Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh administration has named eight out of 18 coronavirus hotspots in Lucknow after mosques, an exercise that has raised concern among Muslims in those areas and drawn flak from opposition parties for allegedly adding communal colour to an illness.
“The government should be concerned about fighting the disease. It should focus on pinpointing those areas from where more cases are coming. But unable to tackle that it is busy fudging numbers, and to divert people’s attention it is linking it to religious issues so that people won’t focus on the ground situation. It is discriminatory to link the illness to one specific community,” Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu told ThePrint.
The administration has refuted claims that any particular community was being targeted. Officials said the mosques were only named due to the presence of positive cases.
“The positive cases came from those areas and which is why hotspots have been named after them. There is no other motive to it,” said a senior government official, who did not wish to be named.
Lucknow has so far reported 214 cases, with eight new infections reported Friday.
Also read: Warmth, food, lots of chai — 2 journalists on Covid-19 trail get taste of Punjabi kindness
‘A divisive exercise’
One of the hotspots in Lucknow’s Sadar Bazar is called ‘Masjid Ali Jaan and nearby areas’. Similarly, some others mentioned in the list of Covid-19 hotspots are ‘Mohammadiya Masjid and nearby areas’ in Wazirganj, ‘Khajoor Wali Masjid and adjoining areas’ in Triveni Nagar and ‘Phool Bagh/Nazarbagh Masjid and adjoining areas’.
“We should keep religion away from all this. The situation is already bad, so why complicate it further?” said Juhi Singh, a senior Samajwadi Party leader.
“By identifying hotspots via mosques, the government is also defeating its own work that it has done so far. Rather than naming areas after mosques, specific areas should be identified. This exercise will otherwise be seen as divisive.”
A resident living in one of the hotspots told ThePrint over phone, “You are intelligent to know what is happening and why the hotspots have been named so. I don’t want to say much as our calls also get recorded.”
Earlier this month, the Sadar Bazaar area, which borders Lucknow Cantonment, was sealed after 12 people from Saharanpur holed up in a mosque in Qasaibada had tested positive for Covid-19.
Masjid Ali Jaan, located in the same Sadar Bazaar area, has reported 95 positive Covid-19 cases so far. Government records show that the area has 578 suspected cases of the novel coronavirus. A total of 67 people have been quarantined.
Sadar Bazaar has since been barricaded and essential services are provided by the state government.
The Uttar Pradesh government has also been identifying the number of people linked to the March congregation of Tablighi Jamaat in its daily Covid-19 updates.
“This is nothing but an attempt to create an impression that Muslims are behind the spread of Covid-19. Even today Tablighi Jamaat is shown as the major reason behind the surge in cases. The areas that have been labelled as hotspots include both Muslim and Hindu communities. When areas are not being named after temples or churches, why are they being named after mosques?” said another resident living in one of the hotspots.
Lucknow-based law professor Abdul Hafiz Gandhi told ThePrint that the practice of naming hotspots after mosques was being followed only in Uttar Pradesh.
“This is a wrong practice as you are blaming one particular community by naming hotspots after mosques. Are we naming hotspots after any other religious institution? Hotspots are named after areas and this is what is being followed across the country,” Gandhi said.
He had also tweeted about the issue on 12 April, saying: “When central govt has issued advisory not to publish figures having communal profiling, why Yogi government is issuing separate figures for Covid-19 positive patients (sic).”
Gandhi isn’t the only one to raise his voice against the issue.
Earlier this month, the Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) had asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to stop mention of the Nizamuddin Markaz in its daily bulletin on coronavirus cases. The section was subsequently dropped from the daily bulletins.
Also read: Distrust between Hindus and Muslims won’t help Covid fight, last thing Modi govt would want
All the yogi bhakt who are supporting this communalism, you are great !!! You wil be garlanded soon.
All the idiot’s who are supporting this communalism, you are great !!! You wil be garlanded soon.
People having this dangerous type of thinking will surely destroy India. All of us must know that there is LIFE after death which is eternal. We will stand before Allah.Please save yourself and don’t waste the time.
Not a single word from The Print regarding a letter from Delhi minority commission Chairman to Arab world which is against the Indian people. But every time you pick up a trivial issue and blow up it out of proportion to create rift among communities. Stop this nonsense and think always about the country.
