Kolkata: At a time when Islamophobia is rife and a video of Muslim vendors being told not to enter Hindu-dominated areas till the pandemic ends is going viral, news of Muslims coming forward to help their Hindu neighbours in Bengal’s Birbhum district is heartening.
When Shyamashis Chatterjee, a resident of Siuri city, Birbhum died on April 9 his brother Shibashish Chatterjee was troubled by how he would perform his brother’s last rites amid the lockdown.
Both Shyamashis and Shibashish were unmarried and lived together with a domestic help residing with them. Shyamashis ran a small business.
Speaking to eNewsroom Chatterjee said: “None of my relatives were able to come for my brother’s funeral because of the on-going lockdown. So, I approached my Muslim neighbour to help me in making arrangements for my brother’s last rites. He along with his son and a couple of other Muslim men came forward to help me perform the ceremony”.
Kazi Abu Badshah who helped them in their hour of need said: “We are neighbours, we reside on the same plot, how could I, not help Shibashish perform the last rites of a man who had become a friend over the years”.
Watch the video of the last rites of Shyamashis
“Shyamashis was my junior, but he was suffering from a kidney problem and was under treatment. When the doctors said that there was little hope to save him we brought him back home. The brothers are unmarried and live on their own. The lockdown prevented their relatives and friends from coming to the funeral and he was all alone. So I got my son and other men from the local Muslim community to come and help another human being,” he added.
Speaking about the incident Chatterjee said: “Given the times that we are living in such action, especially during a crisis is laudable. I shall always be grateful to my Muslim neighbours for helping me in my hour of need”.
He paused and then added: “This incident shows that humanity is alive. And it’s because of such people that the world is still surviving in such difficult times.”
Chatterjee said ever since his brother’s death Badshah and his son regularly meet him and enquire about his health and well-being.
There have been a few similar cases where people have set aside their religious beliefs to help one and another. Members of the Muslim community have come forward to perform the last rites of their Hindu neighbours in Indore and Mumbai.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan was sworn in as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in the night of March 23. He has not so far formed his Council of Ministers; not even appointed Health Minister in spite of the raging coronavirus epidemic in the State.
Cabinet formation is not easy for Chouhan as there are several aspirants in the BJP for the ministerial berths. This is made more complicated by the 22 Congress MLAs who were ‘purchased’ by the BJP and made to resign from the Assembly in order to bring down the Congress government of Kamal Nath. When these ex-MLAs joined BJP, some of them were assured of a place in the cabinet. BJP’s central leadership is too busy at the moment to pay attention to cabinet formation hassles in Madhya Pradesh.
Appointing a Health Minister is also not easy. Under normal circumstances, he would have taken Narottam Mishra who was Health Minister in his earlier cabinet. But now Chouhan is said to have become wary of Mishra because of his ambition. When the fall of the Kamal Nath government had become imminent, Mishra’s name had started doing the rounds, along with the names of Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, for the chief ministership. Besides, Mishra has proved himself to be as big a manipulator as Chouhan, with an expertise managing media and judiciary. Picking up someone else by ignoring Mishra is hazardous.
While Mishra was hinting to his ‘friends’ in the media that the chair of Chief Minister was going to be his, Chouhan made a sort of coup. Meeting of BJP Legislature Party to elect the leader was scheduled for March 24. Chouhan talked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few times on March 23, assembled the BJP legislators the same day at 6 PM and was elected leader. He was sworn in by Governor Lalji Tandon at 9 PM. Next day he won the trust vote in the Assembly while the Congress MLAs boycotted the session. At night the three-week country-wide lockdown was imposed by the Union Government.
In any case, Chouhan feels quite comfortable with bureaucrats, most of whom are much too pliable without bothering about morality and ethics. The few who feel troubled conscience in obeying Chouhan’s illegal or anti-people wishes are quietly side-lined.
Chouhan does not believe in punishing bureaucrats so far as possible; rather he goes out of his way to help them when they are in trouble because of their corrupt or criminal actions. He had displayed his ‘benevolent’ attitude quite early in his tenure as Chief Minister. The office of Lokayukta, after a prolonged inquiry into corruption charges against an IAS officer, filed the charge-sheet in a court. The rules of service in vogue demanded that the officer should be placed under suspension as soon as a charge-sheet was filed against him. Chouhan amended the rules of service to help the IAS officer.
In another case, there was a Supreme Court directive (early 2011) to Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Madhya Pradesh police to complete the inquiry into corruption charges against an IAS officer within 90 days (that is, by April end) and put up the charge-sheet in a court. For public consumption, Chouhan had bragged before media persons that he would not rest till this officer was sent to jail. Soon thereafter, the officer was made Secretary, Women and Children Welfare Department, where he befriended Chouhan’s ambitious wife Sadhna Singh by inviting her to certain women-related activities and seeking her advice about women’s welfare. Forget the EOW and forget the Supreme Court and forget Chauhan’s boast that he would not rest till the officer was sent to jail. The officer retired as Chief Secretary.
Chouhan is particularly considerate towards IPS officers who help him in running his ‘mafia-type’ raj.
Views expressed here, are the author’s personal opinion
Kolkata: It is a common that almost every year incessant rains dampen the festive mood during Durga Puja. This year however, the weather is the last thing on the minds of the sculptors or organisers of the Pujas. The Corona Virus is the bigger devil mankind is fighting now. The real Mahishashura is the virus.
The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to ruin the livelihood of many who look forward to the festive time to earn some extra bucks.
Basanti Puja or Annapurna Puja, which is said to be the actual Durga Puja didn’t bring much joy to the artisans of Kumartuli as despite having over two hundred orders for clay idols, their final sale didn’t even cross 10.
