In a significant development, All-India Muslim Women Personal Law Board president Shaista Ambar met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat here on Tuesday.
Ambar said she was present at a function in the Post-Graduate Institute area where Bhagwat was visiting. She sought an appointment with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief that was immediately granted.
“He was very gracious and in his address he spoke of nation building and character development,” she said.
Ambar also said she requested Bhagwat to visit the mosque which they have got constructed, and he readily agreed to do so.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by IANS / March 29th, 2016
Sunni Yuvajana Sangha state president, K P Hussain Saadi on chairing a mass wedding ceremony said, “The SYS is holding weddings of poor girls and constructing houses for the poor.” The mass wedding ceremony was held under the aegis of Sunni Yuvajana Sangha, KC Road unit at Kotekar private auditorium on Sunday March 27.
“Besides providing social service, the organization intends to strengthen religious knowledge among the youth. These days the world faces financial problems and it has become impossible for parents to conduct weddings of their daughters. Mosques and Jamaat committees are finding it difficult to run Madrasas under them. Hence SYS with the help of donors has successfully conducted weddings of poor girls,” he added.
Hidayatnagara Al Hidaya Jumma Masjid, Khatib Assayyad, C T M Aleem Porkoya Thanjal, conducted dua. Mani Darul Irshad Education Center president Zainul Ulama Abdul Hameed Musilyar led the weddings. District Wakf president S M R Rashid, S J M Talapady zonal president Ibrahim Madani Talapady, Abdul Hakim Madani Uchila, K C Road Masjid Madarris, Munir Sakhafi, SYS weddings committee president, U B Mohammed Haji, Taluk panchayat member, Siddiq Talapady, Dr Abdul Khader Haji, Talapady, SMA Talapady president, Bava Haji Panjala, SSF Talapady unit president, Abdul Hakim and others were present.
In the study camp, on the unity of the organization held after the programme, Hamza Madani Mithur presented the subject. At the mass weddings, Khatijathul Kubra-Nasrulla and Umaira Banu-Sayyad Abdulla were wedded. SYS, K C Road unit president N S Ummar Master delivered the keynote address. Chief secretary Usman Palla proposed the vote of thanks.
“Though we had plans of holding five marriages last December, we could only conduct three as there were no couples to be wedded. Jewellery and clothes for two couples were set aside and weddings of two more couples were held today,” said N S Ummar Master.
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Karnataka / by Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru(DV) / March 28th, 2016
The Surabi Trust presented its Seva Achiever Award on Friday to recognise social workers.
Chairman of the state linguistic minorities federation CMK Reddy gave away awards to MohammedRafi ofAnbagam, aschoolfor special children and Iyappan of Sri Arunodayam, a home for the homeless and handicapped.
The award ceremony saw a musical performance by Vadya Sangeetha Sangamam. TN
source: http: //www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / News Home> City> Chennai / TNN / March 28th, 2016
The Ujjain Simhastha in 2004. Picture by Raj Patidar
Ujjain, MADHYA PRADESH :
Bhopal :
When Ujjain city qazi Khaleel-ur-Rahman returned home from juma prayers yesterday afternoon, he was surprised to see a posse of visitors, mostly Hindu seers heading various akharas (monasteries).
Led by the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad head, Acharya Narendra Giri, the visitors asked Qazi Khaleel to lead the peshwai (procession) that marks the beginning of the month-long Simhastha, starting April 22 this year.
The Ujjain Simhastha is one of the four legs of the Kumbh Mela, each occurring by rotation every 12 years, the other three being the Kumbhs at Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayag) and Nashik.
The qazi – an arbiter for Muslims’ personal matters – said he was “overwhelmed” by the offer. He said he greatly valued the gesture at a time some people were following divisive agendas.
“This is the first time we have formally invited the shahr (city) qazi. The objective is to create goodwill and communal harmony,” Acharya Giri told The Telegraph.
He said that he and the other akhara heads had thought of personally visiting and inviting Qazi Khaleel to “send out a strong signal of communal harmony from the Simhastha”.
For the first time, the transgender community too has been given its own place at the Simhastha – amid resistance from the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, the apex body ofakharas.
The Ujjain administration has earmarked five acres of land where around one lakh transgender people would be put up during the Simhastha.
