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Blinded at Bemina : Kashmir’s history turns a fresh new chapter of state horror in August’s Muharram

Putrajaya, 31 August 2020: The news broke like a nightmare on Saturday night, when people in the South Asian timezone were about to sleep.

Bloodied faces of Kashmiris popped up on Twitter. Bullet-ridden bodies, alive. Not dead.

Picture: Mir Suhail’s depiction of the state horror in Muharram, titled “Ya Hussain” in Urdu

The world stood witness to the horror in the Indian-occupied Kashmir, as the New Zealand mosque shooter Brenton Tarrant was awarded a life sentence for killing 50 Muslims.

Over here in Kashmir, hospitals were on emergency.

People were rushing with the injured, trying to save their lives and eyesight.

Picture: Bashir Hajam, one of the pellet victims injured at the police firing

The Indian police fired upon a Muharram procession (a Shia Muslim holiday) with hundreds of mourners at Bemina area of Srinagar.

“Police resorted to pellets & tear smoke shells”, reported The Kashmir Walla.

Dozens went blind, others were tossing in pain in the hospital words.

With this, Kashmir’s history opened a page to a fresh new chapter of state horror and Indian brutality.

As the protest continues, offensive remarks continue to surface from Hindu hardliners of India.

People are questioning, how long will this continue? How long till Azaadi (Freedom) - finally, from the Indian state?

The Indian police forces have excused the Covid-19 situation in Kashmir as the reason for firing upon Muslims.

The story was either not allowed to be covered in the Kashmiri newspapers, or most of the prominent dailies willingly skipped it on Sunday.

Among the few which covered it are Al Jazeera, The Kashmir Walla, The New York Times and few more.

Nevertheless, the Bemina blinding will forever remain as a dark chapter of Indian occupation in Kashmir’s history.

31 August 2020, 11:50 PM

“Appealing to their conscious will not work”, says son of jailed separatist leader, as India cracks down on Muharram rally

Putrajaya, 25 August 2020: On 23 August, jailed separatist leader Asiya Andrabi’s Ahmed Bin Qasim son tweeted, “the policewoman sternly told my mother to drop the call, and mother told her we had 30 seconds remaining.”

Andrabi, now 58 years old, has been kept in a life-threatening situation in Tihar Jail, where infections of Covid-19 have been reported. She was the leader of Dukhtaran-e-Millat, a hardliner Islamist women’s organization from Kashmir.

The unhealthy condition of the jail facility puts its inmates at serious risk, although nothing has been done about it despite complaints.

In his last tweet that day, Qasim said, “you are faced with an occupier that simply is bereft of any form of humanity. Therefore, appealing to their conscience has not, and will not work.”

While Jammu & Kashmir’s politics is witnessing a shift, with the unionists being ridiculed for “daydreaming” about restoring the Article 370 in the Indian constitution, reports of crackdown on Muslims for holding rallies to observe Muharram have arrived from the valley.

The Indian police have reportedly taken down the flag of Hezbollah and attacked the mourners on Sunday.

Some video clips of women mourners beaten by the police were shared online, which are now making rounds in Kashmir’s social media.

25 August 2020, 11:25 PM

Emptied out Kashmir sees Modi on LED screen, Sinha with the flag of India on August 15

Bangi, 15 August 2020: In an emptied out Kashmir, things have been much different on India’s eve of Independence this year.

The Covid-19 lockdown has forced people to retreat in their homes without military pressures, while the street nevertheless decided to play India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speeches on a newly bought LED screen.

Without attracting a crowd or attention, the speech continued playing in loudspeakers.

The day also saw India’s flag hoisted in the Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium in the morning.

Newly appointed Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha was present during the flag ceremony, who also decided to give a speech to Kashmir’s people on the occasion.

The uneventful day mostly saw a hushed up Twitter as people disappeared both from roads and social media, while the Kashmiri diaspora uploaded a few clips of the Modi speech - which shows a flyover booming with sounds of his voice.

The LED screen was the first of its kind to arrive in the valley in 74 years, The Kashmir Walla has reported.

