The 27-year-old achieved his season-best score in the tournament.
Commonwealth Games 2022 silver medallist triple jumper Abdulla Aboobacker Narangolintevida clinched the gold medal clocking a season-best score of 16.31m in the Mikio Oda Memorial Athletics meet in Hiroshima, Japan. The 27-year-old Keralite clocked his season-best score twice in the fifth and sixth attempts and notched up a good performance in the maiden foreign meet of the season.
Abdulla crossed the 16m mark five times in seven attempts overall in the Mikio Oda Memorial. Earlier this year, he claimed the third spot in two domestic meets by clocking 15.93m and 15.77m (Indian Open Jumps and Indian Grand Prix). The Keralite, after below-average performances in the domestic meet this year, has shown good improvement by constantly crossing the 16m mark in Japan.
Last year, he also won the silver medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 with a result of 17.02m, just 0.1m behind the gold medal mark. Compatriot Eldhose Paul clinched the gold medal at CWG 2022 by clocking 17.03m.
The 2022 season was one of the most successful ones for the Keralite. He crossed the 17m mark thrice and recorded his personal best mark of 17.19m in the Indian Grand Prix held in Bhubaneshwar. The 27-year-old also qualified for the World Athletic Championships 2022, but put in a below-average performance (best score-16.45m).
The qualification mark for World Athletics Championships 2023 stands at 17.20m. Abdulla needs to get back to his original form ahead of the all-important Senior Federation Cup and the National Inter-States Meet, to secure automatic qualification for the Worlds.
Among the other Indian Triple Jumpers, Praveen Chitravel came close to qualifying for the World Championships as he notched up a personal best score of 17.17m in the Indian Open Jumps and won the silver medal in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships recently.
Meanwhile, Eldhose Paul will soon be in action alongside Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra in the Doha Diamond League, starting May 5, 2023.
source: http://www.khelnow.com / Khel Now / Home> Athletics / by M Sudharshan / April 30th, 2023
Winners of the 2023 Boeing National Aeromodelling Competition. 39 finalists from 12 teams were selected for the finale, which was held at R.V. College of Engineering in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru:
This year’s competition attracted close to 2,200 students across India.
Boeing announced the winners of the 8th annual Boeing National Aeromodelling Competition in India, on May 3.
This year’s competition attracted close to 2,200 students across India, and saw a two-fold increase in participation across zonal and national rounds. 39 finalists from 12 teams were selected for the finale, held at R.V. College of Engineering in Bengaluru.
Arshad Khan (right) from Rabindranath Tagore University, Bhopal won the 2023 Boeing National Aeromodelling Competition. The finale was held in Bengaluru
Arshad Khan from Rabindranath Tagore University, Bhopal was declared winner of the competition.
Sharanya Acharya Nishmithe, Aman Kumar Srivastav and Gagan G. Nayak from Nitte Mahalinga Adyanthaya Memorial Institute of Technology (NMAMIT), Nitte, Karnataka bagged the second spot
Divyamshu, Rathan Raj K. Nancy and Anantha Krishna, also from NMAMIT-Nitte, took the third spot.
The zonal rounds of the competition were held at IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, and IIT Madras. The top three teams from each zone then travelled to Bengaluru for the finale.
The competition started as an annual event in 2013 to provide a nationwide platform for students who have a keen interest in aerospace engineering and related fields. The competition allows them to demonstrate their skills and creativity in designing, building, and flying fixed-wing aircraft models of different types and sizes.
Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India, said, “This national aeromodelling competition provides an excellent platform for young aviation and technology enthusiasts to present their creativity, and engineering and design skills. It is a testament to our commitment to encourage engineering talent to pursue careers in aerospace and defence in India.”
Ahmed Elsherbini, managing director, Boeing India Engineering & Technology Center, and chief engineer, Boeing India, said, “Aeromodelling competition plays a crucial role in the aerospace sector. It brings fresh perspectives, new ideas, and a willingness to challenge conventional thinking. With the aerospace industry constantly evolving, student innovation can be a driving force in the development of new technologies and sustainable solutions.”
Over the years, Boeing has strategically invested in developing talent for the aerospace sector in India.
Its programs, including Boeing University Innovation Leadership Development (BUILD) Program, the Boeing HorizonX India Innovation Challenge, and the Accelerated Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AME) Apprenticeship program, have all helped empower entrepreneurs and contributed to building a skilled frontline workforce for India.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by The Hindu Bureau / May 03rd, 2023
Hana, (second from left), with her parents (in middle) and siblings
It was on a day in November of 2020; commercial flights were resuming after a long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. An octogenarian Sumitra Devi (name changed on request) was on her maiden flight from Gaya to Delhi when out of curiosity she requested the crew to show her the pilot of the aeroplane. The air hostess of aircraft A320 escorted the lady to see the cockpit from the outside
As soon as she had a glimpse of the crew, the lady’s pupils widened and she quipped in a Haryanvi accent: “Oi yahan to chori baithi” (Oh! It’s a girl sitting inside). That girl was Hana Mohsin Khan, a commercial pilot with an Indian airliner.
Thinking of that experience makes Hana laughs loudly even today. Hana’s post on Twitter on this went viral and made her famous. Hana is one of the 34 Muslims among 3500 women pilots in India. As such India has the largest proportion of women pilots in comparison with the rest of the world and yet the representation of Muslims is also one in 100.
Hana flying her aircraft
Hana’s rise too wasn’t easy; she reached this position after pursuing journalism and running an event management company. Growing up as a Muslim woman brings its own set of challenges for girls with evolved minds and higher ambitions. Hana also faced this.
She did her schooling in Saudi Arabia and after passing her 10th standard, she returned to Meerut City, Uttar Pradesh. While in Saudi, she lived in a society where women were not treated on par with men, back home, in her Muslim milieu, she was labeled as a “fast girl”. After she shifted to Delhi for her graduation, she was labeled as a “prim and proper’ woman, a euphemism for a docile woman in an urban environment.
