The device includes a ‘Help Me’ button that alerts the teacher whenever a student needs intervention, improving classroom management.
Mohammed Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti, Assistant Professor in the Department of EECE from GITAM Deemed to be University, has developed an embedded Braille Learning Assistant Embedded Kit (LAEK).Photo | G Satyanarayana
Visakhapatnam :
For many visually impaired children, the journey to literacy begins with the touch of a fingertip. But mastering Braille is often a slow and demanding process that requires constant one-on-one support from teachers, a challenge in schools where trained instructors are scarce and classrooms are full. For families living far from specialised schools, opportunities are even fewer, leaving children dependent on others for even the basics of reading and communication.
A faculty member at GITAM Deemed to be University, Visakhapatnam, is hoping to change that. Mohammed Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti, Assistant Professor in the Department of EECE, has developed an embedded Braille Learning Assistant Embedded Kit (LAEK), a simple, sensor-based device that allows visually impaired children to learn Braille independently, either at home or in school.
The device is a 3 × 2 hollow hemispherical Braille cell fitted with sensors that identify the dot patterns placed by the student. Once the pattern is detected, the system decodes it and provides audio feedback by announcing the corresponding letter, number or instruction. This makes it possible for students to practise and revise lessons without waiting for a teacher to guide every step. “In many schools, one teacher has to train 30 or 40 visually impaired children, and each child needs personal attention for Braille practice,” Chisti remarked, adding, “Many students hesitate to ask the same doubt again. I wanted to create something that lets them learn comfortably at their own pace.”
The device includes a ‘Help Me’ button that alerts the teacher whenever a student needs intervention, improving classroom management. The balls used to form patterns are designed to stay within reach even if dropped, and the device is chargeable, eliminating the difficulty of replacing batteries.
“The tool is also aimed at children who cannot attend blind schools due to distance or lack of accessibility. Parents can guide their child’s learning at home using the same pattern-based method followed in classrooms. Depending on the child’s learning ability, all basic Braille alphabets can be learnt within a few weeks,” Chisti stated.
Before developing this tool, Chisti created a ‘Walking Assistant’ device, a wearable tool that alerts visually impaired users about obstacles through vibrations and sound. His interactions with students and teachers during that project sparked the idea for a more focused educational device.
“When I visited blind schools to donate the walking aids, I saw the kind of effort teachers put in, and how much time it takes for each child to grasp Braille,” he said.
“I felt technology could ease that pressure and help children become confident, independent learners.”
The new learning assistant has been filed for patent registration. Chisti hopes to manufacture and distribute multiple units to blind schools using research grants and donor support.
Future upgrades may include computer vision and speech recognition to help students identify people around them and navigate with greater confidence.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Usha Peri / November 30th, 2025
In Kashmir, a short Instagram reel posted last year unexpectedly drew significant attention. The video showed a man in a wheelchair presenting traditional Kashmiri clothing from his home. Its simplicity and warmth resonated widely, resulting in thousands of views within a short span. Behind this viral moment is Shahid, a 36-year-old resident of Gopalpora in Mattan, Anantnag, who now runs an online apparel venture he calls Adorn by Shahid.
Shahid’s life took a difficult turn early in childhood. He remembers being an energetic eight-year-old before sudden pain led doctors to diagnose him with a brain tumor. Although the surgery was successful, it left the left side of his body paralysed, forcing him to pause his studies. He recalls the aftermath as a period marked by long recovery and growing isolation. Many of the friends who once visited gradually stopped coming, which motivated him to pursue his education independently. Over several years, he completed his graduation privately.
As he grew older, Shahid hoped to find stability through a government job. He applied repeatedly, but because of his physical condition, his applications were consistently rejected. These setbacks eventually convinced him to look for a path he could shape himself.
Social media became that path. After observing others promote their work online, he decided to try something similar. With emotional and financial support from his family—especially his parents, siblings, and extended relatives—he launched his online business a year ago. What began as a small initiative gradually developed into a promising venture.
His Instagram account now showcases a variety of Kashmiri garments, including pherans, embroidered suits, shawls, and other traditional pieces. The viral reel that drew widespread attention introduced him to a much larger audience. Shahid says the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Since he works from home, managing orders and responding to messages online suits him well. Although he oversees the entire operation, his cousins and niece frequently help him film videos and create reels.
Despite limited mobility, Shahid’s outlook remains grounded and optimistic. He believes that difficulties can affect anyone, but what truly matters is having support and encouragement. For him, running this business represents independence, dignity, and the chance to express himself creatively. The same home where he once spent years recovering is now a workspace where he engages with customers from within and outside Kashmir.
Encouraged by continued online support, Shahid hopes to expand. He plans to open a physical store in the future so customers can visit and interact with him directly. Social media, he says, has given him opportunities he once couldn’t imagine, and he is determined to build on this momentum.
Shahid’s journey reflects resilience shaped by experience and determination. Rather than focusing on the limitations imposed by his childhood illness, he has chosen to rebuild his life through entrepreneurship, family support, and steady persistence.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Positive Story / by Babra Wani / November 30th, 2025
On the jagged banks of the Chenab, where the river churns like a living force and the sound of its roar rises above the valley’s silence, one man stands as the last hope for those it swallows. He is neither a government employee nor a trained professional in the formal sense. He has no salary, no official title, and no protective gear. Yet for more than fifteen years, Hamza Sheikh has been the first to dive in when someone disappears beneath the grey water.
He is soft in voice, and almost shy in demeanour. But behind that calmness lies a kind of courage that borders on the extraordinary. In his own estimate, he has pulled “more than four to five hundred” bodies from the Chenab. And astonishingly, “in my 15-year journey, at least three hundred alive I have brought out.”
There are few stories like Hamza’s today—stories of a single man whose work is stitched into community memory, whose bravery is understood more by the grieving families he has helped than by any government record. His entire training, he says, comes from growing up near the river.
“This is Chenab,” he explains, gesturing towards its violent surface. “We have been living here since childhood. This is our training.”