Transgender people from 22 states have formed the Kinnar Akhara for this purpose, said its convener, Rishi Ajay Das.
Traditionally, various akharas take out the peshwai about a fortnight before the Simhastha begins formally with a shahi snan (royal bath). The heads of dozens of akharas join the procession, sitting on silver thrones on elephants, while armed sadhus (ascetics) ride horses and camels.
They are followed by other hermits, monks, priests and devotees on foot while thousands line both sides of the streets. The procession ends at Ram Ghat on the banks of the river Kshipra, which turns holy during Simhastha.
The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government and the various akhara heads have agreed to hold three shahi snans during the Simhastha, on April 22, May 9 and May 21.
More than five crore pilgrims are expected to gather and take a dip in the river. The occasion is called Simhastha because of a rare, 12-yearly configuration of planets with the Sun entering the Aries sign and Jupiter in Leo (Simha).
State minister Bhupinder Singh said that Chouhan had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a spiritual gathering during the Simhastha.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta, India / Front Page> Nation> Story / by Rasheed Kidwai / Sunday – March 27th, 2016
M. Sayeed Alam’s “Sir Iqbal” will be staged in the Capital this Sunday
The most sung poet and perhaps the most sung song in India “Saare Jahan Se Accha” written by Allama Muhammad Iqbal is all set to ignite the imagination of theatre lovers in Delhi. Playwright and directors, M. Sayeed Alam and Danish Iqbal’s spring time production ‘Sir Iqbal’ is a biographical work on the life, times and scholarship of Allama Iqbal who continues to be misunderstood in India but is celebrated in Pakistan as the man who came up with the idea of a separate nation for Muslims.
“Iqbal’s love for India which clearly comes through in the poem ‘Saare Jahan Se Accha’ and yet his choice of living in Islamic Pakistan over a secular India is in itself a study in contrast, a paradox that has pushed him far away from public memory in India. Iqbal died in 1938 much before the idea of Pakistan even took shape. Doctored history, misapprehensions about Allama being a fanatical Muslim who chose to live in a Muslim dominated undivided India needs to be closely looked into. My play is an effort to demystify Iqbal and clear some perceptions about the great poet, philosopher and politician and above all a humanist who has given India its most enduring patriotic poem yet remains forgotten in the country,” said Alam in the midst of rehearsals for the play which opens to public on March 20 at Sri Ram Centre.
“From what I have read about Iqbal’s political philosophy, he never demanded a separate home for Muslims outside India. Iqbal’s formulations somehow suited the supporters of Pakistan and they hailed him as the ideological father of the country – something that many Indians came to detest and therefore Iqbal remains forgotten whereas his poem as a song is sung everyday in schools all over the country. Our play brings out this dichotomy,” said Alam.
“Sir Iqbal” had first premiered in Kolkata in November last year to much critical acclaim. The one and half hour play with a 15-member cast will see Alam himself essay the role of Iqbal. The play is centred around the poet and philosopher’s life. In the play, Iqbal’s story is narrated by his trusted servant Ali Baksh who enjoyed Iqbal’s confidence and had witnessed many events in his life. Set in British India in the backdrop of the first half of the 20th Century, ‘Sir Iqbal’ will mirror the socio-political churnings during Allama’s times till his death in 1938 in undivided India. The play will perhaps set some records straight and clear many perceptions about Iqbal, who for many Indians still remains an enigma.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Anasuya Basu / March 18th, 2016
Prime Minister being welcomed by AIUMB founder-president Syed Mohammad Ashraf Kichuachwi at the inaugural ceremony of the World Sufi Forum in New Delhi on Thursday. / The Hindu
The Prime Minister quotes from Koran and makes a strong pitch against terrorism.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that all Indian communities were an integral part of India, making a pitch for pluralism and diversity.
Mr. Modi was addressing delegates of a global Sufi meet here at a time when shrill statements from many within the BJP and the Sangh Parivar have created controversies in the past few months.
Rejecting terrorism, Mr. Modi hailed Islam as a religion of peace, citing the Koran and also paying rich tributes to the eclecticism of the Sufi tradition.
“Welcome to a people with an abiding belief in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the world is one family,” Mr. Modi said. Mr. Modi said leaders like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad chose not to side with the idea of division based on religion after Independence.
