Category Archives: Amazing Feats

Mason’s son scores 600/600 in Karnataka PUC

Amazing Feats, Education, FREE : Accomodation, FREE : Food, Karnataka (under research project), SCHOLARSHIPS, , , , , , , , , ,

Mannur Village (Gulbarga District), KARNATAKA :

Mateen Jamadar with his parents, mother Razia Begum and father Nabisaab. Photograph: Kind courtesy Mohammad Mohsin

A teenager who doesn’t need to be told to study, who makes no demands on his parents even while preparing for his board exams — and then goes on to score a perfect 100%.
Jyoti Punwani salutes Mateen Jamadar’s scholastic achievement against all odds.

He’s 18, but looks 15.

A teenager who doesn’t need to be told to study, who makes no demands on his parents even while preparing for his board exams – and then goes on to score a perfect 100%.

Meet Mateen Jamadar, the pride of Mannur village in Gulbarga district, for having scored 600/600 in Karnataka’s PUC (pre university course) exam, the results of which were announced on Friday, July 23, 2021.

His father Nabisaab works as a mason on construction sites in the village, earning about Rs 500 a day; his mother Razia Begum cleans her neighbour’s field all day to come home with barely Rs 150.

Both parents have studied upto Class 10 and wanted their three sons to study further, but their eldest had to give up after Class 10 thanks to an eye affliction. He is now handicapped and at home, unable to work.

Their second son has done well, he’s a constable in Bengaluru; but it is their youngest who has brought them fame they had never imagined.

Razia Begum says she knew Mateen would do well. “Since he was a child he would come home and sit with his books,” she recalls. “No playing, no roaming around.”

That made Mateen his village school topper; he scored 619 out of 625 in his Class 10 Boards.

Mateen says he expected to do well in the PUC. This year, the evaluation for the final PUC exam had to be done based on previous performance since the exam was not held due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“I had scored 98.7% in my 10th and around the same in my First Year PUC,” he says over the phone. “I thought I would get 99%.”

Always fond of studies, Mateen decided to seek out a good college after completing his 10th from the government school in his village. The PUC college in his village wasn’t up to the mark.

His quest took the village boy more than 600 km away from his home to the MMU PU College in Ramanagara. The magnet that drew him there was the hostel run by the Rahman Education Foundation in Ramanagara city.

The Foundation provides free stay for five years to meritorious boys to prepare them for the UPSC exams. The stay includes not just food, but also access to teachers, computers, sports facilities, and lectures by visiting IAS and Karnataka Administrative Service officers.

It was one such talk by IAS officer Mohammad Mohsin that made Mateen decide his final goal — the IAS. “The IAS gives you respect,” said the youngster.

Mateen, third from right with his hostel mates.

Mohsin, a Karnataka batch IAS officer hailing from Bihar, tells Rediff.com that the Rahman Foundation had invited him to spend half a day to motivate their hostelites. “I told the boys that no one from my family had ever joined the IAS; we are a business family. But I wanted to do something for the country.”

It was Mohsin who brought Mateen Jamadar’s achievement to the world by tweeting (external link) about him. “I wanted to show students that poverty need not mean the end of the road,” said Mohsin.

It may well have become so for Mateen.

Forced by the lockdown last year to return home as his hostel shut down, Mateen had to depend on online teaching. When he left for college, his parents had given him a simple phone, just good enough to stay in touch. Students were anyway not allowed a phone by the hostel authorities. The latter would keep the students’ phones with them, and give them back for just one hour every Sunday to call up home.

That phone was no use for online classes. To buy himself an Android, Mateen had to use his annual scholarship of Rs 6,000 given by the Karnataka government, but even that wouldn’t have been enough had his father not dipped into the funds he had saved slowly over the years.

Of course, that meant working harder to make up, but said Nabisaab, “We have to do that much for our children; and this boy has turned out to be so clever, we have to support him!”

 Mateen Jamadar

Nabisaab and Razia Begum used to work in Mumbai and Pune earlier, on construction sites. But it was the desire to educate their children that took them back to their village, said Nabisaab.

His youngest son has made sure that’s a decision he will never regret. As Mateen said, “More than me, my parents are overjoyed at my result.”

