Year: 2020

Are gulf ties being jeopardised by Hindutva hatred?

Editor

In his six years as prime minister, Narendra Modi has expended more time, effort and commitment to cultivating ties with the Gulf region than any of his predecessors, and India’s initiatives have been fully reciprocated by his regional counterparts. These interactions have been assiduously promoted with frequent exchanges of visits, warm expressions of personal goodwill, even affection and several agreements to impart substance to the relationship in political, energy and economic areas. Now, when the world is grappling with the extraordinary challenge posed by the coronavirus pandemic, relations shaped, elevated…

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Kashmir: The Lock-down Within the Lock-down

Editor

Shahnaz Bashir The coronavirus left the world freaking out in quarantine – and left Kashmir laughing. It was a bitter laugh, half at itself and half at everyone else. In part schadenfreude towards nations long indifferent to besieged people, and in part, a genuine sympathy from the eternally locked-down. Partly in spite and partly in solidarity, a question rang through many young Kashmiris’ social media feeds: How is the lockdown, world? After a six-month-long lockdown from August 5, 2019, just as a desolate, war-worn Kashmir was limping back to life, it…

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Amid Corona-virus lock-down killing of rebels continues across Kashmir

Editor

Indian government forces have killed four rebels in a gun battle in Indian-administered Kashmir during a stringent lockdown to combat the coronavirus, the Indian army has said. The fighting broke out in a village in southern Shopian district as police and soldiers raided a house on a tip that rebels were hiding there late on Tuesday night, said army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia on Wednesday. During the gunfight, troops blew up the house with explosives, a common tactic by security forces, residents said. India has continued its counterinsurgency operations across Kashmir…

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Fasting during Ramadan can boost your immunity

Editor

Dr Amir Khan This year, the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan will be like no other; it will occur in the middle of a global pandemic. Ramadan, which began on the evening of April 23, will see a month-long period of fasting, worship and devotion to Allah. It commemorates the Quran being first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims who are fit enough to do so are expected to fast (not eat or drink fluids at all) between the hours of sunrise and sunset for four weeks. As well as…

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#COVID19: Surge in corona-virus cases across Kashmir Valley continues

Editor

With 27 new samples testing positive, Kashmir witnessed a spike of COVID19 cases today taking the total in J&K to 407 As many as 27 patients tested positive for coronavirus in Kashmir in a single day on Wednesday, bringing the total cases in Jammu and Kashmir to 407, officials said.Of the 489 samples tested at Viral Diagnostic and Research Lab (VDRL) of SKIMS, Srinagar, 25 samples tested positive. Medical Superintendent SKIMS, Dr Farooq Jan said 14 patients are from Shopian, six from Bandipora, four from Kupwara, and one from Wagub…

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BJP hoped to win Kashmir by abrogating article 370 but lost Jammu in the process

Editor

More than five months after Parliament voted to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir to “fully integrate” the erstwhile state with India, even the people in Jammu are voicing their open displeasure. There is little to show that the purpose of diluting Article 370 has been achieved or is anywhere near being achieved. The BJP-supporting, Hindu majority population of Jammu has always resented the Kashmiri dominance in matters of development, jobs, and politics. But now, it has started questioning, albeit in hushed voices, the rationale behind the Modi…

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Indian Expats in the Middle East warned of arrest, cancellation of Visa harboring RSS Ideology

Editor

A prominent Keralite businessman in the UAE has apologised for unintentionally hurting religious sentiments through his poem about coronavirus.  In recent days several Indian expats have been called out for spreading hatred through Islamphobic posts in wake of the pandemic. Many have been subsequently fired and referred to authorities. And one RSS ideology  Expat who been found linked corona virus with religion cornered by local watch dog associations put up with a open suicide note open in social media raised many eyebrows . Titled ‘Viddi Janman’ (Fool’s life), the short…

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Arab World up in arms against India’s Corona-virus related Islamophobia

Editor

Thanks to anti-Muslim bias in the media and even official messaging over the coronavirus, the intelligentsia in India-friendly Gulf countries has started critically examining the ruling BJP’s attitudes towards Muslims and Arabs. A pandemic that has claimed the lives of 170,000 people and infected close to 2.5 million people worldwide (at last count), acquired a religion on its arrival on Indian shores. The spread of the virus has not only created a health emergency in the country but also brought India on the verge of a new kind of polarisation, thanks…

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How the coronavirus outbreak in India was blamed on Muslims

Editor

The COVID-19 pandemic has been turned into yet another Islamophobic conspiracy theory. The outbreak of COVID-19 in India has presented yet another opportunity to launch a fresh attack on the Muslim community. Physical, verbal and psychological warfare is being waged against Muslims, pushing further their ostracisation in Indian society. Violent attacks on Muslims perceived to be carriers of the virus have been reported from different parts of the country. There have been reports of meetings in gated communities discussing the prohibition on Muslims being allowed in. Elsewhere, gangs of youth…

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OIC, Imran Khan criticize India over the treatment of Muslims

Editor

In recent months, Khan has repeatedly criticised the Indian government’s attitude towards the country’s Muslim minority and the external affairs ministry has pushed back against his remarks. Pakistan’s top leadership and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday criticised what they described as the deliberate targeting of Muslims by the Indian government against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Imran Khan followed up on tweets by the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission of the OIC on the issue and compared the Indian government’s treatment of Muslims to…

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