US official lauds protests against Dadri, Kalburgi killings

January 14, 2016

New Delhi, Jan 14: A senior US official on Wednesday lauded the protests by authors and artistes against the murder of rationalist and Kannada scholar M M Kalburgi and cited the instance of the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to drive home the point that silence could embolden perpetrators of such crimes.

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Delivering a lecture at Vivekananda International Foundation in New Delhi, Sarah B Sewall, US Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, noted that the governments around the world must ensure that all people had the freedom to peacefully speak, organise and worship.

“But,” she added, “ensuring these freedoms calls for more than just enforcing laws, it means proactively speaking out – as both public officials and private citizens – to challenge calls for hatred and violence. Silence can embolden the criminal and the cruel – as in the lynching of a Muslim man last September or the burning of churches in Odisha.” Akhlaq was lynched by a mob at Bisara village near Dadri in Uttar Pradesh on September 28 after it was rumoured that he and his family had killed a cow and consumed beef on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha. She also referred to the murder of Kalburgi at Dharwad in Karnataka on August 30 last and noted that he was the third rationalist to be murdered in recent years.

“When extremists murdered Malleshappa Kalburgi last August to silence his critical views – the third such murder in as many years – the Indian literary and artistic community was among the first to condemn the act,” said Sewall, who is currently on a tour of India. She was obviously referring to the killing of Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare – at Pune in August 2013 and Kolhapur in Maharashtra in February 2015, respectively.

Over 30 authors returned their Sahitya Akademi award in September and October last year to protest the killing of Kalburgi, Dabholkar and Pansare as well as the lynching of Akhlaq. Several other artistes too returned their awards to protest what they perceived as “growing intolerance” in the country.“These examples of family and community-level interventions may help explain why so few Indians have joined ISIL’s (Islamic State) ranks thus far. But that is not reason for complacency; it is a call to give local leaders a greater role in pushing back against violent extremism in their communities,” said the US diplomat. “Governments can help by ending stifling regulations and allowing citizen groups to peacefully speak and organise around sensitive topics,” she said.

“Learning from the past, we must avoid the trap of invoking security to justify bigotry, profiling, and discrimination against any religious or ethnic group – including our Muslim brothers and sisters.”

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NO, THEY WILL OFFER SOME BEEF BURGER AND WINE TO KEEP QUITE !

Now she spoke about intolarence in india... Will our BJP leaders will condemn this??? Lets wait and see

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Karnataka govt issues notice to IAS officer for praising Tablighis who donated plasma

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May 1,2020

Bengaluru, May 1: The Karnataka government on Friday issued a show cause notice to an IAS officer over his recent tweet about coronavirus-cured Tablighi Jamaat members donating plasma for treatment of other patients.

The officer, Mohammad Mohsin, was in the news last year after the Election Commission suspended him for trying to inspect Prime Minister Narendra Modi's helicopter during his visit to Odisha in April. He was deployed as a poll observer.

"More than 300 Tablighi Heroes are donating their plasma to serve the country in New Delhi only. What about? #Godi Media? They will not show the works of humanity done by these heroes," Mohsin said in a tweet on April 27.

A 1996 batch IAS officer from Karnataka cadre hailing from Bihar, Mohsin is currently serving as a secretary in the Backward Class Welfare Department.

The state government said the show cause notice has been issued to the officer in connection with his tweet.

"The adverse coverage this tweet has got in the media has been taken note of seriously by the government, given the serious nature of COVID-19 and the sensitivities involved," the notice, which was accessed by PTI, stated.

The government has sought a written explanation from the officer within five days for violating the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968.

It warned of action against Mohsin as per the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969 if he fails to submit his reply before the deadline.

"The Karnataka government has made it clear that it would not hesitate to act even against powerful functionaries if their actions are damaging to the harmony in the state at a time when all are united in fighting COVID-19," a senior state bureaucrat said.

The Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic missionary group, shot into the limelight early this year after thousands of its members who attended a congregation in south Delhi's Nizamuddin in March tested positive for coronavirus.

After attending the event, the group's members travelled to various parts of the country, with many of them carrying the virus.

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In Mangaluru, some bus conductors too start wearing protective gears

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June 6,2020

Mangaluru, Jun 6: As buses in Karnataka are operating following precautionary measures issued by the government to combat COVID-19, a few bus conductors were seen working wearing protective gears resembling personal protective equipment (PPE) on Saturday.

The Karnataka government had allowed resumption of bus services in the state during the fourth phase of COVID-19 lockdown, which ended on May 31.

The private buses were also equipped with hand sanitiser for the passengers. All the passengers were seen wearing face masks and maintaining distance from each other.

One of the bus conductors, en route State bank to Shaktinagar in Mangaluru was, was seen fully covered with protective suit.

Sudarshan, a private bus conductor, also covered his face with a face shield. "PPE kit is for our protection and it is a must to keep ourselves and our passengers safe from COVID-19. All necessary equipment, including sanitisers and masks to fight COVID-19 have been provided by our bus owner to us," Sudarshan said.

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