Category Archives: Community Involvement / Social Issues

Depleting food stocks add to trauma of stranded Indian students in Ukraine

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, NRI's / PIO's, Ukraine Updates, Students (Feb. 2022), World Opinion, , , , , ,

INDIA / UKRAINE :

Payal Panwar, a final year medical student who returned to her Kotdwar home in Uttarakhand, said the stranded students need help of the Indian government and the Indian embassy people more.

Ukrainian soldiers inspect a damaged military vehicle after fighting in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. (Photo | AP)

Indore / Aurangabad / Dehradun :

Depleting food stocks and long queues for water are adding to the trauma of stranded Indian students in war-hit Ukraine awaiting evacuation amid reports of some being roughed up by security personnel and spending freezing nights out in the open.

As Indian and Ukrainian authorities on Monday described the situation as “complex” and “very difficult” in terms of evacuation of people, the students, joined by their parents, appealed to the Indian government to expedite efforts to evacuate them.

Russia launched its attack on Ukraine last Thursday.

“I want my son in front of my eyes as soon as possible,” said Kamini Sharma, who is praying for the safe return of Vibhor Sharma (22), a resident of Indore in Madhya Pradesh.

Vibhor is pursuing a medical course at the Ternopil National Medical University.

Payal Panwar, a final year medical student who returned to her Kotdwar home in Uttarakhand, said the stranded students need help of the Indian government and the Indian embassy people more while they are still inside Ukraine rather than when they have moved out of the war-torn country.

“The problems end when you cross the borders but while you are inside Ukraine it is really difficult with food supplies running out and no cash in ATMs. Stranded students need the help of Indian authorities while they are still inside Ukrainian borders,” said Payal, who studies in Ivano-Frankivsk city in western Ukraine.

Recounting her ordeal, she said around 60-70 Indian students had to book a bus and also walk a distance of 8-10 km in freezing cold to reach the Romanian border to get out of Ukraine.

Many ATMs could not dispense cash and long queues of men and women waiting for their turn for food supplies were seen at several points, she said.

Though happy and relieved to be reunited with her parents, Payal and her parents are worried about her brother who was still stuck in Kharkiv.

An Indian student who managed to reach the Kyiv train station said Ukrainian guards were not allowing students to board trains and also beating up people and made a fervent appeal to the Indian embassy to evacuate them as soon as possible.

“It’s getting difficult for us to stay here,” Ansh Pandita told PTI, as scores of Indian students, including women, sat huddled together at the teeming Vokzal railway station in the Ukrainian capital, holding a large tricolour aloft so they could be recognised in the crowd and also so no one from the group gets lost.

The group of about 100 students managed to reach the station but no one could board a train.

“Ukrainian soldiers are not allowing us to board the train to Hungary. In fact, they are not allowing any international resident to get out,” Pandita, a student of Taras Shevchenko National Medical University in Kyiv, said over the phone from the station.

“We requested them to at least allow the girls to go but that request too fell on deaf ears.”

The opposition Congress also alleged that Indian students were assaulted by security personnel on the Ukraine-Poland border.

“Students are crying out for help, requesting the Modi government to intervene but to no avail.

We saw a video last night on the Ukraine-Poland border where students are being beaten up,” party spokesperson Ragini Nayak told reporters.

India managed to accelerate its efforts to get its nationals out of Ukraine in the last 24 hours, though the situation on the ground continues to be “complex and fluid” in terms of evacuation of people, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

It said a total of 1,396 Indians were brought back home in six flights as part of the evacuation mission and the total number of Indians who have left Ukraine since India issued the first advisory earlier this month is around 8,000.

An estimated 20,000 Indian nationals, mainly medical students, reside in Ukraine.

As the battle for Kharkiv rages on, at least three students from Maharashtra pursuing medicine in the city located in northeast Ukraine, narrated how they had to stand in long queues for a can of water, drink soda, stay in bunkers, and risk their lives to fetch food items amid bomb blasts.

Hritik Bapulohar, a first-year medical student from Palghar, said he had reached Kharkiv city only a couple of months back.

“We can hear bomb explosions as they are taking place in a periphery of around 500 metres from where we are currently staying in Kharkiv. We are struggling even for basic needs. As many as 500 students are staying in two bunkers for the past four days. When the curfew was lifted some of them left the hostel. The situation is worsening fast. I appeal to the Indian government to evacuate us urgently,” he told a Marathi news channel.

Bapulohar’s senior Aishwarya Patil, who hails from Sangli, said drinking water stocks have exhausted at their Kharkiv hostel.

“We are currently using soda water for drinking. After standing in queues stretching up to 2 km, we can get a can of five-litre water. Food prices have tripled since the war began. We are taking huge risks by stepping out to purchase food items. We are hiding as bomb blasts are happening here. During nights, we are given an hour for cooking by authorities. We cook using mobile flashlights,” she said.

Shivanjali Yadav, also from Sangli, said students and other Indians are asked to stay in bunkers in Kharkiv even though we don’t have much food and water with us.

“The students trapped in a bunker in the Kharkiv region are facing difficulties in arranging food, water. Some of them have fallen sick in freezing temperatures, few blankets, and dipping oxygen. There are also no transportation facilities available for them,” said one of the students who returned to Odisha.

Several students wanting to return to India from Ukraine had to spend two days under the sky in severe cold weather at the Romanian border after travelling by bus and then walking for 25 km, a mother of one of the students said.

