Jilani died during treatment at Lucknow’s Nishat Hospital in Qaiserbagh and is survived by daughter Maria Rehan, sons Najafzafar Jilani and Anaszafar Jilani, and wife Azra Jilani. The family resides in Qaiserbagh. Jilani was buried at the Qaiserbagh graveyard late Wednesday evening.
All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) secretary and senior advocate died at a Lucknow hospital on Wednesday after a prolonged illness followed by a fall in May 2021 during which he suffered brain haemorrhage. He was 73.
Jilani, a former Additional Advocate General for Uttar Pradesh, was the convenor of the Babri Masjid Action Committee and had argued in the Ram Janmabhoomi case in different courts over decades.
Jilani died during treatment at Lucknow’s Nishat Hospital in Qaiserbagh and is survived by daughter Maria Rehan, sons Najafzafar Jilani and Anaszafar Jilani, and wife Azra Jilani. The family resides in Qaiserbagh. Jilani was buried at the Qaiserbagh graveyard late Wednesday evening.
“He had multiple health issues for which he was being treated. He had a urinary tract infection which had spread to his lungs. His kidney and brain were also affected. All these issues started after he fell in May 2021 and suffered brain haemorrhage,” said a family member.
Jilani, a native of Malihabad town, was among the decorated alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University, from where he got his law degree.
He will be remembered for his soft-spoken nature and his in-depth knowledge of law, said his colleagues and peers.
Senior advocate SFA Naqvi said, “He was among the most soft-spoken and kind-hearted people I knew. There was a grace about him which is hard to put in words. But his arguments were never soft in court, and he had the law on his fingertips. We have lost a pioneer in law, and he will be missed.”
“During his time as the Additional Advocate General, even when I was arguing against him, he forgot all about it once we were outside the court. Then, we would go back to being friends. He always kept what happened in court to the courtroom only,” added Naqvi.
After the Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi case in November 2019, Jilani had remarked, “The judgement has just been pronounced, it says a lot of things about the Constitution and about secularism. We are very dissatisfied with this judgement. Article 142 does not let you do this.”
After a special CBI court on September 30, 2020 acquitted all 32 surviving accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case, citing lack of evidence, Jilani had told The Indian Express , “The verdict is wrong. It is against the law and evidence (in the case). It is an erroneous judgement. However, a judgement is a judgement. We will avail the remedy available. The remedy is with the High Court. It has the power to reverse the judgement and we will go to the High Court.”
Advocate Rakesh Chaudhary, former president of the Oudh Bar Association, Allahabad High Court, said that Jilani had a great equation with everyone in the court. “He was a very helpful person, who never took anything personally. He had great sportsmanlike spirit,” said the lawyer.
Sarah Haque, a Delhi-based lawyer who worked alongside Jilani on the Babri Masjid case before the Supreme Court, said he was one of the kindest and most respected members of the Bar. “His demise is a huge loss to the legal fraternity. He was extremely passionate in his craft and made commendable efforts towards the pursuit of justice,” she said. “His attention and commitment to the Babri matter was laudable and he will be remembered forever.”
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> News> India / by Asad Rehman, Lucknow / May 18th, 2023
In an age where Wikipedia, if not the internet in its entirety, is our fountain of information, search for ‘Pangals’ or ‘Manipuri Muslims’ and you will be disappointed by the lack of insights available as you briskly read through many of the links. Many of you reading this, clicked on the link because you had no clue or knowledge beforehand that Manipuri Muslims even existed.
The story of their current presence is a living example of cross-cultural ethnicity with an even richer history that is an antithesis to communalism, as is our current state of affairs.
According to Wikipedia, Pangals are the descendants of Aurangzeb’s brother – Shah Suja, who fled his death from the self-proclaimed Mughal King and upon reaching Manipur, it is said that, he was given refuge by the then King of the region.
I decided to ask around to hear the locally remembered versions of history, so the journey began from a beautiful mosque about which I had gone to enquire.
