A book titled ‘A world Divided: Human Rights in an Unequal World’ written on the 25-year struggle of famous social activist Shamim Ahmed was launched on September 25 at a grand ceremony held at the Five Star Ruff Hotel The Park in the West Bengal Capital.
Former minister and congress leader Mani Shankar Iyer paid tributes to Shamim as he said there are very few people in the country who do great service for the restoration of human rights and to put a smile on the face of the people of the country.
He congratulated the author of the book and said that the author has researched the life of Shamim Ahmed and brought a book before us.
The book sheds light on the life of Shamim Ahmed and his work in promotion of Urdu language.
Shankar said that he had the opportunity to read a book, adding that he was very much impressed with his “Food for All” campaign.
“Rights and opportunities have not been found. Even today, people on the streets are longing for food.” Mani Shankar Aiyar said that India is a multi-religious country. “The destiny of this country lies in national unity.”
pix: goodreads.com
Former Member of Parliament and renowned intellectual Mohammad Adib, while acknowledging the services of Shamim Ahmed, said that coming from Bihar to Bengal and launching a movement to make Urdu the second official language is nothing short of a feat.
He said, “it is unfortunate that after India’s independence Later, Urdu was treated leniently. There was injustice with Urdu in Bengal as well. Shamim Ahmed raised his voice against this injustice.
Expressing his views on the occasion, Adib said that the 25-year journey of Shamim was full of difficulties, trials and tribulations.
On the occasion, renowned international artist and Bengali intellectual Shubha Parsna said that Shamim Ahmed is the pride of Bengal. “We are happy that there are people in Bengal who speak of humanity and deal with people on humanitarian grounds. That I have known Shamim Ahmed for the last many years. He had compassion for humanity in his heart.
Prasana urged books should be written on such personalities so that the new generation is aware of him. The event was attended by important personalities from different sections of the society.
source: http://www.millattimes.com / Millat Times / Home> National / by Millat Times Staff / October 05th, 2021
Thirty-two-year old Zeeshan Majeed from Kolkata, West Bengal has not only distributed food during the Covid-19 lockdown but also distributed masks, medicine and oxygen cylinders at times of crisis. For his noble work, he was featured as a Covid Warrior in IPL 2020. He is included among the Covid Warriors in the Limca Book of Records – 2020-22 as well.
Kolkata :
He has been feeding hungry people since he saw a child at a government hospital picking up food from a drain and eating it. Thirty-two-year old Zeeshan Majeed, a footwear manufacturer in Kolkata, started feeding 40 people with meals cooked by his mother once a week, but today more than 1500 people receive food daily from his Anti-Hunger Squad Foundation.
Zeeshan became a social activist after witnessing an accident on the street. It all began when he was on his way to work. He saw a young boy who had met with an accident and lay unconscious on the street near Sealdah railway station on April 15, 2018.
Something strange caught his attention, so he stopped to help. In the chaos, he spotted rag-pickers attempting to grab his mobile and laptop bag, which were lying scattered along with the motorcycle. He was a bit scared to help, but he recovered his courage and rushed the unconscious boy to the nearby Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital.
At the hospital, he was shocked to notice the child. He later learned that many rural residents from deprived backgrounds in West Bengal travel to the capital city of Kolkata for treatment at the government hospitals. They arrive with their families and relatives. Some of these people can’t even afford to buy food, medication or accommodation. Most of them live on the streets for days and months.
Zeeshan went home with a heavy heart and recounted the story to his mother. He insisted on offering meals for the needy while he knew that her mother couldn’t possibly cook for this many people. “I asked if she could prepare meals for at least 40 people and I would take care of the rest. Her answer was yes. We decided that every Sunday my mother would prepare food and I would deliver it to people temporarily living on hospital premises or pavements,” Majeed told TwoCircles.net.
Starting a charity On May 20, 2018, he established the Anti-Hunger Squad Foundation, a charitable organisation. It started as a weekly event called ‘Dawat E Aam’ at NRS Hospital. Every week, the menu had a variety of dishes, such as simple hotchpotch, rice with vegetables, vegetable pulao, or rice with soya chunks curry. The menu consisted only of vegetarian meals since the recipients belong to diverse communities, which were served during the lunch hour.
This vehicle carries Anti-Hunger Squad Foundation’s relief materials.
This weekly event has become a part of a daily routine since April 28, 2019, when he started receiving phone calls from different places. Helped by funds from friends, family and through social media, he launched the dinner service. He does not accept cash donations directly from his donors rather engages restaurant kitchens to prepare meals for donors, which he collects and distributes. It gets difficult for him to prepare lunch and dinner on his own, despite having a kitchen.
Covid warrior Among the people he has fed are women, children and the elderly. Whether they are beggars, slum dwellers, destitute or prostitutes, all have benefited from his food distribution services. The underprivileged received food standing in a row during the Covid-19 lockdown while the middle-class people felt shy and refused to queue. They suffered the most during the lockdown.
Zeeshan wanted to help them, so he created a ‘Secret Santa’ project for them with a helpline. On his social media platforms, he advertised that those in need of the ration kit could send him a text. Their ration kits would be delivered to their homes without revealing their identities.
Zeeshan Majeed serving food to hungry people.
During the first lockdown, more than 1000 ration kits were distributed in Sonagachi, Kolkata’s sex-workers area. Ten kilograms of rice and five kilograms of pulses were included in the kits. Furthermore, the Anti-Hunger Squad Foundation distributed over 1200 kits each day under the Secret Santa project. Over 5000 people were helped.
This Samaritan from Kolkata has not only distributed food but also masks, medicine and oxygen cylinders at times of crisis. For his noble work, he was featured as a Covid Warrior in IPL 2020. He is included among the Covid Warriors in the Limca Book of Records – 2020-22 as well.
Former Indian Cricket Captain Sourav Gangulay presenting a gift hamper to Zeeshan Majeed.