“My son somehow boarded a bus from Ternopil to reach Romania. But, on the way, he had to get down from the bus due to some problem and the border was still far away,” the Indore-based Kamini Sharma, told PTI.

The woman said her son along with several other Indian students walked for 25 km to reach the border of Romania.

“But, these students, gathered at the Romanian border, had to stay under the open sky for two days in the harsh winter weather as they were not allowed to enter Romania immediately,” she said quoting the phone conversation with her son.

Sharma said she has now come to know that clearance has been given for the entry of these Indian students into Romania on Monday morning.

Ukrainian Ambassador Igor Polikha said his country is helping the stranded Indians and extending assistance in their evacuation notwithstanding the “very difficult” ground situation.

Polikha said he himself reached out to some of the Ukrainian border guarding commanders requesting them to assist the Indians who are trying to exit the country through land borders.

“The situation is very difficult and complex. My resources are limited. We are victims of aggression. Still, we are trying to help people including those from other countries,” he told a media briefing in Delhi.

Polikha said the circumstances at the Ukraine-Poland border crossing are challenging as lakhs of people including diplomats, foreigners and Ukrainian citizens are queuing up to exit the war-hit country.

Trapped inside a bunker in Kharkiv city of Ukraine, Assoiun Hussain (25), who hails from Kerala, told PTI over phone on Monday that he only had a loaf of bread in the last 48 hours.

He said the bunkers are freezing 24X7 and are overcrowded, adding that they also lack basic amenities like water or bathrooms with doors.

“We bought four to five bedsheets and arranged them together for makeshift beds. We are sleeping near railway tracks and on platforms. Our jackets are worn out because it is very cold here. The conditions are quite bad here,” Hussain said.

Indian students trapped in Ukraine have also alleged racial discrimination against them by the locals.

Recently, videos showing Indians being attacked did the rounds of social media.

In one of the videos shot during night time, a student wheeling his suitcase behind him is kicked by a guard in uniform.

In another video, students claimed that they were being thrown off the train parked at a railway station in Kyiv and beaten with sticks.

Manogya Bora (19), who recently returned from the Poland border to Lviv, alleged that Indians are being subjected to racist attacks and students were beaten up.

“People here are telling us to go back to Ukraine. The situation is much worse for boys. I have seen boys being beaten up,” she said.

Talking further about the pitiable conditions in the bunkers, Hussain said, “I received a loaf of bread today. I did not get food yesterday. The Ukrainian authorities are providing food and medicine, including insulin and food for babies. However, priority is given to Ukrainians not Indians.”

“We are only getting what is left after distributing to Ukrainians,” he said.

The student said getting food from outside is not a cakewalk with continuous shelling underway.

Moreover, no food supplies are available in the market, he added.

“There is only one supermarket and there is nothing in there — only juices and water. We have self-respect, we cannot beg them. The Ukrainian authorities allowed us to go out to get fod because some locals complained that because of us, they are running out of food fast,” he said.

“I tried going out today, but ran back as there was continuous shelling,” Hussain added.

Kharkiv is among the Ukrainian cities where the situation is dire with continuous shelling.

Thousands have taken refuge in metro bunkers to protect themselves.

Recently, a nine-storey residential tower was hit, killing an elderly woman, while about 60 people survived after hiding in the basement.

21-year-old Shana Shaji of Kerala said there is continuous shelling.

“It appears as if the building will fall apart,” she said.

Thousands of Indian students are stranded in Ukraine after the Russian Army launched a brutal offensive last week.

With the war now entering the fifth day, the Indian government has been carrying out evacuations of its citizens from Romania and Hungary — neighbouring countries of Ukraine.

When asked about the evacuation process, Hussain said the embassy has asked the students to reach the western border at their own risk.

“It is not possible for us to reach borders. There is heavy shelling outside. In trains and buses, the priority is being given to Ukrainians,” he said.

Gujarat native Ronak Sherasiya, an MBBS student in Ukraine, was meant to take a morning flight out of Kyiv on Thursday, on way to India, but fate has so far brought him only out of the conflict-hit eastern European country.

The 18-year-old, a first year student at the Bukovinian State Medical University (BSMU) in Chernivtsi, a beautiful town in western Ukraine, about 500 km from capital Kyiv, told PTI over phone that he had “finally crossed the Ukrainian border and was now in Romania”.

“I was part of a group of students who travelled in a bus provided by our university. We alighted a little before the border, and then walked. We reached Ukraine-Romania border on February 25 at around 4 pm (local time). There were about 2,000-3,000 people, mostly Indians at the border. It was a massive crowd, and only a couple of MEA officials, so processing took time. After waiting for hours, we finally crossed the border and entered Romania at about 6 am (local time) on February 26,” he said.

“We are now lodged in a sports complex on the Romanian side, but airport is still far away. We have been provided food, and WiFi connectivity has also been provided, but only limited number of people can join at a time. We are biding our time to fly out of Romania to India,” Sherasiya said.

Asked about various videos circulating on social media about alleged misbehaviour by security forces at some border area, he said, “Things are chaotic at the border area.”

