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Pocket bikes to fast track, Mohamed Mikail starts at 14

Amazing Feats, Education, Sports, World Opinion, , , , ,

Chennai, TAMIL NADU :

To ensure that all his focus is on his racing career, his parents have even taken him out of school — he is currently being home-schooled.

Mohamed Mikail
Mohamed Mikail

Chennai :

Mohamed Mikail will have to wait four more years before he can take his bike on to the road — he’s just 14, after all! But in a couple of months, the Chennai lad will be doing something that most Indian racers, especially those in the two-wheeler scene, can only dream of. He will be racing in an international series abroad. Mikail was the find of the Honda Talent Cup, which was held last year to identify promising young racers. And he proved he had that in oodles! Mikail was the youngest racer in the competition but managed to finish on top of the standings.

His efforts have netted him a drive in the Thai Talent Cup, where he will be joined by 18-year-old Kritik Habib. It was evident that Mikail was meant for the fast lane early on. He took to racing pocket bikes when he was just 10 and even competed in a couple of races in Malaysia. It also helped that his family had a link to the racing fraternity — his uncle Mohammed Haneef used to race cars. “It was a little bit easy for me to get guidance because he knew the basics,” Mikail says.

“I have competed in a couple of pocket bike races in Malaysia before. But the Honda Cup was the first time I was racing proper bikes.” He has his uncle to thank again for that. “It was him who first heard about the Honda initiative and enrolled me in it,” Mikail says.

“My uncle is my biggest support.” His racing career will take him where few 14-year-olds get to go, but it also means that Mikail will be missing out on a lot of experiences that his peers take for granted. While kids his age will be celebrating the summer holidays in a month, Mikail will be going over track data, setting up his bike and undergoing a rigorous fitness regime.

To ensure that all his focus is on his racing career, his parents have even taken him out of school — he is currently being home-schooled. But Mikail is happy with the way things are going for him. He is itching to get his hands on the Honda NSF250 (a machine that Honda has fielded in the Moto3 series) that he will be racing in the Thai Talent Cup. He reckons he will finally be able to start testing the event in April. “I feel excited,” he says. “I haven’t set any targets (for his debut season in the Thai Talent Cup). My first aim is to go learn.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sports> Others / by Vishnu Prasad / Express News Service / March 02nd, 2019

Home chefs bag honours in cooking competition

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Karnataka (under research project), , , , , ,

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Out of 250 participants, seven home chefs made it to the finals.

From left) Bijesh K V, Manas Ranjan Raut, Dinesh Garg, Chef Shazia Khan, Fahima Zahid and Chef Abhijit Saha at The Cooking Studio.
From left) Bijesh K V, Manas Ranjan Raut, Dinesh Garg, Chef Shazia Khan, Fahima Zahid and Chef Abhijit Saha at The Cooking Studio.

On Thursday at The Cooking Studio, the seven finalised flexed their culinary muscles to impress the judges and take home the first prize.

The competition was judged by Masterchef and runner-up Shazia Khan, Executive Chef of Taj Vivanta Chef Selvaraju , Chef Abhijit Saha, Founding Director and Chef, Avant Garge Hospitality, and Dinesh Garg, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, TTK Prestige Ltd.

After an intense 90-minute round of cooking one savoury and one dessert using the Prestige equipment, TTK Prestige announced Bijesh K V as Bengaluru’s best home chef 2019.

The IT sales executive also won a voucher of TTK Prestige products worth Rs 50,000.

Fahima Zahid, a homemaker, and Manas Ranjan Raut, ex-Airforce Junior Warrant Officer and fitness trainer, won TTK Prestige products worth Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 as first and second runner up, respectively.

The winning dish prepared by Bijesh was Spiced Kiwi Rice, Orange Chicken with a dash of honey and Choco Orange Mug Cake with an Indian spice twist. Fahima prepared Chicken Changezi and Coconut Pana Cotta with Mango Coulis.

Manas cooked Paneer Spinach Mozerella Crispy Ball and Caramel Carrot Halwa Truffles.

Celebrating his win, Bijesh said, “This has been the most phenomenal learning experience for me. I have always been passionate about food and I am so pleased that my dishes were well appreciated.’’