Talking to eNewsroom, Apurva Paul, a sculptor at Kumartuli said that so far they have only managed to send one idol to foreign shores, while a few other idols are still lined up for delivery and waiting for the lockdown to get over.
“Only one idol could be sent to Europe. Last year, we had received an overwhelming number of orders. From France to Germany, from Spain to Italy, we receive orders every year. Durga Puja is an important time especially with foreign orders as we earn a hefty sum from them for our livelihood. But this year everything is uncertain. Going by the current situation, I think the orders will be cancelled as conditions abroad are really bad. Don’t know how we will manage. If not from the virus, we will die of hunger,” claimed Apurva.
Watch an old video of women idol makers of Kolkata
The artiste added that he had received several orders for Annapurna Puja but almost every order got cancelled at the last moment, causing him huge losses.
“Last year we had received a few orders based on NRC theme. Those idols are almost finished but the problem is we don’t know whether those organisers are still planning to hold their pujas in a big way as they had thought earlier,” sighed Apurva.
Bitanu Paul, an Octogenarian sculptor, a third generation artiste from his family has never faced such a situation before.
“Most of our artisans have gone back to their village. After the situation improves we hope to pick up from where we left off. But the budget of most of the Puja committees will shrink. This is the peak time of the year when most of our idols are made. Rath Yatra marks the ‘agomoni’ (arrival) of the goddess and this year we have not even made many idols except those whose orders we had receive earlier. Several big-budget Puja committees have cancelled their orders and said they will get in touch once the situation improves,” said Bitanu.
“We are hopeful that the orders from domestic pujas will not be changed. After incurring huge loss during the lockdown we too will have to lower the price of the idols otherwise it will be difficult for us to sell even a single idol,” the artisan further added.
Babu Paul, spokesperson and former general secretary of Kumartuli Mritshilpi Sanskritik Samity (Kumartuli Potters Cultural Association) felt after the artisans return, it will be a challenge to complete the idols before Puja and earn some cash to keep their kitchen fires burning.
“We will hardly in a position to make any profit. We don’t know what the quantum of demand will be this year, but we still will have to be prepared,” said Paul.
Working ahead of time
One of the renowned sculptors in the city, Pradip Rudra Pal considers himself fortunate to have started early, just after the Jagadhatri Puja, last year.
“My idols are in various stages of completion. But right now, I have no artisans. By this time we would have already finished quite a few of the idols. There were around 35-40 artisans working before the lockdown. During the peak season, the number of workers gets almost double. Every year I do around 65 idols and right now almost 50 idols would be almost ready. I may have to work overtime or employ more artisans to complete them on time,” said Pal.
But he is more worried about his orders from abroad. “A couple of them will be taken to US. I am yet to start them as the condition there is graver than ours. I am in talks with the organisers. The delivery may have to be postponed by another 4-5 months, which will still give me some leeway as it takes around 45 days to reach a destination abroad,” said the worried sculptor.
Glimpse of last year’s Durga Puja
Scaled down budget a Reality
If the sculptors are worried about orders, organisers too are tense about budgets.
Ashok Ojha of Md Ali Park Puja committee said, “We had plans of holding our puja meeting after Saraswati Puja but now it can happen after the lockdown ends. We will have a trying time to arrange for funds. Most of the Pujas are heavily dependent on advertisements and it will be hard to secure them. The budget will definitely take a hit. Right now, the only concern is the wellbeing of the people.”
Soumya Banerjee, joint secretary of Darjeepara Sarbojanin Durgotsav Samity is looking at a bleak puja. “We had already paid an advance to the artist. Now, we will have to climb down from our earlier budget allocation. The corporate sector is almost shut. It is estimated the loss to the industry will be to the tune of Rs 5.5 crore,” said Banerjee.
Subir Das, secretary Bhowanipur 75 Palli, Kolkata said, “The real challenge will be the budget. The corporate sector is already in cost-cutting mode. The budgets for most of the Pujas will be small due to low cash flow and also on humanitarian grounds. The budgets of most pujas will be slashed by 50%. All these years we were in the race for trophies, themes, telecast rights. This year we may see a traditional puja. The planning time has also shrunk.”
Dhaki Gautam Bag, who is a regular at Sealdah railway station just before the Pujas starts is battling his fears on two fronts. The Bankura resident said, “We are worried what will happen in days to come. Right now, we are all living in fear of this virus. Survival is difficult for us. We look forward to the Durga Puja time for some extra income which helps us tide over the difficult times. But I fear loss of business. I don’t even know if we will get work this time.”
The Corona scare is already taking its toll on the Puja business and the Puja is still nearly six months away.
Choosing between the devil and deep blue sea is itself a devilish business that we can hardly afford in the current situation. Therefore, I refuse to take side on the controversy over the irresponsible stupidities of Tablighi Jaamat (TJ) leadership that has significantly added to the coronavirus proliferation in India and the Modi-bhakt, ‘Godi’ media’s latest communal campaign against Indians Muslims to portray them as fifth column of the enemy across the border, a core belief of the RSS creed.
The Jamaat went ahead with its congregations in India, Pakistan, and Malayasia among other countries in south-east Asia in between late February and mid March even after mass turnout of devotees in Mecca and Medina had been stopped since 27 February in the wake of rapid spread of the corona contagion. It also sent the attendees, both Indian and foreign nationals on customary Dawah or preaching tours across the country after the Delhi congregation till the government imposed the lockdown on 24 March midnight. Given its international network, the TJ leadership should have acted on its own much earlier to postpone its gatherings, at least, the preaching missions in order to prevent the virus transmission in the states. Instead, the leadership’s activities aggregate its blind faith in irrationality as well as siege and herd mentality.
