This photograph was taken in 1984 when the renowned Kannada poet, Prof KS Nisar Ahmed, was the president of Karnataka Sahitya Academy. A felicitation function had been arranged for Masthi Venkatesha Iyengar, the Kannada writer who had bagged the prestigious ‘Jnanapeetha Award’ for that year.
It was a memorable function in which many prominent writers had participated. After the function, some of the close friends of Nisar Ahmed, including myself, gathered to congratulate him on arranging the function in a fitting manner. It was then that this photograph was taken.
Nisar Ahmed had started writing poetry in Kannada when he was studying MSc in Geology at the Central College in the fifties. His poetry had caught the attention of his teacher and Kannada scholar GP Rajarathnam. He happened to read and correct his poetry and got it printed in the magazine of the Kannada Sangha of Central College. Later, poetry became his forte and he brought out one poetry collection after another.
He wrote prose too and translated two of Shakespeare’s plays. But he is recognised as a poet mainly as he has been writing poetry through all the literary movements of Kannada.Though his mother tongue is not Kannada, he has been writing in Kannada only.
Nisar Ahmed had also told the literary critics that he does not need any concession just because his mother tongue is not Kannada. He is also known as ‘Nithyostava Poet because his lyrics appeared in the first cassette of modern Kannada poetry under the same title. Since then, Nisar Ahmed has been a household name as one of the most popular among contemporary Kannada poets.
He was the president of the Karnataka Sahitya Academy between 1984 and 1987 and launched several programmes to take literature to the common people. In order to encourage young writers, many workshops were organised and lectures by eminent writers were arranged. He also organised a literary programme in every district and taluk head quarters and involved the local writers and the people in creating awareness about the current literary trends. He started the English edition of the Academy’s quarterly journal ‘Aniketana’.
It was devoted to the English translation of Kannada literary pieces. Thus, it enabled the non-Kannada readers also to get an understanding of Kannada literature through translations. I remember that he had organised a seminar as the president of the Academy in Kanakapura of Bangalore Rural District in 1986 on the last quarter century of modern Kannada poetry in which stalwarts of Kannada literary world including Prof M Gopala Krishna Adiga, Prof LS Seshagiri Rao, Dr Ramachandra Sharma, Dr Kamala Hampana had participated.
In the evening, there was a poets’ meet under the chairmanship of poet Dr Pu Thi Narasimhachar. It is worth mentioning that the seminar was attended by the people of Kanakapura in large numbers and actively participated in the interaction with the speakers of the seminar.
This photograph assumes importance for another reason. Two writers of yesteryears, namely the late Prof VM Inamdar and Prof Venugopala Soraba, are present in it.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> MetroLife / by Prof. M S Raghunath / DHNS – April 06th, 2015
Agra is a home to around 100 centrally protected monuments. Most tourists, however, visit only the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and the nearby Fathehpur Sikri. Union minister of state in the Human Resources Ministry and Agra MP Ramshankar Katheria has now sought that the Centre take steps to promote Agra’s less popular tourist destinations, so that those arriving in the city are also encouraged to stay longer.
Among the lesser known monuments are the tomb of Mariam-uz-Jamani, Rajput princess who married Mughal emperor Akbar and mother of Jahangir. The structure in which the tomb was laid was built originally by Sikandar Lodi in the late 15th century; the tomb was laid in it by 1623, and a crypt was made below the central compartment by the Mughals, who substantially remodelled the structure.
The Roman Catholic cemetery in the Civil Lines area, considered among the oldest Christian cemeteries in north India, is also a little-visited spot of tourist interest. Many early European adventurers and travellers have been laid to rest here. Many of the gravestones date back to the 17th century.
Chini ka Rauza (chini refers to the colourful tiles; rauza is a funerary monument) is the tomb of Allama Afzal Khan Mullah, who served as prime minister in the court of Shah Jahan. It dates back to the year 1635. The building represents a milestone in Indo-Persian architecture, and is the first building in India to have the glazed tiles that give it its name.