A River That Became a Graveyard
The Chenab was not always a death trap. Hamza recalls a time when accidents were rare, when the banks were bustling with a small city called Pul Doda.
“There used to be a market here earlier… at least 450 shops,” he says. “The dam destroyed everything.”
When the dam collapsed during the 2008 earthquake, the river changed forever. What was once shallow and predictable became deep, erratic, and unforgiving. Entire markets and neighbourhoods were consumed by water. People promised rehabilitation never received land. The river became in parts a silent grave, in parts a raging beast.
It was around this time that Hamza’s role became essential. His family had lost their land and livelihood; he found purpose in saving others from what had taken so much from his own.
He still remembers the first dead body he pulled out. “I was about 10–11 years old… a body came running. I caught it. His condition was very bad. He had worms.”
That moment, shocking as it was, shaped his life. Since then, the river has rarely let him rest.
Inside the Mind of a Man Who Jumps In
The Chenab is deceptive. From afar, it looks like any fierce river. Up close, it is a trap. The water is icy, visibility is zero, the current can drag down cars, and the depth changes unpredictably.
“Many people run away after hearing the noise of Chenab,” Hamza says. “But for us, it is very common.”
He describes rescue attempts that sound superhuman. In many cases he dives blind, because “we close our eyes, because there is sand. We can’t see anything. We go 15–20 feet without oxygen.”
The riverbed is lined with boulders sharp enough to slice flesh. Some sections are calm for a few metres and then suddenly erupt in turbulence strong enough to flip a vehicle. Somewhere in the river’s deepest pockets, Hamza says, lie bodies that never surfaced.
“Imagine a chopper went here 15 years ago,” he says. “We didn’t find it. Neither the body nor the chopper.”
And yet, he returns each time.
When asked if he is ever scared, he shrugs. “Chenab is like our home.”
A Body in the River Is Only the Beginning
The most difficult part of Hamza’s job is not the water—it is what the water does to the dead.
He recounts incidents that would break most people. One case remains etched in him: a woman whose remains had been in the river for days.
“When I pulled her, her skin came out,” he says quietly. “There were worms. Her hands were full of worms.”
There are other stories—bodies broken by rocks, faces eaten away by the river’s minerals, limbs separated, the smell of decay rising even from the coldest water. But Hamza refuses to turn away.
“Emotions come,” he admits. “Because if someone’s family reaches their house, then it is a matter of reward. We don’t take money. We do it with the intention of reward.”
For families waiting on the bank, Hamza is not a rescuer; he is closure.
The Line Between Saving and Being Pulled Under
The living, Hamza says, are far more dangerous to rescue than the dead.
“A living person can drown you too,” he explains. “He will take a slap from you… he will take him too if you are not trained.”
He recalls one incident from 2017: a woman who had jumped in during the fast flow of mid-summer.
“I jumped without a jacket emotionally. I was in the water for half an hour. Sometimes she was drowning me and sometimes I was saving her.”
Both survived—but the memory remains a reminder of how narrow the margin is between life and death in the Chenab.
Some rescues haunt him differently. In Katra, a college girl jumped; her body surfaced only two months later. “At that time,” he says, “I was very sad.”
He remembers another scene—two girls swept away in a torrent so strong it resembled the sea.
“No one dared to go down,” he recalls. “I went into the water.”
Injuries That Tell a Story
Hamza lifts his cap to show a scar running diagonally across his head. It is long, thick, and uneven—evidence of how much he has risked.
“My head was cut from here,” he says softly. “There were 60 stitches inside. The blood was flowing and I came out. I didn’t know that my face was bleeding.”
It happened during a car rescue, when he was pushed beneath a rock and had to “adjust without any equipment.”
There are other injuries—bruises, cuts, nights spent shivering after hours of diving, the long-term damage cold water inflicts on the body—but Hamza doesn’t dwell on them. The river has taken more from others, he says, than it has from him.
Hamza’s work is made all the more remarkable by the fact that he does it with almost nothing.
“We have a boat, but we don’t have it,” he says with a faint, ironic smile. Their earlier boat, gifted years ago, “died in the water the next day.” Now he must request one from Doda each time there is an emergency.
He has no oxygen tank, no wetsuit, no underwater torch, no sonar, no rope strong enough to withstand Chenab currents.
“It takes four days to call an NDRF officer,” he says. “The dead body is in the water and rots. Even NDRF officers are not able to get into the water.”
He tells of one such officer whose rope snapped. “He had just got married… I saved him from the side without any equipment.”
The irony is bitter: the man who rescues even trained personnel is himself unprotected.
No official has offered him financial aid, let alone a salary. “I only got praise and nothing else,” he says.
Each time the phone rings, Hamza says, he thinks of the family waiting on the bank.
“We think and we get a phone call. We have to go… we get emotional.”
He recalls the day two of his classmates drowned. He watched their parents crying helplessly.
“I couldn’t bear it,” he says. No one else dared to enter the water that day. He went alone.
He has not always succeeded. “There were 11 people… I found only one,” he says. “Till date, I haven’t found any of the others.”
But it does not stop him.
“Whoever we went to save, we brought him alive,” he insists. It is his source of pride—and perhaps also his armour against grief.
The Man the River Has Not Defeated
As Hamza talks, the Chenab roars behind him—its sound too steady, too relentless. It is a reminder of how small one man is compared to a river that has eaten cities, choppers, buses, families.
And yet, when someone goes missing, people do not call the authorities first. They call Hamza.
Not because he is invincible. Not because he is paid. But because for fifteen years, whether at midnight or dawn, whether in winter cold enough to freeze blood or monsoon floods that turn the valley into a bowl of water, he has shown up.
“This is our training,” he says again. “Wherever Chenab goes, wherever there is someone, we go.”
It is perhaps the simplest explanation for what he does—but not nearly enough to describe the magnitude of it.
