I n d i a n M u s l i m s L e a d i n g E n g l i s h N e w s p a p e r , p u b l i s h e d s i n c e J a n u a r y 2 0 0 0

MG THE
Fortnightly
276 Vol. 12 No. 14

MILLI GAZETTE
16-31 July 2011 32 pages

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Inside
Hindutva Terrorism 1,4,8 State terrorism 3 Sachar/Reservation 6,14 BJP 9 U.P Muslims/elections 1,5 . Caste census 7 Christians 8 Dalit politics 13 Urdu 2 Media 1,25 Condition of jails 11 Gujarat 10,13 J&K 1,15 Analysis 12,14 Special Reports 3 Issues 2,12-13 Books 27 National 3-22 International 23-26 Speaking Out 14 Newsmakers 18 19-22 Community News Islamic Perspectives 28 Letters 30-31

ACTOR BADIUZZAMAN...P.8

GEELANI AUTOBIOGRAPHY...P.15

U.P. elections and Muslims

MOHAMMAD SHAHID
Lucknow: With less than a year to go for the UP Assembly Elections a mud- slinging match between the poll players has begun. While the four main partiesCongress, BJP, SP and BSPblame each other for all the ills in the state the smaller outfits hold these four responsible for the slow rate of development in the state. Every decision and action of the parties is governed with an eye on elections. As elections in the state are fought basically on caste and communal lines, the parties are trying to outwit each other to woo a particular caste or community. And Muslims who constitute about one-fourth of the electorate and are a deciding factor in 130 Assembly and 24 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, so parties particularly the Samajwadi Party and Congress are leaving no stone unturned to woo the community in showering their largess on them. Muslims who traditionally supported the Congress were alienated by the party after its dubious policy on Babri Masjid, the shilanyas etc. and finally the Muslims deserted it in favour of the SP after the demolition of the mosque. Ever since all efforts by the Congress to win back the communitys trust and loyalty faith has failed except in the last Lok Sabha elections when angry with the Samajwadi Party for hobnobbing with Kalyan Singh, the architect of the demolition, a section of Muslims voted for the Congress. Much water has flown down the Ganga since. Now realizing his mistake, and the importance of the Muslim vote the

Some Muslim outfits which have decided to jump into the poll fray may play spoilsports to the SP and Congress plans. The three main partiesPeace Party, Ulema Council and newly formed Welfare Party...consider their prospects bright in UP

2011 most peaceful for J&K in the past two decades

It is believed that at present, peace prevails in J&K. In comparison to the same period in the past two decades the first five months of 2011 have turned out to be the most peaceful time for the people of Kashmir. This has come out from the assessments by the security establishment. As per the assessments until 31 May there has been a 50 percent decline in terrorist activities and insurgency. The need for this type of assessment was felt and made before the foreign secretary level talks between India and Pakistan. But in spite of that the security establishments are apprehensive and worried even now as the Amarnath Yatra is under way which
MG/Yusuf

Search for black money

I have to trace Hasan Alis assets only

SP has distanced itself from Kalyan and has expelled former gen- The party is also trying to bring together Deobandi and Barelvi eral secretary Amar Singh, allegedly responsible for bringing sects besides other minorities, SCs and OBCs under one political Kalyan Singh close to the party. With Azam Khan, the Muslim umbrella. face of the party back in its fold, the party now hopes to win back All the three parties have a similar agenda--to give Muslims the Muslim electorate. On the other hand Congress is pinning its and other minorities and weaker sections their due which has so hope on the secular and clean image of its young leader long been denied by the Congress and other parties who have Rahul Gandhi and disillusionment of the community with regional used them as vote banksbut pursuing it separately. In the past outfits. also a number of parties tried to achieve this goal but failed mainBut some Muslim outfits which have decided to jump into the ly because each of them claimed to represent the community poll fray may play spoilsports to the SP and Congress plans. The without having the infrastructure and support base required to win three main partiesPeace Party, Ulema Council and newly an election and the leaders larger than life ego prevented them formed Welfare Partyencouraged by the pattern of Muslim vot- from providing a united front as was seen in recently held elecing in recently concluded elections in Assam, West Bengal and tions in Assam and Kerala. But the Muslim leaders, it seems have Kerala, consider their prospects bright in UP as the Peace Party not learnt from past experience. Ulema Council that was formed president Dr. Mohammad Ayub has said It is only natural that by Amir Rashadi of Azamgarh in the aftermath of the Batla House Muslims feel let down by parties like Congress and SP which they encounter could not even win the Lok Sabha byelection in the distrusted for years but in return did not get any concrete rewards for trict but only facilitated the victory of the BJP which won the seat their loyalty. No issues of the community was ever solved by for the first time due to the division of Muslim votes engineered by these parties which is why there is a plethora of Muslim outfits the council. Still the party feels that it will win the elections and coming up and doing well in elections. The voting pattern in UP has decided to contest all assembly seats. elections is bound to change given these changed perceptions. The Peace Party, with its good performance in the With this objective in view and also to consolidate non- Dumariyaganj byelection and alliance with some smaller outfits is Congress and non-BJP votes the better placed. But its support base too does not go beyond some Peace Party has already forged districts of eastern UP. As for the Welfare Party it is still surveying an alliance with the Lok Dal, the constituencies but its mission to unite all Muslim factions to Indian Justice party, Lok Kranti form a united platform is laudable. But how far it succeeds in its Morcha, Bharatiya Lokhit Party mission only time will tell. Elections are still about ten months and Janawadi Party to form Lok away. Alliances will be made and broken during this period. If the Kranti Morcha. While the alliance Muslim leaders belonging to whichever party are really pained at witnessed large scale violence last summer. and also the Ulema Council have the plight of Muslims and have the same mission and goal to help However, it is believed that the situation at all decided to contest all assembly the community they must rise above their narrow self interests and fronts has improved in one way or other. In the seats the Welfare Partry has come together on a single platform to avoid a split of Muslim votes. first four months of 2011, no terrorist entered commissioned a survey to identi- In unity lies strength and it is with this mantra they can get maxiIndia from Pakistan. The number of infiltration fy the pockets where it would be mum benefit in elections and become a force to reckon with. this year was 42 as compared to 100 last year. at an advantage because of con- Otherwise they may end up unconsciously helping the communal 30 terrorists have been killed so far while it was centration of Muslim population. and divisive forces. 100 for the same period last year. Violent incidents recorded in the first five months were 84 as compared to 200 last year. But the worrying Ahmedabad: The NIA has unearthed the plot of more names are likely to be added once the six figure was that last year 47 civilians were killed the Great Hindutava Lab. While compiling a list absconders are nabbed. Here is a list of the six by the militants as compared to 120 by the of Swami Aseemanands associates, it has most wanted ones: security forces in action within these three MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN uneartherd the axis of evil. Not only has Gujarat 1. Jayanti Bhai Gohil alias Ustad (resident of months. been their sanctuary but it also breeded its sons Pumping Station Gujarwadi, Padma Talao, of the roil who sowed the seeds of hatred all over Sai Baba Nagar, Vadodara); the country. While the demand of exploring and 2. Mohan alias Rinku alias Ramesh Jayanti exposing the role of Hindutva terror networks Bhai Gohil (address as above); was raised even during the Malegaon blasts 3. Bhavesh Arvind Patel (resident of Adikhana investigation, the arrest of Swami Aseemanand Baazar, P.O. Bharuch); in the Makkah Masjid blast opened a Pandoras 4. Suresh Damodar Nair (resident of flat No. 6, box of blasts and blasts and more. Dwarki Society, Punit Park, Dakor and With Sadhvi Pragya Singhs arrest and her Dwarkesh Society, near Mahalaxmi Society contacts in Surat and other areas of Gujarat and near Dakor, Thasra distt. Kheda); Maharashtra, a common strategy of blasts was 5. Mehul alias Mafat Bhat alias Mahesh Bhai confirmed. With Swami Aseemanands Dangs Manilal Gohil (resident behind Pumping designs under the garb of "Shabari Dham", a list Station, Gajarwadi, Sai Baba Nagar, of activists operating in two neighbouring states Vadodara). attested to the fact that the two states used to [The above five accused carry a reward of provide shelter to extremists on a mutual basis. Rs. 2 lakh each, for their involvement in the Sunil Joshis murder by the Gujarat firebrand Ajmer blast] activists proved how close the co-ordination 6. Ashok alias Prince Sunny alias Ashvini alias between them was. The absconders, except a Ashwini Chauhan. He was involved in few, belong to Gujarat and the NIA has Samjhauta Express blast of 2007. AG KHAN announced cash rewards for their arrest. Some

NIA unravels the Gujarat lab of Hindutva terror

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2 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

ISSUES / OPINION

SDPI: a new perspective on politics

Following is an edited version of the presidential address delivered by E. Abubacker, National President of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in the partys national executive held at Bangalore on 21-22 May 2011:
The SDPI came into existence on 21st June, 2009 during a meeting attended by merely 29 people at a hotel in Karol Bagh, New Delhi. We declared the launching of the party in New Delhi in October, 2009 in the presence of activists and leaders of the SDPI from various states. We were not merely adding yet another party to the already diverse scenario of political organizations of the country. Instead, we were offering the Indian society a new perspective in politics, which could be termed as positive politics. Its a new vision as to how new India should be like. This perspective emerged from a thorough evaluation of what India had been like all these years since independence. Those who had played major roles in obtaining freedom for the country were sidelined and kept away from power along with Gandhi after independence. This is the morbid picture that we could see in all spheres of our political life all these years. Muslims, backward communities and Dalits were not allowed to be anywhere in the power-structure. The backward sections of the Hindu community were perpetually and repeatedly subjected to all kinds of severe caste discriminations. Muslims as a community were victims of severe religious and communal discrimination. Besides, they were stigmatized as not deserving to live in this country. They were repeatedly uprooted and wiped out from basic facilities for life in a series of planned and programmed communal riots. They were deliberately prevented from achieving any progress in the social, economic as well as educational plains and were marginalized as a community unfit for any important tasks. The reason pointed out for all this discrimination was the partition of the country. In fact, even this partition was a surreptitious agenda that occurred to the scheming brains of the upper caste Hindu ruling classes of India. More than a communal agenda, it had been an upper caste or sawarna agenda. For the same reason, communal and sawarna plans were not distinguishable from each other, just as it was often not distinguished as to which one was the Congress camp and which one was the RSS camp. Likewise, all chances of the victims of this secret political agenda coming together and joining hands were intentionally nipped in the bud in a planned and systematic way. In fact, the partition of the country was carried out at a historical juncture when Dalits and Muslims were planning to join hands and move ahead in a political process. Once again they succeeded in creating another painful split or partition in the psyche of our polity in the name of Ayodhya when the sincere efforts of late Mr. V. P. Singh over the Mandal Report were paving the ground for the coming together of the victims.

We have no dearth of challenges. Oppositions we are addressing are aplenty. Secularists as well as communalists oppose us. Dalit-governments as well as Muslim political and religious organizations oppose us. The BJP as well as the Communist parties are against us. More than a hundred local offices of the SDPI were raided by the police in Kerala following a small incident...
There were, of course, several efforts from the side of the government to explore and study the backwardness of the Muslims and Dalits in the country but there were no sincere efforts to redress their backwardness. In the meanwhile, Dalits and backward communities began to gradually reach the power structure in the 1980s. However, Muslims still were not anywhere on the scene. Muslim leadership never thought of taking its due share in the political power in the country. They always kept complaining about what they were to get from those in power. It is at this juncture that a new thought of a joint venture on the part of Muslims, Dalits, backward communities, and oppressed sections arose. This thought, however, didnt aim at the development and growth of any particular section only. On the contrary, its target was the development of the country as a whole and all the sections of its people. Instead of confining power and rule in a few hands or certain sections of the population, it aimed at empowering everyone and making everyone rulers. This is what the young movement SDPI wishes to give to the people of India. Though our organization is small, the mission we have undertaken is huge. We have to grow as big as this country. Our main responsibility is to take the nation back to its basic fundamentals and principles. What determines the character of India as a nation is its secular values. Weve lost them all today at all levels. Another aim is bringing about true democracy. The country has deviated far from the basic tenets of democracy today. The third aim is economic justice which gives priority to the welfare of the people. The economy of the country today is in the hands of monopolies. We have to take efforts to revisit these three basic issues. And we have to make the governmental machinery as a whole to relook these basic principles. We have to analytically study all the political movements and organizations in this context and understand and mark the differences between them and the SDPI. The mainstream national parties are either communal or champions of capitalism. They are anti-people in nature. They are political outfits representing family or clan interests. They are headed by sawarna (upper caste) leaders. Further, they are all neck deep in corruption. Regional parties also suffer from these negative qualities in their respective states. Dalit and backward organizations are not, of course, headed by sawarna (upper caste) leaders. But their character

and style of operation suggest that they too represent the sawarna interests. Muslim political organizations are equally corrupt and notorious for their lack of internal democracy. They are political outfits owned and masterminded by certain families or clans. They are not only of the same common nature but have not ever accepted the Muslim community as their constituencies. Their constituencies have always been either their personal family vested interests. The SDPI, on the other hand, is a political organization with an ideological basis capable of encompassing and accommodating Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis. This broad-based ideology of the party encompasses the population of India as a whole. We are involved in the effort of drawing a new geography with its own boundaries welcoming everyone of the Indian population. The SDPI has activists in 21 states and there are state committees in 11 states. But we are not fast enough. In politics, speed is important. But, of course, there are limitations. Ours is the movement that has emerged in the 21st century presenting a new perspective on politics. It is not a party emerging from an amoebic split of another existing party. We do not have any predecessors. We do not have role models. All-new landscape and all-new sky, that is the plain that were acting on. We have to realize that weve the collective might of a thousand horsepower gathered from the zeal for change exhaled by the oppressed sections of our society. We have no dearth of challenges. Oppositions we are addressing are aplenty. Secularists as well as communalists oppose us. Dalit-governments as well as Muslim political and religious organizations oppose us. The BJP as well as the Communist parties are against us. More than a hundred local offices of the SDPI were raided by the police in Kerala following a small incident. The Communist regime in the state blackmailed our leadership. Several of our brothers were hunted by the communally-motivated RSS people. But this party formed from the germ-cell of the zeal for advancement was not to be strangled to death at the evil hands of the communally motivated RSS nor was it to be nipped in the bud by the traps set by the Communists. Why do we have to address these challenges and oppositions? All the parties here, left or right, big or small, were born in the same star! But the SDPI is a star that stands apart! It represents the courage emanated from innocence of the little boy who pointed out that the king was naked. It carries out a historic mission standing apart from the mainstream. Let us ignore the opposition from those who are reluctant to believe that the anger and wrath of those who have been subjected to the painful experience of slavery and oppression for thousands of years, will give birth to a new movement to lead the way in politics. Let us not forget that we will have to pay a high price for this conscientious ignoring from our side. We are prepared even for that. The SDPI is not merely a party. It is a goal, a destination. It is the conscience of a people born from their sufferings and pain, in a land that knows them and is known to them. E. Abubacker may be contacted at sdpofindia@gmail.com tive and guttural sounds are not found in Marathi and other Indian languages, whereas most of the Urdu words of Persian and Arabic origins are deep-sounding. Marathi is basically a zabaane-benuqt (a language sans dots). On this count, not just Marathi but Bangla (Nazarul Islams failed ghazals, Subhash Mukhopadhyas pedestrian endeavour and modern poet Jay Goswamis inadequate attempts), the two closest languages to Sanskrit, also failed to capture the essence of Urdu-Persian ghazals. Granted, Suresh Bhatt and Madhav Julian wrote some good ghazals. But frankly speaking, these ghazals fall more aptly in the category of romantic poems with a borrowed structure of Persian ghazals. Ghazal is much more than radeef and kaafia. Marathi somewhat lacks felicity and fluidity of Urdu. Urdus an ultra-refined language. Moreover, you shouldnt experiment with an established pattern. Rabindra Sangeet can never sound even half-good in any other language, except for Bangla. Similarly, Marathi Bhav Geet can never evoke the same feelings in Urdu or any other language. So dont tinker with an exclusive genre of music and fine arts.

Dont tinker with Ghazal

SUMIT S PAUL
n a recent interview, ghazal singer Jagjit Singh stated that he tried to come out with an album of Marathi ghazals two years ago but the music company owner thought it wouldnt work. Music company owner was right. With due respect to Marathi and other Indian languages, ghazal can be rendered only in Persian (the finest base for it), Arabic or Urdu. Every language or a linguistic group has its certain merits and demerits. Sonnet (14-line poem) sounds best in English because it fits into the structure of English language (octave and sestet) or Ottava Rima (an Italian poetic genre of eight lines) loses its mystique in other European languages. Even French and English cannot capture its mojo the way Italian renders it. The late Aga Shahid

Ali, professor of English at Chicago University, introduced ghazal to English and wrote a few memorable ones, but soon lost the tempo and appeal. Now, very few try to write English ghazals. Persian, Arabic and Urdu are tailor-made for ghazals, because barring Arabic, the other two are predominantly feminine languages. Despite being robust in its linguistic spirit, Arabic expiates this shortcoming by its vast scope of accommodative flexibility. Ghazal itself is an Arabic word which connotes lovers conversation. While studying Marathis phonetics as well as Semantics, I was surprised to find thousands of Persian and Arabic words in its vocabulary but in an assimilated and almost naturalised form. For example, the word aazaar (malady, illness) is there in Marathi but written and pronounced as aajaar or faqat (only, mere) is written and pronounced as fakt. The frica-

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The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011 3

NATIONAL

Forbesganj police attack a blot on Nitish image

Police had no reason to open fire: NCM
Policemen who killed four villagers, including a seven-month-old infant and a pregnant woman, during a protest in Bihars Forbesganj area appeared to have no immediate provocation to open fire, National Commission for Minorities chairperson Wajahat Habibullah, who led the inquiry team, said on 27 June after visiting the place. Lok Jan Shakti chief Ramvilas Paswan said, Nitish Kumar is going Narendra Modis way. Minorities are being threatened by RSS, something which never happened in Bihar before, Paswan said. Paswan announced a booklet campaign at every district with crime data. In a grisly video of the June-3 incident, uploaded on Youtube, men in uniform are seen wreaking vengeance by stomping on the body of a seriously injured man while district superintendent of police Garima Sharma looks on. All those killed or injured belonged to the Muslim community. announced compensation to all those who still bear the effects of police firing except an ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh for the kin of the infant Naushad as compensation. Even the injured have not been given the kind of help and attention they deserved from the state government. The Congress unit of Bihar recently distributed cheques of Rs one lakh to each of the families of the four persons killed in police firing at Forbesganj on behalf of Sonia Gandhi. On 1 July, Rahul Gandhi visited Bhajanpur in Araria district and assured of all possible help to the victims of the Forbesganj firing. But those who have lost their dear ones want even more than what has been offered so far. The demands of the victims are: 1. Police officers involved in the firing to be dismissed. 2. Rs 10 lakhs as compensation for victims of all family members killed in police firing. 3. Employment for one person from each victims family. 4. Quashing of cases filed against them. 5. Role of Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi in the whole incident because he had visited the site before the firing. Now the Big question: was Nitish Kumars biased approach towards the incident because of his political compulsion and the equation in state politics. Or, is he not in need of Muslim votes in the near future. Or, his belated response was to appease his alliance party in the state. Indian American Muslim Council in its letter to the chief minister released to the press on 1 July has demanded a CBI probe and has also sought action against those involved in the incident. With the sectarian background behind this incident, only an impartial inquiry conducted by a central body would have the credibility required to probe a crime of this magnitude, the letter said. n a related development, the Press Council of India (PCI) is likely to issue a show cause notice to several Hindi and Urdu newspapers published from Bihar shortly. These newspapers have been accused of being non-objective in reporting the Forbesganj firing. Sources in the Council said that it has received several complaints from Bihar regarding 'anti-people and prostate attitude of several newspapers published from the state of Bihar. Bihar Media Watch, an NGO, in a complaint to the PCI has alleged that the role of all Hindi and English Nnwspapers with regard to the police firing of 3 June 2011 have been pro-state."It is painful to submit that no newspapers published from Patna published the heart-rendering picture of the incident in which one of the police was literally jumping on the body of a seriously injured victim who immediately died," the complaint said adding that this picture was repeatedly telecasted by TV channels throughout the nation. "The correspondent who made available this visual of the incident to the channels himself is a correspondent of one of the reputed Hindi dailies of Patna but his employer newspaper did not consider it worth publication," it alleged. The memorandum said, "The way the most prestigious newspaper, Hindi Hindustan acted the progressive readers of majority section and of minority were compelled to see this newspaper as a 'Hindu Akhbar'. Other newspapers followed the same path.

MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN

Police atrocities on Muslims in Forbesganj have tarnished Nitish Kumars secular credential for once and for all. With sign of any kind of remorse, his remarks have not only surprised, but rather shocked the minority community who until yesterday considered him to be a man of substance. The state government has ordered a judicial probe. The probe is being conducted by a retired Patna High Court judge Madhavendra Sharan and he is likely to submit his report within six month. But the victims and community leaders still want a CBI probe to ascertain the truth behind the Forbesganj police firing in Araria district on 3 June, which claimed four lives including that of a child and a pregnant woman. Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar in his first reaction to the police firing said that people are making a mountain out of a molehill. Any individual, no matter to what religion and caste one is attached to, would have reacted otherwise after seeing policemen jumping on the body of a victim after firing at him. Has the chief minister not downplayed the gravity of the incident by reacting in such a casual manner at the horrific incident that has terrified the humane side of people across the country? Wajahat Habibullah who recently visited Forbesganj to learn the ground reality has said that the police firing was totally unjustified and it was avoidable. He added that the road which was used by the people of the area for the last five decades, was the only way to go to the market, mosque and hospital. The administration could have provided an acceptable alternative to the people of this place and it could have been done peacefully without using force. On the contrary, the state police in its report to the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) justified the firing by claiming that the mob resorted to violence. However the incident of stone pelting by the protesters on the police that left a SP injured also needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Amir Subhani, principal home secretary in an interview said that the Sharan Commission will investigate the incident in toto, the incidents before the firing incident and post firing situations and what led to the firing. Almost one month has passed by but the state government has not

Latest Edition 2011 Just Published

A Reference Book on Kashmir

Waqiaat-i-Kashmir
by Khawaja Muhammad Azam Dedmari Translated into Urdu by Prof. (Dr.) Shams-ud-Din Ahmad with Comprehensive Explanatory Notes Price: Rs 1200 (Hard Bound) Pages: 1064; Photo pages: 16, Size: 20x30x8 Published by J&K Islamic Research Centre, Srinagar Available from: Pharos Media & Publishing Pvt Ltd, New Delhi (See page 27 for ordering details)

This book was originally in Persian, by a famous historian Khawaja Muhammad Azam Dedmari (d. 1765 C.E.), is one of the most famous and important works covering several thousand years of Kashmirs political and social history, with main reference to the Muslim Kings (Sultans), Sayyids, Mystics, Saints, Sages, Scholars, and Poets of the soil. Its manuscript copies are found almost in all prestigious libraries and manuscript collections of the world. No historian, researcher, or writer on Kashmir can afford to miss this work. This Urdu version is one of the best reference books on Kashmir.

1.5 trillion dollars of Muslims deposit interest lying unclaimed in banks

ew Delhi: According to Safdar Husain Khan, chairman of Delhi State Minorities Commission, a report of the Reserve Bank of India says that a hopping amounts of 1.5 trillion dollars (Rs.<None>rore) as interests accrued on the deposits of Muslims are lying unclaimed in different Indian banks. Since taking and giving of interest (Riba) has been described haram or illegal in Islam, an overwhelming majority of Muslims do not want to avail of it, with the result these are lying unclaimed in banks of the country. According to this report, in Kerala only Rs. 40,000 crore and in J&K, Rs. 50,000 crore as interest on deposits of Muslims are lying unclaimed in the banks of these states. According to prominent economist, Prof. Tahir Baig, leaving aside statistics, there are no two opinions that if regarding such huge amounts of interests on the deposits of Muslims which are lying unused and unclaimed in different Indian banks, in addition to the parts of principal amounts, ulama and jurists take a positive decision about the utilisation of these amounts, many welfare and developmental activities and projects can be undertak-

en. It is feared that if such a large amount is left unclaimed, there is a possibility that because of some manipulation, anti-Muslim forces may grab it and use their (Muslims) own money against them. It may be stated in this connection that the problem of interest being legal or illegal is being interpreted differently by different ulama or jurists. Whereas some ulama argue that this interest i.e. the one given by banks on deposits is not like the village money lenders interest which was exorbitant and highly exploitative. Banks as a rule give interest to depositors or account holders of their own will without asking and hence it is not haram. Rather, it is a kind of profit for the depositors. Some people even argue that the interest money can be used in a way which does not bring material gains to the depositors such as, for example, building of loos. This argument is not quite convincing because building of loos also fulfils an important need of people. There are still some people who argue that interest money can be used for beneficial purposes for poor and needy people without expecting any sawaab or heavenly reward; but in the changing

scenario of modern economic and financial system when value of money is constantly decreasing, it needs serious consideration whether interest can be legally accepted. For example, the real value of, say Rs. one lakh deposited in a bank five or ten years ago, may be worth Rs. 50,000 or 60,000 only today. So, how can this loss of Rs. 40 or 50 thousand rupees be made good? If interest willingly given by banks on deposits is accepted, it will make up the loss to some extent at least if ulama or jurists decide through ijtehad that in view of the constantly decreasing value of money and the resultant loss to the depositor, interest can be legally accepted. In any case, since there is no unified opinion of ulama and jurists on the acceptance or otherwise of bank interest they should take a decision on this question which has become vital now. Islamic Fiqh Academy which from time to time reviews and takes decisions on various issues arising in modern times in the light of Quran and Sunnat should now discuss this problem and take a decision through ijtehad for the benefit of Muslims.(NA Ansari)

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4 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

NATIONAL

Pastor attacked, RSS worker arrested, Media silent

Karunagappally (Kerala): A pastor who was on his way back from market was attacked brutally here on 25 June. An RSS worker called Vishnu (22), son of Radhakrishnan of Vishnu Bhavan was arrested. A bike-borne team of four had attacked the pastor Antony (52) from Kottayam with iron rods and other arms. He was returning from Alumkadavu fish market at Pastor Milton Georges car after the attack 8 am. The RSS team attacked him on the road in broad daylight and The car and the bike were badly damaged by the bruised his left hand. It was police who reached the activists. Pastor N V Eliyas sustained injuries on his spot and took him to hospital. He got injuries all over head and ear and was rushed to the Kodungallur his body. The police said that RSS men had Government Hospital. The doctors advised the attacked the pastor alleging conversion. Police have pastor to get himself admitted to Inrigalakuda taken custody of one Rahul, another RSS worker Government Hospital for specialized treatment as they were not equipped for such serious injuries. regarding the attack. When on 4 July last year activists said to be The police arrested 35 Hindu activists belonging to members of a Muslim NGO attacked a pofessor who the RSS who have been also charged by the police had hurt religious sentiments, the whole media and for their attack on the pastors and their family memeven the government attacked that NGO and tried to bers. On 9 June this year, police team led by CPI ban it. But this incident got no media coverage and Shivanand Chalvadi had raided a shop in village no one is talking about it. Orsa on the national highway 17 in Ankola Talluka his attack is part of a long chain of such attacks of North Kanara district of Karnataka. According to in the state. On 31 March, 2011 afternoon, Sahilonline.com (15 June 2011), the police team Pastor N V Eliyas (45) and Pastor Milton George seized large quantities of explosives and arrested a (46) of New India Church of God were returning person called Praveen Goponaik (34). According to home along with their families from a house dedica- available information, the explosives contained 25 tion prayer service in Kodungallur. They were kg ammonium nitrate, detonators and other exploattacked by RSS activists on the road. Pastor N V sive material. There were indications that exploEliyas and his wife Rachel were returning on their sives used in blasts taking place in recent years in motor bike and Pastor Milton George was following Maharashtra, Gujarat and other states originated in them in his car along with his wife, Shiney. They coastal areas of Karnataka. Whenever explosive were stopped by about 50 RSS activists at Kara material was seized in this area, only Hindus were Beach Road and were attacked ruthlessly. The arrested while ATS teams look only for Muslims. activists also shouted slogans against them for And this is the reason these seizures and arrests forceful conversions while attacking the pastors. do not make media headlines.

VOICE OF ORPHAN BOYS THE GAYA MUSLIM ORPHANAGE (A unique famous residential Institution of its kind of modern and Islamic Education.) AN INTRODUCTION 94 years services. Many departments Educational Stages: Nursery to Matric Department of Quran Memorization: Matric with Hifz Every year cent per cent (100%) result of Matric Board Examination Distance Education: Admission is going on of XIth, XIIth, B.A. Part I, II & III for the session of 2011-12 Computer Education also Under the Kafala Scheme the annual expenditure of an orphan student is (Rs. 12,000/=) Annual Expenditure: About 15 Lakh Rupees Source of Income: Donation of Muslim Ummah The Institution bears all the expenditure of (125) orphan students. Having co-operated the institution in possible form get the great compensation from Allah i.e. Zakat Donation Sadquat Ushra (The Zakat of agricultural production) Chirm-eQurbani or its price The annual expenditure of an orphan student Having constructed the rooms or halls on the name of your ancestor. Remember: Here the audit is performed every year. Come and see yourself in the institution, the great example of uniformity how the orphan and non orphan students live together. The institution appeals you for your generous and sincere co-operation. This institution is registered under FCRA to accept the amount from Foreign Countries. Foreign Donors Donors from foreign countries may please send their donation Bank A/C No. 300402010000187 Bank Code No. UBININBBJAM Union Bank of India (Main Branch, Gaya) Cheques and drafts to be made in the name of THE GAYA MUSLIM ORPHANAGE Address for Correspondence: for sending the letters, cheques, drafts and money orders, use the following address. Hon. SECRETARY, THE GAYA MUSLIM ORPHANAGE At + P.O. CHERKI-824237, Distt. GAYA (BIHAR) INDIA Local Donors Bank A/C No. 10581 Union Bank of India (Main Branch, Gaya) CORE BANKING A/C No. 300402010010581 Bank Code No. UBIN 0530042 0631 - 2734428 B: 0-9955655960 Note: Donors through core banking are requested to send their address through E-mail or by Post so that the receipt could be sent. E-mail: gmocde@yahoo.co.in President: Dr. Farasat Hussain WEBSITE: www.gmogaya.com Hon. Secretary: Dr. M.E. Rasool

Rs 10 lakh to kill Agnivesh Lucknow: The UP unit of Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha has
announced a reward of Rs10 lakh on the head of social activist Swami Agnivesh. The mahasabha is upset with Agnivesh for supporting the divisive forces in Kashmir and criticising the Amaranth Yatra. In a statement released here on 21 May, the state president of the Mahasabha, Kamlesh Tiwari, also appealed to activist Anna Hazare to maintain a distance from Swami Agnivesh. No action by the police or state authorities has been taken against this plain call for murder. Two pastors assaulted and arrested on false charges New Delhi: Ten Hindu radicals ambushed two pastors while they were returning from the house of a Christian. Insults, threats and beatings, followed by police complaint and arrest. Once again, false accusations of forced conversions, with the complicity of Hindu radicals and administration: enough, said the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) commenting on the latest attack on Christians in India. On June 28 police arrested two Pentecostal pastors of independent churches in the district of Hubli (Karnataka), on charges of forced conversions laid by a group of Hindu radicals. The complaints involve three sections of the Criminal Code: 295A, hurting religious sentiments, 447, violation of private property, 341, unlawful coercion. About 10 people, members of the Bajrang Dal (youth wing of the VHP, the Hindu extremist organization), ambushed Pastor M. Sandeep, 28, and brother Isaac, 32, while they were returning from a pastoral service. They angrily questioned them and accused them of trying to convert Hindus to Christianity. After being searched for Christian texts and objects, the two were beaten and insulted. Then the attackers called the police, who took the two men away. According to witnesses, the two religious persons were left without food until evening, and then the arrest and the charges were validated. This is not an isolated case, it is a routine, said Sajan K George, president of the GCIC. The Karnataka police received complaints and proceeded without any further investigation to their arrest. So many Christians throughout Karnataka have already faced false accusations of forced or fraudulent conversions. Christians receive threats, are beaten or disturbed during their prayers. (Asia News) TN dalit boy thrashed, NHRC concerned While fetching water from a public tap, Vasanthakumar, a 16year-old Dalit boy, was allegedly assaulted by upper caste Hindus in a village on the outskirts of Coimbatore on June 12. The boy is now recovering at a government hospital in Annur, about 25 km

away from Coimbatore. Vasanthakumar, a Class Xth student, belongs to the dalit Chakkiliya community. He lives at Nallichetty Palayam, a dalit hamlet outside Annur town. The area is currently facing acute water shortage. According to the complaint filed by the victims kin, Vasanthkumar, on June 12, went on his bicycle with empty pots to Karikkilipalayam, about 4 km away from his home, to fetch water. Karikkilipalayam, is dominated by Kongu Chettiyars which is classified as the most backward caste. Karikkilipalayam is blessed with abundance of water resources as it is situated on the path of the Pillur water scheme. At 9 pm, he reached a public tap and started collecting water. Three women of the Chettiyar community began to abuse him using caste names. When he protested they beat him up. He was later told that they would not allow any untouchable to even touch the water. Vasanthakumar was also roughed up by a local butcher named P Damodaran. Vasanthakumar, was admitted to Annur hospital after sustaining injuries in the attack. His father, Anandan, a coolie, said dalits were prevented from getting hair-cuts at salons in the locality and prevented from using mobile phones outside their homes. Learning about the shameful incident, The National Human Rights Commission has asked the Tamil Nadu government to submit a report within four weeks on the alleged thrashing of the dalit boy. It has also asked the government what steps are being taken to prevent such acts of discrimination against Dalits. The Commission observed that if the contents of the report are true then these raise a serious issue of violation of both human rights and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The Tamil Nadu chief secretary has been issued a notice with four week time deadline to report on the matter to the Commission. The chief secretary will also have to inform the commission whether any criminal case has been registered against the accused and whether any relief has been given to the victim. (Saiyed Danish) RSS worker murder: NIA seeks FIR, chargesheet from MP Bhopal: National Investigation Agency (NIA) has sought copies of the FIR and chargesheet filed by the Madhya Pradesh police in the murder of RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi, who was linked to Ajmer dargah and Hyderabads Mecca Masjid blasts. The conspiracy to eliminate Joshi at a deserted place in Dewas on December 29, 2007, was hatched by his friend-turned-foe Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and others, as per the chargesheet filed in the murder case.

The NIA has sought copies of the FIR and chargesheet in connection with Joshi murder case, Dewas Superintendent of Police S P Singh told PTI on 18 June. We got a communique regarding the same from Madhya Pradesh police headquarters, he said, adding we are ready to provide the documents to NIA. The central agency wants to investigate the Joshi murder case to string together the different terror cases involving right-wing outfits. The Madhya Pradesh police had once stopped the investigations into Joshi murder case. It was only after some clinching evidence, unearthed by Rajasthan ATS that the mystery behind the murder was unravelled.According to the 432-page chargsheet filed by Dewas police in March, Joshi had fallen out with Pragya, currently in jail for Malegaon bomb blast in Maharashtra, and his alleged killers due to his boastful nature. Also, reportedly he had once misbehaved with Pragya following which she was angry with him and decided to bump him off, the document said. Besides her, four others have been named accused in the murder case. The NIA is looking into Mecca Masjid, Ajmer, Malegaon and Samjhauta Express blast cases. (ibnlive.in.com) Child labour generates Rs 1.2 lakh crore black money yearly New Delhi: Amid a heated debate over bringing back unaccounted money stashed abroad, a child rights organisation has claimed that child labour generates Rs 1.2 lakh crore of black money every year in India. According to a report Capital Corruption: Child Labour in India, prepared by Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), the figure was arrived at by calculating the number of child labourers, the income earned by them and the illicit profits being generated by employers by not appointing adult workers. The greed for maximisation of profit fuels the demand for child labour, with children as cheapest form of labour. Child labour, corruption and flow of black money, fuel and sustain each other in an illicit nexus that only profits the employers and the middlemen, the study said. On arriving at the figure, the study said there were around six crore child labourers in the country who assumingly work for approximately 200 days in a year on an average cost of Rs 15 per child per day. The amount so calculated is Rs 18,000 crore in a year. Now, if these six crore child labourers can be substituted with six crore adults with an average floor wage of Rs 115 per day, they would generate Rs 1,38,000 crore. The difference between these two amount amounts to Rs 1.20 lakh crore, the study claimed. It said this amount should have been paid by the employers to the workers but they instead employed underpaid and overworked child labourers. The employer also did not report any income to the government, evaded taxes, making Rs 1.2 lakh crore illegal money in the country, it said. (PTI, 12 June 2011)

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

NATIONAL

IICC blamed for irregularities

New Delhi: A complaint has been made with the Registrar of Societies, Patpar Ganj, Delhi about alleged financial irregularities, violation of rules etc. against the Chairman of India Islamic Cultural Centre, Sirajuddin Qureshi during the process of choosing members of this Centre and his wilful acts because of which IICC or this Centre suffered a loss of about Rs. 1.81 crore. Because of this, the dispute between members and Centres administration appears to have become more acute. On the basis of complaints made by members Chaudhary Ziaul Islam and advocate Z.A. Faizan the Registrar of Societies has issued a notice to the Centres administrative Department on 24 June 2011 asking it to clarify the position about financial irregularities etc. within 20 days. According to complaints, 850 persons were made members of IICC during the financial year 2007-08, and total amount of membership fees should be Rs. 2,29,60,000 but only Rs. 48,20,000 under this head has been shown in the said financial year. This means that a loss Rs.1,81,40,000 has been incurred by the Centre on this count. According to complaints, whenever a clarification or explanation was sought from Chairman Sirajuddin Qureshi and the administration on this discrepancy in annual and other meetings in the past three years, an attitude of dilly-dallying was adopted and till date no account for the missing money was made. The two complainants have also stated that Qureshi had given Rs. 50 lakh as gift to the Centre during the period from 19 January 2004 to 30 March 2004 but subsequently he got a loan sanctioned from Mercantile Bank, Mumbai for the Centre and took back the amount that he had given as gift. These people argue that since the amount of the gift was shown as Centres income, there is no justification for its withdrawal (by Qureshi). They also accused Qureshi of making 539

VOICE OF ORPHAN GIRLS THE GAYA MUSLIM GIRLS ORPHANAGE A BIRDS EYE VIEW (A national level standard Residential Institution decorated with modern and Islamic Education for girls.) 25 years services 19 Departments Education: Nursery to Matric Distance Education Adult Education Computer Education also Vocational Centre: Cutting & Tailoring: (6) Batches (70) students Zari Works: (3) Batches (40) students got the certificates Since 1993 to 2011, (66) orphan girls and (41) Non-orphan girls passed the Matric Examination. (6) students passed the Matric Examination with Hifz (Quran Memorization) Annual Expenditure: About (20 Lakh) rupees. Source of Income: Donation from Muslim Ummah The Institution fulfills all the rquirementsof (120) orphan girls. Under the kafala Scheme, the annual expenditure of an orphan girl is (Rs. 12,000/=) You also may join to this good deed bearing the annual expenditure of an orphan girl. There are different ways of co-operation i.e. Zakat Donation Sadquat Charity Ushra (Zakat of agricultural production) Dini (Islamic) Books Purchasing of land and paying the debts The payment of one(1) month of staff, Rs 85,000/- Having constructed the rooms or halls on the names of your parents or relatives Donating the construction materials (Cement, bars, bricks or other things etc.) or its price. Note: Here accounts are checked every year and audit is performed. Every thing is like an open book. Come and see yourself in the institution how the orphan and non-orphan giris live together The institution is awaiting for your generous and sincere co-operation. The Gaya Muslim Girls Orphanage has got the permission from the Home Ministry to take the amount from Foreign Countries. Foreign Donors Donors from foreign countries may please send their donation Core Banking A/C No. 300402010009042 Bank Code No (UBININBBJAM) Union Bank of India (Main Branch Gaya) Cheques and draft to be made in the name of The Gaya Muslim Girls Orphanage Address for Correspondence For sending the letters, cheques, drafts and money orders, use the following addrress. General Secretary, The Gaya Muslim Girls Orphanage At: Kolowna, P.O. Cherki- 824237 Distt: Gaya (Bihar) India 0631-2734437 B 0-9934480190 Local Donors Donors from inside the country may please send their donation to Core Banking A/C No. 300402010007752 Bank Code No UBIN 05330042 Union Bank of India (Main Branch, Gaya) Note: Donors through core banking are requested to send their address through E-mail or by Post so that the receipt could be sent on that address E-mail:thegayamuslimgirlsorphanage@gmail.corn website:w w w.gmgo.org IQBAL AHMAD KHAN, FOUNDER & GENERAL SECRETARY
are in sizeable numbers. It is not the presence of a large number of Muslim in any constituency a guarantee for any leader from these Muslim parties, if there is no political chemistry within the existing Muslim parties. In the absence of political understanding, any attempt is likely to be in vain. It may end up helping other parties to win because of a division of votes. The performance of the existing Muslim political parties is known. But in the coming assembly election the newly launched Welfare Party is all set to make its dbut. The party would be pleased to find itself in an advantageous position, in its maiden attempt to exercise its political clout in the state. Cadre wise, the party is evenly placed not only in Uttar Pradesh but also in other parts of the country. But how far it will be politically significant is yet to be seen.

persons members of IICC flouting the Centres rules and Memorandum of Articles and Memorandum of Association and also of increasing membership fee from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 50,000 against the collective decision of members. Fed up with these and other irregularities and highhandedness, these complainants even knocked the door of the High Court but the High Court advised these people to approach the Registrar of Societies for their complaints and it was on their complaints that Registrar of Societies issued the notice to IICC asking for explanation within 20 days. As regards the accusation of Qureshi withdrawing the gift amount, Qureshi denied withdrawing this gift amount. Regarding the loss (of Rs. 1,81,40,000) to the Centre as stated earlier, Qureshi says that the position has been fully explained in the annual meeting. He also denies that any rules have been violated in matters of membership. When asked about the notice issued by Registrar of Societies to him and IICCs administration, he says that he has no knowledge about any such notice from the Registrar. It is really strange that the complainants are accusing him of many irregularities alongwith written documents and proofs but Qureshi says that all such NA ANSARI accusations are baseless.