I did not know who Manipuri Muslims were either honestly, not until a month ago. I had moved to this small town in South Assam from Delhi. The new place and the new people excited me (enough) to capture whatever I saw, happily trotting my way to unknown roads and shops.
And on just another ordinary day, I saw two women passing by, wearing the very familiar Manipuri traditional dress; yet this was a different rendition. And it all slowly came to me as a flashback in a dramatic advertisement sort of a way, in stereotypes. And I went home and Googled away. The vagueness of the information led me to do what I did. Hear the oral history that people carry with them, consciously or unconsciously.
Coincidentally, this beautiful Masjid I often saw on my way to the city and always wanted to visit happened to be in a Manipuri Muslim area, called Alipur.
In full view, the architecture is a beautiful off whitish (now, because of non-maintenance) mosque with a clear Mughal influence, standing tall and proud although stooping a little because of the weight of the years gone by without having anybody to take care.
On reaching, I went straight to the first house, right beside where the Tempo dropped me. I asked a young girl if she could show me around the mosque. I saw an excited smile, a flickering light in her eyes on seeing the worldly women in me who moved about freely, while she was herself limited to the house. She hesitantly called her brother, who was walking back home on seeing a random person interacting with his family – such propriety!
So I promptly began hammering him with questions regarding the Masjid’s history, who had built it and how old it was. I could read the confusion in his face. Attempting to remember, then finally giving up in five minutes he told me he doesn’t know much about it nor would any of his age.
Half disappointed I asked if anyone would know, to which he said, “kisi ko zyada pata nahi hoga but ek old uncle hai, unko poochenge to pata hoga (nobody knows too much, but there is one old uncle who you can ask, he would know).”
So I met Kazi Uncle at his abode and after our good conversation on the same he pressed for tea and packed me toffee and dry fruits which he excitedly announced his younger son had got from Dubai.
I asked about the Masjid first. According to him and a history professor who I went on to speak to later, confirmed that the masjid was built by a common man after Independence. The workers were specially brought from what is now Dhaka to complete the project.
A common man’s history
Like a curious child, I moved on from one conversation after another to ask him what he knows about his history, the shared history of Manipuri Muslims. He smiled at my excitement and interest in who they were. I stormed at him with what I had read online, along with what I wrote on top earlier about Shah Suja.
However, in written and shared memory, the history of Manipuri Muslims predates the era of Aurangzeb.
During the 1600’s, after the death of the King, his elder son, Khagemba was throned. Over what is said to be a petty argument between the brothers, the King’s younger brother, Sanongba fled to Cachhar with his mother, with hopes to ally with the Cachhar King to usurp the elder brother’s throne. So Sanongba, backed by the Sylheti Bengalis’ force attacked Manipur; only to be defeated.
Stubborn, like a younger child’s characteristic, Sanongba refused to give up. Fortunately, the Cachhari king had good relations with the Arabs who were the power in Bengal at that point. The Catchhari King approached Bengal for alliance and thus, with an army of Pathans, Catchhari Bengalis and his, they readied to attack Manipur with strong indignation at success this time.
On winning the battle, the new King, King Sanongba, content with the Pathans (Pangals, the Pathans of Bengal. The word is derived from ‘Bengal’) service, offering them lands and Meitei women as wives, inviting them to stay back.
The progeny of this inter-cultural and religious mixture are the Manipuri Muslims as we know and see today.
Manipuri traditional apparel has two pieces, Phanek (skirt), and the Innaphi (chunni as we call it in Northern India) which you wear on top of a blouse or top.
pix: wordswomanwrites.wordpress.com/
However, Manipuri Muslims have reinvented the same traditional dress to complement their faith. The Phanek remains the same but you’ll notice young girls and women drape Innaphi around their head. Married women also tie a green cloth on top of their Phanek which can be of any colour. It’s a marker of marriage. Apart from this and facial features in come cases that are prominent, there’s nothing that you’ll notice is different between the Meiteis and the Meitei Muslims. From the food to the language, they were and are of the same Mother.