“Ukrainian army personnel were asking people to move back, but when the commotion grew, some of the security personnel started firing in the air,” he claimed.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by PTI / February 28th, 2022

Day of terror for UAE-based students in Ukraine as they flee explosions at Kiev airport

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, NRI's / PIO's, Ukraine Updates, Students (Feb. 2022), World Opinion, , , , , , , ,

INDIA / UAE / UKRAINE :


Indian students anxious as ATMs run out of cash and they run low on funds for food.

Sanabil SP, right, with Haneen Kuniyil, medical students in Ukraine at a bus station where they took shelter after explosions rocked Kiev airport. The students were booked to travel to Abu Dhabi when bombs hit the airport at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. Photo: Sanabil SP

Scores of Indian students fleeing Ukraine for their families in the UAE and home country were terrified when bombs went off at Kiev airport on Thursday, forcing them to leave the airport.

They heard Ukrainians shout out warnings: “The Russians are invading ,” as passengers ran out amid loud explosions.

Many students had booked flights home but their plans were shattered when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military assault on Ukraine.

After fleeing Kiev’s Boryspil International Airport, a group of 35 waited for more than 11 hours at a bus shelter trying to find safe accommodation.

“When I heard the blast I was too scared. People were shouting: ‘Russia is invading’. We saw jets flying above. People ran out of the airport,” said Milin Susan Joseph, 23, a fourth-year medical student who had a flight booked to Trivandrum, India.

Dubai resident Mohammed Adil Javad was on one of the last flights to leave Ukraine. The medical student landed in Abu Dhabi on Thursday morning before the attack on Ukraine began. Photo: Mohammed Adil Javad

“Everyone panicked. We just got more and more scared. We didn’t know where to go. We saw six to seven buses outside the airport and we just got in.”

The students took shelter at a nearby bus station with dozens of other travellers.

Many students had travelled the night before for about eight hours by road from Zaporizhzhia State Medical University to Kiev airport.

“We will try to get back to the university. We don’t know how safe it is to travel because people are being told to stay home,” Ms Joseph told The National.

The sight of armoured vehicles and soldiers on the streets has added to their anxiety.

“We can see tanks and military vehicles on the roads. Everyone is scared out of hell,” said Sanabil SP, 23, also a fourth-year student who was booked on a flight to his family’s home in Abu Dhabi.

“We heard two blasts as we were reaching the airport. People began rushing out of the airport. They were saying that the Russians had invaded.”

Another concern is access to money, because ATMs at the bus station ran out of cash. One group managed to reach the Indian embassy but were told they would need to make their own arrangements.

“The situation is real and scary for us. I really want people to know that we need help getting to a safe place,” said Mr Sanabil. “There is no money in the ATMs. You need money even to go to the public washrooms.

“The [Indian] embassy said they don’t have space for 30 students but we need help to find a safe place nearby.”

_____

India in Ukraine @IndiainUkraine

Third Advisory to all Indian Nationals/Students in Ukraine

. @MEAIndia @PIB_India @PIBHindi @DDNewslive @DDNewsHindi @DDNational @PMOIndia

_____

By evening, they managed to contact other students living in universities in Kiev and hope to find shelter in dormitories.

Some took the last flight out of Ukraine before the air space was shut down and have reached the UAE.

“I’m safe now but half of me is still there [in Ukraine] because that is where my friends are,” said Mohammed Adil Javad, who landed in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, before the attack began.

“I’m hoping India will start an evacuation of students. They need help.

“There are students stuck between Zaporizhzhia and Kiev. They are in the middle of nowhere – not in the university and not at the airport. They are being told to find bomb shelters and tunnels for safety. We are all tense.”

About 18,000 Indian students are in Ukraine, according to government figures.

The embassy last week asked them to leave the country temporarily until the situation returned to normal.

But students said exorbitant air fares – more than 60,000 rupees ($792) one-way to India – and the absence of a clear message to evacuate meant that thousands remain in Ukraine.

“We would all left much before if we had been told we must leave immediately,” Mr Javad said.

“Also how can thousands of students leave in a few days? There are just not enough flights.”

The embassy said it was making arrangements for accommodation for students and asked them to familiarise themselves with the locations of bomb shelters.

“While the mission is identifying possible solution to the situation, please be aware of your surroundings, be safe, do not leave your homes unless necessary and carry your documents with you at all times,” the mission said.

source: http://www.thenationalnews.com / The National / Home> UAE / by Ramola Talwar Badam / February 24th, 2022

This book breaks new ground in history by bringing together Mughal politics and Sufi spiritualism

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), World Opinion, , ,

NEW DELHI / Chicago, U.S.A :

Muzaffar Alam’s ‘The Mughals and the Sufis’ is a remarkable and original work of scholarship.

Mughal emperor Jahangir chooses the Sufis. | Public Domain

The literature on the precepts of Sufism and the chronicles of its saints across various orders has a deep and prodigious lineage: from the great Kashf al-Mahjub of al-Hujwiri and the Risala of al-Qushayri, through Abdul Rahman Jaami’s Nufahat-ul-Uns, the wonderfully lucid Sakinat ul Auliya and Safinat ul Auliya, written by the 17th century Mughal Crown Prince Dara Shukoh, to the monumental compendium, A History of Sufism, by Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi, in our own times. The examination of the subtle and complicated interplay between religious doctrine, political influence, legitimacy and kingship throughout the Islamic period in India, though, is more recent.