Hana says these labels impacted her and became a reason that made her take long to find her true calling. Today, after being a celebrity, she says she is “still eager to gain knowledge.” She says, “Don’t be surprised if some 10 years down the line you see me having mastered in some other field.”
Speaking with Awaz-the Voice she recalls meeting a group of pilots attending a wedding in 2014 in Trivandrum. They invited her over for a cup of tea, “Facebook used to have check-in where people would flaunt their status while flying. I realized I was the only non-flying person in that group.” This was the moment for Hana to realize her calling. She decided to become a pilot.
Hana said, “I started preparing for the qualifying examinations in the off-wedding season, I used to study 18 hours a day; it wasn’t easy as I should have appeared in the examination at least 15 years back.” Hana cleared her written exams with flying colours and was finally selected after clearing three flying tests before she received her commercial flying license. She later went to Florida, USA, for her flight training and then to Greece to specialise in Airbus aircraft.
Hana (in middle) during her training days
However. the real battle lay ahead, as she hadn’t yet broken the news to her parents. “It was like a movie scene, I sat my parents down and told them, “I am about to break an important decision to you, but you cannot say anything negative, at least not in front of me.”
Hana recalls how her parent felt anxious when she broke the news. However, they never said no to her. It was only after she got a job with a major airline that her mother exclaimed, “Everyone said she was making a mistake, there aren’t jobs available in this field and so on…”
Her father Mohsin Khan comes from Shahjahanpur, Meerut while her mother hails from Pabli. The couple had big dreams for their children. The family shifted to Saudi Arabia when she was a toddler. “Growing up, I never felt lesser than anyone, it is now that I realize that maybe we women are not as strong as men but that doesn’t make us less equals and I thank my father for it.”
Hana, the eldest of her four siblings, is born a leader and had supportive parents but in the school, she struggled for equality. “Growing up in Saudi Arabia I never saw women driving, I didn’t see women doing a lot of things that I thought they should be doing, though now it’s changed, I think that is why I became a rebel more than anything else.”
“In my school in Saudi, the smaller building was for the girls while the bigger one was allotted to boys, though we went to the boys’ building for attending functions; the very idea of bifurcation based on gender disparaged me.”
She shared an incident from her 10th standard. “At a summer camp where teachers of the girls’ and boys’ school were swapped; a male teacher started teaching the chapter on engines to a class fo girls. The teacher wrote the name of the chapter on the board and said: “Arey engine hain (oh! Its engines), I know most of the girls won’t be interested”, and started laughing.”
Hana with her pet babies Cessna and Chewy
The 13-year-old Hana found it offensive. She asked her father to teach her everything about engines. “I went through encyclopedia videos and made my father open our car bonnet and tell me what it was. It was in the 55-degree Celsius temperature but hats off to my father who didn’t stop me from asking the questions and taught me all about the engines.”
The next day she surprised her teacher with her knowledge of engines.
When Hana returned to Meerut City for pursuing her studies after 10th, she was ostracized for being so vocal for her rights, “I was questioned on the way of dressing up, riding a Scooty, and being friends with the boys.”
She had scored 99 percent marks in science and 100 in math in her 10th standard back in Saudi, thus in Meerut she decided to pursue the science stream, she was asked “tum toh musalman ladki ho (you are a Muslim girl), why are you making this tough for yourself.
Such remarks made her feel uneasy, “I no longer had an interest in science”, she adds. Soon she shifted to Delhi to pursue a bachelor’s in mass communications, “Here I was labeled a small-town girl who didn’t go out after 9, followed the rules, and so on.”
All this fueled her ambition even more and she started interning from the very first semester of her graduation, “I used to go to college, to work in the evening. My first job was with Vinod Dua (the late journalist). He was my first boss, and I got 5000 rupee as my first salary when I was 17 years old.”
She says, “My father grew up in a village and was one of the first few people to study and leave the city, marry outside the family and he wanted the best for his children, so he worked very hard on us.”
She says, “My mother and I dream alike, she has these innovative ideas and wants the best in everything”. She reminiscens having finished her flying and landing a job when someone in her family fell sick, she jokingly said to her mother, “Amma we need a Doctor in the family”, her mother innocently quipped, ““why don’t you become one”. Hana says, her mother was serious, “She somehow feels that I can be a doctor; when you have such driving forces backing you up, it is hard to fail.”
Today while talking to Awaz-the Voice Hana says, “You know though I have no regrets about my decisions but somewhere it took me a long time to find my true calling and pursuing a technical field.”
Hana took note of mentioning her maternal grandmother who was a school principle and was responsible for educating an entire generation, “My Nani came to the city and made sure that all her kids got good education, I’ve always looked up to her for inspiration.”
She says, “I could have been a NASA scientist or an engineer, you never know but I would end up hearing extraordinary stories about myself which weren’t true and it made me question myself, and unfortunately it was a new experience for my parents as well thus they couldn’t help me out either, sadly my community people didn’t want me to grow.”
Hana with Rana Safvi
In 2020, Hana flew her first commercial flight. “I was praying for a good landing and it was a good landing, I felt so thankful to the universe and to the world for giving me this opportunity, I thought that even if I were to die today, I’d have no regrets.”
Talking to Awaz the Voice, Hana went down memory lane. “So many years have passed yet it still feels fresh in my memory, the only difference being, today I can laugh out loud and feel happy, sad, angry at the same time.”
Hana says if she could then she would go back to her younger self and tell her and women like her to never doubt their worth and fight for their rights even if that means turning their backs on society, “Being happy with what you are doing, being satisfied is more important than anything.”
She feels women should help out one another, “We need all the help we can get, all the women need, all the help after so much we all have gone through, all women in India at least. We hear things about ourselves which are untrue, we get cat-called, harassed on the road yet we fight, we learn how to fight.”