Chef Shazia Khan said, “I was very impressed by the quality of dishes prepared by the participants. I was particularly struck with how Bengalureans have begun to experiment with different cuisines and embrace different kinds of food. It was a difficult choice as all the finalists were accomplished cooks, but our winners displayed risk, great technique and skill in their cooking, which ultimately enabled them to stand out from the others.”

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> MetroLife> Metrolife Cityscape / DH News Service, Bengaluru / March 01st, 2019

In Memoriam : Major General Afsir Karim, AVSM

Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Leaders, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , ,

Lucknow – Aligarh,(UTTAR PRADESH)  / NEW DELHI  :

MAJOR GENERAL AFSIR KARIM, AVSM
(MAY 1933 – FEB 2019)

India Foundation is deeply saddened to announce the sad passing away of Major General Afsir Karim on 12 February 2019, after a long and heroic fight against cancer.

General Karim was commissioned in the Indian Army in June 1954 and had the unique distinction to fight for his country in the 1962 India-China war and in the 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan wars. In the 1971 Liberation War, he commanded a Parachute battalion in the Eastern theatre. For distinguished service of an exceptional order, he was awarded the AtiVishishtSeva Medal while serving in the Army.

Post retirement in May 1989, the General took to academic life and became a renowned scholar and thinker on strategic issues. As a soldier turned scholar, General Afsir Karim contribute greatly to the study of counter-terrorism and was one of the pre-eminent experts on the complexities that plagued the state of Jammu and Kashmir, having served a good part of his career in that part of India. He also served as a member of India’s National Security Advisory Board (1999–2001).

Amongst the books authored by him, are Sri Lanka Crisis (co-author 1990); Counter-Terrorism: The Pakistan Factor (1991); Transnational Terrorism: Danger in the South (1995); Kashmir: The Troubled Frontiers (1994) and Story of the Airborne Forces (1995). Amongst his writings on Kashmir was Op Topac, a semi-fictional account of Pakistan’s game plan for Kashmir. He was a former editor of the Indian Defense Review and a life trustee on the Forum for Strategic & Security Studies. He was also founder-editor of AAKROSH, India’s first journal on trans-national terrorism and an India Foundation publication.

An officer known for his uprightness and integrity, his passing away is a sad loss for the Armed Forces and the strategic community. We in India Foundation shall miss him as will countless others across the country. Om Shanti.

source: http://www.indiafoundation.in  / India Foundation /  Home> In Memoriam / February 2019

“I want to follow in the footsteps of Parveez Rasool,” says Jammu and Kashmir’s new cricket sensation Nawaz Rather

Sports, , , , , ,

Dhangri Village (Poonch), JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Rather wants to make his village proud
Rather wants to make his village proud

Playing cricket at a place where on and off you hear the sounds of grenades and bullets, and have the fear of getting hit by the cross-border firing, is tough.

Isn’t it? Imagine what would it mean to come from such sort of an area and play for a senior state cricket team? This is what defines the road of Poonch’s only top-level cricketer, Nawaz Rather.

A wicket-keeper batsman whose parents decided to send him to a religious school in order to read and memorize Quran, finally after pursuing his parents’ wishes, has now climbed the first step of his own ‘big dream’, which is to play cricket at the highest level.

Nawaz, 24, appeared for Jammu and Kashmir in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Thursday against Manipur, becoming the only player from district Poonch to play for J&K senior state-level team.

However, he didn’t get the opportunity to show his skills with the bat, but with his watchful wicket-keeping, he already left a mark.

Coming from the village Dhangri in Poonch, which is just a few kilometres away from the India-Pakistan border and remains in the spotlight for all wrong reasons, the journey has been quite challenging for Rather.

After playing seven school nationals and captaining J&K for three times at the U-19 level, it took Nawaz seven long years to get in the reckoning of J&K senior cricket team.

Rather first and most credits his success to his uncle, Mr. Azam Rather, who has been his backbone during his early days with the sport,

“My uncle supported me from the very beginning. Today if I have made it to J&K team, it’s largely due to his unending help and prayers.” The jubilant Nawaz told Sportskeeda in an exclusive interview.

Been around the space where people think one and hundred times before going out of their houses, Nawaz never missed his cricket practice, despite knowing it could even cost him his life,

“Our village is just next to border and conditions here remain appalling most of the times. But, my love for cricket insisted me to go out each day and practice, no matter if it would result in even the utmost adversity.” he said.