15 August 2020, 11:50 PM

On Pakistan’s Independence Day, Kashmiri Twitter users go into hiding

Kuala Lumpur, 14 August 2020: It is the eve of Pakistan’s independence, marking 73 years of the country’s creation after British colonizers agreed to leave and hand over power to the local populace.

The very same day, reports emerged from Kashmir that twitter users have been forced into shutting down their accounts or keep silent, from the last few days.

The Kashmir Walla have reported that several twitter users were threatened to post “a particular tweet”, and their names would be maligned if they did not agree.

Soon after, multiple twitter users have deactivated their accounts, or stopped posting.

The Kashmir Police Cyber Team has also cracked down on people who were resisting the Indian occupation or posting tweets or contents deemed as “anti-national”.

Number of people who are still daring to speak out have rapidly dropped afterwards. Barely a few are using the platform right now, congratulating Pakistan on the day of Azaadi.

Among them is Ahmad Bin Qasim, son of two separatists, Asiya Andrabi and Qasim Faktoo (both in Indian jails right now) - who posted a conversation between Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Hamdani on evening, denoting the importance of having a separate land for Muslims in the Hindu-dominated region.

Others have gone silent or censoring themselves, in fear of a crackdown.

Many people have also disappeared, said the report.

14 August 2020, 11:30 PM

Party desk overflows with resignation letters as BJP keeps losing members in Kashmir

Subang Jaya, 11 August 2020: With an unmatched rivalry and ever growing popularity in mainland India, the Bharatiya Janata Party - BJP is still taking a sharp blow in at least one former state which is an union territory in the present : Jammu and Kashmir.

While Jammu still offers a massive support to BJP, Kashmir has seen an alarming rise in killings of BJP members in recent times - as the latest of its series victims, Abdul Hamid Najar, was shot down in Budgam’s Ompora this Sunday.

Merely hours within the news broke out, at least four BJP members have sent their resignation letters to the party office - taking the number of total resignations to a dozen by now, the highest in India.

Picture: One of the resignation letters widely shared online, as requested by the resigning BJP member

Among those who resigned were Sameer Ahmad Shah, Wali Mohammad Bhat, Imran Ahmad Parray and one more - from different parts of the region.

Earlier resignations cited a lack of security as their chief concern, as BJP remains a popular target for militants in Kashmir.

In social media, the news was received with different reactions from the Kashmiri Pandit community and the Kashmiri Muslims.

The Pandits, who recalled the horrors of 1990 when almost the entire community were forced to leave the valley did not seem to be corresponding with their Muslim counterparts, who welcomed the resignations as a good move.

Sources on social media, who do not wish to be identified, have jointly expressed their feelings - which nevertheless remain polarized and indifferent towards one another.

However, the resigning members wanted to utilize the social media platform to reach out to communities with pictures of their resignation letters getting shared online - as confirmed by the sources.

In a valley which has become deadlier than ever before for pro-India politics, this seemed to be the only option available to the resigning members to improve their security conditions - which they complained the party has not ensured or provided.

Most await the next killing of yet one more BJP member by militants - as the situation remains insufferable and dire for all spectrum.

Reports on the Indian media have confirmed that one member of a Panchayet from the Congress party also dropped his resignation after the killings.

11 August 2020, 11:05 PM

“Where do you want me to move on?” : India’s Muslim leader Asaduddin Owaisi asks the TV anchor Rajdeep Sardesai

Kuala Lumpur, 10 August 2020: In a widely shared video that has went viral on Twitter, India’s Muslim minority party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen - AIMIM’s leader Asaduddin Owaisi is seen roasting the noted TV anchor Rajdeep Sardesai for asking Muslims to “move on”.

The clip is 2 minutes and 19 seconds long, which has been taken from News Today, a TV show Sardesai hosted on the channel India Today on August 04 - headlined as “The Big Ram Mandir Debate.”

Apparently, Sardesai has questioned Owaisi why Muslims don’t “move on”, to which the latter had replied, “Are you trying to tell me what Prime Minister said in 2014 in Lok Sabha - 1200 years of slavery, forget about it that it is very weak in mathematics? The Muslim rule was only 450 years! So, who should move on? Are you trying to tell me the killing of Mahatma Gandhi should be forgotten - let us move on? Are you trying the tell me the genocide of Sikhs in 1984 should be forgotten and moved on? Are you trying to tell me the 6 December 1992 should be forgotten and moved on?”