Space for Muslim politics in UP

MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN
With the political temperature in Uttar Pradesh rising by the day, election strategist of all political parties are gearing up to rise to the occasion in their own way. Given the numbers, Uttar Pradesh always remains on the priority list of all parties. Apart from all other issues, caste factor is considered vital in formulating electoral strategies to achieve desired goals. The trends and outcome of the recently concluded assembly elections in various states will compel the parties in Uttar Pradesh to redefine their policies and approach Muslim and political outfit of Muslims in a more respectful way. The Big question: will Muslim political parties play a significant role this time in determining the electoral equation if it turns out to be a hung assembly. What kind of political space is there for these Muslim parties and how flexible would they be in forging political equation based on probability of winning seats. Will the bigger parties like BJP, Congress, SP, BSP allow these Muslim parties to fill the vacuum if it exists on their own terms. Parties, which are perceived to be Muslim political parties are concentrated in particular areas and have not been able to spread their wings to every nook and corner of the state. No existing political party in the state will eagerly help Muslim parties climb the political ladder until it suits them marginally or comprehensively. A party like the BSP has a history of unpredictable moves. Its strategy and performance in the last assembly elections substantiates the claim. Huge margin win only resulted because of the social engineering and none would have expected that Dalits and Brahmins would share the same stage. Mayawati made it possible. But this time around these Brahmins are a bit shaky in their commitment to support her the way they did in the last elections. And it is not yet known as to which side they would switch to or remain with Mayawati. If they do so they have got plenty of options to choose from, BJP, Congress and Samajwadi party. BSP using the issue of law and order rose to power but the very issue is now posing an obstacle for her and now has become an election issue against her. Given the way she used to function she has not been able to take firm action in order to control rape and crimes in the state. More than a dozen rape cases in a couple of days will certainly raise the eyebrows of one and all. She has also not been able to address the issue of farmers effectively. Land acquisition row and the suicides of more than 500 farmers in Bundelkhand in just five months, offers ample ammunition to opposition parties to attack her. Learning its lesson from the Bihar election fiasco the Congress party is in no mood to repeat the same mistake and that is why it has opened its door for the smaller parties and is in constant touch with them. The onus of formulating ties with smaller parties lies with Rahul Gandhi who looks desperate to increase the tally in the coming assembly elections. For Rahul Gandhi, Uttar Pradesh elections are a litmus test and it would redefine his political stature for the upcoming bigger responsibility after Manmohan Singh. The controversy about Rahul Gandhi replacing Prime Minister is not an issue. It illustrates the thought process of the Congressmen. The kind of politics Digvijay Singh has been playing in the state looks like attempting to collect Muslim votes by heightening the fear psychosis among Muslims by raising the issue of Sanghi terror every now and then. At the Centre the Cabinet reshuffle is on the cards and it is believed that some change in the guard may take place keeping in the mind the elections in UP. The talk of Ghulam Nabi Azad replacing Chidambaram is seen in this context. Samajwadi party, after the Kalyan Singh episode has been meticulously trying hard to consolidate its Muslim-Yadav combination. Mulayam Singh by tendering an unconditional apology to Muslims over joining hands with Kalyan Singh is of the impression that Muslims to some extent would support his party. In order to further consolidate his (Muslim-Yadav) votebank, he took no time in giving a ticket to Umar Ali Khan, son in law of Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmad Bukhari. With Azam Khan back in the party fold, Mulayam Singh is a bit relaxed but equally aware of the loss due to Amar Singhs departure and many more who are no more a part of the SP. His son Akhilesh appears to have genetically inherited the traits of his father but it is yet to be seen whether he would be able to follow his footsteps and has inherited the political acumen of his father. BJP has reinducted Uma Bharati hoping to revive the Mandir movement and re-energise the state BJP cadre for Ram Rajya in the wake of absence of any sympathy wave in the aftermath of Baba Ramdev episode. After having realised the effect of superimposed Uma Bharati on state leadership, party chief took no time to announce that Rajnath Singh will lead the party campaign in Uttar Pradesh. Now with the prevailing political situation in the state what else is in store for Muslim oriented parties no matter how big or small? These parties can exercise their influence where Muslims

India asked Google to block content critical of government New Delhi: The number of content removal requests from India went up by 123 per cent. Are Indians allowed to use the Internet to criticise politicians and officials? If Googles latest Transparency Report is any indication, the police in some states dont seem to think so. In the last six months of 2010, law enforcement agencies across India asked the web search company to remove YouTube videos and a blog that were critical of chief ministers and senior officials of different states. Google says it did not comply with these requests. In all, Google received 67 content removal requests from India between July and December 2010, covering a total of 282 items. Six of these requests were from courts and the rest from the executive, police and others. The search engine said that 22 per cent of removal requests were fully or partially complied with, and the rest declined. It also received 1,699 user data requests from the government euphemism for the police wanting a peek into the search and usage habits of targeted individuals - and complied with 79 per cent of these. However, no details were given. Giving the break-up of the content removal requests from India, the search engine said that of the 50 requests for removal of items from its web search, 15 pertained to defamation and 16 to national security. It was requested to remove one item from Google Images and two from Google Profiles which pertained to pornography. From YouTube videos, the search engine got 199 removal requests. The number of user data removal requests from India increased by as much as 123 per cent compared to the previous year.

How free are citizens of India?

6 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

NATIONAL

Khurshid advocates critical review of Sachar recommendations

New Delhi: Union Minister Salman Khurshid, defending his statement in which he had stated that Sachar Committees recommendations are not verses of the Quran to be followed in toto. This remark had been widely criticised by Muslim leaders and some had gone to the extent of dubbing his statement as blasphemous, and said that a critical review should not always be taken in a negative sense. He said that when we can take recourse to ijtihad in our religious problems, why cant we critically review and examine Sachar Committees recommendations? He clarified that what he actually meant was that for us the Quran is the only Book which we cannot critically review, rather we cannot even think about doing so, but some people tried to give a wrong meaning to his statement which was not correct. He wanted to know what was wrong if he had asked for a discussion on some recommendations of the Sachar Committee? Salman Khurshid said that the problem is that some people want a separate system for Muslims as recommended by Sachar Committee, i.e., a separate cadre of Muslim officers for Waqfs (an Indian Waqf Service on the lines of the IAS, IFS, IPS) but, he said, to our mind this will keep Muslims alienated from the countrys secular system and hence he was not in favour of this recommendation. He asked why only Muslim officers should be associated with Waqf for their whole life and why should they not hold important and high posts in other ministries and all India services? He said that the law ministry also agreed with his view point on this question and hence he was not in favour of accepting this recommendation of Sachar Committee. In reply to a question, he asked why those people who differ with us on this point (Indian Waqf Service) do not agree to Equal Opportunities Commission which too is recommended by Sachar Committee and do not want to discuss it? Is it because, as Sachar Committee said, this Commission will be for all those people who are deprived of benefits and facilities in society, he asked. Speaking in favour of Equal Opportunities Commission, he said that this Commission will be much more useful for Muslims than some other Commissions like the Minorities Commission. He added that he wanted Muslims to get equal opportunities. In reply to another question he said that a budget of Rs 3700 crore had been allocated for the welfare and development of minorities in the 90 districts of the country where Muslims have a sizeable population, claiming that last year the government had given 6 million scholarships, though there is no way to cross-check this hyped claim. affirmative action should provide a blueprint for the Centre. We believe the OBC element of affirmative action must be rationalised and finetuned in the manner in which it is being done in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kartnataka, the minister said. Though Khurshid declined to elaborate, there were clear indications that the final proposal will be based on the model adopted by the four southern states which have already provided reservation for Muslims -out of the existing OBC quota. The southern states, and recently West Bengal, have been considering majority sections of Muslims as OBCs and had provided reservation for them in jobs and education. There is an objective rational way in which minorities can have equal share of opportunity in this country. How best it can be done should be left to the government, Khurshid said. Ranganath Misra Commission had suggested 15 percent reservation for Muslims and Christians (10% for Muslims and 5% for Christians) in the central and state governments. In Tamil Nadu, 3.5% of the jobs are reserved for Muslims and Christians. Andhra Pradesh passed a legislation in 2005 providing 4% reservation for Muslims. In Kerala, sections of Muslims are eligible for 12% quota.

Shri Salman Khurshid must quit the Govt and the Congress
Some Muslim community leaders had issued the following open letter on 26 June: Shri Salman Khurshid must quit the Government. Regarding the non-inclusion of vital recommendations of Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqfs and the Prime Ministers High Level Committee on Muslims (Sachar Committee) in Waqf Amendment Bill 2010 drafted by his ministry, Shri Salman has said in Chennai on 25 June that Sachar Committee Report is not Quran. This is blasphemy, behurmati. Earlier, in a letter to Zakat Foundation of India, Shri Salman said that the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqfs and the Sachar Committee cannot claim monopoly to wisdom (though he did not mention that he is weighing their wisdom against whose). Does this mean that the Congress and UPA have been making fool of the Muslims for five long years in the garb of Sachar Report? Also, by saying this Shri Khurshid has opposed the Prime Minister and the Union Cabinet who approved the Sachar Report in 2007 and made the Ministry of Minority Affairs as nodal ministry to monitor implementation of the Sachar Report. Shri Khurshid has also over-ruled the pivotal recommendations of the JPC on Waqfs without giving any reasons thereof while presenting the Waqf Bill in Parliament. Thus, he has violated the privileges of both the Houses of Parliament by showing down the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqfs and hiding his non-compliance of JPC. Shri Salman has gone against the Congress and UPA policy regarding Muslim interests and against the collective responsibility of the central government which is the cornerstone of our sacred Constitution. Thus, he must resign from the Government and the Congress. Also, the Government, the Congress and the UPA should clarify their position vis-a-vis Shri Salmans statement committing blasphemy against the Holy Quran and rejecting the recommendations of the JPC on Waqfs and the Sachar Committee (most of which overlap).
1. Dr Syed Zafar Mahmood, President, Zakat Foundation of India, New Delhi 110025, 2. Zafrul Islam Khan, Working President, All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, New Delhi, 3.Mujtaba Farooq, General Secretary, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Delhi, 4. Maulana Mohammad Mukarram, Shahi Imam, Masjid Fatehpuri, Delhi, 5. Mufti Fuzailur Rahman Hilal Usmani, Mufti-e-Azam, Punjab & Shaikhul Jamia, Darussalam, Maler Kotla, Punjab, 6. Ghayasuddin Babukhan, Chairman, Hyderabad Zakat & Charitable Trust, Hyderabad, 7. Dr Azimuddin, Coordinator, Federation of Minorities NGOs of Maharashtra, Mumbai, 8. Haroon Mozawala and Ashfaq Vaid, Khair-e-Ummat Trust, Mumbai, 9. Aftabuddin Sarkar, President, Federation of Muslim Associations of West Bengal, Kolkata, 10. Anwar Premi, Gen Sec Sir Syed Educational Group, Kolkata, 11. Major K. Ibrahim, President, All-Kerala Council of College Principals, Mallapuram, Kerala, 12. Dr Iqtedar Farooqi, Secretary, Urdu Scientific Society, Lko

Minority Ministry appoints monitors

New Delhi: Union Minister for Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid inaugurated a two-day Orientation Workshop for the National Level Monitors (NLMs) empanelled for monitoring various schemes of the Ministry of Minority Affairs here on 8 July. The workshop was organized in collaboration with National Productivity Council (NPC). The Ministry has entrusted the process of monitoring of the implementation of its various schemes to NPC. The monitoring exercise was initially undertaken for a period of one year based on an MOU signed between NPC and the Ministry of Minority Affairs on 4 December 2009. The NPC is monitoring the implementation of schemes at the district level with the help of a team of National Level Monitors (NLM). On the successful completion of the first phase of monitoring, the Ministry of Minority Affairs entrusted the Second phase of the monitoring exercise also to NPC after renewing the MOU for an additional year starting from 4 December 2010. By June 2011, NPC has completed deployment to 129 districts and a summary monitoring report has been submitted to the ministry. The NLMs are empanelled after a nationwide advertisement and subsequent selection and training. Once deployed, the NLMs work in close co-ordination with District authorities and other officials who are involved in implementation of various schemes of the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The NLMs are required to interact with both implementing agencies as well as beneficiaries to find out the problems associated with implementation. The NLMs are required to monitor the implementation of all the following seven schemes of the Ministry separately: (1) Pre matric Scholarship Scheme, (2) Post matric Scholarship Scheme, (3) Merit cum Means based Scholarship, (4) National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation, (5) Maulana Azad Education Foundation, (6) Multi Sectoral Development Programme, (7) Free Coaching and Allied Schemes. By 25 January 2011, the ministry had deployed one National Level Monitor in each of 90 Minority Concentration Districts across the country. Very interestingly, just six of the 90 monitors are from the Muslim community. They are: Showkath Mohemed Basheer (Karnataka, Davangere), Masroor Husain Quazi (Maharashtra, Parbhani), Mohammad Mozaharul Islam (Mizoram, Lawngtlai), Mohammad Kamal Kazim (Uttar Pradesh, Bahraich), Mirza Javaid Saqib Kizilbash (West Bengal, Malda) and Razi Ahmed (West Bengal, Nadia)

Khurshid for killing Mishra recommendations

New Delhi: Minister of Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid unveiled a blueprint for reservation for socially and educationally backward minority groups in jobs and educational institutions which effectively kills Misra Commission recommendation for a 15 percent reservation for minorities including ten for Muslims. Instead he advocates creating a sub-quota for minorities within the OBC quota. Dominant OBCs have already opposed such a move. Moreover, Muslims sub-communities already included in the OBC scheme have been complaining that they are not able to get their share which is taken away by dominant groups such as Yadavs. The minister disclosed on 7 July that the government has completed its consultations on the question of reservations for minorities. Consultations are over. The home minister called all of us together for a final view. We have given the final view. The home minister will now in due course take it forward, Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said, adding that there was a sense of urgency in the meeting. The governments sense of urgency is being seen as Congress effort to win Muslim votes in the forthcoming the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Khurshid said that the models adopted in the four southern states for

An open letter to Minister of Minority Affairs

Honorable Mr Salman Khurshid Minister for Minority affairs Government of India New Delhi, India Honorable Minister Khurshid, Many thanks for taking time out of your very busy schedule to read my writeups, to send me your responses and to show your concern about the backwardness of Indias Muslim community that the community leaders have spoken about. Indias Muslim community is very keen to be fully integrated with all other Indians, to contribute to nation building in India and to be first among equals in all walks of life in Indias mainstream, entirely within the democratic and secular fabric of the nation. Unfortunately for a variety of factors the extraordinary educational and economic backwardness of a majority of Indian Muslims does not let them fulfill their vision. We appreciated the Indian (UPA) government when it set up the Sachar Committee to document the backwardness of the community and when in 2007 it pledged to implement definitive schemes to remedy the findings of backwardness in the community in various though not all arenas. Indian Muslims agree fully with your suggestion that for Muslims it should be: integration with equality (described somewhat inadequately as mainstreaming) rather than equitable but separate . Muslims are not looking for any help schemes that may either ghettoize them as a community or give the impression that they are being given special treatment. Because as you rightly pointed out that may harm the community in the long run. Within the Indian minority religious spectrum where Muslims constitute about 72% of the population, again Muslims are not looking for better treatment than other minorities. All they are looking for is fair assistance to bring them up gradually and put them on a level playing field with others. We applaud your suggestion that an Equal Opportunity Commission be set up in India to ensure equal educational and economic opportunities to all Indians regardless of religious or ethnic backgrounds. However, now four years after the publication of the Sachar Committee report, the solemn statements from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, HRD Minister Sibbal and yourself in the parliament that the UPA government is making definitive timeline-bound plans to implement (rather than have further debate) the programs to uplift the Muslim community, your statement in Chennai is casting a shadow on the credibility of the UPA government on its previously stated commitment in this regard. We appreciate your statement that within the Indian Government cabinet you are trying to bring about coordination to overcome hurdles and build a path forward for the speedy implementation of the said Muslim community uplift programs. In that spirit we appeal to you that you now debate the modalities and details of the said uplift programs with the Planning Commission, the HRD ministry and the Finance ministry to make them most effective, and not whether these uplift programs may ghettoise and separate Muslims from other Indians. We realize the political difficulties and hope that the UPA government can overcome them in this direction. Please allow us to state that a very large number of non-Muslim Indians too wish to see the large Indian Muslim community uplifted, just as they support the uplift of the similarly backward Dalit-Hindu and OBC-Hindu communities We thank you for your attention and your assistance to all backward communities in India including the Muslims. With best regards. Kaleem Kawaja Association of Indian Muslims of America Washington DC kaleemkawaja@gmail.com June 28, 2011

With best compliments from

Kaleem Kawaja Washington DC

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

NATIONAL

Would they count you if you said you were a Christian (or Muslim) Dalit?
JOHN DAYAL
johndayal@vsnl.com hen St. Stephens College this year did away with the Dalit Christian Quota they had announced some years ago with such fanfare, it was not the college management, much maligned though it is, but the countrys legal dispensation which made the retrograde step inevitable. How does a Dalit Christian really prove his identity? The Bishop or pastor will give him a baptism certificate attesting to his membership to a church. But who will give him the Dalit certificate. Civil authorities will routinely deny the student a Scheduled Caste certificate because under existing law - the black law of Para Three of Article 341 of the Constitution of India - will recognise him worthy of affirmative action only if he is a Hindu, or at least a Buddhist or a Sikh. Christians and Muslims are just outside the law, much as their ancestors were outside Manus legal perimeter of caste. It may be of interest to note that the National Sample Survey Organisation, which conducts regular qualitative surveys in the country, in its report on the 61st round data for 2004-05 says that only about 26 per cent of all Hindus are considered as the high castes or socio-economically better offs, whereas, about 60 per cent of Muslims fall into the non-OBC and thus socio-economically better off category. This is because none from the Muslims and Christians are classified under the Scheduled Caste category. Many of them may well be listed as Hindus as happens in Andhra all the time. So what are the chances that the Caste census, controversial for a hundred other reasons, will count Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims? The chances seem zero at present because the government has quite deliberately woven a cloud of confusion on just what is its intention. And while the Muslims, and a section of civil society, have spoken out, the combined Church has kept quiet, possibly because it remains preoccupied with issues spiritual or in protecting institutions and text books from the vagaries of the State. But also because, historically, the Church has sought not to be the first to intervene, or to cry foul, when civil and constitutional issues are being discussed. Little wonder that while the Muslim community is going into the preparation of the 12th Five Year Plan armed with thousands of pages of data and analysis, the best the Christian community journals and institutions have been able to do is to congratulate the handful of Christians nominated to various committees or commissions. We should really have been the first to be awakened to the ramifications of a Census! Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem because Mary and Joseph were trudging to their hometown to be counted in a census ordered by Caesar. But perhaps it is still not too late to stand up and be counted as others pose serious questions to the government on the caste census. The first question, of course, should be whether this is within the laws which govern the work of the Registrar General of India, or the Census Commissioner as the office is popularly known, in preparing the National Population Register (NPR). This is an important issue because the laws specify that a citizen is free to spell out his identity as he sees it. The second is that the information that an individual gives to the enumerator is kept a secret. It is not the individual but the totals that are published in the final picture. In fact, the government goes much beyond the law when it comes to the Census. It releases the religious composition of the population of the country, and of individual states, much after it has released the general figures. And then, it refuses to announce the religious composition in units smaller than the district. There is no chance of anyone, including government departments, of ever finding out the religious composition of a Block, and there are eight to sixteen blocks in a district. The religious composition of any particular village within the block is of course never published. Even if every local politician and caste leader may know it by rote, micro level religious (and caste,) breakdowns are deemed far too sensitive as data. Asked why is such data deemed to be sensitive, senior government officers told this writer that it may lead to religious profiling, and possibly violence if groups come to fear an unexpected growth in the number of a community they deem to be hostile, or at least estranged. It was because of a political reluctance to face facts - the exact number and size of various caste groups in India - that the government never bothered to include caste identity while enumerating censuses after the 1931 one, which was done at the height of the British Raj. After Independence in 1947, the only statutory enumeration was of the Scheduled Castes (excluding those converted to Christianity and Islam) and Scheduled Tribes which was needed to fulfil constitutional obligations by way of reservations in government jobs and educational institutions, and other affirmative action benefits and sops. Even after the so-called Mandal revolution which politically empowered the backward communities - catapulting into power such people as Mulayam Singh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh and Laloo Yadav in Bihar - the Union government fought off all demands to count the castes. The issue figured repeatedly in Parliament for over a decade, with the government refusing to budge.

Muslim intelligentsia have suggested a point, I entirely endorse, that the caste Census should be undertaken only after the pending Supreme Court judgment in the matter of the recognition of the presence of dalit identities amongst the Muslims and Christians in India is decided.
It was only as a consequence of the reservation of up to 27 per cent for Other Backward Communities (OBCs) ordered last decade that the government at last said it would consider making a head count of caste populations specific to each state. This was because castes defined as OBCs in one state may not be so defined in another case. An example was that of Jats (Hindu Jats, not Sikh Jats of Punjab) who are a powerful landowning group in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana but are a weaker OBC group in Rajasthan. A political consensus was reached in parliament on such a census last year. There was a bit of a national shock, however, when government changed its mind in October 2010, when preparatory work had almost been completed for the 2011 household survey and the Census. It was official: caste was not being counted in the formal Census. In the face of an almighty howl of protest from across the country, government reluctantly announced it would have a separate counting of OBCs, even if it costs the national exchequer another couple of thousands of crores of rupees. But this is not a government that let things be as promised. Even as agitated OBC groups were coming to terms with a separate caste count, not a formal census as understood in law, came the news that the government planned to dovetail caste census with a survey of the below the poverty line (BPL) families. As The Hindu newspaper reported, the entire exercise should be completed by the end of this year. Government officials who briefed the newspaper off the record said dovetailing the two exercises would ensure that the castes enumerated can be correlated with the socio-economic data, and facilitate a more focussed targeting of the governments welfare measures. The caste census cum BPL survey will be conducted by the Registrar-General and Census Commissioner India, and the Union Ministries of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) and Rural Development (RD). While the HUPA Ministry will focus on the urban areas, the RD Ministry will survey the rural areas. Those surveyed will be asked to name their caste, but this caste data will not be cross-checked. People will be free to say no caste as well. Dalit Christians and Pasmanda Muslims, unfortunately, cannot get thimbles listed. But in Tamil Nadu for instance, and in some other states, Christians in certain traditional professions such as boatmen and fishermen can articulate their OBC or Most Backward Community status. The spotlight focussed on the BPL families after a World Bank review - done at the behest of the Planning Commission now drafting the 12th Five year Plan - which analysed centrallysponsored social security schemes, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Public Distribution System, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, Indira Awas Yojana and Indira Gandhi Old Age Pension Scheme. The World Bank is of course against programmes that are focussed on BPL groups. It finds serious problems with the scheme. According to its survey, a third of the poorest ten percent of the people have been incorrectly identified as non-poor in the 2002 BPL census. The data becomes worse for slightly better off - but still BPL - families. The World Bank has a good word for general schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme which covers the rural poor irrespective of caste, religion or other factors. But we digress. Dr Abu Saleh Sharief, the economist who actually wrote the celebrated Justice Rajindar Sachar report on the socio-economic situation of Muslims in India, told this writer there are many controversies in terms of a methodology and variables which will be used to identify the poor. What is underplayed and not adequately highlighted is the fact that the Caste Census will be undertaken for the first time since Independence. Such data are likely to be used in determining and revising the caste- and class-linked quotas in national and state government jobs, admissions in educational institutions such as in colleges and universities and access to targeted social services. The caste census is being conducted without adequate methodological and analytical preparedness and since caste, class and religious identities have complex inter-relationships there will be ramifications which will be difficult to resolve in future, he added in a written statement. The Muslim community has done a detailed analysis of the situation. They note that the collection of caste data is politically motivated and is expected to provide structured information so as to allocate or enhance respective shares in reservations for the SCs, the STs and the OBCs. They feel the Indian Caste Census (ICC-2011) is likely to trigger a drive for Indian citizens of all castes and communities to get enrolled into deprived categorizations in what Abu Saleh Sharief calls Competitive Backwardness. Muslims converted from the former untouchable Hindu castes (now called Pasmanda Muslims as those who converted to Christianity from the same caste group are called Dalit Christians) will face census enumerators who will not recognize them because the Census filtering procedures only list officially recognised caste-religious groups. This entire issue is before the Supreme Court of India in a Public Interest Litigation writ filed by various Muslim and Christian groups. The Census will also collect data on select economic and educational indicators and asset ownership so as to categorize households into the BPL or above poverty line status. Such data along with religion and caste are expected to be used to compute the relative backwardness or forwardness of a caste group, which, the economist says, will have ramifications in determining the eligibility to jobs and higher level educational admissions under the quota system. In future, this may hinder efforts of the poorer sections of religious minorities from raising their economic and social status. The government has not yet clarified if the caste-BPL census will be generally based on the Mandal Commission list of OBCs. The government at present does not really have any alternate lists to be used in the 30 states of the Union. Muslim intelligentsia have suggested a point, I entirely endorse, that the caste Census should be undertaken only after the pending Supreme Court judgment in the matter of the recognition of the presence of dalit identities amongst the Muslims and Christians in India is decided. It is also suggested that enumerators be instructed to collect this information as reported, and not to filter out caste reporting linked to religion. A civil society memorandum to the government, which this writer also signed, also demands that the caste-related data collected from June-December, 2011 reliably capture the castes educational status and their share in various job categories. This should show which castes have been left behind in education and employment in six decades of independence. Secondly, the census should enumerate socio-economic, educational, living standards, economic and employment profile, land holding and if the family has derived any benefits from Union and state development schemes. The memorandum has again stressed the point raised by Dr Sharief, that data should be collected for all the castes and caste equivalents in non-caste practicing communities or religious populations. No particular caste or caste group should be excluded from this. Any non-Hindu religious group that volunteers its caste identity -- Dalit Christians, for instance -- should be identified as such. But all this makes for data not legally sound, unless government bring it under the Census Act, 1948. Christian Dalits will have to await the Supreme Court decision. And no one can say when that judgement will be delivered.

Indore: Rich metropolitans are rushing to Indore in a mad rush to get their daughters sex changed. Indore is attracting people from Delhi as well as Mumbai, thanks to genitoplasti operations being performed in clinics here. Each operation costs Rs. 1.5 lakh and later on necessitates hormone therapy. And since the operation is performed on children below five years it is not necessary to obtain the patients consent. Genitoplasti is a common practice and is resorted to cure sexual dysfunction in the children. However, it is being used to make money by child specialists as the craze for the male child drives parents to rush to them. Though there are risks involved yet people do not mind. It may be possible that after the sex change the child may not be able to reproduce. There have been 200-300 operations so far, by seven specialists attached to private as well as government hospitals.

Destination Indore for getting daughter changed into a boy!

In a 49-page report, sent to Primark, the retailer mogul with over 220 stores across Europe, the British Broadcasting Corporation has apologized, accusing its Bangalore-based suppliers of child labour through a documentary film shot in 2008. The documentary film named Primark: On The Rack, depicted child labour in Bangalores successful retail chain Primark. Having scrutinised all of the relevant evidence, the committee concluded that, on the balance of probabilities, it was more likely than not that the Bangalore footage was not authentic, said the Trusts editorial standards committee. Panorama, the BBCs 50-year-old flagship weekly current affairs programme had aired the documentary. According to a Daily Mail report, There is speculation now that BBC could lose the prestigious award because of serious editorial failures.

BBC regrets fake child labour footage

MG NEWS DESK

8 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

NATIONAL

A New Dimension of Christian Persecution in India

he politics of extremist Hindu nationalism, which fuelled Christian persecution for over a decade in India, seems to be losing ground. With this comes the hope that India will never again witness an incident like the massive flurry of attacks in Kandhamal district of eastern Orissa state in 2008 which killed around 100 Christians and displaced over 50,000 people. But the absence of mass violence may not ensure the safety of the Christian minority. Since India did not see any incident of mass violence on Christians in the last three years, the issue of Christian persecution is increasingly being seen by the media as a pass. For example, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recently put India on its watch-list on account of the countrys failure to bring to justice the accused in the Kandhamal violence and a few similar incidents in which the Muslim and Sikh minorities were the victims. But this found little mention in the Indian or international mainstream media. The notion of communal peace, seen as absence of mass violence, is misleading. The frequency of attacks on Christians, which remains as high as it has been for the last 13 years in India, is an equally determining factor. Indian Christian groups, including the Evangelical Fellowship of India, the All India Christian Council, the Global Council of Indian Christians and the Catholic Secular Forum, continue to report on violent attacks on Christians on a regular basis. Its not surprising that India is the only country which caused Compass Direct News, a US-based agency covering Christian persecution worldwide, to start a special Briefs column in addition to its regular Flash and Feature stories a few years ago, thanks to the high incidence of attacks. This column - with each India Briefs story carrying at least five incidents - is being run until today. In the last month of April, Compass Direct News released four India Briefs stories in addition to two Flash stories on India. Statistics by Christian groups in India clearly indicate that there has been no let up in the systematic persecution of Christians ever since it began in 1998, the year the Right-wing Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed a coalition government at the Centre. The BJPs emergence coincided with the arrival of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, a Catholic and the wife of the late prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, in national politics. Her appointment as the chief of the Indian National Congress party led to the political targeting of Christians by the BJP and associated Hindu nationalist forces under the pretext of religious conversions. From 2001 to 2004, at least 200 attacks on Christians were reported each year. There were around 165 anti-Christian attacks in 2005, and 130 in 2006. The following two years, 2007 and 2008, turned out to be the most violent years vis--vis Christian persecution since the Independence in 1947. During the Christmas week of 2007, at least four Christians were killed and 730 houses and 95 churches torched in Kandhamal, Orissa. A repeat of violence in Kandhamal killed over 100 people and burned 4,640 houses, 252 churches and 13 educational institutions in 2008. Apart from these major incidents, 2007 and 2008 each saw around 200 attacks in various parts of the country. The year 2009 witnessed more than 152 attacks, and 2010 saw at least 149. The actual number of incidents is likely to be much higher than reported as not all cases are formally registered or come to light. While it is good that the Indian voters are disapproving of the use of Hindu nationalism by political parties - as was evident in the defeat of the BJP in the last two general elections in 2004 and 2009 - it may not bring much respite to the minorities. For Indias Hindu nationalists are expedient enough to adjust their strategies to suit the political mood of the coun-

try while continuing to further their agenda at a different level. It is an open secret that while there are a number of Hindu nationalist groups, some having separate legal entities and others informal groupings, they all are linked to the RSS, the leader of the movement and the ideological mentor of the BJP. The Hindu nationalists may not let their activities become a political issue now, but they will continue to spew hate against Christians, alleging that they are converting Hindus to Christianity by inducement and coercion. There is talk about Hindu nationalists using a moderate form of their ideology, but one essential characteristic of Hindutva, a Hindu nationalist ideology, that has remained non-negotiable for them over the years, is that non-Hindu minorities, particularly Christians and Muslims, cannot be accepted as true Indians unless they become Hindu. The Hindutva ideology was articulated at a time when independence from British rule was foreseeable during the early 20th century. It was inspired by several Hindu reform movements that were birthed during the second half of the 19th century to counter Western superiority and supremacy that was being used to justify colonialism. At the heart of the Hindutva dream was a nation, as it existed before the Muslim invasion by Central Asian powers in the 12th century followed by the Christian invasion from Britain in the 18th century. According to the RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, anyone who calls himself a Hindu is a Hindu; anyone whose father is a Hindu is a Hindu; and anyone the RSS calls a Hindu is a Hindu. And the RSS says even Christians [and Muslims] are Hindu but they do not behave like one, and cannot do so because their religion originated in a foreign land. Subjected to this ideology, many Indians - especially sections of the people in the states where the BJP and other groups have built a strong support base, such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh - see minorities as outsiders and approve of violence as a means to oppose conversions. The Hindutva ideology is still being propagated in many parts of the country, especially by pragmatic Hindu nationalist workers. But some of them have lost hope that the Hindu nation can be a reality if they use democratic ways. They have turned more extremists and are waging a war against the minorities with underground terrorist activities. Investigation agencies have arrested and are prosecuting several extremist Hindu nationalists for exploding bombs targeting minorities, mainly Muslims. Those facing terrorism charges have reportedly been behind anti-Christian violence as well. It is difficult to anticipate how the recent development of Right-wing Hindu terrorism will play out in the future, but it seems almost certain that pragmatic Hindu nationalists will remain as active as, if not more than they have been in the past - though in a fashion that does not attract too much attention. This will mean more attacks but less coverage by the mainstream media, which tends to look at the magnitude of an attack and fails to see it as part of a trend. The best way to counter this new Hindu nationalist strategy is to streamline the reporting of Christian persecution and highlight statistics periodically. This may require compilation of incidents by one Christian agency which can diligently verify reports of attacks using high standards of professional, ethical reporting. World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) sponsors this WEA-RLC Research & Analysis Report to help individuals and groups pray for and act on religious liberty issues around the world. WEA has a consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council. (evangelicalnews.org)

While visiting AMU

Godhra judge was on Hindutva terrorists hitlist The Aligarh Muslim Universitys chief guest and
Justice U C Banerjee, were also on the hit list of the Hindu terrorists recently chargesheeted by National Investigation Agency (NIA) for bombing Samjhauta Express on Februaury 18, 2007. The startling revelation was made by one of the blast accused and a close associate of Sunil Joshi (deceased), Shivam Dhakad, who has provided the details to the NIA on the plan to target AMU and other locations. Dhakad, arrested by the Ujjain police on murder charges, is now imprisoned at his hometown Dewas. Spilling the beans on his 2006 AMU visit, Dhakad reported that in January 2006, Joshi gave him Rs 5,000 and sent him to AMU along with Kamal to look for an opportunity to open a branch of his organization at AMU among Hindu students and university staff members. Later, I came to know that the actual purpose of our visit was to conduct a reconnaissance of AMU as the late Sunil Joshi, another accused chargesheeted in Samjhauta Express blast case, nursed plans to kill the Muslim chief guest of the convocation ceremony to be held at AMU, who had replaced the senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, as the guest for the event. In the statement given to NIA during his judicial custody, Dhakad confessed that he travelled to Kolkata for surveying the house of Justice UC Banerjee in 2005, who was heading a commission on the Godhra riots and made plans to kill him. Dhakad, who came in contact with Joshi through his RSS faithful father, wrote in his statement, On October 15, 2005, I was taken to Kolkata by Sunil Joshi and met Devendra Gupta. After our return, I came to know from Joshi that the purpose of the visit was to kill Justice U C Banerjee and we had gone to conduct a reconnaissance. Dhakad, in his statement given to the NIA, also revealed that earlier, he and 12 other received training in arms and explosive in a forest near the Bagli-Dewas border. Ramji (Kalsangra) had given us training of bomb-making and he had also given a demonstration of how to blast a bomb on a nearby hill. All of them practised pistol firing with air pistol and .32 bore pistol. Devender Upadhyay of Bagli village arranged for food for all, read his statement.