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com

source: http://www.m.rediff.com / rediff.com / Home > Getahead / by Jyoti Punwani / July 27th, 2021

UAE-Based Indian Businessman Yusuff Ali Appointed Vice-Chairman Of Abu Dhabi’s Top Govt Body

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, World Opinion, , , , , , ,

KERALA / UAE :

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has appointed prominent Indian businessman M.A. Yusuff Ali as the vice-chairman of the apex government body for all businesses operating from the UAE’s capital city, making him the only person from India on the 29-member board.

Yusuff Ali is the chairman and managing director of UAE-based Lulu Group International, which runs a chain of businesses with an annual turnover of over 8.1 billion dollars.

Twitter :

مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي@admediaoffice

Mohamed bin Zayed has issued a resolution to form a new Board of Directors for Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, chaired by Abdullah Mohamed Al Mazrouei.

65-year-old Yusuff Ali was ranked the richest expat in the UAE by Forbes magazine 2019 and is the first Indian to receive permanent residency in Saudi Arabia. Ali also has a sizeable stake in Cochin International Airport Ltd. which runs and operates the Kochi airport.

Sheikh Mohammed issued a resolution to form a new Board of Directors for the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI), chaired by Abdullah Mohamed Al Mazrouei and Yusuff Ali as the Vice-chairman.

The ADCCI is the apex government body of all businesses established in Abu Dhabi. It will function as an effective bridge between the government and the business sector. Accordingly, every business establishment in Abu Dhabi has to be licensed by ADCCI.

Yusuff Ali described his appointment as “a very humbling and proud moment” in his life.

“My sincere gratitude to the visionary leadership of this great country and I will strive to do my best towards justifying the great responsibility entrusted upon me. Apart from working for the growth of Abu Dhabi economy & the larger business community, I will sincerely work towards further boosting the Indo-UAE trade relations,” he said.

Ali was recently honoured with the Abu Dhabi Award 2021, the highest civilian honour for his almost 5-decade long contributions in the fields of economic development and philanthropy.

source: http://www.thecognate.com / The Cognate / Home> News / by The Cognate News Desk / July 26th, 2021

Ebrahim Alkazi’s legacy bears testimony to cultural links between Saudi Arabia, India

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Pune / Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA / NEW DELHI :

Ebrahim Alkazi will continue to live in the hearts of Saudis and Indians who are on the quest to deepen the friendship and cultural heritage they share.

Ebrahim Alkazi (1925-2020)

Last week, we lost Ebrahim Alkazi, a legend of Indian theatre with Saudi Arabian roots. I fondly remember my first experience of meeting him in the spring of 2014 at his house in New Delhi. I was touched by his unique character and his passion for the arts. He greeted me with a few words spoken in the distinct Qassimi dialect. Alkazi was also a noted art connoisseur and collector, credited for fundamentally transforming Indian theatre and having etched a name for Indian theatre worldwide. His legacy will forever remain a testament to the rich intellectual and cultural links between Saudi Arabia and India.

Alkazi’s father, Hamad, was a trader from Unaiza in Saudi Arabia’s Qassim region, who subsequently settled in Pune where Ebrahim was born in 1925. Despite his early immersion in theatre, he gradually pursued his love for visual arts. He showcased the avant-garde artist in him throughout India, the US and Europe through his path-breaking work before becoming the director of the National School of Drama in Delhi and the Asian Theatre Institute in 1962. He will always be remembered for his contributions in the field of arts that resonate with our cultural bonds. The strings that bind Saudi Arabia and India are many and have become stronger and more diverse over time. However, the cultural ties that the two countries share are perhaps the deepest. Pre-Islamic Arab poetry has many references to Indian swords and several other Indian goods.

The two countries have a fascinating history of intellectual exchanges. Science, arts, literature, and languages – the mutual influence has indeed been profound. For instance, many Indian texts in the field of medicine, mathematics and astronomy were translated over the centuries into Arabic. The father of Indology is none other than the Arab scholar Al-Biruni. His monumental work Ta’rikh al-Hind is undoubtedly the most comprehensive pre-modern encyclopaedic work on India.

Another notable text, the Panchatantra, was translated by the Arabs who took it to Europe and the rest of the world, as were Hitopadesha and Chanakya’s Arthashastra. India’s famous medical treatises such as Charaka and Susruta were translated into Arabic as well.