He added, “Rajdeep, what do you want from me as a community, as Indian Muslim? If you want me to move on, forget about 2002 - Gujarat? You should not ask these questions to me, because I am not responsible for the demolition of Babri Masjid. I am not responsible for the communal riot that took place in the streets of Mumbai. Do you want validation of Asaduddin Owaisi for this, for tomorrow? What else do you want from me? Why is it that you always put me, as a Muslim, as Indian Muslim on a pedestal - to move on? Where do you want me to move on? Please Tell me!”

The clip received praise from Muslim journalists and multiple twitter users who profess themselves as not being a fan of the “religion based politics” which AIMIM advocates, but noted the importance of responding to the question in a just and proper manner as Owaisi did.

“We are in an abyss, there is no space to move on”, Owaisi concluded.

In the debate, Owaisi also questioned about the role of secular parties and reminded Sardesai about the importance of what happens on the ground, indicating Hindu-Muslim unity is only possible when constitution is followed by everyone.

Rana Ayyub, a Muslim Indian journalist whose harassment and rape threat case was recently closed by Delhi Police has retweeted the clip, saying “For those who ask Muslims of India to forget the brutality unleashed on them and to move on, this is for you. As journalists we need to have the courage to hold politicians in power accountable as opposed to asking the marginalized to move on.”

Sardesai was seen keeping silent to the allegations Owaisi had pointed towards him and making apologetic gestures at the conclusion of the clip.

Muslim taxi driver beaten up by mobs in India’s Rajasthan, forced to chant “Modi Zindabad” and “Jai Shree Ram”

Petaling Jaya, 09 August 2020: A Muslim taxi driver was beaten up by a mob in Sikar district of India’s Rajasthan on Friday, who chased his taxi and attacked the man - who “visibly looks like a Muslim”, news reports have said.

The victim has been identified as Gaffar Ahmed, aged 52.

The mob asked him to chant “Modi Zindabad (Long Live Modi)” and “Jai Shree Ram” - a slogan used to hail India’s popular Hindu deity, Lord Ram.

When Gaffar refused, they started thrashing him and yelled at him saying “Go to Pakistan”.

The attack left him seriously injured, with one eye swollen and some of his beard ripped off.

Gaffar later described the attack while speaking to the media, saying “I had taken the taxi out at 4 A.M to take some passengers to the station. I dropped them and was on my way back with more passengers, two gents and one lady, when someone hailed me down on the road. I saw him waving me down and stopped. Then another man came and told me to chant ‘Modi zindabad’, and he slapped me. Then he said ‘say Jai Shri Ram’. I sped off, they chased me and overtook me near a grain godown.”

The incident is the latest addition in a series of similar attacks on India’s minority communities, mostly targeted at Muslims - which follows the same patterns, with people being forced to chant the same slogans and later physically assaulted.

Social media users from India have heavily protested against the assault.

Gaffar had fainted after getting thrashed, and he could not recall the identity of the attackers when he regained consciousness.

Police have arrested two men in the case, who were identified as Shambhu and Rajendra.

09 August 2020, 11:05 PM

After Indian Plane crashes in Kerala, radical Hindus ask : “How many were Muslims?”

Bangi, 08 August 2020: Twitter users from India are complaining about some disturbing tweets asking how many among the dead were Muslims or “linked to jihadists”, right after the Air India Express flight IX-1344 crashed at Calicut airport on Friday.

The plane skidded off the runway while being caught in a rain and broke into two after landing at the airport, killing at least 18 people on the spot while injuring hundreds.

The twitter users soon noticed tweets being posted online, which were targeting the religious identities of the passengers.

Most of the tweets were posted from profiles affiliated with radical Hindutva parties, dubbed as “Sanghis” on the Indian cyberspace. A number of screenshots of the tweets taken by twitter users have since gone viral online.

The flight was coming back from Dubai, a Muslim majority country, the reason why Sanghis are targeting the passengers for supposedly being Muslim - said the users.