Muzaffar Alam’s earlier book, The Languages of Political Islam in India c 1200-1800, published in 2004, was an important contribution to this discourse. It offered a fresh perspective by decoding the political vocabulary of those times to reveal the calibrations in theology, injunction and juridical practice, as Islam gradually became more “Indianised”.

In his new book, The Mughals and the Sufis – Islam and Political Imagination in India: 1500–1750, Alam once again breaks new ground, this time by harmonising two major domains of scholarship – Mughal History and Indian Islam – honed with painstaking care over a lifetime of study. What emerges is a highly nuanced and complex examination of the relationship between Mughal political culture and the two dominant strains of Islam’s Sufi traditions in South Asia: one centred around orthodoxy, the other focusing on a more inclusive and mystical spirituality.

The Sufi trajectory

The constituent chapters in the book, which can also be studied as stand-alone essays, chart the trajectory of the various Sufi silsilas and their principal actors, from the early, tenuous days of Babur and Humayun, through the 16th and 17th centuries, as the imperial position shifted from the more liberal outlook of Emperor Akbar (r 1556–1605) to the rigid attitudes of his great-grandson, Aurangzeb ’Alamgir (r 1658–1701).

Alam premises his critical study on a large number of contemporary Persian texts, court chronicles, epistolary collections, and biographies of Sufi mystics. Interestingly, the Maktubat-i Khwaja Muhammad Saif al-Din, compiled by Muhammad A’zam, Khwaja Muhammad Nasib Andalib’s Nala-i’ Andalib, and Muhammad Akram bin Shaikh Muhammad Ali’s Sawati‘al-Anwar are accorded no less importance than the staple Akbarnama or Badauni’s Muntakhab al-Tawarikh, known to every student of Mughal history.

This particular approach to Alam’s programme of study for his latest book serves two functions. First, his focus on relatively lesser-known figures and their writings, as well as many rare manuscripts, automatically inducts these long-underutilised texts into the bibliographical repertoire of mainstream historical research. Second, his own investigations enable Alam to challenge popular notions about the Sufis, upend unitonal hagiographic narratives of Sufi silsilas, and provide an alternate system of coordinates through which to view our cultural and religious history, in the process, reorienting our understanding of political Islam during the Mughal period.

A fundamental aspect of reappraisal is the relationship of a Sufi leader with the Mughal emperor. The usual perception is that the sole function of a Sufi saint was to be a spiritual pir (preceptor) for his murids (disciples), including those of royal blood. Alam cites numerous instances to the contrary, following a tradition that harked back to the Naqshbandi Sufis of Timurid times.

One of the key figures to emerge in this context is Khwaja ’Ubaid-Allah Ahrar, whose disciples included Timurid rulers and a number of their vassals throughout Central Asia. He and several of his descendants claimed they were not spiritual masters alone, but also the source of strength and assistance in the dispensation of politics as well as power struggles.

Although Khwaja Ahrar had died several years before Babur appeared at the threshold of Hindustan, the latter nevertheless ascribed many of his military achievements to the benediction of the pir. Most famously, at the Battle of Panipat against Ibrahim Lodhi in 1526, Babur, facing an enemy force that vastly outnumbered his own, is said to have meditated upon the image of the Khwaja, who then appeared as a horseman dressed in white, routing the Afghans.

Breaking myths

The Mughals and the Sufis also dispels some lingering stereotypes around the positions of the pirs in the Chishti and Naqshbandi orders. For instance, the Chishti pirs didn’t necessarily find ready disciples in the early Mughals and winning their allegiance was no trivial matter. A case in point is Shaikh ’Abd al-Quddus Gangohi, a member of the Sabiri branch of the Chishti order.

Khwaja Gangohi was a prominent preceptor of the Afghan elite at the Lodhi court, in fact, very nearly – the official royal pir. But as Babur established his supremacy in northern India through a series of brilliant, swift military campaigns, it took all of the Khwaja’s wisdom, tact and diplomacy, to reconcile himself to the rapidly changing realities. For his very vocal support of the Afghans, he had to suffer humiliation at the hands of the Mughals.

A similar stereotype concerns the perception of the non-inclusive, intransigent position of the Naqshandis throughout their history, as something of a monolith. Alam shows that the fervour of orthodoxy did sustain itself, from the pirs who were contemporaries of Amir Timur, to the Ahraris in the 15th and 16th centuries, through to the strident conservatism of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi and his followers in the 17th century. Aurangzeb’s unwavering support of the Naqshbandis ensured that the family of Shaikh Sirhindi enjoyed a favoured position at the imperial court.

Not only did this influence continue well after Alamgir’s reign, evidence is sighted of its influence outside the court in Delhi, for instance in literary circles, and beyond the capital, making inroads among sections of the civil society in Awadh, hitherto firmly entrenched in the Chishti-Sabiri tradition.

Through the following two centuries, however, Alam explains how a more muted and inclusive tenor of discourse developed within the Naqshbandi order, their change in position underscored by the triple forces of reformism, revivalism and modernism or Westernisation. Certainly, challenges from the West played a material role in changing the approach of modern Muslim intellectuals to Sufism.

Underlying many of the discussions are themes of influence, rivalry and conflict. Documentary evidence points to Sufis playing a role in informing and modulating imperial policy. Likewise, it is shown how the struggle for supremacy among rival princes (and princesses) was mirrored in the rise and fall of imperial allegiance to various silsilas.