“This is the spirit of India. This is the strength of our nation,” he said. “All our people, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, the micro-minority of Parsis, believers, non-believers, are an integral part of India.”
He sought to draw a parallel between these values and his own policies, saying, “The values of harmony, welfare, compassion and love for human beings are the foundation of a just society. That is the principle behind my creed of Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas.”
The Prime Minister made a strong pitch against terrorism, underlining that “terrorism divides and destroys us”. “Indeed, when terrorism and extremism have become the most destructive force of our times, the message of Sufism has global relevance,” he said.
“Sufism is a celebration of diversity and pluralism, expressed in the words of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, that every people has its own path of truth, beliefs and focus of reverence. These words reflect the divine message of the Holy Prophet that there is no compulsion in religion; and also that to every people, we have appointed ways of worship which they observe,” Mr. Modi said amid applause.
In reading Islam as a religion of peace, the Prime Minister may, however, have broken with many Hindutva outfits that, academic studies have argued, have tended to highlight Islam as an “invader” in India.
The PM also saw the basic attributes of Sufism among Indian Muslims: “It is this spirit of Sufism, the love for their country and the pride in their nation that define the Muslims in India.”
“They are shaped by the values of the Islamic heritage of India. It upholds the highest ideals of Islam and has always rejected the forces of terrorism and extremism,” he said.
Underlining that Islam is a religion of peace, Mr. Modi said: “When we think of the 99 names of Allah, none stand for force and violence, and that the first two names denote compassionate and merciful. Allah is Rahman and Raheem.”
While asserting that the fight against terror was not a fight against any religion but one between humanism and inhumanity, he hit out at terror as a threat to religion itself. “Terrorists distort a religion whose cause they profess to support. They kill and destroy more in their own land and among their own people than they do elsewhere. Those who spread terror in the name of religion are anti-religious.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National /by Vikas Pathak / New Delhi – March 18th, 2016
Majority of women in our country spend their lives within the four walls unaware about the outer world. For them, their family is their world. Though women put all efforts to cater to the need of their loved ones, yet there are incidents of them being harassed for dowry or other reasons. Only, few have braved the dare consequences to stand tall in the society and emerge as the role models for fellow women.
Here is a woman from Hyderabad who has been travelling across the country creating awareness against committing suicide and also motivating the youth fight depression.
Meet Sana Iqbal, a native of Hyderabad, who has been travelling across the country creating awareness against taking the extreme step. A mother of the seven-month-old son Mohammed Saqib Ali, Sana has taken up the initiative to prevent youth from ending their lives for trivial reasons. “It is important to address the youth and children in certain issues as they get very emotional and sensitive with matters closely related to them. It is very important for parents to spend quality time with their kids and talk to them as they feel depressed on not being given concentration they rightly deserve. When it comes to youth, they fall for the person who listens to them and sometimes get into relationships without knowing if the person is an ideal partners and later regret when the relationship turns sour. And that is when they get depressed and think of taking the extreme step,” says Sana.
Having covered 17,500 kms since November, 2015, on her Royal Enfield, Sana has covered 49 cities in North and Central part of the country. She has been visiting various colleges and giving special lectures on how to come out of depression and not to take the decision to ending lives. Talking about her decision to take up this initiative, Sana tells that she was also a victim of depression for 5 years and had spent many sleepless nights.
Having gone through the trauma, Sana, one fine day decided to break the shackles to come out depression by going on a bike ride and that is when she decided to go on a solo tour throughout the country on her motorbike creating awareness. Sana was in Mysuru recently where she addressed students at a few colleges before heading to Ooty. She expects to complete her solo tour during first week of June this year.
Being a lone woman travelling across the country, Sana has been received well by the people at places she has visited. For her, it has been a memorable journey so far as many people have come for her help at the times when her motorbike broke down. “There have been instances when my vehicle broke down in middle of the road and people came to my help without any expectation after they learnt about my mission. In fact many offered me free hospitality at her houses which motivated me to carry the message that India is a safe country for women,” adds Sana.
One look at her jacket and you will get to see the badges of various bikers clubs. But, one badge that Sana adores is the one presented to her by Civil Defence of Patiala in Punjab which has the National Emblem presented to her in recognition for her initiative. There was a time during the tour when Sana had to cut short her tour while in Delhi as her father-in-law fell seriously ill and she had to return to Hyderabad. Without giving a second thought she came back to Hyderabad but sadly her father-in-law passed away. She later continued with her tour. Sana, who has been away from her kid over the past few months is determined to reach her goal and motivate the youth. Hats off Sana!