The plane had 190 people on board when it crashed, including 174 adults and 10 infants.

The crash killed its pilot Deepak Vasant Sathe and his co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar, along with 16 more people.

149 passengers who were rescued alive are now undergoing treatment in hospitals.

08 August 2020, 11:09 PM

Police framing a municipal councilor in Delhi Riot case with false confession, alleges protesters

Kajang, 07 August 2020: Protesters from India have alleged on social media that Delhi police is framing former municipal councilor Tahir Hussain in Delhi riot case with a false confession to shift the blame on Anti-CAA protesters.

On February 23, a riot broke out in North East Delhi. The ensuing violence that lasted till February 25 left at least 53 people dead, while hundreds went missing.

Most of the dead and injured in the violence were Muslims - who were attacked, chased and set on fire alive by Hindu mobs.

Hussain, who himself claims to be a victim of the riot, was said to have “confessed” about his plan to orchestrate a riot against Hindus on Sunday, August 02 by the Special Investigation Team (STF) of Delhi police.

Soon after, the state-run media houses published multiple reports which accused Hussain of “receiving a riot fund of at least 13.2 million INR from Gulf countries”.

The reports also accused the other protesters, namely Khalid Saifi, Ishrat Jahan and Umar Khalid of receiving similar funds to organize the riot.

Protesters have denied such claims and alleged the confession was fabricated.

Hussain’s Lawyer, Javed Ali said it was recorded immediately after Hussain was arrested in early March by the police and it is not admissible in court of law - as only confessions which are made before the magistrate under Section 164 of CrPC hold legal value as per Indian penal code.

“Such confessions are written and typed by the police before they take the person’s signature on them,” Ali has said, adding that “Tahir Hussain has never given any such statement”.

Hussain was arrested for murdering Ankit Sharma, a trainee driver of the Intelligence Bureau - on the evening of February 25.

He denied involvement in the murder and claimed that he had to flee the building where he lived during the violence with the help of police. He returned to the spot the next day with police again. After the police left, the building was taken over by rioters.

The anti-CAA Protesters have vehemently denied the charges brought by Delhi police and said that it is trying to criminalize the protestors with fabricated lies, and the real criminals are still roaming free.

Protesters demanded arrest and punishment of Kapil Mishra for openly inciting violence and ordering Hindutva mobs to attack Muslims - according to posts on social media.

07 August 2020, 05:25 PM

New York’s Time Square lights up for Kashmir Siege Day

Kuala Lumpur, 06 August 2020: New York’s Times Square has lit up with words for Kashmir on Wednesday, marking one year of stripping the Jammu & Kashmir of its statehood with plans to change the Muslim majority demographics in the valley.

According to media reports, the Indian American Public Affairs Committee earlier had planned to advertise images of the Hindu deity Lord Ram as well as 3D images of the Ram Temple scheduled to be built on the land of the demolished Babri Mosque on August 5.

The same day, the Bhoomi Pujan was held in India, which started with India’s Prime Minister setting a silver brick into the ground of Babri Mosque, marking the ground-breaking ceremony of the Temple’s construction.

For displaying the advertisements, a giant NASDAQ billboard was leased, along with a 17,000-square-foot wrap-around LED display screen.

However, the ads did not run as planned when the day began.

The billboards lit up with “Kashmir Siege Day”, “Kashmiri Lives Matter” and the hashtag “#KashmirisWantFreedom” instead, as booked later by the Kashmir-affiliated activists.

The activist groups also wrote a letter to New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio, asking him to stop the “brazen celebration of hatred and Islamophobia.

After few hours, the Lord Ram Temple’s ads did appear briefly for every 15 minutes, but was stopped on the early afternoon.

While the ads were running, a minivan circled around Times Square with counter-ads with vivid descriptions on the background of the Lord Ram Temple and Babri demolition, according to sources.

Later on, multiple protests broke out at the scene against the ads, led by various groups. Pro-Hindutva groups were also present there, who clashed with the Anti-Hindutva Sikh groups later on.

The ads for Kashmir were not taken off when the day ended, sources have said.