Thus, when Akbar, at the peak of his religious innovations, is confronted by the outraged Naqshabandis, it is the latter who have to recant. And not long after Aurangzeb ascends the throne as the emperor Alamgir, Dara Shukoh’s Qadiri pir, Mullah Shah, is summoned to the imperial court and interrogated by the ’ulama. When it comes to a deeply critical and iconoclastic element of the Sufis, such as Sarmad Kashani, nothing less than execution would satisfy the emperor and conservative clergy. Viewed through this prism, the narrative of political Islam appears as a glazed mirror of the vicissitudes of princely wars of succession, and the leanings and idiosyncrasies of successive emperors.

What the women did

One of the criticisms that is often levelled against the academic patriarchy of medieval history is its scant attention to the women of the imperial household, their role and influence in contemporary politics and decisions that morphed and changed the empire. In this regard, the chapter-essay, “Piety, Poetry, and the Contested Loyalties of Mughal Princesses, c 1635-1700”, is a welcome inclusion in the present volume.

The legend of Jahanara, as the other-worldly princess who eschewed imperial titles in favour of the sobriquet of al Fakira, is well known. What is less well-known, though, are her allegiances to specific Sufi pirs and silsilas, and those of her sister, Roshanara, and her niece, Aurangzeb’s daughter, Zebunissa. This essay juxtaposes the contrasting religious beliefs and mystical leanings of these three ladies of the imperial household, despite their common upbringing.

Jahanara, even though she was initiated into the Qadiri sect, continued to retain a close spiritual affinity for the Chishti saints, in particular, Nizamuddin Auliya. Her choice is both a continuation of the pluralistic ethos instituted as imperial policy by Akbar, and a reflection of the deeply syncretic views of her favourite brother, Dara Shukoh – views that she wholeheartedly shared with him.

Roshanara played a far less public role than her sister, although she was a shrewd political observer, and increasingly, a key player in the filial strife that led to the War of Succession in 1657, ending with Aurangzeb’s ascendancy to the throne. Her close connection with the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi order saw her acting as a mediator, during the attempts made by the sect to expand their influence over the entire imperial zenana.

Their sustained efforts to maintain dealings with the princess Zebunissa notwithstanding, the latter was far more inclined towards the practice and patronage of literary pursuits, than to the encouragement of the Mujaddidi brand of Islamic revival.

In a volume that offers much new perspective, the most insightful and striking essay is the penultimate chapter, “In Search of a Sacred King, Dara Shukoh and the Yogavsisthas of Mughal India”. In the author’s estimate, the Mughal Empire finds its intellectual and spiritual apotheosis not in the figure of Akbar, but Dara Shukoh, who, he boldly asserts, “is a step ahead of his great grandfather, Akbar”.

With this, Alam breaks with an unbroken line of rather uncritical adulation as regards Akbar that has stretched across generations of historians. For all his astute matrimonial alliances with Rajput chieftains, within the pecking order of the Hindu caste system, Akbar could only aspire to the status of a Kshatriya, Alam points out. Dara’s quest was far loftier – like Visvamitra, he sought to synthesise and embody the dual powers of the Kshatriya Raja and the Brahmin Rishi.

Akbar’s interest in Hindu scriptures, mythology and epics such as the Mahabharata reflect his curiosity about India’s political culture, but there was no great imperative for him to imbibe Indic norms of governance. In contrast, Dara’s project of translating the Yogavasistha goes well beyond intellectual curiosity or the inclination to recognise alternative formulations of spirituality. He becomes deeply immersed in the text, to the point of inhabiting it.

For Dara, the book is not only a philosophical treatise, worthy of study for a syncretic practicing Sufi – but a political manifesto – as the Crown Prince grapples with the eternal conflict between spiritual truth and temporal power. Rama Chandra is not the indigenous god from a hoary past but, in Dara’s dream, Lord Rama is a fellow-seeker of Truth, an elder brother.

In his quest for mystical and spiritual learning, Dara had perused the texts of several religious cultures, including his own. But it is only in the Yogavasistha, Alam proposes, that Dara finally found his model for the saint-king, one on which he wished to build the moral foundations of his own reign.

In a refracted light, The Mughals and the Sufis can perhaps be seen as an intellectual self-portrait, painted in the hues of scholarship, investigation and analysis. Now approaching his mid-70s, Alam remains as indefatigable as ever, poring over forgotten texts and rare manuscripts, to reveal the haqa’iq wa ma’arif (realities and truths) hidden within them.

The Mughals and the Sufis – Islam and Political Imagination in India: 1500-1750, Muzaffar Alam, Permanent Black.

source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> Book Review / by Avik Chanda / April 28th, 2021

IUML leader Sayed Hyderali Shihab Thangal passes away

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , ,

Panakkad, Malappuram Municipality, KERALA :

Sayed Hyderali Shihab Thangal | Photo Credit: The Hindu

He was the national chairman of Indian Union Muslim League

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national chairman and Kerala State president Sayed Hyderali Shihab Thangal, 74, passed away on March 6. He died after fighting cancer for over a year. He was declared dead around 12.30 pm at Little Flower Hospital, Angamaly.

Thangal’s condition had deteriorated the previous day and he was put on a ventilator. However, his younger brother Sayed Sadikali Shihab Thangal and IUML national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty had said that there was nothing to worry.