Kanch Mahal at Sikandra, near Akbar’s tomb, was used, some historians say, as a hunting lodge by Jahangir. This monument too is not very well known to visitors to the city.
Just five km from the Taj is Ram Bagh, the oldest of Mughal gardens in India – laid by the founder of the dynasty, Babur. This garden too does not see as many visitors as it might, if it were better promoted.
Mehtab Bagh, an integral part of the gardens around the Taj, also sees few visitors. The Chhatri of Raja Jaswant Singh – which some claim is the only monument built by a Hindu in Agra in the time of Mughal rule – is also a neglected monument.
Katheria pointed out that the website of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) does not offer descriptions of the lesser known monuments. Information and photographs of these too should be uploaded, the minister said, in a letter to Union tourism minister Mahesh Sharma.
Sources said Katheria was raising this issue as Mahesh Sharma is set to visit Agra on April 8.
Rajiv Tiwari, president of the Federation of Travel Agencies, said, “Many less known monuments are dilapidated, many have become a den for anti-social activities. Travel agents cannot risk allowing guests to include them in their itinerary.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Agra / by Aditya Dev, TNN / April 04th, 2015
FLYING HIGH:S. Mohamed Nijamudeen with his trophies in Ramanathapuram.— Photo: L. BALACHANDAR
A hobbyist becomes a racing enthusiast
When S. Mohamed Nijamudeen (38), a local body representative, received a one-month-old racing bird as a gift from his friend a few years ago, little did he realise that it would win him the championship in pigeon racing.
Mr. Nijamudeen, vice-president of Panaikulam panchayat, with business interests in Dubai, developed an interest in rearing pigeons from a young age but often got disheartened when the birds flew away.
When he was about to give up the hobby, his friend introduced him to Racing Homer, a breed with an astonishing homing instinct, bred solely for pigeon racing sport.“I loved the birds more for their homing instinct and began taking part in racing only in the last five years,” he said. He had 60 birds and reared them by appointing a full-time worker and spent about Rs. 15,000 a month. But he suffered a huge setback when he lost 44 birds in a theft in October last.
Four of them, including the ‘gifted bird,’ returned home a few days later.
He took part in this year’s racing conducted by Ramanathapuram Racing Homer Club (RRHC) and won the championship with 17 points.
In the first leg of racing from Chennai to Ramanathapuram (508 km), he drew nil points but his bird came first in the second leg from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh to Ramanathapuram (670 km), second in the third leg from Sillakalluripet (AP) to Ramanathapuram (870 km) and again first in the final round from Kammam (AP) to Ramanathapuram (1,067 km).
In half the time
In the final round, the organisers gave five days’ time for the birds to return home, but his bird returned home within two and a half days. Now, Mr. Nijamudeen has set his eyes on South Indian racing to be conducted in Chennai next year.
Paranthaman, secretary, Madurai Racing Pigeon Club, and Philip Inbaraj, secretary, Tiruchi Club, presented the trophy to the winner at a function here on Sunday. P. Ravi from a nomadic family, who won the RRHC championship last year, came second with 10 points this year.
The RRHC conducted the racing under the guidance of founders N. Ramesh and Marriappan. Mr. Ramesh said they had been conducting the racing event for the past nine years and spent about Rs. 75,000 for it this year, adopting strict guidelines and regulations of the sport.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by D.J. Walter Scott / Ramanathapuram – April 07th, 2015
Two teachers from the district will fly to the city of Manchester in the U.K. next week to a participate in the International English Teachers’ conference being organised by the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL), a forum working for linking, developing and supporting English language teaching professionals from across the world.
K.T. Muhammed Hashim
“We are the only two from the State to attend the conference this time, as far as we know,” said K.T. Muhammed Hashim, one of the invited teachers. While Mr. Hashim is working with the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Koyilandy, A.K. Syke, is a teacher with the Government Higher Secondary School Chorode, Vadakara.
A.K. Syke
The conference will be held from April 10 to 14.th. The teachers will be provided free admission to the conference besides food and shared accommodation. The duo was selected from many IATEFL member teachers who applied for the event after due screening process and presentation of assignments, said the teachers. “Both of us have earlier presented papers at international conferences, including the Teacher Educators’ conference (TEC) of British Council held at Hyderabad,” said Mr. Hashim.