“I always had two police guards with me during the Janata curfew or lockdown periods,” he said, acknowledging the maximum support he received from the Kolkata Police. “Their presence allowed me to distribute food properly while maintaining social distance with chalk marking, increasing sanitization awareness. Sometimes on the footpaths, beggars or physically challenged people would form a queue while some forlorn person would hand out disposable plates,” recalls Zeeshan, the owner of Golden Plastic, a footwear manufacturing company in Topsia.
His charitable foundation provided relief materials during natural disasters, such as floods or cyclones. He distributed food during the Amphan cyclone in May 2020 at Chandipur, Gosaba, Patharpratima, Basanti in Sundarban, as well as Harapur, Nalmuri, Bantala, Bhojerhat, Ghatakpukur in South 24-Parganas and other locations. When cyclone Yaas hit in May 2021, the food kits were also distributed to people in Mandarmuni, Purshottomnagar in East Midnapore and other Sundarban islands.
Zeeshan was born and brought up in Kolkata. He is the only son of Tarique Majeed and Nazli Tarique, who have four children. He finished his tenth standard in 2005 at Saifee Golden Jubilee English Public School and completed his 12th standard in 2007 from the same school. He graduated with a degree in commerce from Maulana Azad College in 2012, as well as an MBA degree in marketing from Sikkim Manipal University in 2015.
Zeeshan told TwoCircles.net, “Two days in my life are valuable—the day I was born and the day I discovered why I was born. Despite trying many things in life, including a job and a business, I never achieved satisfaction. That changed when I started distributing food.”
A Ballygunge resident, Zeeshan got married in October 2019. He plans to expand his charitable mission to the global level with this tagline – ‘Aao Ek Nayi Soch Banayay Kisi Bhukay Ko Khana Khilayay’ (Let’s think differently and help feed the hungry).
“I wish to serve people of the world. There are many people around the world who rarely get a square meal. If I have an opportunity, I will ensure that no one sleeps hungry,” he added.
Partho Burman is an award-winning independent journalist based in Kolkata. He writes inspirational, motivational and environmental stories. He tweets at @ParthoBurman.
source: http://www.twocirlces.net / TwoCircles.net / Home>Lead Story / by Partho Burman, TwoCircles.net / December 30th, 2021
Children at Umeed Academy. | Picture by arrangement
Wali Rahmani’s work has earned him recognition and respect and people have come forward to sponsor the students in whatever way they can.
Kolkata :
Budding lawyer, human rights activist, orator, motivational speaker, social entrepreneur and a proud father to 140 children, 23-year-old Wali Rahmani hopes that one day all his children will be successful leaders and prove to be invaluable assets to the nation.
The 140 children who fondly call Wali Rahmani Abba Ji hail from different slums of Kolkata. Many of them are orphans and all of these children are from families caught in the vicious cycle of poverty.
Wali with his boys dressed for a skit on harmony. | Picture by arrangement
Wali Rahmani was just 18 when he first took 3 kids from a slum under his wing. These 3 kids, around 3-4 years old, were orphans. Wali, their Abba Ji, washed the soiled clothes of the kids, bathed, cooked and fed them–playing the role of a mother, a father, a nanny and a maid. His determination did not waver. Gradually, he found more and more people joining him which encouraged him to start and register ‘Umeed’, which served both as an orphanage and an educational academy.
The journey of Umeed When Wali Rahmani was just turning 18, many changes were taking place in the country which he said, “changed him as well.” The assembly elections of 2017 in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which brought Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister, became the turning point in Wali’s life and brought in its wake an energized goal and mission to work for the upliftment of the society.
Rahmani said he was “aghast that someone like Ajay Singh Bihist a.k.a Yogi Adityanath could become the CM.” He took to social media to talk about the injustices, violations of human rights and atrocities that were happening in the country. This was the beginning of Wali’s political journey. Soon, his fearless voice got him thousands of followers on Youtube, Facebook and other social media.
At one point, Wali paused to reflect that he is the only one talking against the oppression and gross injustices meted to people. Where are all the other youth leaders? Why are they not standing up against injustices? He spoke to his peers but they were keen only on pursuing their education, having fun and enjoying life. They did not want to take up these issues or even talk about them.
“I realized that my suggestions did not go down well with my peers. They did not want someone to tell them to ‘do this and do that.’ It became more of an ego thing,” Wali said, reminiscing the early days.
People who heard his talks on social media, his debates on the television channels looked up to him as the leader of the future. Wali, however, was not happy being a leader. He wanted more leaders in the community. According to him, a true leader is not someone who does not leave any legacy behind. He believes that a true leader creates more leaders and leaves behind a rich legacy. Instead of asking other youth to join him in the mission to raise their voice against the wrongs of society, he thought it is better to create new leaders. He believed that these will be small children who can be successfully molded to become strong leaders. He took a break from his studies for a year to work on this idea of creating future leaders.
“But where would I find these children whom I could train? Would any parent trust me enough to send the child to me? Then by chance, I came across a Hadith by our beloved Prophet (PBUH) wherein he mentioned the status of a Muslim who is kind to orphans. I felt that through this hadith, Allah was guiding me. So, I decided to take in children who had no parents,” Wali said.
“I had made up my mind that I want to be a father of 10 before I turn 20. And people laughed at me. They advised me to go study and asked me blunt questions related to my financial capability,” Wali said, “But I did not give up. It was the womenfolk who came forward to help me realize my dream”.
Wali said that he approached several people who had wealth and could easily help him but instead they scoffed at his idea.
“The very first person to help me was my mother. She believed in my dream. She was the first donor for Umeed,” Wali said while giving details of other donors who were also women.
He remembers the first donors fondly and with gratitude. One woman gave her gold finger ring because she was not earning and wanted to give what belonged to her. Wali likens this to the woman who donated her gold bangles to Sir Syed Ahmed when he was seeking donations for the Aligarh Muslim University.