According to her, retaliation is a many-step process that starts with being scared which slowly leads to anger and later on becomes action, “Imagine the strength that we have, imagine not being crazy, staying fine, working, behaving like normal human beings, being emphatic, taking care of our families and communities…”
Hana says, “I mustn’t be judged for wearing a short skirt or for covering myself from head to toe, either of these choices cannot be forced on me.” She says, “My not wearing a hijab doesn’t make me less of a Muslim. We already have it hard as women. And then we are further categorized as Muslim women, and then we have external factors that are making it harder to be Muslim. So it’s so much, so many intersectionalities.”
She narrates an interesting incident of how gender discrimination is rampant, Hana was once performing her ablutions in Jama Masjid when a man came up to her and said that she was doing it the wrong way as the water didn’t touch the tip of her elbow. She retorted “Your abulition is null and void as you were busy watching me while doing it”.
She feels airports and airplanes make beautiful humane stories. “The other day I saw this man who was video calling his wife and showing him the insides of the aircraft, I was walking beside him and saw how happy they were.”
Kochi airport
One day a CISF lady officer complimented Hana, “Madam uniform suits you.” Hana replied, “Yours looks perfect on you too, uniform suits all women .’ Narrating her favourite moment she tells Awaz the Voice how once a 5-year-old girl on seeing Hana in uniform asked her Mother can girls also be pilots, “Her mother looked at me and said, of course, they can, while I told her “Sweetheart if I can then you can too”.
Talking about the importance of social media in reaching out to the masses she says, “It was during the Delhi riots that I realized Twitter was a serious space, along with Rana Aapa (Rana Safvi), Tarique, Yuman Aapa, Safa and others we were able to raise funds and rehabilitate 44 families of Mustafabad, we gave them ration and three months rent.”
Hana uses her social media to help aspiring aviators. In one of her stories on Instagram, she answered some 1000 questions about flying and an aviation career.
Apart from flying she is a voracious reader, a food enthusiast, a pet-mom and a part-time writer, she feels, “Age is just a number, if you really want to do something then trust me just go with it and things would fall into place.”
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Shaista Fatima / May 01st, 2023
Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of MarginalisationEdited by Lauren Gayer and Christophe Jaffrelot (London: Hurst & Company.
This book puts together researches on Muslims in India in a dozen Indian cities bringing out their sociological as well as topographical profiles. Various case studies in the volume locate Muslims in Indian cities and examine the ‘ghettoisation thesis’ and look into the Muslim localities and the way they relate to the wider reality of their city. The studies employ both qualitative and quantitative methods; some provide ethnographic profiles of the urban settlements. The profiles outline the marginalization of Indian Muslims in terms of economic deprivation aggravated by physical insecurity and their increasing socio-spatial segregation.
The studies clarify that Muslims in India do not form an internally homogenous block. The research is able to disaggregate the community in terms of caste and class as well as in terms of urban/rural divide. The Dalit Christians, the Dalit Muslims are not officially recognized and therefore do not benefit from the state’s affirmative action extended through reservations. The charitable donations in the form of zakāt lead to some redistribution, but this does not replace or make up for state intervention.
The ‘Unwanted in My City’—the making of a ‘Muslim Slum’ in Mumbai (Qudsiya Contractor) is an account of the formation of a Muslim Slum as a peripheral life space in Shivaji Nagar in terms of the ethnography of everyday life. The focus is laid on how the blurring of the boundaries between the everyday spatial practices of the state and the Hindu right takes place via the experiences of the people. The paper further describes how these exclusionary practices are countered by the Muslim community.
There is an unintended (not so negative) consequence of the process of ghettoization in the ‘riot-city’ of Ahmedabad (Christophe Jaffrelot and Charlotte Thomas). It placed Muslims in a majority position, where they could elect their representatives and, secondly, the regrouping of Muslims from different backgrounds has endowed the local commoners with a local elite who could campaign around safety and organize themselves for self-help development involving education. This account has parallels in the city of Ramganj, Jaipur (Gayatri Jai Singh Rathore), where the lower class were able to mobilize themselves to address issues in the field of education and politics by starting up schools and creating their own political party. Such mobilization could earn official recognition as well as gains in education and political awareness.
The account of the Shiʿa of Kashmiri mohalla, Lucknow (Gilles Verniers) highlights how the draining away of the new Shiʿi elite has contributed to the marginalization of those who stay behind. This transformation may be interpreted against the backdrop of the Shiʿa–Sunni divide. Those who emigrate escape their minority status and disperse without identity within the wider population. Another city, Aligarh, also riot-prone on account of the Hindu–Muslim divide, has a heterogeneous Muslim population and defies simple conclusions regarding its residential pattern. In some sense, Aligarh’s Muslim population in Shah Jamal is compared with Ahmedabad. Aligarh represents the political and economic domination of the Hindu community, yet the city connects symbolically with Islam and the Indian Muslim community. The interface between the majority and the minority communities of the town is susceptible to political violence. Each round of communal conflict is followed by further fragmentation of the old city: Hindus living in Muslim-dominated areas and Muslims living in Hindu-majority localities emigrate, thereby supporting the communal segregation of the town.
The story of Muslims being pushed to the social periphery in Bhopal (Christophe Jaffrelot and Shazia Wulbers) resulted in the marginalization of Urdu and forced the old elite to join new professions, but they failed to remain well-represented in the elite groups. This decline is analysed in relation to the influx of Hindu newcomers and the rise to power of the Hindu nationalists, which spurred the communal riot in 1992. Against the background of Muslims’ suffering discrimination in the job market, they also harbour a feeling of victimization which confines them within the old city. This produces a situation where the Muslims in the walled city lag behind, while the mainstream population expands southward in Bhopal.