In a valley full of quiet resilience, Hamza remains its quietest hero: anonymous, unrecognised, and yet carrying within him the memories of hundreds of tragedies, hundreds of families, and hundreds of lives he pulled—sometimes limp, sometimes breathing—from a river that never gives anything back.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim> Positive Story / by Babra Wani / November 18th, 2025
A team from SKUAST-Kashmir with country’s first gene-edited sheep.
In a landmark achievement in the field of animal biotechnology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir, has successfully produced India’s first gene-edited sheep. University officials are calling it a “historic milestone” in genetic research and livestock development.
“This is a major breakthrough at the national level. It is the first of its kind in India, and everyone at the university is thrilled,” said Dr Riyaz Ahmad Shah, Professor of Animal Biotechnology, who led the expert team behind the project.
Dr Shah revealed that a female gene-edited lamb was born four months ago. The team specifically targeted the myostatin gene, which regulates muscle growth, making changes at the embryonic level. “The gene editing was carried out using CRISPR-Cas9 technology,” Shah explained. This revolutionary tool has broad applications in medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology. Importantly, he noted, “The edited sheep contains no foreign DNA,” distinguishing it from transgenic organisms and easing its path under India’s evolving biotech regulatory framework.
“All international biosafety protocols were strictly followed throughout the process,” he added.
The university views this achievement as a major step in placing India on the global map of advanced genome editing technologies. It also positions SKUAST-Kashmir at the forefront of reproductive biotechnology research.
Experts say the lamb’s muscle growth is expected to be enhanced due to the gene editing, although a few years of observation will be required to fully understand the differences between the edited lamb and a normal one.
Notably, Dr Shah and his team were also behind the creation of “Noori,” India’s first cloned Pashmina goat, in 2012. Noori lived for 11 years before passing away in 2023.
Vice Chancellor of SKUAST-Kashmir, Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai, recently briefed Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha about the development. “This is not just the birth of a lamb, but the birth of a new era in livestock genetics in India,” Prof Ganai remarked.
University officials said the Lieutenant Governor praised the team’s efforts and their contribution to advancing scientific research in the region.
Looking ahead, the university plans to produce more gene-edited sheep. “We’re exploring possibilities in other areas like twin births and disease resistance,” said Shah. “For now, we are closely monitoring the lamb for safety and other parameters. Everything is normal so far.”
The team is also in the process of selecting a name for the pioneering lamb. “We’ll announce it soon,” Shah said.
source: http://www.tribuneindia.com / The Tribune / Home> Jammu & Kashmir / by Adil Akhzer / May 27th, 2025
Nikhat clinched the women’s 51 kg gold medal at the 2025 World Boxing Cup Finals in Greater Noida.
Nikhat Zareen clinched the 51 Kg gold medal at the World Boxing Cup Finals 2025. (Photo Credits: The Bridge)
Greater Noida:
Star Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen has once again captured headlines after winning the gold medal at the 2025 World Boxing Cup Finals on Thursday.
The two-time World Champion delivered a commanding 5–0 victory over Guo Yi-xuan of Chinese Taipei in the women’s 51 kg final, returning to the top of the podium after 32 months.
Her last gold also came on home soil in 2023, when she clinched her second world title at the New Delhi World Championships.
“I always believe in manifestation, so I manifested that this time also, in India, I would repeat that. It’s always a pleasure to play in front of a home crowd, and today I did it,” Nikhat Zareen told the media after her win.
Bouncing back from two consecutive setbacks
Nikhat endured a difficult run in her last two major tournaments, the Paris Olympics and the World Boxing Championships, returning empty-handed from both.
At the Paris Games, competing as the reigning World Champion, she exited in the Round of 16 against eventual champion Wu Yu of China.
Later, at the 2025 World Championships in Liverpool, her first international event of the year, she fell in the quarterfinals to Turkiye’s Buse Naz Cakıroğlu.
Now, she has turned back the clock, returning to winning ways in front of her home crowd and putting behind her the disappointment of missing out on key medals.
“This medal is a big boost for my confidence. After a long time, I reached the final and won the gold. I’m very happy that I can once again compete as a gold medal contender,” Nikhat said, relieved to end her medal drought.
Nikhat also mentioned that she had very little time after the World Championships to prepare for this event. Within days, she shifted to Patiala to join the training camp.
“I spent a few days with my family, but then moved to Patiala for training since the Finals were in India and I didn’t want to disappoint fans. In Patiala, I sparred with boxers across weight categories, from 48 kg to 54 kg and even 57 kg, which helped me a lot,” she added.
Nikhat’s Road to the title
The World Cup Finals, expected to be a top-tier competition with the world’s best eight players in each weight category, did not fully live up to expectations as several major nations skipped the event.
In the women’s 51 kg category, only five boxers participated, which meant Nikhat received a bye in the quarterfinals and secured a medal without stepping into the ring.
Her campaign began in the semifinals against Uzbekistan’s Gulsevar Ganieva, where she won by unanimous decision to enter the final.
However, it wasn’t her most convincing bout, marked by frequent clinches and several clumsy falls near the ropes.
“The first bout was not as good as everyone expected, but I’m happy that I at least won and reached the final after so long,” Nikhat said after the semifinal.
In the final against Guo Yi-xuan, Nikhat looked much more composed, displaying sharper footwork and cleaner punches to seal the title at home.
“Today, I played against a boxer who moves a lot and is a counter-puncher. So I also opted for counter boxing instead of going all-out, which could have disadvantaged me,” Nikhat explained.
Future Plans
Nikhat shared that she often has to travel for training because there is no proper boxing academy near her home, something she now hopes to build herself for upcoming talent from Telangana.
“I mostly have to travel to Pune or IIS for training and don’t have a fixed location. So if the Telangana government allocates land, I will build my own academy where I can train and support rising boxers from the region,” she said.
This win may not carry immense competitive weight due to the limited field, but it has undoubtedly reignited her confidence after a challenging year.
With a packed 2026 season ahead, including major events like the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, Nikhat will aim to use this momentum to elevate her performance further.