SAIYED DANISH

Actor Mohammed Badiuzzaman Azmi is no more

he actor Badiuzzaman, who has died from a lung infection aged 72, was perhaps best known for playing the patient in the hospital bed next to Michael Gambon in The Singing Detective (1985). The pairs camaraderie provided some of the lighter moments in Dennis Potters TV series and showed off Badiuzzamans talent for comedic roles. In their scenes together, Gambon (as Philip Marlow) and Badiuzzaman (as Ali) were shown to share an outsider status, Marlow due to his disfiguring skin condition and Ali due to his race. Badiuzzaman again explored British attitudes toward race in Brothers in Trouble (1995), a film directed by Udayan Prasad and based on Abdullah Husseins novel about the experiences of Pakistani illegal immigrants in Britain in the 1960s. Badiuzzaman himself was no stranger to the immigrant experience. He was born in Phulpur, in Azamgarh, India, and moved to Abbottabad in Pakistan. His father worked on the railways and the family relocated whenever he had a new posting, living variously in Quetta and Lahore. He graduated in English and Urdu from Government College, Abbottabad, in 1959. He worked as a radio presenter until the launch, in 1964, of the state-owned television channel, where he began his acting career. His move to Britain came after he appeared in Salman Pirzadas 1984 film Maila. The film, ostensibly about a travelling fair, took a clear anti-martial law stance and fell foul of the

military dictatorship of Zia-ul-Haq. Badiuzzaman gained asylum in Britain as a political refugee and became a British citizen. The next year, he appeared as a drug courier in My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), written by Hanif Kureishi. In 1987, he appeared in Prasads Arena programme for the BBC about the work of writers from the Indian Subcontinent. Prasad recalled that Badiuzzaman played the part of the Pakistani writer Ibn-e-Insha with great comedic relish. He collaborated again with Prasad on My Son the Fanatic (1997), again written

by Kureishi. Badiuzzaman gradually became a familiar face on TV, with credits including Coronation Street, The Bill, Inspector Morse, Casualty, Cracker and Torchwood. His roles were often limited to supporting parts such as shopkeepers, whom he played several times. His attitude to the smaller roles was that it was better to be working than not, and he brought the same enthusiasm to each role, big or small. He was also known for entertaining the cast and crew on set. His lifelong interest in palmistry, astrology and numerology ensured that he was always in demand for a reading in between takes, and the director Gurinder Chadha credited him with predicting accurately when and how she would meet her husband. While the shopkeeper roles continued to come in - such as in Mad Cows (1999) and Kevin and Perry Go Large (2000) - Badiuzzaman also appeared in more serious projects which dealt with the September 11 attacks and the war on terror. A small part in the film Yasmin (2004) led to the more substantial role of the father of Moazzam Begg, the British-born Pakistani who was held at Guantanamo Bay, in the play Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom (2004), at the Tricycle theatre in London. The production was critically acclaimed and transferred to the West End. Badiuzzaman, who also wrote an Urdu column in a bilingual newspaper, later took a role in Mike Leighs film Another Year (2010), before going back to Pakistan in semi-retirement. He is survived by two brothers, Raqeeb and Khaleeq, and a sister, Khurshid. (thenews.com.pk)

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

NATIONAL

Appointment of a woman officer in Haj Committee stirs objection

ew Delhi: The appointment of Mrs. Roohi Khan as new Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) of Haj Committee of India by the government, appears to have caused heart-burns to some people who see it purely from an orthodox Islamic point of view. General Secretary of Raza Academy, Mumbai, Muhammad Sayeed Noori commenting on this says that not only Muslims but the whole world knows how strict orders there are in Islam about purdah. Just as it is forbidden for a man to see a woman, in the same way a woman also is forbidden to see a man and for a woman to come without purdah or veil in front of a na-mehram is haram. He said that it is true that there is no Islamic rule in India but inspite of this, only Muslims are concerned with Haj Committee and that too for fulfillment or performance of a religious obligation. According to him, there should be at least one department in which Muslims interact with each other, it would be better if this should be kept free from women even before performance of a religious duty like Haj thousands of Hajis will have to be party to this haram act (seeing a woman). If somebody behaves shamelessly with this woman or conversely if the woman herself behaves shamelessly with someone (man), Haj Committee will earn a bad name. He further said that today this post has been given to a Muslim woman, tomorrow some non-Muslim woman can be appointed to this post. He said that he had felt this danger at that very time when the Indian government had appointed a woman (Mohsina Qidwai) as chairperson of Haj Committee this year. Congress government has always been doing things by which Muslims sentiments could be hurt. This is the gift or legacy of Brahminic mentality. He made an appeal to Muslims to let their dislike at the appointment of a

woman be known to the government through letters, newspapers etc. An editorial on this issue has appeared in Sahafat Urdu daily in its issue of 30 June headline Welcome Roohi Khan. Below is a translation: We welcome (Mrs.) Roohi Khan who has been appointed the new Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) of Haj Committee of India. Appointment of a lady to a high and respectable post is neither strange nor impossible in India. There is no department in life in which highly educated, capable and competent ladies are not proving that they are in no way less capable or inferior to men but Roohi Khans appointment has merited the special attention of people because a section of Muslims had been making illogical (and also 100 percent un-Islamic) objection that she is a woman and is being associated with a department which is purely concerned with religious affairs. This section of Muslims had been fighting a losing battle because on the one hand liberal and forward looking sections of Muslims had strongly supported Roohi Khan and on the other hand hers was a gazetted appointment What is significant about Roohi Khan is her grand career. She is an officer of Madhya Pradeshs Public Service Commission of 1998 batch who had topped in L.L.B. She had also topped in M.P. Public Service Commissions competitive examinations. She has held many high posts in Madhya Pradesh including the post of Additional District Magistrate. For us Roohi Khan is a role model for Indias Muslim girls worth emulating. As regards those people who think that being a woman, Roohi Khan cannot head a department which is concerned with religious affairs of Muslims, we are not at all surprised. These

people do not know what is happening in the world these days. We are surprised to find that they did not quote any verse or Hadees in support of their arguments which would have strengthened their stand. Probably these people do not know that women have occupied the posts of prime ministers and presidents of Islamic countries like Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh. There are also many Muslim ladies who are running the business of many large and reputed companies. They are CEOs, professors, engineers, doctors and police officers and many of them run their own business also and are billionaires. These ladies belong to Saudi Arabia, Iran, Gulf countries, Bahrain where it is commonly understood that Islamic rules and principles are very strictly enforced. If participation of Muslim women in these business and administrative activities would have been against Islamic Sharia, these women would have been non-existent. How strange it is that the religion which was first to give equal rights to women and prescribed education and knowledge essential for every Muslim male and female, some followers of the same religion are bent upon proving it anti-women. They do not understand that if today movements against dictatorships and in favour of democracy are going on in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Libiya, and being successful also, most important reason for this is that women of these countries have taken active part in these movements. Who can forget the role and sacrifices of women in Islamic revolution against the grandeur of the Shah of Iran? It is strange and interesting also that no protest or voice of dissent was heard when Mrs. Mohsina Qidwai was appointed Chairperson of Haj Committee of India and who still occupies that post. (NA Ansari) held demonstrations outside Geeta Bhavan until they were told that they could now join the yatra beginning from June 29. These devotes are suffering because they did not get their registration done at the government level and went to these organisations, said an official. The Amarnath yatra is also being heartily welcomed by the JKLF leader Yasin Malik, who visited the camps of yatris and reassured them that their fight is with the government and not with the people of India. Kashmir is known for communal harmony across the world. Even in difficult circumstances we have maintained communal harmony, he told the yatris. For the first time in three years, Kashmir is witnessing peace and calm during the yatra. Last year, the yatra coincided with the summer unrest though the pilgrims were not targeted by the protesters. The JKLF chairman called the yatris as revered guests and they should not feel insecure in the Valley. Those communal forces who are defaming Kashmiris should come and see how Kashmiris are helping the pilgrims. People are extending all sort of assistance to the pilgrims, he said. (Saiyed Danish)

Amarnath Yatra begins in Kashmir

ith 22,000 devotees chanting Bum Bum Bhole, the Amarnath yatra began on June 29. The devotees set off from Baltal and Pahalgam base camps for the pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, marking the formal start of the annual yatra. Governor N N Vohra, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), flagged off the yatra by performing the pratham pooja (first prayer) inside the sanctum sanctorum of the cave shrine, housing the naturally-formed ice lingam of Lord Shiva. The Governor expressed satisfaction and gratification over the arrangements made by the government and the security agencies for the yatris. Over 13,000 pilgrims took the shorter 13 km route leading to the 3,880 meter high cave shrine by starting their march from Baltal base camp, about 110 km from Srinagar, told an SASB official. The traditional Pahalgam route was taken by another 9,000 pilgrims who marched to the

holy cave. The yatra was halted on July 2 due to inclement weather but it resumed on Monday, July 4, from the twin routes of Baltal and Pahalgam. Due to suspension of the yatra, thousands of pilgrims were stranded in Kathua, Samba, BariBrahamana, Udhampur, Nagrota and Ramban areas along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway and accommodated in JMC banquet halls. The pilgrims stuck in the jams held protests and raised anti-government slogans and demanded restoration of traffic on the highway with immediate effect. We have provided stranded pilgrims food and shelter at Kathua, Samba, Jammu and Udhampur. Authorities are helping them, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Zone, Pawan Kotwal said. The yatra also resumed from the Jammu base camp with a fresh batch of 6,564 pilgrims. Fresh batches of pilgrims moved from the base camps of Nunwan in Pahalgam area of Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district on July 4 following

improvement in weather, an official said. Meanwhile, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has decided that any unregistered pilgrim will not be allowed to join the yatra due to the unprecedented rush. There is also report of a casualty, U Solanki, a 32 year old pilgrim who died of cardiac arrest. Earlier, the prayers and offerings conducted by SASB on June 15

marked the symbolic beginning of the yatra. But contrary to the 150 year old tradition of conducting prayers at the holy cave, the shrine board conducted the offerings six kilometres away from the shrine despite the agreement between SASB and the government. The demand of Hindu organisations to begin the yatra from June 15 had placed Baba Amarnath Nyas and the J&K government at loggerheads. Both parties worked hard to solve the problem of yatra dates. On June 13, both the sides agreed that four people from the board would go to the cave in a helicopter and offer their prayers to the Shiva Lingam. But it is unclear why even after the agreement the Nyas conducted prayers away from the shrine. In another unfortunate development, almost 40,000 devotees landed in deep trouble after they came to know about the change of the prayer offering date. The devotees who had got themselves registered with two organisations, Shri Buddhha Amarnath and Amarnath Yatri Nyas were unaware of the changed date of the yatra and relied on the June 14, the date for which they had registered themselves. The miffed devotees

Chaos and anxiety hampers BJPs morale

ew Delhi: In 2012, assembly elections will be held in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Panjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. BJPs cadres in most of these states have failed to work as a cohesive unit. It appears that the party has not learnt any lessons from its failures in the last assembly elections. The leadership skill of Nitin Gadkari is being put to test from one state to another. His political decisions are creating fissures, infighting and groupism among BJPs senior leaders in states. In almost all BJP-ruled states and also in the states where elections are due next year the party is witnessing disenchantment, political rivalry and groupism. In Uttar Pradesh, so many leaders have been given authority to lead the party for the coming assembly elections. This has resulted in putting senior leaders at loggerheads, depending on their political stature in the state. The way Uma Bharati was re-installed in the party on the initiative of party president as the leading force of the campaign 2012 assembly elections looked like as if she has been placed over the top of other senior leaders in the state. Before her, Gadkari had appointed party vice president Kalraj Mishra as incharge of the Uttar Pradesh elections. And now Gadkari has asked former president Rajnath Singh to oversee partys poll preparations in UP. Rajnath Singh and Kalraj Mishra have always been poles apart and never fail to exert their political clout for supremacy. The very decision of the party president to appoint Rajnath Singh meant undermining Kalraj Mishras political stature in state politics. Gadkari might have done so hoping not to hurt anyone but who knows it might end up just hurting everyone in one way or the other. It looks like leaders in the state are silent for now but one cannot say for sure for how long they would remain so. RSS

leader Sanjay Joshi is also likely to be re-inducted despite Narendra Modis strong objection. He is likely to be assigned the responsibility of reviving the organisation in Uttar Pradesh. In Maharashtra, appointment of Vikas Mathkari as Pune BJP chief has virtually divided the BJP into two camps, one is led by Nitin Gadkari and the other by Gopinath Munde. It is Munde who had dared to question the dictatorial style of functioning of the party president. The internal rivalry came out in the open when Munde at one point last month made up his mind to quit the BJP and join another party. With the intervention of Sushma Swaraj, Munde was persuaded not to make such a move. At that point of time it appeared that a formula has been found to put both Gadkari and Munde on a reconciliation path, but now it seems that the clash for political supremacy is far from over. After Gopinath Munde the next to fall in line was former Uttrakhand Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri who is not on good terms with the party top brass. Within the party there is a perception that Mr Khanduri may switch sides and join another political party. Khanduri who had resigned his chief ministers post after the partys poor performance in the last general elections is being sidelined. His only remaining hope was shattered when former BJP chief Rajnath Singh was appointed as the special incharge of Uttrakhand polls too, apart from Uttar Pradesh. The present state of affairs in Uttrakhand is similar to that of Uttar Pradesh where the party is divided in many factions and groups. These camps are led by B C Khanduri, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. The infighting is so intense here that these leaders never share any public platform. In Karnataka, governor H R Bhardwaj has given his consent to prosecute Katta Subramanya Naidu, a close aide of the chief minister after Lokayukta in his letter had sought permission from

the governor to prosecute him for his role in a Rs 107 crore land scam. Recently, rift in the BJPs rank and file surfaced when Sushma Swaraj charged Arun Jaitely, Venkiah Naidu, Anant Kumar and Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa of having helped Bellary brothers to increase their clout politically. In Jharkhand, the BJP has lost the Jamshedpur seat earlier held by the state chief minister Arjun Munda. Munda has accepted that infighting was the main reason behind the defeat in the Jamshedpur Lok Sabha by-election held recently. Party president Gadkari has called Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda to Delhi to discuss the reasons that led to the defeat in the by-election. Munda is likely to be accompanied by state unit president Dineshanand Goswami. Goswami, who was BJPs candidate for the by-poll, has sent his resignation to Nitin Gadkari owning moral responsibility. In Punjab, the BJP is not on good terms with Shiromani Akali Dal and this is believed to have its effect on the coming assembly elections. In Himachal Pradesh, the political rivalry between Prem Kumar Dhumal and Shanta Kumar is known to one and all and seems to be deep rooted. In Gujarat, the confidantes of Advani and Sushma Swaraj are encouraging Harin Pathak against Narendra Modi. All BJP MLAs in J&K assembly stand expelled for defying party whip. In Bihar, JD(U) MP JNP Nishad shot a letter to the BJP president wherein he has mentioned the corrupt practices in two departments in the Bihar government which are under the charge of BJP ministers. To many peoples surprise Nishad has asked the BJP president to get it verified by RSS men in Bihar. For the BJP there is hardly any state where it can claim that everything is under control.

MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN

10 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

NATIONAL

Gujarat pogroms documents destroyed or intact?

ABDUL HAFIZ LAKHANI, Ahmedabad
A new twist in riot 2002 cases. Government counsel claimed that all documents related to the communal clashes had been destroyed, while the state government denied this and said that all records were intact. it seems that investigations in Anti- Muslim riots will be hampered in a serious way now. Gujarat government has been trying to put investigation of 2002 riots on the back burner by its counsels statement that vital documents related to the 2002 post-Godhra riots really destroyed in 2007. But it is also possible that the documents have not been destroyed but kept hidden by the government, as they are explosive in nature and could put the current government in a spot. A number of commissions have been set up to investigate the riots and the Supreme Court has ordered an investigation under a special team. Commissions have not been able to unravel the truth, mainly because the state government has not cooperated with the inquiries. But if Vakil is to be believed, then on whose orders were the records of the state CID (Intelligence) destroyed? These questions were on the top of the mind of mediapersons, activists and some officers Vakil had told the media outside the Nanavati-Mehta Commissions office on Wednesday that all the crucial documents relating to the riots, including log-books of the cops, vehicle log-books and control room phone records which have the minutes of the meetings, had been destroyed by the state government in 2007. Vakil had also claimed that IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt had filed the affidavit before the Supreme Court after he came to know that the vital records of the state CID (Intelligence) were destroyed in 2007. If Vakils version is true, then either IPS officer Sudhir Sinha or IPS officer PP Pande is supposed to know about the destruction of the documents, as both of them were heading the CID (Intelligence) in 2007. While Sinha is now Ahmedabad police commissioner, Pande is now ADGP- CID (Crime). Sinha was ADGP- CID (Intelligence) from December 13, 2006 to October 1, 2007. He handed over the charge to Pande on October 2, 2007 and Pande continued in the post till early 2011. Most of the documents sought by Bhatt through the Commission were in the possession of the CID (Intelligence). Since the government which was in charge when the riots took place has continued to be in power ever since, it has been difficult for investigations to make progress. Riot victims have failed to get justice even from the judiciary in the state. That is why the Supreme Court has taken upon itself the job of finding out the truth. It is surprising that the records which were relevant to the investigation were destroyed when the apex court is supervising the investigation. That can only point to the complicity in the riots of those who facilitated the destruction of the papers. The court, apart from the commission, should take the matter seriously and fix responsibility for it. It needs to be found if the state government has been destroying all its official documents according to the rules. It is also difficult to understand why these papers were not examined by any enquiry panel all these years. The revelation has come after a senior police official of the state told the Nanavati commission that chief minister Narendra Modi had instructed the police to allow the Hindus to go on the rampage. The disclosure about the destruction of papers can be seen only as part of efforts to shield the guilty politicians and officials People associated with the communal riot cases have expressed shock at the governments admission. Proceedings in all the key cases.. the Naroda Gaam case, the main complaint by Zakia Jaffri and other cases are still on. To destroy evidence as important as this is not just shocking, but illegal as well, said Mukul Sinha,Advocate, Jansangharsh Manch. It cannot be a standard procedure. You cannot destroy the relevant documents when the G. T. Nanavati Akshay Mehta Judicial Enquiry Commission probing into the Godhra train carnage and the post-Godhra communal riots in the State is yet to submit its final report, noted advocate, Mukul Sinha, who represent the riot victims before the Commission said. According to him, the responsibility of deciding the relevance of a document was left to the prosecution, which was the State government in the case of the Nanavati - Mehta commission, and it could not have overlooked the relevance of the telephone call register, police vehicle log books and the police movement diary for the Enquiry Commission, to have it destroyed before the probe panel completed its task. The retired Gujarat DGP Sreekumar alleged that the police, while following the standard procedure and destroying crucial documents, had overlooked the provisions of the Gujarat Police Manual as well as the Indian Penal Code. The much talked about investigation of fake encounter of Mumbai based girl Isharat Jahan is once again off the track as Dr Satyapal Singh who has been appointed chairman of the Special Investigation team (SIT) investigating the Ishrat Jahan case has come up with a strange excuse for not wanting to be part of SIT. After having formally written (excuse no. 1) that he was too busy with other assignments and after having his cadre (Maharashtra) government formally writing to the Gujarat government (excuse no 2) that they do not intend to free Dr Singh, he was still asked to report and take charge. So like an impish sulking schoolboy, he did come in and take charge a few days ago only to seek to be relieved as he does not know Gujarati language (excuse no. 3). There was much more to the saga than meets the eye. According to some highly placed sources, Ajit Pawar, the nephew of NCP leader Sharad Pawar, is the home minister in Maharashtra. The Modi government, through a prominent Ahmedabad-based industrialist whose proximity to Sharad Pawar is notorious, is believed to have played an active role in this flip-flop. Such things can be managed but nevertheless it is tough to digest Dr Singhs seeming reluctance to join SIT and lack of knowledge of Gujarati. After all, SIT probing post-Godhra riots is led by R K Raghavan who does not know Gujarati. The three key CBI officers - P Kandaswamy, Amitabh Thakur and Vinay Kumar investigating the fake Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram encounters, do not know Gujarati. Gujarat High Courts Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhyay does not know Gujarati and neither does our Governor Dr Kamla. Several excuses are always less convincing than one, wrote Aldous Huxley in Point Counter Point. May be theres some truth in this saying after all. The police manual clearly states that any document pertaining to a matter under judicial process shall have to be preserved until the completion of the judicial process, he said, adding that the Supreme Court had been looking into the riots since April 2002, after activist Mallika Sarabhai and the National Human Rights Commission filed a PIL in that connection. The Gujarat government has been translating its electoral majority into immunity from legal bindings. This is a dangerous trend, Shreekumar said. He rued that allegations against the high and mighty of the state polity as well as the police department may never be proved, now that the key documents had been destroyed. Shreekumar had maintained a diary of his own during his tenure as state intelligence chief and had submitted it before the Nanavati-Mehta panel as well as the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT). The diary had the number of key records, but the originals are now destroyed. Shreekumar observed that the state government had chargesheeted him for not handing over his semi-official diary when he relinquished his post as the intelligence chief. The chargesheet was later quashed by the Gujarat High Court. Had I submitted the diary then, they would have surely destroyed it as well, he said. The diary forms the basis of Shreekumars affidavits, which have significantly embarrassed the state government as they establish the collusion between BJP leaders and the police at the time of the riots. The State government is telling a lie that the documents have been destroyed as per the standard procedure, Hiralal Gupta, the advocate for the Congress before the commission, alleged. He agreed that a rule existed to destroy irrelevant police documents after five years as claimed by the State government pleader before the Commission, S. B. Vakil, but the documents in question were not such irrelevant documents to be destroyed taking recourse to standard procedure. The government is deliberately trying to hide the truth about Chief Minister Narendra Modis instructions to the police to go soft on the Hindus during the 2002 communal riots for which it is now claiming that the records have been destroyed, Mr. Gupta said. Fr. Cedric Prakash; Director of Prashant, A Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace reacted that the admission by the Government of Gujarat that all records and intelligence reports pertaining to the Gujarat Carnage of 2002 have been destroyed, should shock no one! This admission before the Nanavati Commission clearly shows the culpability of the Gujarat Government. The reasoning that these reports were destroyed according to rules, defies all logic. Technically (according to rules) given the time it takes, for judgement to be pronounced in our country, practically no justice would see the light of the day, if criminals / conspirators whose cases are pending in the various Courts are allowed to destroy evidence. The judiciary of our country should now expedite the legal process, take suo moto notice of this and hold the Gujarat Government (as is widely believed) responsible for the Carnage of 2002, he said in a statement Vadodara based social activist Dr. Bandukwala said in a statement that this is a serious matter. The court should look into this matter. it seems that Modi wants to prevent justice to 2002 riot victims.

Modi behind the flipflop in Isharat case?

Ahmedabad Based NGOSanchetnas director Hanif Lakadawala reacted sharply that it is a deliberate, criminal act to destroy the evidence. By saying that it is a routine procedure, the state cannot exonerate itself of the criminal act. JSM has sought directions to the home secretary to clarify, on an affidavit, what kind of documents pertaining to the period between February 27, 2002 and May 31, 2002 were destroyed. JSM also wants to inspect log books (movement registers) of the vehicles of former DGP Chakraborty, ex-ADGP G C Raigar, ex-Police Commissioner P C Pande and DCP (SIB) Sanjeev Bhatt for the period between February 27, 2002 and March 3, 2002. The NGO has also sought to inspect telephone call registers of the SIB control room as well as the movement diaries of the ADGP Raigar, former IG O P Mathur and the three DCPs posted with the SIB, for the same period. JSM has also demanded that state government produce the certificate of destruction of the documents claimed to have been destroyed. By summarily destroying the record of his crimes, Modi has not just mocked and taunted those who have tried to get justice for his victims, he has ridiculed Indias claim to being a secular democracy that believes in justice and equality of all before the law. Modi is not merely guilty of mocking and trampling the rule of law, he has heaped shame and abuse on the nations secular and democratic institutions and their ability to administer justice to all sections of society. The state governments explanation is that this was done as part of a procedure to destroy irrelevant police documents after five years. Yet, the reported list of what was destroyed - telephone records of the police control room, registers of attendance and movement of senior police officers and vehicles as well as intelligence reports et al - suggests it was crucial evidence about the riots and how the state machinery conducted itself. If this elimination of evidence was deliberate, it would mean a criminal attempt to shield officials who might be guilty of inaction or, worse, complicity in a veritable slaughter, rather pogrom. The larger question is whether directions to conduct themselves, thus, were issued to police officers from the top levels of the state machinery. Finding answers to those questions should be the primary aim of investigations into the riots. Not only should the Nanavati Commission probing the riots order an inquiry into this reported destruction of evidence, but the Supreme Court too, since it is directly supervising the investigations through its appointed Special Investigation Team ( SIT )), must act forthwith to probe and punish the culprits. Meanwhile,The Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee filed an application before the Nanavati Judicial Inquiry Commission probing the 2002 riots cases, seeking it to direct the state government to furnish the relevant and necessary documents to unveil the truth. The application filed by advocates Hiralal Gupta and J C Parmar stated that production of documents of the riots period is necessary for a just and expedient inquiry. The GPCC has sought the probe panel to direct the DGP and IG to produce the documents for the period commencing from 6 am on February 27 to March 09, 2002. It has sought production of the register of incoming and outgoing telephonic messages of the Control Room of State Intelligence Bureau, Duties Register of the State Control Room, Movement diary of DG and IG, register and the log-book of vehicle used by DG and IG. The application also sought directions to ADGP(Intelligence) to furnish details of diaries and minutes of officers who attended meetings with Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the then minister of state for home Amit Shah. The probe panel was also requested to direct the police commissioner to produce a copy of the register of incoming and outgoing messages (including wireless ones), names of officers and ministers who had come to collect data in respect of antecedents of former MP Ehsan Jafri (about his alleged involvement in communal riots on February 27 and 28, 2002).

Gujarat Police summons Teesta

The Panchmahal police has summoned Mumbai-based Teesta Setalvad on 18 July in connection with the Pandarwada exhumation case. Setalvad was earlier summoned to be present on March 25 and May 9 also, but she didnt cooperate as per the police version. Teesta had filed a petition in Gujarat High Court demanding quashing of the FIR against her. However, Gujarat High Court rejected her plea in May this year. As no relief from the High Court was forthcoming, Teesta was expected to be grilled by Lunawada Police. Following this, she has been summoned now on 18 July. On December 27, 2005, bodies of riot victims were allegedly exhumed on the outskirts of Lunawada town without following proper procedures. Setalwads close aide at the time of the incident Rais Khan and other accused were named in the case. All the accused have been arrested and some including Khan even registered a judicial confession.

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011 11

HUMAN RIGHTS/TERRORISM

Conditions of prisoners in jails

Following is a translation of a letter written in Urdu we have received from JAVED AHMAD ANSARI incarcerated in Mumbai Central Jail, Mumbai. It is on the miserable conditions prevailing in the jail. He has also complained that he is not getting magazines sent to him including The Milli Gazette which he said is destroyed by the prison staff.
ustice Rajinder Sachar Committees report had exposed that the number of Muslim prisoners in jails is very high. But few are aware of the conditions prevailing inside these jails. There is no one to see the miserable conditions of these prisoners behind the four walls of jails except those who are themselves confined there. News of what is happening inside is not known to people outside. Because of denial of medical facilities, many prisoners die but neither is there any kind of protest or agitation at their deaths nor any legal action is taken against anybody. It is also true that judges and human rights activists visit jails but facts are always hidden from these people by jail authorities. Prisoners who could muster courage to reveal the goings-on within the jails are kept at a distance from these people. Inspite of all this, on some rare occasions happenings inside the jails reach the outside world but in the absence of proper legal assistance this information gradually fades out. When the oppressors get immunity from law, they become all the more fearless and bigger oppressors. One such incident reached Nasik newspapers recently. In this incident, eight Muslim prisoners had accused Jail Superintendent Swati Sathe of communal and biased attitude, burning ja-namaz (prayer mat) and preventing Muslims from offering namaz. (Urdu Times, 11 May 2011). The accusation against Swati Sathe of mercilessly beating Muslim prisoners in Arthur Road Jail of Mumbai in June 2008 was proved in the Criminal Writ Petition No. 1377 of 2008. Mumbai High Court had ordered filing of a case against Swati Sathe and other police personnel and taking suitable action against them but the state government, instead of taking action against Swati Sathe, obtained stay from the Supreme Court with the result that again Swati Sathe demonstrated her bias against Muslim prisoners in Nasik Jail. In this jail, among the followers of other religions the number of Christians is very small and they enjoy the freedom of performing their religious worship daily. In addition to this, a priest is allowed in every Sunday from outside and they are allowed to pray together at one place. For Hindus there is regular permission to perform pooja and all Hindu brethren assemble at one place and worship and some times arrangements are made for gatherings also for them. Muslim prisoners also are allowed to offer five times daily namaz and two times annual namaz of Eid festivals but there are no arrangements for congregational Jumuah (Friday) namaz for them nor are they allowed to organise any ijtima. If some (Tablighi) Jamaat tours the jail, its people are kept away from Muslim prisoners who may tell them the facts including the biased attitude of the jail authorities. In 2009, on the occasion of Eid namaz Muslim prisoners were beaten up in Sabarmati Jail and the family members of these prisoners were also not allowed to meet them. Late Shahid Azmi, advocate, and some representatives of Jamiat Ulama-e Hind had visited the jail and met Muslim prisoners. We came to know about the facts through newspapers that these prisoners were really beaten up and maltreated. It is written in the High Courts Criminal Manual that Anjuman-e Islam can do dawa and tabligh work among Muslim prisoners in jails but jail authorities by manipulations and excuses keep tabligh people away from preaching. For roza iftar also, Muslim organisations are prevented with the excuse of security whereas last year in Punjab, Kolkata and Akola jails, Muslim organisations had distributed fruits for roza iftar. According to the Jail Manual, fruits are given or can be given to Muslim prisoners for all the thirty days of the month of Ramzan at their own expenses but because of being poor and due to the high cost of fruits, they cannot get fruits etc from their own pocket. Hence, Muslim organisations in cooperation with jail administrations should arrange for roza iftars but Muslim organisations consider themselves exempt from these things or deliberately shirk responsibility in these matters. According to chapter 19 of the Maharashtra Jail Manual 1979, the jail administration will have to take such steps for the prisoners work, education, rest etc so that they do not have any difficultly in their religious worships or prayers etc and that Jail I.G., Superintendents, medical officers etc. will help the prisoners. According to Chapter No. 23 of this manual, every possible assistance should be provided to the prisoners for their religious prayers and facilities. It is mentioned on page 438 of this manual that every prisoner has the right to bring books and religious literature etc. into the jail from any source for his religious education and knowledge but jail authorities do not allow many books to reach the prisoners and these are destroyed. According to the Muslim Personal Law and Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India, everybody, whether prisoner or free, can participate in any religions programme or social work and if he doesnt want to participate, he cannot be forced. At the same time, he is free to change his religion also, i.e., every prisoner can adopt any religion he wants according to his personal choice. It is, therefore, quite clear that according to the Indian Constitution, Muslim Personal Law and Jail Manual every prisoner has the freedom to worship or pray according to his religion but inspite of all this in many jails an effort is definitely made, if not directly, to prevent Muslim prisoners from praying according to their religion, as was done in Nasik Jail but those prisoners must be praised for their courage who knocked on the doors of the High Court for practicing their religion. It should also be known that when a court pronounces its verdict, it has the force or status of law and this law is applicable to all persons. If the court pronounces its verdict in favour of Muslim prisoners, law will help them in offering namaz jointly or together (ba-jamat) and other religious rituals but before that it is also our duty to convince the court that namaz, roza etc. are no doubt religious duties of Muslims but offering namaz in group, offering of Friday namaz, iftari etc. also are essential parts of prayers and there should be no restrictions of any kind in performing them punctually. It is the duty of Muslim leaders, organisations and institutions to hire a qualified lawyer in the High Court so that he may advise and guide the Court in the right direction and the verdict may be pronounced in favour of Muslim prisoners and every prisoner may be able to perform his religious duties freely. If we show laxity in these matters and do not argue our case properly in the High Court, it is most likely that in future we may have no other course except repentance.... Hoping for your cooperation. A prisoner waiting your help Javed Ahmad Ansari Mumbai Central Jail, Mumbai-400011

Case filed against Muslim youths simply because of an accidental shove

Mumbai: Four Muslim youths (Masoom Ali, Nazar Alam, Sadiq Husain and Khalilur Rahman) were arrested by Mumbai police at the citys Sandhurst Road station in 2009 simply because of accidental and unintentional push. After arresting them for this crime, police brought them to Tilak Nagar Police station, framed charges of having recovered a rocket launcher from their possession and filed a case against them. When their case came up for hearing in the court, Masoom Ali and Nazar Alam were honourably acquitted but the case against Khalilur Rahman and Sadiq Husain is still pending in the court. According to a press release by Maharashtra branch of Jamiatul Ulama, when Jamiatul Ulamas defence lawyer Edenwala cross examined a police officer in the court, he admitted that it was he (named Gaavi) who had investigated their case and had prepared all the documents (to prove them guilty) and that on his complaint police had arrested all of them. It also was proved during cross examination that this police officer, Gaavi had arrested them simply on the charge of pushing and after bringing them to Tilak Nagar Police Station, had filed the false case of a rocket launcher having been recovered from them In this case, the deposition of many witnesses have been completed and only one witness remains to depose, after which the verdict will be pronounced. In another case a youth named Qamar Afghani was arrested by a high ranking police officer who was earlier associated with the ATS, on the charge of spying for Pakistan. When defence lawyers R.P. Sokashi and Khalid Azmi, appointed by Jamiatul Ulama on behalf of Qamar Afghani cross examined this officer he also admitted that it was he who, after getting permission from the central government had charged him, merely on the basis of documents, of spying for Pakistan. According to Jamiatul Ulamas press release, when the defence lawyer R.P. Sokashi asked this police officer if he has filed the case simply on the basis of documents or he had also personally investigated this case, he replied in the negative. It may be stated in this connection that from the above it becomes obvious that in general, police in most cases is biased against Muslims, particularly youths and because of such a biased mentality hundreds of innocent Muslims are rotting in different jails in the country and are subjected to inhuman behaviour, torture and third degree treatment, knowing very well that they are innocent.

Police in MP claims security angle behind Christian profiling

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh police have claimed that the need for profiling of Christians, arose from the communitys own sense of insecurity. Madhya Pradesh police had issued a circular on 23 March to all police stations, instructing them to prepare a detailed report of the Christians. The survey was to be carried out to find out the total number of Christians, their involvement in crimes, political affiliation and the source of fundings, their institutions and the likes. The circular had triggered alarm bells in the community. The state government in its investigation did not found anyone guilty but has warned the local authority that issued the circular not to repeat it in future without consulting senior officers. Archbishop of Bhopal Leo Cornelio and spokesman of Catholic Church Fr Anand Muttungal have dismissed the findings of the investigation conducted by the state government. Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal has said the probe has not answered the basic questions. The states intelligence department, which conducted the investigation into the profiling said that it was due to a misunderstanding between officials in the police department.

Delhi sends five cops to jail for custodial killing

The Saket court, on May 31, awarded 5 years rigorous imprisonment to Chaman Lal, additional sub-inspector in Patel Nagar police station, and three constables and three years to head constable in the case of a custodial death of a person at Patel Nagar police station. The court termed the crime committed by the cops as dehumanising and an affront to human dignity. According to the case report, Madan Lal, the deceased victim, was picked up by Chaman Lal and four other cops on suspicion of theft in 1993. The 18 year old Madan Lal was tortured inside the police station leading to his death in November 1993. In the instant case, a precious human life has been lost at the hands of those who were expected to protect the life and liberty of the citizen of the country like a fence eating away its own crop, said additional session judge K S Mohi while giving the verdict. To discourage such nefarious act in future, CBIs counsel Mr Anil Talwar pleaded court to ward exemplary punishment. The defence, however, sought leniency saying that the accused were already suspended and were the sole bread winners of their respective families. The other accused who were awarded 5 year sentence in the case are constables, Suresh Kumar, Surender Kumar, Devender Singh while Ramesh Chand was awarded 3 years. Chamal Lal, was also imposed with a fine of Rs 2000 by the court after being held guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence. Back then, CBI had registered an FIR against five persons Chaman Lal, Ramesh Chand and Surender Singh, Suresh Kumar and Devender Singh on November 1993. CBI filed the charge sheet against the accused policemen under sections 304 (culpable homicide to murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence). The prosecution presented 35 witnesses to prove its case. (Saiyed Danish)

Case registered against Sadhvi and others

Baghpat: Police and administration of Baghpat district of UP have formally registered a case against 9 persons including Jain muni (saint), Sadhvi Parachi and Swamy Dayanand. The case against the Jain muni is for his announcement to commit suicide and against the remaining others is for instigating him to commit suicide and also for interfering in official work, endangering peace and for spreading communal hatred. Jain munis campaign was aimed at getting the closure of all slaughter houses for which he had started a fast unto death on 26 April in Jain Colleges ground in Barot, declaring that he would end his fast unto death only after getting all the slaughter houses of the country closed, including those of Baghpat and Meerut. For undertaking this fast BJP leader Tiryal Dhama had brought him from Karnataka and among those who were supporting Swamy Dayanand in this cause were, Sadhvi Parachi, R.S.S. leader Govind Singh, BJP leader Ravi Shastri, Sachin Jain and some others against all of whom, a total of 9 persons, cases were registered. In addition to the above mentioned charges, they were also accused of instigating him (to undertake this fast), thereby playing politics and creating tension in the entire district. They were also insulting top officials of the civil administration and police. It was reported that after registration of cases against the followers and supporters of the Jain muni, they were feeling very afraid and the campaign of the Jain saint (muni) against slaughter houses almost came to a stand still. (NA Ansari)

Furqan acquitted after 10 years, cops planted weapon

New Delhi: Mohammad Furqan who has been on trial more than 10 long year trial for being in possession of a country made pistol has now been acquitted by a trial court. The trial court suspected that the weapon was planted by the police. As per the version of the prosecution, Furqan was arrested from Daryaganj by a police patrol team in February 2001 when he tried to run on seeing the patrolling team. The prosecution added that the police recovered a country made pistol from him. In 2002, a chargesheet was filed against Furqan and the court had framed charges under the Arms Act in the year 2003. The court while acquitting Furqan said that as per the police rules it is mandatory for a police officer to enter his name in the register before moving out of the police station for patrol duty. But the record shows that there was no entry made in the register, by the team MG NEWS DESK before leaving for patrol duty.

12 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

ISSUES

Muslims never restrained from entering Babri

HAIDER ABBAS
Lucknow: The Ramjanambhumi/Babri Masjid issue has entered the portals of Supreme Court, which on 9 May, had expressed surprise over the Sept 30, 2010 order of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court partitioning the site of Babri Masjid, three ways, one-third to the Muslim side and two-thirds to the Hindu side. This remark had come as none of the contesting parties had asked for such division of the site. The apex court, however, ordered the status quo to be maintained until the title is decided. But when this will happen is totally unpredictable as there is no time-limit for the final adjudication. In this situation, what would Muslims do as after all, Muslims are a party to the case with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) following it and is also now on a fund-raising drive to meet the expenses of the litigation. It is estimated that the Board is likely to raise Rs. nine crores for the coming court battle. Thus, it becomes necessary to see how the judicial process has in fact helped the Hindu side, while the Muslim side has only somehow withstood the growing uneasy tide. There is no hiding the fact that Muslims of the country have been forced by the illegality of actions of the Hindu side, ever since the Dec 22/23, 1949, when idols were smuggled into Babri Masjid and planted there, to fight this case. Ironically, this illegality has been very systematically being legitimised at every step of the judicial process. First, the Babri Masjid was locked, then unlocked, then demolished, then a temple erected in its place, then puja and darshan allowed, and then, finally, it was decreed that the site was actually the exact spot where Lord Rama was born 900,000 years back, and hence Babri Masjid, which stood there for over four centuries, could not even qualify for the benefit of adverse possession! All this has been stamped by the courts of law. Since the case is now slated for hearing in the Supreme Court, it can be anyones guess that it might take yet another generation to actually get a final verdict, so it is time to analyse what all has elapsed in the various stages, and also probe if the Muslim side can still find some respite under available circumstances. To begin with, it may be known that after the placing of Lord Rama idols, and as per the arrangement under section 145 CrPC, the building of the Babri Masjid was put under the custody of a Receiver, on Jan 5, 1950, and any entry, irrespective of religion or residence, was barred. Nobody was allowed to enter the building, except for darshan from outside the middle wall which had stood in the outer courtyard of the Babri Masjid. No one was allowed darshan without the written permission of the City Magistrate or the Receiver. Muslims, quite understandably, could not dare to go near the Babri Masjid, despite no such prohibition. What this arrangement was, should also to be understood. The property was thus given to Priya Dutt Ram (Receiver) who was required to look after the same, and also see to the puja of the deity. The Receiver was appointed as an ordinary prudent man. He was made to submit a scheme for puja which was to provide material for daily puja and its expenses and which was approved by the City Magistrate and, as such, through one pujari, appointed by the City Magistrate, the rites were to be performed. Interestingly, the expenses were to be borne by both the parties, Hindus and Muslims! So, Muslims were to pay for the puja! But, fortunately such a situation was averted as the income generated from the makeshift shrine was quite sufficient. However, after the death of PD Ram in 1970, the question arose about the appointment of another Receiver and the Civil Court continued the above arrangement by appointing a fresh Reciever, one after another and this continues till date. Muslims were never restrained from entering Babri Masjid, so to make a point, there was an effort to enter the Babri Masjid for offering Jumat-ul-Wida (Last Friday of Ramadan) prayers in 1954. But they were prevented by an order under section 144 CrPC which was violated but a few persons were still able to enter the mosque. A protest was organised and some arrests too were made. But the district authorities later clarified that the same order was valid only for three months, and since then, there has been no restriction as such. he situation, as everyone knows, took a dramatic turn when the Courts facilitated the unlocking of the Babri Masjid on Feb 1, 1986, and everyone was allowed to enter the Babri Masjid to offer prayers. This was an interlocutory order passed by Faizabad District Judge KM Pandey. The Muslim side went against the order and got an interim order for status-quo to be maintained, passed by Justice Brijesh Kumar at Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Feb 3, 1986. The HC should have decided it first but found it convenient to keep it pending, says Mushtaq Ahmed Siddiqui, an advocate who is considered an iconic figure in the Babri Masjid case since it started in 1986. However, this order was violated again by the Hindu side, as shilanyas was performed near Babri Masjid on Nov 9, 1989. Shilanyas is fire-worship considered auspicious for any fresh start according to Hindu rituals. The Muslim side appealed against the violation but the HC bestowed relief to the Hindu side instead! It enlisted the case as miscellaneous, and later issued a notice, and ordered that the case would be decided along with the writ petition. The writ petition was ordered to be decided along with the suit, which was finally got decided on Sep 30, 2010! This order had come on was bad. Thus, Sub Clause 3 of Section 4 of the Act abetting the suits was struck off and it was provided that the suits would remain in the HC. This was definitely a major achievement for the Muslim side. Another bone of contention was that whether Muslims prayed in Babri Masjid until Dec 1949 or did they pray until 1934, as claimed by the Hindu side. This has at least found an answer in the wake of Sep 30, 2010 order, when the majority view is that Muslims were offering prayers until 1949. This view had come from Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice SU Khan. Justice DV Sharma had disagreed. Thus, the case of the Hindu side that Muslims had been ousted from Babri Masjid since 1934, and that the Hindu side had acquired the right to Babri Masjid stands demolished. This can be seen as yet another accomplishment for the Muslim side. What is this 1934 situation? It might be put on record that in 1934, on the occasion of Eidul-Azha, in a nearby village, Shahjehanpur, it was claimed that a cow was sacrificed. This provoked Hindus to attack Babri Masjid causing damage to the building and killing two Muslims and burning some properties of Muslims. This led to criminal proceedings against the rioters and the British government of India imposed a penal tax on the Hindus and the collected amount was used to repair the Babri Masjid as well as the burnt houses of Muslims. The Hindu side has maintained that Muslims did not visit the Babri Masjid after 1934 but this was rubbished by the Sep 30, 2010 order. But, taking stock of the whole issue, the great irony is that the Muslim side has been let down, time and again, despite the Court orders. The orders of Feb 3, 1986, were blatantly violated by the Hindu side by performing the shilanyas. The order of August 14, 1989, for maintaining status quo, which had come on the UP government application for performing shilanyas, as given by Justice KC Agarwal, US Srivsstava and Justice Haider Abbas Raza, and later explained on Nov 7, 1989, by the same bench, was totally violated by the Hindu side. Then, came the order of July 15, 1992 by the HC full bench which had Justice SC Mathur, Brijesh Kumar and Justice Haider Abbas Raza, for the restriction of any construction activity. This order had come on the application from the Muslim side as there was an apprehension that the BJP government under Kalyan Singh would start all-out construction of Ram temple. This was followed by yet another effort by the Muslim side going to SC which ordered on Nov 27, 1992, for the maintenance of status quo and that no damage to be done to Babri Masjid. This was violated and Babri Masjid was demolished on Dec 6, 1992. Kalyan Singh had gone to jail for a day as a symbolic punishment. Last, but not the least: the use of the great adage of rubbing salt to injury, as the order of Sep 30, 2010, has given complete legitimacy to the act of demolition, and, the situation is going on unaltered, despite the acknowledged fact that Muslims had prayed in Babri Masjid until as late as Dec 1949. So, why should not Muslims be allowed to pray in the one-third of the Babri Masjid given to them! This is what Muslims are supposed to be asking for now, says Mushtaq Ahmed Siddiqui. If we analyse, in a nutshell, as to what has happened in the Babri Masjid case since 1949, then the reality is that the Hindu side has started the game, through criminal activity, and in order to protect such criminal activity and strengthen their claim, they took shelter in the courts of law and the fact of the matter is that courts of law have come to their rescue and as such the judicial process can be said to be a process to legitimise criminal activity and that Muslims have been forced to defend the case, he added. It may be added here that in 1951, when the two suits were filed by the Hindu side, some prominent Muslims of Ayodhya were arrayed as defendants. The third suit filed in 1959 was also imposed on Muslims. However, in 1961 Muslims filed one suit to put forth their stand and the same was consolidated with other suits. There can be no glossing over the fact that the Hindu side is making merry with its puja for the past 60 years. The requisites for puja are fulfilled, the pujari supervises the worship and the devotee stands at a distance but Muslims have been denied their right. So why do not Muslims stake claim to offer prayers on the one-third of the Babri Masjid site given to them, with some arrangements to let them reach the Babri Masjid peacefully? This can be considered to respect the desire of those persons involved in the litigation to make them perform prayers even once in their life-time, and this aspect is a necessity. Accepting the order of Sep 30, 2010, for the time being, does not at all amount to accepting the same forever, he said. What could be a way out? AIMPLB along with my friends need to make this a point of our argument in the SC and seek to get the SC modify its May 9 order. We want peace to prevail. We dont want any further bloodshed. The Apex Court can very well order an arrangement. Either the timings of the gangway be changed or a separate gangway made for Muslims but it is high time that such a provision is made. It is a well-established strategy of the Hindu side to prolong the litigation and make Muslims to gradually forget or lose interest in the case, he claimed. Should the Muslim side, therefore, conditionally accede to Sep 30, 2010 order? The case would be fought with all the legal affirmatives but Muslims ought to also exercise their claim to offer prayers and not let the Babri Masjid slip out of our minds. They, in fact, should put their authorized franchise on it, he said. Would there be an attempt along these lines in the SC is yet to be seen.

