Daijiworld Media Network - Mysuru
Mysuru, Apr 12: A Mysuru-based evening newspaper has been served notice for publishing an Islamophobic editorial that seems to have been inspired from the recent controversy surrounding the Tablighi Jamaat's convention in Nizamuddin Markaz, after which a number of people were tested positive for coronavirus.
Star of Mysore in an editorial published on April 6 seemingly referred to the Muslim population in the country as 'bad apples', without specifically using the term 'Muslim', and virtually called for the elimination of the community as an 'ideal solution' to the crisis the country is currently facing in the wake of the spread of coronavirus pandemic.
A photo of a portion of the editorial, titled 'Bad apples in the basket', has gone viral on social media. It reads: "Referred to as a rotten apple, a bad apple is a negative person who infects those around him with his bad influence. The term bad apple or rotten apple comes from a proverb: One bad apple spoils the whole basket, an ancient saying that has stood the test of time. The nation is currently hosting an annoying 18% of its population self-identifying as rotten apples."
It further states: "The presence of bad apples cannot be wished away. They are there in whatever way one wants to identify them, doesn’t matter if it is religious, political or social, taking care not to generalise. An ideal solution to the problem created by bad apples is to get rid of them, as the former leader of Singapore did a few decades ago or as the leadership in Israel is currently doing."
The article also stated, "The sections, with their eloquent leaders enjoying a large following across the nation, have proved as living testimony to the extent of irresponsible conduct to which some human beings can descend. This mass, which is a big drag on the back of the Government of the day, is marked by three great qualities namely stupidity, fear and greed."
Following the publication of the editorial, members of Naavu Bharatiyaru have served a notice to the newspaper, demanding the editorial's retraction and warning legal action.
Amidst the outcry, the newspaper on April 10 issued an apology in print. "To our readers, an apology. Following the publication of the editorial titled ‘Bad apples in the basket’ … we learn that it has hurt the feelings of some of our readers. It was mainly focused on the spread of the deadly COVID-19. If it has hurt the sentiments and feelings of our readers by our lapse in judgements, SOM sincerely regrets and apologises for the same," the newspaper stated in its apology.
The article has now been removed from the newspaper's online portal. However, some of the netizens on social media have called for the editor-in-chief's arrest.
Speaking to daijiworld, advocate Mudassir Husain said that the apology was not enough given the serious nature of the insinuations made in the article. "The insinuations made in the article disturb the peace, harmony and the very structure of this country. Beyond all, it transgresses humanitarian laws," he said.