The conference, a major English Language Teaching (ELT) event comprising pre-conference sessions, symposiums, interactive sessions and exhibitions will have over 500 talks, workshops and seminars. “
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Jabir Mushthari / Kozhikode – April 02nd, 2015
Voice of Telangana president L Panduranga Reddy and Hyderabad Deccan Democratic Alliance K Chiranjeevi and others paying tributes to Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah at 7 tombs in Hyderabad on Saturday | RVK RAO
Hyderabad :
Fondly remembering Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of Hyderabad City, on his 449th birth anniversary here on Saturday, several organisations have demanded the state government to give him the due respect he commanded.
“On his birth anniversary, we appeal to the government to build a bronze statue of the ruler at one of the prominent locations in Hyderabad,” K Chiranjeevi, convener of Hyderabad Deccan Democratic Alliance, said.
The members of the organisation also requested the government to declare his birthday as a state festival, to create awareness among the people about the accomplished ruler.
‘’Since the government is planning to change the syllabus of schools from next year, the government should ensure that the achievements of Quli Qutb Shah are also included in the syallabus,” L Panduranga Reddy, president, Voice of Telangana, said.
Organisations such as Voice of Telangana, Hyderabad Deccan Democratic Alliance, 1969 Telangana Movement Forum etc have paid tributes to Quli Qutb Shah at his tombs on the occasion. Remembering the erstwhile ruler, Captain Chiranjeevi said that his period of rule was considered the golden period of Qutub Shahi dynasty.
He modelled Hyderabad on the lines of the then legendary city of Esfahan, Persia.
“He was one of the most secular leaders of the times. His style of ruling attracted great leaders like Akbar who sent their men to his embassy,” he said, further adding, “He took special interest in sketching the design of Hyderabad and also, built Charminar when people started dying of plague.”
Speaking of his poetic skills, Panduranga Reddy of the Voice of Telangana said, “He was an accomplished poet who wrote verses in Urdu, Persian and Telugu under the pen name Mani. His poetry is complied in a book under the name Kuliyat Kuli,” he said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / April 05th, 2015
Over the last few years, Sadat Ahmedy, a final year mechanical engineering student at Sri Sairam College of Engineering, has slowly but steadily expanded his resume. While most engineering students in their final year have to compromise on extra-curricular activities, Sadat balances out his schedule to fit in all his interests, which include teaching, modelling, fashion photography and cinematography and fashion stage direction.
The 21-year-old says, “My life is balanced. For the past six years, I have stopped relying on my father for financial issues because I wanted to do something different and something on my own. I have a very planned life, where I know what I have to do and when, so I adjust my college timings accordingly. I make sure my extra-curricular activities don’t clash with my college work”
The journey began with a model hunt. “I auditioned for a model hunt, where I was one of the top finalists from Bengaluru. After this, I started working with a designer from the City. I did my first print ad after this for Wrangler and also worked with a few other brands. I was a print ad model for 11 months but then I realised I want to do something innovative, something related to the fashion industry, because it has been so nice and supportive of me. I really wanted to do something big.”
The next ‘big thing’ came to Sadat in the form of his father and a camera. “I asked my father to buy me a camera and I started clicking pictures. Although I submitted my photographs to a few magazines, I wasn’t happy. So I became the official photographer for Megamart where I clicked the profile photos of over 60 models.” He has also worked with Parvathy Omanakuttan.
Talking about his photos, he says, “I started with landscapes and monuments but I’m the seed of fashion so that’s where I ended up. In most pictures, what people portray is plastic. I believe in earthy beauty and I use models who don’t need a lot of make-up and don’t do a lot of post-editing. I want to redefine the word ‘fashion’,” he says.
He says fashion is something that can’t be constrained and evolves at all times. With this in mind, he took to directing fashion shows recently. His first show was in Mysuru, which saw a crowd of over 2000 people.
