This entry is pertaining to news item 'They closed my account as I am a Muslim' which appeared in NDTV, IBN and MidDay.
The headline of the news gives an impression that Syndicate Bank closed the account of one Khalid Ali Abbasi was closed because he was a muslim. NDTV reports
He went to find out why his ATM card was not working. He came back insulted and abused. His fault? He was a Muslim. Khalid Ali Abbasi, an 18-year-old Political Science student of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, had gone to Syndicate Bank's Yamuna Vihar branch on January 22 to inquire why his ATM card was not working.
It is really difficult to imagine that a bank would close an account because of someones religious affiliations! Moreover, a Bank Manager cannot unilaterally close an account in violation to banking guidelines! If you read further down the actual cause become more clear.
Khalid Ali Abbasi asked the bank manager why his ATM card was not working, he was told it takes 24 hours for the card to get activated. Dissatisfied with reply, He started throwing tantrums. He said he was not keen on opening an account with Syndicate Bank in the first place and then he threw his passbook on Bank Managers table and told him to close his account, saying he was not interested in banking with Syndicate Bank
The above sequence of event looks more likely and believable.
NDTV and MidDay should be more cautions in choosing their headlines. Sensationalizing sensitive issues can have disastrous effect on society
IBN further sensationalizes the issues by linking it with an earlier report by them where they had alleged that muslims find it difficult to get accommodation. IBN says
an investigation carried out by media website Cobrapost revealed that Muslims in Indian metro cities were finding it difficult to get accommodation.
It is shocking how IBN is trying to blow a minor incident out of proportion, This controversy about difficult in getting accommodations is not new.This was first raised by Shabana Azmi in 2008 when in an interview she claimed that she and her husband Javed Akhtar could not buy a flat in Indian city of Mumbai due to religious discrimination. In the same interview, She had even claimed that
Indian democracy unfair to Muslims
But according to some in film fraternity, she owns not 1 not 2 but four flats in Juhu, and a house in Khandala. The fact remains, there are certain Parsi societies that do not allow non-Parsis. In Bandra, there are many societies that do not allow non-Christians. There are some who do not allow Hindus who eat non-vegetarian food. Ask any bachelor who have lived in Mumbai he will narrate the same story irrespective of his caste, color or creed. This doesn’t mean secularism and democracy of our country is in danger
Screenshot
Only a moron will state and believe that any one's bank account could be closed because of his / her religion . It only shows the depth to which our media has sunk in .
ReplyDelete