FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE
inside: Dwarkanath The Man who would be Prince SEE PAGE - 6
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Let noble thoughts come to us from every side
8 - 14 AUGUST 2020 - VOL 49 ISSUE 15
DO NOT BLAME US! WE WEREN’T ON THE BEACHES OR IN DURHAM
Two British Asians to receive peerage SEE PAGE - 11
Disability doesn’t mean it is the end of your life SEE PAGE - 15
Serum Institute gets nod for Phase 2 and 3 human trials of Oxford’s Covid vaccine SEE PAGE - 23
(Clockwise from left to right): Adil el-Tayar, Alfa Saadu, Mohamed Sami Shousha, Amged el-Hawrani, Anton Sebastianpillai, Jitendra Rathod, Habib Zaidi, Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, and (in the middle) Fayaz Ayache
Priyanka Mehta and Shefali Saxena
The Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community has been left hurt and angry, after being blamed for the increase in Covid-19 cases in certain pockets of the UK, including Greater Manchester, Bradford and Kirklees. Ahead of Eid-Al Adha celebrations, Tory MP Craig Whittaker claimed that “BAME communities are not taking this virus seriously” even as there is no evidence to support these claims. Hitting out against Whittaker’s alleged racist comments, Liberal Democrat councillor for Shadwell, Rabina Khan told this newsweekly, “His comments are clearly one-sided and blinkered, as there are multiple factors that are involved. There will always be some people in every community – white and BAME – who fail to
adhere to government guidelines regarding social distancing. You only need to look at the recent mass gatherings on Bournemouth Beach, public parks and other such spots to realise that this is a national issue, not just a BAME one. We are all aware of the furore surrounding Dominic Cummings and the predominantly white journalists and photographers who gathered outside Mr Cummings’ home, shoulder to shoulder, jostling for position, with some not wearing masks, yet Craig Whittaker chose to ignore all these other incidents. Playing the blame game is always a dangerous move, as it promotes discrimination, which means that we take another step backwards in the campaign for equality, diversity and community cohesion.” Continued on page 16 - 17
India asks China to complete troop disengagement SEE PAGE - 26
5 Rafale jets arrive; Rajnath Singh sends veiled warning to Beijing SEE PAGE - 26