He proudly says, “In my second show in Chennai, I was called the ‘Youngest Entrepreneur’ in South India.”
Sadat already has plans for another show and he is trying to make it as innovative as possible.
“I want to use models who aren’t normally seen on the runway, not anorexic models. I want it to be completely different and new. We have adapted the Western anorexic culture which needs to be cut down. Beauty, according to me, is what one feels about themselves and not what another person thinks of you.”
On a mission to break change the fashion industry, Sadat sums up by saying, “A plus-sized lady can wear a gown or a stiletto and still look fashionable…we need to break such stereotypes.”
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> MetroLife / by Ananya Revanna / Bangalore – DHNS, March 12th, 2015
Dr. N. Usha Rani, Professor, Department of Studies in Mass Communication and Journalism, University of Mysore; Fr. Leslie Moras, Principal, St. Philomena’s College (Autonomous); Vijay Grover, Editor (South) of Tehelka and Dr. Sukanya, Head, Department of Journalism, St. Philomena’s College (Autonomous), are seen releasing the Student Journal of St. Philomena’s College – ‘Philoline’ during the one-day seminar on ‘Benchmarking Teaching Best Practices in Journalism in the changed ICT Scenario,’ organised by Department of Communication and Journalism, St. Philomena’s College, Bannimantap, Mysuru, in collaboration with Department of Studies in Mass Communication and Journalism, University of Mysore, held at St. Philomena’s College auditorium in city yesterday.
Mysuru :
A one-day seminar on the topic ‘Benchmarking Teaching Best Practices in Journalism in the changed ICT scenario’ was organised by Department of Communication and Journalism, St. Philomena’s College, Bannimantap, Mysuru, in collaboration with Department of Studies in Mass Communication and Journalism (DoS, MCJ), University of Mysore (UoM), at St. Philomena’s College auditorium in city yesterday.
The Seminar was inaugurated by Vijay Grover, Editor (South) of Tehelka while Rev. Fr. Leslie Moras, Principal of the college, presided over the programme.
Dr. N. Usha Rani, Professor, DoS, MCJ, University of Mysore, was the guest of honour.
There were three panel sessions. The first session was on the topic ‘Need for innovation in media education,’ for which the panellists were Dr. A.S. Chandra Mouli, former Deputy Director, Door Darshan, Dr. Usha Rani, Professor, DoS, MCJ, UoM and Laiqh Khan, Journalist, The Hindu, Mysuru.
Dr. Chandra Mouli, in his address spoke about feature writing, documentaries, editing, content writing, broadcasting, script writing, production and directing.
He called upon the journalism students to be honest and stay updated with what is happening around the world. He noted that journalism students should spend more time in studios, internship and field visits.
He rued that most of the journalism students attend internship just for the sake of getting training certificates.
Sharing his experience of working for Door Darshan, he felt happy that hundreds of TV channels have mushroomed in India these days.
Dr. Usha Rani, in her address, called upon the teachers of journalism to identify the skills in their students and guide them accordingly. She even urged them to make the students become well versed in writing skills.
Laiqh Khan in his address, said, “An editor gives life to a news story.”
He called upon the upcoming journalists to purchase professional cameras to click pictures instead of clicking pictures on their mobile phones.
He urged the upcoming journalists to be honest, inquisitive, curious and to develop their skills on a regular basis.
The second session was on the topic ‘Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice in Journalism,’ for which the panellists were Vasanti Hariprakash, Freelance Journalist and Documentary Anchor; Rajashekhar, Chief of News Bureau, The New Indian Express, Bengaluru and Dr. Niranjan Vanalli, Director, CPDPS, UoM.
The third session was on the topic ‘Use of ICT in Media Education,’ for which the panelists were Prof. Nagabhushan, Department of Computer Science, UoM; Dr. Mahesh Chandraguru, Professor, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, University of Mysore and Fr. Richard Rego, Head, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, St. Joseph’s College, Bengaluru.