Her parting words, “This is just the start, and a lot more has to be done,” reflect the grit and hunger she will need as she prepares to face stronger opponents on the global stage.
source: http://www.thebridge.in / The Bridge / Home> Boxing / by Deepanshu Jain / November 21st, 2025
The imposing walls of both the Taj Mahal and Aligarh Muslim University’s Jama Masjid have Quranic verses crafted onto white marbles in black paint.
Jama Masjid on Aligarh Muslim University campus. Photo: Author provided.
Constructed nearly 250 years apart, the Taj Mahal in Agra and Jama Masjid at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) have an interesting connection.
The construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632 and was completed in 1653, while the construction of Jama Masjid at AMU began in 1879 and was completed in 1915.
While the Taj Mahal, which is the tomb of Mughal emperor Shahjahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal, attracts millions of visitors every year, AMU’s Jama Masjid is the main mosque of the university. AMU’s Jama Masjid is, perhaps, the last enduring symbol of the Mughals, constructed when the Mughals lost their kingdom during British rule.
A surprising connection
As one enters the Taj Mahal, beautiful calligraphy adorns all four corners. Several verses from the Holy Quran crafted in black calligraphy on white marble can be seen. This is a unique form of calligraphy, and expert artisans from Persia were involved in creating it. Similar calligraphy can be seem inscribed at the tomb of Mughal King Akbar at Sikandra, Agra, and also at the AMU Jama Masjid.
A closer look at the white marble with Quranic verses in black colour adorning the walls of Jama Masjid in Aligarh Muslim University. Photo: Special arrangement.
In fact, it is believed that the artisan responsible for the calligraphy at the Taj Mahal also brought his expertise to AMU’s Jama Masjid.
Since there is a difference of nearly 250 years between the construction of both architectural wonders, it is interesting to study how this was possible.
During Shah Jahan’s regime, several buildings were constructed, including the Taj Mahal and Delhi’s historic Jama Masjid. The calligraphist used was the same.
Professor Nadeem Ali Rezavi of the Centre of Advanced Studies, Department of History, Aligarh Muslim University, says that the master calligraphist in most of the buildings constructed during Shah Jahan’s regime is the same person.
“His name was Abdul Haq, and later due to his craftsmanship, his rank was elevated. He was given the title of Amanat Khan. In fact, he even signed the bands on this calligraphy with dates,” says Rezavi.
Still, there is a gap of over two centuries between these two buildings, Taj Mahal and AMU’s Jama Masjid.
The connection between the two monuments becomes clear with the involvement of Akbarabadi, one of Shah Jahan’s queens. Her original name was Aiza-un-Nisa. She, in 1650, commissioned the construction of a mosque situated in Daryaganj, Delhi, during the same period. In that mosque, Quranic calligraphy was done by the same artisan in black paint on white marble. This was around the same time as when the Taj Mahal was built.
After nearly two centuries, the Daryaganj mosque was demolished by the Britishers following the 1857 revolt. This was when Britishers gained control over the Red Fort, and the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was sent in exile to Rangoon. They destroyed many buildings which were supposed to have harboured the rebels. At the site of the destroyed Akbarabadi Mosque, a park was developed and came to be known as Edward Park in 1911, which is now called Subhash Park.
During the same period, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, the founder of the Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College (which later became AMU) felt the oppression against Muslims after the revolt. He nurtured the idea of setting up an educational institution to try and uplift the community.
A visionary man, Sir Syed had the taste for collecting things, particularly artefacts which had archaeological and historical importance. He was aware of the demolition of the Akbarabadi Mosque in Delhi.
As per the AMU Gazette, the scraps generated at the demolished Akbarabadi mosque were sold to a dealer and later purchased by Sahabzada Suleman Jah Bahadur. These remains were thus sold after over 200 years. These were presented to Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, who planned to use them in the Jama Masjid of the educational institution.
A closer look at the white marble with Quranic verses in black colour adorning the walls of Jama Masjid in Aligarh Muslim University. Photo: Special arrangement.
The white marbles with black calligraphy now present in the Jama Masjid of AMU depict Surah Fajr from the Holy Quran. Thus centuries apart, the two buildings carry the work of the same artisan.
“Even if you compare, it is the same thing and the only difference is in the scale. The artisans are the same who have shown their skills in the construction of the Taj Mahal,” says Prof. Rezavi.
Thus AMU’s Jama Masjid is, perhaps, the last enduring symbol of the Mughals, constructed when the Mughals lost their kingdom during the British rule. On the other hand, the domes of AMU’s Jama Masjid employed techniques of the Mughal era: they are “true domes” as they were built using lime mortar and vousseurs (wedge cornered stones/bricks).
“It is a brick structure, guava-shaped, carrying white marble with black stripes. This is the last true dome. After this, the particular technology faded out, and the buildings constructed after them have concrete domes,” said Rezavi.
Later, in 2016, AMU authorities began the conservation of the Jama Masjid. Now revived at the cost of Rs 90 lakh, the Jama Masjid has a Hauz in the courtyard, three domes, seven arches and two lofty minarets cornered by a Cricket Pavilion at its rear end. Sir Syed, the founder of the institution, was also buried in the same compound.
Faisal Fareed is a senior Lucknow-based journalist.
This article went live on June fifth, two thousand twenty one, at zero minutes past seven in the morning.
source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> History / by Faisal Fareed / June 05th, 2021
From Mughal ports to Dutch wars to Bombay’s merchant dynasties, Gujarati Muslims once shaped the Indian Ocean world — long before one of their descendants took New York.
File photo of Zohran Mamdani | Reuters 2025
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What You Need to Know
Zohran Mamdani’s election highlights a forgotten Indian Muslim cosmopolitanism. Historically, Gujarati Muslim communities dominated Indian Ocean trade, challenging European powers and fostering diverse business relationships. Later, groups like the Khojas adapted through “corporate Islam” (jamaats), becoming powerful economic forces globally. This rich, diverse history is increasingly overshadowed by modern religious nationalism.