Media reports have later confirmed that the billboards will run for a week to protest the abrogation of Article 370 on its first anniversary.

06 August 2020, 03:30 PM

1 Million windows missing across the city : Beirut rocked with explosion

Putrajaya, 05 August 2020: “There are at least 1 million windows missing across the city”, Riyadh Haddad told the Guardian, after Beirut - the capital city of Lebanon, was rocked with a sudden explosion leaving at least 100 dead and thousands injured.

The explosion happened at 6.08 PM local time on Tuesday, at a warehouse of Beirut’s port.

Almost the entire city collapsed, with buildings in ruins now and the car windows broken. People are walking through glasses and debris as hospitals are overrun with injured patients.

Many of the hospitals in Beirut collapsed in the blast as well, making it harder to provide treatment.

“Look at it,” Haddad said, who works as an engineer in a neighborhood close to the Gemmayze district. “No money, jobs, power, fuel. And now this. Will it be a wake-up call, or will there be a war?”

Image Credit: Hassan Ammar/AP

The cause of the blast was traced back to the port warehouse where a massive volume of ammonium nitrate was stored from the last 6 years, said to be around 2,750 tonnes - in total.

Al Mayadeen Television quoted a defense official saying the explosion “was not caused by a terrorist act.”

Lebanon’s Interior Minister Mohamed Fehmi soon appeared on MTV to tell people about the warehouse storage, refuting claims that it was caused by fireworks.

Hassan Diab, the Prime Minister of the country, also released a statement later confirming the storage.

The conspiracy theories are making rounds, with some blaming Israel and others suggesting of an attack - but Israel has denied any responsibility in the explosion.

The city of Beirut has turned into a ghost city overnight. It has no electricity at the moment. Frantic people are searching for their dear ones amid the rubble and the debris.

Image Credit: Marwan Naamani/Alamy Live News

This was the largest scale disaster in Lebanon in its entire history, which have seen wars and bombings throughout decades.

The blast created a seismic wave equivalent of a 3.3 magnitude earthquake, reported CNN.

The Guardian said that it was so strong that the shockwave was felt as far as Cyprus, 120 miles away from the city.

The country was already struggling with a collapsing economy, with money shortages everywhere.

People were taking to the streets to protest against the Lira’s rate dropping against the US dollar, the unavailability of jobs and rising poverty, amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis - which worsened the situation further.

With Beirut freshly hit with a humanitarian crisis as massive as this, the country’s political establishment is now facing the fury of its people.

Foreign nationals from the US, UK, Turkey, Australia, Japan and many other countries were also injured, with some of them dead.

Several refugees from Syria, who earlier escaped the Assad regime, also died in the explosion.

The cost of damage from the explosion is estimated at $5 billion USD, the governor of Beirut has confirmed.

Countries and organizations across the world are now sending their aid, which includes Turkey, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Russia, Israel, World Health Organization, European Union and many more.

05 August 2020, 11:05 PM

A year on, Kashmir is placed under a curfew again as the black day returns

Subang Jaya, 04 August 2020: The India-controlled valley of Kashmir has been placed under a strict curfew as it completes one year of the Article 370’s revocation - which the locals decided to observe as a “black day”.

The curfew started on Tuesday and will continue till tomorrow.

Picture: A poster on Kashmir placed under a lockdown after August 05 2019

On August 05 2019, the Indian government revoked the article - leading to dissolution of statehood and the special status of Kashmir. All communications ceased in the valley, with internet network and phone signals being snapped, as Kashmir went under a lockdown.

The earlier state was divided into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Social media is buzzing with the memory of the day of lockdown returns.

Peaceandpyjamas, an instagram handle, shared memories of how it was when the lockdown was imposed on the valley.

Citing the reasons why the curfew was being imposed, Srinagar’s Deputy Commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary has said, “separatist and Pak sponsored groups are planning to observe 5th August as Black Day, therein apprehensions of violation action or protests are not ruled out.”

“The report has further made a case that to prevent such violence and loss of life and property, it’s imminent to impose curfew in the district,” he added.