Valedictory : The valedictory was held in the evening. Prof. M. Krishne Gowda, Head, Department of Kannada, St. Philomena’s College presided. Rev. Fr. Leslie Moras, Principal and Rev. Fr. Bernard Prakash, Vice-Principal, were present.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Friday – March 27th, 2015
To deliver valedictory address of Golden Jubilee celebration at SJCE on Mar.31
Mysuru :
Former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will be arriving in city to take part in the valedictory of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE) on Mar. 31. He will deliver the valedictory address at 10.30 am.
Maj. Gen. Nasser Al Sayed Abdul Razak Al Razooqi, Chairman of Al Razooqi Group, Dubai, will be the guest of honour.
Sri Shivaratri Deshikendra Swamiji of Suttur Mutt will grace the occasion.
B.N. Betkerur, Executive Secretary of JSS Mahavidyapeetha, Prof. M.H. Dhananjaya, Director (Technical) and Dr. B. Suresh, Vice-Chancellor of JSS University, will be present as guests. Minister for Higher Education and Tourism R.V. Deshpande will preside.
Later, Dr. Kalam will interact with the students.
source: http: //www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / March 26th, 2015
Not many know that Bhagat Singh, who was hanged to death on March 23, 1931, by the British government for the murder of police officer John Saunders, stayed in Agra for months after committing the murder. Though locals have made something of a monument at the spot, the district administration has shown little interest in conserving the site, besides passing a bill to name Noori Darwaza after Bhagat Singh in 1962.
According to historians, when Bhagat Singh and Bijoy Kumar Sinha were chalking out their course of action after murdering Saunders, they held a meeting in Delhi. There, they decided to go for mass awakening, protests, and also changed the name of the party from Hindustan Republican Association to Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.
“They also decided that the organization should be broadly divided into two groups, mainly the active group and the sympathizers. They also decided to setup the new party’s headquarter,” informed SP Singh, head of the history department at Christ Church College, Kanpur.
He added that the team of revolutionaries decided to keep the party headquarters in Jhansi but later it was changed to Agra. They reached Agra in 1929, took two houses on rent and started training their supporters. With his ever increasing zest for study, Bhagat Singh began to build up a small library in Agra. With this purpose he roamed around, begging for books from sympathizers. In a short time, a distinctive though small library grew up here and the most important section among the books were of course, Economics.
However, currently no library exists here at Noori Darwaza whose official name should have been Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg, according to the local petha makers. The house where he lived for three months is lying in a dilapidated state.
Former ward corporator Ratan Bharti said that the decision of changing Noori Darwaza’s name to Bhagat Singh Marg was taken in 1962.
“The civic body of Agra had its first elections in 1959 and in the third annual session of municipal corporation, it was decided that Noori Darwaza would be renamed to Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg. A bill was passed but it remained confined to paper only. The locality is still called Noori Darwaza,” added Ratan Bharti.
Even the voter IDs of the locals says Noori Darwaza instead of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg.
“It is shameful that the government and its representatives are least bothered about preserving history and its evidence in Agra. It was only after a prolonged struggle that locals managed to build a statue of Bhagat Singh in 1970. We would also have an annual fair in the name of Bhagat Singh for years, starting from 1978 till 1983,” said Vijay Sharma, a social activist and member of Indian People Theatre Association (IPTA) who used to organize the fair in the name of Bhagat Singh.
He added, “Many attempts were made to ask the administration why they are not renaming the locality as Bhagat Singh Marg to which they said they haven’t received any official confirmation for renaming Noori Darwaza, from the civic body.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Agra / by Ishita Mishra, TNN / March 23rd, 2015
Wake up your buds A typical Mappila feast, biriyani, parottas and suleimani tea / by Sivaram V
Malappuram, carved out for a religion, now holds a key to Kerala
SIgnboards with the ‘Al’ prefix are the second indicator that you are in Mappila (Kerala Muslim) country, the first, of course, being a sartorial style that you cannot miss. This is Malappuram district in north Kerala. Once considered a basket case for its economic, educational and social backwardness, the landscape now bristles with confidence, one that only prosperity, political prowess and education can bring. Malappuram, with over 60 per cent Muslims, was carved out from the districts of Kozhikode and Palakkad way back in 1969 by the then chief minister, the Communist E.M.S. Namboodiripad. It was a political move to appease the Left government’s coalition partner—the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML)—who had demanded a district for the Muslims. Interestingly, it was a first time for the IUML in government. Today, its clout in the Congress-led UDF regime has jumped manifold. With five ministers and crucial portfolios, the IUML can even claim they are in charge of the ‘Kerala sarkar’.