Yet, the story is far from over. Kazi uncle’s recount of history does not match with that of what’s recorded.
A week after meeting Kazi uncle, I went to see his friend in Baskandi, Prof Hamid Ali, a retired History professor.
Between what Uncle Kazi said and what Hamid Ali said, the bone of contention is the battle.
According to written records, Sanongba’s army backed by Catchhari Bengalis and the Pathans from Bengal in its second attempt too couldn’t win this battle against the fierce defense of the Meitei army in the Capital Kingdom.
Instead, after their clear defeat at the hands of the Manipuri army, many Pathans and Mangals (Manipuri word for “others” who are not Manipuri) were taken captives.
King Pakhemba, on noticing their artistic artisanship offered them Meitei wives and lands on the pretext that they settle in Manipur. And as I wrote earlier, the progeny of this cultural and religious coming together are what we know of as Manipuri Muslims.
In fact, an interesting fact that Uncle Kazi had brought to my notice was that these Pathans were offered or took up new surnames, based on the kind of work they were involved in. For eg, a gun shooter was surnamed Nongthombam which is a literal translation of the same in Manipuri language.
The second last sentence comes out with so much pride and hope of the possibility of an inclusive nation state. So with this in mind, I asked a few Manipuri women I met on my way back from Prof. Hamid Ali’s house, “Do the two communities still intermarry?”
“No. But in the younger generation, there have been cases where a Meitei girl marries into ours, but it does not happen from our side. Nobody has left the community to marry another outside of it”.
Irrespective of the point of diversion, what is commonly believed, and in records is that this Battle between the two brothers is a defining moment that paved parallel history for Manipuri Muslims.
However apart from this, as is said and recorded, Muslims from near and far off places came into Manipur, as the propagator of the teachings of Islam, as traders and so on. In fact, as is recorded by Farooque Ahmed in his book on titled, “Manipuri Muslims: Historical perspective, 615 -2000 CE” notes that Aribam (the word is derived from Aribah in Arabic meaning ‘Pure Arabs’), a Muslim clan in Manipur traces it’s paternal history to Saad ibn abi Waqqas, the Maternal uncle of the Prophet.
[This article was first published on Deepika Chhetri’s blog and has been republished here with permission from the author.]
Maulana Yaseen Akhtar Misbahi, a renowned Islamic scholar who was affiliated with the Ahle Sunnat Barelvi organization Raza Academy, passed away on May 7th, Sunday.
Misbahi was a prominent figure in the Indian Muslim community, who held several important positions throughout his career. He served as a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and was in charge of the Darul Qalam Madrassa. Additionally, he founded the Qadri Mosque in Zakir Nagar, New Delhi and was previously an Urdu journalist who edited the Kanzul Iman monthly magazine in Delhi.
During the Shah Bano case in 1985, Misbahi was elected as the vice president of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, where he advocated for the protection of Shariat. He led various political and social demonstrations to safeguard the rights of Indian Muslims.
Furthermore, Misbahi was a prolific writer who authored numerous books on various Islamic and Muslim issues in India.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim> Religion / by Muslim Mirror Staff / May 08th, 2023
Kaneez Fathima, who played an active role in anti-Hijab movement in Karnataka, has again won from North Gulbarga in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections, the outcome of which saw Congress winning comfortably in the southern state.
She has defeated Lingayat youth leader Chandrakant Patil of BJP in a close fight.
Fathima secured 80,973 votes with a vote share of 45.28 per cent, while Patil got 78,261 votes making it one of the closest contests in the state.
She told local media that “Congress government will reverse the ban on wearing of hijab in schools and colleges.”
Fatima, 63, entered public life a few months before the 2018 Assembly Elections and after the death of her husband Kamrul Islam, who was a six-time minister and MLA.
Fathima had won earlier election with 5,940 votes and this time, it was a tough contest. In 2018, she was also pitted against 9 Muslim rivals, including Nasir Hussain of JD(S).