Meanwhile, a protest erupted early morning in Lakhanpur toll plaza in the Kathua district Kashmir on the issue of overpayment of tolls, injuring three Kashmiris - which led to a fight between officials and local people and the check post getting vandalized, reported The Kashmir Walla.

Restrictions have been imposed on the area to prevent further calamities.

Shailendra Mishra, the Senior Superintendent of Kathua Police has said, “Stay at home and stay safe. Any gathering shall attract police action.”

Throughout the day, reports have also emerged that Kashmiri journalist Qazi Shibli has been booked under 107 CRPC, a law that allows the state to detain people based on suspicion. He was shifted to the Srinagar Central Jail on Monday.

Rouf Bhat, a leader of People’s Democratic Party - PDP, has also been detained by the Jammu & Kashmir police as his party decided to organise a protest to observe August 05 as black day, reported the media.

04 August 2020, 09:25 PM

Muslim man beaten with hammer for transporting beef in India

Putrajaya, 03 August 2020: A Muslim man was attacked by a mob and brutally thrashed and beaten with hammer in India’s Gurgaon district in the Haryana state for transporting beef on Friday, the eve of Eid-ul-Adha.

The victim has been identified as Lukman Khan, a pick up driver from Badshahpur.

“I begged and told them this is not cow meat. I said if it is, I'm willing to be killed right now. They kept forcing me to chant Jai Shree Ram,” he has said.

The incident was recorded on video, which has since gone viral on the web. It shows the mob beating, kicking and dragging Lukman, while a crowd of nearly a hundred people that has formed around watches silently.

One of the attackers used a small hammer to hit him multiple times, the video has shown.

It also shows a policeman standing next to Lukman, while he is being thrashed.

Subhash Boken, the PRO of Gurgaon Police has told the media that Lukmaan said he “was transporting buffalo meat in his pick-up truck from Nuh to Sadar Bazar area of Gurgaon. When he reached Gurgaon, he was chased by some men on motorcycles. He sped away but got waylaid and thrashed by them”.

The police report has said that Lukman was later taken to a place near Sohna and beaten all over again. They also damaged his vehicle.

An FIR was lodged concerning the matter, while the man was taken to a hospital.

One of the accused, identified as Pradeep Yadav (aged 25), has been arrested, while hunt is on to track the others.

Police have sent the meat to the lab for testing.

03 August 2020, 02:55 PM

India’s Home Minister Amit Shah tests positive for Coronavirus

Bangi, 02 August 2020: India’s Home Minister Amit Shah has tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, as per reports on the media.

Known as the right hand of Narendra Modi, Shah is seen as the second most powerful man in India.

On Sunday evening, he tweeted that he underwent a test after showing initial symptoms of the virus and he requested all those who came in contact with him in the last few days to get tested for the virus and isolate themselves.

He was soon admitted to a hospital.

According to media reports, Shah was present during the last cabinet meeting of India, to approve the controversial National Education Policy - NEP 2020. In the meeting, social distancing and other health codes were strictly adhered.

Shah has been one of the chief architects in recent changes of India’s constitution, with the abrogation of Article 370 which stripped Kashmir of special status and statehood, as well as the plot of domicile to replace the Muslim majority demographics in Kashmir.

His name also came up in the fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan, accusing him of ordering the killings, but charges against him were later cleared.

As per the latest updates, India has around 1,757,393 active cases of Covid-19, with 37,452 deaths across the country. It stands at the 3rd position in the list of most affected countries worldwide.

02 August 2020, 11:33 PM

Right on Eid’s Day, Kashmir’s police detains journalist Qazi Shibli once again

Putrajaya, 01 August 2020: The editor of South Kashmir’s news portal The Kashmiriyat, Qazi Shibli, has been detained again right on the day of Eid in Srinagar’s Shergari Police Station in Kashmir.

He was summoned to the police station on Thursday for “unknown reasons”, reported the media.

The Kashmiriyat has published a statement, saying that Shibli “got a call from the Cyber Police station at around 2:15 PM on Thursday asking him to present himself in the Cyber Police Station in Srinagar on Friday”.

“We were told by seniors to keep him in custody and don’t know the reasons,” said a police official, while talking to The Kashmir Walla.

