Muslim vendors barred after social media misinformation

Triggered by misinformation campaigns on social media, several localities -- especially in Dakshina Kannada district -- have barred the entry of Muslim vendors.

Authorities have blamed this on the rampant misuse of social media, targeting the Muslim community over COVID-19, and have assured strict measures against the practice.

According to complaints registered in the coastal district, notices were put up in some localities dominated by the majority community barring entry of Muslim vendors.

One of the notices at Krishnanagara in Thokkottu near Mangaluru, read, “In the interest of the public, until coronavirus is completely contained, there is no entry for any Muslim vendor to our locality.”

Similar notices were put up in other parts of the district.

B M Laxmi Prasad, superintendent of police, Dakshina Kannada district, said such notices cropped up after several messages targeting a community for spreading COVID-19, were shared widely on WhatsApp and other social media platforms. “Now, it has stopped completely. The district police have also issued public notices not to share such messages,” he said.

Apart from a complaint filed by the district police, multiple complaints have also been filed by Mangaluru city police over the disparity.

According to Zainuddin, a resident of BC Road, after the Nizamuddin cluster was highlighted prominently, several derogatory memes started cropping up. “Though such differentiation exists to an extent due to communalisation, such open notices calling for a boycott are new. They are rampant on social media,” he said.

Iqbal from Puttur said that several memes equating Muslims as ‘corona carriers’ were spread over the past 10 days.

Congress’ Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad alleged that such cases were not restricted to Dakshina Kannada alone. “There has been a similar incident near Bannur in Mysuru district and a couple of villages in Bagalkot district,” he said, adding that he has written to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to take action.

Stringent action should be initiated against those involved in spreading provocative videos and messages meant to demonise a particular community, Arshad stated in his letter to the CM.