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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!)

Bengaluru, Jan 22: The Bengaluru Police on Wednesday said that the procedure is being followed to hand-over to the Mangaluru Police a suspect who surrendered before it two days after planting an improvised explosive device (IED) at the Mangaluru International Airport.

"He [the suspect] surrendered before police claiming to be responsible for the Mangaluru airport incident. He is being medically examined and we are preparing procedure to hand him over to the Mangaluru team which is already on their way," Bengaluru Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Chetan Singh Rathore told the media persons.

Aditya Rao surrendered before Bengaluru Police today, days after a bag of IED was recovered from Mangaluru airport. He hails from Udupi and has engineering and MBA degrees.

An investigation team of Mangaluru police is flying to Bengaluru to question him. "Mangaluru city police investigation team is flying to Bengaluru shortly to investigate the developments in connection with MIA case..the team will question the suspect and will initiate further necessary legal action," Commissioner of Police, Mangaluru City, tweeted.

According to the police, the IED was recovered from a bag at Mangaluru airport on January 20. It was later defused in an open field by the personnel of the bomb disposal squad.

Bengaluru, Jul 5: Day after a Covid-19 patient died on a road near his home waiting for an ambulance for nearly two hours, Bengaluru civic body commissioner on Saturday offered his unconditional apology for the tragic incident.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) Commissioner BH Anil Kumar met the family of the 55-year-old Covid-19 victim who died unattended on the roadside on Friday and apologised on behalf of the BBMP.

BH Anil Kumar also appealed to citizens to not stigmatise coronavirus patients and their families.

"Met the family of the Covid victim in Gavipuram who was left unattended on the roadside. Offered an unconditional apology on behalf of the BBMP as our staff could have handled the situation in a better manner. Appeal to citizens not to stigmatise Covid-19 patients & families," BH Anil Kumar said in a tweet.

In one of the pictures tweeted by BH Anil Kumar, he can be seen standing with folded hands in front of the deceased Covid patient's family.

The 55-year-old man was getting treatment at his house after he developed breathing issues. However, his condition worsened after his Covid-19 report came positive. His wife then informed the hospital and requested an ambulance.

His family members decided to take him to the hospital by an autorickshaw as the ambulance was getting late. However, the man collapsed on the street as soon as he stepped out of his house.