A Hijab wearing Kaneez Fathima had agitated against the Karnataka government’s ban on hijab inside the government institutions. The ban was upheld by the Supreme Court.
She was also at the forefront of the 2020 anti-CAA protests in Karnataka.
During the Hijab movement, Kaneez Fatima said that “wearing Hijab was a basic right. “In independent India, we have got the freedom to live freely. We cannot ask anyone questions about clothes. Girls should not be stopped from attending colleges on this issue,” he said.
The Gulbarga North has 60 percent Muslim population.
From the outcome of the Assembly elections, it’s clear that the polarization along religious lines does not benefit only one party. Other parties have also gained from it.
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly has 224 seats. The BJP was accused of creating a Hindu-Muslim divide during the campaigning. However, the Congress that won the election, seems to have been benefitted most due to this.
Interestingly, Karnataka’s education minister who was defending the move to ban hijab in colleges has lost the election.
In 1978, the maximum number of 16 Muslim candidates won the Karnataka assembly elections. After that this is the third time when a large number of Muslim candidates got victory in the elections.
Muslims constitute more than 13 percent of the total population in Karnataka. This time nine Muslims have been elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, two more than the previsious time.
In 1978, there were 16 Muslim members in the Karnataka assembly.
Most Muslims who won elections are from the Congress party. The JD(S)’s 23 Muslim candidates lost their elections.
The Assaduddin Owaisi-led outfit AIMIM contested two seats and secured only 0.02 per cent of the votes and did not win.
There are at least 19 seats in Karnataka, where the Muslim vote is more than 30 percent.
The victorious Muslims are:
Asif (Raju) North Belgaum, he defeared BJP’s Ravi B Patil by 4231 votes.
Kaneez Fathima defeated BJP’s Chandrakant B Patil by 2712 votes.
Rahim Khan (congress) defeated Suryakant Nagamarpalli of JD(S) by 10780 votes and won from Bidar
Rizwan Arshad defeated BJP’s N Chandra by 23,194 votes From Shivajinagar
NA Haris defeated BJP’s K Shivakumar by 7125 votes from Shanti Nagar.
BAZ Jameer Ahmed Khan won Chamarajpet by defeating Bhaskar Rao of BJP by a margin of 53,953 votes.
HA Iqbal Hussain defeated Nikhil Kumaraswamy of JD(S) by 10715 votes From Ramanagaram
UT Khadar Fareed defeated BJP’s Satish Kumpala by 22790 votes from Mangaluru
Tanveer defeated BJP’s Satish Sandesh Swamy by 31120 votes from Narasimharaja.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Malick Asghar Hashmi, New Delhi / May 14th, 2023
Ariba Khan from the Indian National Congress, and Municipal Councillor from Abul Fazal Enclave in Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, speaks to Aatika from TwoCircles on her political journey, challenges for minorities in India and the similarities between the politics of BJP and AAP.
Background & Political Journey
Ariba is the daughter of Asif Mohammed Khan, a former congress MLA from Jamia Nagar Okhla. However for Ariba electoral politics is a new terrain. She’s a graduate in English literature with a post-graduate diploma in guidance and counselling.
Ariba was pursuing her studies and was involved in social work when the opportunity to get into politics came along. Given her privileged background, Ariba admits that it’s beneficial to be familiar with the process, but it does not help one thrive in politics.
“If you are given an opportunity and you have a voice and resources to make a difference, then one should be up for it and that is what I did.”
View on AAP’s politics.
“The past few years, since BJP has come into power, it’s been a disaster.” She says whether it is the economy or religion, BJP has continuously caused severe damage. Ariba laments that the economic situation is going to worsen, due to the recent Adani-Hindenburg scandal.
But being an emerging political leader from Delhi, she views AAP as her biggest challenge. She criticises the AAP government on various accounts, such as their insensitivity for the victims of the Delhi Pogrom of 2020, for the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s comments against the Markaz during Covid-19, for their lack of solidarity with the CAA-NRC protest, and the silence on Bilkis Bano case because of Gujarat elections.