Earlier, Shibli has spent 9 months in jail after being detained on 27 July 2019 under the Public Safety Act (PSA) in the Bareilly District Jail of Uttar Pradesh in Central India, for publishing a report on the increased number of security troops being deployed in the valley.

After a few days, India abrogated the Article 370 and 35 (A) on August 05 2019, dissolving Kashmir’s statehood and special status, and immediately imposed a lockdown in the valley.

His PSA was revoked on April 13, 2020, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. After spending 9 months in jail, he returned home.

At the time of his return, Shibli said that he had “119 holes in his t-shirt”, which he washed again and again before getting new ones. It was the only t-shirt he had with him when he left his home in July.

In December 2019, TIME magazine listed him as fifth in the list of the “ten most urgent threats to Press Freedom”.

Asif Sultan, another journalist who was detained under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act - UAPA, has remained imprisoned for the last 20 months in jail.

More than several hundred Kashmiris are still detained in jails across India ever since the statehood was dissolved.

Charges against Qazi Shibli are not clear yet, media reports have said.

01 August, 09:25 PM

Ram temple priest tests positive for Corona Virus, along with 15 policemen guarding the site

Petaling Jaya, 30 July 2020: Ahead of the scheduled Bhoomi Pujan on August 05 that will mark the beginning of the Ram temple in India’s Ayodhya, a priest from the temple has tested positive for Corona Virus.

15 other policemen have also been affected with the virus, according to media reports. They were guarding the site where Babri Masjid was demolished to make space for the temple in 1992.

The priest has been identified as Pradeep Das. He is a junior priest among the four priests currently in charge of the temple.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the site on August 05 to start the groundbreaking ceremony, the Bhoomi Pujan.

According to media reports, an order has been issued from Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust to perform puja, a Hindu worship - in all temples and Maths across the country between 11.30 AM and 12.30 PM on August 05.

Around 200 people have also been invited for the ceremony, which includes the Chief Ministers of all Indian states.

The construction of the temple has been subjected to a heated debate, as it was built on the site of the historic Babri Masjid - originally a Muslim mosque, which was raged to ground by Hindutva fanatics to claim the site in 1992.

Earlier, the ceremony also raised concerns as it could increase Corona Virus infection in the country, which is now facing around 1.58 million Covid-19 cases right now.

30 July 2020, 11:50 PM

Babri will always be a mosque, says Indian Muslim minority leader Asaduddin Owaisi

Bandar Tasik Selatan, 29 July 2020: While India prepares for the Bhoomi Pujan scheduled on August 05 at the historic site of where once stood the Babri Mosque, which was demolished on December 06, 1992 by Hindutva mobs - the Muslim political party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, AIMIM’s leader Asaduddin Owaisi has spoken to the media about the dispute.

“Babri Masjid is a mosque and it will always remain as one”, he said in an interview given to Outlook India on Tuesday.

The site of the historic mosque, which was built during the Mughal Empire, supposedly when the emperor Babur ruled India - has been claimed by the Indian government to erect a temple in honor of Lord Ram, the popular Hindu deity of India.

The decision is known as Ayodhya Verdict, which was issued from the Supreme Court of the country.

When asked about how he reconciled with the verdict, Owaisi said, “Had the Masjid not been demolished on 6 December 1992, I don’t think this judgment would have come.”

“History will remember what happened in December 1949, when the idols were placed surreptitiously in the Masjid and the events that led to the demolition in 1992”, he added.

When questioned about whether he still believes “faith triumphed over facts” in the verdict, he said, “Now that the Supreme Court has given the final verdict on Ayodhya, we have to accept it.”

India has seen spikes in Coronavirus cases after the Hindu religious pilgrimages and worships were given a green signal from the Supreme Court, which is why the planned Bhoomi Pujan on August 05 has come under wild criticism.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be present during the ground-breaking ceremony of the Lord Ram temple.

“As far as Muslims and people who believe in justice are concerned, we will keep telling the new generation that our Masjid was demolished. It doesn’t matter if our voices are suppressed. We will tell it in our own way”, Owaisi has said.

29 July 2020, 11:25 PM

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