*AI-generated summary. Check context in original text.
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Having delivered speeches in Gujarati, Bengali, Arabic, Hindi, Luganda, and Spanish, Mamdani is a reflection of a long-forgotten Indian Muslim cosmopolitanism. The Gujarati Muslim communities he descends from once challenged the Dutch for hegemony in Indonesia; poured money into schools, hospitals, and printing presses from Japan to Arabia; and helped the British Empire consolidate its grip over Africa. To this day, that Indian Muslim history still echoes — in high-end London auction houses as much as in the working-class boroughs of New York.
The election of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York last week has struck a surprising chord in the world’s media — especially considering he is technically the head of just one American city’s administration. But the buzz around this young Indian-origin Muslim, an avowed democratic socialist, is a ripple in a much older ocean.
Gujaratis in the Indian Ocean
This column began with a rather innocuous tweet pointing out that Mamdani’s multilingualism would have made him a fortune in the early modern Southeast Asian spice trade. As of writing, it has racked up over one million views and 54,000 likes — and it’s a pretty accurate reflection of what propelled Gujarati Muslims to international trade superstardom in the first place.
In her paper ‘Gujarat’s Trade with South East Asia (16th and 17th centuries)’, historian Ruby Maloni describes the great port of Khambhat in Gujarat as having “stretched out two arms — one towards Aden, the other towards Malacca.” While Banias were especially prominent in East Africa and the Persian Gulf at the time, Gujarati Muslim merchants dominated the Malacca trade, conveying relatively cheap block-print textiles from manufactories in Ahmedabad deep into Southeast Asia to trade for spices.
The most prominent among these merchants effectively formed ‘dynasties’ closely linked to the Mughal court, among others. But there was also a strong aspect of caste-based collective organisation, paralleling that of Hindu and Jain Gujaratis.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Surat, perhaps the most impressive port on India’s west coast. Its multilingual babble included Gujarati, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Dutch, English, and Portuguese. Certainly, there were clear distinctions between caste and religious groups, and within their communities Gujarati merchants — Hindu and Muslim alike — could be quite rigid. At the same time, in interpersonal and business relationships, their shared Gujarati heritage encouraged cosmopolitan attitudes.
Historian Jawaid Akhtar offers several examples in his paper ‘The Culture of Mercantile Communities in Mughal Times.’ In Surat, Armenian merchants were in business with Parsis and Muslims; Vaishnavite Bhatias, despite a taboo against crossing the ocean, jointly owned cargo and ships with Muslims. Akhtar cites documentary evidence of Bania men adopting Muslim practices such as offering dowers to their wives. Muslim and Hindu merchants also collectively represented their grievances to Mughal authorities.
On one occasion in 1669, when the Qazi of Surat compelled a Vaishnavite Bania to convert to Islam, nearly 8,000 merchants — apparently of all religions — emigrated to Bharuch in protest against this infringement of their privileges.
Gujarati Muslims quickly identified Europeans as a threat to their trade dominance in Southeast Asia. Maloni notes that Dutch East India Company records mention their difficulties with these merchants, who took them on through price wars and by installing their own candidates as port authorities. It seemed that there was nothing the Dutch could do to prevent Gujarati Muslims from trading. The Sultanate of Johor welcomed ships belonging to the merchant Haji Zahid Beg, who bought tin in flagrant defiance of Dutch embargoes. Other merchants, Maloni writes, hired cargo space on English ships; the spectacularly wealthy merchant Abdul Ghafur of Surat even flew Dutch flags on his own ships. It was only when the Dutch forcibly colonised much of Indonesia that Gujarati Muslims finally lost their grip on Malacca. But by then, new opportunities were already emerging on the horizon.
Khoja Lady | From the album presented to the Princess of Wales by the women of Bombay, featuring 13 full-page watercolours of Indian women by artist Manchershaw Fakirjee Pithawalla (1872-1937) | Wikimedia Commons
The rise of ‘Corporate Islam’
As the Mughal juggernaut began to shake and unravel in the 18th century, the old order of great merchant princes and dynasties started to fall apart. Surat, repeatedly raided by the Maratha king Shivaji, faced growing competition from the East India Company’s new port at Bombay.
Three Gujarati Muslim communities — the Bohras, Memons, and Khojas — who had hitherto been relatively small-time traders, found themselves ideally placed to benefit from the changing political landscape. Zohran Mamdani descends from the last of these.
In his seminal book No Birds of Passage: A History of Gujarati Muslim Business Communities, 1800–1975, historian Michael O’Sullivan notes that these three groups had spread “as far east as Ujjain, as far west as Karachi, as far south as Poona, and as far north as Udaipur… They thus inhabited a territory that was, by the reckoning of an Indian lexicographer in the 1840s, larger than Great Britain and Ireland, with their shared mother tongues [Gujarati] serving as the principal language of business in Central and Western India.”
The Bohras, Memons and Khojas had all converted to Islam around the 15th century, but their social and cultural practices varied drastically. Subgroups were affiliated with various Sunni and Shia sects; some were Ismaili and revered the Aga Khans, while others traced descent by region and worshipped Sufi saints.
What these groups shared, though, was the jamaat —an institution that O’Sullivan describes as a form of “corporate Islam”. Essentially, members of each jamaat shared some resources in common — schools, hospitals, that sort of thing. Particularly wealthy members, who often held senior religious positions, also maintained private family trusts and companies.
What the jamaat ensured, O’Sullivan writes, was a mechanism for organisation, exclusivity, and interpretation, allowing these communities to adapt the changing contours of Islamic practice to an era of globalisation. Jamaats could mobilise capital, human resources, and theological flexibility at a rate few other Indian institutions could match.
Collectively, these Gujarati Muslim jamaats emerged as some of the most powerful Indian economic forces of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Though now outshone in the popular imagination by Parsi and Bania entrepreneurs, Gujarati Muslims similarly negotiated with the Marathas and the British, benefited from the Opium Wars, and switched soon after to manufacturing all sorts of commercial goods, especially in Bombay.