On the other hand, the media lapdogs of the current establishment is parroting what the Sangh mouthpiece, Organizer has called a ‘radical Islamic conspiracy’ against India in order to instigate another spell of communal riots. They are instrumental in finding a suitable scapegoat while deflecting commoners’ anger and worries about the loss of livelihoods and income under the prolonged lockdown and the economic ruins that would follow the pandemic.
The rabidity of these media fanatics, mostly recipients of the regime’s largesse, has even alarmed some in its system and echo-chambers. Police officials in UP denied concocted reports about TJ-triggered infection and violence attributed to the organization. BJP chief minister of Karnataka, B. S. Yediyurappa and his Maharashtra counterpart and former ally from Shiv Sena, Uddhav Thackeray also had to warn against media instigations against Muslim community under the garb of anti-TJ campaign.
Both forces represent grave dangers to Indian society as well as the larger world as the humanity is fighting against the latest strains of corona and hate-viruses. Apologists for either side are doing a disservice both to the global and national cause as well as communal harmony. The fact remains that both TJ leadership and government of India are to be held responsible for the spread of the corona contagion during the organization’s congregation at its Delhi Markaz or Headquarters/ Centre at Nizamuddin as well as its further transmission to states including Maharashtra, Delhi, Telengana and Assam. More tellingly, the sequence of events underlined the deep and widened gulf between BJP government and the Muslim community.
The Tablighi Jamaat
TJ is a mass-based but orthodox and ritualistic organization rooted in Indian subcontinent with a global reach. In its own words, ‘Tablighi Jamaat (Society for spreading faith) is a non-political global Sunni Islamic missionary movement that focuses on urging Muslims to return to primary Sunni Islam, and particularly in matters of ritual, dress, and personal behavior’’. Born in western UP in 1927, it was an offshoot of Deoband movement in the wake of Gandhi-led Khilafat agitation that had aimed at forging anti-British Hindu-Muslim amity but saw the surge of conservatives afterwards. TJ ran parallel to Hindu Shuddhi movement by Arya Samajis and Sanatanis as both sides had aimed to purge influences of other faith in Indian Islamic and Hindu beliefs and rituals respectively while protecting the converts and reconverts to their folds.
Noida Police’s tweet busting fake news spread by news agency ANT
Aiming to make common Muslims follow the Hadith or sayings of the prophet Muhammad and rituals he had practiced or prescribed for his followers in their daily lives, the TJ members go for Dawah tours to preach to the community members in different parts of their countries as well as on foreign missions. They stay at local mosques to reach out the faithful as Christian or Hindu monks also do in the churches or temples of their orders.
This makes their annual congregations a prolonged affair as large group of volunteers stay in transit at their centers. Initially, it attracted anti-intellectual, conservative but pious poor and elderly who were more concerned about the afterlife. But now it also draws middle class and affluent Muslim youth as the TJ harps on ‘proper’ Islamic identity and its global ascendency, though not like more earthly and political Salafi and Wahabi schools of Sunni orthodoxy.
This year TJ went ahead with its annual country congregations across south-east Asia without bothering about the fast-spreading contagion from China to its neighborhood. It held its Indian assembly in its Delhi headquarters in between February end and mid March in presence of large number of foreign delegates who came from corona- affected countries including Malaysia and Indonesia. The Dawah tours were organized to various parts of the country and the gatherings in transit at Delhi centre continued till the government imposed the lockdown.
The chronology of events
Now that Amit Shah, the union home minister has made the ‘chronology’ or sequence of past events or future eventualities important for us, the muddle-headed citizens, the Godi media must answer certain questions about the government’s role before blaming the TJ alone. World Health Organization (WHO) had declared COVID-19 as a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’ on 30 January 2020. The first case of corona infection in India was reported on the same day. WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a ‘Pandemic’ on 11 March.
Fake news debunking organization Alt News’ Founder Pratik Sinha tweets Union Minister VK Singh sharing WHO’s fake WhatsApp message
Did the govt. follow WHO guideline?
What the government of India did to contain the contagion in between 30 January and 11 March? Why the international travel ban was not imposed by February following the rapid spread of the virus in our neighborhood and Europe as suggested even by some BJP leaders like Subramanian Swami? Did it follow the WHO guidelines to focus on the foreign and Indian nationals who flew in India from China and other affected countries? Did it go for their intensive screening and testing as well as mandatory isolation/quarantine and treatment of the flier-carriers of the virus as the WHO had insisted?
Did the process include those TJ members from Indo-China and south-east Asia who had flew in India in February end to early March to join the Delhi congregation? Why did the TJ men from Malaysia and Indonesia were allowed to come in when a Kuala Lumpur mosque assembly in end February had already became known as the hotspot for Covid-19 cases in the country and its neighborhood? How could the infected persons or suspected carriers escape the Indian government’s dragnet? How did the Centre which control police in national capital region fail to keep tab on the large number of foreign nationals who had reportedly entered India on tourist visa but joined a religious congregation and moved around?
What happened before the Lockdown
According to a Scroll.in report, a Thai national who attended the TJ meet in Delhi fell ill at the Coimbatore airport on 13 March and died three days later. Meanwhile, India had begun screening of all international passengers at airports. Delhi government banned gatherings of more than 200 people but there was no specific order on in-house religious meets. However, it banned all public meetings of more than 50 persons, including religious congregations on March 16. But there was neither any official communication to the TJ nor any public awareness campaign was launched on the impending danger by the Delhi or Union government before March 19.