Some girl students also promised monthly payments from their pocket money. And as they say, small drops of water make a mighty ocean, Wali Rahmani’s dream project began taking a concrete shape.
Today he runs the Umeed Academy in a rented apartment with 140 children. Some of these children are day scholars who are at the academy for at least 12 hours.
Many of these children are kids from slums whose parents are alcoholics, orphans who are homeless, kids who have parents but stay with their guardians to avoid the brutality that their parents either go through or make them go through, children with parents serving jail time. Some kids have homes not suitable to live in. The children of his academy are mostly from Muslim Ghettos.
Umeed Academy’s vision Wali envisions creating leaders who in turn will become capable to create more leaders. Year after year, Wali hopes, Umeed will produce leaders who will carry forward the legacy of Wali and his academy Umeed.
“Each child that graduates from Umeed shall be an institution builder and a leader. They will leave their imprints in the sands of time,” he said.
Inside Umeed Academy There are no wardens at the Umeed Academy, only house parents who take care of all the needs of the children. From the time of their enrolment to the time they pass out as students have completed their 12th standard ICSE curriculum syllabus, all their costs are borne by the academy including their residential cost, health cost, books, clothing and sports.
The focus is on the holistic development of girls and boys. For their spiritual growth, they are taught Quran and Islamic values.
The children are taught regular subjects of the school curriculum which is ICSE and apart from that, they are taught self-defence, drawing, sports, Quran, Hadith and ethics. They are encouraged to participate in many activities conducted in their academy.
Class room in Umeed. | Picture by arrangement
“The transformation in the children is visible. They are all so disciplined and neat that despite sharing common toilets and bathrooms, they keep it all clean,” Wali says proudly, adding, “Ask them to recite the Duas (prayers) of eating, sleeping, going out, going to the toilet, or when it rains, they will recite it.”
The house parents bring up these children as they would bring up their own, insists Wali. He also does his bit by interacting with the children every day, listening to them, talking to them and thus making strong the bond they share.
The core team members, who are his well-wishers not only guide him but also help him make the right decisions.
Asma Alam, director of Umeed, Ghazala Imam and Yusuf Haque who taught Wali at school are now part of the core committee. Others who have joined his mission are an army veteran Abhishek Mukherjee, educationists Shabana Anwar, Usha Banerjee and Mufti Anwar Khan Sargiroh.
Wali Rahmani, with his staff and children of his academy. | Picture by arrangement
Awards and recognitions Wali Rahmani has appeared in various national television debates and is perhaps the youngest Indian TV debate panellist.
He says that his work for society is not social work, but “his social duty.” He has been awarded the young social Hero award in 2019 at the South India NGO conference. He has also been featured as one of the young top 20 achievers in India under the age of 20 by Mumbai Coworking, and also received the Shan-e-Hindustan award by Youth Ekta Front, Delhi. His work has been acknowledged and featured by India Times, Brut India, and the Indian Express.
Many prestigious institutes and organisations have invited applications from Wali to apply for the awards but Wali Rahmani says “his work should speak for him,” and does not believe in applying for any award.
“The ultimate award will be when these children grow up and lead the nation and establish peace and harmony around them,” he said.
Future of Umeed Wali Rahmani’s work has earned him recognition and respect and people have come forward to sponsor the students in whatever way they can. One generous donor has donated 2 Acre (87120 square feet) of land to Umeed Academy worth Rs 2 Crore.
Wali has plans to construct fully functional hostels on the land for students with separate dormitories for boys and girls, a housing facility for the staff members and a campus which can accommodate approximately 600-700 students at once.
The construction work has started and the cost of the entire project has been approximated at Rs 13.5 crores. Wali intends to complete this work within the next two years and requests donations for his lofty mission through donations.
Tausif, Zuarez and Qaif have qualified for admission at India’s prestigious institutes. | Photos by arrangement
At least 65 students, including one girl, of Rahmani 30 – an educational movement for underprivileged students started in Patna, Bihar by late Wali Rahmani, have qualified for admission in the prestigious Indian Institutes of Techonlogy (IITs) this year. TCN features some of them.
Bihar :
Zaurez Ahmed (17) has secured 393rd rank this year in India’s topmost engineering entrance test known as Joint Entrance Exam (Advanced). His father Shakeel runs a modest general store in Jalwara, Kewti of Darbhanga, one of the most backward areas of Bihar. His family was in no position to afford the expensive private coaching for such exams. It was Rahmani 30 that came to his rescue.
Like Zaurez, there are atleast 65 students, including one girl, of Rahmani 30 who have qualified for admission in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) this year from the main centre at Patna. All 93 aspirants from Rahmani 30 qualified for JEE (Main). Across India, there are 23 IITs having 16000 seats for which more than 1.6 lakh applicants participated in the JEE (Advanced). These are shortlisted from one million aspirants of JEE (Main).
Rahmani 30 is modelled on Super30, the first such centre for coaching students for the IIT entrance test. Rahmani 30 was founded by the renowned Islamic scholar late Hazrat Maulana Wali Rahmani in 2008. Since 2009, Rahmani 30 boasts of more than 400 successful students who have qualified for admission in different IITs. Apart from this, nearly 1000 students have qualified for JEE (Main) and the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), the second most prestigious engineering institute of India.
Rahmani 30 offers the top 30 students free stay, food and education which costs around Rs. 60 lakhs for two years.
What is special about Rahmani 30? “Apart from the low cost or no cost stay at Rahmani 30, the ever availability of teachers and mentors here is immensely helpful,” Zaurez told TwoCircles.net.
He said that teachers at Rahmani 30 are “quite supportive.”
Zaurez cites ‘deeni mahaul (religious atmosphere)’ at the centre as helpful in having a ‘useful break’. His EWS (Economically Weaker Section) category rank is 28 and he is quite hopeful to get Computer Science at IIT, New Delhi.