“Kejriwal created a facade that they are saviours of Muslims. And he was able to persuade the innocent voters through the freebies,” says Ariba.
In reference to the North East riots, she also accuses AAP for showing double standards in their unabashed support for leaders like Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain despite corruption allegations against them, but not backing Tahir Hussain who was suspended from the party, even before he was proven guilty.
Ariba adds that the compensation amount announced for the victims has not been disbursed till date. “Although the electricity is free up to 200 units, the charges of 200 units are still Rs. 3.5 per unit as against Rs. 2.5 per unit during the Congress government in Delhi,” says Ariba highlighting another key concern.
For all these reasons, she believes that the Muslims have been dissuaded from AAP which has resulted in electoral gains for the Congress in the recently held MCD elections.
On her Constituency
According to Ariba, one of the biggest challenges is the issue of unauthorized colonies in her constituency of Abul Fazal Enclave. “Since these colonies do not contribute to tax revenue for the Municipal Council of Delhi, it becomes a challenge to procure funds for development works”, says Ariba.
Many issues of sanitation, garbage dumps resulting in road blockages, etc. continue to cause trouble to people residing in the area. She believes that her job as an MCD councillor should therefore be to ensure access to basic health and education by having more MCD schools, dispensaries, public toilets, etc.
Challenges as a Young Muslim Woman
On being asked about her experience as a young woman in politics, Ariba says “Mansplaining is a constant annoyance. A few people believe that a woman can’t handle things the way men do.”
So far, she’s happy with the respect she has received as a woman candidate but is also hopeful about the things to change for the better in the times to come.
Future of Congress and Bharat Jodo Yatra
Ariba thinks the four month long Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi in twelve states, will have a strong impact on the future political discourse of India. The Yatra passed from Badarpur which touches her constituency. Apart from logistical management, she had to coordinate with the faculty and students of Jamia University for their participation in the Yatra.
She reckons the Congress party is and will remain the true voice of the minorities in India. When being asked about political prisoners, she says “Those who are in jail including Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Shafa-ul-rahman and others, I stand with them, we raise our voice against this injustice under this dictatorial regime.”
She warns people to not view AAP as an alternative to BJP, as it was Priyanka Gandhi and leaders like Salman Khurshid, who led from the front during the protests of CAA-NRC and Violence in Jamia, but AAP shied away from taking any positions. “AAP has also compromised the status of 123 Waqf board properties by not putting up a resistance against the Centre”, says Ariba.
Minorities & Secularism
On being asked about Dalit Muslim unity against the BJP, Ariba believes that its only a small section that is with the BJP, as even Hindus are coming together to oppose this radicalisation, because it should not be about just one section as the entire population needs to stand up against the rising intolerance.
“We live in a country, where if we stop being secular, we won’t survive. It’s the essence of being an Indian,” says Ariba.
Aatika S is a fellow at the SEEDS-TCN mentorship program.
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCirlces.net / Home> India Politics / by Aatika S / May 12th, 2023
A soldier of the Indian Army from Harihar died during a demolition firing in Pokhran in Rajasthan on Monday.
Javed
Bengaluru / Davangere :
A soldier of the Indian Army from Harihar died during a demolition firing in Pokhran in Rajasthan on Monday. The body is expected to reach Bengaluru on Wednesday.
According to defence sources, the soldier is identified as Javed (33), a resident of PB Road area in Harihar in Davangere district. He was attached to an engineer regiment of the Indian Army located at Secunderabad. Javed who had been serving the Army for 14 years is survived by his wife and two children.
Lt Col Manish Ojha, Defence spokesperson, Rajasthan said, “During the demolition firing being conducted in Pokhran by an engineer regiment of the Indian Army as part of its annual training firing practice, a shaped charge exploded accidentally, resulting in the death of one soldier and injuring four others.” All injured were evacuated by air to Military Hospital in Jodhpur. An inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the exact cause of the accident, he added.