Telengana and Tamilnadu recorded six and two positive cases respectively among the attendees of the TJ Delhi meet in between March 18-21. Union Home Ministry informed states about the TJ meet participants only on 21 March. All international commercial flights were cancelled on 22 March along with the 14-hours long ‘Janata Curfew,’ 10 days after WHO had declared the pandemic.
The prime minister further declared total lockdown on 24 March night at three and half hours notice. Centre invoked Disaster Management Act 1897. All state borders were closed for non-essential travel and transport.
Delhi Police issued notice to the Jamaat asking them to evacuate the Markaz. Jamaat claimed that 1,500 had already left and about 1,000 are in the premises. It also claimed to have sought administrative help to evacuate the stranded but alleged that officials did not respond in time. The officials, in turn, blamed the TJ leaders.
But photos showed that the attendees were wearing masks and maintaining distance when they were boarding buses on their way out of the Markaz, either on their way to government’s screening centre or during their dispersal to states. It is not clear whether they took the precaution on their own or were egged on by the administration. But the result is compliance with the basic guideline even if it was too late.
Saharanpur (UP) police busting another fake news run by media outlets against Tablighi Jamaat
Total lack of political dialogue
Total lack of political and social dialogue between the ruling Hindutva regime and Muslims led to deployment of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval for domestic law enforcement for the second time since Delhi riots. He went to Nizamuddin to convince the TJ officials on Covid-19 screening on March 29. Next day, Nizamuddin area was cordoned off. Cases were filed against TJ leaders on 31 March. On March 31, the Delhi Police registered a case against Maulana Saad and other TJ officials. According to the Republic TV, the chief platform of the Godi brigade, the case has been filed under sections of the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897 and Section 269, 270, 271 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code which denotes criminal conspiracy.
In the FIR, it has been stated that the congregation failed to take safety measures for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. The Health Ministry ‘revealed’ that 30% of the total COVID-19 cases in India were linked to the TJ congregation. The Ministry added that it would have taken 7.4 days for the number of cases to double instead of the current 4.1 days if the TJ function had not taken place, the Republic report said.
Holier than Thou?
But the conspiracy theorists who have found a bogey in TJ calling it a part of the ‘corona Jihad’, even a ‘corona holocaust’ in India while turning its Delhi Centre a ‘corona factory’ must explain why Pakistan authorities too had to face the troubles with TJ assemblies in the wake of the corona outbreak? They also need to answer why biggest Hindu shrines from Vaisno Devi temple in the north to Tirupathi temple in the south and Mahakal temple at Ujjain to Kashi Viswanath temple at Baranasi in the middle India were teeming with devotees till the lockdown. Why Yogi Adityanath went ahead with his Pujas before shifting of Ramlala idol to mark the beginning of the construction of the grand temple at Ayodhya only few hours after the PM’s announcement of total lockdown?
We also witnessed the Bhakts’ repeat performances of dancing, shouting and cracker-bursting on the roads in response to the PM’s calls to show national unity. Did it underline the majority’s better grasp of the rational thinking and scientific temperament? Actually, fact remains that all religious denominations tend to fan beliefs in divine saviors at the times of great calamities. VHP and its allied Sant Samaj had asked Hindus to obey the lockdown but chant Lord Rama’s name 108 times a day to ward off the coronavirus. And, the merchants of death and hatred who exploit commoner’s faith to kill people in the name of Ram or Rahim, Christ or Buddha — the old hands who trigger mass hysteria against the ‘enemy within’– find their business thriving at these trying times. Pervasive fear and despondency make the people more vulnerable to such dirty tricks. Like all pandemics in history, these evil forces are now working overtime across the world to harvest the corona pandemic too.
Kolkata: Coronavirus is, perhaps, one of the most daunting threats that mankind has collectively faced in recent times and as the real world continues to remain under lockdown, it is the online or virtual world that has emerged as the new ‘reality’.
Taking the online route has become order-of-the-day and this development is what prompted Tathagata Chowdhury, founder of the renowned Kolkata-based English-language theatre group, Theatrecian to come with ‘Theatre in Your Livingroom Festival’ – the very first live cellular theatre fete – from April 10-12, 2020, 8pm onwards. Theatre lovers can enjoy this very interesting and experimental festival via the Zoom app.
It is noteworthy to mention here that this online theatre festival is also be a fundraiser for the NGO – Yeh Mera India’s ‘Stand with the Needy Campaign’. The registration fee for this event is Rs. 200 – for all three evenings – and Theatrecian will share the entire revenue with the NGO.
Speaking exclusively to eNewsroom, Tathagata said, “Live acts, theatre and performing arts are also bearing the brunt of this lockdown and will continue to do so even when it is over. It will take time to get things back to normalcy and theatre cannot lie dormant all this while. Thus, my friends and I at the Theatrecian decided to give another definition to ‘proscenium’ and utilise technology as the medium of expression. The act must go on, despite the intensity of the pause. The festival is not just an exhibition of monologue, archived performances or radio acts. This is going to be new-age theatre and all the actors will be performing from their respective homes.”
A total number of 80 people can be accommodated in this festival. Each person can attend all the three events or any one of them. On the first day of the session, i.e. April 10, the audience will be treated to a live performance of an adaptation of Jean Paul Sartre’s play No Exit. The adapted play titled – There’s No Exit – has been given a contemporary Coronavirus-related twist. This thirteen-minute long play has been directed by Tathagata Chowdhury. It will be followed by an interactive session with the audience. On April 11, Tathagata will be conducting ‘The Actor’s Scriptwriting Workshop’ at 8pm and on the concluding day, April 12 theatre lovers can enjoy Chalyug Ki Katha performed by @east_india_dastangos.
