3 Indians in UAE lose jobs for ‘Islamophobic’ posts

Govt Concerned Over Attempts To Disturb Communal Harmony In Gulf Countries

Sachin.Parashar@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  4.5.2020

The government remains concerned about attempts to disturb communal harmony in Gulf nations, particularly UAE where three more Indians have lost their jobs and are facing action from local authorities for their coronavirus-related “Islamophobic” utterances.

Indian missions in the region have warned in the past few weeks against inflammatory posts on social media, citing PM Narendra Modi’s tweet that Covid-19 doesn’t recognise any religion, caste, creed or border.

These developments though have not come in the way of India’s cooperation with UAE in dealing with the virus. While India sent a team of medical professionals to UAE on Saturday to help it fight the virus, the Gulf nation too despatched seven tonnes of medical supplies to India.

India is also currently working with the UAE government to implement its plan for evacuation of Indian nationals from the country. More than 50,000 people had registered for evacuation with the Indian consulate in Dubai alone until Friday.

One of the main reasons for strong India-UAE ties has been the huge expatriate Indian population in UAE, according to UAE authorities. The 3.3 million-strong Indian expatriate community is said to account for more than 30% of the national population and constitutes UAE’s largest expatriate group. It also accounts for a third of the remittances which India receives from GCC countries.

UAE has a low threshold for intolerance though and the Indian government has been worried about the conduct of some expatriates in the past few weeks. Indian diplomats recall how India and UAE set up a digital museum in Abu Dhabi on the life and message of “love, tolerance & humanity” of Mahatma Gandhi and Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, former president and founding father of UAE.

India’s ambassador to UAE Pavan Kapoor had quote-tweeted Modi’s tweet last month to remind Indian nationals that the two countries shared the value of non-discrimination on any grounds and that discrimination was against their moral fabric and rule of law.

In many cases though, fake identities have also been created, as the Indian embassy in Qatar said in a statement, by forces inimical to India to create discord. One such fake handle impersonated the princess of Oman to which she issued a clarification later.

According to Gulf News, three fresh cases were reported over the weekend of Indian nationals posting offensive comments on social media. One of the accused is a chef with a high-end Italian restaurant. It said that all three had been fired, or suspended, and handed over to local authorities.

STRICT WARNING: A file photo of PM Narendra Modi with UAE delegates. Indian missions in the Gulf region have warned in the past few weeks against inflammatory posts on social media, citing PM Modi’s tweet that Covid-19 doesn’t recognise any religion, caste, creed or border