Karnataka mounts pressure on Centre to hold bank exams in Kannada; DyCM writes to Jaitley

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.

Dubai, May 9: The wholehearted and collective effort of Karnataka NRI Forum, UAE and its president Mr. Praveen Shetty made it possible to have the first repatriation flight to Mangaluru – Karnataka from UAE. The Union Minister of India Mr. Sadananda Gowda tweeted on May 8th that the evacuation flight will fly from Dubai on May 12th with stranded citizen of India in UAE.

The whole world is under the impact of pandemic Covid 19. Government of India has announced the flights to repatriate its stranded citizens from all over the world. Sadly, the first batch of the announced flights had no mention of any flights from Gulf countries to Karnataka.

In Gulf countries, especially in UAE, thousands of Kannadigas are working for their livelihood. In this population major part is shared by coastal Karnataka people who belong to Mangalore, Udupi and other nearby districts. This lack of consideration of Mangaloreans for repatriation was made whole Kannadiga’s in deep sadness, where as many Kannadiga’s were waiting for flights to obtain urgent medical assistance and other medical support back in their home country.

Once after obtaining the news of not having flights to Karnataka from UAE, Mr. Praveen Shetty immediately actioned and wrote letter to concerned departments and ministers under the banner of KNRI. Mr. Praveen Shetty was in continuous follow up with Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka Dr. Ashwath Narayan, Mr C.T. Ravi Minister for Tourism of Karnataka, Union Minister of India Mr. Sadananda Gowda, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs (India) Mr. Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Railways of India (Minister of State) Mr. Suresh Angadi and officials of Aviation ministry along with other concerned departments.

The efforts have now given the result and finally the confirmation has been obtained from Mr. Sadananda Gowda about consideration of repatriation flights to Mangalore from Dubai on May 14th. It is expected that Aviation ministry will officially announce the flight arrangement and other operational information shortly.

Speaking to media, Mr. Praveen Shetty said, Karnataka NRI Forum is always committed to serve  Kannadigas and the collective effort of core committee members, ministers of Karnataka & Govt of India including the Aviation & other concerned ministries made possible the most important and much awaited flight to Mangalore from UAE to repatriate expats who are in need. I thank each and everyone who joined their hands to make this possible.

Mr. Praveen Shetty is a well-known businessman in UAE who manages Fortune Group of Hotels in UAE & Georgia. He selflessly given his 3-star hotel to UAE ministry to operate as Quarantine facility to people who are under observation with Covid 19. Also, he joined his hands with organizations in UAE who are extending their helping hand to needy people in UAE.

With the help of likeminded businessmen and professionals, the KNRI forum under the leadership of Mr. Praveen Shetty along with ‘Dubai Anivasi Kannadigaru’ started a helpline called “Kannadigas Helpline” through which they received around 3000 requests for food, medical, legal and other assistance. They aided many Covid infected people with quarantine and isolation by the help of Dubai Health Authority, Ministry of Health, Dubai Police and Consulate General of India under the guidelines of Dubai Govt.

Mr. Praveen Shetty expressed his gratitude to Dubai Health Authority, Ministry of Health, Dubai Police and Consulate General of India for their professional guidance and help to Kannadigas during the pandemic Covid 19 situation.

Air India has pre-scheduled the Special Evacuation Flight from Dubai to Mangalore on 14/5/2020 to 12/5/2020 after constant persuade.

New Schedule:

Flight no - IX 0384

Timing:
Dubai - 16:10
Mangalore - 21:10

*All timings local @airindiain @PIB_India @PIBBengaluru

— Sadananda Gowda (@DVSadanandGowda) May 9, 2020

Remember social media memes of Chinese companies exporting #BoycottChina hats and t-shirts to India? This time India’s sensational and saffronite TV anchor Arnab Goswami vindicated those memes by hosting an anti-China debate show which was sponsored by Chinese companies!

While the last night's debate was all about boycotting Chinese products in the wake of massacre of over 20 Indian soldiers by their Chinese counterparts in eastern Ladakh, the show was brazenly promoting Chinese products through advertisement placements. 

During the debate, amongst the flashy headlines, there were two brand sponsorships that appeared: VIVO and Xiaomi. Both companies are giant Chinese multinational corporations. 

Twitter user Nirmala Tai, who was among those who spotted this irony, highlighted two instances during the debate where the logo of one of the brands popped up, and one where Xiaomi was found promoting the Mi 10. 

Many Twitterati used Goswami’s some of the favourite words such as ‘hypocrite’ and ‘anti-national’ to target him. They hit out at his channel for accepting sponsorship deals from Chinese brands at a time when anti-China sentiment is strong in the country.

Boycott China powered by Mi10 and Vivo. pic.twitter.com/TAb6Fn1tWx

— Nirmala Tai (@vishj05) June 17, 2020