Tathagata and the actors have been rehearsing for a while now to get the ‘act’ right. Talk to them and they tell you that it was difficult to adapt to the obvious changes and learn the features of Zoom application that will connect and enable them to reach out to their audience. Since the actors will be performing from their respective homes, they had to first decide their common focal point on screen. The director had to decide where the actors should be looking so that they could connect with the audience. The actors had to thus, first learn about Zoom’s technicalities including the blocking application, how to change the backdrop, mute the actors who are not performing and so on.
Tathagatha informed that the entire team also had to cross the hurdle of space and restriction of visuals. “We neither have the luxury of the long shot, nor can we move about too much. We have to remain in static position the maximum time. Thus, as the director, I had to first pick the right play, innovate and rework the entire acting format. Our actors are also in charge of the lights in their respective homes. They are turning the light from the screens of their laptop and mobile phones into spotlights. Matching each other’s energy as actors and then sharing the same with the audience cannot happen in this format since the screen is dividing us.”
“Personal contact and interaction that is needed in live performance will also be missing, but we are taking a leap of faith and all set to experiment for the very first time in a bid to keep theatre alive. And guess what? For the first time in history, won’t request our audience to switch off their mobile phones or put them silent mode,” added, the director with his eyes twinkling.
Ranchi: If you think that one person is not enough to make a difference, read on to know the power of one.
A lot of migrants working or studying across India hail from Jharkhand, Bihar or Uttar Pradesh, hence the sudden lockdown implemented across India from March 24 has affected people from these states the most.
On April 2 the Covid-19 control room in Jharkhand released a statement, which officially confirmed that between March 27 and April 1, they had received nearly 17,000 calls from migrant workers from the state stranded across India. It also stated that around six and half lakh migrant workers from Jharkhand have been left stranded across the country in the wake of the national lockdown. While Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren government, which was formed in late December, has done commendable work, the one opposition leader who without any resources took a rock-solid stand for the rights of thousands of migrants was, Bagodar’s CPI ML MLA Vinod Singh.
During the first ten days of the lockdown Singh received over 10,000 calls from migrant workers in distress. Significantly, Singh has just one phone number which he has been using for the last 15 years, and he personally received most of the calls.
“Only when he got tired, or was busy in some meeting, that he would use call divert system. But diverted calls were also attended by us,” informed Abhay Sahu, an All India Student Association (AISA) leader.
This champion of migrants was able to succeed where many have failed simply because of his communication strategy and a solid network of foot soldiers.
Screenshot of Vinod Singh’s Twitter handle
“CPI ML has formed a central team comprising ML members who reside in Mumbai, Delhi, Faridabad, Surat, Chennai, Telangana, Hyderabad and Bangalore. We contact our team members when we receive calls from migrants. These contacts in turn reach out to the callers. After confirming the callers and identifying their locations our team members transfer money and even provide them with ration kits. We have contacted local police, local MLAs, NGOs in the area and several individuals to help stranded migrants. In Mumbai we have worked with Jharkhandi Ekta Sangh, an NGO and have started crowd-funding for these workers,” said the student leader.
When eNewsroom inquired from Singh, he said, “It’s true that I was getting over a thousand calls in a day and for a week we tried to respond to as many grievances as we could with our limited resources. In between, I requested Chief Minister Hemant Soren to start a helpline which again on my request was increased from one to six numbers. Nodal officers have also been deployed for states with maximum number of stranded migrants from Jharkhand”.
Hemant Soren’s government right from its inception has been very active on Twitter to redress public issues.
So the MLA of Bagodar also took the Twitter route to raise issues related to migrants. The background of Singh’s Twitter account appeals to people to come forward and help Jharkhand’s migrants. His pinned tweets highlight the five demands he has put before the Jharkhand government to fight against the corona (Covid-19) virus. He now has hundreds of tweets and retweets asking the Jharkhand and central governments to help the migrants.
Many residents of Giridih presently posted in Metropolis like Mumbai, Delhi voluntarily approached Singh to support his endeavours. Singh appealed more such people to come forward to help stranded migrant worker’s of their state.
“Seeing Singh’s desperate tweets I called him and on his recommendations, I helped several stranded migrant workers, personally,” a senior manager of a bank told eNewsroom, requesting anonymity.
Screenshot of a Ranchi-based journalist Anand Dutta’s tweet
Singh even wrote a letter to the Jharkhand government to use all his MLA funds (Rs 3 crores per annum, is what a legislator gets for local area development) and to send Rs 5,000 to each stranded migrant workers’ account. He suggested that the Jharkhand government copy the Delhi government which is transferring Rs 5,000 to every migrant worker’s account from the government exchequer.
“The lockdown is a catastrophe for migrants and that is why I had to tell the government to use my all MLA funds. However Jharkhand officials replied to my letter saying there was no provision to (a) use all MLA funds for one purpose and (b) send it directly to migrants’ accounts. All I have to say to them is that laws are often bent to support government’s initiatives especially when it comes to helping industrialists, so why can’t they make new provisions to help poor stranded migrants,” Singh told eNewsroom.
“I also requested the state government to transfer Rs 5,000 from their treasury into the accounts of stranded labourers like Delhi and other governments have done. But our government is yet to act in a similar way,” he added.
“Bagodar MLA has always stood for migrants, and this time also out of 81 MLAs, only one MLA has taken a stand for the rights of migrant workers and that is Vinod Singh. Migrants stranded across India hail from all assembly constituencies of Jharkhand but it is just one leader from the opposition who has stood up for their rights. Leaders of the principal opposition party, the BJP has been busy criticizing government instead,” added Abhay.