Mr Patil S: You pontificate:
“Stop this nonsense and think always about the country”
Very true Mr Patil S. But for the ordinary, utterly law abiding and patriotic Muslim, is India a safe country ? Is India country where the Muslim is respected and does not have to fear for his life when he steps out of his house? The answer Mr Patil S, is a resounding NO. Indeed, the Hindi belt, particularly UP is a dangerous place to be – even for a completely law-abiding, patriotic Muslim who puts India ahead of anything.
My father, a Hindu and a retired airman from the IAF has served with several Muslim colleagues. And all of them fear for their lives. Under the current ideology of Hindutva that the BJP, the RSS, personalities like PM Modi, Adityanath, former Union Minister for Aviation Jayant Sinha, Tejaswi Surya etc. propagate, even the Muslim who is willing to die for India gets killed by Indians. Wasn’t retired Army Officer Mohammad Sanaullah Khan declared a “foreigner” and sent to a detention camp in Assam?
And given this climate of hate in India towards its own Muslim citizens, where should the average Muslim turn to for help? Arnab Goswami’s Republic channel to highlight his plight? Minister Jayant Sinha who garlands gaurakshaks who are out on bail after having lynched a Muslim ? Or the violent monk turned into CM Adityanath who suggests that the corpses of Muslim women should be pulled out and raped? Or Mohan Bhagwat of the RSS who will ask them to do a “ghar wapasi” ? Or to PM Modi, of Godhra fame? Indeed, has PM Modi expressed an iota of sympathy for the plight of ordinary Muslims who are at the receiving end of this mindless violence? After all, when confronted with the brutal lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq (RIP) in 2015 in Dadri, the PM ignored the issue for a while before finally offering a limp ”Sad, but what is the fault of the Centre in this case?
Hence, when you are upset that Muslims have raised the issue of violence and Islamophobia and have allegedly sent a letter to the Arab world, should you be surprised? Tell me where can they turn to Mr Patil S? After all, don’t Hindus facing discrimination in Muslim countries like Malaysia, Brunei, the Middle East and even Russia not turn to India? Doesn’t the vast NRI lobby in places like the US & UK not lobby for India and turn to India when it comes to Hindu interests ?
Alas, the Gujarat model and its even more interpretation of Hindutva never has had to factor in the notion and task of keeping this fragile coalition of states, region, ethnicities, religions, castes called India together, has it ?
So Mr Patil S, I will say in retort to you:
Stop this nonsense and think always about all the citizens of India as equal. You risk breaking up the country if you don’t.
Great . You have the guts , the courage to call a spade a spade . Yes , there is religious discrimination , hate speeches , etc etc & it’s embedded now since this crooked , crafty right wing fundementalist party has come to power . Anyone who criticizes is branded an anti national . Then where’s the freedom of speech which is enshrined in the constitution etc.
Your post is self explanatory . We’re just pretending to the international community we are a genuine working secular democracy . Racism will always be condemned by all who believe in the principles of secularism & democracy . Denials & damage control cannot hide atrocities from the world in this digital age .
They are landmarks which any body can easily identify in a country which is deeply religious. Perhaps the author of this post is hell bent on communalising the whole issue. Pls stop such nonsense. Had anybody mentioned Hindu temples like this, I am sure this author will happily ignore and not write a word because this is what “Indian Secularism” is all about!
They are landmarks which any body can easily identify in a country which is deeply religious. Perhaps the author of this post is hell bent on communalising the whole issue. Pls stop such nonsense. Had anybody mentioned Hindu temples like this, I am sure this author will happily ignore and not write a word because this is what “Indian Secularism” is all about!
Only hate smells for 1 community
Jab jab tum log le jalti Mai maa kasam bada maza aata hai🤣🤣🤣🤣
I’m from lucknow, Nothing saw any type of problems in any community.
There’s nothing wrong about it.fr convenience u use landmark.if +ve cases r found there in plenty. Den landmarks shud b used to specify particular area.ppl r playing usual politics of terrorism has no religion.even if a single religion shares 90% terrorist activities.so,single source writing sounds nice, but hides concrete facts. Jus playing of words shud not be d aim.
Ap logon ko mar rahe hain kya or uska kya jo ap log border pe kar rahe ho
You guys in “the print” are really jobless …..get a job and a life…….
Ridiculous to see any religious angle in this……it clearly says “ and adjoining areas”
What’s wrong in calling an orange an orange? Over 50% of virus spread across India is by muslims so why not take it on record? Is anyone among them (Tabliqui Zamat) ready to take responsibility for deaths of over 1500 innocent people because of them? They do not want to acknowledge that, they do not want to be named in that, but still want to do whatever they want, isn’t this narsistic? If a masjid is responsible for spread of the virus then it should be named, if a Mandir is responsible then it should be named. Same goes for any religious gathering place and for any other gathering. IPL was cancelled to avoid gathering, why can’t muslims avoid gatherings? Who gave them right to put others life in danger?