Rahmani 30 has its branches at Aurangabad (Maharashtra), Bangalore and Hyderabad. Apart from the main centre, there is a girls unit in Patna. The main centre is being run in a rented apartment ‘Anand Palace’ at Anisabad, Patna.
A normal day for studies starts at 7 in the morning and continues till 9 in the evening.
Mantasha Firdous (17), who qualified this year, is the first female student of Rahmani 30 since its establishment to compete successfully for JEE (Advanced). Generally, the girl aspirants join Rahmani 30 for the medical entrance test NEET. However, Mantasha has a knack for mathematics. She has secured an EWS rank of 4074 and hopes to get “a good branch at a good IIT’. She said that the “group of girls” at the centre was quite helpful for her to remain focused on studies.
At Rahmani 30, the aspirants are admitted for a two-year residential course. As Covid-19 hit their preparation, an online mode was learning was started in 2020. Most students attended online classes on mobile phones though there were network issues for those residing in remote areas.
Tausif Alamhas (17) secured CRL (Common Rank List) 7169 and a category rank of 1339. His father Mohammad Rashid works as a tailor and his mother is a homemaker. His family could not send him to study at any coaching centre as they charged a hefty fee. He came to know about Rahmani 30 from one of his senior and passed the test to get admission.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, he said the most helping part of Rahmani 30 is “group study where peers help in doubt clearing.”
“My motivation level only rose with the continuous encouragement from the teachers. It helped increase my willpower too,” Tausif said. His next aim is to crack the country’s top exam for civil services U.P.S.C.
Seventeen-year-old Qais Alam’s success has a twist. His father is a small farmer and suffers from poor eyesight. Qais hails from Marar, a remote village in the Khagaria district of Bihar. He didn’t have much of an idea about IITs. He appeared for Aligarh Muslim University’s entrance test for a three-year Engineering diploma course and qualified. He studied there for two years, and quit before completing his degree. This was during 2016-17. He came to know about Rahmani 30 and was selected for its two-year preparation course. He appeared for JEE (Advanced) in 2020 in his first attempt but was not satisfied with his result. He reappeared for JEE again in 2021. He bettered his All India Ranking to 6025 from his 2020’s performance of 28000th rank. His EWS rank also improved to 639 from above 3000. He is hoping to get admission at IIT Delhi or IIT Madras. He too aims to clear U.P.S.C. after graduation from the IIT.
Twenty-three-year old Atif Hussain is in his 3rd year at IIT Guwahati. He originally hails from Bihar but his family is settled in Kolkata, West Bengal. Atif’s father Phool Mohammad sells Lahti bangles (lac bangles) which and his business has been hit due to Covid-19 lockdown. His mother is a housemaker. Atif studied in Urdu medium Howrah High School and got 84% marks in his 10th Board examination. He came to know about Rahmani 30 from a senior. He said that getting admission in Rahmani 30 was the ‘turning point’ of his life. “Teaching guidance and peer study environment at Rahmani 30 was very useful,” Atif, who is fond of research and coding, said.
Though Rahmani 30 was started for helping underprivileged students crack the IIT entrance test, it has ventured into other top examinations like Medical, Commerce and Law. In its CA/CS program, out of 10 successful candidates this year, five were girls.
Rahmani 30 calls itself “a movement, not an institution” which hankers “to demonstrate that economically, socially and educationally backwards and suppressed students when given the opportunity rise to the occasion.” It is “established to be the catalyst for inspiring the minorities to aim high to seek their rightful places.”
Rahmani 30’s founder late Maulana Rahmani had a clear vision about this centre. He was of the opinion that, “Utmost service to the religion during these times is to educate our youth and upcoming generations with contemporary subjects while keeping their faith firmly established and their self-confidence high; so that, they excel in religion, are adorned with education, have an appreciation of hard work and therefore are able to navigate and make confident decisions in their life.”
Bihar’s former Director General of Police (DGP) Abhayanand has been a great help for Rahmani 30 as a mentor since its beginning. Known for his Physics teaching skills, Abhayanand is credited with starting super 30 along with Anand Kumar, to teach poor students of Bihar to crack IIT JEE.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, Abhayanad was delighted that Rahmani 30 is expanding in size and dimension in the right direction.
Late Maulana Wali Rahmani had approached him to be the mentor of this centre and he readily accepted the proposal. “There didn’t exist a good trend for education in Muslim community, particularly in the weaker sections. I thought it would be in the broader interest of the country to help such students,” Abhayanand said.
His only and interesting condition was, “I will not interfere in the administration of the centre and Maulana will not interfere in teaching at the centre.”
Maulana Fahad Rahmani, the younger son of late Maulana Wali Rahmani is the current CEO of Rahmani 30.
He told TwoCircles.net that Rahmani 30 initially started with 10 students and “in 12 years the number of students has gone up to 900.”
Maulana Fahad aims to increase the number to 15000 across India at the end of this decade. “If we consider the total number of institutions of national importance to be one lakh, its corresponding number for the Muslim community should be 15 % of it, which is roughly the population of the community in India,” he argues, adding, “To achieve this goal the community support needs to be increased. If we can arrange one donor for one student we will need 15000 donors, which is not beyond reach.”
Maulana Fahad insists that he doesn’t believe in the traditional fund collection.
On the success rate of girl students of Rahmani 30, Maulana Fahad said that it was his father and the late chairman Maulana Wali’s wish to see the girl students excel in engineering too. “Alhamdulillah, this year it has started, and it get better in the coming years.”
Sami Ahmad is a freelance journalist based in Patna, Bihar. He tweets at @samipkb
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Sami Ahmad, TwoCircles.net / October 23rd, 2021
Over the last decade, individual Muslims have started breaking from the tradition of sacrificing animals on Bakra Eid, motivated by the thought that the considerable amount spent on buying and sacrificing animals would be put to better use for the community’s welfare, specially education.
Paigambar Shaikh (with beard) flanked by Rafique Shaikh, left, and Alam Pathan with the beneficiaries of Aarthik Qurbani in 2020.