One variation upon the above account is to be found in Hyderabad (Neena Ambre Rao and S. Abdul Thaha), where Muslims seem to be ‘landlocked in the walled city’. In the background of its characteristic history, its economic and intellectual elites have left the scene. The political elite, however, seems to persist as the old city became a stronghold of the MIM (Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) which has a decisive influence in the municipal elections. The riots during the 1980s to 90s stimulated the unmaking of the Hindu–Muslim mix areas, thus the old city became communally ‘pure’ in its Muslim population. The old city, being high on communal security, decays on account of its poor living conditions and lack of government provisions. The emerging elite that pledges to represent the people is hardly able to keep its promises regarding the improvement of the area. However, a growing awareness is built around the importance of education, leading to the emergence of the newly educated middle class. These changes in various directions internally produce a tension: on the one hand, MIM dominates politically, and on the other hand, Muslims suffer discrimination outside the old city. This situation awaits a proper assessment.
The account (by Laurent Gayer) of Abul Fazl Enclave in South Delhi shows that the middle-class Muslims who opt to settle in the area, represent a case of self-segregation rather than ghettoization. The area offers, in the perception of the community, greater physical and residential security. Living in a mixed locality, outside, evokes the issue of security in the experience of the community. This needs to be seen in the wider context of the experience of risk. At the same time parents send their children to schools outside the locality, in an attempt to follow a ‘counter-segregative’ strategy. This calls for a multifaceted interpretation in the making of an enclave in the locality.
The story of Muslims in Cuttack in the State of Orissa is different from the usual account, where Muslims feel unsafe and insecure in communally sensitive areas. The Muslim communities in Cuttack are able to coexist with non-Muslims through the practice of an age-old tradition of bhaichara (brotherhood). In spite of the feelings of security and stability, a majority of Muslims of Cuttack are socially marginalized. The account of Cuttack outlines its history as well as the emergence of syncretic cultural traditions at the popular level. At the same time, the story of backwardness and under-representation of Muslims in various spheres of society directs attention to the dynamics of internal reasons for social inequality, a case of a minority within the minority. One such section of the community, the Muslim butchers (qasai), engage in community initiatives and organize themselves against the apathy of the state as well as the caste hierarchy of the community. An interesting exception to the story of marginalized Muslim localities in urban India is brought out from Kozhikode, in the state of Kerala. Radhika Kanchana points out how the enclave of the Muslim community is part of the city’s foundational design and the medieval practice of spatial groupings of different communities on the basis of occupation and social status. The locality of Kuttichira remains a Muslim cluster without the negative tag of decline or marginalization. Here, Muslims choose to extend into the city’s mixed localities without leaving their specific cultural and geographic identity.
Aminah Mohammad-Arif’s account of Muslims in Bangalore, in relation to the data gathered from Shivaji Nagar, questions the notion of a ‘ghetto’ insofar as different communities belonging to different classes respond to different interests and do not exhibit a common pattern arising out of a self-conscious choice of living in ghetto. This is influenced by Shivaji Nagar’s religious diversity that spawns interactions across the communal divide.
In conclusion, the editors discern complex patterns in the state of marginalization among India’s urban Muslims. Ghettoization has its own dynamics. Socially, a new middle class is emerging along traditional economy lines but also beyond, say in the areas of agribusiness, information technology, pharmaceuticals, real estate, etc. Successful Muslim entrepreneurs hail from the lowest sections of Muslim communities. In some places ‘petro-dollar’ colonies have emerged. The trajectories of marginalization represent different patterns of segregation: mixed areas, enclaves, slums and ghettos. These patterns are formed along the lines of voluntary and enforced segregation. The element of choice becomes difficult to interpret especially where considerations of insecurity and discrimination are taken into account.
The collection of essays is helpful in providing a contemporary account of India’s urban Muslims and the extent to which the patterns respond to the way the Indian state, the majority community and the dynamics of the internal urge to move upward intertwine. The diverse accounts add to the social mosaic of Muslims in India. The volume is an important reference for researches on Muslims in contemporary India.
by: Mohammad Talib, Journal of Islamic Studies, Volume 26, Issue 1, January 2015, Pages 88–91
source: http://www.academic.oup.com / Oxford Academic – Journal of Islamic Studies / by Mohammad Talib / September 29th, 2014
The Department of Architecture, Zakir Husain College of Engineering and Technology (ZHCET), Aligarh Muslim University organized a national conference on the “Legacy of Islamic Architecture” with an objective to engage academicians and researchers in deliberations on the history and relevance of Islamic architecture.
In his presidential remarks at the inaugural session, AMU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Tariq Mansoor discussed the special features of Islamic architecture in different regions of the world like the Middle East, Turkey, Europe, Qatar and Spain. With the special mention of the Pari Mahal garden palace in Srinagar, he highlighted the contribution of Dara Shikoh in developing an Indian version of Islamic architecture.
The guests of honour, Prof. S.M. Akhtar, former Dean, Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and Prof. Jagbir Singh, Director, Amity School of Architecture congratulated the department for organizing the conference on an interesting theme.
The Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Prof. Mohammad Altamush Siddiqui also shared his views regarding achievements of the faculty. Prof. Mohd. Khalid Hassan explained the vision of the conference for systematic, scientific, and methodical discussions and exchange of information for understanding the features, forms and techniques of Islamic Architecture that developed in different parts of the world.
Convener of the programme, Prof. Sharmin Khan discussed the nuances of Islamic architecture underlining the theme, which stands beyond a mere representation of certain notional architectural features and elements. Prof. Mohammad Farhan Fazli, organizing secretary extended the vote of thanks.
A wide range of topics including the Ideology conflict regarding Islamic or Muslim Architecture, Islamic architecture and sustainability, Principles and elements of Islamic Architecture, contemporary Islamic Architecture and Construction techniques in Islamic architecture were discussed during the technical session of the conference and the participants presented their abstracts.
Prof. Mirza Salim Beg, Chairman, NIRF Ranking Committee was the chief guest and Prof. I.H. Farooqui, Chairman, Department of Civil Engineering was the guest of honour in the valedictory programme.