Thangal’s death has brought a pall of gloom to Kerala’s Muslim community, over which he wielded considerable influence. He was widely respected by the people irrespective of their faith and political affiliation.

Condolence messages started pouring in soon after the death was announced. The body will be taken to his house at Panakkad soon. His family said the funeral plans were on. Details were being worked out.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / Malappuram – March 06th, 2022

Four students of Dakshina Kannada return from Ukraine

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Karnataka (under research project), NRI's / PIO's, Ukraine Updates, Students (Feb. 2022), World Opinion, , , , , , ,

Dakshina Karnataka, KARNATAKA / UKRAINE :

The students were received by their family members, who were overwhelmed to see their children back home

Four students of Dakshina Kannada returned from war-torn Ukraine on March 7. Anaina Anna, Claton Osmond D’Souza, Ahamed Saad Arshad and Shalvin Preeti Aranha landed at the Mangaluru International Airport on March 7 morning. They had reached New Delhi on March 6. They were received by their family members, who were overwhelmed to see their children back home.

“We were worried till they reached New Delhi. Relieved to see them back,” said Sandhya, mother of Anaina Anna, whose passport is with the travel agent. She thanked the Indian embassy for arranging another passport and also for helping students return safely to their home towns.

The students and family members met Deputy Commissioner K. V. Rajendra in his office in Mangaluru before proceeding to their homes, on March 7, 2022. | Photo Credit: MANJUNATH H.S.

The students and their family members thanked the Dakshina Kannada district administration, more so Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra, for being in touch with them all through since February 24 till they reached Mangaluru. “He has acted just like our own brother and took all steps to bring our children back safely,” said Claton D’Souza’s mother.

The students and family members met Dr. Rajendra in his office before proceeding to their homes.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by The Hindu Bureau / Mangaluru – March 07th, 2022

Indian students stuck in Ukraine’s Sumy melt snow for water

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, NRI's / PIO's, Ukraine Updates, Students (Feb. 2022), World Opinion, , , , ,

Telangana, INDIA /UKRAINE :

An Indian student reunited with her family members after being evacuated from war-torn Ukraine, on March 4 | Photo Credit: –

The students said that there are regular power outages

Indian students stuck in Sumy, Ukraine, are in dire situation. After a bomb exploded in the city on Thursday evening, there is no water supply to them. The students said that they are forced to collect snow, melt and use it for drinking, cooking.

“We stored some water yesterday which was over by Friday morning. So we have collected the snow in buckets, melted it, filtered and consumed it,” said Abdul Rawoof, one among close to 600-800 Indian students in Sumy waiting to be rescued.

Another student Nizammudin Aman said that the water supply is cut off from Thursday night. “Thankfully it’s heavily snowing today. So now we’re collecting snow from outside our hostel and melting it using electric induction and kettles,” said Mr. Nizammudin.

It started snowing from Friday morning. The distressed students who were in need of water found it to be a blessing in the harrowing time. Their primary request is to be evacuated. With no supply of water, their washrooms have become stinky.

The students said that there are regular power outages. Since it started snowing, they need heaters which function when there is power supply. Other basic thing which they are running out of is food. Super markets are closed. Only cash is accepted to buy groceries but ATMs have run out of cash.

“Our contactor is providing one meal a day. We are arranging another meal using bread, nutella, eggs,” said Mr. Rawoof. The students have been urging Indian government to evacuate them at the earliest. They have started uploading videos on social media platforms explaining their situation and requesting for help.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Telangana / by K Shiva Shankar / Hyderabad, March 04th, 2022

Journalist of the month: Safina Nabi

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , ,

JAMMU & KASHMIR / NEW DELHI :

Safina Nabi has always felt like a storyteller and, as she put it, a “story listener.” As a child growing up in Kashmir, she would listen to radio programs with her grandfather, showing a natural curiosity about them. “I would have dozens of questions and he would explain [it to] me,” she said. “Growing up, I think journalism came naturally to me.”

Nabi started working in radio programming while studying for her master’s degree in journalism and mass communication at the University of Kashmir.

At one point, she hosted an hour-long live morning show. “I wasn’t interested in writing at all,” she said. “I loved to be in front of the camera, taking pictures or doing interviews.”

In 2014, Nabi was forced to move to Delhi due to flooding in Kashmir. While in Delhi, she began to take on writing jobs as a way to make some extra money. After several years of exploring different mediums and “trying everything,” she decided that writing was what she wanted to do. 

Much of Nabi’s work explores issues of gender and how it intersects with health, conflict, social justice and human rights.

She has written for The Guardian, MIT Technology Review,  Vice, Al Jazeera and more.

Her stories are built around strong female characters; she feels that people are the most important part of any piece.

Over the past couple of years, Nabi also started writing about her culture and community. She sees it as a way to preserve her heritage. “We [Kashmiris] are an ethnic group and we come from a minority background. We need to preserve our history, our language, and our cultural roots. I think one of the major and important ways to do that is to document them.” 

Nabi has received two grants from the Pulitzer Center for her work, the first of which she found on IJNet. Initially, she wasn’t even sure she would apply because she was anxious about being rejected. “The tab remained [open] on my laptop for days and days,” said Nabi. Finally, she told herself she had to act. She applied and received a positive response within a week. “I was so excited about it,” she said. The project, Kashmir’s Tribal Women Fight the Stigma of Birth Control, focused on the lack of access to family planning resources for nomadic Kashmiri women. “I have received really great feedback. I really think [working independently] is something that has helped me grow, because I can tell the story the way that I want to,” Nabi said. 