It is ironic that the BJP at the Centre keeps telling opposition parties not to politicize the pandemic or the lockdown and to work unitedly, but when the BJP is in the opposition in states their leaders are critical and quick to politicize the virus and its impact.
Kolkata: The worst affected by the 21-day ongoing lockdown which has been imposed to break the chain of COVID-19 virus, are the poor, daily wagers, migrant workers and homeless wandering on the streets. The sudden lockdown announcement, has affected these people the most. With the streets being deserted, the beggars, destitute and street urchins have been left on their own to fend for their survival.
However, keeping the plight of the poorest of the poor in mind, a healthy number of Good Samaritans, social activists, non government organization (NGO)s and corporates of Kolkata have come forward to lend a helping hand in these trying times.
Food For All
Take the example of Apna Kitchen, an initiative of The Siri Saqti Foundation (TSSF) – a Non-Governmental Organisation, which aims to provide homemade meals for migrant labours and those staying alone or can’t cook a meal or ask others in need.
Md Bilal Anwar, a member of Foundation, has been leading this initiative from Amartalla lane in central Kolkata. Speaking to eNewsroom, he said, “This service is open to all those in need, irrespective of one’s identity. We serve only vegetarian home-made meals, twice a day to people in need. We have been operating right from the day the lockdown was announced. We even cater to a specific dietary requirement of a person approaching us.”
Also, coming to the rescue of those in need was Darjeepara Sarbojanin Durgotsav Samity. Sandip Bose, a member of the Samity said, “When the lockdown was announced, there was an acute shortage of hand sanitizers. We made our own concoction as we felt the need to distribute sanitizers to the people. Even now, people are coming with their own containers to take away sanitizers. We have distributed 150 litres of sanitizers till now. We have also distributed rice, potatoes and salt. Around 3 tonnes of rice, we are distributing daily apart from giving away cooked food to the people on the streets.”
Member of Darjeepara Sarbojanin Durgotsav Samity distributes meals to needy
He added, “We are procuring our vegetables directly from Burdwan so that we get it at a cheaper rate compared to the city. People from as far as Hoogly have called us for help. In Kolkata, our volunteers are surveying areas where people need food, from north to south, and then going there to distribute. We have around 150 volunteers, who are fanning out to as far as Burdwan, Srirampur to help people as for us, Durga Puja is not just an occasion. We believe in reaching out to people when they need help.”
It’s not cooked meals that these volunteers are helping with, but also with making rations available to vulnerable people. “We have been regularly providing ration kits to families of daily wage labours, rag pickers, rickshaw pullers and the destitute living Tangra, Topsia, Mallickpur, Park Circus, Khidderpore, Zakaria Street and South Kolkata,” said Ovaiz Aslam, founder, Indian Pluralism Foundation. He added, “With the help of our donors we have been able to support over 1450 families in the mentioned localities.”
Good Samaritan
For former KMC MMiC Faiyaz Ahmed Khan, it has been a tough situation to be in. He is leading a team who under the banner of CITU have been on the streets, distributing cooked food to the needy.
“When the government announced the lockdown without any prior notice, lot of hawkers and daily wage earners were stranded and caught off-guard. They had no money and food to survive the 21 days. So, we are serving these people with meals twice a day right now, we have managed to reach out to people in New Market and Fancy Market areas. But, people from different areas are messaging us that they are also in need of food,” said Khan.
And besides cooked food, Khan also informed that he has arranged ration for 70 families of Tiljala area.
Watch CITU’s meal distribution work in Esplande area
Meheli Sain, a research scholar at Visva-Bharati University, celebrated her birthday on March 28 with the tribals of a small village, off Bolpur. She used her savings to provide essentials for 50 tribal people at Ramnagar village in Ilambazar thana area.
“Most of the villagers are aged and collect leaves from the nearby forest. They make plates out of the leaves and then sell it to nearby markets to earn a meagre amount. But with the markets closed they have nothing to eat and are starving. I believe if everyone does their bit in this hour of crisis, we can overcome the grim situation easily,” said Meheli.
Special Kit For Women
In the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, women and children have emerged as the most vulnerable. Understanding the need of women during the lockdown period, Dhorshok Tumi-I (Kolkata Chapter of the A Rapist In Your Way – Feminist Socio-Political Movement – that started in Chile in 2019) and Women’s Solidarity Network along with the help of volunteers took up the initiative of providing special kits to women, particularly mothers in various area.
“We have seen reports on the rise of domestic violence during the lockdown, Babies and children are going hungry. This, in turn, creates a huge burden on mothers. We also know how the government has forgotten to include sanitary napkins in the list of essential items. Hence, we shall be preparing kits containing powder milk, soap, ORS sachets, sanitary napkins and provide a helpline number to reach out in case of a mental health crisis or domestic abuse. These kits will be given to volunteers providing ration to those in need,” said Joyee Roy, member of Dhorhok Tumi-i group.
Service in uniform
IC Bidhannagar (East), along with his personnel, has reached out to the needy in his area to serve daily essentials apart from serving food to street dogs. “It is a humanitarian gesture. We are not alone. Many of our fellow policemen are also doing their bit when people need help the most,” said an officer.
Corporate Come To Rescue
Urja Foundation, the CSR wing of the Urja Group, has also come forward to distribute food packets in different parts of the city. They have been helping around 1000 people daily.
M K Anchalia, a trustee of Urja Group told eNewsroom, “We have been distributing in Kalighat, Salt Lake, Rajarhat areas. We are distributing around 1,000 food packets a day, for a week, now. Most of the beneficiaries are daily wagers. We have also been in touch with doctors and have provided medical advice to people in need. Our foundation has also been providing shelter to the homeless, mostly beggars. We have also been involved in the mass distribution of essentials to the needy during this lockdown.”