Wednesday was a busy day for Pune activists Paigambar Shaikh, Alam Pathan and Rafique Shaikh. It marked the start of the distribution of funds collected by Paigambar through his ‘Aarthik Qurbani‘ campaign.
It’s happened elsewhere, but the ‘Aarthik Qurbani‘ movement started by Pune activist Paigambar Shaikh is unique.
Over the last decade, individual Muslims have started breaking from the tradition of sacrificing animals on Bakra Eid, motivated by the thought that the considerable amount spent on buying and sacrificing animals would be put to better use for the community’s welfare, specially education.
In Bengaluru, some of these Muslims have managed to convince others to follow their example. After the 2018 Kerala floods, social media helped convince many across the country to donate the money kept for the sacrifice, or at least a part of it, for the floods, as reported in Rediff.com.
However, Paigambar Shaikh’s Aarthik Qurbani movement is different from all these, in that it is not restricted to Muslims. In fact, the campaign run by this self-employed content writer on Facebook, gets more responses from Hindus than Muslims, and the beneficiaries of the monetary sacrifice are also from all communities.
This reflects the concerns of 31-year-old Shaikh and his colleagues: All three are social activists, not just community activists.
“Not once has any Muslim who has contributed Aarthik Qurbani told us that his/her money should only go to Muslims,” Paigambar tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor Jyoti Punwani. “And we would never accept such a condition.”
The meat that is sacrificed on Bakra Eid, points out Paigambar, does not go only to Muslims. “It’s in three parts: One kept for yourself, one for those who are needy among your relatives, and the third for the poor. The poor need not be from your community only,” he explains.
“Also, the money you spend on buying animals does not go to Muslims; most of the sellers are non-Muslims,” he points out.
However, since he started his campaign in 2014, more and more Muslims have been getting drawn to it. This year, of the 117 persons who donated, 50 were Muslim.
They collected almost Rs 95,000, less than earlier years, but more than what they expected, given the financial blow dealt by the two lockdowns.
On Wednesday they kicked off their distribution by donating educational material to two women, one Hindu, the other Muslim, who teach poor children for free. Needy students are their main beneficiaries, but they have also helped flood victims in Kerala and Maharashtra.
Distribution of Aarthik Qurbani in 2021.
While orthodox Muslims oppose substituting animal sacrifice with monetary sacrifice, Paigambar reveals that it was his study of the Quran that prompted him to begin this practice.
“In the Quran it says one must sacrifice that which is dearest to our hearts. How can an animal that is purchased with the express aim of sacrificing it be the closest thing to our hearts,” he asks.
In the last two years, the Maharashtra government has insisted that because of Covid compulsions, Muslims should perform a ‘symbolic’ sacrifice. But community leaders have rejected this suggestion, saying no such concept of symbolic sacrifice exists.
However, Paigambar Shaikh maintains that the Bakra Eid sacrifice is symbolic. “Hazrat Ibrahim dreamt that Allah had asked him to sacrifice that which was dearest to him, and prepared to sacrifice his son. But at the crucial moment, Allah presented a dumba (ram) for the sacrifice. Doesn’t that show that it was a symbolic sacrifice? Our Aarthik Qurbani too is symbolic.”
Finally, what set the seal on Paigambar’s conviction were the words from the Quran: ‘Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you.’
“It’s the intention that counts,” says Paigambar.
Those who oppose the concept of substituting charity for animal sacrifice point out that Bakra Eid is the one occasion that the poor get to eat mutton which is otherwise out of their reach.
However, asks Paigambar: “What is more important — eating mutton or getting out of poverty? Those who go around distributing mutton to poor families, would be surprised to know that some of those families can’t even afford to buy the half-a-dozen notebooks needed for their children’s school. It’s not in our hands to abolish poverty, but by enabling a poor family to educate its children, we are providing them a means to come out of their poverty.”
At any rate, he adds, the prime motive for the animal sacrifice is not feeding the poor; it is pleasing God.
This year’s distribution of Aarthik Qurbani: Rafique Shaikh and Paigambar Shaikh with the recipients.
Rafique Shaikh joined Paigambar’s campaign in 2019, when Sangli, Satara and Kolhapur were hit by floods. The eldest of four brothers, this 33-year-old businessman decided that the money they’d kept aside for sacrificing goats would go for the flood hit.
“The satisfaction we got from wiping the tears of those in distress by this sacrifice was a completely different experience,” he recalls.
Alam Pathan was already performing Aarthik Qurbani since 2009. That year, Pathan’s father died a day before Bakra Eid, and the family felt it inappropriate to celebrate the festival. Instead, they donated the money they would have spent on the animal sacrifice to the poor, and have since stuck to that practice.
Opposition from the orthodox, including threatening calls, have not fazed these men.
“We don’t tell anybody to give up animal sacrifice,” points out Rafique Shaikh. “This year, I could afford to sacrifice a goat and also make an Aarthik Qurbani, so I did both. One can buy a goat for Rs 11,000 or Rs 50,000. Isn’t it wasteful to spend so much on one goat? We just suggest that instead of spending all that money on an animal, why not keep a part of it for those who need it?”
Alam Pathan has one way of dealing with opposition: Ignoring it.
Were he to heed opposition from the orthodox, this 39 year old’s life would be very different.
Paigambar Shaikh derives his inspiration from Prophet Mohammed and Shivaji Maharaj.
As the only Muslim family in his village, says Pathan, the palkhi carrying the padukas of Sant Tukaram taken out during the annual Pandharpur pilgrimage, would stop at his house. He would participate in all the village bhajans and keertans, and continues to do Shri Dnyaneshwari Pravachan — he lectures on the Dnyaneshwari written by the 13th century poet Sant Dnyaneshwar. He also visits the famous Tirupati Balaji temple in Andhra Pradesh every year.