The ability to control the direction of her stories is incredibly important to Nabi. She spoke with frustration about the limitations of the journalism industry, and how difficult it was to get started as a young journalist with new ideas. “As a journalist who is juggling lots of other issues like internet gags and communication blockades, we don’t have the kind of time to actually research each and everything,” she said. Grants give her more freedom to control her stories, and resources like IJNet, she explained, help her find new opportunities. 

Nabi’s most recent project is an in-depth piece funded by the Pulitzer Center. Titled, “How Kashmir’s half-widows are denied their basic property rights,” it highlights the struggles of Kashmiri women whose husbands have disappeared, but cannot be proven dead, leaving them in limbo.

Telling stories like this is what keeps Nabi going when facing situations like months-long internet and phone blackouts, government censorship and intimidation. “Who will tell the stories of these people who are suffering unnecessarily and [who] do not have avenues to reach out to people, to government, to authorities, and there is nobody to listen to them? I feel this is my obligation and this is my duty, to actually give voices to those people who cannot raise their voice, and I think that that’s something that keeps me pushing still,” she said.

It’s a very difficult phase of journalism in Asia right now, especially for women, Nabi explained. “In Kashmir, we don’t even have a women’s journalism association or a union. I think if we all come together collectively and take [up] that space, I’m sure the struggle is not going to end there, but at least we’ll have that kind of space where we will be able to share our vulnerabilities and our problems and discuss them, and be that support system for each other when in trouble.”

Nabi also noted the importance of media organizations and publications supporting and inspiring young women to become journalists. “I think it’s an obligation and duty of other [sites] like IJNet to give space and give more grants to journalists who come from these small backgrounds and give them chances, amplify their voices and their stories. That’s what will help more journalists to come out, especially women, and feel like, “Okay, there are some people who are making it big despite obstacles or struggles that they are facing.”

Photos courtesy of Safina Nabi.

source: http://www.ijnet.org / IJNET (Int’l Journalist Network) / Home> Newsletter > Journalist of the month / by Daniela Riddle / March 01st, 2022

Students leave Kharkiv, but await Government rescue plan

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, NRI's / PIO's, Ukraine Updates, Students (Feb. 2022), World Opinion, ,

INDIA / UKRAINE :

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi receives Indian nationals, who have been safely evacuated from Ukraine, as a part of ‘Operation Ganga’, at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. | Photo Credit: PTI

1,200 walk 15 km out of city after embassy advisory; 60 bused out after 18 hour wait

Following the government’s “urgent advisory” asking all Indian nationals to leave Kharkiv and reach towns on its outskirts, hundreds of students, who braved bombs to cover a 10-15km of journey on foot, were on Thursday unaware of what they were expected to do next, or if there was a plan to evacuate them. 

“We have been told to wait for embassy officials who may come tonight, but we are not sure if that will happen,” said Mohammed Thaha Sheikh, a student of Kharkiv National Medical University, from an abandoned hotel in Pisochyn, a western suburb of Kharkiv.

On Thursday, the Indian Embassy in Kyiv issued an advisory asking all Indian nationals in Kharkiv to leave the city “immediately” and asked them to proceed to Pisochyn, Babaye and Bezlyudovka on the west and south of Kharkiv. Everyone was told to reach these towns by 6 p.m. local time

At the time the advisory was issued, Mr. Sheikh said he was at the Kharkiv train station amidst “intense shelling”. While some girls were allowed to board a train, hundreds of other Indian students were not allowed to do so, he said. “Five trains crossed us but we were not allowed to board them. The ticket collector was allowing only Ukrainian women and children. I have heard there was also violence and some students were thrown off a train,” said Mr. Sheikh.

As the 6 p.m. deadline was approaching, he along with 1,200 others decided to proceed to Pisochyn.  They covered a distance of 12 kms in three hours in relative peace once they hit the highway. But before that there were Ukrainian military men and tanks enroute and they were told to “run fast” and were also provided shelter for “10-15 minutes” by Ukrainian soldiers. Once they reached Pisochyn, they found an abandoned hotel. 

“They were not expecting us there and there were only two-three staff. They assigned us two buildings, but there is no food here,” said Mr. Sheikh.

18 hours later, the students were still waiting to hear from the embassy on the next course of action.

Later in the evening, their student co-ordinator (or agent) started arranging buses and 60 students left in two buses to the western border.

 Russia on Thursday said it was considering providing a humanitarian corridor so that Indian students in cities in eastern Ukraine such as Kharkiv and Sumy could be evacuated through Russian territory. For those who manage to escape the war zones, the journey back to India is a long one.

At a shelter in Bercini in Romania, Tanya Shekhar has been waiting for nearly four days for news from the local Indian embassy on their transportation to the city airport. She is part of a group of 47 students  “We spent 48 hours at the border check-post standing in the open in sub-zero temperatures and managed to cross the border. But there was no embassy official in sight.