In the 1840s, Gujarati Muslims commissioned pioneering printed texts — in Gujarati — including travelogues and cultural primers for new markets like China. Their growing wealth also funded spectacular mansions, such as those in Sidhpur, now eerily abandoned. It was Gujaratis, perhaps more than any other Indian group, who built the financial infrastructure of the British Raj in East Africa — a migration line from which Zohran Mamdani himself descends.
All of this amounted to a decisive shift in the centre of gravity of Indian Ocean Islam. It was for this reason that the Aga Khan, revered by Ismaili Khojas, moved his seat from Iran to Bombay before Partition.
Sidhpur city in Gujarat | Wikimedia Commons
A cosmopolitanism forgotten
The versions of Islam promoted by Gujarati Muslims absorbed the modernist vocabulary of capital accumulation and inheritance, frequently splintering into new jamaats as they expanded into ever-new markets and cultures.
At the same time, as researcher Danish Khan notes, Gujarati Muslims attained positions of leadership and influence in Bombay well before they had even set foot in the United States of America. “The first Muslim baronet in colonial India,” he writes, “was a Khoja and the first Muslim ICS officer was a Sulaimani Bohra. Badruddin Tyabji and Rahimtoola Sayani were the first two Muslim Presidents of Congress party. Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy presided over the first session of the Muslim League in Karachi.”
But with the rise of pan-Islamic and Hindu nationalism in the early 20th century, the scales swung once again, and mercantile, oceanic histories were overridden by grievances inspired by long-dead inland kings.
Where does the history of Gujarati Muslims fit now? Mamdani’s election is ironic on many levels. In Bombay, once the historic home of the community, a BJP politician declared, in response to Mamdani’s victory in New York, that “We won’t allow any Khan to become mayor.”
The fact is that before and since, the history of Gujarati Muslims has, for all intents and purposes, disappeared into the ever–widening gap between radical Hindutva and radical Islam. Every news cycle, it seems, tears India’s many intertwined histories further apart.
Anirudh Kanisetti is a public historian. He is the author of ‘Lords of Earth and Sea: A History of the Chola Empire’ and the award-winning ‘Lords of the Deccan’. He hosts the Echoes of India and Yuddha podcasts. He tweets @AKanisetti and is on Instagram @anirbuddha.
This article is a part of the ‘Thinking Medieval’ series that takes a deep dive into India’s medieval culture, politics, and history.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)
source: http://www.theprint.in / The Print / Home> Opinion> The Fine Print / by Anirudh Kanisetti / November 13th, 2025
“I am a Democratic Socialist, I am a Muslim… I am not apologizing for either.” With these words, Zohran Mamdani declared victory in the New York City mayoral race, a symbolic global capital of commerce and culture. His triumph rekindled hope among conscientious citizens in New York and resonated worldwide, especially amid the rise of populist, authoritarian-leaning leaders who thrive on division and privilege wealthy allies.
Only a year prior, Mamdani was widely seen as an underdog. Yet he defeated Andrew Cuomo, the former governor who ran as an independent and received informal support from prominent national figures, including the sitting president. Mamdani garnered just over 50 percent of the vote, becoming the youngest mayor in a century and the first Muslim and South Asian to hold the office. His campaign also achieved one of the highest voter turnouts in New York City since 1969, signalling renewed civic engagement for a progressive, inclusive agenda.
Political Polarization and Economic Context
While such a victory might appear routine in an established liberal democracy, it must be understood against the backdrop of deep U.S. political polarization since the Trump era. Divisive rhetoric and exclusionary policies fractured communities and workplaces, stifling dreams and limiting opportunity.
During the Trump administration, harsh immigration enforcement via ICE and other agencies fuelled fear in immigrant communities. Arbitrary detentions, wrongful arrests, and forced family separations became emblematic of policies that disregarded due process and human dignity. At the same time, tariffs and trade disputes increased living costs, particularly in metropolitan areas like New York. Rising rents and price hikes strained households across demographics, as economic hardship transcends ethnicity, citizenship, or geography. Some commentators noted that the political climate during Mamdani’s election was marked by tension between the federal administration and certain Democratic-led cities. Debates around federal funding, social welfare programs, and executive rhetoric heightened the stakes of the mayoral race, creating a context in which Mamdani’s message of local accountability and inclusion resonated strongly with voters.
The Socioeconomic Landscape of New York
New York City, with a population of approximately 8.48 million as of 2024, is among the world’s most diverse urban centres. Over 30 percent of residents are foreign-born, representing more than 100 nationalities. Yet the city struggles with high income inequality, reflected in a Gini coefficient of 0.555. Housing shortages, rising rents, and long commutes—averaging 41 minutes—have made the city increasingly unaffordable for lower- and middle-income households, prompting out-migration to suburbs.
Employment levels have recovered post-pandemic, with private-sector jobs growing 2.8 percent in 2024–25, yet the income gap continues to widen. Households in the highest quintile earn more than twenty times those in the lowest quintile. Policies favouring high-income earners during prior administrations exacerbated this structural inequality.
A Campaign Grounded in Inclusion
Mamdani’s success can be attributed to his focus on everyday concerns of New Yorkers: affordability, public transportation, universal childcare, housing, and progressive taxation. He positioned himself against divisive political rhetoric, resonating across New York’s diverse communities and appealing to those marginalized economically or socially helping unite both conservatives and liberals as economic hardship doesn’t see political allegiance.
A defining moment in his campaign was his emphasis on local priorities. During a mayoral debate, while other candidates pledged their first visit abroad to Israel, Mamdani highlighted his responsibility to New Yorkers first, reinforcing his commitment to municipal governance over symbolic foreign policy gestures.
He also navigated sensitive international issues with nuance, affirming support for the safety and rights of Jewish residents while criticizing the humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories. His stance on human-rights accountability, including adherence to ICC mechanisms, underscored a principled approach that strengthened his political credibility.