Having cruised past all these hardships, the youngster now aims to go even higher in the game to see a glint of joy on the ‘dejected’ faces of the people from his town.

“I’ll leave no stone unturned to make my village and district proud. May be, if I play at higher level, people back home who remain dejected can get to smile a bit,” Rather said.

Rather also mentioned that he idolizes, J&K skipper and the state’s only international cricketer, Parvez Rasool,

“Parvez bhaiyya inspires me the most. He has also faced similar sort of problems but he went past everything and played at the highest level. I just want to follow his footprints,” He signed off.

source: http://www.sportskeeda.com / Sports Keeda / Home> Cricket / by Mohsin Kamal , Senior Analyst / March 03rd, 2019

Braving all odds, Hadiya is now a doctor

Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , ,

Vaikom (Kottayam), KERALA :

HadiyaMPOs02mar2019

In a FB post, her husband shares a photograph of the woman in a doctor’s coat

Overcoming obstacles that threatened to get her life caught in a communal rut, Hadiya has finally caught up with her career dream.

In a recent Facebook post, her husband Shafin Jahan announced that his wife Hadiya Asokan had finally become a doctor and shared a photograph of the woman in doctor’s coat with a stethoscope.

‘‘This shining victory is an outstanding achievement because it comes at the end of countless prayers, relentless struggles of separation, love, patience and so on…Alhamdulillah! Finally, you reached an important destination out of all odds. Very proud to address you a Doctor,’’ read the post.

The 27-year-old Hadiya, a native of Vaikom in Kottayam, was in the centre of a storm when she converted to Islam and married Mr. Jahan in December 2016. Following this, her father K.M. Asokan and mother Ponnamma approached the Kerala High Court with a complaint that she had been forcibly converted to Islam and would be recruited to the Islamic State (IS) in Syria.

During the period, Ms. Hadiya had been staying at her friend Jaseena’s residence after returning from Salem where she pursued a graduation programme in homoeopathy medicine and surgery. Mr. Asokan’s complaint alleged that Aboobacker, father of Jaseena, persuaded Ms. Hadiya into embracing Islam.

In May 2017, the Kerala High Court annulled the marriage of Ms. Hadiya with Mr. Jahan citing that the woman seemed mentally indoctrinated. The court had also ordered her to return to live with her parents at Vaikom.

The order, however, was set aside by the Supreme Court in March 2018. While hearing the case, the apex court had directed Ms. Hadiya to rejoin the college to continue her internship for completing the degree course.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Staff Reporter / Kottayam – February 28th, 2019

They win people’s hearts with their special skills

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, , , , , , , ,

KERALA :

CalicutMPOs01mar2019

Third anniversary of disability management programme

The Community Disability Management and Rehabilitation Programme (CDMRP), a unique outreach scheme of the University of Calicut implemented through the Department of Psychology, celebrated its third anniversary on Thursday. The programme is implemented with the the support of the State Social Justice Department.

The celebrations marked a special gathering of a large group of differently abled children and their parents on the campus. The children with different abilities won the heart of the campus by presenting their special skills without inhibition.

Vice Chancellor K. Mohammed Basheer inaugurated the celebrations.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Basheer underscored the need to provide equal status to the differently abled children by bringing them to the mainstream.

Onus on society

He said the onus was on society to bring the differently abled up to the mainstream by providing what they wanted, and not just sympathy.

Registrar T.A. Abdul Majeed presided. Pace Education Group chairman P.A. Ibrahim Haji was the chief guest at the function.

Executive director D. Jayan, CDMRP director K. Manikantan, Syndicate member K.K. Haneefa, Head of Psychology Department Baby Shari, and Kozhikode District Social Justice Officer Parameswaran spoke.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Staff Reporter / Malappuram – February 01st, 2019

She chose the less-travelled path

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Freedom Fighters (under research project), Leaders, , , , , , , , ,

Adoor, KERALA :

HaleemaBiwiMPOs28feb2019

Haleema Beevi, first Muslim woman journalist of Kerala, to be remembered

Her life was a crusade against oppression of women in the Muslim community. Amidst strong protests and threats, she dedicated her life for the empowerment of women in her community.

