470 new COVID-19 cases, 9 deaths in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka on Friday recorded 470 fresh COVID-19 cases and nine deaths, taking the caseload and death toll to 29,82,869 and 37,931, the health department said.
The day also saw 368 people being discharged, pushing the total number of recoveries to 29,35,238.
Active cases stood at 9,671, a department bulletin said.
Bengaluru Urban accounted for the maximum number of 232 new cases and one death, it said.
All other districts in Karnataka reported cases below 100 including 59 in Mysuru, 36 in Dakshina Kannada, 22 in Kodagu, 16 each in Hassan, Mandya and Tumakuru, 14 in Udupi and 11 in Uttara Kannada.
Regarding COVID fatalities, the bulletin said two deaths each took place in Mysuru and Ramanagara, and one each in Bengaluru Urban, Chamarajanagar, Dakshina Kannada, Davangere and Udupi.
Ballari, Chikkaballapura, Gadag, Haveri, Kalaburagi, Koppal, Raichur, Vijayapura and Yadgir reported zero infections and zero COVID-19 related deaths.
Twenty-four districts reported zero fatalities, the bulletin said.
A total of 93,806 samples were tested in the state on Friday, taking the cumulative number of specimens examined to 4.93 crore.
The number of vaccinations done so far in the state rose to 6.06 crore, with 38,002 people being inoculated on Friday, it added.
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Bond between Assamese Muslims, Hindus very strong: Author Wasbir Hussain
Guwahati (PTI): The bond between Assamese Hindus and Assamese Muslims is very strong and no one can easily break the traditional friendship between the two communities, Wasbir Hussain, author and executive director of Centre for Development and Peace Studies, has said.
Addressing the fourth anniversary celebrations of the Assamese Syed Welfare Trust, an organisation representing the Assamese Syeds, Hussain on Sunday urged Gauhati University to start a chair in the name of Azan Pir, a 17th-century Muslim reformer and Sufi saint, on the subject of 'inter-faith harmony or harmony of communities'.
Assamese Syeds are one of the five Muslim groups officially recognised by the Assam government as indigenous communities of the state.
Hussain said except religion, there is no difference between Assamese Hindus and Assamese Muslims. Their language is the same, culture is the same, food habits are the same and they dress the same way, he said.
"I strongly believe that no one can easily break the traditional bond of friendship between Assamese Hindus and Assamese Muslims," he said.
Hussain, who is also the editor-in-chief of Guwahati-based Northeast Live, spoke about how the indigenous Muslims of Assam follow cultural Islam compared to religious Islam and live peacefully with the larger Hindu population of the state.
He complimented Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for taking initiatives for the protection of the heritage of the Assamese Muslim community and its overall growth.
Gauhati University Vice Chancellor Nani Gopal Mahanta, the chief guest of the event, said people or communities can have multiple identities that transcend religion.
He cited the example of Assamese Muslims and Syeds who are descendants of Sufi saint Azan Pir, saying they are part of the greater Assamese society.
Mahanta assured that he will push for the Assamese Syed Welfare Trust's proposal to introduce the Azan Pir chair in Gauhati University and that he will work towards republishing the works of renowned Assamese writer Syed Abdul Malik's 'Jikirs Aru Jari'.
Assamese Syed Welfare Trust president Syed Abdul Rashid Ahmed also spoke on the occasion.