We have been at a shelter arranged by the Romanian government since February 28. Though we have been mailing the embassy and calling their helpline to know about our transportation, we only heard back from them today. We have been told there will be a bus today,” said Ms. Shekhar.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by Jagriti Chandra / New Delhi – March 03rd, 2022

In Sumy, students run out of food, water and hope

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, NRI's / PIO's, Ukraine Updates, Students (Feb. 2022), Women/Girls(since May26-2021),

INDIA / Sumy, UKRAINE :

Indian students, evacuated from Ukraine, on their arrival at Kochi International Airport in Kochi on March 5, 2022. | Photo Credit: PTI

‘We will soon be left with no option but to start walking to the nearest border ourselves’

Students in Sumy on Saturday said they were running out of hope after several days of promises on their evacuation through a “humanitarian corridor” and that continued bombardment in the city indicated there was no sign yet of a ceasefire for them.

The city also saw a blackout for most part of the day, leaving students without a means to cook.

“There is no water, no food, no electricity for the past two days and the bombings keep getting worse every passing day. Often bombs land a few hundred metres away from us,” said Zara Azan.

Another student, Hitesh Kumar Gujjar, said there were sirens at least thrice on Saturday forcing students to rush to their bunkers.

“Today is the 10th day. Every day we hear that we will be evacuated, but that is yet to happen. We will soon be left with no option but to start walking to the nearest border ourselves. We would prefer to die trying to escape rather than die of hunger and thirst ,” said Dushyant Siraw, who was echoing what a group of students said in a video threatening to walk to the Russian border armed with Indian flags amidst intense fighting in Sumy.

“The latest we have heard is that there will be an effort on Sunday to try and evacuate us. But this is not through official sources. If not tomorrow, we will lose all hope,” said Ms. Azan.

Mr. Gujjar said though there was a water tanker sent for the students, it was not enough.

“We got one litre of water. How can one tanker for 700 Indian students and hundreds from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Nigeria be sufficient,” he said, adding that with no electricity, cooking on induction was not possible and students were making do with “biscuits and chips”.

Students say some of their friends are seeing their health deteriorate from exhaustion and scarcity of food.

“Several of my friends and I have fainted more than a few times. There is physical and mental breakdown. Many students are also experiencing asthma attacks, but inhalers and drugs or any medical assistance is just not available,” said Ms Azan.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National – Indians in Ukraine / by Jagruti Chandra / New Delhi – March 05th, 2022

In Sumy, Indian students await Government intervention

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, NRI's / PIO's, Ukraine Updates, Students (Feb. 2022), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), World Opinion, , ,

INDIA / UKRAINE :

A view shows thermal power plant destroyed by shelling, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in the town of Okhtyrka in the Sumy region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released on March 4, 2022. | Photo Credit: Reuters

Their fate hangs in the balance as there is no progress on ‘humanitarian corridor’ for evacuation

The fate of several hundreds of students at Sumy in eastern Ukraine hangs in the balance as there was little progress on a “humanitarian corridor” for evacuation of civilians on Friday, while students who were able to reach Pesochin from Kharkiv after an advisory continued to leave for the western border on privately arranged buses.

“There were air-strikes and bombings on Sumy yesterday, which led to power and water supply being cut-off. We spent the entire night without electricity, and we can’t cook without water. If we don’t get killed by bombs, we will definitely die of starvation and thirst,” says Shivangi Jaiswal, who shared videos of students collecting snow and water from roof channels.

She says that unlike Kharkiv, where there was some movement because of a train station, Sumy is cut off from all sides as roads and rail tracks have been damaged, entrapping students in their hostel bunkers.

“Only a government intervention can help us escape from here. But it seems no decisions are being taken for Sumy,” said Ms. Jaiswal

‘Buses not helpful’

On Thursday, Russia and Ukraine agreed to create humanitarian corridors for evacuation of civilians and there were reports that 130 buses were waiting on the Russian border for Indian students.

But Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a press interaction on Friday that there would be difficulties in evacuating students from an active conflict zone until there was a ceasefire and Russian buses were very far from Kharkiv and Sumy and were not proving to be helpful.

Reacting to these comments from Sumy, Zara Azan said, “the government says they are waiting for us at the borders. I want to ask them, if you can’t brave the shelling to reach us, then how do you expect young college students to make their way to the border without cabs, buses or trains. The least the embassy can do is arrange buses for us.”

“Yesterday we saw several fighter planes drop bombs just metres away from our hostel, and several girls fainted on seeing that. Increasingly, children are falling sick due to cold or complaining of low blood sugar levels or suffering panic attacks. We may even have to carry them while planning our escape as we can’t leave our friends behind,” said Zara.

She asked why did the embassy not forewarn its citizens about escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

“In February, I had to travel from India to Ukraine and I called the Indian embassy to know if it was safe to travel as several other countries had started issuing advisories for their citizens and I was told that I could travel,” says Zara.

‘No info on exit plan’

In Pesochin, where nearly 1,200 students fled to from Kharkiv following a government advisory on Wednesday, students continued to leave for the western border on privately arranged buses for which they have paid from their own pocket. They were earlier expecting that they would be able to make their escape through the border with Russia on buses they believed the embassy would arrange for them.

“There is no information yet from the embassy on an exit plan for us through Russia. Our student coordinator has arranged a few buses and we are slowly leaving on them. Two buses with 60 students left yesterday and nearly six are leaving today. We have been told that all students will be able to leave Pesochin by Saturday,” said Mohamed Thaha Sheikh.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> India> National / by Jagriti Chandra / New Delhi – March 04th, 2022