If we analyse, in a nutshell, as to what has happened in the Babri Masjid case since 1949, then the reality is that the Hindu side has started the game, through criminal activity, and in order to protect such criminal activity and strengthen their claim, they took shelter in the courts of law and the fact of the matter is that courts of law have come to their rescue and as such the judicial process can be said to be a process to legitimise criminal activity and that Muslims have been forced to defend the case... Mushtaq Ahmed Siddiqui
August 14, 1989 given by Justice KC Agarwal, Justice UC Srivastava and Justice Haider Abbas Raza at HC, Lucknow. Despite the fact that there was no bar on Muslims entering the building yet the political and communal situation was so palpable that Muslims could not enter the same, and this situation continued until Dec 6, 1992 when Babri Masjid was demolished, with the connivance of the State, by Hindu terrorists. A makeshift Ram temple was built on its site overnight. The then Prime Minister PV Narsimha Rao made an emotional speech promising to rebuild Babri Masjid on its original site but also brought an Act in Parliament to let the Ram Temple remain intact. On Jan 7, 1993 the Central government passed the same and appointed an authorised person (Commissioner, Faizabad Division) to take control of the situation, and later, a gangway of iron bars was made to facilitate worship by the devotees from a distance of 25 meters and this is still the practise. Muslims too can visit the site, but the volatile situation does not allow them to make any such attempt despite the fact that there no restraint from any Court. After the demolition, two further steps were taken by the Hindu side, which were duly facilitated by the courts. The Hindu Adhivakta Sangh (Hindu Lawyers Organisation), through a petition before a Division Bench at Lucknow had sought that the idol of Lord Rama was facing the vagaries of the weather, hence, some protection order should be passed. The bench allowed the petition, but by then the Ordinance for The Acquisition of Certain Area in Ayodhya Act 1993 had been promulgated and the direction could not be complied with. Justice Hari Nath Tilhari and Justice AN Gupta had constituted the bench. Justice Tilhari had himself once been the President of Hindu Adhivakta Sangh. What warrants further attention is that after Dec 6, 1992 there was total curfew in the whole of Faizabad and it continued until Dec 28 of that year. During this time, a lot of features like a tarpaulin shade, tied with ropes, etc was erected over the idol of Lord Rama and this facility is still provided with adequate replacements, on the orders of the Courts. Later, in the year 1994, a further petition by the Hindu side, was made to reduce the distance for darshan by the devotees from 25 meters to 12 and a half meters, and this was duly allowed by the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court. The bench constituted of Justice Chaudhry Abdur Raheem, Justice AP Misra and Justice IP Vashist. The Muslim side had to knock at the Supreme Court doors which stayed the HC order. Thus, it can be very easily understood that the Muslim side had been in the hot seat and had always looked for legal redressals after being scuttled by the Courts or even by Acts of Parliament! t may also be emphasised again that after Jan 7, 1993 Ordinance providing for abetment of suits, the same was desperately challenged by the Muslim side in the apex court, and on the application of Union of India, for the transfer of the cases from HC to a probable five judges bench in SC. The apex court, after hearing the matter on Oct 10, 1994, held that the right to seek adjudication of ones civil right is a part of basic structure and as such the provision in the acquisition law abetting the suits

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011 13

ISSUES
Sleeping with the Enemy

Ramdas Athawale allies with Shiv Sena

RAM PUNIYANI
ram.puniyani@gmail.com Electoral politics has its own strange logic. While Gopinath Munde, the leader of the BJP was hobnobbing with the Congress (June 2011), in recent times the leaders from Shiv Sena, Narayan Rane and Sanjay Nirupam have joined Congress, Ramdas Athawale, of Republican Party of India, a party claiming to be the party of Dalits based on the ideology of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar has allied with Shiv Sena and are holding joint election rallies. It defies logic completely, as to how the avowed votaries of Hindu Rashtra (Rane, Nirupam) glibly shift to the Congress, formally a secular party, a party opposed to the goal of Hindu Rashtra. How Gopinath Munde, who has been working for the goal of a Hindu Nation, Ram Temple was trying to switch over to the Congress. Equally surprising is the fact as to how, and why Indian National Congress, with the legacy of Gandhi and Nehru can think of taking these politicians, with opposing ideology into its camp? More surprising than this has been the RPI, Shiv Sena alliance. One recalls that since the last few years a slogan was floated in political circles that Shiv Shakti (Shiv Sena)+Bhim Shakti (Followers of Ambedkar, RPI) is equal to Desh Bhakti (Patriotism). And since then this hobnobbing has been in progress. As such the politics of both these parties is very strange and defies logic as they are totally opposed to each others agenda. Shiv Sena was propped up by the Mumbai Industrialists, in collusion with a section of the Congress leadership to break the hold of the Left on trade unions in Mumbai in 1970s. From there it went on to launch tirades against South Indians, (Lungiwallahs), and in a series of hate other politics it targeted Gujaratis and later North Indians. During this period it did indulge in street violence and intimidated these regional-linguistic groups. Later it latched onto the Rath (Chariot) of Hindu Rashtra and boasted to be a part of Hindutva politics in alliance with BJP. Its leader Bal Thackeray boasted that if his Shiv Sainiks have been in the forefront of the demolition of Babri Masjid, he will be proud of that fact. Shiv Sena also has been seriously implicated

The Shiv Sena-RPI alliance is plain opportunism from both sides. Shiv Sena is totally opposed to Ambedkarss values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, while RPI was meant to reflect the aspirations of dalit masses for social equality, political place in society and a dignified life.
in the post demolition Mumbai violence in the Shrikrishna Commission report. As far as its political agenda is concerned it has been the most vociferous party opposing the issues related to dalits. After the publication of Dr. Ambedkars collected works, the volume on Riddles in Hinduism, a book heavily critical of Lords Ram and Krishna, was opposed by Shiv Sena on the streets, it opposed the move to change the name of Marathwada University to Dr. Ambedkar University and to cap it all; it was the only electoral party which opposed the implementation of Mandal Commission. On the other side are the leaders of the Dalit movement, the so called inheritors of the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar. Ambedkar who all his life talked of annihilation of caste, opposed the notion of Hindu Rashtra and went on to convert to Buddhism on the ground that Hinduism is based on Brahminic theology which upholds caste and gender inequality at a deeper level. His core political legacy was to educate, organize and agitate for the democratic rights of dalits. It is in this direction that he formed Independent Labor Party (1936), Scheduled Caste Federation (1942) and laid the outline of the political principles for the Republican Party of India (RPI). This RPI soon suffered the fate of splits; it was also co-opted by various bigger parties like Congress and BJP. The major agitation launched by Dada Saheb Gaikwad of RPI, did galvanize the dalit movement, but after that the dalit leadership has been groping for the path of its future agitations. The formation of militant Dalit Panthers in the decade of 1960s peaking in 1970 was a brief phenomenon, again leading to splits and weakening of the cause. The equation of politics started changing with Kanshiram who took another path to power. He want on to train the cadres for long term, held the power in his hands and soon became politically successful, passing the baton on to Mayawati, who through different strategies succeeded in becoming the Chief Minister of UP. She did ally with SP and BJP on the way, canvassing for Narendra Modi in Gujarat Elections, and justifying the Gujarat carnage as being due to the Godhra incident. Today BSP is the ruling party in UP, it has given a boost to dalit identity but the condition of dalits is far from improved. Where does the dalit movement go from here? A section of dalits has benefitted form reservations, education and other accompaniments of affirmative action for dalits. At the same time the reaction to advancement of Dalits position in society has been on the rise in the politics of Hindu Rashtra, something which aims at subjugation of Dalits, minorities and woman. This politics of Hindutva as such resurfaced with the attacks on Dalits and OBCs on the ground of reservation and later on in a clever move has strategized to co-opt Dalits and OBCs and is using them against religious minorities, killing two birds with one stone. Interestingly the political strategies of RSS-BJP-Shiv Sena are too shrewd and clever. So far their symbolic use of section of leadership of religious minorities and Dalits have served the interests of RSS politics very well, barring probably in UP where Mayawati did succeed in coming to power. Still here there is a change in her own language while trying to retain power, from Bahujan (Dalit, OBCs) to Sarvajan (All). This slogan while looking good on the surface does hide the changing dynamics of Mayawati politics in which the old upper caste are trying to regain an upper hand in a hidden way. The Shiv Sena-RPI alliance is plain opportunism from both sides. Shiv Sena is totally opposed to Ambedkarss values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, while RPI was meant to reflect the aspirations of dalit masses for social equality, political place in society and a dignified life. At the core of these have values diametrically opposed to each other. Can they be political allies? For RPI, this path has been chosen on the plea that since the Congress has not given adequate political power to the leaders of RPI, and they want a share in power. They think an alliance with Shiv Sena-BJP is the path to dalits enjoying political power. Time alone will tell the correctness of this strategy but one thing is sure, if at all, this alliance will give power to a couple of leaders of RPI but the issues of dalits cannot be addressed by the more dominant political allies, the BJP and Shiv Sena, whose very agenda is against the interests of downtrodden masses. While Shiv Sena-BJP has shrewdly tried to wean a section of dalits for its electoral advantage, they may also be able to use RPI leadership for their own calculations of electoral power. As far as the dalit movement is concerned, the challenges are immense and playing junior partner to the parties totally opposed to the political values of Ambedkar will be counterproductive. The only path to dalits for empowerment seems to be social agitations and movements around their material issues, issues of security, equality and dignity. This though, a painful path is the only option available for the better future of vast sections of those deprived since the last so many centuries. There cant be shortcuts for the goal of Equality, in all spheres social economic and political life of dalits. (Issues in Secular Politics)

ANHAD threatened for supporting Sanjiv Bhat

New Delhi: ANHAD, a social organisation which has been working for providing help, justice and rights to wronged and deprived people and victims of communal riots has been receiving threats for demanding security for Sanjiv Bhat, the I.P.S. officer who had made same statements against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his governments role in the communal riots of 2002. It may be stated here that after making some statements against Modi and his government and their role in providing covert support to rioters against Muslims, he (Bhat) was receiving threats from anonymous persons and because of this, ANHAD had been demanding security for him. According to one Manisha who has been working in ANHADs office in Ahmadabad, one day some unknown persons came to her office and started asking many questions about ANHAD such as, whether this organisation is registered or not, what kind of work it is doing, since when it is working in Gujarat, why is it indulging in anti-government activities etc. and many more questions. They asked many questions about Manisha herself also. According to her, the way they were talking and making enquiries clearly indicated that they had come to threaten because they were repeatedly saying that they have come to know that ANHAD is actively indulging in antigovernment activities. When ANHADs Chief Shabnam Hashmi was told about these people, she said that her organisation (ANHAD) has been working in Gujarat for the past 8 years and will continue working in future also. Regarding the threats, she said that this is nothing new because in the past also this organisation and its members have been attacked many times and they received injuries too. She said that RSS and BJP people have always been involved in such attacks. She feared the possibility of being asked to vacate the building in which her office is located. She said that her organisation had held a demonstration in Gujarat on 4 June and a demand had been made to the government to provide security to Bhat and his family because his life is in danger; but inspite of many demands to this effect, no security has so far been provided to him. She also said that if these people think that by threatening us they will frighten us into stopping our work, they are gravely mistaken, adding that we are fighting for justice and rights of wronged and exploited people and our work NA ANSARI will continue, come what may.

Milli Information Network

Time to network the community
The Muslim communitys many ills and problems stem from the fact that there is a marked lack of informationsharing and dissemination. The leadership is limited to some big cities while the majority lives in thousands of towns and lakhs of villages across the country. ... This makes it difficult to manage the two-way circulation of information, from the leadership to the masses and from the masses to the leadership. To tackle this problem, a network of information centres should be established all over the country. There should be one at least in each district headquarter, and more in larger towns and cities. These information centres will function from the offices of community organisations or in libraries and reading rooms... Acting upon the above editorial published in MG 16-31 Dec. 2007 we registered a website www.millinetwork.com. We are in the process of developing a large network of milli NGOs. Kindly get yourself listed on the network. Each listed organisation will have its own webpage on the network. Fill in the below form and send it to us by email or post. Name of Organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pin Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phone (std code) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Email . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Name of Main Trustee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Geographical Reach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brief note of Nature of Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............................................................................................ ............................................................................................ ............................................................................................ Category of Work: [Please encircle] Charity / Child Guidance Clinic / Children / Communal Harmony / Community Development / Disabilities / Slum Children / Human Rights / Family Welfare / Literacy / Education (scholarships/coaching) / Media / Medical / Orphan children / Religious / Social care / Social Justice / Social Welfare / Vocational Training / Volunteer Mgmt / Widows / Women / Others [Masjids and Madarasahs will also be listed on the network] Any literature (brouchure, leaflets, audited accounts etc) may also be submitted. The Milli Gazette, D-84 Abul Fazl Enclave - I, New Delhi 110025 Tel.: 011-2694 7483 mg@milligazette.com Cut or photocopy

14 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

ANALYSIS
Speaking Out
N I L O FA R S U H R AWA R D Y

Reservation & Muslims

ithout questioning the credibility as well as legitimacy of voices being raised demanding reservation for Muslims, one is prompted to raise one question. Would reservation solve the problems faced by Indian Muslims ranging from illiteracy to unemployment? Would it really? Even in cities, where government-run schools are available to impart at least elementary education, have all Muslims really taken adequate advantage of these schools. Not really. A rudimentary survey indicates that Muslims, particularly boys, belonging to lower socio-economic strata stop attending schools as soon as they learn how to bunk classes. This trend is prevalent among non-Muslims hailing from similar socio-economic background. If and when the targeted recipients are not keen on securing higher education, how would reservation at any level contribute to their development? The last point can be countered by stating that reservation for Muslims is needed in politics as well as the employment sector. Undeniably, a significant number of educated Muslims face problems when seeking employment. Politically, the representation of Muslims in Parliament as well as in most state assemblies is considerably lower than their population. Asking for reservation of seats for Muslims in these political bodies is equivalent to chasing a mirage. Besides, if ever this demand was met, wouldnt that be projected by certain sectors as adding fire to communal agenda

being pursued by anti-Muslim elements? It is most likely to be. It cannot be missed that Muslim parties representation in Parliament as well as the state assemblies is much lower than the total Muslim legislators add up to. Clearly, Muslims political importance is linked to their standing in the political parties they are members of. Can they be expected to abandon this in quest for reservation solely on the basis of their religious identity? Definitely not. Considering that reservation for Indian Muslims may best be viewed as impossible in most quarters, it is important to consider the same issue from another angle. Without probing into politicking involved, one may accept that reservation is being asked for in the interest of the development of Indian Muslims. It is erroneous to assume that Muslims development is linked with only reservation. One cannot be oblivious of the progress made by numerous Muslims in various sectors, from politics, academia, sports, business, media to Bollywood and many others. Where and when has reservation helped them achieve this stature? To a degree, the importance of Muslim votes cannot be ignored in fielding of Muslim candidates in areas where their population is considered politically significant. Yes, political parties do not refrain from using the religious card as and when required. Political usage of this religious card has its disadvantages too. There have been quite a few cases when participation of too many Muslims in the political race, either as independent candidates or as party representative, has led to seats being won by non-Muslims. Frankly speaking, making too much noise about reservation, particularly when it seems to be a distant mirage, is least likely to be a constructive move where development of the Muslim community is concerned. In fact, the uneducated and also semi-literate Muslims seem least bothered by concern that is paid regarding their development by self-

acclaimed leaders, organizations and even government authorities. This, however, does not imply that the issue of Muslims development should be ignored or even sidelined. It needs greater importance than ever before. Undeniably, there are certain avenues where Muslims can progress, without making much noise about reservation. One of these is becoming a little more enlightened about their religious principles and duties. It is indeed amazing that while Friday prayers are witness to a large number of Muslims taking part, a percentage of these are not familiar with performing Namaz, they have not been taught the Holy Quran and so much more. Reservation is not needed to ensure that young Muslims are encouraged to learn the necessary religious principles. Reservation is also not needed to guide them on pursuing education as well as taking to professional pursuits as a source of their income. Economic and social backwardness cannot be delinked. While Muslims have not refrained from moving actively towards self-employment and have succeeded too, sadly the religious identity of a percentage of these is becoming more and more confined to the nominal level. Why? At the same time, it cannot be ignored that a considerable number of Muslims, including women, have taken the task of imparting religious education to children in their neighbourhood. They have not waited for issuance of any religious, political or social directive to play such responsible roles. Even if a percentage of reservation is ever granted to Indian Muslims, it would be erroneous to view it as solution to all the problems they are afflicted by. The new importance being given by Muslims to education, self-employment and their religious duties is a certain indicator of their being fully conscious of their role and duty as Indian Muslims, which are not bound by any reservation-criteria!

Selective indignation: why only some reservations disturb media

Some kinds of student reservation bother the media. Others dont. A city like Mumbai has colleges with reservations for linguistic and religious minorities which gobble up as much as 65 per cent of seats. But few in the media question this, says JYOTI PUNWANI
Cut-offs are making headlines as they do at this time every year. The mad scramble for undergraduate seats in the top few colleges, the tension as cut-offs soar, the comparisons between last years cut-offs and this years, the analysis of the most soughtafter courses. Day after day, pages are devoted to the annual admission ritual. As usual, demand outnumbers available seats, because all students want to get into a few colleges. But even within these colleges, just a handful of seats are actually available in the general category. The Times of India (Mumbai edition) published a report on the number of seats available to general category students in Mumbai. Apparently, only 12 % to 32 % of undergraduate seats in most of the reputed colleges are not reserved and `reserved does not necessarily imply reserved for OBC/SC/ST. A multi-lingual city like Mumbai has the unique phenomenon of reservations for linguistic minorities in colleges run by various communities. Thus, 50 % of the seats in colleges run by Gujarati, Sindhi, Tamil and other non-Marathi-speaking managements are reserved for students speaking that language. Then there are colleges run by religious minorities, which also reserve 50 % of their seats for students belonging to their own faith. Minority-run colleges need not reserve seats for OBC/SC/ST students, but have to do so for physically handicapped students, children of members of the defence forces and central government employees with transferable jobs, and students excelling in the arts or sports. All this makes up 13 % of the seats. Added to this is the 5 % management quota. Altogether this accounts for 68 % of the seats. Many college managements in Mumbai, both minority and non-minority, run schools. Also, unlike Delhi, Stds XI and XII in Mumbai usually constitute the `Junior College section. So many colleges reserve 20 % of their seats for students who have studied in their school or in their `junior college. Thus in a minorityrun institution which runs its own school and/or junior college, 50 % seats could be reserved for minorities and 38 % for other special reservations, leaving only 12 % in the open category. As happens in all reserved category seats, cut-offs are relaxed for these reserved seats too at managements discretion. No one has really investigated how low these cut-offs are. It so happens that some of Mumbais most sought-after colleges are run either by religious or linguistic minorities. One would expect a hue and cry about the unpleasant reality that however meritorious a student, s/he can only aspire to a third of the available seats in the citys best colleges. Surprisingly, even after the Times published a chart showing the number of seats in the `open category in five of the citys reputed colleges (they amounted to just 10 % in one college, run, ironically, by a Marathi-speaking management), there was no furore. Neither did newspapers comment on the unfairness of this nor did students bodies or parents. Remember the furore in the media and the streets over reservations to OBC students first proposed by the Mandal Commission in 1990, and implemented recently in the IITs and IIMs? Reservations in educational institutions for SC/ST students continue to be hotly debated, with most English-speaking students and journalists opposed to them. This opposition surfaces every time the IIT JEE results are announced. The Times of India, specially, has often reported on the low cut-offs for reserved category students aspiring to enter IIT (for students belonging to the Scheduled Tribes and Castes, the cut-off is 50 % that of the general category cut-off). This years JEE results, out in May, showed that SC and ST students had done rather well, with 120 (of the 1950 who qualified) having made it without needing a relaxation in cut-offs. The IIT press release pointed out that since the number of successful SC students was more than the seats reserved for them, the IITs would not run the preparatory course for them. This course is meant to fill up reserved category seats by further lowering cut-offs for those who fail to make the grade. The TOI report, citing the press Jaihind and NM Colleges), or for the 5 % coming through the management quota. This year, a Delhi student was quoted as saying: If I dont make it to a Delhi college then I will apply through the management quota in Mumbai colleges. The reporter didnt ask him whether he knew anyone in college managements. Imagine a Dalit or tribal student telling a reporter from the English press: `If I dont make it through the open category I will apply through the reserved quota, and getting away with such a statement with no questions asked. One reason for our easy acceptance of minority quotas could be that it is politically incorrect to comment on reservations for religious minorities. But why should that be so? Non-Muslim religious minorities are not educationally backward. In fact, when St Stephens decided to implement the full 50 % Christian quota in 2008, there was a hue and cry, specially from its own faculty. But it was nothing like that seen after Mandal or when Arjun Singh introduced OBC reservations in IITs and IIMs. And what about linguistic minorities? In Mumbai, Gujaratis and Sindhis are seen as rich business communities, hardly in need of reservations. Tamilians, it was said, monopolized key IAS posts in Maharashtras capital for three decades after the formation of the State. There has certainly been no discrimination against these groups as such in education. Yet, they are entitled to half the seats in prestigious city colleges. And no English newspaper comments on this. Could it be because many of those who work in (and own) the English press, come from these communities? But shouldnt we be concerned about Marathi-speaking Mumbaikars who are left out because of these reservations? Perhaps they arent. The really brilliant among them, as among any community, get into the college of their choice anyway. For the rest, there exist equally prestigious colleges where they form a majority. The ambience in these colleges is distinctively Marathi - and upper caste. So who does get left out? The faceless mass of less-than-80 % scorers and probably non-English-speaking students, who end up joining nameless colleges far removed form the English press concern. When we English journalists talk about the lack of `Open or `General category seats, we refer to seats available to upper caste students (since the so-called lower castes have their reserved seats anyway). Yet, when we discover that these general category seats too arent all that `open, that they too are reserved, why do we not get worked up the way we do over caste-based reservations? Could it be because it is people like us - upper caste and upper class- who benefit from these other reservations? Perhaps the easy acceptance is because this reservation for the already privileged forms part of the unofficial reservation that we have lived with for centuries - the reservation of education for upper castes. To quote BP Mandal, author of the Mandal Commission report: In fact the Hindu society has always operated a very rigorous scheme of reservations, which was internalised through caste system. Eklavya lost his thumb and Shambhuk his neck for their breach of caste rules of reservations. The present furore against reservations for OBCs is not aimed at the principle itself, but against the new class of beneficiaries, as they are now clamouring for a share of the opportunities which were all along monopolised by the higher castes. PS: The Times front-page anchor reported on IIT Delhis bid to groom SC/St students. The article had quotes criticising this as a form of apartheid. The reporter was the same who has all along done negative reports of SC/ST JEE cut-offs. Just proves the danger of stereotyping any journalist. (thehoot.org)

In fact the Hindu society has always operated a very rigorous scheme of reservations, which was internalised through caste system. Eklavya lost his thumb and Shambhuk his neck for their breach of caste rules of reservations. The present furore against reservations for OBCs is not aimed at the principle itself, but against the new class of beneficiaries, as they are now clamouring for a share of the opportunities which were all along monopolised by the higher castes. MANDAL COMMISSION REPORT
release, added that this wasnt a new phenomenon; successful SC students had outnumbered reserved seats for the last few years. But for The Times, this wasnt just good news; it needed probing. In a separate article on the success of SC students, the reporter wrote: Sceptics, however, have an answer to why the preparatory programme is being done away with this year. The total number of seats across the IITs has gone up because of the OBC quota; the number of IITs too has risen. `It is possible that the IITs had to pull down the cut-off for filling up all the (general category) seats. And with the relaxation formula a lot of SC students made it. This may have eventually resulted in abysmally low scores for quota candidates after the scores were relaxed by 50%, said a former JEE chairman. So, one unnamed expert speculates on the unexpectedly good performance by SC students, which, according to him is actually an abysmally bad performance. His speculation is based on no concrete evidence. Yet, he is quoted in the article! Does this happen when we report on unexpected success stories of other categories of students? Would we speculate why poor students year after year surmount all obstacles to emerge winners? Muslim students, who rarely made a mark earlier, have in the last decade, emerged as toppers in all streams in Maharashtra. Have we ever quoted experts saying that the reason for their success is that the competition now is easier? What makes us take such liberties with quota students (popularly called `prepies on campus)? Now, contrast this with the silence over the 68 % to 88 % reservations in Mumbais colleges, reservations that are not caste-based. There has never been a story on what the cut-offs are for minority students (50 % of the total intake in prestigious colleges such as Delhis St Stephens, and Mumbais St Xaviers,

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011 15

JAMMU & KASHMIR

DATELINE SRINAGAR: AFSANA RASHID

Omar hints at withdrawal of AFPSA by year end

hief Minister Omar Abdullah on June 22 announced that he would try to do away with AFSPA in the state by the end of this year. We intend to withdraw the Act. When it will be done and from which areas it will be withdrawn will be announced at an appropriate time. If the summer passes off peacefully, well withdraw it by the end of this year, said the chief minister, while interacting with media at SKICC here. He pointed that an interaction between interlocutors and various shades of opinion in the state and sustained Indo-Pak talks are important means to address the political issues of the state. He expressed hope that the interlocutors would engage separatists in the process of dialogue and finalize their recommendations for central government to act upon. When a group of separatist leaders meet Kashmir Committee headed by Ram Jethmalani that has no mandate from the Centre to engage in talks, why are they reluctant to hold talks with interlocutors who have been authorized to talk to people, said the chief minister. Reassuring his commitment of empowering Panchayat institutions, he said, It will not change the importance of the settlement of the political issues of the state. These will continue to loom large till sorted out politically across table through a sustained dialogue process. In response to a query that the army has said to have forwarded recommendations on AFSPA, chief minister denied having received any formal recommendations from any of the two committees. If any comments are made on this, they are not reflected in any recommendations. Pertinently, two committees headed by GOC Srinagar based 15 Corps and GOC Nagorta based 16 Corps were formed by the government after last years summer unrest to review applicability of AFSPA in the state. Underlining the need for rehabilitating surrendered militants, chief minister on the sidelines of closing ceremony of CRPF Cup Football Tournament at Bakshi Stadium on June 27 said, The issue has been taken up. Government is trying to establish a baseline on how educated these people are, their skills and avenues they can be employed in. After that a package will be worked out with the Centre. In his ground-breaking initiative to strengthen the coalition between National Conference and Congress, the chief minister in a meeting held with office bearers and prominent activists of Congress from Kupwara and Baramulla districts on July 4 reached out to grassroot Congress workers.

Geelani releases autobiography

July 4, he said Panchayats are the vanguard institutions of public power and establishment of Panchayat Raj would give a fillip to women empowerment.

Chidambram satisfied with security

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram expressed satisfaction after reviewing the law and order, security situation and developmental scenario in the state during his three-day (June 20-22) visit to the valley. He attended a high level meeting held here at SKICC on June 21. The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, top officials of police, paramilitary forces, army and those from state and central intelligence agencies. The progress of various security and development related initiatives of the central government was discussed. Arrangements put in place by state government for smooth conduct of Amarnath yatra was also taken stock of in detail. Matters pertaining to the smooth conducting and completion of Panchayat elections also came up. Law and order and security situation in south Kashmir was reviewed separately in another meeting on the same day at Pahalgam in which SSPs and Deputy Commissioners participated. Chidambaram held two rounds of talks with the Governor, N. N. Vohra at Raj Bhavan here on June 20 and 22. He also visited BSFs TAC headquarters at Neeru-Gurez before flying back.

Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G), Syed Ali Shah Geelani released the first volume of his autobiography Wullar ke Kinarey on July 7. This book narrates the story of a boy hailing from a poor family. A boy who always tried to learn, says Geelani, adding that the book is an unedited version of events that took place in his life. The 571-page book in Urdu speaks about Geelanis life from childhood days spent in Sopore to his early years in politics. It also focuses on important political events like the partition of Sub-continent, the holy relic movement in Kashmir, 1965 Indo-Pak war and Tashkent agreement between India and Pakistan. The second volume of the book will focus on the emergence of the militant movement in state along with major events in Kashmirs contemporary history. Padshahi here he said, 20 years of disturbances and uncertainty in the valley didnt shake the bonds of love and brotherhood between Sikhs and the majority community but instead were further cemented.

Militants killed
Two militants were killed by the police, 42 RR and 280 Bn of CRPF in an encounter at Shikargah-Tral on June 27. A search operation that was started late June 26 was suspended overnight. Next morning, exchange of fire between security forces and militants started, resulting in the death of two militants; Muzaffar Ahmad Malla and Suhail Ahmad Khan and injuries to two army personnel including Captain Dass. A shutdown was observed in the area on June 28 to mourn the deaths. In another incident, a militant, Tamir Ahmad Khuroo alias Junaid killed himself in Sopore on June 29. Police said that a pistol borne militant after firing upon CRPF bunker of 179 Bn D-Coy near Arampora-Sopore was chased by security forces. He ran towards a local mosque. As the mosque was cordoned, he fired on his head. Demanding an enquiry into the incident, MLA Langate Er Rasheed on July 1 said that the episode warrants a serious response from the government. Police on June 25 claimed to have arrested a militant, Tanveer Ahmad Sheeru resident of Armpora-Sopore affiliated with Lashkar-e-Toiba, who was involved in a grenade attack on Sopore police station, a day earlier. Six people, including five civilians and a police head constable, sustained injuries. Two youth who, were indoctrinated to join militancy were arrested by police in Kupwara. A police patrol party on June 21 observed two individuals roaming under suspicious circumstance. During initial inquiry, they were identified as Zahid Gulzar and Sharief, residents of Reshipora Panzgam, Awantipora. Inspector Shabir Ahmad Bhat No. 4714/NGO of police telecommunication was fired upon by militants at his residence here on June 29. He later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital after battling for his life for eight days. IED was detected and destroyed by a bomb disposal squad of Police Control Room on Boulevard road that circles the world famous Dal Lake, on June 30. Police on July 1 claimed to have cracked the murder case of a forest official. Four forest officials including a block forest officer have been arrested. An FIR number 233/2011 under section 302 RPC was registered. He has been identified as 32-year-old Sonaullah Zargar. A criminal conspiracy was hatched to eliminate him as he used to report instances of timber smuggling to higherups, police said. The High Court on June 29 directed authorities to shift Asiya Andrabi, patron Dukhtaran-e-Millat to central jail here from Kotbhalwal jail, Jammu within three days. Yet another PSA was imposed against her prior to this direction. Police on July 3 arrested 13 people including four women involved in the flesh trade racket allegedly run from a local hotel, here. Eight women, most of them from poor families have been reportedly found involved in it. Reports say that some of them were being lured on the pretext of jobs. Reacting to reports that CRPF and police are being armed with pump-action guns to control crowds here, Hurriyat (G) on June 21 quoted scientists and doctors on the lethality of such nonlethal weapons. Its spokesperson said even if pump-action gun doesnt kill immediately, the victim develops several dangerous and deadly diseases. The gas discharged from pump-action gun can lead to loss of eye-sight. The laser gun and others can result in blood clotting. Such weapons are akin to slow poisoning and these will leave behind a population of disabled.

PDP demands release of detained youth

Opposition Peoples Democratic Party has asked the Government of India (GOI) to release political prisoners and withdraw cases against those arrested during the summer unrest last year. Such steps can create an atmosphere of reconciliation in the state, said Mehbooba Mufti, president of the party after holding a meeting with party executives here on June 21. She added since the Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram is closely monitoring the situation, he should take steps to release those arrested last year and withdraw cases against 5,000 youth who took part in these protests. Meanwhile, party patron and former chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on July 5 said that GOI was avoiding addressing the Kashmir issue. As long as aspirations of the people arent addressed, a solution will elude the Kashmir issue. I believe GOI is avoiding doing so. While speaking to media on the sidelines of a function at Seer Hamdan-Anantnag, he said weve a right to agitate within the ambit of the constitution of India. Mufti alleged that the government has victimized the entire younger generation. People had given peace yet another chance, but the government has failed to learn from its mistakes. More than 5000 boys have been framed in false cases while hundreds are languishing in jails. Questioning the outcome of the efforts of the interlocutors appointed to find an amicable solution to Kashmir issue, he asked what has happened, so far?

Pandit Samiti allegations refuted

Rejecting allegations made by Kashmir Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS) leader, Sanjay Tikoo, wherein he had accused JKLF-R chairman, Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karatey with murder of dozens of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs), party vice-president, Javaid Ahmad Mir termed it as an attempt to sabotage communal harmony between KPs and Muslims. While addressing media here on June 21, Mir said soon after the formation of JKLF in 1988, conspiracies were hatched to defame the freedom struggle. Under a well-planned conspiracy, the then governor, Jagmohan was used to organise a mass-exodus of community. Mir asked why Tickoo didnt remember community members since 1990? He has fired a paper missile on the behest of agencies who were perturbed to see scenes of communal harmony at Kher Bawani-Tulmulla, Mattan and other places. Referring to accusations made by KPSS leader against Dar, Mir said, These are efforts to damage the fabric of communal harmony between the two communities. Even the Apex court and TADA court acquitted Dar of all charges after 18 years of incarceration. Mir said over 30,000 youth were rendered handicapped at interrogation centres, while over a lakh houses and other properties of Muslims were either set ablaze or blasted by security forces. Over 550 graveyards are witness to the unending pain and agony that the Kashmiris have gone through. Accusing GOI of launching an emotional attack on Sikhs through operation Blue Star in 1984, senior Hurriyat (M) leader and chairman Democratic Freedom Party, Shabir Ahmad Shah on July 5 said that New Delhi wanted Sikhs to migrate from Kashmir to give the freedom movement a communal touch. Speaking at Gurdawara Chatti Padshai, he said, The storming of the Golden Temple in 1984 by Indian troops was unethical and emotional terror. The military attack on the Akal Takhat in the Golden temple was an emotional attack to Sikhs. On the same day, the chief minister Omar Abdullah said that Sikhs are an integral part of Kashmiriyat. The community has lived with Muslims in the valley through the ages in an atmosphere of brotherhood and amity. Speaking to a Sikh congregation at Gurudawara Chatti

Mega Panchayat to be held soon

A mega Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Sabha is expected to be held here in September-October. The same is likely to be chaired by Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. This was stated by chief minister, Omar Abdullah here on July 2, while addressing sarpanches and panches of Srinagar district at SKICC. He said that the Sabha would act as direct interaction between the Prime Minister and panchayat members. The interaction would prove highly beneficial on the development front, he said, adding while we are hopeful that the current dialogue process between India and Pakistan and task entrusted to the interlocutors would yield positive results in addressing basic political issues of Jammu and Kashmir relieving us permanently from the shadow of the gun, we want to simultaneously address development issues. He also announced the formulation of a fresh BPL list in the state as per new census report and number of complaints against the authenticity of the existing list. While speaking to sarpanches and panches of Uri and Rafiabad assembly constituencies on

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16 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

NEWSMAKERS
MEN & WOMEN IN NEWS
AIADMK legislator A. MOHAMMED JAN was on 29 June inducted as a minister in the Tamil Nadu government. Jan, representing Ranipet assembly constituency, has been given backward classes and minorities welfare portfolio. ER. MOHAMMAD SALEEM, former president of Jamaat-e Islami Rajasthan, has been appointed as National Secretary of Jamaat-EIslami Hind. ER. KHURSHEED HUSAIN replaced Mr. Saleem last month as new state chief. He had been serving for 16 years, i.e. 4 terms as state president of the organization. Mr Saleem is also a member of National Advisory Council since 12 years and of the National House Of Representatives since 16 years. HARUN RASHID KHAN, Executive Director in RBI has been appointed Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai for a period of 3 years. His appointment is in place of Ms. Shyamala Gopinath who retired in May. With this appointment he has superseded three executive directors to become DG of RBI. As many as seven RBI executive directors were interviewed for this post in May out of which two namely HR Khan and G. Gopalakrishna were short listed by a panel headed by RBI Governor D. Subbarao. Finally, Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister selected Khan for this post. It may be stated that in addition to Khan, there are three other Deputy Governors of RBI. AZIZ HAJINI, writer and poet and Syed SHUJAAT BUKHARI, a senior journalist were reelected President and General Secretary respectively of Adabi Markaz Kamraz, Kashmirs oldest and biggest cultural literary organisation, for a period of 3 years. Ms. ZAKIA AKHTAR was conferred PhD Degree by Jamia Millia Islamia for her research treatise Sacred places and Pilgrimages in a plural society: A Geographical Analysis of Prominent Dargahs of Delhi which she completed under the supervision of Prof. Mumtaz Khan of the Department of Geography. S.M. KHAN has been appointed new D.D. News Director. With his taking over this post, it is hoped that many Urdu programmes and presentations that were being telecast earlier but were stopped subsequently without any proper and satisfactory reason will now be restarted and new programmes will also be introduced to revive Urdu on DD. He himself said this while interacting with media persons. MUHAMMAD SADIQ HUSAIN has been conferred PhD Degree by JNUs Department of Linguistics and Persian literature for his research treatise Judicial System in India during Mughal Period with Special Reference to Persian Sources which he completed under the supervision of Dr. Akhlaq Ahmad Ansari. Syed AKRAM HASHMI, media incharge of BJPs minority front, has been selected Incharge of BJPs Uttrakhand Minority Front by BJPs High Command. ABDUL WAHID MUHAMMAD AL NAJASHI, a native of Yemen and student of AMU, was conferred Doctorate Degree by this University for his research treatise on Mutual Comparison of 5-Star Hotels of India and Yemen. He is the first scholar from Yemen to have written his research treatise on this topic which he completed under the supervision of Prof. Muhammad Ashraf Ali. TAZEEN NAFEES, granddaughter of Maulana Hasrat Mohani has been conferred PhD Degree by Jamia Hamdard University for her thesis on a Biotechnological topic which she completed under the supervision of Prof. Malik Zainul Aabedeen. Prof. SIBGHATULLAH FAROOQI, Dean of AMUs Faculty of Commerce has been made new member of AMUs Executive Council on the basis of seniority in place of Prof. S. Abrar Hasan, former Dean of Faculty of Medicine. MARYAM JAHAN, a student of Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalya, Zeenat Mahal, Jaffarabad who secured 97% marks in Urdu in CBSE was given a cash prize of Rs. 3100 and an award Nishan-e Rafat Sarosh by Anjuman Rafat Sarosh. She is the daughter of a driver and undertakes tuition to meet part of her educational expenses. In addition to her, 35 other boy and girl students of Urdu medium schools of Delhi who secured 80 percent or more marks in CBSE examinations held in 2011 were also given cash prize of Rs. 1500 each and award of Nishan-e Rafat Sarosh. Ms. SHEIKH MIRZA KHURSHID AHMAD of Bhiwandi, a student of Aqsa Girls Urdu High School topped in the whole Bhiwandi in Maharashtra State Board examination by securing a record 96.55% aggregate marks. Another girl, KHAN AAMNA KHATOOON by securing aggregate of 91.82% marks topped in all the Municipal Corporation schools of Mumbai in SSC examination.