“This is how my father brought us up,” says the real estate dealer.
Paigambar Shaikh has received threatening calls for his campaign. But says he, he derives inspiration from two personalities when confronted with such opposition.
First, Prophet Mohammed, who said nothing even to the woman who threw garbage on him whenever he passed by her house. The day she didn’t do so, he went to check if she was okay and tended to her.
That gesture made her accept Islam.
Paigambar’s second inspiration is Shivaji Maharaj, who never accepted defeat.
“Aarthik Qurbani is now here to stay. No one can stop us. Next year onwards, we will be spreading the movement from Pune to other districts of Maharashtra.”
Mateen Jamadar with his parents, mother Razia Begum and father Nabisaab. Photograph: Kind courtesy Mohammad Mohsin
A teenager who doesn’t need to be told to study, who makes no demands on his parents even while preparing for his board exams — and then goes on to score a perfect 100%. Jyoti Punwani salutes Mateen Jamadar’s scholastic achievement against all odds.
He’s 18, but looks 15.
A teenager who doesn’t need to be told to study, who makes no demands on his parents even while preparing for his board exams – and then goes on to score a perfect 100%.
Meet Mateen Jamadar, the pride of Mannur village in Gulbarga district, for having scored 600/600 in Karnataka’s PUC (pre university course) exam, the results of which were announced on Friday, July 23, 2021.
His father Nabisaab works as a mason on construction sites in the village, earning about Rs 500 a day; his mother Razia Begum cleans her neighbour’s field all day to come home with barely Rs 150.
Both parents have studied upto Class 10 and wanted their three sons to study further, but their eldest had to give up after Class 10 thanks to an eye affliction. He is now handicapped and at home, unable to work.
Their second son has done well, he’s a constable in Bengaluru; but it is their youngest who has brought them fame they had never imagined.
Razia Begum says she knew Mateen would do well. “Since he was a child he would come home and sit with his books,” she recalls. “No playing, no roaming around.”
That made Mateen his village school topper; he scored 619 out of 625 in his Class 10 Boards.
Mateen says he expected to do well in the PUC. This year, the evaluation for the final PUC exam had to be done based on previous performance since the exam was not held due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“I had scored 98.7% in my 10th and around the same in my First Year PUC,” he says over the phone. “I thought I would get 99%.”
Always fond of studies, Mateen decided to seek out a good college after completing his 10th from the government school in his village. The PUC college in his village wasn’t up to the mark.
His quest took the village boy more than 600 km away from his home to the MMU PU College in Ramanagara. The magnet that drew him there was the hostel run by the Rahman Education Foundation in Ramanagara city.
The Foundation provides free stay for five years to meritorious boys to prepare them for the UPSC exams. The stay includes not just food, but also access to teachers, computers, sports facilities, and lectures by visiting IAS and Karnataka Administrative Service officers.
It was one such talk by IAS officer Mohammad Mohsin that made Mateen decide his final goal — the IAS. “The IAS gives you respect,” said the youngster.
Mateen, third from right with his hostel mates.
Mohsin, a Karnataka batch IAS officer hailing from Bihar, tells Rediff.com that the Rahman Foundation had invited him to spend half a day to motivate their hostelites. “I told the boys that no one from my family had ever joined the IAS; we are a business family. But I wanted to do something for the country.”
It was Mohsin who brought Mateen Jamadar’s achievement to the world by tweeting (external link) about him. “I wanted to show students that poverty need not mean the end of the road,” said Mohsin.
It may well have become so for Mateen.
Forced by the lockdown last year to return home as his hostel shut down, Mateen had to depend on online teaching. When he left for college, his parents had given him a simple phone, just good enough to stay in touch. Students were anyway not allowed a phone by the hostel authorities. The latter would keep the students’ phones with them, and give them back for just one hour every Sunday to call up home.
That phone was no use for online classes. To buy himself an Android, Mateen had to use his annual scholarship of Rs 6,000 given by the Karnataka government, but even that wouldn’t have been enough had his father not dipped into the funds he had saved slowly over the years.
Of course, that meant working harder to make up, but said Nabisaab, “We have to do that much for our children; and this boy has turned out to be so clever, we have to support him!”
Mateen Jamadar
Nabisaab and Razia Begum used to work in Mumbai and Pune earlier, on construction sites. But it was the desire to educate their children that took them back to their village, said Nabisaab.
His youngest son has made sure that’s a decision he will never regret. As Mateen said, “More than me, my parents are overjoyed at my result.”
Azhar says he was poor himself when he started the initiative. He is still working from Hyderabad because he feels that hunger has swelled after the lockdown.
Azhar Maqsusi, a social activist from the city, whose initiative ‘Hunger Has No Religion’ by Sani Welfare Foundation feeds about 1,500 people every day in five cities across the country was granted the United Kingdoms Commonwealth Points of Light Award recently. The award recognises outstanding individual volunteers – people who are making a change in their community.
“Azhar’s contribution to society is incredible and has meant the difference between a meal or no meal for millions. There are many similar missions of selfless sacrifice and service, some emerging as a result of the pandemic, but the powerful ‘Hunger has no Religion’ has run for eight years, reaching the most vulnerable and delivering a powerful underlying message to all. I cannot be happier for him and members of the Sani Welfare Foundation,” said Dr Andrew Fleming, British Deputy High Commissioner, Hyderabad.
“I am thankful that I have been chosen by the almighty to feed people. I have fed the poor for 10 years now and will continue this until hunger is eradicated,” Maqsusi said. “I am also thankful for the support of my family, friends and others who have recognised my service,” he added. Azhar says he was poor himself when he started the initiative. He is still working from Hyderabad because he feels that hunger has swelled after the lockdown.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Express News Service / July 06th, 2021
The coaching and guidance center run at the Haj Bhawan under the Minority Welfare Department of the Bihar government provides residential preparation for government jobs and academic examinations. The Haj Bhawan started offering guidance first in Bihar civil services and is helping students in police inspector’s job test. Lately, the center has been in news for the success it has achieved.