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / March 12th, 2016
N Sheik Abdullah at work in his organic farm at Kalakudi village near Manur in Tirunelveli | EXPRESS
Tirunelveil :
At a time when agricultural lands are turning into commercial housing plots, a youth has been silently transforming dry land into organic farming plots near Manur in the district.
Giving up his high salary job after working around nine years in West Asia, diploma holder N Sheik Abdullah (34) is busy now turning his integrated organic farm at Kalakudi village near Manur into a farm that grows watermelon, drum sticks and marigold.
“After completing a diploma in mechanical engineering, I worked in production arena in Erode and Coimbatore for around five years. Later, I took up the job of a design engineer in the West Asia. With the support of my family members, I later purchased dry lands at Kalakudi village,” Abdullah said.
He returned from West Asia in March last year to launch into agricultural activities.
Hailing from Pettai in Tirunelveli city, he travels about 25 km to reach his farmland from his house daily.Step by step, he is turning the dry soil into one that is suitable for organic agriculture farming.
Abdullah said he has plans to keep local breeds of cows, goats and chicken in the organic farm.
He has also planted local tree species of banyan, neem, pipul, fig, Poovarasu among others.
Abdullah, who considers organic farm expert Nammalvar as his role model, has undergone training at his organic farm ‘Vanagam’ in Karur district. He has cultivated paddy in the farm and plans expand it to more areas in his plot.
His idea is to produce healthy milk, egg and organic agriculture produces, which has no pesticides and chemicals.
Satisfied with the milk yield of local breeds of cattle, the 34-year-old is also chalking out measures to save them.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by M. Abdul Rabi / March 03rd, 2016
Syed Ali Rizvi waves to voters entering the Bowman Elementary School voting location. Wicked Local Staff Photo/Jordan Frias
By Jordan Frias
jfrias@wickedlocal.com
Rizvi, originally from Lucknow, India, missed the February deadline for nomination papers, but learned about the write-in candidate process.
LEXINGTON
Syed Ali Rizvi stood outside of Bowman Elementary School March 2 to gain support for his write-in campaign to become a Town Meeting member for Precinct 2.
Rizvi, originally from Lucknow, India, missed the February deadline for nomination papers, but learned about the write-in candidate process.
“Someone mentioned to me that you can be a write-in candidate. I didn’t know that,” he said. “The best investment I can make to the town is serving it.”
Rizvi was elected with 33 votes, according to unofficial results from the town clerk’s office, as was Jason Bressner, who received 14 write-in votes. Five other candidates in Precinct 2, who were on the ballot, each received two votes.
Precinct 2 was one of two that didn’t have enough people running for Town Meeting. Three write-in candidates were elected to Town Meeting this year.
Rizvi has been involved in school functions since he moved to Lexington 10 years ago.
“We have benefited tremendously from the town and all of what it offers,” he said. “Bowman parents have known me for many years.”
Rizvi had a lawn sign created for parents driving by or to Bowman Elementary School to see, which he held up on Election Day for people like Peter Kovner who might not have known about him.
Kovner only voted for the five Town Meeting candidates on the ballot because he knew of no write-in candidates. Rizvi had held up his sign in the morning and Kovner voted that evening.
“If somebody had let me know that they were running I would have put them down. If they had a sign, they would have my vote, not that they would need it,” Kovner said.
Kovner said low voter turnout was concerning, but he wasn’t at all bothered with the fact that these races weren’t contested. The March 3 election had a 16 percent turnout, according to the town clerk’s office.
“If there were more contentious issues in town people would run. I don’t think people are being smug, I think they’re pretty happy with what’s been happening,” he said.
Long-term membership
One of the longest-serving members, Dan Fenn II, has been in Town Meeting for 52 years. Having experience working in Washington, D.C., Fenn calls Town Meeting “a microcosm of the democratic process.”
“You see the same kind of personalities, the same kind of human behaviors in Congress in Washington,” he said. “It’s important to participate in public affairs of the community in which you live.”
source: http://www.lexington.wickedlocal.com / Home> News Now> Article / by Jordan Frias / Lexington, March 06th, 2015