Javed was the second son of Abdul Khader Sab and Fathima Bi. He studied at MRB school at Harihar and did his second PU at SJVP College in Harihar. Soon after completing PU, he joined the Army in 2005 and later completed his BCom through distance education while in service. Javed had married Sartaz Bhanu in 2013 and had two daughters — Ameena Kaiser (3) and Umme Javera Aiyath (18 months), family sources said.
Javed used to talk to his mother over the phone daily and had called her on Monday morning. On Monday afternoon, he had informed his wife that he was going to attend a training at Pokhran, family sources said. The body is expected to arrive from Jodhpur to Bengaluru on Wednesday and reach Harihar late night. Final rites will be performed at Harihar on Thursday, source said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / February 14th, 2018
Representation of Muslims in the Karnataka Assembly has marginally increased in this election compared to the last.
As many as nine candidates were declared elected on Saturday, compared to the seven in 2018. That was a steep fall from the 11 Muslim MLAs who were elected in 2013. All of them are from the Congress.
The JD(S) said 23 of its 211 candidates were Muslims, but none won.
BJP did not field any Muslims.
Those elected include:
-Rahim Khan from Bidar
-U.T. Khader from Mangaluru
-Tanveer Sait from Mysuru
-Asif (Raju) Sait from Belagavi north
-Rizwan Arshad from Shivaji Nagar
-B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan from Chamarajpet
-Kaneez Fatima from Gulbarga north
-Iqbal Hussein from Ramanagara
-N.A. Haris from Shanti Nagar.
All of them have been re-elected, except Asif (Raju) Sait and Iqbal Hussein, who are entering the Assembly for the first time.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Elections> by The Hindu Bureau (headline edited) / May 13th, 2023
In the run-up to 2024, with the pendulum poised between a secular or theocratic state, we need to revisit this forgotten chapter of history.
In the end, only three Indians spoke against Partition: Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (centre) and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (right). (Express Archives)
The hall of the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad on Calcutta’s Shakespeare Sarani was fully packed when I arrived for the Hashim Abdul Halim Foundation International Seminar. The Foundation is named after a man who was the speaker of the West Bengal Assembly for 29 years. The Iran Society which brings out the journal Indo Iranica is located in his ancestral home. Fuad Halim and Saira Shah Halim, along with their group, were the spirit of this event.
The overhead banner read “Muslims for a United India — Unvisited Histories: Remembering the Azad Muslim Conference, April 27-30, 1947”. Each word of the banner was part of my life although I had never thought of framing it in this way.
In 1947, my family was forcibly evicted from our ancestral place, Panipat, where we had lived for 800 years. No one asked them if they wanted to go to a newly carved country named Pakistan. The women of my family left notes pasted on their front doors, “We are going for a short time; we will return”. Keys were handed to neighbours, tears flowed on both sides. All they could carry were bundles and potlis. They were mostly women; the men of Panipat worked in nearby cities. They would join later. Young men who were studying abroad did not “opt” for the new country until it became inevitable. Seventy-six years later in 2023, I live in Delhi, near the campus of a university, Jamia Millia Islamia. Those who established it in 1920 were fortunately not evicted; they stayed on amidst the communal frenzy because they believed in a united India.
That day I heard speaker after speaker in a hall which remained packed for almost eight hours. They spoke on topics like ‘The Case for a South Asian Union’, ‘1857 Joint Heritage Joint Martyrdom’, ‘Muslims against Partition – Carrying Forward the 1857 Legacy’, ‘Challenging the Two Nation Theory: Maulana Azad and Nationalist Muslims’, ‘The Two Nation Theory: One Thought of Hindu Mahasabha RSS and Muslim League’, ‘Muslims who opposed the Partition of India’, ‘Allah Bux Soomro and Muslim Politics’. These were academics from universities across West Bengal, plus a few from the US and the UK.