The Arab travellers were also prolific writers and wrote extensively on India, its people and diverse cultures. Writers such as Sulaiman, Ibn-ul-Faquih, Al-Masudi and Al-Idrisi documented in great detail their impressions of south India, its people, customs and traditions. The world-famous Arabian Nights also called Alf Laila in Arabic and Adventures of Sindbad the Sailor too describe southern India. According to Ibn Nadeem, a 16th-century Arab writer, Sindbad was written in India.

These deeply-rooted cultural ties have continued to grow. For instance, Yoga has become an increasingly popular sport in Saudi Arabia. Since November 2017, the International Yoga Day is celebrated in an open area in the centre of Riyadh. In 2018, India was a guest of honour at our annual cultural festival of Al Janadriyah. The theme of the Indian pavilion at the festival was “Saudi ka Dost Bharat” (India is a friend of Saudi Arabia). This last decade has been seminal in expanding our friendship into a strategic partnership.

A most significant milestone in our ties with India was the visit of His Royal Highness Crown Prince to India in February 2019, which re-affirmed the deep commitment of the two nations to strengthen their strategic engagement.

Our shared cultural bonds are also deepened by the religious ties between our peoples. The annual pilgrimage to Makkah has facilitated the exchange of cultures and traditions as well. But above all, our ties have been strengthened by pioneers like Ebrahim Alkazi. He will continue to live in the hearts of Saudis and Indians who are on the quest to deepen the friendship and cultural heritage they share.

This article first appeared in the print edition on August 12 under the title “A symbol of friendship”. The writer is the ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to India

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Opinion> Columns / by Saud Bin Mohammed Al Sati, Ambassador Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to India / August 12th, 2020

‘I’m glad I listened to my father,’ says hockey Olympian Zafar Iqbal

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Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH / NEW DELHI / Ghazibad District (U.P) :

Hockey Olympian Zafar Iqbal on how his life has unfolded, from being the son of an academician to his days spent on the golf course today

The general impression of a hockey player in India is that of a talented sportsperson from the hinterland, modestly educated, and fighting poverty and lack of resources in the stuggle to reach the top. Zafar Iqbal breaks the mould in more ways than one.

The former Executive Director (Properties and Facilities) with the erstwhile Indian Airlines is one of the few in the sport to have managed a life outside hockey post-retirement. He credits his parents and upbringing for helping him get the balance right all through, in his articulate, but gentle manner.

“My father never stopped me from playing sports, but he was quite strict when it came to studies as well. He knew there was fame and popularity in sport; money, not so much, and so wanted us to be self-sufficient enough to manage our lives even after our sporting days were over. I am glad I listened to him,” says the 63-year old, who says he has worked enough in his life to be able to sit back and enjoy retirement.

How the world knows him

One half of the famous Shahid-Zafar pair that tormented teams’ defences for years, the talented left winger would set up the legendary Mohammed Shahid for his stylish goals. They needed little or no communication to know exactly what needed to be done.

The subtle stickwork, though, was always backed with a strong understanding of physics, thanks to his degree in civil engineering from Aligarh Muslim University and an even stronger realisation that the sport would always be his passion, but not something that would help him lead a life of comfort in the long run.

A resident of Vaishali in Ghaziabad – he moved to the house once he had retired – Iqbal’s major commitment through the day now is to golf. “I started learning golf a few years before retiring and I am still not satisfied with my game. I wake up around 4.30 in the morning and from 5.15 to almost 11.30-12, I am at the golf course. It’s the best part of my day,” he says, laughing.

As the son of Prof. Shahbuddin, dean of the science department at Aligarh Muslim University, Iqbal did not lack resources or an atmosphere of learning at home. Today, he’s surrounded by books on history that he enjoys, and has read the texts of all the major religions, including the four Vedas.

Having made his national debut in 1977, and getting his degree in 1978 – the same year he joined Indian Airlines – he was finally free to pursue hockey full-time. “That was also at my father’s insistence. I had job offers from the Indian Railways and Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Board, but he advised me to join the airlines, saying that I might not get immediate rewards but would surely be successful in the future. I realised he was right when I was finally appointed ED,” Iqbal recalls.

Players off the field

He talks about how he tried to push his teammates as well to have a life outside the sport. “I used to tell them to continue with their studies and office work after active sports, because not everyone can be a coach or administrator for life. Unfortunately, there were many, much bigger players who could not rise to a senior post. I told them it might be tough initially, but office work is no rocket science. Also, as players we are used to quick decisions on field, so it is easier for us to make the switch. They didn’t listen to me, though,” he rues.