Bihar :
Unlike other Haj Bhawan’s in the country, the Haj Bhawan of the northern Indian state of Bihar is not sending Muslim pilgrims to Mecca for Hajj. The Bhawan is doing a different and sometimes a more urgent and laudable one. It is in news for sending minority students on a job journey to secure top level state jobs.
The coaching and guidance center run at the Haj Bhawan under the Minority Welfare Department of the Bihar government provides residential preparation for government jobs and academic examinations. The Haj Bhawan started offering guidance first in Bihar civil services and is helping students in police inspector’s job test.
Fifty-three of Haj Bhawan’s coaching and guidance center’s candidates were declared successful in the recently announced result of Bihar Public Service Commission’s examination for the top civil state job. Out of nearly 1400 successful candidates, 101 were Muslim candidates.
Similarly, fifty-three Haj Bhawan’s candidates were selected for the post of Sub Inspector in Bihar Police. Importantly, 19 successful candidates in the BPSC exam and 11 in the police exam are female.
Of late, the Bihar government’s initiative to provide ‘coaching’ to the students for government job examinations has been quite a success. Bihar has also seen the success of privately run Rahmani 30 for Muslim students for engineering and medical entrance tests.
Maulana Mazharul Haque Arabic and Persian University is the nodal agency for the government’s state coaching scheme. While the facilities are free here, only Rs. 3500 are charged as mess fee. For those whose candidates whose families cannot even afford that and are economically weak, the mess fee is waived off.
This coaching and guidance center was established in the financial year 2006-07. Initially, it struggled but since the year 2010, it has been bringing success to the state. Till 2019, 1517 candidates have been selected for jobs from here out of 4777 selected candidates for coaching. In 2019-20 the centre gave coaching to 860 and in 2020-2021, the number of students who received coaching was 568.
The centre promises to provide free residential coaching for the jobs offered by Bihar Public Service Commission, general police jobs like sub-inspectors and constables, jobs offered by Railways and staff selection commission. The centre also provides coaching for the preparation of the University Grants Commission’s exams like the National Eligibility Test (NET) and Junior Research Fellow (JRF). It also gives coaching for Teachers Eligibility Tes (TET).
However, the success in Bihar Public Service Commission’s exam is getting all the accolades to this center at Haj Bhawan. The center conducts entrance tests for its different coaching programmes. For the BPSC jobs, each year 150 candidates are selected out of nearly 1000 candidates who sit for its entrance test. The entrance test is advertised in the local newspapers and on social media too.
Features of the Center Mohammad Rashid Hussain is the coordinator of this coaching and guidance centre. He has studied at Jawahar Lal Nehru University (JNU) and Hamdard Study Circle. He did his masters in Persian and Central Asian Studies from JNU, and qualified for JRF and SRF. Hussain later moved to Hamdard Study Circle. In 2007, he cleared the BPSC examination and joined Bihar Administrative Service.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, Hussain said that he has adopted the model from Hamdard Study Circle. “The 24 hours open library, test series, lectures by the top experts and online-offline study materials are the salient features of this center,” he said.
He said that the environment of group study is quite helpful. “Discipline is quite strict here. No one needs to go outside to get anything related to their studies,” Hussain said, who also works as CEO of Bihar Haj Committee.
According to Hussain, the mock interview preparation at the Centre is quite successful. “So much so, that even non-minority students approach us for the interview and this service is provided to them,” he added.
Hussain said that the girl candidates get maximum safety measures at the Centre, and “this keeps them focused in their preparations.” The girl candidates are provided separate rooms, mess and prayer hall. There are two female wardens for them.
What inspires candidates at the Centre Mohammad Adil Bilal got 22nd rank in BPSC’s examination and would be a Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy SP) after training. Adil’s father teaches English at a college in Darbhanga.
Talking about his success, Adil said that the coordination between seniors and juniors at the Centre “worked wonders for him.” He said that seniors were very helpful in pointing out the shortcomings and suggesting ways for improvement.
Razia Sultan, an engineer by profession, was also selected for the post of Dy SP. In fact, it is claimed that she is the first Muslim lady in Bihar to get this post directly. She joined the center after clearing the mains examination.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, she said that “she got a lot of motivation here.” She appreciates the guidance for the interview.
Noorjahan, another successful candidate, told TwoCircles.net that she got the best training here in personality development. She quotes an oft-repeated saying by the center’s coordinator Mohammad Rashid Hussain that “a ship is safe at the harbour but it is not made for the harbour,” as very motivating.
“This inspired me to work hard,” she said.
Another successful candidate, Sima Khatoon has done her Computer Engineering from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She has been selected for Panchayati Raj Officer.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, she said that that “any Muslim girl can achieve success.”
She is all praise for the facilities and guidance that was provided to her at the Centre. “Allah has listened to my prayers for a platform to work for social welfare,” she said.
More works needed Afzal Hussain of Bihar Rabita Committee, which works for the minority community, told TwoCirlces.net that the success at Haj Bhawan is “commendable and its success needs to be emulated.” He said that the six centres supposed to impart coaching to minority students for job examinations at Patna, Darbhanga, Motihari, Kishanganj and Bhagalpur should also be developed along the lines of Haj Bhawan.
Social activist Nashoor Ajmal said that while the success at Haj Bhawan is welcome, “we should seriously think about the abysmal representation of Muslim community in government jobs while their population constitutes almost 17 per cent in Bihar.”
Experts and successful candidates are of the opinion that more efforts are needed and such initiatives should start at the Masjid committee level in the state.
Ajmal added the government of Bihar should work for the educational upliftment of the Muslim community by conducting special drives.
Sami Ahmad is a journalist based in Patna, Bihar.