The Kerala  Sahitya Akademi is remembering Haleema Beevi, the first Muslim woman journalist of the State, on her 100th birth anniversary.

Unsung heroine

The celebration, to be held in connection with the inauguration of the national book exhibition on Saturday, will also pave the way for more explorations on the unsung heroine of Kerala Journalism and her writings, noted Kerala Sahitya Akademi president Vaishakhan.

A recent Facebook post by writer Shihabuddin Poythumkadavu on Haleema Beevi had many responses.

Available records indicate that Haleema Beevi started her career as a journalist at the age of 18. Born in an orthodox Muslim family at Adoor in 1918, as the daughter of Peer Mohammed and Maideen Beevi, she was an ardent reader from childhood. Though she was good at studies, she could not go to school after Class 7. But she continued to read.

Muslim Vanitha

At a time when Muslim women did not even dare to come to the mainstream, Haleema Beevi started a women’s magazine, Muslim Vanitha, at Thiruvalla. Later, its functioning was shifted to Kodungalloor. She later started a daily in 1946 called Bharatha Chandrika. Later, she even started a weekly in the same name. Haleema Beevi functioned as its editor, printer, and publisher.

Prominent writers

Eminent writers Vaikom Mohammed Basheer, Sukumar Azhikode, K. Gomathi, and P. Valsala had written in her publications. Haleema Beevi used to write articles related to education.

Haleema Beevi was a municipal councillor at Thiruvalla for five years. Her husband K.M. Mohammed Moulavi, a prominent presence in the struggles against Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, was imprisoned for taking part in agitations against the Divan. Haleema Beevi too had gone to jail during the Independence struggles.

She relentlessly worked for the empowerment of women. Her goal was to bring Muslim women, who were socially and educationally backward, to the mainstream.

Women’s education

At that time, the community was even against its members learning Malayalam. But Haleema Beevi argued that education was the basic right of every man and woman. She recalled that even the Prophet had called for women’s education.

She died at the age of 82 in 2000. Though her birth centenary was in 2018, nobody noticed it that time. The akademi and Mr. Poythumkadavu are on efforts to find her writings.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Mini Muringatheri / Thrissur – February 01st, 2019

Kashmir’s first Ashok Chakra for Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , , , , , , , ,

JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani. File
Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani. File

The award will be presented by President Ram Nath Kovind to his wife Mrs. Mahajabeen at the Republic Day parade on Saturday.

Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani has been posthumously awarded ‘Ashok Chakra’, India’s highest peace time gallantry award for his role in a counter-insurgency operation in Kashmir last year. He is Kashmir’s first Ashok Chakra awardee and was also awarded Sena Medal for gallantry twice in 2007 and 2018 for his acts of valour.

The award will be presented by President Ram Nath Kovind to his wife Mrs. Mahajabeen at the Republic Day parade on Saturday.

On November 25, 2018 Lance Naik Wani was taking part in a counter terrorist operation against six terrorists in Hirapur village near Batgund, Kashmir. Under intense hail of bullets from the terrorists he eliminated the district commander of the LeT and one foreign terrorist in an act of raw courage.

“In the ensuing gunfight he was hit multiple times including his head. He also injured another terrorist before succumbing to his grievous injuries,” the Army said in a statement.

A resident of Cheki Ashmuji of Kulgam district Jammu and Kashmir, he joined the Army’s 162 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army) in Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry in 2004. His courage got his recognition very quickly with the Sena Medal for Gallantry in 2007. The 2018 Sena Medal was given for eliminating one terrorist from a very close distance, the Army stated.

To fight the onslaught of Pakistan supported terrorist outfits, he operated with Rashtriya Rifles units in Kashmir, the Army statement said and added, “Throughout his active life he always willingly faced grave potential threats and was a source of inspiration for others.”

Lance Naik Wani comes from a humble background and had worked for the benefit of the underprivileged section in his village and surrounding area.

Apart from his wife, he is survived by two sons Athar (20) and Shaid (18).

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by Special Correspondent / New Delhi – January 24th, 2019

This Rickshaw Puller From Assam Has Built 9 Schools In His Single Effort

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, ,

Madhurband Village (Karimganj District) , ASSAM :

The school was even more important for girls as “boys get a chance to go out and get an education, but girls do not”, he said.

