Tablighi Jamait Congregation and Coronavirus Pandemic
The Tablighi Jamait congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin at a time when the menace of Corona virus loomed large must have been avoided. Already many sacred places around the world and masjids were closed for prayers. This is grave lapse on the part of the Jamait and they must accept the negligence, which posed great risk to health and life not only to their own followers but to the country as a whole. However, as the factual details are emerging, we see that the Markaz authorities realized their mistake and took all the precautions as per the lock down guidelines and also sought help from the administration for the evacuation.
While there is grave mistake on the part of the Markaz authorities, the lapses on the part of the administration can not be condoned. Had the police and other authorities acted swiftly and in time much of the situation could have been prevented from deterioration. It is highly unfair to blame only the organizers, as the media trial is currently undergoing, while no other officer or agency responsible is fixed for their lapses.
There are similar instances in many places in the country around the same period where government authorities acted in time and rescued the people, but Markaz is being singled out for media blast. Wildly targeting the attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation will do more harm than good at a time when each and every one of them needs to be identified and put into a quarantine as per the government specified norms. We appeal to all sections of the national and regional media to report objectively so that the country can benefit from it in its struggle to fight this great calamity, instead of creating hate and division and dissensions among people. In this hour of national crisis, it is important that objective and scientific methods are deployed to fight Covid-19, that does not differentiate between religions, nationalities and class as it attacks millions of people around the world without any identity differentiation. India will not be able to drive Covid-19 out by being divided, but only through national solidarity and scientific planning and execution. Here we must appreciate the call given by the Hon’ble Prime Minister to the religious leaders of all faith for prayers. Hope the motivated media takes lessons from the PM’s call and focuses on real issues and educate people to fight the threat of Covid19, instead of promoting the fight against each other by giving particular colour to the crisis.
We also categorically state that we stand fully behind behind our Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in this fight to save the country, and are leaving no stone unturned to support his call.
Sincerely Yours
Signed by
1. Dr. M. J Khan, Chairman, Indian Minorities Economic Development Agency,
2. Kamal Faruqui, Ex Chairman, Delhi Minorities Commission,
3. Shahid Siddiqui, Editor, Nai Duniya and ex MP
4. M. M. Ansari, former Member, UGC and Kashmir Committee
5. Ibrahim Ahmad, Chief Editor, Cyber Media Group,
6. Dr. Tajawar Mohammed Khan, Principal Nursing School, Bhopal,
7. Ramish Siddiqui, President, Overseas Recruiting Agencies of India
8. Gulrez Alam, Executive Director, IB Group, Raipur
9. Sathar Shameer, President, Startup Business Group, Chennai
10. Dr. Makibur Rahman, Professor of Economics, Guwahati
11. Rahil Khan, President, Liberty Oils, Mumbai,
12. Yusuf Ansari, Editor Salam India News,
13. Hilal Naqvi, Professor, Economics, Lucknow University
14. Dr. Nuzhat Hussain, Medico and Social Worker, Lucknow
15. Amina Sherwani, Film Maker and Social Worker, Gurgaon
16. M. Q. Syed, Founder Director, Imamia Shia Chamber of Commerce, Mumbai
17. Feroz Ghazi, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
18. Basheer Ahmad, former Secretary, Governemnt of Tamil Nadu, Chennai
19. Asif Khan, Convener AMU Old Boys Associaiton, Lucknow,
20. Tariq Hasib, President, Easyvisa Tours
21. Dr. Meeraj Vakil Siddiqui, President, Rural Business Network, Nagpur
22. Majid Khan, Editor, Muslim Today
23. Arshad Siddiqui, President, Red Crescent Society, Mumbai
24. M. Sabir, MD, Manisha Biotech P. Ltd., Hyderabad
25. Khalid Ansari, Director, Indian Institute of Natural Resource Management
INDIAN MINORITIES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
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Email: info@imeda.in, Contact No. 011-43595456, Website: www.imeda.in