Best paper and best paper presentation awards were given under research scholar and students categories, respectively.
source: http://www.thenewsagency.in / The News Agency / Home> Uttar Pradesh / by Team TNA / March 01st, 2023
Mishkat Noor said she studied for five-six hours while preparing for UPMSP matric exams 2023. Photo Credit: TV9
Mishkat Noor is a student of Canossa Convent Girls Inter College, Ayodhya. Thanking god, she gave credit for her success to her parents. Her father is a teacher at a madrasa.
New Delhi:
The UP Board today declared UPMSP Class 10 and 12 results 2023 and also released list of toppers for both the classes. Priyanshi Soni has topped UPMSP matric exam 2023 with a score of 590 out of 600 marks. Two students have secured the second position with 587 marks. Their percentage comes out to be 97.83 per cent. The name of those two students are Kushagra Pandey and Mishkat Noor.
Mishkat Noor is a student of Canossa Convent Girls Inter College, Ayodhya. Thanking god, she gave credit for her success to her parents. Her father is a teacher at a madrasa.
She said she studied for five-six hours while preparing for UPMSP matric exams 2023. However, even after attaining such good marks, Mishkat is not satisfied with her result. She said she could have scored more marks had she not made a mistake which cost her two marks. Talking to media, Mishkat said she wanted to become a doctor.
The toppers of UP Board will be awarded cash prize and a laptop. They will receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, as per reports. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath congratulated students on clearing the board exams and wished them luck for their better future.
Top 10 toppers at state level and district level will be honoured at the district level, the chief minister said in his tweet.
This year, more than 31 lakh students sat for UPMSP matric exam 2023. The overall pass percentage for Class 10 stands at 89.78 per cent and that recorded among girls is 93.34 per cent.
Students who are not satisfied with their UP Board result 2023 can apply for scrutiny on the official website of the UPMSP at upmsp.edu.in. The UPMSP will re-evaluate sheets of those who apply for scrutiny and check if any question remained unchecked.
Those who have failed in or two subjects will be able to apply for compartment exam to pass Class 10 or 12 in which they studied. They will be issued revised marksheet if they clear their compartment exam.
source: http://www.news9live.com / News9Live.com/ Home> by Education & Career / by Nikhal Jha / April 25th, 2023
Wealth of Muslim community and government spending on the rituals of Islam for centuries would have been better utilized for establishing universities and technical and research institutes.
Title: The Scientific Muslim: Understanding Islam in a New Light
Author: Mohammad Aslam Parvaiz
Publishers: Konark Publishers
Pages: 184
Price: Rs 595
These are undoubtedly troubled times for India. Never before were the minorities, Muslims in particular, made to face such vicious communal hostility. The Hindu rightwing is at its aggressive best, combining facts with fiction to attack almost everything Muslims hold dear – their prayers, festivals, dress, even cuisine. Muslims are constantly provoked. If they respond even verbally, they face more wrath. It could not have been worse.
Hats off to Mohammad Aslam Parvaiz for coming out with his book on the problems Islam faces now. No, this is not a book about how to deal with Hindutva forces; far from it. A man of science, Parvaiz complains that Muslims across the world have jettisoned Islam’s true nature by sticking to parts of the Quran while ignoring much of what it says on how one must lead one’s life.
As a student of spirituality, I am convinced that the book will make waves in India and much of the Islamic world.
Ignoring Quran
The Quran, the author says, tells people how to lead a peaceful and meaningful life. While it asks those who read it to understand and explore nature, these intellectual pursuits are almost missing in those who claim the Quran to be their guidebook.
Parvaiz moans that Muslims born in Muslim households are taught to ‘read’ Quran without understanding it. Over the last many centuries, Muslim society has cherry-picked certain verses of Quran as binding on them. These include five-time prayers, fasting during Ramzan, offering ‘zakat’ and making a pilgrimage to Mecca. The Quran, he says, is much more. By deserting the Quran, “we ‘Muslims’ have deserted Islam”.
This is the main reason the Muslim society seems to have turned its back to scientific principles in which it once excelled, giving a tough competition to Europe. A sizeable section of Muslims even feels that contemporary education churns out atheists. The result? Ignorance about Quranic teachings coupled with limited ‘religiosity’ has led to the curriculum which is followed in most madrasas today.
In the process, Muslims are widely misunderstood by others. Non-Muslims think a Muslim must be one who sports a beard and a skull cap, goes to a mosque to pray five times a day and slaughters animals to eat. But these are visible symbols. Parvaiz contends that the one who follows the guidance given in the Quran and grooms himself accordingly is alone a true Muslim.
Also, some Muslim rulers had a knack of not tolerating any criticism about themselves or their religious beliefs. Consequently, wars and persistent battles rendered the once-prized academic atmosphere unfavourable.
Based on the Quran, Muslims must draw a road map for acquiring knowledge in every sphere and put it to the service of humanity. Parvaiz details what all the Quran says for human betterment. For instance, it underlines that one must meet his needs judiciously and avoid extravagance. As long as the Muslim followed the divine way, they ruled over the world and promoted justice, equity, peace and public welfare. When they began to neglect the Quranic system, it led to their disgrace and humiliation.
Islamic decline
Unfortunately, Muslims are at present unable to understand or act on the Quran. According to the author, the wealth of the Muslim community and government spending on the rituals of Islam for centuries would have been better utilized for establishing universities and technical and research institutes.
The absence of these is a key reason for the decline of Muslims as a productive part of the society or country where they live. “Their love for wealth, progeny and glory have made them indifferent to patronizing knowledge… It is time that we transcend sectarianism and shed false notions about our understanding of Islam and our intellectualism.”
According to the author, one reason why Muslims were hooked to a ritualistic lifestyle is because of the birth of a plethora of confusing and contradicting literature based on different sects that began to flourish. Slowly, Islam began to get diluted.