But beyond the sleepy boundaries of Malappuram, there are other forces at play now. A new brand of nationalism seeks to divide rather than unite, one where patriotism hinges on one’s religious identity. Questions have also been asked of Malappuram—is it a “mini Pakistan”, is there a rise in religious fundamentalism there? The district authorities says Malappuram is a peaceful district, that there is absolute communal harmony. But one has just to trawl the net to see the fear-mongering being drummed up—reports of the Hindu minority’s struggle to exist here and further, about the love jehadis roaming the streets of Malappuram on the lookout for Hindu girls to convert to Islam. A website (www.hinduexistence.org) even harks back to 1921 and the Mappila rebellion to remind people of the “devastating revolts and massacres”—described as “killing lakhs of innocent Hindus overnight”.
In order to verify this “account of history”, we travel further north from Malappuram town to Parappanangadi. We cross the angry, muddy Kadalundi river in full spate and zig-zag through roads lined with giant ‘Gulf houses’, each trying to garishly outdo the other (some six lakh people from the district work in the Gulf today.) We pass the historical town of Tirurangadi known for its major revolts against the British and arrive in Parappanangadi to meet with historian M. Gangadharan, who’s authored a book on the revolts of the region, The Malabar Rebellion. Gangadharan, 80, refutes the argument that the Mappila rebellion was any sort of vendetta against the Hindus. He says, “The Mappila resistance was against the British political set-up that had imposed high taxes and empowered the janmis (usually from the Hindu high castes) to exploit the Mappila tenants. They did not attack the Hindus indiscriminately but the violence did frighten them and many did leave the area.”
The Muslim grievances and the revolts were successfully harnessed by Gandhiji during the freedom struggle. Says Gangadharan, “In the second decade of the 20th century, when the Mappilas organised themselves, they received support from the nationalist movement that cleverly linked this rebellion to the Khilafat agitation…. Trade ties between India and the Arab countries meant that the Khilafat movement affected Kerala’s Mappilas. Initially, the movement wasn’t violent but the British oppression and tortures forced the hand of Mappilas. Today, the Hindu fundamentalists are trying to change the narrative to suit their own needs.” On a personal level, Gangadharan says he’s never felt insecure living in a Muslim-dominated area.
This predilection for protests is seen even today. In Parappanangadi town, we witness a silent procession of schoolchildren marching against the Israel attacks in Gaza. K.T. Jaleel, independent MLA (Left-backed) from Thavanur, says Malappuram partakes of Kerala’s anti-imperialistic streak, “We saw protests when Saddam Hussein was killed and we continue to see protests against imperialistic powers. But we are not communal, even post-Babri Masjid there were no clashes here. The Muslims in Malappuram are secular and progressive and have merged with the mainstream.” At the same time, a sullen withdrawal has often been ascribed to them too, as is a tendency to adopt the visible gestures and cues of a modern pan-Islamism, especially in response to inimical global and domestic politics.
Photograph by Sivaram V.
There is an underlying, historical delicacy too. Many Muslim political leaders of Malabar had supported the Partition, crowding out nationalist Muslims who didn’t—their grievance was that India’s mainstream leaders did not come to their aid during the Mappila rebellion. So the creation of a district for Muslims was always viewed with some diffidence by non-Muslims. There are few complaints in the district itself though. “They are secular and progressive,” says Manamboor Rajan Babu, who’s lived in Kuttinangadi for the past 39 years. Rajan Babu is an ex-policeman, novelist and editor of Innu, an inland magazine. “I live in the midst of three Mohammeds,” he jokes. “The neighbours are caring folks. I settled here because of my Muslim friends. The majority do not accept the fundamentalist views of the fringe elements, which is why it doesn’t get much traction in Malappuram.” And anyway, the IUML is in the political business here and they won’t allow the fringe to grow, he feels.