Wondering when will they name any hotspot after Kanika Kapoor!! After all she is a famous singer and had been a victim of COVID-19. She got the test negative in the 6th attempt.
Wot if the area surrounding any “The Print” office is Quarantined..???
Wot is the importance of asking for any land mark while filling address???
The Print gone out of mind…
Good job Yogi Ji
Many commentators are using fake names. Why? Are they member of troll army? Let’s not communalise everything. Even CM of UP will not tolerate communalization.
Our main stream TV media channels is world famous in spreading fake and hatred news among community….they will not show this kind of news….news wahi hai jo yeh news channels nahi dikhate…news woh nahi hai jo yeh dikhate hai .
I can sense your intentions are malicious.If u have known places in lucknow you should be aware that places are named histoeically in most parts of lucknow ex aminabad hazratganj imambara..and if the epicentre of a pandemic is a mosque and nearby area there is no reason why it cant be named,most of the people use name for mosque for specific location in lucknow name for reference.HOWEVER IT IS YOU THE PRINT WHO CAN MANIPULATE IT TO POLARISE THE VIEWERS WHEN ITS NOT ANYTHING AS SUCH..CHEAP PUBLICITY OR RATHER FILTY SECTARIAN JUST TO SUPPORT RADICALS…
The Print you people are spreading hate.
You people are trying to make mountain out of a mole. Just tell me if there is Hanuman Mandir Gali and its named as hot spot would you have written such comprehensive article?
If you can answer this question?
No… because you people are propagating
pseudo secularism.
Please stop doing this.
In Hyderabad as well, the largest and most fertile containment cluster is called Mallepally Masjid and surrounding areas. Also, another prominent containment cluster in Hyderabad is at Kausar Masjid near Warasiguda. All these clusters are named after those masjids.
Anika Kapoor ka area.. jo ek hanuman mandir ke pass hai kabhi usko hotspot declare nhi kiya. Ankhe kholo andhbhakto. Abhi bhi samaye hai Chaupat rajao se sanvidhan ho jao. Muslims ke baad ye dalit,pichdo etc ko target karenge. Hope isse pahle Desi raaj(1947-20..) samapt ho jayga.
& Muslims r treating dalits obc as brothers in law by lifting their sisters in Pakistan carved out of India to represent Islamic rule&kashmir in India as trailer.
Let us admit UP is a difficult place to survive. All the great institutions have been destroyed over a period of time. The only option is to stoke communal fires and divide the votes. BJP got the electoral math right and it will take more than 200 years to fix it. Yogi is being groomed to succeed Modi. He may even shift the capital of India from Delhi to Prayahraj or Varanasi. Let the southern states go to hell.
Mughal , British ke baad ab Desi raaj samapti ki taraf hai. Agar yogi jaese satta ke bhogi 10 years bhi rah gae to desi raaj history ho jayga
Mr/Ms Viking: I fully agree with what you say. The BJP may have gotten the electoral arithmetic right but they have also opened Pandora’s box and let out many a lethal communal virus. And the deliberate appointment of a rabble-rouser and supporter of violent Hindutva like Ajay Bhisht merely confirms the fact that PM Modi has transferred his Godhra know-how to this violent saffron “monk”.
And you are right – now that the genie is out of the bottle, it will be impossible to get it back in. Rioting, violence and religious strife will be central elements of life in UP and the rest of the wretched chappathi belt – to hell with sabka saath sabka vikas and other meaningless slogans. Sadly, one of the drawbacks of democracy in India is that there are few institutional safeguards to thwart democracy from becoming majoritarian reign. The police, the paid media and the courts are firmly in the hands of the BJP. Just as they were during the Emergency under PM Indira Gandhi in the 70s. As Karnataka politician said: “It is an undeclared Emergency”
With regard to the violent “monk’s” desire to shift the capital from Delhi to Allahabad, well, I think that before that happens, he will implement the plan to rename Meerut to Pandit Godse Nagar. Perhaps after that, he would re-christen India as Bharath and Delhi as Hasthinapuri.
I think it is about time that southern states ask the Hindi belt states and their incompetent politicians to go to hell. For instance, compare Kerala’s handling of y the COVID crisis with that of how they do it in the chppathi belt. In any case, Bhisht’s subjects are to be found in the South with their begging bowls.