It was in 1977 that he moved to Delhi and decided to make it his home. “For me, coming from a small town like Aligarh, Delhi was this huge, fast place where everything was big and far. In AMU everything was available at your doorstep; here, I had to travel 16 km by bus, every day, from the Indian Airlines Colony in Vasant Vihar for training at the stadium. But when I see it now, I feel it was so laid-back then,” he exclaims.

It wasn’t just the distance that awed the 22-year-old. His training camps with Indian Airlines at the National Stadium were equally overwhelming. “Players like Ashok Kumar, Aslam Sher Khan, B.P. Govinda – whose photographs we kept in our rooms and pockets – were suddenly our teammates. Inam-ur-Rehman, my idol, was the coach. He was a disciplinarian, treating everyone equally, regardless of his achievements on the field. That helped inculcate respect for the game and discipline on the field,” Iqbal admits.

The presence of other sportspeople also helped. The National Stadium, he explains, used to be a multipurpose venue with a track for athletics and no turf in the main arena. It had the likes of the legendary athlete Sriram Singh training there. “The hockey field was on the left and cricket on the right, with Bishan Singh Bedi and many more practising. It was all open and we used to interact,” he says.

Old ways

Empty roads, few vehicles, no paranoia about hygienic food or water, the absence of pollution – the Delhi he remembers is restricted to nostalgia now. Even the most secure areas of the city – in and around Parliament, which he had to cross to reach National Stadium – had easy access, including Race Course Road, which he recalls used to be open to the public back then.

“I sometimes wonder what progress we have actually made. Everyone seems to be running all the time and everyone is addicted to mobiles. We seem to have become breathing mechanical bodies,” he says.

The discipline of a sportsperson, though, continues to guide his life. Iqbal is a member of two golf courses in NCR – Army Golf Club and the Noida Golf Course – but also visits the one at Hindon. On a week-long break to Chennai to visit his son, Yasir, an assistant professor of physics at IIT, he still managed to find people who would help him play his daily round, at the Cosmopolitan Club. He hasn’t the same luck in Mumbai though, when he visits his daughter, Samia, who moved to the city for her work as a copywriter.

For the rest, he is happy to accompany wife Fauzia (who also retired from the commercial department of what was Vayudoot and consequently Air India) around or spend time occasionally with his friends.

As a member of the governing body of the Sports Authority of India, as well as consultant with the University Grants Commission in the sports curriculum committee, he has stayed in touch with sports administration, pushing the agenda of games as an essential part of the development of a person.

As a former India coach (1993-94), selector (over three tenures), and government observer for many years, he has given back to the sport that helped him become an Olympic champion. But in his pursuit of golfing excellence, Zafar Iqbal continues to live a sporting life.

This ends our 10-part series on former sportspeople who are based in Delhi.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Delhi – Now & Then / by Uthra Ganesan / September 04th, 2019

Rumana Sultana from Murshidabad tops West Bengal Higher Secondary exams 2021 by scoring 499 out of 500

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Murshidabad, WEST BENGAL :

Daughter of teacher couple ranked fifth in Madhyamik, dreams of becoming a doctor.

A girl has topped West Bengal Higher Secondary exams alone for the first time. Image Source: ABP Education picture.

Rumana Sultana, a student of the science stream from Kandi Raja Manindra Chandra Girls’ High School from Murshidabad, has scored the highest marks in the West Bengal Higher Secondary (HS) 2021 exams.

Rumana scored 499 out of 500 marks — 99 in Bengali, 100 in English, 100 in bioscience, 100 in chemistry, 99 in physics, and 100 in maths.

“I am very happy for her. This is an all-time record. This is the first time that a girl student has topped the Higher Secondary exams alone and this is also the first time that a student from a minority community has topped the exam. We congratulate her,” said Mahua Das, the president of West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBSCHSE), which conducted the HS exams and declared the result on July 22.

The Murshidabad girl’s dream is to become a doctor. She hopes to crack the medical entrance exam and if not she plans to study biology.

Apart from studying, Rumana loves writing poetry. She had ranked fifth in Madhyamik (Class X) 2019, scoring 687 marks.

Rumana comes from a family of teachers. Her father Rabiul Alam is the headmaster of Gaisabad Achala Vidyamandirin Bharatpur, Murshidabad. Mother Sultana Parveen is also a teacher.