This Rickshaw Puller From Assam Has Built 9 Schools In His Single Effort

He has opened three lower primary schools, five middle schools, one high school.

New Delhi : 

After realizing that proper education is a distant dream for his soon-to-be born child, Ahmed Ali decided not to let the coming generation suffer in privation and penury.

This rickshaw-puller from Karimganj district Assam has built nine schools, ever since he envisioned the need for education, and says “I feel it was Allah’s wish and blessings from locals that I could achieve whatever I wanted.” “I could not attend school due to poverty. People of my village were poor and it pained me to see the children there were not able to attend schools due to the same reason. I don’t want to see dropouts from poor families any more,” he told IANS during a function in Delhi where he was invited as a guest.

Hailing from a village 300 kms away from Guwahati, he often ferried children to and from their schools for his livelihood.

He has even found a mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Mann ki baat” programme.

Ahmed Ali established his first school in his village, Madhurband, in 1978. For establishing the first school, he sold a portion of his land and donated another portion on which the building now stands. The funds for the schools were also arranged by him from his savings, daily earnings and some from charity. To ensure fund flow, he used to pull his rickshaw in the morning and cut wood at night.

In all, he has opened three lower primary schools, five middle schools and one high school in Madhurband and nearby villages.

The school, he added, was even more important for girls as “boys get a chance to go out and get an education, but girls do not”.

The high school he had started in 1990 has 228 students today. “I could only manage to make arrangements for students till Class X. They don’t have a place to study Class XI and XII. I need both the government’s approval and funds for setting up the higher-secondary school,” he said. While hundreds of students take the class 10 exam every year, they don’t have the scope for higher education. “There is no nearby college. The nearest college is also 15 km away. I also want to build a college for students, but that will come at a later stage. First we need a junior college (for students passing Class X),” he added.

When IANS asked what he will tell Modi, he said he wanted all that the schools should be government-recognised so that funds were never an issue. “I will also ask him for a junior college and a college, if possible.”

source: http://www.ndtv.com / NDTV / Home> Education / by Maitree Baral (with input from IANS) / February 24th, 2019

Medal winners from remote villages hog the limelight at convocation

Education, ,

Seegebagi Village (near Bhadravathi) , KARNATAKA :

Some of the medal winners at the convocation of Kuvempu University on Friday. | Photo Credit: VAIDYA
Some of the medal winners at the convocation of Kuvempu University on Friday. | Photo Credit: VAIDYA

Her parents work for daily wage to meet the educational expenses of their children and other needs of the family. But keeping aside all the problems in her household, Nethravathi K.A. emerged as the topper in M.A. in Kannada, for which she was awarded seven gold medals at the 29th convocation of Kuvempu University on Friday.

Her father, Annappa, works as a porter at coffee curing units in Chikkamagaluru, while her mother, Thangyamma, works as an agricultural labourer in her native village of Kuruvangi. Speaking to The Hindu, Annappa and Thangyamma expressed pride in their daughter’s achievement.

Mr. Nethravathi pursued M.A. at the IDSG College in Chikkamagaluru. “I was attentive in class. In-depth study of reference books helped me develop a comprehensive view of Kannada literature. It is possible to secure good marks with persistent hard work,” she said.

Other medal winners

Vimala R. from Bhadravathi, who secured three gold medals in mathematics, is working as a Grameen Dak Sevak with the Department of Posts in Channagiri taluk. She plans to take the civil service examinations.

Anusha H.V., also from Bhadravathi, bagged four gold medals in M.Sc in Biotechnology. She is planning to pursue Ph.D on herbal cure for cancer. Vimochana from Chitradurga, who got four gold medals in M.A. in Sociology, said she would establish a non-governmental organisation to bring semi-nomadic communities into the mainstream.

Ali Ahmed N., who hails from Seegebagi, a remote village near Bhadravathi, secured five gold medals in M.Sc in Chemistry. He is serving with a biotechnology firm in Bengaluru at present as a research associate and plans to pursue doctorate.

Priyanka T., who hails from Rangenahalli, another remote village, secured four gold medals in MBA. She is serving as manager in the HR department of a private firm in Bengaluru. “Along with academic performance, management students should attain proficiency in soft skills to land a good job,” she said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Staff Reporter / Shivamogga – February 16th, 2019