The IUML itself is a curious entity, as corrupt as any other Indian party (if media reports are to be believed), but without any overt fundamentalist agenda. A small reformist group called Aikya Sangham was created in the 1920s to ameliorate the lot of Muslims and harmoniously settle land disputes between Hindus and Muslims. From this stock arose the Muslim League in Kerala and that morphed into the IUML. The League supported the formation of Pakistan so after independence they were sidelined by the nationalist parties. Says political analyst and advocate A. Jayashankar, “After the ems regime fell in 1969, they joined the Congress and ever since have been a major factor in UDF governments, especially since 2001 when the number of their ministers went up to four. At present, they have five. The fifth ministerial berth going to an IUML MLA from Malappuram created a furore in Kerala. The Nairs (NSS) and Ezhavas (SNDP) have felt insecure ever since. The rise in the BJP voteshare in Kerala can be attributed to the flexing of muscles by the Muslims in the ‘minority’ government in Kerala.”
The delimitation based on area population after the 2011 census gave a further boost to the IUML. Most districts in Kerala showed negative growth, but Malappuram registered a decadal population growth of 13.45 per cent since the census. The number of legislative constituencies was increased in the district from 12 to 16 in the last polls. “The Muslim-dominated areas of Kozhikode, Kannur and Palakkad also benefited with an increase in one seat while the Christian-dominated belt of Kottayam, Thrissur and Pathanamthitta lost four seats due to a decline in population,” says Jayashankar. In the 2011 assembly polls, the IUML took 12 of the 16 seats in Malappuram and became the third largest party in the state after the Congress and CPI(M) with 20 seats.
Historian M. Gangadharan at home. (Photograph by Sivaram V.
Kerala’s coalition politics depends on a delicate sharing of spoils, and competition is intense. The recent muscle-flexing by the IUML has not gone down well with the state’s other major religious lobbies. Again and again, the references return to an obsession with population figures and what is seen as increasing control over power stakes. Says political watcher P. Rajan: “Creating a district based on religion was not a wise decision. A district should be created for topographical and geographical reasons. The League benefited politically from the differential in population figures too. But to demand a fifth ministerial berth in the UDF government was not a good move. The Nairs and the SNDP have been highly insecure and the ramifications were seen in the Neyyatinkara byelection, with the BJP coming a close third. In the next state elections, the BJP will be a force to reckon with if the IUML continues with its brazen ways. The Congress has been nervous ever since the Lok Sabha polls. Their voteshare has dipped in many of the Thiruvananthapuram assembly seats.”
Jaleel, who left the IUML and supports the Left, says, “I left the IUML because it’s very corrupt. I questioned the use of funds that they had raised for various issues. The people of Malappuram aren’t always faithful to the IUML. In the 2006 assembly polls, the CPI(M) and the IUML got five (of the 12) seats each, some of the IUML ministers even lost by huge margins. This event can’t be underestimated…people here a more progressive lot.”
Indeed, in the midst of all the fear of growing radicalism, of non-native signs like the skull cap and the burqa, the Malappuram Muslim has been changing—yes, somewhat radically—in other ways too. It’s no longer the backwaters. Decades of remittances have created a more globalised second generation. The number of educational institutions has increased. It has caught up with the rest of Kerala; even rank-holders have emerged from the district. S. Irudayarajan of the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, says, “About 25 years ago, Malappuram was Kerala’s most backward district. Between 1990 to 2000, unskilled workers came from Malappuram, from 2000 to 2010 there was a rise of semi-skilled workers; 2010 on, even high-skilled workers have been migrating from there.” The natural corollary of swelling remittances—it gets the largest share—ensures that, whichever coalition governs the state, its political fortunes will depend quite a bit on the electorate of Malappuram.
source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook / Magazine> Society / by Minu Ittyipe / Special Independence Day Issue / August 25th, 2014