The Azad Muslim Conference was the cord that held it all together. It was organised in Delhi in 1940 for three days, its objective: Advocacy for composite nationalism and for a united India, and unequivocal opposition to Partition and the Two Nation Theory. Participants were from the Krishak Praja Party, the Jamiat, Majlis e Ahrar ul Islam, All India Momin Conference, Khudai Khidmatgar, All India Shia Political Conference, Anjuman i Watan Baluchistan and others. Wilfred Smith, a world-renowned orientalist from McGill University in Canada wrote that this conference represented the vast majority of India’s Muslims. The Bombay Chronicle reported that the Muslim attendance was five times that of any event organised by the Muslim League. Allah Bux Soomro, twice premier of Sindh, was its leading light. Born in 1900 in Shikarpur, his fierce commitment to a united India led him to return the honours bestowed on him by the Empire. An equally unequivocal opposer of the two-nation theory was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. He was born in Mecca, lived in Kolkata and joined the struggle with the guerrilla movement of Jugantar with Rash Behari Ghosh and Shyam Sundar Chakravarty. Azad spoke from every platform, the highest being his addresses as President (twice) of the Indian National Congress , against Partition and for a united India. In his first presidential address in 1923, he spoke for Hindu-Muslim unity, even if it meant a delay in attaining Swaraj.
Three years after the AIMC, Allah Bux Soomro was assassinated by an assailant said to belong to the Muslim League.
As the conference proceeded, layer after layer opened up and, to reword John Keats, I felt as if a “new planet swam into my ken”.
In the last decade, I have heard the following refrain from many quarters: “They demanded Pakistan. So why are they here? The Muslims — expunge, expel, exorcise them.”
Questions: Who asked us? Was there a plebiscite? Was there a “rai shumari”? Who made it happen? Elite Muslims, colonial masters — who suffered?
In his excellent work, Muslims Against Partition, Shamsul Islam writes, “The people of India, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, unitedly challenged imperialist power. This unprecedented unity naturally unnerved the firangis and made them conscious that their rule could flourish only if Hindus and Muslims were divided along communal lines.” The Minister of Indian Affairs, Lord Wood wrote to Lord Elgin, ‘We have maintained our rule in India by playing off one part against another.’ John Lawrence, Administrator of the East India Company, wrote, ‘If Muslims and Hindus have quarrelled, so much better for us; let them slaughter each other…’”
In the end, only three Indians spoke against Partition: Mahatma Gandhi, who said “over my dead body” but succumbed to the Congress; Maulana Abul Kalam Azad who stood his ground and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who wrote to Gandhi, “We Pashtuns stood by you and had undergone great sacrifices for attaining freedom. But you have deserted us and thrown us to the wolves.”
In the run-up to 2024, with the pendulum poised between a secular or theocratic India, we need to recall this forgotten history. In the current din of Muslim hatred is heard the rasping voice of the Minster of State for Law and Justice. At Delhi’s Maharashtra Sadan, he said, “There are very few tolerant Muslims; those who pretend to be tolerant do so to grab the offices of the Vice President, the governor as well as vice-chancellors. As soon as they retire they start spitting poison. They wear the mukhota (mask) of tolerance; tolerant Muslims can be counted on fingers. The basic structure of the nation is Hindu Rashtra.”
I’m ending with two lines from Hafiz Shirazi, quoted in S Abid Husain’s prophetic work, The Destiny of Indian Muslims: “If sorrow raises its dire legion/ To overwhelm people of faith / The Saqi and I will join hands /To wipe it off the face of this earth.”
The writer is former Member, Planning Commission
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> News> Opinion> Columns / by Syeda Hamid / May 11th, 2023
The Indian Nawayath Forum (INF) formed in 2018, is a non-profit charitable organization that is a joint Federation of 8 Indian Bhatkali Jamaaths Associations located across India, outside Bhatkal, to serve the community.