OBITUARIES
FAKHRUDDIN KHOORAKIWALA, chancellor of Jamia Milli Islamia and chairman and founder of Akbar Alis business house, Mumbai died in Mumbai on 5 July at the age of 93 years after a prolonged illness. Maulana GHULAM WARIS, principal of Mithilanchals Darul Uloom Faizan Waris Hariva died on 23 June after a prolonged illness at the age of 69 years. Under his principalship two institutions achieved great progress where he had been teaching with sincerity and hard work for the past 27 years. He introduced modern education also in this madrasa alongwith religious education. He is survived by his wife and two sons. ANWAR BARI, Delhis well-known poet died of heart attack on 30 June. He was 60. After suffering a heart attack a day earlier he was admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital where he died. He was a devout person. He was to fly to Canada same day i.e. 30 June to participate in a Mushaira. He is survived by his wife and two sons. ANWAR FARRUKHABADI, noted Urdu poet died on 29 June at his native place, Farrukhabad at the age of 83 years. He wrote about 2000 film songs for Bollywood films and private albums. His songs have been made famous in the voices of singers such as Muhammad Rafi, Manna Dey, Pankaj Udhas, and qawwals Shankar Shambhu and Sabri Brothers among others. Maulana HAFIZ JAVED AHMAD MILLI, famous religious scholar of Malegaon and Imam of Tablighi Markaz, Noorani Masjid died on 3 June at the age of 55 years after a prolonged illness. He was confined to bed for about 1.5 years. He was counted among bold and broad minded religious leaders of Malegaon who spent greater part of his life in the service of religion and spreading the message of the Quran. Maulana HAFIZ FASIHUDDIN, founder and rector of Madrasa Mimbaul Uloom, Madhopur (East Champaran) died in a road accident in Gujarat on 27 June. As he was travelling by a car it got overturned by a sever wind storm because of which he was seriously injured. He was admitted to a hospital in Surat from where he was referred to a Mumbai hospital where he succumbed to his injures on 27 June. His funeral prayer was offered in Mumbai after which his body was brought by air to his native place Deoband and laid to rest on 28 June. PROF. ABDUL QAVI DESNAVI passed away on 7 July at the age of 81. He is survived by his wife, three sons and four daughters. He was laid to rest in Bada Bagh graveyard. He had retired as a teacher in Safia College, Bhopal, and had retired in 1990. He had written more then 50 books, and was a teacher of many famous writers. He was known as an expert on Iqbals poetry. Born on November 1, 1930 in Desna village in block Asthawan in Nalanda district of Bihar, Desnavi has over 50 books on Urdu literature to his credit. Among his major works were, Hayat-e-Abul Kalam Azad, a book on freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad published in 2000. DR. SAJID KHAN SHERWANI died on 27 June. He was suffering from malignancy, which was detected only around two weeks before his death. He was buried next day at Jamalpur Qabristan. He retired as a reader from the University of Delhi last year. He took over as Treasurer of Noorul Uloom Education Society (NUES) after his retirement.

AWARDS
Vikram University, Ujjain (MP) awarded PhD degree to SADIQUE MANSURI on his thesis entitled English translations of the Quran: a comparative study of two translations. He worked under the supervision of Dr. A.G. Khan. Prof. WASIM AHMAD of AMUs Department of Zoology has been honoured with E.K. Janki Ammual National Award by Union ministry of environment and forests for categorisation of animals. The Award, consisting of a Medal, Commendation Certificate and a cheque of Rs. one lakh, was presented to him at a function in Delhi on International Environment Day by Union minister of environment and forests, Jai Ram Ramesh and Executive Director of UN Environment Programme, A. Stainer. He is the youngest scientist to receive this award since it was instituted in 1999 by Govt. of India. FAZAL IMAM MALIK, noted journalist, poet and author has been honoured with Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award 2011 at a function held at Delhis Rajinder Bhawan by Union Coal Minister, Prakash Jaiswal in recognition of his services in the field of journalism. A native of Bihars Sheikhpura District, he is working in Delhi with Hindi newspaper Jan Satta. As a sports journalist and correspondent he has served as live commentator in many national and international sports events. SULAIMAN ASIF, a senior and veteran poet of Banaras was honoured with an award by the citys Local Church for his famous book Aaeena-e Kaleesa (Prism of Jesus) which is a pictorial book on Hazrat Isa (Christ). Every photo in the book carries elaborative couplets in Urdu, Hindi and English which was highly appreciated by all who saw it, including churches of India. Sulaiman Asif took about 40 years to complete this book and studied many authentic books to collect the material for this book. Ravi Manjari, a bishop of Banaras, has sent the book to Pope Benedict XVI at Vatican as a gift. Bishop of Local Church said that for the first time an award has been given to a Muslim by a Christian association on such a book. Syed NASIR ALI, prominent Shia scholar and Syed ABBAS ZAIDI NAUGANVI, social worker were honoured with Minar-e Ilm Award at an international function Jashn-e Noor held at Najaf (Iraq) where the mazar of Hazrat Ali (R.A.) is situated. The Award was presented to them at Najaf by Allama Abbas Irshad Lucknowi. Prof. ARIF ALI, Head of the Department of Biotechnology of Jamia Millia Islamia was honoured with Rajiv Gandhi Samaj Ratn Award for his invention of bio-sensor a useful scientific tool for detecting bioradiation of heavy metals like mercury and arsenic and also for finding out elements and germs in water. Dr. SIDDIQI MUJIBI, noted and popular Urdu poet of Jharkhand was unanimously selected by Shahpar Award Committee members for Shahpar Award 2011 in a meeting convened at the Shahpar office at Dhanbad Jharkhand in June. The award will be presented to him in October this year.

POET HASAN CHISHTI HONORED

Hyderabad Deccan Foundation of Canada has honored Hasan Chishti, a distingshed literary figure based in Chicago, with the Award of Excellence for the year 2011, in recognition of his outstanding services to Urdu Literature. Mr. Hasan Chishti is a pioneering figure in the promotion of Urdu language and literature in North America. Born in Hyderabad and educated at Osmania University, he was associated with the literary world from an early age. He was the editor of Akash, Pasban, Munsif (English) and several other Urdu journals in Hyderabad. He moved to Chicago in 1986 and ever since has been actively promoting Urdu language through a host of activities. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Community Leadership award of the Federation of Indian Associations of America, Israrul Haq Majaz Aalami Urdu Award (New Delhi), Haji Mohammed Award of the Urdu Writers Society (California), Outstanding Achievement Award from the All Saints Alumni Association, Recognition Award from Chicago Department of Human Services, Dr. Zaheer Ahmed Humanitarian Award (Seattle) etc. A poet of distinction, he is widely praised for his ghazals. He has also compiled and edited four volumes of noted writer Mr. Mujtaba Husain.

Harun Rashid Khan is new RBI Dy. Governor

New Delhi: Mr Harun Rashid Khan took over as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India on 4 July for a three-year term. He will look after Central Security Cell, Department of External Investments and Operations etc. Prior to this appointment, Mr Khan was Executive Director of Reserve Bank of India since October 2007 and looked after the Department of External Investments and Operations. He was earlier Regional Director of RBIs New Delhi Office and prior to that he was Principal of the College of Agricultural Banking in Pune. Khans central banking career spanned over 32 years during which he has discharged diverse responsibilities in RBI in areas of rural credit, currency management, banking supervision & regulation, debt management, reserve management, exchange control, personnel administration and internal accounts of the Bank. As Executive Director, Khan represented the Reserve Bank on the Working Group on the G-20 on Reinforcing International Cooperation & Market Integrity and the Committee on Global Financial Systems (CGFS) of the Bank for International Settlement (BIS). Khan was also the Nominee Director of RBI on the boards of Dena Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Punjab and Sind Bank, Bank of Rajasthan and the Orissa State Finance Corporation (OSFC). Khan joined Reserve Bank in 1978 after his Masters in Political Science from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar and Masters in Philosophy from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Khan is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (CAIIB) and holds Diploma in Business Management (DBM). He is married to Rosy and has a daughter, Sara.

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011 17

SPECIAL REPORTS

Malaysian conference on Muslim unity

Penang/Kuala Lumpur: A three-day conference in Penang and Kuala Lumpur deliberated on issues of and obstacles to Muslim unity in todays world. The conference was jointly organised by the Penang-based Universal Justice Network (UJN) and London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC). About 50 particiapnts from a number of countries, especially from Malaysia, took part in the deliberations. MG editor participated from India. The conference studied the stands of various powers in the West and the Muslim World towards Muslim unity. A speaker from Iran reminded the conference about the steps taken by Imam Khomeini after the Islamic Revolution in Iran to promote the Muslim unity including his fatwa to the Shia to pray behind Sunni imams and for the Shia not to use the turbah for prayer during their stay in the Haram of Makkah. The conference appreciated Shaikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawis book Fiqh al-Ikhtilaf and expressed the wish that it should be translated and published in all possible languages. Its main contents, presented by the Malaysian scholar Abdul Ghani Shamsuddin, were also discussed at length during the conference. Aberdeen Universitys Dr Abdel Fattah El Awaisi, who happended to be in Kuala Lumpur at the time, participated in the KL meeting and said that it is a fact that the Ummah is divided today. He said that there are British documents which say that in order to divide the Muslim ummah, a buffer state (Israel) should be created at the heart of the Muslim world. He also narrated what the then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had said while celeberating the 60th birthday of Israel that the establishment of the State of Israel is the greatest achievement of the twentieth century. Imam Muhammad Al-Asi of Washington, USA, said that the Shia-Sunni animosity is old and a fact. The faultline, he said, is to think that I am superior to the other. The conference decided to take a number of measures to impress upon the Muslim Ummah, to contact international organisations like OIC and UN to press for Muslim unity and dissuade foreign powers from meddling in Muslim world affairs.

From left to right: Mohideen Abdul Kader (UJN), Masoud Shajareh (IHRC) and SM Mohamed Idris (UJN)

Turn not thy face from the society: SIO

Book on Zafarul Islam Khan

VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller AG & Co. Kg (2010) of Germany has published Zafarul-Islam Khan, a paperback book on MG editor. The material is culled from material available on the Internet. The publishers said in their introduction that Zafarul Islam Khan is an Indian Muslim author and journalist based in New Delhi. He is currently editor and publisher of Milli Gazette fortnightly focusing on issues concerning the Muslim community, which is a minority in India. He is also the founder and chairman of Charity Alliance, an organisation involved in relief and welfare work in India. He is author and translator of over 40 books in Arabic, English and Urdu including Hijrah in Islam (Delhi, 1996) and Palestine Documents (New Delhi 1998). He has contributed eight articles to the Encyclopaedia of Islam and magazines. In December 2007, he was elected for a two year term (2008-2009) as President of the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, the umbrella body of Muslim organisations in India. Following are the bibliographical details of the book: Title: Zafarul Islam Khan Editors: Lambert M Surhone, Miriam T Timpledon, Susan F Marseken Publisher: VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller AG & Co. Kg, 2010 ISBN: 6131037086, 9786131037085 Length: 90 pages Publication Date: 2010-07-24 Country Of Origin: Mauritius Illustrations: colour illustrations Dimensions: 152 x 229 x 5 Price: $43 online The book is available from various Internet-based booksellers like ebay, Amazon etc.

Mumbai: SIO Mumbai Division organized a Campus Orientation Workshop on 12 June for students who are going to join campuses at the start of new academic year. Campus leader and former president of SIO of India Bishruddin Sharqi shared his practical experiences on campuses and college activism and also expressed his thoughts on students activism and social change. A social activist and MPJ, Mumbai president Mr. Anees expressed his thoughts on the current social issues in society and how can students play a vital role in solving these issues. Br. Nadeem Siddiqi (ZAC Member, SIO Maharashtra South) presented an analysis of contemporary student organizations working in Maharashtra. There were lots of exercises and group activities for campus work. Students were highly motivated and pledged to play an important role in campuses. Various assignments were also presented by the participants. Br. Altaf (Campus Secretary, SIO Mumbai) introduced Students Voice (a campus wall magazine to be launched in July 2011). Finally, the Workshop was concluded by motivational and thought-provoking discourse by Bishruddin Sharqi who urged the students to give maximum commitment toward society and come out from the narrow shackles of self centric and ultraindividualistic mentality.
MG/Yusuf

(Leiden) on Indo-Muslim themes. He is a regular commentator on Islamic and South Asian issues on radio and TV channels, including Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and BBC Arabic and his writings appear in Arabic newspapers

Conference on Indo-Asean trade

Rajya Sabha K Rahman Khan as well diplomats from a number of Asian countries took part in the conference. Saudi Ambassador Faisal Tarrad expressed his countrys wish to strengthen trade relations with India. IOS chairman Manzoor Alam said that India has emerged as a major power in this century and it should take vigoruous part in the trade in the region.

New Delhi: IOS organised a 2-day conference in Delhi to promote trade relations between Indian and

eastern countries, especially Asean. Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Dy. Speaker

Anam Munaf Vadgama

Corrupt
Mumbai: A girl from Mumbai, Anam Munaf Vadgama, has excelled not only on the academic front but also in co-curricular and extracurricular activities. Anam, 16, Head Girl of one of the best schools in Mumbai, Villa Theresa High School, scored a whopping 96.6% according to the new pattern, i.e., Best of Five in the Class X exam. Advising the students Anam said, "They must study consistently throughout

the year because it's very difficult to understand the subjects and score a high percentage in three or six months." She also suggested 2-3 hours of rigorous physical activity and relaxation during preparation for the exam to enhance the power of learning and all this requires planning in advance and discipline to follow. Elder of the two kids of Munaf and Sajida Vadgama, Anam, is aiming to make a career in commerce or law. While schooling, Anam got an assignment for six months as junior journo with DNA Junior, a newspaper for school kids from leading English daily in Mumbai. Anam is critical of attitude of Muslim community who according to her are just after material gain.

18 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

COMMUNITY NEWS
Better education for Muslims: AFMI
Ranchi: A delegation of the American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI) on 26 June met Ranchi University vicechancellor A A Khan and Kolhan University deputy registrar S S Akhtar, discussing with them the possibility of improving the education scenario of the minority community and the support of the local intellectuals for AFMIs annual convention here next December. The federation has been supporting education among the community in India since 1989. It helps build schools and offers prizes to school students securing highest marks. Dr Nakadar told mediamen in Ranchi that his organisation will provide scholarships to students from all over India depending on their financial condition and merit. At the annual convention, we honour 100 toppers from all over the country, said Nakadar adding that the AFMI plans to give around Rs 1 crore in scholarship. Communal clash in Sambhal village Sambhal: On the occasion of the marriage of the daughter of one Ganpat of Chamyawali village of Sambhal, some music programme was in progress when two youths of the same village, Ehsaan and Irfan, reached there and requested some qawwalis. Finding the musicians unwilling to oblige them, they insisted and started pressurising them to sing qawwalis. This led to a clash. Some persons of Ganpats side caught hold of both the youth, took them to a nearby house and thrashed them. After coming from there, they gleefully narrated how they thrashed the duo. At this a group of people went and attacked the marriage party. However, because of the intervention of sane people the matter was brought to an end for the time being. A couple of days later as the two persons were returning home after the days work, they were surrounded by Ganpat and his men who again severely thrashed them. When these boys came back and told their people how they were thrashed again, a communal clash took place and there was heavy stone-peltings from both sides. It is reported that firing also was resorted to, by some people. According to a news report, six persons were injured in this clash. Police on being informed reached there and resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd. The situation was somehow brought under control. Six persons on both sides were injured and four persons were arrested. In addition to the arrest of four persons, police also registered cases against about three dozen people for breach of peace. CBI takes over murder probe of SHO Phool Mohammad The Central Bureau of Investigation finally began investigation into the murder case of SHO Phool Mohammad who was burnt to death by a mob in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan on 17 March this year. The SHO was burnt alive by an angry mob after a youth named Rajesh Meena committed suicide protesting to demand the arrest of the killers of an elderly woman in Sudwal village whose legs had been chopped off during a robbery on 25 February. Meena had climbed the nearby water tank and as a mark of protest committed suicide. Angered at the youths death, the agitators encircled the jeep of Mohammad and torched it. He was burnt alive inside the vehicle. In order to ascertain the truth, a CBI team along with forensic experts may soon visit the place where the S.H.O. was burnt to death. On the request of the state government the CBI has agreed to take up the case. The Ashok Gehlot government had announced to confer the status of state martyr to police officer Phool Mohmmad in March but nothing has been done so far. Earlier, several Muslim organisations demanded an independent probe not one by the state government. Mumbai charity commissioner to face action over Waqfs Mumbai: Arif Naseem Khan, Maharashtra minister for minorities, recommended the law department to initiate action against Mumbai charity commissioner for granting permission to sale of waqf properties. There are 130 such sanctions. The waqf board recently obtained a stay in a case at Marine lines where D.B. Hospitality had undertaken a project. The state government stayed the construction. Earlier the government had taken similar action on a project in Pune. There were no approval of the proposed projects from the waqf board. It is believed that during the past 6-7 years the charity commissioner had granted permission for sale (or rent) to 130 properties and thereby violated the provisions of Central Waqf Board. Protesting against such decisions the state waqf board had demanded action against the charity commissioner for issuing No Objection Certificates illegally. Aarif Khan disclosed that action against the Charity Commissioner has been recommended and has been initiated. Job opportunities for youth trained by IICC & NEF New Delhi: Dr. Muhammad Abdur Rafiq, an educationist of Hyderabad and founder of a number of standard colleges who personally observed and addressed the youth being trained by India Islamic Cultural Centre (IICC) and Noble Education Foundation (NEF) at Delhi said on 22 June that he will provide employment to trained and capable youth who are being trained here under the Personality Development Programme. Lauding the initiative and efforts of IICC and NEF chairman, Sirajudin Qureshi in providing training to youths under the Personality Development Programme he said that so far he has not seen any other training programme or institute of this standard anywhere in northern India and added that truly speaking, providing good training to youths of the community and nation is the real jehad. Secretary general of MESCO, an educational organisation of Hyderabad, Dr. Fakhruddin said that his organisation is taking

New admissions to Darul Umoor

Darul Umoor Tipu Sultan Advanced Study & Research Centre is a brilliant example of martyr Tipu Sultans aims and his academic interests. The Centres main objective is to train talented products of Islamic madrasas in information technology, computer science, science, English, management and psychology, study of religions, history and other modern arts and sciences alongwith Dawa activities and to so empower them as to imbibe the capability and competence to lead the community and nation and solve its social and economic problems from the Islamic point of view. Syllabus: Higher Islamic sciences, management and psychology, personality development in the light of the Prophets character, science and environment for the understanding of Quran, IT and media for tabligh, Isalmic economics, English, history and study of religion. Dawa and practical exercise: Teaching of Quran, leading prayers in different mosques, teaching and holding religious gathering of women, religious training of children and youth in mosques and schools, reforms and tabligh by jamats, e-Dawa, use of Islamic CDs, preparing CDs and preparation of websites on Dawa topics, meetings in temples and churches and discussions with priests and Hindu religious leaders with a message of humanism, language lab, computer lab, science lab for correct pronunciations of English and Arabic words, exercises and sports revolutionary steps in the educational field in West Bengal, western UP and Haryana and setting up many educational institutions. He also requested Muhammad Munawwar Zaman, who has been imparting efficient training to youths in IICC, to train teachers of educational institutions of Haryana being run by his organisation (MESCO) so that good teachers should be available to schools of this region also which is educationally a most backward area. He promised that even if Noble Education Foundation prepares 3000 good and capable youth, he will provide employment to all of them also. Emphasis on promotion of tourism in Jammu & Kashmir Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmirs Minister for Tourism TRZ Jora said while inaugurating a Kashmiri and modern-style 3-star hotel in Gauderbal that there are enormous possibilities of promotion of tourism and also there are great avenues to provide employment for Kashmiri youth in the tourism sector but at the same time he said that it is not easy for the government alone to provide employment to such a vast number of unemployed youth. For promoting tourism, participation of the private sector is also very essential and with this, more employment to local youth can be provided. It is, however, found that though tourism had picked up in J&K with the onset of summer, mostly local i.e. Indian tourists and particularly from Gujarat and Mumbai are there. There is a virtual absence of foreign tourists. This is mainly because of travel advisories issued by countries like America, Australia and Britain to their nationals asking them not to visit Jammu & Kashmir particularly rural areas (except Ladakh) because of frequent agitations, demonstrations and clashes between people and security forces and militancy. For Ladakh, which is considered one of the most favourite international tourist destinations in the world these countries have not issued advisories probably because the atmosphere there is peaceful as compared to the Valley and Jammu. Another reason for very limited number of foreign tourists is that there are no direct flights from foreign countries to Srinagar with the exception of Dubai-Srinagar flight which was inaugurated in February only this year. Moreover, in India also there is only one weekly flight Delhi-Srinagar-Leh (Ladakh). Tourism department authorities strongly recommend that instead of weekly, there should be daily Leh-Srinagar-Delhi flights, particularly for those tourists who may like to visit Leh direct from foreign countries and from there to Delhi via Srinagar. J&K govt to spend Rs. 315 crore for rural healthcare Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir government will spend Rs. 315 crore in the current financial year for providing medical and health facilities. According to official sources, the central government has sanctioned Rs. 263.32 crore for the current financial year i.e., 2011-12 for national rural health mission. The state government also will spend its own share of Rs. 31 crore approximately under this head. There is another plan of spending Rs. 34 crore for other schemes under national rural health mission. Similarly, for renovation and modernisation of four district hospitals, two crore will be spent and another Rs. 1.5 crore will be spent for the construction of stores or godowns for safe keeping of medicines. Court rejects petition against scholarships to poor Muslims Mumbai: Mumbai High Court rejected a petition against educational scholarships being given to poor Muslim students by the Central government, saying that with such scholarships, students belonging to majority community will in no way be adversely affected suffer. The background to this verdict of the court is that two persons: Sanjiv Ponalaker, a lawyer and Jotikawale, a social worker, had filed a petition in the Mumbai High Court, arguing that the scholarships given by the central government to Muslim students are discriminatory and biased against students belonging to the majority community and also because these are against the Constitution which guarantees equal rights, opportunities, privileges etc. to all citizens without any discrimination on the basis of religion or caste. These petitioners had challenged this scheme of the central government which was introduced in 2008 and under

for physical health and growth and educational and historical tours to see historical places and buildings. Eligibility for admission: 1. Students who will complete their Aalimiyat/Fazilat by coming Ramzan or those who have completed these courses one or two years ago for this one-year course. 2. Candidates should submit their applications alongwith certificates before 31 July 2011. (Those who have not yet got their certificates, should submit a confirmation letter or provisional certificate from an important or responsible person like manager, rector or chief supervisor). Dates of test, interview and place etc. will Insha Allah be intimated to the candidates direct in the month of Ramzan by letter, telephone. Selected candidates will be given in addition to all educational, Dawa and residential facilities like furniture etc. free of charge, Rs. 1000 as scholarships per month. Application forms can be obtained from the following address or from the website and candidates should send them to the same address. Xerox of forms will also be accepted: Darul Umoor, Tipu Sultan Advanced Study and Research Centre No. 1, The Presidency, Opp. Sheriff Centre, St. Marks Road Bangalore - 560001 (Karnataka) Ph: 080 41248208, 082 36217048 - Fax: 22278131 Cell: 9845907479 - Website: www.darulumoor.org Email: darullumoorganjam@gmail.com which educational scholarships are given to poor students belonging to the minority community for pursuing higher education, para medical and professional etc. courses. Pronouncing the verdict on this petition High Court bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice D.G. Karnik said on 7 June that if such scholarships are given to poor students belonging to minority communities, these are in no way causing any loss to majority community students. In this connection the honourable judges mentioned the Sachar Committee recommendations also and said that these scholarships are being given to them because of their poverty and educational backwardness which Sachar Committee had identified. The judges also gave statistics about the poverty and educational backwardness of Muslims, as pointed out by Sachar Committee. Additional Solicitor Darabash Khambata, while opposing the petition said that these educational scholarships are being given as per law and nobodys rights are being denied. Plan panel questions Modi policy against minorities The relative decline in enrolment of minority students in educational institutions figured during the meeting of the Planning Commission panel and the representative of the state government to finalise Gujarats annual Plan outlay for 2011-12. Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed raised the issue of the low enrolment of minority students which is said to be around 5-6 percent. She also charged the Modi government for not spending adequately on the welfare of Muslim minorities and as a result Muslims are placed at abysmally low in terms of social indicators in the state. Hameed also pointed out that there was hardly any scheme for the welfare of the minorities in the states annual plan. Modis failure in utilising the Centres pre-metric scholarship scheme was also questioned by Syeda Hameed. Modi in his reply to charges made by Syeda Hameed said that Gujarat is among the states best placed in terms of social and educational advancement of the minorities Citing example of states like Assam and West Bengal where Muslims percentage is roughly 24-25 percent, Gujarat in spite of having 9 percent Muslims population must be credited to have 5 percent Muslims in the states educational institutions. Rs 38,000 crore has been finalised for Gujarats annual plan, which is Rs 8,000 more than the previous year. Plan panel took strong notice of the decline in enrolment of Muslim children in Gandhinagar and suggested the state government should work in the direction of increasing the enrolment of minority girls under the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas scheme. Fraudster Imtiyaz Syed sent on police remand Ahmadabad: Metropolitan magistrate N.V. Tadvi granted four-day police remand to Imtiyaz Syed, the architect of a scam siphoning crores of rupees of the investors who had pledged their money with him into his pocket. The police had sought a 14-day remand. Earlier the additional sessions judge BD Jhalo had granted the police four-day-remand. The culprit has been handed over to police authorities. 10 tonnes of new textbooks sold as scrap in Modis Gujarat In a startling revelation at least 10 tonnes of new textbooks which were supposed to be distributed free at government schools have been sold as a scrap to a dealer in Bhavnagar. Three truckloads of textbooks weighing 10 tonnes were sold for Rs 90,000. Asraf Ibrahim, the scrap dealer realised that the books he had bought as scrap were of the current syllabus for standards VIII to XII. He informed his friend, a local journalist who in turn informed the police and the Collectors office. Surprisingly, the books were sold at a time when there is dearth of such textbooks. B Jhalawadia, district collector of Bhavnagar, has ordered a probe and has also asked the district education office to submit a detailed report on the issue.

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011 19

Bengal govt to offer scholarships

Kolkata: A social organisation of West Bengal, Young Movement Society had organised a function in Kolkata on 5 June in which boy and girl students who had passed middle and higher secondary examinations with distinction marks were honoured with awards and prizes in the presence of distinguished guests and invitees to encourage them. The states fire brand minister Javed Ahmad Khan while speaking on this occasion said, in addition to common platitudes in praise of the new government of which he is a minister, and brickbats for the previous government, that 10 lakh school children of the state will be given scholarships through the West Bengal Minorities Financial Corporation. Deputy Mayor of Kolkata Corporation, Ms. Farzana Alam while addressing particularly the guardians asked them to give full attention to their childrens language, mother tongue and training alongwith their education because language and manners are what impress others in the very first meeting and also bring people closer to each other. Beggar dies with 2 lakhs worth of currency notes Ajmer: An unclaimed body of a beggar was found with more than Rs. 2 lakh in his pocket and bag. When the police, before conducting the funeral rites of the unclaimed body, searched the body, they found Rs. 1500 in its pants pocket in a bag. Later on they found an additional sum of Rs. 1.98 lakh. According to police sources, he used to provide loose change (coins) for Rs. 1000 and Rs. 500 notes. Now, there is a mad rush of heirs for claiming the body. The dargah committee, gave him the burial. Sardars tallest statue faces hurdles Gandhinagar: Chief Minister Modis dream project - Statue of Unity, the tallest structure (182 metres high) received a setback. The soil of the proposed site, Sadhu Bet, near Sardar Sarovar on the river Narmada, was not suitable to erect a structure of such dimension according to the National Institute. National Institute which dug 40 metre deep holes to test the soil found the site too weak to allow such a construction. 30 such bores were proposed to hold the statue which is likely to cost the state a sum of Rs. 2000 crore (which, for the Gujarati donors is not a problem). Corporates under the state government have been asked to come forward and under Section 80 (G) income tax exemption has been promised for donations. Model Survey, hydrological survey and seismic survey are being undertaken to install Sardar Patels statue. So far Rs. 55 crore have been collected. The project would call for global tenders. SC rejects the petitions of blast accused The Supreme Court declined the petitions of the 64 accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case seeking transfer of the trial outside Gujarat.The petitioners had contended that the atmosphere in the state was too surcharged for a free and fair trial. They had also referred to certain incidents, saying the trial against them would not be free of bias. An apex court bench of Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Cyriac Joseph, while disposing off the petitions, said the atmosphere in Gujarat was no longer surcharged and there was no apprehension of bias obstructing a free and fair trial. The apex court said things have considerably settled down after the Godhra killings and hence the claim of the accused that the trial could not be held in a fair manner was mere apprehension. The court ruled that there were no grounds for the transfer of the trial outside the state. However, the court said if there were any new incidents giving rise to apprehensions of real obstruction to free and fair trial, the petitioners could again move the apex court. The apex court had earlier in 2009 stayed the trial against the accused after the latter sought transfer of the cases outside the state on the ground that the prosecution and the investigating agencies were totally biased. A series of 16 synchronised bombings ripped through Gujarats main city of Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, killing over 50 people and injuring many more. Nearly 20 bombs were recovered in Surat before they could go off. (AH Lakhani) Co-education is poisonous: Syed Ali Shah Geelani Srinagar: Describing co-education as poisonous chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G), Syed Ali Shah Geelani on June 23 called for its end and urged parents and elders to keep a strict vigil on activities of their wards. Allowing boys and girls to study together in educational institutions is like keeping hay and fire together. It is a law of nature. Hay will catch fire, if the two come in contact with each other, said Geelani, while addressing the media, here. He said that it is moral education which is missing in contemporary society and ought to be taught at respective places. We are all aware of how young boys and girls have been given a license to indulge in immoral acts in gardens and tourist spots and how the government boasts of earning 20 crore tax on liquor. Geelani further said New Delhi and its rulers are promoting liqour, drugs and moral waywardness among our youth and the RSS is the brain behind it. (Afsana Rashid) RDX landing case: court refuses to intervene Ahmadabad: Gujarat High Court after hearing Satish Vermas petition declined to intervene in the departmental enquiry or order a stay in the matter. A bench comprising Chief Justice S.J. Mukhopadhyaya and Justice J.B. Pardiwala observed that it is not within its jurisdiction to intervene in the matter nor to grant a stay against such an enquiry. It can, if desired, consider the option of CBI probe or investigation by a panel. The court fixed

COMMUNITY NEWS MP textbooks to teach Savarkar, Bhagvad Gita

The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has announced that Hindutva icon Veer Savarkar will get his due by his ideology being inducted in the government school curriculum. There was a need to take a fresh look at history because freedom fighters did not get their rightful place, said Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan calling Savarkars contribution to the freedom struggle significant. The announcement was made by the CM at a function to commemorate the centenary of Savarkars imprisonment in the cellular jail at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It all began four years ago, when taking a similar step, BJP government had revised the Class IX textbook of history, giving Shivaji more coverage than Mughal emperor Akbar. The decision has been welcomed by Chairman of Madhya Pradesh Textbook Standing Committee Govind Sharma, who said that it was possible to include a separate chapter on Savarkar in Hindi and English literature books. In another controversial move, Madhya Pradesh government has given the green signal to the inclusion of The Bhagvad Geeta lessons in the syllabus of all government schools of the state from the end of July. The idea of teaching Gita lessons to students from Class II to Class X was the CM, Chauhans own idea. The study material on the teachings from the Gita is ready, and will be dispatched to every State-run school soon, School Education Department Principal Secretary Rajnish Vaish said on July 1. The only technicality to be seen to before the books roll 30 June as the date for the next hearing. In his petition Satish Verma, who heads SIT team investigating Ishrats fake encounter case, expressed fear that because of bias and prejudice the state government might implicate him in the RDX landing case by instituting a departmental enquiry for the alleged failure in the Gosabara case. The petition sought orders quashing the departmental enquiry. Nanavati panel rejects plea to cross examine Sanjeev Bhat Ahmadabad: Nanavati Commission rejected the petition filed by Rashtriya Suraksha Manch for granting them permission to cross examine Sanjeev Bhat. The Manch claimed that Bhats Facebook profile is dubious and he has been instigating people against the establishment. It alleges that Bhat, Teesta Setalvad, Shakti Singh Gohil etc. have conspired to tarnish Modis image. It may be recalled that Sanjeev Bhat to his affidavit in the Supreme Court had made several allegations against the chief minister for his role during the communal carnage in 2002. The Manch had approached the commission seeking to cross examine Bhat. The commission had rejected the earlier plea and has once again rejected the demand. Court keeps decision in Rais Khan case pending Ahmadabad: Justice MR Shah hearing a petition filed by Rais Khan, once a closed associate of Teesta Setalvad, kept its decision pending after hearing both sides. In his petition Rais Khan had submitted that several witnesses in the Naroda village case had merely signed the affidavits submitted in the court. The designated court had ordered the Registrar, city civil court, to file a police complaint against them for making false affidavits. Thereafter, the Registrar had directed the Metropolitan magistrate to undertake a police investigation under CRPC 156 (3). The above was dismissed and held that the order was not legally correct while the special public prosecutor argued that the matter was a conspiracy hence a proper investigation must be undertaken. Disburse compensation claims within a fortnight: HC Ahmadabad: The Gujarat High Court in its recent order has asked the state government to disburse amounts of compensation claims to the remaining 38 victims within two weeks and submit a report. The carnage that followed the Godhra incident had rendered many homeless while thousands paid with their lives. Out of 656 compensation claims whose petitions were received in the High Court 38 claims still remain pending. The court has ordered to pay the claimants within two weeks and submit the list of those who did not receive their claims after the date fixed by the court as well as of those whose claims had been settled. It may be recalled that the centre had provided aid worth Rs. 700 crores. The state government had paid thousands of persons dividing them into four categories dead, injured, damage to landed property, loss of livelihood. The next date for hearing has been fixed for 19 July. Prof. Kidwai lecture on English translations of the Quran Aligarh/Oxford: Professor Abdur Raheem Kidwai of AMUs Department of English, delivered a lecture on the main contours in the field of the English translations of the Quran at St. Peters College, University of Oxford, jointly organized by the Oxford University SAARC Society and the Oxford University Islamic Society. In his lecture, Professor Kidwai traced the history of these translations and drew attention to the significant trends and tendencies in the field. He especially mentioned the growing number of English translations since 1980. Prof. Kidwai emphasized the need for the appearance of a good, standard translation, which may cater to the needs of the English-speaking reading public. He spelled out some of the features which should characterize this venture. out is a clearance from the state syllabus committee. Class II students will learn stories through pictures. For senior students, it will be chapters on tolerance, brotherhood, responsibility and duty towards the society and the country, said Govind Sharma, Chairman of the Pathya Pustak Lekhan Committee, which approves government school syllabi. On being asked if lessons about other religions would also be included in the school syllabus, Sharma said, Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammad are part of the students rapid reader. Chapters on every religion are taught in the ethics classes. This year, the Bhagvad Gita is being distributed as a separate lesson. Next year onwards, it will be part of the same book. However, the move is inviting sharp criticism and resentment as it is not quite welcomed by leaders of other communities. For instance, Father Anand Mutungal, general secretary of Harmony Foundation, an NGO working for the Christian community, said a memorandum had been submitted to the Governor after the Chief Minister made the announcement last year. We are not against the introduction of teachings of the Bhagvad Gita, but other religious texts should also be given space, opined Father Mutungal making a valid point. Leader of the Opposition in the state Ajay Singh alleged that the main motive behind the move is to saffronise the education system in the state. Promising a stiff resistance from the Congress party against the move, he said that schools are not meant for doing havans or Gita paath. (Saiyed Danish) Daud Salim Faruquie, President, Oxford University SAARC Society said that the lecture, attended by a number of scholars and students, was followed by an extended discussion over the issues related to the topic. Bhadiad tragedy: compensation cheques presented Modasa: The tragedy that claimed 18 lives last month at Bhadiad brought misery to several persons belonging to Modasa. The Gujarat government released compensation claims for the victims. Cheques of Rs. one lakh for each victim were presented to the families of the deceased. Five members of a single family from Modasa died in the crash. Bharat Bhai Joshi, BJP city chief, Salam Bhai Lohar, and others were present when cheques were paid to the family members. The scene was so pathetic that all those who were present on the occasion instantly burst into tears. Awards to meritorious students

Hyderabad: Idaratul-Ilm Mahadavia Library here distributed Mohammed Abdul Jabbar Khan Cash Awards on 29 June to meritorious students of SSC and Intermediate Certificate at Rahmat Function Hall, Chanchalguda.The Chief Guest was Syed Anwarul Huda (IPS) Add. DGP & Controller of Legal Metrology. These awards are distributed since the last three years by Abdul Jabber Khan. The awards recepients were: Intermediate Students: 1st Prize: Syeda Maliha Fatima, 96.8% ( Rs 25,000) 2nd Prize: Syed Abdul Kareem (BPC) 95.2% (Rs 15,000) 3rd Prize: Syed Fareed Esa (BPC) 93.9% (Rs/ 10,000) Consolation Prizes: Firasat Kahtoon (BPC) 92.2% (Rs 5,000) and Zeba Amreen (Rs 5000) SSC Students: 1st Prize: Syeda Zoha Shreen 94.5% (Rs 25,000) 2nd Prize Neha Fatima Hussain 90.1% (Rs 10,000) Best Teacher Awards were given to the following teachers whose students secured highest marks Mathematics and science: Mrs. Sultana Taranum Teacher of Mathematics of Dawn High School Rs 10,000 Mohammed Farooq and K.V.S.Raju, teachers of Mathematics in M.S.Education Centre (Rs 5,000 each). K.L.N.Srinivas, teacher of physics and J.Ramesh, teacher of chemistry (Rs 3,000 each). Babri could have been saved had Congress used lathis Ayodhya: Hashim Ansari, a litigant in Babri Masjid issue, said that it is a Congress tradition to use lathis against people demanding rights. He said corruption is part of the making of Congress and if anyone raises a finger against corruption, his finger is broken. Hashim Ansari questioned the need to use lathis and teargas shells against Baba Ram Dev and his followers. He said, Congress runs a Hitler-like government in the name of democracy. He added that if the lathis used against protestors in Delhis Ramlila Ground had also been used against the rampaging mobs in Ayodhya, the Babri Mosque could have been saved. He said the mosque was under the protection of the apex court but it was trampled under foot on 6 December 1992. The Centre ruled by the Congress was as much responsible for the demolition as the Kalyan Singh government, he said. (Manzar Mehdi)

20 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

COMMUNITY NEWS
EU links FTA with India to Kashmir
Srinagar: In a significant development, the European Union Parliament decided to link Kashmir dispute with signing of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India. A Srinagar-based daily newspaper reported that para 33 of the resolution passed by the European Parliament on 11 May, 2011 about the FTA between India and European Union states that human rights, democracy and security are essential elements of the relationship between EU and India. Therefore we call on both the sides to ensure that dialogue on open issues is stepped up with particular reference to Kashmir, the resolution added. The resolution for expediting the dialogue over the Kashmir dispute came in the wake of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference APHC-M Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooqs visit to the European Union headquarters at Brussels, last month, and the frequent trips of the European Union Ambassadors to Jammu & Kashmir to meet different shades of opinions... Popular Front announces Scholarship Scheme New Delhi: Following the two months long School Chalo campaign across the country, Popular Front of India has launched a scholarship scheme for poor and meritorious students who wish to pursue higher studies after completing Higher Secondary education. Applications are invited from students who seek the admission in the academic year 2011-12. The scholarship is an interest-free loan to the students. Recipients are required to refund the scholarship in easy installments when they join a job or after two years from the completion of the course, whichever is earlier. This is necessary because the scholarship is a grant to the community to be recycled for further benefit of maximum number of the needy students. The scholarship is open to the students who are meritorious but financially needy and have passed 10+2 examination and are desirous to pursue degree, diploma or any higher studies course whose duration is not less than two years. Students opting for unaided/self-financing institutions need not apply. This year, the scholarships are limited to students belonging to Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Kerala states. Application form duly completed with required documents should be submitted to the concerned state coordinator, Popular Front Scholarship Prgramme-2011 at http://www.popularfrontindia.org/pp/story/popular-front-announces-scholarship-scheme Jamias Faculty of Law ranked 5th New Delhi: Jamia Millia Islamias Faculty of Law has been ranked at the 5th position among top 25 Law Colleges of the country in a survey conducted by The Week-Hansa Research. The survey has been published in The Week Magazine of 5 June 2011. In the same survey, Faculty of Engineering & Technology of Jamia Millia Islamia has been placed at the 12th position among Top 38 Engineering Colleges of the country. Murder case against Araria SP in Forbesganj killings Patna: More than a month after the gruesome killings by police, a victim family on 7th July gathered courage and filed a murder case against Araria SP Garima Mallik. Four persons including an infant and a pregnant woman were killed in the police firing of June 3 in Bhajanpur village of Forbesganj. But SP was not made accused in the three FIRs filed till yesterday by the victim families. Mohd. Farooque Ansari, father of Mukhtar Ansari (22 years), filed the case in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Araria on Thursday. He made SP Garima Mallik main accused for the killing of his son. It was the fourth case by the victim families but in the last three cases the SP had managed to escape despite the fact she was present on the spot when the villagers were shot dead. SP Mallik is seen in the video clip which showed a home guard jawan romping on the half-dead body of Mustafa Ansari (18 years), one of the four victims of the police firing. Other officers made accused in the case include Forbesganj PS in-charge, Forbesganj SDO and BDO besides 100 unnamed policemen. Director of Auro Sundaram International Ashok Kumar Chaudhary, BJP MLC Ashok Agarwals son Saurabh Agarwal are also among the accused. The case No 16/11-2011 has been filed under several sections of IPC including 147, 148, 149, 341, 342, 307 and 302. (Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net)

Kashmiri students pass SSC exams with Marathi

Nine Kashmiri students have brought laurels to Sarhad school, founded seven years ago to help Kashmiri children, by achieving the extraordinary feat of learning Marathi. Zahid Sarfaraz Bhat of Budgam, J&K, had to face hardships and improper schooling when he was ten years old. Today, at 18, he looks at life with renewed zest. He is one of those nine students studying at the school who passed the SSC examination on June 17, scoring 52% overall. Zahid wants to become the chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir so that he can resolve the Kashmir issue peacefully. I am a changed person now. Education has made me realize that violence can never be the answer to the misery that afflictions the world, said Zahid. Zahid had studied in Budgam till standard IV. He regressed back to standard III to strengthen his Hindi and Marathi basics, when he went to Pune. Students found it difficult to adapt to Punes weather and developed skin infections. But our teachers supported us, said Zahid. All the nine students have passed the examination and some scored a first class. They have witnessed militancy at close quarters, said Sanjay Nahar, founder and president of social and educational organization Sarhad. Despite studying in Urdu medium in the Valley, they successfully coped with Marathi, a compulsory subject. Bhat, a student, said that he had never heard or spoken Marathi or Hindi. I scored 46 in Marathi, but I feel I have done well. I used to fail in both subjects during my initial years in Pune, but I persevered and succeeded, he added. Mohammed Ilyas Khan, another bright student, scored 50%. He never found Marathi a big challenge. Hindi and Marathi are more or less the same. Learning Marathi was easy as I often used to talk in Hindi in Kashmir. However, writing an essay and other comprehension assignments in Marathi were a problem. But I learnt from those who were good in Marathi. I scored 56, said Ilyas. He wants to become an IPS officer. The top scorer among the nine students was Javed Bhat, with 68%. I could have done better. My parents in Kupwara expected more, and asked me to perform well next year, said a jubilant Javed, who got 60 in Marathi. (Saiyed Danish) Keshridevshinh Zala officially became a member of the BJP on Sunday in the presence of Modi. Nawab Jahangir Khan, the scion of the erstwhile princely state of Dasada in Surendranagar district, was also present at the function. Salauddinkhan is all praise for Modi and the development work done in the state by the CM. He wants to begin his political career by joining the BJP. For the past four years, I am settled here. Earlier, I was doing my business in Delhi and Mumbai. The local youth keep telling me that something should be done for the region, 32-year-old Salauddinkhan told DNA. Salauddinkhan, along with his father Nawab Salabatkhan Babi and mother Begum Farhat Sultana Babi, met Modi in Wankaner and discussed various issues with him. (Nikunj Soni dnaindia.com) Forbesganj: They are making a mountain out of a molehill: Nitish Patna: Speaking for the first time on the brutal killings by his police in Forbesganj, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said, People are making a mountain out of a molehill. This statement gave away the reason for the state governments indifference towards the police killings of June 3 in Bhajanpur village of Forbesganj block in Araria district. Leave alone the CM, no minister or representative of the ruling party JD-U has gone to the village. No police officer has been suspended by the government and no compensation has been announced for the victims by the state government. An incident happened in Forbesganj and we were fast to send a team comprising Home Secretary Amir Subhani and Additional Director General of police (HQ) Rajyawardhan Sharma to the spot to know the facts. On the basis of their report we ordered a judicial inquiry. But some people are making a mountain out of a molehill. I do not know what happened that several people are coming from other parts of the country, said Nitish Kumar while addressing more than one thousand Muslim workers of his party in the state capital. In his speech he, however, assured that his government will take action next day of receiving the report from the judicial commission constituted by the state government to probe the Forbesganj police firing. But it should be noted that the government had announced judicial inquiry into the incident on 7th June but the commission was notified 15 days later on 22nd June - the day National Commission for Minorities Wajahat Habibullah was visiting the state capital to meet governor and top officers of the state over the Forbesganj police firing. He promised that his government will take action as it did in Bhagalpur riots case. It was my government which after coming into power in 2005 that reopened 29 cases of Bhagalpur riots that were closed by the earlier government despite enough evidence against the culprits. We not only put the culprits behind the bars but also compelled Centre to give compensation to the Bhagalpur riots victims on a par with that given to the victims of the anti-Sikh riots in 1984. We also started lifetime pension for the victims. We will do the same in the Forbesganj incident but let the report first come he said. (Based on Manzar Bilal, TwoCircles.net) More SIMI activists arrested Ahmadabad/Khandwa/Indore: Danish Riyaz alias Safi was arrested by the Ahmadabad police on the basis of clues passed on by M.P. police to Gujarat police. Danish was arrested at Vadodara railway station. He is accused of involvement in the Ahmadabad blasts in July 2008 and absconding since then. With his arrest, the total number of arrested persons has risen to 65. The blast, it may be recalled, had claimed 58 lives leaving 240 injured. A resident of Ranchi (Jharkhand), Safi was working as a software engineer in Hyderabad. He is accused of not only training activists but also of providing shelter to them at Ranchi and Khandwa. The Khandwa police arrested absconding SIMI activist Wajid s/o Sheikh Shafiq. A pistol and two cartridges were claimed to have been recovered from him. He has been granted police remand till 28 June. Wanted in Khandwa Beed Shuttle firing case, he carried a reward of Rs. one thousand on his arrest. The ATS team examined documents of RTO office at Vijay Nagar (Indore) in connection with driving licenses issued to a few persons who are in police custody. Later, they arrested Malik, a travel agent at Khazrana locality of Indore. According to the police many vehicles used by bank dacoits were registered at Indore.