Also, some Muslim rulers had a knack of not tolerating any criticism about themselves or their religious beliefs. Consequently, wars and persistent battles rendered the once-prized academic atmosphere unfavourable. Muslim mobs in 1857 plundered the library of Delhi College, tearing apart books on English and science; Arabic and Persian books were looted.
Parvaiz without doubt has complete faith in the Quran. Yet he tears to shreds those who he feels are following it selectively, ignoring all that it has said about how to be in tune with Divine creations. “Soulless rituals cannot provide any food for thought. These may arouse our sentiments. Yet they cannot produce those Muslims who may lead communities of the world.”
He goes on: “Today, Muslim localities are notorious for their filth and rubbish. We throw all rubbish outside our homes and shops. The drainage system is rotten. We encroach upon roads, making life difficult for everyone. We erect all sorts of barriers on roads. We generate various forms of disorder. The industrial smoke coming out of small- scale work units in every house and alley adversely affect the entire atmosphere. All this amounts to disobeying God’s commands.” (It is another matter that much of what the author says about Muslim neighbourhoods can be said to be true for areas populated by other communities in India too.)
Way forward
Parvaiz explains what needs to be done. “Water, air, earth and all that is inside the planet are God’s signs. As Muslims we should not even think of disrespecting or destroying these signs.” His complaint is not directed at one section or country of Muslims. “No group, community or country of Muslims has ever prepared its progress model which is in accordance with the Quranic principles of justice, equity and selfless service.”
God, he says, has subjected everything to His laws. Indeed, all creatures who abide by divine commands can be called believers. Lip service and verbal claims alone will not and cannot help Muslims discharge their duty towards God. In real life, humans who are blessed by God seek to hold and hoard resources provided to them. Ownership and monopoly, he warns, are satanic concepts.
Parvaiz feels that the time has come to free Muslim educational agenda from religious and sectarian bias. Muslims should welcome all beneficial branches of knowledge. Character development has to be encouraged. One needs to train and produce Muslims who will follow Islam in full and not confine it to only a mosque or prayers.
“Islam will be their guide and mentor in every activity of life. This is the Muslim community which lost its way one thousand years ago.”
Non-Muslims too must read this eye-opener of a book as much as Muslims.
(The reviewer is a veteran journalist and author)
(Published under an arrangement with South Asia Monitor)
source: http://www.thenewsagency.in / The News Agency / Home> News Pops> India / by M R Narayan Swamy / April 28th, 2022
Just an 11-year-old girl astonishes the world with her extraordinary development skills. She recently created an AI Application that uses advanced models to determine eye diseases or serious conditions such as Melanoma, Cataracts, etc. Read below about this creative Kerala-origin girl.
An 11-year-old Dubai-based girl called Leena Rafeeq has designed a modernistic application integrated with Artificial Intelligence (AI). This young girl from Kerala proclaimed that this smart app can locate common eye disorders and symptoms. Moreover, this can be determined through a unique scanning method built into the app and only the iPhone supports this advanced model so far.
iPhone users will be able to check their eye-related problems and conditions with 70 per cent accuracy. The intelligent app that has been going viral for a couple of days has been named ‘Ogler EyeScan’ by Ms Leena Rafeeq. She was just 10 when she built it and now after so much research at the age of 11, she exuberantly launched it.
Self-taught Techie
On a social media platform called LinkedIn, she vividly presented the model. She further expounded the workings of her self-made in an online video that she posted online after which several viewers are impressed with her knowledge and skill set.
She asserted that this AI-based application has the capability to evaluate various parameters. The specifications include light and colour intensity, distance and look-up points in order to track down the eyes.
It scans the human eyes within the available range of the frame and this is possible through the “advanced computer vision and machine learning” used in this model’s design.
Features of ‘Ogler EyeScan App’
Leena Rafeeq explains her exceptional achievement and said that the Ogler EyeScan App can also identify any light burst issues. Additionally, this app will first check the eye positioning inside the scanner frame and after that through advanced technological scanning procedures, it can identify some of the common eye problems.
Built with Machine Learning Algorithms and Computer Vision Systems, eye conditions like Arcus, Melanoma, Pterygium and Cataracts can be checked however 70% accurate results have been recognized till now.
How AI App is developed?
Ms Rafeeq told that this smart technology app was developed natively with high-level programming developer ‘SwiftUI’ without the involvement of any third-party libraries or packages. She also reveals that she dedicated herself for almost six months to conducting research and development to come up with this initiative.
Along with this, she continued her learning about different eye conditions, computer vision, algorithms, machine learning models and other advanced levels of Apple iOS development which involves sensors data, AR, CreateML, CoreML and many such tools.
It is notable that the Ogler EyeScan is supported solely in iPhone 10 or Apple phones with iOS above 16. The app is under review on the App Store and this young girl hopes that her model gets listed soon.
Appraisal of her Project
This young Kerala girl leaves many flabbergasted by the invention of such a little girl. People congratulated her as she attains this level at this age. A user commented that this is a pretty good example of how AI can be effectively used in the health sector.
Another goes on to say that this is such an amazing creation and wished her good luck with her future endeavours. They all wished her positive reviews on her app. Ms Rafeeq responded that the model accuracy is “almost 70 per cent”.
However, she is handling some difficulties with the presence of glare and burst from lights caused by the distance required for capturing scans through the phone device. She has implemented metrics and detection for light-related issues so that the users will be able to re-scan. Her current focus is on training more elegant models. As soon as Ogler is accepted by the Appstore, she will be releasing an update in the software.
source: http://www.jagranjosh.com / Jagran Josh / Home> Current Affairs> Science – Technology Current Affairs / (headline edited) April 2023
Indian Muslims are having their own ‘spring’. It may not have the shape of an organised movement, and we may not see people going around waving banners or picketing ‘mullahs’, but it is genuine, widespread, and it looks like it is here to stay.
pic: Amazon
Editor’s note: Firstpost contributor Hassan Suroor has written a book that looks at the Muslim community in India today. He explores and dismantles the stereotypes and holds up a mirror to their reality. Here’s an excerpt from Suroor’s India’s Muslim Spring: Why is Nobody Talking About It?