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Sami Ahmad, TwoCircles.net / July 02nd, 2021
Volunteers distributing food | Photo Credit: special arrangement
Mohd. Abdul Yousuf and his team of volunteers networked across the nation to help tackle the second wave of the pandemic
When Hyderabad-based Mohd. Abdul Yousuf, a fourth-year student of Symbiosis Law School in Hyderabad and his friends wanted to feed the needy hit by COVID-19, they could not afford to hire a chef at ₹1,200 per day to prepare a meal with 25 kilograms of rice. Undeterred, the boys watched cookery channels to learn to prepare it themselves. Now, the team of volunteers of Helping Humans Hyderabad founded by Abdul, packs 400 dinner boxes and distributes them at Tadbun, Charminar, Government Maternity Hospital in Afzal Gunj, Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station, Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad Railway Station at Nampally, Public Gardens, MNJ̥ Cancer Hospital and Niloufer Hospital. “We make kaju, lemon and jeera rice and even made chicken biriyani sponsored by a friend,” says Abdul.
Mohd. Abdul Yousuf | Photo Credit: special arrangement
Helping Humans Hyderabad is among several voluntary organisations helmed by youngsters to verify leads, identify and share information on hospital resources and medical supplies to help tackle the second wave of the pandemic. However, Abdul’s organisation reached out beyond Hyderabad to Bengaluru, Gujarat, Delhi, Patna and Kerala as he networked from his contacts across India.
It started when Abdul posted a friend’s plasma request on his Instagram account. Buoyed by the response and backed by his associates: Lamya Hussaini, Molshree Totla and Ismail Zabiullah, he launched Helping Humans on April 16, his birthday, to amplify appeals for help. “We launched the page at 9 pm and at 1.30 am, we got a request for an oxygen cylinder,” he recalls.
Abdul and four core members of Helping Humans pooled ₹20,000 from their pockets to steer the network. With friends across India, he created a network of individuals to provide info from their cities; volunteers then verified the leads and updated the information on a Google spreadsheet. ‘If you are sitting idle at home, give your time to us,’ was their message on social media, inviting volunteers to be part of the initiative which had more than 200 members from across India. The office of Kavitha Kalvakuntla responded to their tweets for hospital resources; which not only helped in closing the requests, but also airlifting a passenger from Bihar to Hyderabad.
“Oxygen shortage was a major one during those dreadful two months,” shares Abdul, adding that his phone has not stopped ringing since April. Most of the 400 to 500 calls used to be for oxygen cylinders. The team purchased these cylinders for ₹60,000 from their own pockets. “Now the calls for cylinders have reduced to 50; and enquiries now are for oxygen concentrators.”
Abdul hopes to find more sponsors for their free food distribution programme. “We are glad we were able to make at least a small difference,” he concludes.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society – Relief Work / by Neerja Murthy / Hyderabad – June 18th, 2021
Known as the Oxygen Man of Hyderabad, Mohammed Sujathullah has been waging a war against hunger for more than four years. People started calling him Oxygen Man following him providing free oxygen cylinders to more than 1000 persons suffering from coronavirus.
Mohammed Sujathullah has been arranging free breakfast for 1000 people for the last four and a half years without missing a single day, in three government hospitals–King Koti Maternity Hospital, Sultan Bazaar, Niloufer Hospital, Red Hills, and NIMS, Punjagutta. He has also been providing dinner to homeless people on the roadsides for the past year.
Mohammed Sujathullah spoke to siasat.com about his journey to help people. He also spoke about what motivated and inspired him. He also shared his future plans in the fight against hunger.
Journey
Though he studied up to fifth grade, he could learn only the use of English alphabets. “I don’t know whether it was a favor from the school to promote me from one class to another. I crawled up to the fifth standard but hardly learned anything,” he remembered.
Then came the turnaround. But he doesn’t know-how. He suddenly began focusing on studies and worked vigorously to get into B. Pharmacy in Sultan Uloom College. In the third year of the course in 2015, he realized that he has to clear an Organic Chemistry backlog which he was a tough subject for him.
He could somehow clear that subject in one of the re-examinations he wrote. Sujathullah had vowed that if he clears the examination he would feed 10 persons. Following the results remembered his vow and bought 10 food packets from his meager savings and gave them away.
“In 24 years of my life, I had never felt as happy as I did when I fed hungry persons,” Sujathullah said after his experience in charity. He went to distribute food at a railway station and found himself in a situation where he had only 4 packets and there were 15-20 hungry people looking at me expectantly.
“That’s when I realized what hunger is. I realized how privileged I was to have been born into a family where all my wishes were fulfilled by my parents,” Sujathullah added. He said that this was when he decided to start distributing food on a daily basis. That was the beginning of his journey.
Since he lived in a joint family, he told everyone what he was planning to do. His family members decided to pledge a part of their monthly earnings to feed the hungry. In 2015-16 he distributed food four times a week with the help of his friends. We started doing a supper distribution program beginning with 50 food packs and slowly reached up to 200.
During his years in Pharm. D, he wasn’t able to take time out for social service. Later he came up with the idea of organizing breakfasts. “I could benefit more people with a smaller budget,” he said.
He said that he started distributing food packets at a government hospital and later added more distribution points.
Until now he has completed 1700 days. Also, now he has been organizing breakfasts for people at three government hospitals without missing a single day.
Encouraged by the support and success of his work, Sujathullah founded an NGO, Humanity First Foundation. He is now working on various other issues.
He said that he manages the funds with the help of crown funding with a 100% donation system i.e., his NGO. At the same time, he doesn’t take any money for himself.
“Everyone has something special within himself or herself. They should recognize and use it. Pay attention to the life after death, and become a good human,” Sujathullah advises.
Future plans
“Currently we are organizing water camps at bus stops. Since the beginning of the pandemic we have arranged groceries and lunch for the migrant workers,” he informed.
Since the beginning of the pandemic last year his organization has bought 400 oxygen cylinders and 30 concentrators to benefit the people.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad News / by Usama Hazari / June 21st, 2021
