China bans ‘Muhammad’, other Muslim names for newborns in Xinjiang

April 25, 2017

Beijing, Apr 25: China has banned dozens of Islamic names for babies belonging to the restive Muslim-majority Xinjiang province, in a move that would prevent children from getting access to education and government benefits, a leading rights group said today.

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Xinjiang authorities have recently banned dozens of names with religious connotations common to Muslims around the world on the basis that they could "exaggerate religious fervour," the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

Muhammad, Mujahid, Arafat, Islam, Quran, Makkah, Jihad, Imam, Saddam, Hajj, and Madinah are among dozens of baby names banned under ruling Chinese Communist Party's "Naming Rules For Ethnic Minorities," an official was quoted as saying by Radio Free Asia.

Children with banned names will not be able to obtain a "hukou," or household registration, essential for accessing public school and other social services, it said. The new measures are part of China's fight against terrorism in this troubled region, home to 10 million Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority.

This is the latest in a slew of new regulations restricting religious freedom in the name of countering "religious extremism," the HRW said.

Conflicts between the Uyghur and the Han, the majority ethnic group in China who also control the government, are common in Xinjiang.

A full list of names has not yet been published and it is unclear exactly what qualifies as a religious name, it said.

On April 1, Xinjiang authorities imposed new rules prohibiting the wearing of "abnormal" beards or veils in public places, and imposing punishments for refusing to watch state TV or radio programmes. These policies are blatant violations of domestic and international protections on the rights to freedom of belief and expression, the HRW said.

Punishments also appear to be increasing for officials in Xinjiang who are deemed to be too lenient.

In January, the authorities imposed a "serious warning" on an official for complaining to his wife through a messaging app about government policies.

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News Network
March 22,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 22: An FIR has been registered against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya over a provocative hate post on social media, Election Commission officials said on Friday.

The move comes after a complaint filed by officials of the poll body and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) that the Bengaluru South MP, who is also the President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, had in a post apparently targeted a minority and spread enmity between two communities.

He also made a similar post on March 19 on X and YouTube which went viral. He has 1.3 million followers on X, thereby influencing the voters and disturbing the communal harmony between the communities, it further alleged.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered at Halasuru Gate police station on March 20 under sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act, the officials said.

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March 19,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 19: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said that the Congress will split in three months after the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and its impact will be visible on the Siddaramaiah-led state government.

"Due to internal squabbles, the state government will not last long," the BJP leader said.

Talking to reporters on Monday, he said the sitting MP from the Gadag-Haveri constituency, Shivakumar Udasi, has done a lot of development work and implemented the Central government's schemes effectively.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will surely become the PM for the third time. The overall response has been good in the Gadag-Haveri Lok Sabha constituency," the former Karnataka chief minister said.

Asked if he was contesting the election in a half-hearted manner in the Gadag-Haveri seat, Bommai said "such a question does not arise when the party's high command gives instructions".

He said he would respect his opponent and not take anyone lightly. 

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News Network
March 19,2024

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Mangaluru: The Mangalore International Airport (MIA) will connect to a new domestic destination with the introduction of a non-stop flight to Tiruchirappalli International Airport in Tamil Nadu. 

The non-stop service, once-a-week, will operate on Wednesday (from TIA) and Thursday (from MIA), starting April 3. Air India Express will operate the flight.

The flight is expected to help those taking up a pilgrimage to Vailankani shrine.

Sources from the AIE said that the airline carrier decided to fly non-stop between the two southern Indian cities as a flight to Jeddah, which will start from April 3, arrives from Tiruchirappalli International Airport. 

“It is a ferry or positional flight from TIA to MIA. Instead of flying empty, the management has decided to run it as a commercial flight. This will help both passengers and the airline. The airline will deploy Boeing 737-800 aircraft with a 186-seater all-economy configuration on this route. 

The same flight, after landing in MIA, will further fly to Jeddah,” a source said. 

The flight IX 1498 will depart every Thursday at 5am from MIA to TIA. The TIA-MIA flight IX 1499 departs at 12.50pm. It is a one-hour nonstop flight. The same flights will also operate nonstop between Jeddah and MIA. 

The non-stop flight IX 499 will depart MIA at 2.50pm and reach King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah at 6.25pm. The IX498, will depart from Jeddah at 7.25pm and reach MIA early at 3.40am.

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