Helping Beyond Kolkata
The volunteers are not just helping the destitute of Kolkata, but beyond. Take the example of Ujjaini Halim, a social activist, who along with several other volunteers has been reaching out to the poor and the needy in Birbhum and Burdawan (West Bengal), Dumka (Jharkhand), and Balasore and Bhadrak during the lockdown. The relief work is being done under the banner of Ujjaini’s NGO Institute for Motivating Self-Employment (IMSE).
Speaking to eNewsroom, she said, “Initially we had been raising awareness camps in these districts, to help the people contain stop Coronavirus from spreading. But when the lockdown was announced, we realised that many of the people living in these areas were extremely vulnerable. Hence, we decided to provide ration to 3000 such families in these five districts. We have also provided soap to 5000 families.”
A quarantine centre has also been set up by IMSE in Birbhum for migrant workers and can house at least 60 such workers. Ujjaini and her team plan to make medicine easily available in these districts.
Kolkata: The COVID-19 outbreak in India is witnessing twists and turns amongst the general public that would put a Bollywood masala flick to shame. While the world is trying to find a way to tackle one of the worst pandemic of recent times politicians and media organisations in India are leaving no opportunity to outdo each other in creating a circus to amuse the world.
For a while it seemed that the Corona outbreak has not only shut down our outdoor activities but has also managed to silence the Hindu-Muslim hatred that seems to be the bedrock of politics of the present regime. But come the news of a Muslim religious gathering at Nizamuddin Markaz where quite a few tested positive for the Corona virus and all hell broke loose.
Going by the constant vilification of the community by media organisations using fake information, not only did a Jamaat member serve defamation notice of one crore to Times of India but Jamiat-Ulama-e-Hind also reached Supreme Court against the fake misleading news being run by several Indian media houses.
A Bangalore based Tablighi Jamaat member has issued legal notices to five media outlets, including the BCCL, the parent body of Times of India and Times Now, demanding immediate withdrawal of a defamatory article that linked the Jamaat to terror outfits. The article published on the Times Now website on April 1, 2020, states that the Jamaat has ties with Pakistan based Harkat ul Mujahideen, al Qaeda and Lashkar e Taiba, among others.
Taking an exception to such an article Bangalore based HafeezullaKhan, through his lawyers Aslam Razvi and Arif Pasha of Prime Law Associates, sent legal notices to BCCL, Outlook, IANS, Prokerala (website), Daiji World (Kerala based website) and are also in the process of sending legal notices to New Indian Express and journalist S Gurumurthy.
A fake news alert by Shaharanpur Police
According to Advocate Razvi the legal notice, demanding immediate withdrawal of defamatory articles and compensation of one crore Rupees has been already sent through email to the media organisations and the people concerned and a hard copy of the same will be mailed to them as soon as the lockdown is lifted.
“We have not yet addressed the misinformation spread involving the COVID-19 allegations and the Tablighi Jamaat members. We will be issuing separate notices to the government and concerned authorities apart from media outlets for the allegations made since another client has approached us to take strong action against the same. How can you deny the right to privacy of these patients and how could the authorities be so nonchalant about it?” asks Adv Razvi.
The law firm will be filing the criminal defamation suit on the 15th of April at the local magistrate court or sooner, depending on when the courts resume work.
In the meanwhile another petition on behalf of the Jamiat-Ulama-e-Hind and Mumbai based Gulzar Ahmed Noor Mohammed Azmi has been filed at the Supreme Court of India against the government of India for failing to uphold Article 14, 21 of the Constitution of India that guarantees the right to live with dignity and equal protection before the law.
The writ petition also calls for action against media outlets for violating the Supreme Court’s order dated March 31, 2020 that had directed media outlets not to disseminate unverified news capable of causing panic.
Ranchi: As a death allegedly from hunger has been reported from Garhwa district, Right To Food Campaign’s Jharkhand chapter has expressed grave concern on the steps Jharkhand government has taken so far to make ration available to the needy and poor of the state during the lockdown.
Jharkhand is the state, which had witnessed 26 starvation deaths between 2017 to December 2019. Activists who are working for the welfare of the poor believe that the ongoing 21-day lockdown can again create situation leading to starvation for a large number of poor in Jharkhand.
The press communiqué issued by RTF mentioned, “The government of Jharkhand has announced, as part of its relief measures, that eligible households left out of the public distribution system (PDS) would receive 10 kg of foodgrain if they have applied for a ration card. An impression has been created that this would be 10 kg per month. In fact, none of this is happening.”
It further writes, “Instead, mukhiyas (gram panchayat heads) have been instructed to give 10 kg of food grain to needy households from their contingency fund of Rs 10,000. This contingency fund existed earlier – it cannot be counted as a relief measure. Further, this fund is far too small to provide even a one-off ration of 10 kg to the 7 lakh excluded households who have applied for a ration card. No provision has been made for integrating excluded households into the PDS during this crisis.”
The camping wanted to implement the work the way National Food Security Act described.
“The right to food campaign (Jharkhand) calls on the Jharkhand government to cover all the households under PDS, and provide regular monthly rations at NFSA levels. The government should also take extensive measures to strengthen the public distribution system in this time of crisis.”
And it also alarmed the government that their preparation and support to the needy should be for six months, “The crisis is likely to last for months, even if the lockdown ends soon. During this period, millions of households will depend on government support (especially the PDS and cash transfers) for their survival. In this situation, it is extremely important to ensure that the PDS functions well and covers all vulnerable households. Unfortunately, the government of Jharkhand has done little so far beyond routine measures.”