Her feet firmly on the ground, Rumana regrets not being able to write the exams and does not to give too much importance to her top score. “My Madhyamik and Class XI results were good. That helped. I would say I was expecting to do well but did not expect to top,” she signed off.

source: http://www.abpeducation.com / ABP Education / Home> Education News /by ABP Education Correspondent / July 22nd, 2021

Jamia Millia Islamia Professor Selected For Visitor’s Award 2020 For Biological Research

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NEW DELHI :

Professor Mohd Zahid Ashraf will receive this award under the Biological Sciences category. His work, as per a JMI statement, has contributed towards developing strategy for an early diagnosis and treatment of thrombosis at extremely challenging environmental conditions at high altitudes.

New Delhi:

Professor Mohd Zahid Ashraf (Source: JMI)

Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) Professor Mohd Zahid Ashraf, Head, Department of Biotechnology will be conferred with the Visitor’s Award 2020. The professor will be awarded for his research on resolving the mystery of blood clotting on exposure to hypoxia at high altitudes. Professor Ashraf will be awarded by President Ram Nath Kovind at a function to be organised at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Professor Ashraf will receive this award under the Biological Sciences category. His work, as per a JMI statement, has contributed towards developing strategy for an early diagnosis and treatment of thrombosis at extremely challenging environmental conditions at high altitudes.

“The outcome of his research has given insights to our understanding of blood clot formation on ascension to mountains, sports, pilgrimage and soldier’s working under hostile environments,” the JMI statement said.

Congratulating Professor Ashrah, the Vice Chancellor of JMI Najma Akhtar said that it is a recognition for the research accomplishments by the university and Professor Ashraf’s achievements will motivate other faculty members towards pursuit of excellence in research along with academics.

The Vice Chancellor said that the university is committed towards the government’s mission to increase science education, research and promote STEM.

Jamia Millia Islamia Professor Selected For Visitor's Award 2020 For Biological Research
JMI professor to be awarded Visitor’s Award

Professor Ashraf is an elected Fellow of National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad and the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore. He is a member of distinguished Guha Research Council.

Professor Ashraf, the JMI statement says, is also the recipient of ICMR’s Basanti Devi Amir Chand and DBT’s National Biosciences Award for his seminal work on high altitude related thrombosis in the Indian population.

This is the second time a JMI Professor has been selected for the Visitor’s Award. Earlier in 2015, the Cosmology and Astrophysics Research Group headed by Professor M Sami of Centre for Theoretical Physics, JMI had also received the Visitor’s Award for research carried out in the field of contemporary issues in Astrophysics and Cosmology.

source: http://www.ndtv.com / NDTV / Home> Education / by Mridusmita Deka / July 19th, 2021

Telangana Doctor Offers Online Consultation to Thousands of Covid Patients

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Karimnagar, TELANGANA :

Dr. Luqman Ahmed Khan offered consultations to around 4,000 Covid patient and 2,000 other patients.

Dr. Luqman Khan

New Delhi :

An MBBS doctor in Telangana’s Karimnagar offered online consultation to thousands of Covid patients throughout the country during the recent lockdown. He also trained around 100 doctors for Telangana Covid Task Force.

Dr. Luqman Ahmed Khan, who is a specialist in social and family medicine and diagnosis, has provided consultation through direct Whatsapp Call, video consultation, writing the prescription online and sharing its soft copy. He has also been following up each case for 10 days with Covid-orientated diet and exercise to improvise post-Covid complications.

Khan, who provides online service through his personal contact number, received thousands of calls from all over India. He offered consultations to around 4,000 Covid patients and 2,000 other patients. Currently, he is receiving less requests of Covid patients and more of other ailments, a sign that cases of Covid have come down.

Khan also runs a YouTube channel named ‘Health Tube Dr. Luqman, for medical awareness.

Talking to Clarion India, Khan said he used to run a trust-based hospital for poor people in 2017-18. He later handed over the hospital to the trust and started his own clinic. When the first lockdown was declared in 2020, his clinic was shut down. He took to online consultation. When hospitals were overwhelmed with patients, he developed his own system of online consultation with the help of a task force at his disposal.