Let me confess that this is not the book I set out to write. The book I had in mind was about the unchanging face of Muslim fundamentalism in India. But barely a few weeks into research, I discovered I was completely on the wrong track. The big story staring me in the face was quite the opposite— far from flourishing, Muslim fundamentalism was actually dying a slow death. As I travelled across the country and spoke to people, I found that over the past decade there had been a profound change in the Muslim mindset. Today’s Indian Muslim, I discovered, was altogether a different species—educated, aware, wiser, less sectarian and more pragmatic ….
Away from the sensational headlines about Islamic extremism, a quiet revolution is taking place. The Muslim discourse has moved on from an obsessive focus on sectarian demands (does anyone remember the last big debate on Muslim Personal Law, for example?) to the more secular bread-and-butter issues. Where once the dinner table talk in Muslim households was unremittingly negative and pessimistic (it was all about how Muslims were being ‘crushed’ and trampled upon, and had no future in India), today it is about change and looking forward. There is a new optimism abroad that is hard to miss. What is significant is that the change is being urged upon not by the usual suspects—the agnostic left-wing Muslim intellectuals…— but by ‘gold-plated’ practising Muslims, deeply conscious of their Muslim identity and unapologetic about flaunting it.
There is a new generation of Muslims who want to rid the community of its insular and sectarian approach by concentrating on things that affect their everyday lives: education, jobs, housing, security. They despair of mullahs and self-styled Muslim ‘leaders’. And they speak a language that is modern and forward-looking. Their interpretation of Islam stresses inclusion and tolerance. They abhor the use of violence in the name of Islam. They may not be wildly enthusiastic about the western notion of free speech and … some even tend to share the conspiracy theories about Salman Rushdie’s alleged motives [behind writing The Satanic Verses], but they condemn the campaign of intimidation and harassment to which he has been subjected in the name of ‘defending’ Islam and the Prophet. They are embarrassed by such antics which, they say, bring shame to the community and, indeed, Islam itself. There is a feeling of having been let down by previous generations—their parents, grandparents—who they believe were too timid to challenge the fundamentalists. ‘We want to draw a line under all that and move on,’ is a common refrain.
Notably, it is the young women, often in ‘hijab’, who are driving the change. Contrary to the stereotyped image of the ‘Muslim woman’, they are educated, articulate, conscious of their rights and have aspirations that are no different from those of any other modern Indian woman. I found them more progressive in many respects than their male peers. And their struggle is greater as they are engaged, simultaneously, on two fronts—challenging the male Muslim orthodoxy and fighting for a wider change in the community that they hope would alter the prevailing negative perceptions of Muslims.
Paradoxically, at one level this is also perhaps the most religious post-independence generation of Indian Muslims … . More Muslim youth wear beards today than ever before and young Muslim women proudly show off their ‘hijabs’. … Yet, it is also the most open-minded and self-confident generation; and—most importantly—optimistic about its future in India. India is their home and this is where they see their future.
‘It is the best place in the world,’ is a phrase that I heard over again and again. For all the talk of Muslim ‘alienation’, today’s young Muslims are remarkably well-integrated … . Today’s young see no contradiction in being proud practicing Muslims and proud secular Indians. They find it insulting to be asked whether they regard themselves as Muslims first or Indians first. To them the question smacks of the questioner’s own prejudices. On the Muslim street, it is dismissed as a ‘bogus’ debate contrived to force Muslims to choose between their religion and their country—a choice that Hindus are not asked to make.
‘It is a false choice that we are asked to make. Call me an Indian Muslim or a Muslim Indian, it makes no difference. When I’m abroad and people ask me my nationality I simply say I’m an Indian, but when they ask me my religion I say I’m Muslim. It’s as simple as that. There is no question of one taking priority over the other,’ said Ishrat Jahan, a hotel executive.
… Indian Muslims are having their own ‘spring’. It may not have the shape of an organised movement, and we may not see people going around waving banners or picketing ‘mullahs’, but it is genuine, widespread, and it looks like it is here to stay. The media has largely ignored the change that is sweeping India’s Muslim community and continues to play up the extreme voices because they make ‘news’. Yet, five or ten years from now, it might realise that it missed the biggest story of its time unfolding right under its nose.
Living through the worst phase of Indian Muslim fundamentalism from the 1970s through to the 1990s, I never thought I would live to write its obituary. The depressing prospect of having to live the rest of my life in a climate of competitive Muslim-Hindu fundamentalism, feeding on each other in a toxic double act, was one reason why at an age when many migrants contemplate returning ‘home’, I decided to take a break from India and moved to Britain. I simply couldn’t take it anymore.
At one extreme, there was the creeping ‘Hindutva-isation’ of India with a resurgent Hindu Right flexing its muscles, and at the other, a wave of Muslim fundamentalism dragging the whole community into a long dark tunnel of isolation… . With such friends, Muslims didn’t need external enemies. … The Babri Masjid fiasco was as much the doing of chest-thumping Muslim ‘leadership’ as it was a calculated act by the right-wing Hindu middle class, to humiliate Muslims. Arbitrary ‘fatwas’ based on the most regressive of interpretations of Islam were commonplace. I heard of more fatwas in the 1990s than I had in the previous half century. Those who didn’t agree with the fundamentalist view were denounced, portrayed as closet ‘RSS stooge’, and hounded.
That was then. A decade later, there is a sea change, thanks to the coming of age of a new generation of Muslims—less excitable and wiser—having learnt from the follies of their predecessors. And certainly more realistic about their place in a Hindu-majority India. All you need to do is to get out a bit more, talk to people, listen to the voices around you, and you’ll discover how refreshing the air smells today … .