Major New York City billionaires marshalled tens of millions of dollars to thwart Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, deploying deep-pocketed political machinery in support of his opponents. For instance, former Mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg is reported to have donated approximately US$8.3 million to the pro-Andrew Cuomo super-PAC Fix the City. Hedge-fund billionaire Bill Ackman contributed at least US$1 million to the anti-Mamdani PAC Defend NYC, and additional sums to Fix the City.
Concurrently, opposition efforts against Mamdani involved advertisements and mailers that his campaign denounced as blatant Islamophobia. For example, a mailer circulated by the pro-Cuomo super-PAC Fix the City was reported to have altered his appearance, darkening his beard and lightening his skin, a move Mamdani characterized as racially and religiously discriminatory. In addition, opponents sought to question his political allegiances, falsely portraying him as a supporter of Hamas and suggesting that he did not recognize Israel’s right to exist—claims that his campaign firmly rejected as misleading and defamatory.
Engaging Communities on the Ground
Mamdani’s outreach strategy was multifaceted and culturally inclusive. Campaign messaging spanned multiple languages, reaching New Yorkers across diverse linguistic and ethnic backgrounds. Beyond digital platforms, he visited places of worship, including Hindu temples, Jewish synagogues, and Christian churches, reinforcing interfaith solidarity.
He also engaged with ethnic food outlets and small businesses, highlighting immigrant contributions to the city’s cultural and economic life. This ground-level engagement translated into broad support across communities—Muslims, Christians, Jews, and secular groups alike—demonstrating a shared alignment with his vision for an inclusive, socially just New York.
Diasporic Resonance and Global Context
Mamdani’s heritage evokes transnational connections to India and Uganda, reflecting the experiences of diaspora communities navigating multiple cultural and political identities. His election elicited reactions from segments of Indian nationalist (Hindutva) movements, including online circulation of Islamophobic commentary. In contrast to widely celebrated Indian-origin figures such as Rishi Sunak, Kamala Harris, Tulsi Gabbard, and Usha Vance—often cited as symbols of India’s soft power abroad—Mamdani’s identity as a Muslim and his candid critique of the 2002 Gujarat riots have positioned him outside these narratives. He has reflected thoughtfully on the experiences of Muslims in New York, observing that “to be Muslim in New York is to expect indignity,” while emphasizing that such challenges do not define the broader community. His principled approach extends to global issues as well; his measured stance on the Israel–Palestine conflict underscores a commitment to human rights and ethical governance, reinforcing his reputation as a leader guided by conscience and social justice rather than partisan or sectarian considerations.
Zohran Mamdani’s unapologetic assertion of his identity, faith, and commitment to the public good offers a potential model for Indian Muslims and other marginalized communities confronting the rise of militant Hindutva and an increasingly adversarial state. His example demonstrates that principled, assertive engagement—grounded in inclusivity and social justice—can effectively challenge exclusionary and sectarian politics. Secular political parties in India, which in recent years have often sidelined Muslim voices in public life, might draw lessons from Mamdani’s approach: defeating divisive politics requires active, unapologetic advocacy for inclusion and pluralism, rather than silence or timidity. In essence, countering the forces of social and political exclusion demands a combination of ethical clarity, strategic assertiveness, and public visibility.
A Template for Inclusive Politics
Domestically, Mamdani’s rise occurs amid American ideological polarization and Democratic Party struggles to counter authoritarian rhetoric. His unapologetic advocacy for inclusive, pluralistic, and redistributive policies offers a potential model for progressive politics, reinforcing democratic values while countering divisive populism.
Mamdani’s victory, therefore, represents more than a personal or partisan success: it is a reassertion of democratic ideals, a rejection of exclusionary politics, and a renewed belief in a morally grounded, economically just, and inclusive vision that resonates far beyond New York City.
Diasporic Resonance and Global Context
Mamdani’s heritage evokes transnational connections to India and Uganda, reflecting the experiences of diaspora communities navigating multiple cultural and political identities. His election elicited reactions from segments of Indian nationalist (Hindutva) movements, some of whom circulated Islamophobic commentary online.
In contrast to celebrated Indian-origin figures such as Rishi Sunak, Kamala Harris, Tulsi Gabbard, and Usha Vance—often cited as symbols of India’s soft power—Mamdani’s identity as a Muslim and his critique of the 2002 Gujarat riots positioned him outside such narratives. He has reflected on the experiences of Muslims in New York, noting that “to be Muslim in New York is to expect indignity,” while emphasizing that these challenges do not define the broader community. His principled, humanitarian approach extends to global issues, with a measured stance on the Israel–Palestine conflict that underscores his commitment to ethical governance and human rights.
A Model for Marginalized Communities
Mamdani’s unapologetic assertion of his identity, faith, and commitment to the public good offers a potential model for Indian Muslims and other marginalized communities confronting militant Hindutva and adversarial state policies. His example demonstrates that principled, assertive engagement—grounded in inclusivity and social justice—can effectively challenge exclusionary politics. Secular political parties in India, which in recent years have often sidelined Muslim voices, might draw lessons from Mamdani’s approach: defeating divisive politics requires active advocacy for inclusion and pluralism rather than silence or timidity.
A Template for Inclusive Politics
Domestically, Mamdani’s rise occurs amid increasing ideological polarization in the U.S. and ongoing struggles within the Democratic Party to counter authoritarian and exclusionary rhetoric. His unapologetic advocacy for inclusive, pluralistic, and redistributive policies offers a potential model for progressive politics, reinforcing democratic values while challenging divisive populism.
Ultimately, Mamdani’s victory represents more than a personal or partisan success: it is a reaffirmation of democratic ideals, a rejection of exclusionary politics, and a renewed belief in a morally grounded, economically just, and inclusive vision—one that resonates far beyond New York City.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Opinion / by Mushtaque Rahman / November 11th, 2025
For the first time in the history of Aligarh Muslim University Student politics, three women have won the student union elections. Ghazala Ahmad, Sadaf Rasool and Labiba Sherwani all contested the polls for the first time and all three won posts of cabinet members in the AMUSU.