He observed that there are multiple reasons why people consult very late, even though with clear associated illness, such as

  • Some patients were so afraid to confront the disease (seeing the way pandemic caused deaths in hospitals) that they decided not to get properly diagnosed and instead went to quacks.
  • Some people still argue that corona is a conspiracy and not a disease to worry about
  • Some patients’ primary concern is their impoverished situation to get treated
  • Some people opted for some remedial medicines which guarantee treatment of corona without hospitalisation; I believe it’s not just a grave mockery of medicine and health system but a punishable offence especially in times of pandemic

source: http://www.clarionindia.net / Clarion India / Home> India / by Waquar Hussain, Clarion India / July 01st, 2021

South African-Indian Islamic Scholar Mufti Ebrahim Desai Passes Away

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INDIA / Durban, SOUTH AFRICA :

Mufti Ebrahim Desai, the world-renowned South-African-Indian Islamic scholar, and jurist, who established the Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah in Durban, South Africa where he trained students to become muftis passed away Thursday 15 July in Durban. He was 58.

Mufti Ebrahim Desai had been issuing fatwas in various fields for more than 25 years, mainly through the askimam.org website.

Born on 16 January 1963 in Richmond, South Africa, Mufti Desai memorized the Quran at the Waterval Islamic Institute and studied traditional Dars-i Nizami course at the Jamia Islamia Talimuddin in Gujarat, India. He specialized in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) under Mufti Ahmed Khanpuri and also studied with the former Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband, Mahmood Hasan Gangohi, the author of the multi-volume Fatawa Mahmudiyyah.

Mufti Saheb taught Fiqh, Principles of Fiqh, Tafsir, Hadith at Madrasah Ta῾limuddin, Isipingo Beach, South Africa for 10 years. He also headed the Fatwa Department at Jamiatul Ulama, KwaZulu-Natal. He was a senior Sheikhul Hadith at Madrasah In’aamiyyah, Camperdown for another 10 years. In 2011, Mufti Ebrahim Desai Saheb moved to Durban permanently and laid the foundation for Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah, Sherwood, Durban. In the early 1990s, he started Ask Imam Fatawa Portal, an online Islamic questions and answers database of Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah.

Mufti Desai was an Islamic finance expert who served as sharia advisor to various Islamic financial institutions.

He was featured among The 500 Most Influential Muslims compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre and referred to as the “South African Grand Mufti of Indian descent.”

Mufti Ebrahim Desai had authored two books, “Introduction to Hadith: A general introduction to Hadith and its sciences” and “Introductions to Islamic Commerce”. His fatawa have been compiled in a book titled “Al-Mahmood”. Another compilation of his talks at the Shariah Compliant Business Campaign is also available titled “Shariah Compliant Business Campaign”. The latest compilation of contemporary verdicts is also available titled “Contemporary Fatawa”.

Muslims around the world expressed their sadness over his death.

Final Bequest: A Plea from the Grave of a Deceased Parent by Mufti Ebrahim Desai

source: http://www.thecognate.com / The Cognate / Home> News / by Shaik Zakeer Hussain / July 16th, 2021

‘UAE 50’ number plate set to fetch record price

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Hyderabad, TELANGANA / U.A.E. :

UAE-based motoring historian and author Mohammed Luqman Ali Khan with the ‘UAE 50’ number plates in Abu Dhabi. — Photo by Ashwani Kumar

The special plate was first released in January 1955 by Bristol County Borough Council.

Since it’s the Emirates’ golden jubilee year, it will be quite a sight to see an Emirati or a UAE resident driving around London with a ‘UAE 50’ number plate.

Such a unique number plate actually exists and it is grabbing the attention of bidders globally, said UAE-based motoring historian and author Mohammed Luqman Ali Khan, who has seen the registered plate and the official documents.

The UK-registered number plate is up for grabs through an online auction — and the bid is expected to break the world record for the most expensive plate.

The special plate was first released in January 1955 by Bristol County Borough Council. Currently, it is owned by a private British collector in the UK, who is a serial investor. Khan is now coordinating with the owner and looking for potential bidders in the UAE.

“This is the Year of the 50th and the Expo 2020 Dubai (is kicking off soon). There is no bigger occasion and a better opportunity to acquire this historic British number plate,” said Khan, while flaunting a copy of the number plates in white and yellow colours.

The UK is a popular destination for UAE nationals and residents, with some of them shipping their supercars when they travel abroad. Now, imagine an Emirati or a resident taking a luxury car bearing the ‘UAE 50’ plate to the streets of London.