Elaborating the aims and objectives of the board, Azmatullah Nadwi stated that the Muslim community is plagued with various social issues. It is our humble effort to work for unity among the community and remove various social evils, he said. The charter of the board states to work for promoting education among the Muslims, strive for unity among various groups of Muslims, take legal recourse in the alleged arresting of innocent Muslim youths, oppose social evils as dowry, unnecessary expenses during marriages, support destitutes, orphans etc. The board also solicited support for the cause from the community. The newly formed board said that they will be acting as per the directions of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). The board has clerics as Maulana Fazlur Rehman Waizi, Maulana Jahangir Alam Qasmi, Maulana Mohd. Mustafa Nadwi Madni, Maulana Abul Irfan Miyan Farangi Mahli and Shaista Amber. The board can be contacted on 9044713831, 9651983786 and 9721080891.Email: aimmboard@gmail.com, www.aimmboard.blogspot.com. Postal address: 1/747, Vishwas Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow (Faisal Fareed, TwoCircles.net) Malegaon bomb blasts: NIA report ready Mumbai: National Investigation Agency (NIA) has finalised its report on the serial bomb blasts that took place in Malegaon on 8 September 2006 and will submit it to Mumbais Special MCOCA Court within two weeks. Information to this effect was given by government prosecutor Rohni Salain in the special court in response to requests made by defence lawyers to NIA about its report. MCOCA judge Y.D. Shinde has been formally appointed judge of NIA. Earlier also, when CBI was investigating into the Malegaon bomb blasts, Shinde was hearing this case as judge. On 3 June, when this case was taken up for hearing, all the persons accused in this case were present except Muhammad Ali Sheikh who was preparing for 12th class examination. Defence lawyers Nihal Ansari, advocate and Irfana Hamdani, hired on behalf of the accused by Jamiatul Ulamas Maulana Arshad Madni told the judge, Y.D. Shinde that earlier CBI was asked to furnish detailed report on this. At this the Honourable judge instructed Khalid Azmi to submit a fresh application to NIA requesting report. The next hearing of this case was fixed for 24 June.

Muslim royals keen to join saffron bandwagon Ahmedabad: After last months reception of chief minister Narendra Modi at Wankaner by the earstwhile princes, many of Another Muslim outfit for social uplift of Muslims them have shown interest in joining his party. Modis imageLucknow: Another Muslim outfit for social upliftment of Muslims - makeover efforts initiated a few years ago seem to be paying off. - All India Muslim Masael Board (AIMMB) - was born here on 7 Muslims who were disillusioned with the CM after the infamous July. The board under the patronage of several Muslim clerics 2002 riots now seem to change their attitude towards the chief aims to eradicate social evils among the Muslim community. minister and his political party. Crown prince N a w a b z a d a Salauddinkhan Babi of Balasinor is keen to join the BJP and serve the people of his region, mainly because he is impressed by Modis work. Babi belongs to the erstwhile princely state of Babi dynasty in Balasinor T HE M ILLI G AZETTE in Kheda district. He, D-84, Abul Fazl Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar, along with the entire Babi New Delhi-110025 India Tel.: (+91-11) 2694 family, was present at a 7483 Email: mg@milligazette.com function held at the royal palace in Wankaner where Wankaner prince

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The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011 21

COMMUNITY NEWS
Maharashtra nod to AMU Malegaon
Malegaon: After a long battle by a local NGO and eight months after it received the land proposal from Malegaon to establish Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) off campus centre here in this Muslim dominated city of North Maharashtra, the state government has finally forwarded it to the university. The proposal now lies with the AMU VC Prof. PK Abdul Azis for the final approval. The Maharashtra government has finally sanctioned the land proposal received from Malegaon to establish Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) off campus centre and has forwarded it to the AMU vice chancellor for his approval, Aleem Faizee, Chairman of Noble Education & Welfare Society (NEWS) said citing the letter sent to him by the state secretariat. Noble Education & Welfare Society (NEWS) has been fighting with the government ever since the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) took the decision in 2008 to establish its off campus centres in five states of the country including Maharashtra. NEWS has also been instrumental in identifying the land near Malegaon and preparing the land proposal which has now been finally forwarded to the AMU VC for his decision. The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) had demanded 250300 acres of land in Pune to establish its centre in Maharashtra. When it could not get the required land in Pune, the government approved the land proposal of Malegaon and sent to the AMU for further action. The government is now waiting for the reply from the Vice Chancellor, Aleem Faizee said while speaking to ummid. com. Earlier, the Maharashtra government in various meetings held at the state secretariat in Mumbai had asked the 35 district collectors of the state to search for suitable land in their jurisdiction for the AMU off campus centre. Following which only Malegaon Additional Collector office could identify the land for the purpose and informed the concerned department through a letter dated August 07, 2010 and on the state governments demand submitted the detailed proposal on January 24, 2011. Tragically, a day after submitting the detailed land proposal for AMU Malegaon, Yeshwant Sonawane - the Additional Collector of Malegaon, was burnt alive allegedly by the Oil Mafia. Meanwhile, AMU Vice Chancellor Prof PK Abdul Azis has confirmed receiving the Maharashtra governments letter and is now contemplating further action. We have received the letter from the Government of Maharashtra which confirmed its willingness to establish the AMU centre in Maharashtra. The letter is accompanied by the details of the land identified by it near Malegaon. Consideration is ON on the proposal and a decision would be taken very soon, Prof Azis said while speaking to ummid. com on phone. The AMU centre in Malegaon would be the third in the country after Murshidabad in West Bengal and Mallampuram in Kerala. The other two states in the AMUs list are Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. While the Bihar government has also offered the land for the purpose, the Madhya Pradesh government which is ruled by BJP has not taken any initiative in this regard so far. (ummid. com ) Demand for sacking Muslim lady Info Commissioner Lucknow: Yaishwaryaj has raised its voice against Uttar Pradesh Governments move to appoint Ms. Khadijatul Kubra as Information Commissioner of Uttar Pradesh. Her husband Jamil Akhtar is Information Consultant to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh The Uttar Pradesh Governments move is unconstitutional and the whole process needs to be stalled at once. Time and again, YAISHWARYAJ group has raised its demands of fair appointments of information commissioners as per the letter & spirit of the RTI act 2005, reads the Memorandum adding that the procedure, eligibility norms etc. for appointments of information commissioners have been laid down in Chapter IV of RTI Act

Sadiq Jamal Encounter: CBI probe ordered

The High Court has ordered a CBI investigations in the Sadiq Jamal encounter case. Accepting a petition filed by Sadiqs brother, Shabbir, the state high court handed over the case to the CBI. The hearing was completed by April 2011 and the court had deferred the decision. Justice M.R. Shah of the Gujarat High Court held that the points raised by the petitioner were of a serious nature and the accused are highly placed officers hence it would be against the interests of justice if the state police is allowed to investigate the matter. Rejecting the earlier FIR registered by the crime branch the high court ordered to lodge a fresh FIR and submit its report within six months. While CBI investigations were ordered in the earlier cases by the Supreme Court; in this case the State High Court, on its own, has taken the decision. 2005. Prabhuta, a member of the Yaishwaryaj group said that the spirit of the act is that all members of the committee should necessarily take part in the process of appointment and should note down their views on each and every aspect. This is not being followed in most of the appointments. Such appointments are abinitio-void and needs to be scrapped. US Zakat Foundation distributes 300 school bag kits It may be recalled that Sadiq Jamal who had been in Bhavnagar police custody in a minor case was shot in an encounter on 13 January 2003 near Galaxy cinema, Ahmadabad. The D.C.B. crime branch team comprising P.P. Pande, D.G. Vanzaara and Tarun Barot claimed that Sadiq had arrived with the intention of killing a prominent politician. Shabbir, encouraged by developments in other cases, filed the petition in 2007. What is surprising is that the revolver and the cartridges recovered from him do not match. The revolver is a .32 bore calibre whereas the cartridges are from .38 bore, revolver. Daya Nayak, the Mumbai police encounter specialist, is involved in this case. Sadiq was handed over to him by the Bhavnagar police on orders of a politician. To express his gratitude to Allah, Shabbir Mehtar offered a special prayer after hearing the High Court verdict. (AG Khan)

Hubli: Zakat Foundation of America distributed 300 school kits to students in old city in Hubli with the cooperation of Affus Woman Welfare Association (AWWA). A total of 300 school bag kits were distributed in Anandnagar, New Anandnagar Government Urdu schools and Altafnagar Prerana Girls School. Each backpack contained essential school supplies for students including notebooks, pencils, erasers etc. They came in different colors and sizes for all age groups. The backpacks were prepared by Zakat Foundations Hubli Volunteers and AWWA NGO volunteers. In this program AWWA president Mrs. Farida Khan, AWWA Career Academy Director Mohammad Ayub Khan and others took part. Peace Party president injured in road accident Faizabad: The Peace Party president Dr Mohammad Ayub was seriously injured in a road accident in Ayodhya on 14 June while returning to Gorakhpur after attending a rally in Delhi. Six other persons travelling along with him in an SUV too were injured. The party said it was an attempt to assassinate Dr Ayub who suffered injury in the spinal cord along with fractures in legs. According to Peace Party sources, an unnumbered white Scorpio was following Dr Ayubs car from Lucknow. On reaching Faizabad-Ayodhya bypass at midnight, the Scorpio tried to overtake Ayubs vehicle. But before Ayubs driver could control the vehicle, Scorpio hit it from the side and fled away. Raising suspicions over the accident, Ayubs aide Mohammad Ibraheem Khan told media: It was not a normal accident as the road was clear. It was a four-lane national highway so there is no question of vehicle getting hit from the side. It is a clear attempt to assassinate our leader who is trying to unite the Muslim community and trying to save them from being used as a vote bank by the political parties. Ayub was rushed to a private hospital in Faizabad and shifted to Gorakhpur next morning. Peace Party spokesman Rehan Ansari said, We have demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident and security cover for our leader. The local police, however, ruled out any foul play. Senior superintendent of police, Faizabad, RK Chaturvedi said that Ayubs driver lost control due to overspeeding and that resulted in the accident. Dr. MJ Khan, National General Secretary and Spokesman of Peace Party said in a statement that It was felt for quite some time that political stake-holders in UP will either try to get the top leadership of Peace Party physically eliminated or implicate them into criminal cases. Dr. Ayub has been taking utmost care and his movements are known only to either family members or could be monitored by the Intelligence Agencies. His petitions to the state and to the Central Government for providing security have failed. He even moved the High Court last year, which asked for State Government response. While small time district level politicians and even social workers and many property dealers are provided state security, why the two Governments have denied Dr. Ayub the security cover, who is rated among top 20 politicians in India and the most powerful Muslim politician by India today... Political parties in UP can not tolerate the rise of a Muslim politician, who is asking for the account of 63 years.

Lecture in Shah-i-Hamadan Institute Srinagar: Kashmir Universitys Shah-i-Hamadan Institute of Islamic Studies on 17 June organised a lecture by the reputed scholar of the Valley, Mufti Nazir Ahmad Qasmi and former Justice B. A. Kirmani on Shariat-i-Muhammadiya and modern social challenges. Prof. Hamid Naseem Rafiabadi welcomed the speakers in his inaugural address enumerating the challenges to Shariah, like female feiticide, dowry, violence against women and extravagance on marriage ceremonies. He emphasized on the importance of Shariah-based solutions to the modern problems. Delivering his lecture, Mufti Qasmi talked about the emergence of modern world and its inception in the 17th century followed by various landmark achievements which West attained and engulfed whole world especially the Muslim World resulting in the stagnation and halt in the development of Shariah-based solutions for the problems of modern societies. Discussing the basic fundamentals of the Islamic Shariah, Mr Qasmi discussed the objectives of the Shariah and its protective approach regarding the sanctity of life, wealth, intellect, Din (Islam), and Nasab (genealogy) etc. He deliberated on current social issues like rights of women, rights of spouse and certain medical issues like brain death and euthanasia (mercy killing). He showed great concern to the need to tackle the scourge of female foeticide in the Valley which has dangerous consequences for the society. Mufti Qasmi spoke briefly on the Islamic banking and economy. Being very hopeful for the successes of Islamic banking (which rejects Riba), he defined and explained a simple mechanism for operating an Islamic bank. This lecture was followed by the release of rare works of Shah-i-Hamadan (R. A). These works include various manuscripts in Arabic & Persian which are more than 45. These will be available in the departmental library of Shah-i-Hamadan Institute of Islamic Studies. Justice B. A Kirmani in his presidential lecture delivered a penetrating account of the western thought and its development with dominating contribution of S. Freud, and Karl Marx etc. He talked about the detraction of Muslims from contributing to the society and thought. The program was attended by research scholars and students of the University. Natgrid, NIA out of RTI purview In yet another blow to transparency, the central government, after exempting the CBI, has now pulled the National Intelligence Grid (Natgrid) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) out of the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The decision of exempting Natgrid from the radar of the RTI Act will certainly raise concerns as it would debar a citizen from seeking details on whether any of his databases have been accessed by the investigating agencies through Natgrid. After taking the decision, of including Natgrid, NIA and CBI in the second schedule through a gazette notification on June 9, the list of intelligence and security organisations exempted from providing any information under the RTI Act has soared to 25, except information pertaining to allegations on any corruption and human right violations. In recent years, the Centre has aggressively pursued its policy of making investigative agencies unaccountable to RTI, which has provoked civil society and socials activists alike to doubt the sincerity of the functioning of the government. To start with, in 2005, there were 18 organisations on the list of the second schedule, which rose up to 22 in 2008 and presently to 25. A government source argued that Natgrid required exclusion from the RTI ambit because most of the 11 agencies, empowered to access the Natgrid for getting database information on any citizen, are already exempted from the RTI Act. So anyway if a citizen wants to know if the Intelligence Bureau (IB) asked for any information on his bank account database through the Natgrid, the information cannot be disclosed as IB is an exempt organisation. Natgrid is not an organisation but only a forwarding tool and like an extended server of these 11 agencies, the source said. However, on the flipside, the SC lawyer and cyber law expert, Pawan Duggal said that such a decision only strengthened the Big Brother concept. Its a huge setback to transparency. Its like a blackout. We agree that national sovereignty is paramount but that is not tantamount to removing all levels of transparency, he added with deep concern.

22 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

COMMUNITY NEWS
Tribunal grants bail to Haider Ali
Haider Ali who was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment for violating military discipline and hurting his commanding officer has been granted bail by an Armed Forces Tribunal in Guwahati. He was earlier Court martialled thrice and was dismissed from service twice. Ali a soldier of Assam Rifles hails from Saharsa district in Bihar. For the fist time he confronted Assam Rifles officials in 1997 when he refused to comply with the order of his commandment to shave off his beard. As a result he was court martialled and dismissed from service. Later on he challenged the court martial order in the Delhi Court. Ali was later reinstated and posted to Manipur in the year 2004. Ali not only fought for his cause but also wrote letters to the President, Home Minister and Defence Minister in order to inform the plight of Assam Rifles Jawan. Alis lawyer Raghavendra Jha has alleged that Assam Rifles implicated Ali on false charges. Jamia Urdu, Aligarhs regional centre in Delhi New Delhi: Jamia Urdu, Aligarhs regional centre is now set up in Delhi. On the occasion of its inauguration a seminar on Hindustan ki mushtarka Tahzeeb: Urdu ka Tarikhi kirdar (Composite culture of India: Historic role of Urdu). Speaking on this occasion film producer-director Mahesh Bhat while describing Urdu as his mother tongue said that Urdu and Islam were part of his legacy. Speaking about Jamia Urdu, Aligarhs historic role in promoting Urdu, he said that the services rendered by Jamia Urdu in promoting Urdu language and literature were unparalleled in the academic world. NCPULs Director Hamidullah Bhat said while speaking on this occasion that now we should change our 150-year-old system and in order to sustain and develop this institution we must bring about changes in it. He said that Jamia Urdu had itself realised this and the changes made by it in accordance with changed and changing times would ensure its progress at all levels. Chairman of Delhi State Minorities Commission, Safdar Husain Khan while lauding Jamia Urdus services for the promotion and stability of Urdu assured all possible help and cooperation of Minorities Commission to Jamia Urdu. Dr. Jaseem Muhammad, chief of The Aligarh Movement magazine and Programme Director while shedding light on Jamia Urdus promotional activities said that under the leadership of Farhat Ali Khan, OSD of Jamia Urdu they were trying to set up Jamia Urdus regional centres in all states of India and the day was not far when they would succeed in their efforts. Jamia Urdu, Aligarhs Moallim Urdu degree recognised Deoband/Aligarh: UP government has now decided to recognise Jamia Urdu, Aligarhs Moallim Urdu Degree as equivalent to BTC. This will enable Moallim Urdu Degree holders to find teaching jobs in government and other schools. This success has been achieved by degree holders and Muslim leaders after a long and protracted legal battle. Way back in 1993 Mulayam Singh Yadav government, because of political compulsion to attract votes of Muslims, had recognised Moallim Urdu Degree as equivalent to BTC and also appointed about 14000 Urdu teachers in UP on the basis of this Degree of Jamia Urdu, Aligarh. Salaries to these teachers were also paid but unfortunately, soon Mulayam Singhs government was voted out, the next government derecognised the degree, with the result that thousands of Urdu teachers were removed and rendered unemployed. Thereafter all governments because of their bias towards Urdu and in order to discourage Urdu made no effort to recognise this degree. Unemployed Urdu teachers and their supporters and Muslim leaders waged a long legal battle. In 2010 Allahabad High Court in its verdict recognised this degree and issued orders that unemployed Moallim Urdu Degree holders be employed as teachers; but again the present Mayawati government, instead of implementing the High Courts order, filed a special leave petition in the same court against Moallim Urdu degree holders because of which the appointment of Urdu teachers was again stopped. However, according to newspaper reports, Mayawati government has withdrawn the special leave petition (SPL) earlier filed by her government against Moallim degree holders and High Courts order to appoint them for teachers jobs. With the withdrawal of SPL from the High Court, the way now has been cleared for the appointment of this degree holders as teachers in government schools of UP. This U-turn in UP governments policy is not free from expediency and opportunism and appears to be in view of the next years assembly elections in UP. Mayawatis greed to become prime minister of India is so acute that she can go to any extent and even shake hand with her bitter rivals, whether BJP, Congress or even SP if in a pre-election understanding they agree to support her becoming prime minister. Once she wins next years assembly elections and becomes chief minister, it is not surprising if she creates some other hindrance in blocking the recognition of Moallim Urdu degrees which will also be helpful in promoting Urdu in UP which no political party sincerely wants. MP Govt accused of bias against Kashmiri students The Madhya Pradesh government is embroiled in a controversy on account of its discriminatory policy towards Kashmiri students. The chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, has expressed his concern against Madhya Pradesh governments discriminatory approach towards Kashmiri students. Omar has expressed his anguish and concern on Twitter which says, Disgraceful: Hindutva groups campaign to keep Kashmiri

New home secretary takes over, while his predecessor betrays his bias
Raj Kumar Singh, the new home secretary, soon after his appointment said that Naxalism is the biggest threat to the country but at the same time also opined that the Centre is capable of dealing with the situation with co-operation from Maoist violence affected states. While talking to reporters after taking charge, he said, Naxalism is a big challenge before us. It can only be tackled with the help and coordination of the state government. At the same time it also equally important to strengthen the state police forces and to provide them Pillai with crucial intelligence inputs. Singh has succeeded Gopal Krishna Pillai, who, on the eve of his retirement betrayed his communal mindset and soft approach towards Hindutva terror. He was asked by Rediff.com on 29 June: You have a top view of whats going on in the country. Can you tell us whats your assessment of the spread and depth of Hindu radicalism in the country? His reply was: At the moment they are scattered, they are very few. I would say, if we talk about so-called armed people they will be fewer than 100 Hindu radicals in a country of our size. Its not a major problem. Its more out of retaliation for what happened. In the last few years, Hindu radicalism has gone down because we didnt have many bomb blasts. In students out of Madhya Pradesh. The ABVP has launched a drive against the influx of Kashmiri students into the state. In Madhya Pradesh there is provision in educational institutions that requires reserving one seat for Kashmiri migrants but the activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) claim that these quotas are being misused by providing admission to separatists. As a rule, university and colleges must stick to 80:20 ratios of students from Madhya Pradesh and other states. According to a new rule students from other states are required to submit an affidavit about their antecedents. And if found incorrect, then they may not be allowed to take admission in the state. The state government has said in the assembly that out of 290 students from other states in Hamidia Arts and Commerce College 287 are from the Valley. BD Sharma, ABVP general secretary in an interview has claimed that out of 400 students at Barkatullah University 175 students are from the Valley, which was supposed to be filled with displaced Kashmiri students. Delhi MLA Asif Muhammad Khan acquitted New Delhi/Jamia Nagar: Local leader and member of Delhi Assembly, Asif Muhammad Khan was acquitted of charges of sedition and spreading enmity by the Delhi Upper Sessions Court here on 2 July 2011. Justice Punki in a 22-page judgement held that the police had failed to trace the source of the alleged posters, besides most of the witnesses also failed to testify to their statements. The case was registered in 2001 while Mr. Asif was a local councillor, alleging that he had prepared and pasted posters of Osama bin Laden (the leader of Al Qaeda) and delivered antiIndia speeches and spread communal hatred in Sep. 2001. Muslims to be deprived of housing under JNNURM scheme Ahmadabad: Ahmadabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) has undertaken a housing project under the JNNURM scheme for the welfare of the poor and unprivileged people. It proposes to build 8011 houses in different localities of the capital. However, all these localities are extremely hostile towards Muslims. Hence, even if a Muslim wins in the draw (qurra) he would not dare to live in these houses. The areas covered under the scheme are Vastral, Vijnhol, Chand Kheda, Chandlodia, Bodakdev, Jodhpur etc. The scheme proposes to build houses for economically Weaker Sections (EWS). On places allocated for such purpose,. an officer apprised that these schemes are prepared without any kind of bias or prejudice. However he refused to answer when asked whether there were any projects in Muslim dominated localities. It is disturbing to note that all welfare schemes of the central government meant for the poor and the underprivileged are implemented in such a maner that no Muslim can avail himself of its benefit. Scholarship schemes, loans for house development etc. meant for weaker sections are strategically planned so as to deprive the Muslims. Municipal corporation project endangers Muslim shrine Ahmadabad: Four Ahmads and twelve Waliullahs contributed immensely in laying the foundation and in the development of Ahmadabad. Among these twelve devoted saints Hazrat Baba Lavlavi (R.A.) has his shrine behind Jamalpur Calico Mills on the banks of river Sabarmati. The riverfront project undertaken by Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation poses serious risk of damage and demolition not only to the beautiful mosque built close to the shrine but also to the graveyard. On the one hand the project has completely blocked the water passage which now floods the inner courtyard while on the other it provides an easy access to dogs who manage to enter the graveyard and dig up freshly buried bodies. The shrine, in the past, was 20 feet above the banks of the river and even floods did not pose any risk to the monument. However, now the riverfront project has raised the ground level. In the past rain water used to fall directly into the river but the raised ground level pushes the water back and floods the area. 2004-05 the country saw many blasts including in Akshardham and the train blasts in Mumbai. A few insensitive people felt that they needed to take action because the government was not taking adequate action. I must say that radicalism of any sort is a concern for us. he top home office bureaucrat is not only belittling the threat posed by Hindutva terrorists, he is also trying to show it as a reaction to the so-called Muslim terrorism which is yet to be proved beyond reasonable doubt. More likely, both these sets of terrorism, the so-called Muslim terrorism against mandirs etc and the retalliatory one, were the handiwork of one and same group but the government has no guts to go all the way after the Hindutva terrorists as martyr Hemant Karkare whould have liked. Still, many persons named in his chargesheet for Malegaon 2008, including armymen, are not charged or arrested and the central government could not muster courage to chargesheet, let alone arrest, the mastermind of Hindutva terrorism in the country, i.e., Indresh Kumar who also masquerades as a great friend of Muslims.

MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN

When the matter was brought to the knowledge of ASI officer suggesting to build a wall around the shrine he pointed out that no construction can be undertaken near any heritage site. He, however, promised to find a solution. AM Adharia, senior officer of the ASI said that he did not believe in paperwork but would sort out the problem with mutual discussion and consultation. Hazrat Abu Muhammad Alzohri (RA) popularly known as Baba Lavlavi was a great saint, a disciple of Hazrat Chirag Dehalvi (RA). He was an expert of diamonds. A diamond merchant Muhammad bin Jafar had great esteem for him and built a beautiful mosque to show his admiration for the saint. The mosque still looks grand and beautiful from the front side. Most wanted Bhavesh Patel: police helped him to abscond Bharuch: Bhavesh Patel of Bharuch is among those absconding extremists whom the National Investigation Agency has been searching. He caries a fabulous reward of Rs. two lakh on his arrest. Bhavesh has an uninterrupted record of involvement in communal riots. Thanks to the connivance of state police and politicians he has been evading the dragnet. He was involved in riots in 1994 as well as in the 2002 carnage. He was saved from the police clutches by a highly placed officer. His name also figured in the bomb blast that took place in Shivam Apartments on Maktampur Road where a mini bomb making factory was unearthed. With the help of corrupt police officers and politicians he managed to abscond during the last six months as the NIA had ample proof of his active participation in several blasts. NIA chief Sanjeev Singh who himself belongs to Gujarat has handed over a list of wanted absconders to the Gujarat police seeking their cooperation in locating them. However, not a single investigation agency of the Gujarat police, not even the Bharuch police, investigated his role in terror acts though he is involved in eight cases of bomb blasts. If various agencies take Bhaveshs close friends and associates in police custody or judicial remand, it would not be too difficult to trace his whereabouts and also of those who provide him shelter. It is surprising that inspite of declaring him an absconder and declaring Rs. 2 lakh reward no agency has so far released his photograph nor has there been a single poster put up anywhere. No police station displays his poster. No financial assistance to10, 000 madrasas in Bengal Mamata Banerjee after becoming chief minister of West Bengal has announced that her government is planning to give recognition to 10,000 madrasas in the state.The announcement has been criticised by the Left and the BJP as an appeasement policy and nothing else. Chief Minster Mamata Banerjee while talking to reporters at Writers Building said recently that the recognition of madrasas will certainly help them to get Central assistance but at the same time she also said that the state government would not take up any financial responsibility of these madrasas. Some would ask what the purpose of the recognition plan was and what the state government would achieve by it. Or it was just lip service done in favour of Muslims to make them believe that something has been done for the Muslims. Nikhil Raymond in his article in HT on 7 July doubts the intention and acumen of the chief minister on planning to recognise madaras in the states. According to Nikhil, before one takes Banerjees statements too seriously, it is necessary to understand the meaning of the word recognition, as it is used in the context of madrasa reform. When a madrasa becomes recognised, it accepts financial support from the state, and in turn agrees to supplement its religious curriculum with mainstream subjects. When Banerjee says recognition, however, she has no such reform-oriented pact in mind. She simply means that 10,000 madrasas in West Bengal will be registered, their existence acknowledged, and identification number assigned. If carried out to its natural conclusion, this exercise could culminate in a state madrasa directory, a Yellow Pages of sorts. While one cant fault with the chief minister for attempting to map Bengals madrasas, her efforts should be mistaken neither for support nor for reform.

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011 23

INTERNATIONAL

Palestinian people power could it be a game-changer?

ALAN HART
July 06, 2011 "Information Clearing House" -- Because Israel's leaders prefer land to peace and there's nothing any American president can do about that so long as the Zionist lobby and its stooges in Congress call the shots on U. S. policy for Israel/Palestine, it's obvious that the Palestinians have nothing to gain, only more to lose, from politics and diplomacy. So what, really, can they do themselves to press their claim for an acceptable minimum amount of justice? (By definition an acceptable minimum amount of justice requires a complete end to Israel's 1967 occupation with provision for Jerusalem to be an open, undivided city and the capital of two states). Way back in the early 1980? s, Major General (then retired) Shlomo Gazit, the best and the brightest of Israel's former Directors of Military Intelligence, said the following to me in a private conversation. "If we (Israel's Jews) had been the Palestinians, we'd have had our mini state long ago." He meant that they would have played the terror card. Simply stated (he knew he didn't have to spell it out to me), they would bombed Israeli government offices and commercial centres and properties of all kinds and blasted transport and other communication facilities to cause maximum disruption and destruction. And they would have done so knowing that their terrorism, provided it was ruthless enough and sustained, would be effective, would eventually cause many Israeli Jews to say to their government, "We've had enough, do a deal with the Palestinians." (They would also have had the evidence of their own experience to go on. In 1947/48, mainly by terrorism, they drove out first the occupying British and then about 800,000 Arabs). Though all governments deny it, a truth is that terrorism does work provided it is ruthless enough and sustained. And there's no mystery about why. In many countries, especially those in which citizens are free to express their thoughts and feelings (the so-called democracies), there are limits to the amount terror-created disruption and mayhem the soft underbelly of public opinion will tolerate. All politicians know this. There's a case for saying that the Palestinians might have had some real bargaining power if they had played the terror card effectively at an early point in Israel's occupation of the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip (as the Zionists would have done if they had been the Palestinians). Arguably a good time to have played it would have been after the UN Security Council caved in to Zionist-driven American pressure and came up with a resolution, 242, which effectively put Zionism in the diplomatic driving seat. It did so by refusing to condemn Israel as the aggressor, by not demanding its immediate withdrawal from occupied Arab territories and by allowing it to attach conditions to its withdrawal. As I have explained in previous articles and my book Zionism: The Real Enemy of the Jews, the Security Council should have put Israel on notice that it would be subjected to sanctions and diplomatic isolation if it settled occupied territory. Today, and even if they wanted it, the Palestinians do not have a terror option. And again there's no mystery about why. In addition to the blockade of the Gaza Strip and checkpoints which are in place partly to humiliate the Palestinians who must pass or seek to pass through them, Israel's state-of-the-art surveillance makes it almost impossible for Palestinians on the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip open prison to have conversations which are not electronically bugged or listened to by one means or another. Palestinian organizations and groups are also riddled with informYusuf/MG

ers, mostly Palestinian men who become Israeli intelligence assets in order to protect their women. The proposition often put to those who become informers is that if they don't do what Israel wants, their mothers/wives/sisters will be rapped. Simply stated there is not an environment in which the occupied and oppressed Palestinians could organize and execute a sustained terror campaign. So if the Palestinians have nothing to gain from politics and diplomacy and don't have a terror option, what can they do? In theory their best weapon is their very existence and the demographic time-bomb it represents, but It's reasonable to assume that Israel will continue to work on defusing it by means which could go all the way to a final round of ethnic cleansing. It was Sharon as prime minister who started the work of defusing the demographic time-bomb of occupation by ordering the withdrawal of Israeli settlers and IDF forces from the Gaza Strip. At the time, and with the assistance of the mainstream Western media which (generally speaking) is terrified of offending Zionism either too much or at all, it was presented as Sharon seeking to advance the peace process. That was Zionist propaganda nonsense. According to a recent report in Ha'aretz by Barak Ravid, even Netanyahu has now accepted that Israel must make some withdrawals from the occupied West Bank "if it is to preserve a solid Jewish majority inside the State of Israel." After his return from America that's what he told a shocked cabinet meeting when he presented to it a report by the Jewish People Policy Institute on demographic changes among Jews and Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank. The report was based on the demographic data of Prof. Sergio DellaPergola which shows that, in a number of years, the demographic trends will result in a Palestinian majority between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. So very probably the time is approaching when Netanyahu, if he can overcome the opposition of some of his lunatic cabinet colleagues, will announce Israel's intention to make some limited withdrawals from the occupied West Bank. He will present them as "painful concessions" on Israel's part and proof that it is serious about peace. The truth will be rather different. The withdrawals, if they happen, will be for one purpose and one purpose only - defusing the demographic time-bomb of occupation in order to preserve a solid Jewish majority in a somewhat reduced Greater Israel, a Zionist state with borders taking in about 40% of the West Bank including all of Jerusalem. As things are and look like going, that (about 60% of the West Bank with bits and pieces of pre-1967 Israeli land thrown in under the heading of "swaps") is the best deal the Palestinians are ever likely to be offered by any Zionist leadership; and it is, of course, totally unacceptable. So back to the main question - What, really, can the Palestinians do themselves to get some bargaining power? The answer I want to float came into my mind when I was reading a recent column by Uri Avnery. He was writing about the "nightmare" that has haunted Israel since 1948. What is it? "The 750,000 refugees and their descendents, some five million by now, will one day get up and march to the borders of Israel from North, East and South, breach the fences and flood the country." In my view getting up and marching to the borders of pre-1967 Israel is what the Palestinians should now do, and not only the Palestinians of the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip prison camp. They should be joined by Palestinian refugees from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. To guarantee peaceful proceedings on their part, the Palestinian marchers should be completely unarmed - not only no guns, but no stones.

Of course Israel would seek to prevent it happening by banning Palestinians assembling in numbers on the West Bank and, also, by threatening the frontline Arab states with reprisal attacks and even war if they allowed Palestinians in numbers to enter I967 Israeli occupied Arab land from their territories. But with effort and commitment on the part of the Palestinians it could be made to happen. Just imagine it Several hundred thousand or better still one or two million Palestinians or more marching peacefully to the 1967 borders. For what purpose? When they got as far as they could go, they would demand that the governments of the world do whatever is necessary to oblige Israel to stop defying international law and end its illegal occupation of the West Bank and its criminal blockade of the Gaza Strip. Such an event would demand and command the attention of the world's media, and it's by no means impossible that the coverage would light a fire of understanding throughout the Western world; understanding of the fact that the nuclear-armed Zionist state of Israel is the aggressor, the land thief and the oppressor and that the Palestinians are its victims. Such a fire, if it was lit, could trigger a people power response in the Western nations that would make it impossible for Western governments, even the one in Washington D. C., to go on supporting Israel right or wrong. If Israel's leaders were stupid enough to order the IDF to break up and disperse the Palestinian marchers by shooting to kill, there would be a bloodbath. In that event it's possible, in my view probable, that the fire of understanding the Palestinians had lit in the Western world would become an inferno of anti-Israelism that would force Western governments, including the one in Washington D. C., to call and hold the Zionist state to account for its crimes. Though it would further isolate Israel and America, I don't think a UN General Assembly resolution recognizing a Palestinian state in 1967 borders would change the facts on the ground. But if a vote in the General Assembly was taken against the background of the demonstration of Palestinian people power as outlined above, that could be a game-changer. (alanhart.net/

Mir Ali (North Waziristan): About 300 ulama and theological experts while condemning all kinds of terrorism. A joint declaration was passed in a Conference held at north Waziristan that suicide attacks are haram. This information was given by media. The Conference was held in Madrasa Nizamia here on 21 June in which terrorists were cautioned against unlawful activities. They were also warned against terrorist activities and all those who were/are complicit in the recruitment of armed fidayeen and imparting training to them in terrorism were strongly condemned. Foreigners who take part and indulge in violent and terrorist activities were also cautioned. While strongly condemning all kinds of terrorist activities they were told in this conference that they can live in north Waziristan in a peaceful way only.

Jirga of ulama says suicide attacks are haram

BBC to show film on Prophet

The BBC is to trace the journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad for a new series which is claimed to be a first for British television. Al Jazeera reporter Rageh Omaar will present the three-part programme for BBC2, following in the prophets footsteps from Mecca and along the journeys he took during his life. To ensure the programmes are in line with Islamic tradition, they will not depict the face of Muhammad or feature dramatic reconstructions of his life. The Life Of Muhammad is to be screened next month and will follow events such as his migration to Medina and the founding of the first Islamic constitution, through to his death. It will also examine his legacy and the impact of the faith he established. The trio of hour-long films have been made by Faris Kermani, the director and producer of Channel 4 series Seven Wonders Of The Muslim World. The BBCs commissioning editor for religion and ethics, Aaqil Ahmed, said: For some people in the UK, Muhammad is just a name, and I hope this series will go some way to explaining who he was, how he lived, what his prophetic message was, and how all of this compares to his legacy today. This is a very timely landmark series filmed in Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem, Syria, Turkey, the USA, the UK and Jordan. It features comment from some of the worlds leading academics and commentators on Islam - a subject that many people may know little about. The BBC said the programmes would raise questions about Islams role in the world today and explore where Islams attitudes towards money, charity, women, social equality, religious tolerance, war and conflict originate. Omaar is a former world affairs correspondent for BBC news who joined Al Jazeeras English service in 2006. He said: The details of Muhammads life really are little known, and I hope that my series will - for many shine a light on the very beginning of Islam, taking viewers to the heart of this faith, illustrating just how Muhammads life and legacy is as important today as it was over 1,000 years ago.