India’s Muslim Spring: Why Is Nobody Talking About It?, by Hasan Suroor (Rupa, Rs 395).
source: http://www.firstpost.com / First Post / Home> Living / by Hassan Suroor / January 24th, 2014
Abdul Bari is not a name that many Indians remember, but Munawwar, a committee member of the Tata Motor Workers’ Union in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, holds the name in high esteem.
“I don’t see a leader like Abdul Bari [coming up] in the near future,” he said. “It is because of his efforts that we still get high tea at just six paisa.”
“Once, Bari went to the Tatas and he was offered tea. He asked them to first offer it to the workers, and then made an agreement which is still benefitting us. Upma, aloo chaap, samosa all for six paisa in the company’s canteens.”
Asked how they pay six paisa when currency that small no longer exists, he says, “We get token of Rs 2 or more and keep using it for weeks.”
Munawwar visits Bari’s grave every year on March 28, the death anniversary of the pre-independence labour leader, to offer flowers. This duty, he says, was assigned to him by the Tatas.
Thinking of labour in the days of capital
Despite the large numbers of workers who struggle to earn a square meal a day, major political parties remain hostile towards them. In the 55-page Congress manifesto, the words ‘worker’ or ‘workers’ appear 15 times; in the BJP’s 45-page manifesto, the words appears only five times – four while referring to Asha and anganwadi workers. ‘Labour’ figures 21 times in the Congress manifesto, and only twice in the BJP’s.
The Congress does talk about ending the workers’ exploitation and improving working conditions. The party’s manifesto details new schemes and promises to implement old ones related to organised, unorganised and contractual labour. But it is anyone’s guess how schemes that have been on hold for so long will suddenly spring to life.
Dilip Simeon, a founding member of the Association of Indian Labour Historians and former professor of history at Ramjas College, says that nobody talks about labour now because “in today’s context, the labour movement is influenced by communal sentiments”.
“If labour is with the BMS [Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh] and Shiv Sena, then this is the weakness of the movement; if the labour movement wants to regain its power, then it has to face this challenge.”
Before independence, Simeon says, regardless of community, “leaders came together to advance the struggle of workers in India. Abdul Bari, Maneck Homi and Hazara Singh were their leaders. A Muslim, a Parsi and a Sikh could all be leaders of a workers’ movement.”
“Abdul Bari was so trusted that workers would start their protest first and then ask –what’s our demand?”
Bari was born in 1882, in Bihar’s Shahabad district. He was a student at Patna University in 1919 and was later appointed as a professor of history there, before he started studying law.
He quit to join the Khilafat movement, and actively participated in Gandhi’s civil disobedience movement and salt satyagraha. Bari did not restrict himself to the cause of one social group; he supported several political parties, including the Socialist Party and Swaraj Party, in parallel with the Congress. In addition, he was the voice of the labour movement in India and president of the Jamshedpur Tata Workers’ Union.
What Gandhi said about Bari
The journalist Afroz Alam Sahil has written a book on Abdul Bari, Professor Abdul Bari: Azaadi ki Ladaai Ka Ek Krantikaari Yodhha (Professor Abdul Bari: A Revolutionary Warrior of the Freedom Struggle). The author reveals several stories which won’t be found Indian history books. One such story is around Bari’s mysterious murder, and Gandhi’s reaction to it.
According to a report published by the Times of India on March 31, 1947, Bari was shot dead in the evening of March 28 while on his way home from Khushrupur, 24 miles from Patna. He was then the president of the Bihar Provincial Congress Committee. Following his death, a complete strike was observed, and Tata closed all its plants except essential ones.
Gandhi, in a speech on March 29, 1947, mentioned that he was struck by Bari’s simplicity and honesty. Gandhi added that he was planning to be more closely associated with Bari, and make an appeal to keep his short temper in check as it was not befitting of the highest office in Bihar. Gandhi referred to Bari in the same speech as “a very brave man with the heart of a fakir”. He declared that Bari’s death was the result of an altercation that had ensued between Bari and one Gurkha member of the anti-smuggling force, who was a former member of the Indian National Army.
The author mentions in this book that Bihar’s first Prime Minister (Premium) Barrister Muhammad Yunus had disclosed in an interview to the Orient Press of India that Bari had threatened to disclose the names of some prominent Congress leaders who were involved in the Bihar carnage – just three days before he was killed.
Yunus also said that Gandhi’s statement was given in haste. In his speech, Gandhi had told the audience that there was no politics of any kind in the death, and that it would be unjustified to associate the whole Indian National Army with Bari’s killing just because of one man’s actions.
In another incident discussed in the book, Gandhi arrives at Fatuaha station near Patna in the early morning of March 5, 1947. He travelled from Calcutta to Patna. Bari, chief minister Srikrishna Sinha and others welcomed him on the platform. As soon as Gandhi saw Bari, he laughed and said, “How is it that you are still alive?”
“This book is an attempt at bringing back his identity not just as a leader of the labour movement but a prominent leader of the freedom struggle of India,” the author says. “Professor Bari was one of the biggest leaders of the labour struggle in India. But limiting his role to even that would be unjust, because he was present in every chapter of the independence movement….The speciality of Abdul Bari is that he questioned his own party Congress when it came to the rights of workers.”
In a speech, Bari said, “We are in Congress to serve the poor of this country not to respect Gandhi, Rajendra Babu and Shri Krishna Babu…Lakhs of Indians who walk with them are not there to make them kings but to achieve freedom for this country.”
According to Sahil, “He criticised Gandhi and Rajendra Prasad many times because he was wholeheartedly committed to this struggle. He wanted to organise an all India conference for workers. He had formed the All India Mazdoor Sevak Sangh. He mentioned this in a letter written by him to Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel on 22 June 1946.”
Why commemorate leaders like Bari today? Sahil has the answer. “Today when Muslim youth talk about Muslim representation, they must read more about Bari, the symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity, in order to understand their own political history and determine how it influences their future.”
Afshan Khan is a Delhi-based freelance journalist.
source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> Analysis> Labour / by Afshan Syed (headline edited) / May 01st, 2019