The RTF made immediate demands from Hemant Soren government, “Aside from covering excluded households, many other PDS-related measures are urgently required, such as:
• Active steps should be taken to implement the central government’s commitment to double PDS rations for the next three months. So far, no orders have been issued to that effect. This month (April), dealers have been instructed to distribute double rations, but as of now this consists of advance rations for April and May, not double rations. Even advance rations are not being distributed this month in many places.
• Urgent measures are required to ensure that the PDS functions well. For instance, public employees (and even police personnel, if necessary, in some areas) should be instructed to supervise distribution at ration shops so that there is no cheating.
• Special grievance-redressal facilities should be put in place so that complaints are addressed swiftly and strict action is taken against corrupt dealers and government officials. Grievance redressal agencies should include agencies independent of the food department.”
“Looking beyond the PDS, the government of Jharkhand should explicitly commit itself to a comprehensive relief package, not just for the lockdown period but the next six months at the very least. At the moment, it is acting as if the crisis were going to end with the lockdown,” it said and added, “The token measures spelt out by the Chief Minister yesterday, in his letter (attached) addressed to elected representatives and Deputy Commissioners, do not serve the purpose at all.”
Kolkata: The screaming eerie silence of top Bollywood actors, when the anti-NRC movement was at its peak, had drawn strong criticism from not just activists but also their fans. Shah Rukh Khan had even been trolled by fans for not condemning the police brutality unleashed on his alma mater – Jamia Millia Islamia or the Delhi pogrom that took place during US President Donald Trump’s recent visit.
However, extra-ordinary situation needs extra-ordinary acts, and this time Indian film industry actors did not remain behind in donating to the cause of India’s fight against coronavirus.
Bollywood actors led by Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar made up by generously loosening his purse-strings in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in India.
Bollywood Superstar Shahrukh Khan not only donated to Central’s PM Cares Fund and State Government’s funds of Maharashtra and West Bengal but also announced a series of initiatives through relief funds of his IPL Franchise-Kolkata Knight Riders, Red Chillies Entertainment, Meer Foundation and Red Chillies VFX.
The actor took on to Twitter to announce, “Given the enormity of the task, my team and I discussed ways to contribute in our own modest way. We have come up with a series of initiatives, which we hope will make a small difference.”
Through his IPL Franchise Kolkata Knight Riders which is co-owned by wife Gauri Khan, Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta, the team would be contributing to PM CARES. They would also be contributing to CM’s relief funds in Maharashtra.
SRK would be providing a helping hand to the Maharashtra and West Bengal Government through his KKR franchise and NGO Meer Foundation. He would be supplying 50,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the healthcare professionals whom he called the ‘real heroes’.
Furthermore, with Ek Saath- The Earth Foundation, they would be catering to the food requirements of 5500 families in Mumbai. Daily wage workers, 10,000 in number would be receiving, 3 lakh meal kits. This would be under the banner head of his NGO – The Roti Foundation.
That’s not it, “2500 daily wage workers would be provided with basic amenities through his Meer Foundation in association with Working People’s Charter. And Meer Foundation would also be providing a monthly stipend to 100 acid attack survivors recognised from different states likeUP, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttarakhand,” stated the press note released by the actor.
When thanked by Delhi CM, Arvind Kejriwal, for funding the underprivileged, the actor in a Delhi-wala style tweeted, ‘Don’t thank me, Order me…’
King Khan however, hasn’t spelled out the actual amount he has donated for the cause. But some Twitterati have tweeted that the amount is well over INR 70 crores!
Two days after the actor announced about the donation, Khan and his wife Gauri offered their four storey building to Maharashtra government to be used as a quarantine center.
Bollywood Superstar is not the only film actor to have pledged to stand by state governments Government of India. Earlier, Salman Khan also announced to contribute in a similar way, when he said that he will be sending money directly to the accounts of workers who are associated to film industry.
But, it was Akshay Kumar who first pledged to donate Rs 25 crore towards PM Cares funds.
Later many followed them including Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Karan Johar, Karthik Aryan, Prabhas, Kangana Ranaut, Shilpa Shetty, Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal and Lata Mangeshkar pledged their support to PM Cares and Maharashtra Chief Minister Relief Fund.
But none made their donation amount public.
Actors like Sonakshi Sinha and Amitabh Bachchan were even trolled for not making donations. They took to Twitter to clear the air.
Sonakshi tweeted, “Minute of silence for trolls who think that just because it wasn’t announced, contributions weren’t made. Neki kar dariya mein daal, suna toh hoga? Kuch log actually follow karte hai! Ab shaant ho jao & use ur time 2 do some actual good (announcing or not is a personal preference) (sic)”
Meanwhile, Big B tweeted, “Ek ne diya aur keh diya ke diya, dusre ne diya aur kaha nahi ki diya. Dusri shreni me hi rehne do mujhe aye priyajan. Jise mila wo kya jaane kisne diya, jano uska bus karun krandan. In haalaton mein aur kya kaha jaye. Jo janein mujhe jaanein, mai to sada swabhao se hi raha hu kamsukhan (One gave and said that he did, another gave and did not say that he did. Let me be in the second category. The one who receives knows not who gave, just knows his emotions, those who know me, know I have always been one to talk less) (sic).”
Ironically, major beneficiaries of Narendra Modi’s government, in the Bollywood like Hema Malini, Sunny Deol, Kiran and Anupam Kher and Vivek Agnihotri are yet to come forward to announce any kind of donation or support towards the battle against COVID-19 .
Hema Malini, Sunny Deol and Kiran Kher have released their MPLAD fund for PM Cares. We need to remember that this fund is actually public money and could not to be considered as donation.