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24 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

INTERNATIONAL

In Israel, a Tsunami Warning

NOAM CHOMSKY
In May, in a closed meeting of many of Israels business leaders, Idan Ofer, a holding-company magnate, warned, We are quickly turning into South Africa. The economic blow of sanctions will be felt by every family in Israel. The business leaders particular concern was the U.N. General Assembly session this September, where the Palestinian Authority is planning to call for recognition of a Palestinian state. Dan Gillerman, Israels former ambassador to the United Nations, warned participants that the morning after the anticipated announcement of recognition of a Palestinian state, a painful and dramatic process of Southafricanization will beginmeaning that Israel would become a pariah state, subject to international sanctions. In this and subsequent meetings, the oligarchs urged the government to initiate efforts modeled on the Saudi (Arab League) proposals and the unofficial Geneva Accord of 2003, in which high-level Palestinian and Israeli negotiators detailed a two-state settlement that was welcomed by most of the world, dismissed by Israel and ignored by Washington. In March, Israels Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned of the prospective U.N. action as a tsunami. The fear is that the world will condemn Israel not only for violating international law but also for carrying out its criminal acts in an occupied state recognized by the U.N. The U.S. and Israel are waging intensive diplomatic campaigns to head off the tsunami. If they fail, recognition of a Palestinian state is likely. More than 100 states already recognize Palestine. The United Kingdom, France and other European nations have upgraded the Palestine General Delegation to diplomatic missions and embassiesa status normally reserved only for states, Victor Kattan observes in the American Journal of International Law. Palestine has also been admitted to U.N. organizations apart from UNESCO and the World Health Organization, which have avoided the issue for fear of U.S. defundingno idle threat. In June the U.S. Senate passed a resolution threatening to suspend aid for the Palestine Authority if it persists with its U.N. initiative. Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., warned that there was no greater threat to U.S. funding of the U.N. than the prospect of Palestinian statehood being endorsed by member states, The (London) Daily Telegraph reports. Israels new U.N. Ambassador, Ron Prosor, informed the Israeli press that U.N. recognition would lead to violence and war. The U.N. would presumably recognize Palestine in the internationally accepted borders, including the Golan Heights, West Bank and Gaza. The heights were annexed by Israel in December 1981, in violation of U.N. Security Council orders. In the West Bank, the settlements and acts to support them are clearly in violation of international law, as affirmed by the World Court and the Security Council. In February 2006, the U.S. and Israel imposed a siege in Gaza after the wrong sideHamaswon elections in Palestine, recognized as free and fair. The siege became much harsher in June 2007 after the failure of a U.S.-backed military coup to overthrow the elected government. In June 2010, the siege of Gaza was condemned by the International Committee of the Red Crosswhich rarely issues such reportsas collective punishment imposed in clear violation of international humanitarian law. The BBC reported that the ICRC paints a bleak picture of conditions in Gaza: hospitals short of equipment, power cuts lasting hours each day, drinking water unfit for consumption, and the population of course imprisoned. The criminal siege extends the U.S.-Israeli policy since 1991 of separating Gaza from the West Bank, thus ensuring that any eventual Palestinian state would be effectively contained within hostile powersIsrael and the Jordanian dictatorship. The Oslo Accords, signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1993, proscribe separating Gaza from the West Bank. A more immediate threat facing U.S.-Israeli rejectionism is the Freedom Flotilla that seeks to challenge the blockade of Gaza by bringing letters and humanitarian aid. In May 2010, the last such attempt led to an attack by Israeli commandoes in international watersa major crime in itselfin which nine passengers were killed, actions bitterly condemned outside the U.S. In Israel, most people convinced themselves that the commandoes were the innocent victims, attacked by passengers, another sign of the self-destructive irrationality sweeping the society. Today the U.S. and Israel are vigorously seeking to block the flotilla. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton virtually authorized violence, stating that Israelis have the right to defend themselves if flotillas try to provoke action by entering into Israeli watersthat is, the territorial waters of Gaza, as if Gaza belonged to Israel. Greece agreed to prevent the boats from leaving (that is, those boats not already sabotaged)though, unlike Clinton, Greece referred rightly to the maritime area of Gaza. In January 2009, Greece had distinguished itself by refusing to permit U.S. arms to be shipped to Israel from Greek ports during the vicious U.S.-Israeli assault in Gaza. No longer an independent country in its current financial duress, Greece evidently cannot risk such unusual integrity. Asked whether the flotilla is a provocation, Chris Gunness, the spokesperson for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, the major aid agency for Gaza, described the situation as desperate: If there were no humanitarian crisis, if there werent a crisis in almost every aspect of life in Gaza there would be no need for the flotilla (euro) .125 95 percent of all water in Gaza is undrinkable, 40 percent of all disease is waterborne 45.2 percent of the labor force is unemployed, 80 percent aid dependency, a tripling of the abject poor since the start of the blockade. Lets get rid of this blockade and there would be no need for a flotilla. Diplomatic initiatives such as the Palestinian state strategy, and nonviolent actions generally, threaten those who hold a virtual monopoly on violence. The U.S. and Israel are trying to sustain indefensible positions: the occupation and its subversion of the overwhelming, long-standing consensus on a diplomatic settlement. (Information Clearing House)

London museum showcases Muslim scientists' inventions

In cooperation with Abdul Latif Jameel Community Services Programs (ALJCSP), 1001 Inventions, an exhibition showcasing the inventions of Muslim scientists, will continue to be displayed in London's Science Museum for a longer period until the end of June 2010. The exhibition -- organized under the theme "Discover the Muslim heritage in our world" -- is aimed at introducing 1,000 years of amnesia of Muslim science and technology, starting from the seventh Gregorian century to the present. The exhibition sheds light on the scientific heritage of Muslim civilization and its contribution to the development of science in the world. Fadi Mohammed Jameel, the CEO of ALJ Foundation, announced that the period of the exhibition has been extended due to the huge turnout of visitors. Approximately 80,000 visitors have visited the exhibition with the number of visitors reaching 5,000 on certain days. Everyday, thousands of tourists, students and other guests visit the 1,000 square meter exhibition, which encompasses diverse collections of items that highlight the role of Muslim scientists and their contributions in medicine, engineering, astronomy, geography and other fields of science. Inventions are categorized into seven zones -- home, school, hospital, market, town, world and universe. The exhibition makes use of the latest IT techniques and interactive educational games, and for the first time highlights the role of women in science, as well as the role of non-Muslim scientists who contributed to Muslim civilization. The exhibition shows how Muslims nurtured the scientific and industrial heritage of the Chinese, Indian, Greek and Egyptian civilizations, and how they created a new and different civilization. The exhibition will be halted temporarily starting Monday until March 12 for maintenance works, and will then be reopened for visitors until the end of June. The exhibition will visit approximately 12 countries in Europe, America, East Asia, Africa and the Middle East in a tour that started in London. (arabnews.com)

Museum exhibit showcases Muslim scientists' inventions

Half of Worlds Refugees are running from U.S.

Half Of World's Refugees Are Running From U.S. Wars | America's wars are forcing Afghans and Iraqis to flee their homes in greater numbers. According to a recent U.N. High Commission for Refugees study, nearly one half of the world's refugees are from Afghanistan and Iraq, 3.05 million and 1.68 million, respectively. But neither the United States nor much of the developed world bears the burden of the 10.55 million refugees under the UNHCR's purview globally. Instead, Pakistan, Iran, and Syria serve as the top host countries. The Economist has charted the numbers. (see chart) - Sarah Bufkin (thinkprogress.org)

The United States will resume limited contacts with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed on Thursday, saying it was in Washington's interests to deal with parties committed to non-violent politics.While Clinton portrayed the administration's decision as a continuation of an earlier policy, it reflects a subtle shift in that U. S. officials will be able to deal directly with officials of the Islamist movement who are not members of parliament. The move, first reported by Reuters on Wednesday, is likely to upset Israel and its U. S. supporters who have deep misgivings about the Brotherhood, a group founded in 1928 that seeks to promote its conservative vision of Islam in society. Under president Hosni Mubarak, a key U. S. ally, the Brotherhood was formally banned, but since the ousting of the secular former general by a popular uprising in February, the Islamists are seen as a major force in forthcoming elections. "We believe, given the changing political landscape in Egypt, that it is in the interests of the United States to engage with all parties that are peaceful, and committed to non-violence, that intend to compete for the parliament and the presidency," Clinton told reporters at a news conference. "Now in any of those contacts, prior or future, we will continue to emphasize the importance of and support for democratic principles and especially a commitment to non-violence, respect for minority rights, and the full inclusion of women in any democracy," she added. Clinton would not say whether the Obama administration had already begun such contacts or at what level it planned to deal with the group. On 29 June, a senior U. S. official disclosed the decision to Reuters, saying that where U. S. diplomats previously dealt only with group members in their role as parliamentarians, a policy he said had been in place since 2006, they will now deal directly with Brotherhood officials.

US-Muslim Brotherhood Contacts To Resume

Turkey PM: Israel must still apologize for last year's Gaza flotilla raid
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on 8 July that it was "unthinkable" to normalize ties with Israel unless Israel apologized for the killing of nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists aboard the Mavi Marmara ship bound for the Gaza Strip last year. Erdogan also said in the text of a speech to parliament seen by Reuters that two other conditions for the normilization of ties were Israel lifting its blockade of Gaza and Israel paying compensation to the victims of the flotilla raid. On Thursday, an Israeli official said that a UN report on Israel's interception of last year's flotilla would be published on July 27 after delays to enable talks between Israel and Turkey. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to discuss the findings of the committee set up by UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon and chaired by former New Zealand premier Geoffrey Palmer, saying only they had been finalized. But Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said earlier that previous drafts of the Palmer report indicated the panel would rule mostly in favor of Israel. "From what we understand, the report justifies the [Gaza] blockade. It says the blockade is legitimate, that Israel took legitimate steps," he told reporters. Steinitz said the Palmer report would include "minor" criticism of the interception of the converted cruise ship Mavi Marmara as it tried to run the Gaza blockade.

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The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011 25

INTERNATIONAL

Murdoch empire heads for a fall

MIKE WHITNEY
Imagine that your 13-year old daughter has been kidnapped and you have no idea where she is. So you frantically call her cell phone over and over clinging to the faint hope that she might still be alive. And, then, a miracle happens; you notice that messages on her phone have been deleted signalling that she's still alive but unable to call back. What a relief! Suddenly, you are overcome with feelings of joy and gratitude knowing that your child is still alive. But then something terrible happens. You find out that your daughter's been dead all along. You only thought she was alive because some sleazeball working for a Murdoch tabloid had been fiddling around with her phone messages so he could get the inside story. Here's the story from The London Guardian: "....the journalists at The News of the World then encountered a problem. Millys voicemail box filled up and would accept no more messages. Apparently thirsty for more information from more voicemails, the paper intervened and deleted the messages that had been left in the first few days after her disappearance. According to one source, this had a devastating effect: when her friends and family called again and discovered that her voicemail had been cleared, they concluded that this must have been done by Milly herself and, therefore, that she must still be alive. But she was not. The interference created false hope and extra agony for those who were misled by it." (The Guradian). Is that the most heartless thing you've ever heard or what? And the Milly Dowler incident is just the tip of the iceberg. Investigators are now trying to figure out whether the News of the World tabloid (NoW) hacked the phones of relatives of dead soldiers, terrorist victims and other murder victims. Get the picture? Murdoch is in the bereavement business; and business is good! Personal suffering doesn't matter. What matters is eyeballs on the screen and papers sold. That's what really counts; the bottom line. Here's a little background on the phone hacking charges from the UK Guardian: "The Metropolitan police holds evidence that could prove hundreds of people had their phones hacked by News of the World, Scotland Yard told the high court, a far greater number than had previously been believed. Barristers for the Metropolitan police said notes seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator on the paper's books, showed he made a note of 149 mobile phone pin numbers and around 400 unique voicemail numbers. Both are used to access messages left on mobile phones. Jason Beer QC, for the Metropolitan police, told a high court hearing the figures were: "a snap shot in time as of last week". Until Friday, the police had maintained Mulcaire kept a record of just 91 pin numbers. The true extent of the investigator's activities is only now becoming apparent as Operation Wheeting, the new police investigation into phone-hacking at the News of the World which began in January, continues. Mulcaire's targets included the actor Jude Law, who is suing the paper for breach of privacy." ("Police uncover evidence of hundreds more hacked phones" Guardian) And who is this Glenn Mulcaire character who was on the company payroll? Here's a clip from the Associated Press that helps to fill in the blanks: "Glenn Mulcaire, a private detective employed by News of the World, and former News of the World reporter Clive Goodman have already served prison sentences for hacking into the phones of royal officials. Mulcaire issued an apology Tuesday to anyone who had been hurt by his actions, but said there was no intention of interfering with a police investigation. "Working for the News of the World was never easy. There was relentless pressure. There was a constant demand for results," Mulcaire said." ("UK phone hacking targets more slain schoolgirls", Gregory Katz, AP). Nice, eh? And this guy was getting paid by Murdoch's NoW? So the phone hacking goes way-back to 2002 (at the very least) and involves some very unsavory people like Mulcaire, right? Doesn't that suggest that it was company policy? For those who believe that Murdoch "didn't know" what was going on at News of the World, take a look at this blurb from Bloomberg: "Another Labour lawmaker, Tom Watson, demanded action against James Murdoch, Ruperts 38-year-old son, who runs News Corp.s European operations.... Cover-Up: Watson referred to the News of the Worlds statement to a parliamentary committee in 2009 that James Murdoch had approved a 700,000-pound payment to a phone-hacking victim that was accompanied by a non-disclosure agreement. The company had been trying to organize a cover-up, the lawmaker said. It is clear now that he personally, and without board approval, authorized money to be paid by his company to silence people whod been hacked, Watson said. This is nothing short of an attempt to pervert the course of justice. ( "Murdoch Gets Dangerous for Cameron", Bloomberg) "So, Rupert's son James knew what was going on", but Rupert did not? How believable is that? What the public needs to know, is how far up the chain of command this goes, because that's the only way to determine accountability. Is phone hacking and (possible) obstruction of justice company policy or not? That's the question. If it is, there needs to be a thorough investigation and criminal penalties. That means jail-time. The editors at News of the World should be required to sign depositions stating whether they knew that private investigators were being used to hack phone-lines or not. If they knew, then one can assume that it wasn't merely overzealous reporting, but company policy. And if it was company policy, then whoever set the policy is guilty. Was it Murdoch? The hacking scandal has sent shares in News Corporation tumbling and is now threatening to derail Murdoch's bid to takeover BSkyB. Public revulsion has also forced the government to get involved. Prime Minister David Cameron, has called the hacking claims ''truly dreadful'' but has been restrained in his criticism due to his connections to Murdoch. (He is now calling for an investigation) Others, like Tim Farron, the president of the Liberal Democrats, have been less diplomatic. According to the he Sydney Morning Herald, Farron, "said News executives had shown they were not ''fit and proper persons'' to take over BSkyB and joined calls for a public inquiry into the hacking scandal...."This goes far deeper than one individual. It appears to have been about a culture and a complete lack of ethics,'' he said." (The Sydney Morning Herald) "Labour MP Chris Bryant was even more strident in his criticism. Bryant said, "These were the "immoral and criminal deeds of organisation that was appallingly led," he said. "Journalists and investigators should be ashamed of what happened, so too should the people who ran the paper. Editorial negligence is tantamount to complicity," said Mr Bryant. (The Telegraph) The News of the World phone hacking flap is a fast-breaking story that could go any number of ways. But one thing is certain, we're going to find out a lot more about the intrusive (and, possibly, illegal) means the media uses to generate headlines. That may be good for the public, but very bad for Rupert Murdoch. Part 2---Murdoch Update (Friday) Blood in the Water It's all beginning to unravel for Rupert Murdoch, the serpentine media tycoon, whose empire has been rocked by a phone hacking scandal that's ballooned into a full-blown crisis. On Thursday, Murdoch shuddered the 168 year-old "News of the World" laying off 200 workers while retaining beleaguered NoW editor Rebekah Brooks. Brooks is at the center of the controversy, although she still maintains she knew nothing of the phone hacking. The facts are likely to prove otherwise. She will undoubtedly be questioned by the police in the nearfuture. If she is implicated, she could go to jail. On Friday, the former editor of News of the World, Andy Coulson, and former royal editor, Clive Goodman, were arrested by the

Metropolitan Police in connection to phone hacking allegations. The investigation is widening and more arrests are expected in the coming weeks. The scandal has sent shares of News Corp. tumbling and taken a toll on Murdoch's business interests. According to The Guardian, the prospects for the big BSkyB deal appear to be fading. Here's an excerpt from the article: "Rupert Murdoch's plan to take full control of BSkyB have been scuppered by the political fallout from the News of the World phonehacking scandal, the City believes. Sam Hart, media analyst at broker Charles Stanley said: "Murdoch's plan to bid for the satellite operator has been kicked into touch. "Shareholders are discounting the possibility that this bid won't happen for the foreseeable future. Some people wonder if it will happen at all. It could take years before the various inquiries have wound up, so the deal has been pushed much further back than anyone would have guessed a week ago." ("BSkyB deal could collapse, City experts warn", Guardian). And here's more on the selloff of Murdoch stocks: "Investors in companies controlled by Rupert Murdoch have been dumping the shares amid fears on both sides of the Atlantic over the fallout from the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World. Shares in broadcaster BSkyB are down 5% in the last week, wiping some 666m off the value of the business, while News Corp had lost 2.6% slicing some $400m off the value of the News of the World's ultimate parent company." (The Guardian). The phone hacking incident has helped to crystallize the public's growing contempt for the media and its methods. In a matter of days, Rupert Murdoch has gone from a king-maker to pariah, a transformation that he has brought about for many of his victims. Murdoch knows how fickle people can be and how much they enjoy seeing the rich and powerful get skewered in the press. He probably wonders if he is next on the list. Here's a clip from and interview with Nick Davies on Wallace's blog: "To me it isn't a story about journalists behaving badly. It's about the power elite. It's about the most powerful news organisation in the world. It's about the most powerful police force in the country. It's about the most powerful political party in the country, and for good measure it's about the press complaints commission and how they all spontaneously colluded together to make everybody's life easier. It's about how they casually assumed that the law didn't apply to them, and how they equally casually assumed that it's perfectly all right to lie to the rest of us..the little people." (Wallace's blog: Rupert Murdoch - destroying standards) The phone hacking scandal has its tentacles everywhere, from NoW front offices to Scotland Yard to 10 Downing Street. How is Prime Minister David Cameron involved? Were the police taking payoffs for information? How high up the chain of command did they know about the hacking? Did Murdoch know what was going on? This wasn't some trifling, part-time hacking operation. Oh no. As former employee at the News of the World Paul McMullan told actor Hugh Grant: (It was a) "High, extensive, industrial-scale phone-hacking went on at News of the World, particularly under Andy Coulson, (and) it wasn't just the News of the World, it was all the tabloids, how money regularly passed hands between News International and offices of Metropolitan Police," he said." ("How Hugh Grant Helped Expose News Corp.'s Phone-hacking scandal", Hollywood Reporter) So, phone hacking is de rigeur in the sleaze business, mainly because it saves time and money on investigations. It's also a good way to nab the big headline, which is the real goal. News of the World never would have uncovered the facts about 13-year old murder victim Milly Dowler if they hadn't hacked her messages. That gave them a leg-up on the competition allowing them to break the Big Story and sell more papers. They probably never gave a second thought to the fact that their actions would cause more suffering for Dowler's grieving parents. Why would they care anyway? It's going to be a bumpy few months for Murdoch. There are bound to be more arrests, more surprises, and more employees who leak their stories to the press. And, then, there's always the possibility that another shoe will drop causing even more trouble; no one knows for sure. This could all end very badly for Rupert Murdoch. (Information Clearing House)

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CHARITY ALLIANCE, with the active support of MG and like-minded people, is helping the victims of starvation in Murshidabad since April 2005. More tasks are being undertaken in some of the most deserving areas and most backward sections of our community. This charitable trust is channelising this long-felt effort. Almost every paisa is reaching the deserving people as MG is providing office and administrative facilities free of cost as well as free advertising space, and the trustees are barred by the trust deed from receiving any remuneration for their work and time. Indian nationals anywhere in the world can contribute by cheque, draft, money order, postal order payable to Charity Alliance and send it to:

CHARITY ALLIANCE
D-84 Abul Fazl Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110 025 India Tel.: (+91-11) 2694 7483, 2695 2825 We prefer cheques to bank drafts. Cheques/Drafts should be crossed / marked account payee. Individuals are welcome to pay cash in our office or send M.O. If you want to contribute through credit card or internet-banking visit www.charityalliance.in for secure online payment.
The full list of donors may be seen on Charilty Alliance website (www.charityalliance.in).

Donations to Charity Alliance are eligible for tax liability deduction in India under Section 80G

Zakat, Sadaqat and bank interest accepted

See MG, 16-31 August 2010, Page 7 for detailed report on our work.

26 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

INTERNATIONAL

A Complicit West in Crimes against Gaza

KARAMATULLAH K. GHORI
In the post-nine-eleven world, the Muslim world has been punished, collectively, in at least two different ways. One, by attacking those deemed 'too dangerous' with brute invasion, occupation and destruction-Iraq and Afghanistan are two glaring examples of it. Two, by suffocating others-still consigned to the category of 'dangerous'-through arbitrary sanctions that would make ever more harder for their people. Gaza is most illustrative of the second category. It has been under a land, sea and air blockade by Israel, since 2007, when Hamas moved into the territory after its government-popularly elected by a huge majority of the Palestinians-was forced out of the West Bank under a clumsy conspiracy hatched by Israel and US, to which Yasir Arafat's successors in Fatah became cohorts because they had sold their souls out to Israel and US for the sake of power. Their mentors in Israel and the west, as a whole were so shameless that they didn't bother to give a second thought to the fact that Fatah was hated by a majority of Palestinians, which regarded Mehmood Abbas and his minions as touts and slaves to western interests, vis--vis those of their own beleaguered people. Gaza was brutally invaded by Israel in 2008-2009 to welcome the induction of Barack Obama into the White House. At least 1300 Gazans were slaughtered in that barbaric onslaught, their homes were destroyed, their schools and hospitals were pulverized. But that didn't cause any embarrassment to Israel's western mentors and cohorts because Hamas is a terrorist organization in their books. Gaza has been living not only with the consequences of Israel's savage destruction of their small enclave but also has to endure the punishing fallout from Israel's blockade and arbitrary sanctions imposed on them. Again, it doesn't make any dent on the conscience of Israel's western friends because Gazans are foolish, in their eyes, to have opted for a government by Hamas. But these same western countries-US and its European allies-have been shedding crocodile tears on the plight and suffering of the Libyans or the Syrians whose brutal dictators and tyrants aren't prepared to grant them those very same freedoms that the people of Gaza have long been demanding. Libya is being pounded, mercilessly, by Nato, the 21st century version of the western colonial armies and armadas, because Qaddafi isn't blinking despite such punishing raids against Tripoli and wherever else his edict still runs. The western champions of democracy and human rights have also been only too prominent and conspicuous in holding Sudan to ransom and force its hand to cede its southern half to a breakaway bunch of Christian leaders who have long been on western payrolls and working to their agenda for the breakup of Sudan into two states. President Omar Al-Bashir of Sudan, like Qaddafi of Libya, has been declared a war criminal and his arrest warrants have been issued by a west-friendly International Criminal Court (ICC). But, of course, one can't imagine that Bejamin Netanyahu of Israel would ever be so treated by ICC, although his crimes against the Palestinians would easily qualify him to merit the treatment being meted out to Al-Bashir or Qaddafi. By the same token, one can't think of Israel ever being forced by the western powers, or a UN at their beck-and-call, to lift its brutal and inhuman siege of Gaza. This glaring dichotomy in the western perception of what are human rights' violations and what aren't is being deliberately maintained in order to give a free hand to Israel to go on punishing and starving the hapless 1.5 million people of Gaza. Last year in July, Turkey had made an effort to challenge the arbitrary and, in the eyes of international law, totally illegal, siege of Gaza when it sent a 'peace flotilla' in an effort to call Israel's bluff. However, in an operation on the high seas-and in a manner that revived the memory of piracy of the middle ages-Israeli commandos hijacked the flotilla, Mavi Marmara, and killed at least 9 peace activists, all of them Turks. But there was no call from the western world for accountability by a gung-ho Israel that has long been practicing terror as an instrument of state policy. Israel, in the modern-world, is perhaps the only state that prides on its acts of terrorism and the use of brute force against unarmed civilians. This year, again, dozens of conscientious peace activists from Europe and North America-including citizens of those very states that have stood four-squares behind Israel in its callous use of force against unarmed Gazans and its inhuman policy of starving Gaza's 1.5 million people living in the world's largest open air concentration camp-worked hard to assemble a flotilla much larger than last year's. For some odd reason, however, Turkey decided not to become part of a more cohesive group of peace activists than last year's trying to breach the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. Last year, Turkish Prime Minister, Tayeb Erdogan, was in the forefront of those who condemned Israel's brutality in denying the people of Gaza the space to live and breathe. Erdogan has just last month won a landslide victory-his third in a row-in the Turkish general elections. Syrian refugees who have fled their country to escape the government's wrath. So it isn't hard to reason that Erdogan has stayed his hand from involvement in Gaza because his hands are already full. In the absence of Turkish patronage, therefore, the peace flotilla organizers decided to make Greece the pivot of their preparations to undertake a hazardous journey. It couldn't be anything other than hazardous as a triggerhappy and violence-prone Israeli government had made no effort to hedge its naked determination to stop the flotilla from reaching Gaza with or without the use of its brute force. But while Israel was serving public warnings of dire consequences to the peace activists determined to follow on their plans to call the world's attention to Israel's illegal and punishing blockade of Gaza, it was also engaged, behind the scene, in twisting the arm of Greece's already hobbled and crisesplagued government. As of the writing of these lines, this year's peace flotilla is still stuck in Greece simply because the Israeli-partisan Greek government wouldn't allow its boats to sail from Greek harbours for Gaza. So much for civilized Europe's concern for human suffering, of which loud dreams are beaten day in and day out from western roof-tops, but in real terms it's nothing but a cruel joke. unabashed votaries and partisans of a Zionist and expansionist Israel. One shouldn't be surprised, therefore, if it's disclosed, someday, that one of the conditions attached to the recent bail-out package for Greece decided in Brussels was to not let any boats with humanitarian cargo-human and material-destined for the incarcerated people of Gaza leave from any port in Greece. All this cloak-and-dagger is being resorted to for the sake of the Zionists in Israel who have no iota of concern for human dignity or the suffering of the hapless people of Gaza. Israel's powerful friends, on both sides of the Atlantic, have come up with a best-case solution for the Netanyahu government-which would otherwise have suffered from no remorse in using crude power, once again, to stop the peace flotilla from reaching Gaza-and saved it from dead-certain embarrassment in repeating its high seas-piracy of last year. The flotilla participants came from across the world, with their majority hailing from Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Turkey and France) North America and Australia. There are at least 22 Canadians on a boat named Tahrir in honour of the people of Egypt's valiant struggle that rid them of Hosni Mubarak's tyranny. The Canadians may have hoped that with a successful run of their boat to Gaza they may also be able to expose Israel's blatant tyranny, if not unravel it with their peace gesture. But they, along with others entertaining similar hopes, have been stranded and left chafing in Greece by the shameless cynicism of their western governments. A section of the Canadian press has quoted one of their peace activists, David Heap, who is a professor at the University of Western Ontario, capturing the conspiracy of the western governments in one pithy sentence and saying: "The (Gaza) blockade has moved to the ports of Greece." Some other Canadian participants have expressed fears of reprisals against them by their own government. This should surprise no one aware of Canada's current conservative government's unabashed predilection in favour of Israel. The Tories ruling the roost in Ottawa since 2006, suffer from a deadly antiMuslim and anti-Arab syndrome. In their perverse thinking, Israel can do no wrong and all Arabs, if not all Muslims, are partisans of terrorists. The Israel-friendly part of the western news media, which overwhelms the Liberal segment of it, has ridiculed the whole idea of taking a peace flotilla to the Palestinians in Gaza. They have pored scorn over the flotilla by calling it a "ship of fools." The scheming, conspiring western friends of Israel may think they have sucked life out of the peace activists and dealt a crippling blow to their hopes to somehow challenge Israel's illegal and brutal blockade of Gaza. In short term, these conspirators may have reason to scratch each other's back and gloat over their 'achievement.' However, theirs may at best be a pyrrhic victory. The 'ship of fools' may have had its bottom knocked out and left stranded before it could be launched to alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza. But their gesture has earned them a place of honour in history, while exposing the hollowness of western democracies' claim that they are guardians of human rights all over the world. Their advocacy of humanitarianism has been proved to have no nobility about it. The people of Gaza, the ultimate target of western chicanery, never had any fancy notions of the west being attuned to their horrendous suffering at the hands of a rapacious Israel. They have known it for a fact for decades that Israeli propaganda has mesmerized western leaders to such an extent that they have become incapable of sifting chaff from the grain. Such is the power of Zionist lobbies working over-time in western capitals. The people of Gaza have learned to come to terms with their suffering but wouldn't allow their dignity and sense of honour to be compromised or trumped at any cost. The conscientious among the citizens of western 'democracies' admire the heroic courage and resilience of the Gazans in the face of enormous suffering and salute it.

Gaza was brutally invaded by Israel in 2008-2009 to welcome the induction of Barack Obama into the White House. At least 1300 Gazans were slaughtered in that barbaric onslaught, their homes were destroyed, their schools and hospitals were pulverized. But that didn't cause any embarrassment to Israel's western mentors and cohorts because Hamas is a terrorist organization in their books.
Yet he is showing no enthusiasm to challenge Israel the way he did last year. It could be because of the pressure being mounted on him by Israel's principal mentor and weaponsprovider, US, which also wields a huge influence over the Turkish high command. The generals in Turkey may have been reduced in size and power but aren't completely out of the power equation. Their ties to US and Israel are old and well-entrenched. Hence the reluctance on Erdogan's part to reprise his bravado and moral crusade of last year's that had exposed Israel's murderous hypocrisy to the hilt. It could also be due to Erdogan's overt involvement in the Arab uprisings in Syria, next door to Turkey, and Libya, where he first tried a soft touch but has shifted gears owing to Qaddafi's irrational behaviour. Erdogan's energies and attention is also being heavily apportioned by the worsening crisis in Syria whose young head of state, Bashar Al Assad, was until recently seen as a virtual protg of Erdogan. Turkey has also been saddled with responsibility to take care of more than ten thousand This year's flotilla was expected to be much larger from last year's. At least ten boats are presently captive under Greek surveillance in various ports of the country; at Agios Nikolas, Crete, Corfu and Athens. It's easy to understand how Israel's Zionists and their rich and powerful friends in North America and Europe have managed to twist Greece's arm and forced it to succumb to their deplorable blackmail. Greece's economy has been hobbling for a number of years. Today, it's, without further ado, the 'sick man of Europe' an epithet that used to be applied, a century ago, with contempt to Turkey. In a role-reversal, Turkey, under its dynamic Islamic leadership of the day, has been transformed into an economic powerhouse; its economy is developing at the rate of 9 per cent a year, which is second-best only to that of China. Greece, with a foreign debt of 425 billion dollars is at the mercy of its EU partners, many of whom, especially the rich and powerful countries like Germany, France and Britain, are

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011 27

BOOKS

Pangal Musalman: Manipuri Muslims

Book: Manipuri Muslims Author: Farooque Ahmad Publisher: Pharos Media Year: 2011 Pages: 192 PB Price: Rs. 200 ISBN - 10:81-7221 - 049 - 3 ISBN - 13:978 - 81 - 7221 - 049 - 6 Arab geographer Ibn Khurdadhbih (851 CE) wrote that he had personally seen samples of the cotton textile produced in the Pala domains, which he praised for their unparalleled beauty and fineness. A century later, another Arab geographer, Masludi (d. 956) recorded the earliest known mention of Muslims residing in Bengal. Manipuri Muslims are all Sunni Hanafis. Ibn Battuta during his visit to Kamrup hill met Shaikh Shah Jalal, the renowned saint in 1345 CE. Two sections of Manipur Muslims are Aribah (pure Arabs) DR AG KHAN and khalazi (mixed blood - local mother). Earlier Muslim abodes were called "Pangal Mar" or "Pangal Mar We know little about Manipur and specialKhullen". Al-Beruni, historian sent by ly the fact that it has a substantial populaMahmud of Ghazni described the land tion of Muslims, though Islam had and people as Udaygiri. What is interestreached this far flung place while the ing to note is the fact: "There is not even Prophet was still alive. His uncle Sa'ad a single evidence showing conversion ibn Abi Waqqas arrived in Manipur before from the Muslim to the Meitei" (local departing for China. This book covers the Hindus) history of Islam in Manipur from 615CE till Muslims used to have their own perdate when Muslims constitute 8.32% of its sonal laws. Hindu personal law does not population. apply even to a Meitei convert to Islam. The Aribam tribe traces its ancestry to The Manipur kings trusted Muslims very Hamza and Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas. much. However, marriage practice is akin Muhammad al-Hanafiya, a son of Caliph to that of Meiteis. In other social customs Ali is said to have arrived in Manipur in too, Muslims conform to Meitei ways as 680 C.E. A section of Nagara Brahmins in long as it does not contradict Qur'anic Sylhet embraced Islam in 646 C.E. injunctions. There is an interesting pracSimilarly, a section of kayastha (kshatice of elopement (in which parents of the triya) reverted to Islam in 743-1199. would be bride pretend to be unaware The remaining tribes of Manipur were though they do not object to elopement). result of two mega Muslim migrations in After the "elopement" the parents of the 1606 and 1724. Manipur provided shelter bride express their anger and protest and to Shah Shuja, the Mughal prince who ultimately agree to the "love marriage". fled (and was pursued) to save himself Muslims used to have their own In fact, arranged marriage is considered from the wrath of his brother Aurangzeb. the job of a coward who cannot fall in personal laws. Hindu personal Lakhayarful alias Baisanghar was love with a lady of his choice. law does not apply even to a the grand-son of the great Mughal Manipuris retain their clan identities Meitei convert to Islam. The Emperor, Akbar, from his third wife (shaqzi). There are 74 such clans. Manipur kings trusted Muslims Daulat Shah. Thus Sunarphul (Shah These are further divided into 4 groups Shuja) and Lakhiyarphul enriched the Sheikh, Sayyid, Pathan and Mughals. very much. However, marriage local population with Mughal traditions practice is akin to that of Meiteis. Farooque Ahmad, a scholar of emiafter finding a safe refuge here. To a nence, currently engaged in research in In other social customs too, great extent the Muslim population in at ICHR, Muslims conform to Meitei ways Delhiwork with has produced a remarkthe region grew because of the preachable a very long bibliography as long as it does not contradict and 595 citations from English and ings of saints who enjoyed royal conQur'anic injunctions. sent. That accounts for several mystic Manipuri sources. It is an extremely well orders Alwaniyah Adhmiyah and documented treatise which serves as a Qadirigah. While Bastamiyah, the Naqshbandiyah and standard text on History, History of Islam in India as well as a Bakhtashiyah have descended from the first Caliph, Abu Bakr; thoroughly researched sociological study. This gives the reader a the remaining can trace roots their to the fourth Caliph, Ali. peep not only in the past of the region but also of the present According to Henry Rule Kathe, Musalmans (i.e. early predicaments of the people. There are some good photographs Manipuri Muslims) are the result of intermixing (melting pot) of and a map of Manipur. Muslims coming in different eras from different directions It is immaculately printed thanks to painstaking vigilance of Arakans, Cachar and Manipur itself. Silk-spinning was a trade the publishers who can proudly claim this work as a valuable widely practised by them. addition to Islamic studies and history.