The results of AMUSU elections sent a positive message about gender equality in an university that had gotten bad press for restricting library access for undergraduate women students.
Ms. Ahmad is final year student of Bachelors of Social Work, Ms. Rasool is in the final year of B.U.M.S. and Ms. Sherwani is in her first year of Bachelors of Social Work.
In 2015, one female student had won the union elections. But this is the first time in the history of AMU that three women have won the polls in their maiden attempt.
Kehkashan Khanam, a student of Ph. D. in Theology had won the post of cabinet in the last AMU student union elections. Ms. Khanam had contested this time for the post of vice-president in the AMUSU.
While talking to The Hindu on phone from Aligarh, Ghazala Ahmad said she held the victory of three girls in their first attempt to be a “sign that students of AMU want to see more girls presence and participation in overall student politics”.
When asked how she convinced a male-dominated electorate to vote for her, Ms. Ahmad said, “I told everybody on the campus that time has come to change outsiders’ perception of AMU. I told them, lets show the outside world that AMU campus is friendly and open to girls.”
The twenty-one-year old Ms. Ahmad said her inspiration was her working mother Nahid Fatima, Principal of a Government Primary School in Aligarh.
The job of a cabinet member is to ensure that the problems faced by the students at the departmental and faculty level, should be conveyed and taken up with the president, vice-president and secretary of the AMUSU. “It is a male-dominated campus but the results show that students on the campus want to more participation from girls. After all girls are also there on campus. Who will represent them. It was a tough competition so I had to work really very hard,” said Ms. Ahmad.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Other States / by The Hindu / November 01st, 2016
Mecca, (Ottoman-SAUDI ARABIA / Kolkata, WEST BENGAL / DELHI :
Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin (November 11, 1888-February 22, 1958), better known as Maulana Azad, was a writer-activist-statesman.
Historian S Irfan Habib speaks on Maulana Azad on his birth anniversary at an event organised by the Maulana Azad College alumni association in Calcutta on Tuesday / The Telegraph
Historian S. Irfan Habib, while delivering his Maulana Abul Kalam Azad memorial lecture titled “Revisiting Maulana Azad in Contemporary India” on Tuesday, rued how in today’s India, anytime he posts anything on social media on the freedom fighter, 80 per cent of the comments comprise hateful abuse.
“Full of abuse… 80 per cent of the comments. And from people who have no idea of who he was, what he stood for, and what he did for India,” said Habib, whose lecture on the Maulana on the icon’s 137th birth anniversary was organised by the Maulana Azad College alumni association to mark the college’s centennial.
Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin (November 11, 1888-February 22, 1958), better known as Maulana Azad, was a writer-activist-statesman.
One of Mahatma Gandhi’s most trusted lieutenants and the youngest president of the Indian National Congress, he made crucial contributions to the freedom movement. He was also Independent India’s first education minister.
“I will speak about those issues relevant for today’s India. What he did for education, how he defined nationalism — today all those who have no idea of what nationalism is are nationalists — and how he defined Islam…. Islam too is in danger when we see what we believers have done to our own faith,” said Habib, former Maulana Azad Chair at the National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi.
Maulana Azad’s family moved from Mecca to Calcutta when he was two. He spent several decades of his life in this city, his residence on 5 Ashraf Mistry Lane of Ballygunge now a museum.
November 11 is celebrated as National Education Day to recognise his contribution in establishing the education foundations of India — from the Indian Institutes of Technology, the University Grants Commission, the All India Council for Technical Education, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Indian Institute of Science, and the Sahitya Akademi, the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Lalit Kala Akademi, besides the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
“Patriotism, nationalism and humanism, the difference between them Maulana tried to look at. In this (the belief in the culmination in humanism) he was very close to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, and he actually writes about it, that he believes in the idea of nationalism which was pitched by the idea of Tagore’s humanism and universalism,” said Habib.
“True relationship is only one, where the entire earth is one’s native land. This is necessary is today’s India, where we indulge in othering among own citizens, in the name of religion, caste, language, all sorts of issues, all sorts of divisive tools we use to divide Indians, while Maulana says mankind is one family and all humans are brothers, this is the idea of humanity of nationalism which Maulana left behind,” he added.
Habib underscored how the Maulana began as a pan-Islamist, speaking against the subjugation of Muslim nations by imperialist powers — a sentiment expressed strongly in his papers Al-Hilal and Al-Balagh, and it was because of his role as a fiercely upright journalist that the British Raj viewed him as one of the most dangerous persons in India.
Habib stated that after the Maulana was released from exile in Ranchi in 1920, he was torn between reading and writing in seclusion, or public life and the freedom struggle. It was soon after coming out of exile that the Maulana met Gandhi on January 18, 1920, for the first time.
“The meeting seemed to have had a profound impact on both… and they remained inseparable for the rest of his (Gandhi’s) life,” he said.
According to Habib, the Maulana fought on multiple fronts, not only against the British, but also Hindu and Muslim communalists.
“Maulana stressed on indivisible or composite nationalism, where he went back to early Islamic history, when the Prophet (Muhammad) created the first Muslim nation in Medina by aligning with the Yehudis (Jews). He saw no reason why Muslims could not join hands with Hindus and others in nation-forming…. He was appalled with communalists busy with sectarian campaigns when the need was to fight the British as a composite nationalist group,” Habib said.
“Maulana stood for a united India and remained steadfast in this resolve till the end. We are amid polarising politics where religion has become a distinct marker of identity…. The majoritarian nationalism being flaunted today runs contrary to the idea of composite nationalism espoused by Maulana all his life,” he added. “Maulana found the demand for Pakistan absurd as he was conscious of the fact that religion cannot be a binding factor for a nation.”
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> West Bengal / by Meghdeep Bhattacharyya / November 12h, 2025