“It will be a majestic sight. I hope the number plate is bought by someone from the UAE,” said Khan, who has been a resident of the country for more than 10 years.

The UAE holds the most world records when it comes to number plate prices. ‘UAE 50’ is being sold on www.specialnumberplates.com, and Khan is hopeful of finding a potential bidder before the auction ends closer to the Expo opening date.

The Indian expat has curated events such as the UAE and the British International Concours d’Elegance. In 2018, he discovered the first official state motor car — Rolls Royce Phantom V in Vienna, Austria — and is documenting the story through a pictorial book titled ‘Sheikh Zayed’s Rolls-Royce 5VE15’. He has written ‘Automobiles of the Nizams’ and is working on ‘Automobiles of Sheikh Zayed’, ‘Rolls-Royce in Arabia’ and ‘Nizam’s Throne Rolls-Royce 2117’.

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com

source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com / Khaleej Times / Home> Year of the 50th / by Ashwani Kumar, Abu Dhabi / July 06th, 2021

Acquitted Of False Terror Charges, 2006 Mumbai Train Blasts Accused Authors Book On Police Tactics On Implicating Innocent People

Amazing Feats, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, , , ,

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

11th July is remembered in India’s at 7/11 because of Mumbai Train blasts in 2006. New Delhi-based publisher Pharos Media has brought out “Innocent Prisoners”, the English version of Begunah Qaidi authored by Abdul Wahid Shaikh, himself victim of a fake terror plot by agencies. The book, written while the author was incarcerated in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail, was originally published in Urdu and later translated into Hindi.

Now available in English, it is a massive work of 504 pages on the tactics agencies and police use to ensnare innocents in fake terror cases to justify government policies and influence citizens of the country to accept the emergence of a security state in India.

The author himself was a victim of this ensnaring tactic who was acquitted by the Special MOCA & NIA Court Mumbai while his co-accused rot in jail and their appeal is pending for the last six years in Bombay High Court.

Shaikh offers first-hand information about agencies and police tactics on implicating innocent people, fabricating false evidence against them, and use torture of victims and the immoral pressure on their relatives to force them to confess to crimes they never committed or implicate other innocents.

The book is basically about the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts case but also covers German Bakery Blasts 2010, Malegaon Blasts 2006, Aurangabad Arms Haul Case 2006, Akshardham Attack 2002, and the “Indian Mujahideen” plank used by agencies to fabricate cases. It also extensively covers police torture, fabrication tactics, and various strategies police and agencies employ to implicate innocents and force them to make false confessions to prove stories concocted by the agencies and police.

This exposé offers startling details of the heinous games played in India by the State through police and agencies for decades in the name of “terrorism”. This book unveils the ugly face of government and agencies, modus operandi of police, ATS and investigation agencies, their inhumane tortures, legal tactics employed, and the secrets of court cases. Innocents implicated in terror cases will find the courage to fight their legal battles through this book. The reality of the blast cases and the tall claims made by police and media are exposed in great detail in this book. 

The author himself was a victim of torture and tactics of police and investigation agencies. He has narrated first-hand experiences of himself and some other innocent prisoners at the hands of police, investigation agencies, and officials of the jail system. 

This book is not just a testimony of the innocence of a person acquitted of all charges in an infamous “terror” case, it also showcases his unmoved resolve to fight the legal battle for his and other victims’ freedom. It also is a manual on how not to get yourself entangled in the vicious web of false implication in the first place and how to secure freedom from the clutches of heartless people in uniform, if arrested.

The author, Abdul Wahid Shaikh is a teacher at a Mumbai school. He was the only person to be acquitted out of the 13 accused in the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings case because till the end he refused to sign a false confessional statement while his other co-accused succumbed to pressures and signed their false confessions which were used in court to sentence them to death and life imprisonment. 

Shaikh completed his post-graduation and studied law during his nine years in jail. Keeping his promise to his co-accused, he frequently travels around the country talking about the truth.

A Hindi feature film based on his life will soon be released. Even years after his acquittal, cops continue to harass him. Priced at Rs 495, this book as well as its Urdu and Hindi versions are available on Amazon and Pharos Media.

source: http://www.thecognate.com / The Cognate / Home> News / by The Cognate News Desk / July 12th, 2021