Two new titles from Other Books, Calicut

Book: Notes from Prison Author: Alija Ali Izetbegovic ISBN: 9788190601986 Paperback 452 Pages Price: 450 Notes from Prison is Alija Izetbegovic's spiritual escape to freedom. Being politically imprisoned by the Communist regime in Yugoslavia for long years at Foca jail in Sarajevo, former President of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Alija Izetbegovic jotted down these immeasurably valuable philosophical notes on diverse topics. He saved the notes from the searching eyes of jailers and smuggled out all the 13 notebooks with the help of a fellow prisoner. A book with irresistible emotional charm and intellectual provocation with powerful epigrammatic ponderings, Notes from Prison outstandingly unique reading, both in form and content. Book: 9/11 - the pretext Author: N.M.Hussain ISBN: 9789380081076 Paperback 348 Pages Price: 375 9/11 was not the end of an event. It was rather a beginning; the beginning of creating a prominent myth in the international politics. If that myth has to exist, several sub-myths have to be created alongside. FBI and Mossad, the Israeli counterpart of CIA, are of the opinion that at least two years are needed to carry out an attack of the proportion of 9/11. Why did the British PM's dossier not give a single piece of evidence against the activities of Al Qaeda and Bin Laden? Why did it leave unsaid the putative role of the rightist militia which is responsible for the largest terror attack in the US? Why did the government, rather than presenting a cementing proof, harp on the role of Bin Laden without even giving a hint on the rightists, although the latter deserved more suspicion than the former? The doubt lingered. Major news organisations in the US and UK including AP, AFP, Reuters, CNN, BBC, Fox News and C-Span never explained, or posed for that matter, the doubts on the dossier and other official versions of the 9/11. This book, by freelance investigative journalist NM Hussain, attempts to explore some unsaid mysteries behind 9/11. Available from Other Books, P.B.No.620, Ist Floor, 13/776, New Way Building, Railway Link Road, Calicut, Kerala, India- 673002 Phone: + 91 495 2306808, Email: otherbooks@post.com

Books from the publishers of this newspaper

ENGLISH
Afsana Rashid, Widows and Half Widows: Saga of extra-judicial arrests and killings in Kashmir 192 pp, Rs 200/d 15 Farooque Ahmed, Manipuri Muslims: Historical Perspectives 615-2000 CE 192 pp, Rs 200/d 15 Dr E Kazim, Scientific Commentary Of Suratul Faatehah 562pp (Large format), Rs 250/d 20 Shamsul-Islam, RSS Primer: Based on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh documents 32 pp, Rs 20/d 4 Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Islam & Ahmadism 48pp., Rs 30/d5 S.M. Mushrif, Who Killed Karkare? - The real face of terrorism in India 336pp, Rs 300/d 20 Ram Puniyani, Terrorism: Facts Vs Myths 96 pp (Out of print) Shamsul Islam, Golwalkars We or our nationhood defined: A critique with full text of the book 200 pp, Rs 120/d 8 M.A. Roshash, Islamic Company Law (Rule of companies in Islamic fiqh - a comparative fiqhi study 302 pp., Rs 600/d20 IK Shukla, Hindutva: Treason & Terrorism 184 pp., Rs 130/d10 Mustafa Kamal Sherwani, Secular Horror: 15 years ordeal with Indian secularism 96 pp., Rs 80/d10 Nur Ali Qabobe, Somalia: From Nation-State To Tribal Mutiny 152 pp. (HB) , Rs 300/d20 Zafarul-Islam Khan, At the threshold of a new millennium 32 pp., (Out of print) Tahir Mahmood, Minorities Commission: minor role in major affairs viii+286 pp., Rs 300/d 15 Iqbal Ahmad Khan Suhail, What is riba? 208 pp., Rs 200/d 13 Zafarul-Islam Khan (ed.), Palestine Documents 1897-1998 894 pp. (HB), Rs 500/d20 Zafarul-Islam Khan, Hijrah in Islam 398 pp (Out of print) Muslims in India (2-part special issue of MAP), 360pp., Rs 110/d15 Palestine (3-part special issue of MAP), 460 pp., Rs 195/d25 Irfan, Punchline (cartoons), 112 pp., Rs 50/d4 Islamic economics, banking and finance (Special issue of MAP), 200pp., Rs 175/d 15

HINDI
S.M. Mushrif, Karkare ke Hatyare Kaun? - Bharat mein aatankvaad ka asli chehra 368pp, Rs 250/d 20 Yugal Kishore Sharan Shastri, Ram Janmabhoomi banaam Babri Masjid - Mithak ewam tathye 64pp, Rs 40/d 5

GUJARATI
S.M. Mushrif, Karkare na Qatilo Kaun? Bharitya aatankvaad no asli chehro 352pp, Rs 200/d 20

ARABIC
Zafarul-Islam Khan, Waliullah al-Dihlawi 50 pp., Rs 20/d3 Iqbal Ahmad Khan Suhail, Ma Huwa al-Riba? 196 pp. (HB), Rs 180/d 9.5 Mustafa A.R.A. Roshash, Ahkam al-sharikat fil-fiqh alIslami - dirasah fiqhiyah muqaranah 312 pp., Rs 600/d20

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URDU
S.M. Mushrif, Karkare ke qatil kaun - Hindustan mein dahshatgardi ka asl chehra 312pp, Rs 200/d 20 Feza Aazmi, Azab-e-Humsaigi (The Agony Trail) (with English Translation) 224 pp., Rs 120/d10 Zafarul-Islam Khan, Milli masael - chand aham sawalon ke jawabat 42 pp., Rs 15 (Out of print) Iqbal A Khan Suhail, Riba kya hai? 230 pp. (HB), Rs 120/d10 Zafarul-Islam Khan, Usul-e tahqiq [on methodology of modern research], 192 pp., Rs 120/d10 Ahmad Muhammad Kani, Maghribi Afriqa ki tahrik-e jihad (Sokoto Caliphate), 106 pp., (Out of print) Malik Ben Nabi, Jadid Islami fikr par mustashriqin kay asarat, 50 pp., (Out of print)

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28 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES

How Samarkand was conquered

FATMA DAWOOD

The judge said: "Qutaybah, you confessed and by this the courts duty ends"
Samarkand is a great country located in North Asia. It has green mountains, hills and forests that you can never imagine. Samarkand is a city filled with gold and silver, silk, porcelain and natural resources. People of Samarkand used to worship idols they made of jewelry. They placed these gods in a temple in the mountains. The temple was specifically made for senior monks, and there were a lot of small temples in the center of Samarkand. In that era, Muslims were ruled by a Caliph who was an example because of his good manners, piety and fear of God. He had many of the attributes of his grandfather, the second caliph Al-Farooq Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah bless him. He governed a huge country which never had been ruled by anyone, not even by the Persian Chosroes, Roman Caesars or Hakan. His kingdom extended from China to the Atlantic Ocean. His wife Fatima, the daughter of Caliph Abd al-Malik and also the sister of Caliph Sulaiman, was the most honorable woman of her time as seven males of her relatives had been rulers. He was the Caliph Umar ibn Abdul Aziz. The Islamic army was under a commander who was very seasoned and merciful. His name was Qutaybah ibn Muslim. When the Islamic army led by him reached the outskirts of Samarkand, he ordered it to go to the mountain behind the city because he didn't want the people of Samarkand to see them. The Muslim army attacked the city. The battalions behind the mountains attacked as if they were a hurricane. They reached the centre of Samarkand without resistance. The monks had fled to the great temple in the mountains and hid in their homes. People of Samarkand didn't go out of their home for fear of the Muslims, but for Muslims, the situation was stable. Slowly the people of Samarkand began to come out of their homes to fetch water and food. They started sending their young children to perform these tasks and the Muslims didn't trouble them. Instead, the Muslim helped them to fetch the food and water. The children entered their homes with happiness. This situation began to spread feelings of trust and tranquility in the hearts of the people of Samarkand. As a result, people returned to their shops, farms and properties after some time. They found them intact - same as they had left, nothing more or less. The normal life returned between Muslims and people of Samarkand. They found that Muslims are faithful in their business and dealings; they did not lie or cheat. This impression rose when two persons quarreled. One of them was from the people of Samarkand, and the other was a Muslim. They went to the judge who favoured the man from Samarkand. The news reached the runway monks in the mountain temple. They said if this was their judgment, then they must have a fair ruler. They ordered their men to go to the ruler of the Muslims and tell him what happened. A young man went out. When he arrived at Damascus, he was full of fear. He saw a large palace. He told himself that this is the palace of their leader, but he saw people enter and exit without being stopped by a guard or soldier. He encouraged himself to enter this palace. It turned out to be the "Umayyad Mosque." It was studded with precious gems, ornaments and majestic minarets. People knelt down in this wonderful place. He saw Muslims praying together and was surprised to see how those people were sitting and how they lined up quickly. He stood up after the prayer and asked a Muslim about the

palace of the ruler: "Where is your leader?" That Muslim told him he was the man who led the prayer. Didn't you see him? He said: no. The Muslim told him: "Did you pray with us?" He said: "What is prayer?" The Muslim said: It is worshipping the Almighty Allah alone and becoming obedient to Him without any partner. The Muslim asked him: "Are you not a Muslim?" He said: no. The Muslim smiled and asked him: "What is your religion?" He said: "the religion of the priests of Samarkand". The Muslim asked: "What is their religion?" He said: "They worship idols." The Muslim told him: We are Muslims. We worship God only. described home to him. man that and found an old an man who Heplacethe wall.the caliph'sclay houseofandTheHeoldwentwent totowas mending His clothes were full mud. back the mosque and told that Muslim that was making fun of him. I asked you about your leaders place and you sent me to a poor man mending his wall, he said. The young Muslim came with the stranger to that house and told him, "this is the Emir who is mending his wall." The stranger said, "don't make fun of me. The Muslim swore by Allah and said, "This is our leader". The stranger from Samarkand remembered the priests and how they were so proud that they did not easily talk to their people. While the stranger still stood surprised, a woman came with her son and asked the Caliph to increase her share of grant from the treasury because she had many children. Suddenly, the son of the woman hit the Caliph's son and hurt him. They fought over a small toy. The Caliph's wife hurried towards her son and carried him away, shouting at the woman. The Caliph bandaged his son's head, and went out to the woman and calmed her down and took the toy from his own son and gave it to the woman's son. Then he told her to go to the Treasurer and say that he can increase her money. The Caliph's wife said, "her son hit your son and then you raise her money". The Caliph told her, "you frightened her, and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said that whoever frightens a Muslim Allah will frighten him on the Day of Resurrection. He then went to complete the repair of his wall. The young man from Samarkand was surprised at what he saw. He dared and moved forward to Umar ibn Abdul Aziz and said: You are the Emir of the Muslims?. The Caliph Omar answered, "Yes, and what's your business?" The young man replied, "I have a complaint about Qutaybah ibn Muslim." The young man completed his story: Samarkand priests sent me and they told me that it's from your traditions that when you conquer any country, you make them choose one from three things: invite them to Islam, ask them to pay tribute and in the event of their refusal of both the choices you give them the choice of war. The Caliph said: Yes, this is our custom, and every country has the right to choose among the three. The young man said, "Is it in your custom to start the assault by surprise?" The Caliph said: "It is not our custom to do so and Allah Almighty has ordered us not to do so, and our Prophet forbade us from being unjust." The young man said, "Qutaybah ibn Muslim did not do what you say and his army attacked us by surprise." When the Caliph heard that Qutaybah did not make any suffer offer and it was not his habit to listen to only one side. He decided to write to the governor of Samarkand. He wrote a few lines, and ordered the young man to take it to the governor of Samarkand who will remove the injustice which has taken place there. The young man returned from Damascus to Samarkand wondering about what a paper can do in front of the swords of Qutaybah

ibn Muslim! When he arrived at Samarkand, he gave the paper to the priests who told him in return: take it to the Governor to do what's written in it. The young man went to the governor and gave him the letter. The governor was surprised noticing the seal on the letter. He read the letter which contained the following: "To the governor of Samarkand, peace and mercy of God be upon you. Appoint a judge between the priests of Samarkand and Qutaybah ibn Muslim... put yourself in the place of Qutaiba." The Caliph didn't want to distract Qutaiba from his duties and defence activity. The Governor could not do anything except obey what was written in the letter. He appointed a judge quickly. The judge selected a day to meet in the mosque and ordered the priests to be present during the meeting. He ordered the people as well to come in the presence of Qutaybah ibn Muslim. The judge did not like to hear the case in the absence of Qutayba who was at the time a very strong commander. He was the head of the most powerful army in the world at the time. Qutaybah had reached China continuing his conquests. But the judge ordered him to return, and he did return after two days. When the priests knew that Qutaybah has returned, they became very fearful. Qutaybah entered the mosque and put his sword and took off his shoes. The judge told him to sit next to his opponent. The priest stood up and said: Qutaybah ibn Muslim entered our country without warning us. He didn't give us warning nor gave us the options of invitation to Islam or payment of tribute or war. Instead, he attacked us without warning. The judge turned to the commander Qutaybah ibn Muslim and asked him, "what do you say about this complaint." Qutaiba said: "war is a trick. This country is a great obstacle to us and all those who were like it did not resist to pay tribute and did not want to enter Islam, and had we fought them, they would have killed more of us than we would have killed from them." He continued, And by the help of Allah and surprise, we defended Muslims from great harm and the history is witness to what I say. And all the countries beyond them became easy to conquer. Yes, we surprised them but rescued them and let they know about Islam. The judge said: "Qutaybah! Did you invite them to Islam, tribute or war? Qutaybah replied, no, we surprised them for what I told you before." The judge said: "Qutaybah, you confessed and by this the courts duty ends. Qutaybah, Allah supports this nation only by religion and by avoiding treachery, and setting up justice. We were out of our homes for jihad for Allah's sake. We didn't go out to conquor lands and occupy countries unjustly." Then the judge issued his ruling: "I rule that all armies of Muslims in this country should get out of this country and give it back to its people and give them the opportunity to prepare for war, and then make them choose between Islam, tribute or war. If they chose war then we will fight. Muslims will get out of Samarkand without anything just as they entered and deliver the city to its people, and that is the application of the law of Almighty Allah and the Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him". After this, Muslims started to leave the city. The judge came out in front of the priests. The priests did not believe what they were seeing. The people of Samarkand kept watching Muslims until they all went out of their city. The young priest said, "what they did proves that their religion is the right. I witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger." Now all the priests pronounced that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger and entered Islam. This is the story of the greatest court in the history. It made people of Samarkand satisfied with the rule of Islam and, as a result, people entered Islam in hordes. (References: Stories from the history, the story of Samarkand court by Sheikh Tantawi and Islam and international law by Sheikh Wahbeh al-Zuhili)

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30 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

REJOINDERS/OPINION/LETTERS
MG By the grace of Allah, Milli Gazette has become a mirror of the Muslim world affairs. Lets its popular publisher publish Yusufs cartoons too in a book form. S. Akhtar, Khanpur Deh-392150 IB Steno Praveen Swami I enjoyed reading your piece in the Inqilab newspaper today and look forward to more articles. I also enjoyed reading your front page of the MG which gave a good analysis of areas and people which are normally not spoken about. Ali Khan, Lucknow (via email) II The extremist Hindus want to be on the bandwagon of the islamophobia. They want to play victim when they are not victims. They just can not live with the fact that Al-Qaeda has not been active in india, they would like this brand name in india to fuel their campaign against the muslims. They just cannot digest the fact that the indian muslims are innocent and do not engage in global terror activities and only raise their voices about the gross injustice on their homeland. Salman Khan salman2979@yahoo.co.uk III Mr.Zafar seems to have reached the other end of the river in his eagerness to disprove Mr.Praveen.Even though there is hardly any doubt as to Praveen Swami's association with the intelligence agencies and he like many other pseudo-terror experts cannot survive only on lies and many a time has to speak out the truth.To say that Indian Muslims are immune from terror is ignorance and to claim that "Al-Qaeda" is a US creation is childish. All the mountains of evidence which Mr.Zafar refers to are but only speculations and not evidence.The only evidence that remains is that some elements during the Afghan conflict received American aid through the Saudi and Pakistani agencies and many from these went on to form Al-Qaeda later on but there is absolutely no evidence of any sort which shows or proves that any of the people who went on to form the core leadership of Al-Qaeda had any interactions with the US government.These people were in Afghanistan much before the US had shown any interest in the Afghan conflict and remained there even after US lost interest in it. Seems both Mr.Zafar and Mr.Praveen are in need of some serious lessons on history. Mohammed Abdullah abdullahmohammed000@gmail.com IV The media is not completely honest or dishonest. Their trait is they mix truth with falsehood and that is cause they have an agenda. Aljazeera or CNN or BBC or NDTV if you can sort out the truth from falsehood you are smart. The Internet is an alternate source for people seeking varying viewpoints and facts often sidelined by mainstream media . Zaighum nizambashir123@yahoo.com V I am confused about what is the objective of this article. Is the author unhappy with Praveen Swami for some reasons so spewing venom against him, or making a case that "The Hindu" is no longer a good newspaper since it publishes views of Praveen Swami. If either of this two is the case, I am not so much concerned. However, when author says "Al-Qaeda is an idea, Mr. Swami, and the many groups you see here and there are only inspired by an idea because of the injustices of the US of A", any Indian should have reason to feel very concerned because author seems to be justifying Al Qaeda by saying that they are doing what they are doing due to percieved injustices against them. Further, author seems to be very sure when he says "this idea has not attracted Indian Muslims in the least" which all of us know well is not true. Indian Mujahidin is also an idea, and they have already have enough blood of innocent people on them. Allah save muslims from such propogandas. Sahil (comment on MG website) VI I am glad that I have subscribed to Milli Gazette where else will you find such insightful articles in the age when most publications including the likes of The Hindu are dishing out false articles. I am fed up with all these English dailies and weeklies and hopefully I have a better alternative in Milli Gazette. This chap Praveen Swami seems to be on IB and RAW's payroll to publish such fictional articles. Anyway our intelligence agencies have time and again faltered in their job of providing intelligence to our forces and the police on any internal and external threats. Had they done their job properly we wouldn't have had so many terrorist attacks and that too from within India by Hindutva terrorists. Our good for nothing intel agencies are masters in one art. Branding Muslim Indians as terrorists using the likes of Praveen Swami and his ilk in the media to plant false stories about local muslim involvement after every terrorist attack on the Indian soil. It's really unfortunate that a newspaper of The Hindu's stature respected by reader's for being un-biased and balanced reporting in the past can entertain jokers like Praveen Swami. Mohammed Javed Farooqui VII So true, Pen is mightier than sword .... corrupting the mind is more dangerous ... some will ignore the heading n come up with. Pravin swami never talks about Naxali terrrorism which is real n becoming deadly day by day.....may be it not spicy for our brothers who r busy in counting nairobi,mombassa,9-11 ignoring killings of our brothers by Naxali terrorist daily.!! Some will surprise over the fact that Al Qaeda is American creation....... may be they are unaware of world politics . Tariq (comment on MG website) VIII "The Hindu" and Islamophilic is inseparable. Is this paid news? Selvaraj Munirasu (comment on MG website) IX The US and its allies have killed a much greater number of innocent people around the the world than that of the Al-Qaeda. No doubt AlQaeda is the brainchild of the US. It should not be forgotten that America is a big fish in the world of terrorism, while Al-Qaeda is a very small fish. Md Hasibor Rahman (comment on MG website) XI Janab Zafarul-Islam Khan, with all respect to you, who do you think you are supporting? Al Qaeda? I mean, atleast, try to shield a bit of your unconditional Islamic love, especially when it is some butchers you are speaking about. The Al Qaeda has no existence? Is it so? And we are living on the moon, right? Nairobi, Mombassa, 9-11, 7-7, all this was done by the spaggheti monster right? I mean, please, sir,

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leave this ostrich attitude of yours. The TTP and Al Qaeda "inspired" groups are butchering your Muslim brothers, Shia, Sunni alike in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq , Africa et.al (not to speak of their influenced people who have butchered Indians, well i mention this in brackets , since we are non-Muslims killed and hence not much of an issue for you). Pakistan has humanitarianly collapsed, thousands killed or maimed and all you say is "beware of Praveen Swami." Has Praveen Swami killed in the thousands, has Praveen Swami asked for attacks on Muslims, has Praveen Swami detonated himself in a Muslim majority area.........no, and you do know the answer who is doing so. Zafarul sahab, for one moment, remove the ego from your mind and look at the world objectively, just for once. You will know. if you are an honest and a true human being, you will definitely know. And one last thing:"Al-Qaeda is an American creation having no existence in the real world" Is it? That means, logically, even Laden, its alleged head till a few days back, is also an American puppet and and a western puppet/slave/instrument used as a means to villify Islam/Muslims/Middle East. Right? Ritesh Kumar (comment on MG website) XII Praveen Swamin may well be leader of Indian Mujahideen. A.G. Komolmayum (comment on MG website) XIII This MILLE GAZETTE seems to be mouthpiece of AL QAEDA,SIMI,IM,ISI & LET. Even for a moment we think the reports are preposterous, why is he so offended on behalf of AL QAEDA? Its better to be prepared than to be sorry. How can a post mortem report state that whether the BATLA HOUSE encounter was real or staged? Its job of arms mechanics experts. AIIMS made no such claim in any case! BATLA HOUSE has long history. Accused of RED FORT SHOOTING were found from same house. Why newspapers like MG are allowed to run which serve dual purpose of indoctrinating and providing venomous ideological fodder to misguided or fundamental Muslims. Because of groups like them, fundamentalism is taking roots in countries like India, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Ramulaswamy (comment on MG website) XIV THE HINDU as a newspaper has to sell for survival. Islamophobia is some thing which makes any one talking about it a sane, rational and patriotic person/instituton. News paper with such investigative and thoughtfull stories about the islamic terrosim, its roots and rise in India always will result in increased readership. What to do? Muslims have become a source of individual (encounters) / Institutional (News papers) and personal (politicians) progress. Anybody can use Muslims as a tool for their promotion be it a writer (Arun Shourie, Taslima Nasreen, Rushdie), cops (encounter) and politicans (Advanis) etc. Sameer (comment on MG website) XV Some people will go to any length to stay in power, selling genuine interests of the community is not a big thing for these opportunistic perosonlities. Meer Jaafar and Meer Saadiq are born in every in every community and it is an all-time phenomenon. Zafar Iqbal (comment on MG website) Regulate Unregistered Yatri Influx This refers to the chaos created by the influx of unprecedented number of unregistered yatris who throng to the holy cave like anything thereby disturbing every system created by the administration. Yatra to the holy cave is not just a matter of tourism and gains from it, but a delicate and sacred exercise, therefore, such an unprecedented flow can cause disequilibrium in the arrangements as well which can make other pilgrims to suffer. Moreover, the environs of Pahalgam, Sonamarg, Baltal, etc, are highly sensitive and already get degraded during the yatra season. The prime concerns are environmental, administrative and social ramifications on the whole. The number of yatris needs to be restricted and unregistered flow must be seriously checked by the regulatory agencies. Yatra is not simply a travel to the cave but a reflection of our composite culture, a glimpse at our rich environs, the true presentation of the environmental and religious sanctity of our pilgrim sites, yatri movement needs to be systematic, with a limited and regulated influx of people to pilgrimage centers who are quite conscious of natural limits and religious binding. Visiting with out any discipline and sense of responsibility will hardly serve their purpose, especially talking of the holy Amaranth cave, according to Hindu mythology, when lord Shiva accompanying Parvati came to narrate "Amar Katha" to Parvati at the Amarnath shrine he left his "Vahan"(vehicle) at Pahalgam,put off the moon decorating his head at Chandanwadi and left even the serpents round his neck at Sheeshnag and even left the five elements viz, Prithvi (earth), Jal (water), Waayu(air), Agni (fire)and Aakash (space), behind him at Panchterni, and marched only with his soul towards the cave. Because Shiva believed the Amarkatha, worthwhile to be narrated in the sacred environs alone. As for Shiva it is the highest spiritual journey and one has to give up every earthly support for it. How can pilgrims realize the absolute reality by using all the luxuries and helicopters when even Shiva himself had abandoned every thing with him before visiting the holy shrine? If it is turned to a market and people let to throng the place limitlessly, it will be violating the religious essence and sanctity of the place. On the other hand it is the boon of nature of Kashmir and must be preserved from defamming,pollution,etc.we are no doubt benefited by it economically but we should be contented with one golden egg daily and must not do any thing to get more and more and kill the hen. Therefore it is the duty of the government to limit the uncontrolled influx of pilgrims, to instruct pilgrims and warn the workers not to pollute the holy site and environs around. Also our Hindu brethren should take care of the sanitation of the area and should not harm the ecological and environment by polluting it. Syed Adfar Rashid Shah Jamia Millia Islamia- adfer.syed@gmail.com Communalism and riots more danger than corruption It would be more impressive if senior social activist Shri Anna Hazare concentrate on communal violence bill rather than corruption. I am personally impressed with his anti corruption crusade. His views in Hindustan Times on 23 June Corruption is a bigger threat than Pak, may not be appreciated. Instead of corruption, communalism and communal riots are the bigger threats to India. A whole human civilisation is killed in communal violence, but in corruption none. In communal riots every thing is destroyed be it honour, chastity, wealth and of course most important precious human life. After 1947 uncountable communal riots took place in India. Even in Muslim dominated countries including Pakistan. I have not seen such a vast communal violence or majority attacked on minorities in connivance with police personnel and government machinery. It happens only in India.

Communal violence and communal mentality is big threat to India than Pakistan. Because of communal riots country become weak by loss of public and private property. Zuber Ahmed Khan, Navi Mumbai-410210 Humane touch to India-Pak relation The emotional scenes witnessed at the Delhi Airport when the six Indian sailors of MV Suez met with their families after 10 months of captivity by Somali pirates speaks the volume of trauma suffered by them. The Pakistani human rights activist Ansar Burney, who arranged for the ransom money to get the release all the 22 sailors, deserves applaud. One hopes, the government of India honours him suitably in recognition of his noble act. It is also the time both India and Pakistan looked beyond confrontationist rhetoric and release dozens of prisoners languishing in their jails. Gopal Dass who was released recently by the Pakistan establishment as a goodwill gesture after he spent 27 years in a prison, had told that there are several Indian prisoners who are languishing in Pakistani prisons even after completing their jail terms. There is a similar harrowing list of Pakistani prisoners in the Indian jails. The UPA government should release the ailing and frail Pakistani prisoner Dr. Khalil Chishty on humanitarian grounds as no less than a Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju has appealed for his release. Can there be any stronger CBMs between the two nations than these acts of humanity? Syed Sultan Mohiddin, Kadapa (A.P) sultan_awaz@yahoo.co.in Motherhood Islam is nurtured on a lap of a woman. Mothers educate the children. Our beloved Prophet once said, "Education begins on the lap of a mother and it should continued till one goes to his Kabr". Thus role of a mother is very important in Islam. Mothers are responsible for the future of Islam. They must get proper education to teach right things to their children. Mothers must have strong character to give birth to virtuous Muslims. Unfortunately, we have failed in educating women. Our women fill the stomach of their children but they cannot give food for souls. They cannot give satisfactory answers to the questions raised to them regarding their own religion and faith. It is time to rise and educate our women to have bright future because women are full of love and compassion, the qualities liked by Allah. We do not want our mothers to fail. Nazneen O.Saherwala, (Surat) nazsita@yahoo.co.in Gita lessons for M.P. schools Madhya Pradesh BJP government published books and dispatched to all government students of classes 1 to 10 in M.P. govt. school will be taught lessons from Gita from the current academic year. According to M.P. govt. official Gita saar is in curriculum. When question raised about saffronisation of education, the govt. official say that there were a proposal before government to incorporate teachings from holy books of other religions. Surya namashkar, yoga, recital of bande matram etc. are BJP and RSS agenda as well as in Bihar Ganga aarti, holiday on Sita navmi primary following footsteps of the RSS agenda. S. Haque, Patna Wealth in temples and Dargah The psychology of donations to Gods and in the name of holy persons in Dargah indicates that the wealth should be sacrifice to please God. In order to attain peace and tranquillity one has to give alms in the name of God. It is the natural instinct found in human beings. They knows pretty well that God will not consume this wealth only the poor people will be benefited through some organization and so it is done. Majority of rich people are kind-hearted. They want to donate a particular percentage of their income but they should not be coerced or compelled to hand over by force. Islam has made an organized institute in the form of Zakat. Muslims are asked to donate the agricultural crop 1/10th from natural resources and 1/20th if by arrangement of water. In case of currency the Muslims have to pay 2.5 percent if it is kept as balance in banks etc.This total amount is distributed among the poor and needy persons. The government can appoint staff for this purpose. This collection and distribution is practised all over the year. The Holy Quran has mentioned 8 heads to distribute the zakat funds. The Holy Quran has mentioned it number of times along with prayer called Namaz. If the rich persons pay Zakat regularly there will arise confrontation between rich and poor. There will be any intervention by Maoists or Naxalites or communists. Due to the practice of payment of Zakat there are no such deadly outfits in Arab countries as we find in India Dr Maqdoomi, Hyderabad drmaqdoomi@yahoo.com Gujarats partisan law and order and state machinery There should be strict law for the public servants who are not obeying the orders of the higher officer. Reference to my letter of 16 May for Special Public Prosecutor Mr. Ujjaval Nikam, who refused to defend the Government of Maharashtra against Hindu terrorists Pragya Thakur and others. As a public prosecutor, he cannot refuse to defend Government in any matter whatsoever is the reason. Gujarat High Court constituted special investigation team (SIT) to probe the cold-blooded murder of 19 years old Mumbai college girl Ishrat Jahan. Satyapal Singh the Maharashtra cadre police officer refused to initiate the inquiry against the culprits of Gujarat for the cold-blooded murder of Ishrat Jahan and three others. Indian Judiciary should take strong action against the errant public servants refused to comply with the orders. Mr. Satyapal Singh is just throwing a spade in the working and showing excuse of not understanding Gujarati language, just to safeguard the real culprits police officers involved in the cold blooded murder. Earlier, Karnail Singh relinquished with his duties as a Chairman of SIT. Hindu terrorists Bajrang Dal, VHP and RSS along with state machinery in Gujarat are responsible for the obstacle in the probe, related to encounters of Muslims and Gujarat Muslims genocide 2002. RSS tried to convince former minister of state Gordhan Zadaphia not to testify against Modi before SIT news article published in The Times of India on 5 July. Gordhan Zadaphia is also a culprit of 2002 Muslim genocide, in which at least 3000 Muslims were killed and 300 Muslim women lost their chastity and gang raped by the members of Hindu fanatic groups RSS, Bajrang Dal and VHP. SIT has been appointed by Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, and which is working on the instance of Supreme Court. Restrict a witness to depose in front of court by any person or organisation raised several charges against that organisation or person. RSS has got no right to obstruct the Court's proceedings. Mr. Sanjeev Bhatt has demanded protection for

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The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011 31

REJOINDERS/OPINION/LETTERS
him and his family from the goons and saffron terrorists of Gujarat. If an IPS, police officer is in need of protection after testimony against Gujarat government it means the Gujarat Government and saffron brigade is involved in miscarriage of justice. Involvement of state machinery along with saffron terror Bajrang Dal, RSS, and VHP may be quiz they might have threatened the police officers conducting the inquiry of encounters and Gujarat Muslims genocide. Zuber Ahmed Khan Navi Mumbai-410210 Foul language When a person stands before Allah to perform Namaz, or he sits to do Tasbih and to do other pious activities, he creates beautiful environment around himself. This is spiritual environment with sweetness and peace. When a person speaks abusive language or foul language, he creates dirty surrounding which stinks. The dirty environment with abusive dust and waste stops Namaz or Tasbih from going up straight to the sky to the higher plane. Foul language creates hindrances. We cannot see the dirty spiritual environment with our ordinary physical eyes but a person who has gained higher spirituality can see the dirt. Abusive language has dirty strength in it. If a person wants his Namaz and Tasbih to go up to Allah he should cleanse the surrounding. There should be no dirt of foul language in that area. Foul language is in fashion today. Movies glamorize it and our youth does not feel ashamed of speaking it. It has spoiled the spiritual environment. One can say that clean and perfumed spiritual environment belongs to past. It is sad. Muslims must learn to speak sweet language to create peaceful atmosphere. There should be no foul language in the house and on the street. All the Muslims must work on it. One must speak pure language of love, compassion and respect because Allah is the most gracious most merciful. Such spiritual activities and awareness help our prayers to go up straight to the sky on higher plane. Nazneen O.Saherwala, Surat, Gujarat nazsita@yahoo.co.in PM, Judiciary under Lokpal There is a heated debate as to whether prime minister and the judiciary should come under the ambit of the proposed Lokpal bill. In the milieu, where we have seen a Prime Minister (Rajiv Gandhi) charged with bribery on a defence purchase deal and another Prime Minister (P.V.Narasimha Rao) accused of bribing a political head to win the trust vote in parliament, and most recently, the kin of a former Supreme Court chief justice (K.G.Balakrishnan) having been accused with accumulating wealth by misusing his official position, it is imperative in a democratic system, to place both prime minister and judiciary under the public scrutiny. Syed Sultan Mohiddin Kadapa (A.P) Non-courteous Nitish National Minority Commission visited Bhajanpur of Forbesganj, Bihar where police fired upon innocent Muslim gathered to oppose the century-old pathway the factory owned by BJP M.L.C.s son killing 4 Muslims and police jumped upon dying Muslim youth on 3 June. NMC Chairman Wajahat Habibullah visited on 21 June and met the victims. He said he would be meeting C.M. Nitish Kumar before submitting the report and on 22 June NMC chairman was in Patna but C.M. Nitish Kumar did not called upon a courtesy call to Wajahat Habibullah. S. Haque, Patna BJP cautious on Lokpal Finally the BJPs voice on the Lokpal Bill is now known. Much awaited and much delayed opinion of the BJP on the Lokpal bill has come in the form of Arun Jaitley statement in which he has made some very pertinent points. Sadly, the party, the largest in the opposition, reneged on its duty as the opinion maker in the Indian politics. With an excuse that it has not been invited or asked, it allowed itself to miss out on an opportunity to have positively influenced both the government and Anna team to bring about a draft bill generally acceptable not only to the government and Anna but also to other parties. Dr Mookhi Amir Ali, Santacruz west, Mumbai 400054 drmookhi@hotmail.com Separate Telangana is in the making The Congress party in the centre is in state of anxiety as almost all the members of its own party ministers, MLAS MLCs and MPs have resigned on 4th July. It was done to exert pressure on the Centre to decide the fate of Telangana. This is the first time in the history of Indian politics that the centre is shaking and running from pillar to post. Now no force can stop this movement as all the political parties have come forward to achieve separate Telangana. It is high time for the centre to save their own party by conceding and honouring the sentiments of crores of hapless people of Telangana as soon as possible Mohammad Azam, Telangana deomohdazam70@gmail.com II It is learnt that the Telangana Congress and TDP leaders have decided to resign jointly. The resigning persons should not think that they would pressurize the UPA government. The centre can ask the chief minister to run the government amicably. The bureaucrats can run the administration more correctly than the ministers. The ministers MPs and MLAs make the process of development slow. They want their percentage in the development works as they have to give administrative sanctions for the works. After leaving their assignments they become ordinary persons. They will loose the position and no pressure can be created on the de-facto rulers of Delhi more over central government s object is more superior to a separate state of Telangana. If at all centre agrees it will divide the state in three small states, Telangana, Rayel Seema and Andhra. This is possible only when the people jointly demand separation is not a sacred cause. This helps the leaders more than the common people. People want development. Funds are needed for development. The leaders cannot pay funds only centre can afford to give funds. Dr Maqdoomi, Hyderabad drmaqdoomi@yahoo.com Nuclear That the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group) has decided to adopt new guidelines on the transfer of sensitive nuclear technology has vindicated the Lefts warningthat the India-U.S civilian nuclear deal will be an albatross around Indias neck. Now the pertinent question is: what happens to all those commitments made by India with IAEA and

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the U.S in pursuit of the nuclear deal? For example, India has committed to place its civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards and continue unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. The Hyde Act of the 123 agreement calls for annual certification by the U.S. Presidentthat, Indias foreign policy is congruent to that of the United States. Already we have seen as how India abandoned its independent foreign policy when it voted against Iran at IAEA and scrapped the gas pipeline project with Iran. Syed Sultan Mohiddin, Kadapa, AP sultan_awaz@yahoo.co.in Dismal performance of HRD ministry Under the Directive Principles of our Constitution, children from the age of 5 to fourteen are entitled to get free and compulsory education but even after 63 years of freedom it remains a distant dream. Despite the recent Right to Education Act. Education in India has become thriving industry as public schools are charging thousand of rupees after every three months from the parents and guardians of the students but the HRD Ministry is acting as helpless spectator and has failed to stop commercialization of education. In Delhi the capital of India there are a number of Govt. Primary schools which have no building of their own and they are intents and the ministry has done nothing in this regard. There is no tinge of democracy in Indian universities temples of highest education and Vice Chancellors are acting like despots are violating provisions of the University Act and statutes. Neither the UCGs which is supposed to be the controlling body over the Universities nor the HRD Ministry has failed to democratize universities and end the czardoms of Vice-chancellors over and above all this Universities have been infested with corruption. But the tainted and errant Vice-chancellors are still at the helm of affairs. The glaring example is that of the Muslim University is facing, a presidential enquiry on account of grave charges of financial bungling but he has not been asked to proceed of leave till the completion of enquiry. Not only is this he fully shielded by an important functionary of the HRD Ministry. The performance of the HRD Ministry is dismal and highly disappointing. Dr. Hashim Kidwai, Ex-MP, New Delhi-110091 Living Gandhi buried alive It is a crying shame that India has irrevocably abandoned Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's living Gandhi, as she had come to be recognized. Manmohan Singh money-minded government did not consider her worth a visit by our foreign minister during his recent high level interaction with the civilian government The new civilian government, as is known, is neither genuinely civilian nor one democratically elected. This is not surprising. The response of our government to the release of Aung San Suu Kyi was also delayed and extremely lukewarm. In November 2010, she got freedom after spending 15 of the last 21 years. Surely India needs to help them in restoring democracy, civil liberties and freedom from human rights abuses. We knew this reconciliation meant Suu Kyi falling in line. A nation, like an individual, must have character, a set of beliefs, certain principles. Gandhi, Nehru and their contemporaries have left us a nation rich in these values. We are bartering them for dollars, pounds and pragmatism. Dr Mookhi Amir Ali, Santacruz West, Mumbai 400054 drmookhi@hotmail.com Gulni anti-Muslim riots Is the period of holi (12 March 90 where was planning to destroy peace, holi playing throwing muds and colour forced to intrude Muslim locality and it led fight killing five Muslims and injuring 10 innocents. After 21 years court delivered decision 10 persons guilty. But H.T. on 28 June 2011 just published a brief news about Gulni riot Nawadah district of Bihar calling it carnage. S. Haque, Patna The plight of Telangana The awful thing in this regard is central governments insensitive attitude towards the agitation. The government should clarify about the difficulty it is facing in solving the problem. It is the most chronic problem. It is lingering since last fifty years. More than 600 youths have sacrificed their lives for the cause of a separate Telangana. The government could not explain the importance of separation and the pros and cons of this goal. Now it seems that the Congress bosses have calculated the weight and gain of this political turmoil. They may visualize the losses going to occur. They are very far from the troubled area and sleeping the sound sleep. This attitude of the government will lead the protesters towards insurgency. Their mood of separation may change towards independent state. This time many casualties may occur. The railway track going towards south can be destabilized. The trains going to north and south may be stopped for some days. The RPF can fire on the agitators and the Naxalites may also try to participate in the agitation. Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad who is actually bonded cannot sooth the angry politicians of Telagana. What I suspect the bad days of the nation have started and it may break in small states and lawlessness will prevail. Therefore all the political parties or the parliament should call to pass the separate Telangana, Andhra and Rael seema to be passed immediately. The mute stand of the Congress bosses is nothing but anti national. Dr Maqdoomi Hyderabad drmaqdoomi@yahoo.com After aborting now sex change It refers to shocking news of now sex-change to turn girls into boys while till now aborting female-foeticide was common to disturb sexratio in want of boys. Legal provisions either to pre-determine sex or imposing restrictions can never practically change mindset of people in general. Need is to induce some guidelines which may practically make people think birth of girl child a boon rather than bane. Registration of properties in women names showed remarkable rise in Delhi after stamp-duty on such deals was subsidized for women. Union and state governments should take all possible measures for similar concessions like can be for reduction of VAT on items like vehicles registered in name of women. Interest-rates for home and other loans may be subsidized while on deposits it can be extra for women. Some fields like dentists and gynaecologists in medical-science should be exclusively for women or at least 75-perecent reservation for women. Females should have a sense of security by having automatic and instant rights in husbands ancestral and personal property but only for married life without divorce. Presently, girl-child is taken as unwanted burden because of increasing expenses in their marriages. India should follow Pakistan by allowing only soft drinks and simple beverages in marriage-related functions. Mega-budgeted marriages should not be attended by leaders on posts. Mega-

expenses in marriage-related functions should be effectively checked by government by imposing taxes and other such practical steps. But all this can happen when women which are dominated section of society created by nature, are given 33-percent reservation in legislature in our presently male-dominated political system. Madhu Agarwal, Delhi-6 subhashmadhu@sify.com WineMother of all evils Keeping the minimum age for consumption of liquor at 25 years is absurd and immoral. Wine is root of all evils. It has been destroying the physical, moral and social health of our society. Women and children suffer more due to this evil. After independence it was hoped that India would become free from the vice of drinking. Prohibition was made a part of freedom struggle. The Indian constitution too strengthened this idea. But the argument of financial loss was put forth and the policy of prohibition remained unimplemented. Constitutions directive principal Art 47 recommends total prohibition in India. But the same article was violated when Instead of enforcing prohibition laws, state had started liquor business. Why the protagonists of common civil code are silent on the flagrant violation of Article 47? Why such double standards? G. Hasnain Kaif, Bhandara (M.S.) 441904 Indian-American Muslim council demands CBI Inquiry IAMC wrote a letter to Bihar C.M. Nitish Kumar for CBI investigation into Forbesganj police firing upon innocent Muslims killing, including a pregnant lady and 10 month old child. IAMC said with the sectarian background behind this incident only an impartial inquiry conducted by a central agency will have the credibility needed to probe a crime of this magnitude. S. Haque, Patna It is raining crores The victory of team India in the cricket world cup after 28 years has added a golden chapter in the history of cricket. But one is dismayed at the huge cash prizes, allotment of houses and plots of lands to the members of the Indian team by various states. These rewards are unreasonable and unwarranted. The whole exercise has become a fierce game of one-upmanship. Our cricket players are the richest cricketers in the world beside the match fee, most of them are also in the lucrative business. Why then showering of money in corers on them. While players in other sports hockey, football, kabaddi, volleyball remain on pittance. A better way to commemorate this grand victory would have been to provide superior facilities to the youngsters to turn them into sports icon like Sachin, Dhoni, Zaheer Khan and Gambhir. Dr. Hashim Kidwai, Ex-MP New Delhi Corruption Indians against corruption [IAC] is an impromptu group formed during the heat at Jantar Mantar is out to go to people on the streets of Mumbai to gather support for Anna's Lokpal bill. Their having vested interest reduces their credibility. Also they are going about with an open ballot in public places like railway and bus stations, going after Mumbaiwalas rushing to work. Most of them may just place their initials and ask the volunteers to fill in what suits them. The whole exercise is futile in addition of being unauthorized. If IAC volunteers, with the help of this opinion poll, hope to influence the MPs to vote for Anna bill, they are forgetting that there is something called party whip. Dr Mookhi Amir Ali, Santacruz west, Mumbai drmookhi@hotmail.com India-Pakistan talks India and Pakistan talks have become a routine tamasha. The people of both the countries are disappointed the way talks usually go ahead. Our able external affairs minister or the secretary Nirupama Rao go to Pakistan and turn into his masters voice. Their personal talents and ability become zero. They have to repeat the same words and sentences which our political bosses teach them and for the said matter repeated charge of terrorism is levelled against Pakistan. According to our foreign affairs secretary Miss Nirupama Rao continuation of talks with Pakistani is a well thought policy of the government. But this so called well thought policy has become rancid. India is a vast and large country but the present politicians have a peculiar mindset which is narrow and of myopic vision. They are harming the Indian Nation. If the same policy continued for some more years our vast country will split into peaces. US has caught the JUT of our politicians and making us to dance as per its will and pleasure. We feel utterly sorry to note the childish approach and a hotchpotch policy they are adopting in Muslim countries. Unless Pakistan and China becomes our good friends we will be fully exploited by US. Those who relish Dal Bhaji cannot understand the taste of mutton. Dr Maqdoomi Hyderabad drmaqdoomi@yahoo.com Shame to Congress party leaders, their biased attitude... Can't country's top Muslim leaders resign en mass protesting such illegal occupation and encroachment of Muslim and Waqf properties. Leadership and courage should come from within the community to tackle their own pertinent issues which are quite possible under the sacred constitution of country. Govt. and the ruling party may not always be fair in its deal particularly towards Muslims' cause. Let us come forward and formulate our own financial planning and strategic policies based on immense Waqf and personal assets. Let good sense prevail amongst hundreds of so called elite and affluent Muslims of the country to solve total socio-economic problems of over 90 % of the poor Muslim community's core issues like health, education, employment and infrastructure development. CEO / Pramukh Sevak, Kannauj Action Plan Ismailpur (Gursahaiganj), Dist: Kannauj (UP) 209 722 Media is propaganda machine Mid Day crime correspondent J. Dey was killed on 11 June since 11 June till 27 June media repeatedly blamed underworld and mafias of Muslim names and some of the media targeted Jihadi gr. or so-called Islamic terrorist groups. Medias propaganda continued to create environment against some community. It is like brain washing. Indian Express published (16th June) a report about a phone call from Muslim country that Indian Mujahideen eliminated J. Dey. But on 27th June police presented 7 Chota Rajan shoorters who were behind J. Dey murder. This is the character of our media, our P.M. rightly expressed worriesabout media character at print journalist meet on 29 June 2011. S. Haque, Patna

32 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 July 2011

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