the burial are considered as Farz-e-Kifaya in Muslim law. According to the tradition of Islam, the person who participates in the funeral is entitled to Mountain sized reward (Sawaab)," the order read.

As per the order, the board, in its earlier circular had also cautioned the management of Waqf institutions and Khabarastan which were reluctant to allow the decent burial in the Khabarastan would be punished under the provisions of Indian Penal Code and the punitive provisions of the Waqf Act 1995 as well.

"The District Magistrates and the Superintendent of Police in the districts have been requested to prosecute the erring management committees who are responsible for non co-operation in this regard. Hence, the following order," it added.

India on Sunday witnessed annual solar eclipse or 'surya grahan' 2020, the third eclipse even for this year after first two lunar eclipses took place in January and June and the last annual solar eclipse of this decade.

The solar eclipse started from around 9 a.m. across the Indian map as the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth came in a straight line, and the country witnessed the 'deepest' annular solar eclipse in over a century.

Astrologers said it a fourth super rare hybrid eclipse which is a mix between an annular and total solar eclipse.

Areas like Hyderabad, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Delhi, Patna, Shillong and more witnessed a partial phase of the annular solar eclipse from 9 a.m.

In the eclipse, the distance of the Moon and Earth will be larger than usual which means the moon will not be able to cover up the sun fully and will leave out the borders of the sun - giving an appearance of a "Ring of Fire".

Press Information Bureau in a tweet informed that it is the last annular solar eclipse in India of this decade.

People can catch glimpse of the partially covered sun between 10 a.m. and 2.28 p.m. as per the time differing as locations in India. The eclipse will continue for over three hours covering 84 per cent Sun.

There are three types of solar eclipses - total, partial, and annular.