Since its inception in 2018, INF has been at the forefront to serve the people driving various activities in healthcare, education, promoting business and employment, providing scholarships, budget housing projects and NOW, INF is organizing a Trade Expo with 180 Stalls, in 25 categories of businesses at (YMSA Ground) Taluka Ground, Bhatkal, for 3 days from December 30th, 2022 to Jan 1st, 2023, one of its kind for the trade community of Bhatkal.
You are all invited to the trade expo and Inauguration ceremony to witness our businesses and promote and encourage our community businesses and help them to prosper.
The inauguration is scheduled InshaAllah this Friday, December 30th at 4:45 PM sharp.
Our Primary objectives of conducting the Trade Fair Expo were: • To promote and give more exposure to the business/services rendered by our Nawayath business community. • To encourage and promote entrepreneurship for our community youngsters. • To identify new business ventures instead of the present trend of starting/ repeating similar existing businesses. • To scale up the existing business by giving inputs/know-how in marketing and packaging of products. • To set up R&D for increasing the shell life of local food products. • To foster and encourage collective investment for carrying out business requiring larger Capex investments. • To promote local home products and increase their footprint in other areas/cities. • To impart knowledge and information for getting required permission/ licenses for carrying out legal trade practices
Bouncing back from adversity with indomitable resilience and willpower, Asif Iqbal helps others with disabilities as he pushes the limits. Ejaz Kaiser shares his story.
Since 2021, Iqbal has run 10 km each on 12 different races.
Chhattisgarh :
A life well lived is a life worth talking about. With complete vision loss, Mohammed Asif Iqbal’s life can force anyone to rethink disability.
A Kolkata resident, who had a successful stint in Central government’s smart city projects for digital inclusion initiative at Nava Raipur in Chhattisgarh, Iqbal (46) had partial vision loss since birth due to a genetic disorder called retinal degeneration. By the time he turned 16, he had turned completely blind.
He moved to the United States and managed complete his high school and partial college education in Oregon, USA. Iqbal returned to India in 1995 to later become the first visually challenged commerce graduate of St Xavier’s College Kolkata and got his MBA in human resources from Symbiosis Institute, Pune.
Around six years back, he was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Having given a choice to either change his lifestyle or be on medicines all his life, Iqbal decided to lead a life worth living. “I thought my health shouldn’t be a hurdle towards my contribution to nation-building. Just the thought of doing something to ensure I remain healthy. I was overweight. I began visiting the playground and park with the help of friends. It was there the idea clicked to participate in marathons and began preparing for the race to build my confidence”, Iqbal said.
Running became a routine; starting from 100 metre, he increased the length slowly to 300 and later to a few kilometres with the support of volunteers. Gradually, he learnt navigation on his own.
“I was competing with myself to enhance my performance”, he added. Since 2021, Iqbal has run 10 km each on 12 different races and has also been recognised by former Indian cricket skipper master blaster Sachin Tendulkar for his brave initiative.
But his biggest moment came on December 18, 2022 when he accomplished TSK-25 km (15.53 miles) marathon run in Kolkata only through voice guidance. He was blind-folded and had zero physical touch or physical assistance from anyone. He set a record and entered into Asian Book of Records, as the first Indian Asian blind runner to complete a marathon in 3:32 hours with voice navigation support from Dibyendu Mondel and Prakash Singh who piloted his run.
“While I run on voice guidance (talking GPS) issued by fellow buddy runners who run at the same speed, the mission of 25km marathon in Kolkata was well achieved,” Iqbal said.
He is also the recipient of a national award, West Bengal state role model award and the extraordinary citizen of Kolkata award among others.
During his career spanning over 15 years, he has designed and implemented social inclusion strategy for AADHAR enrollment, accessible income tax, and accessible telecom under Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) among others.
He is presently an associate director at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India Ltd. In 2000, he filed a public interest litigation (PIL) for implementation of reservation quota in government-run universities including the IIMs and IITs.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Ejaz Kaiser, Express News Service / January 29th, 2023
