A relative hugs Bashir Ahmad Baba who is acquitted of all charges in Rainwari area Srinagar, Wednesday, June 30, 2021. | Photo Credit: Nissar Ahmad
He was acquitted recently by court, which said there was not enough evidence to prove charges levelled against him
Back home after 11 years of detention on unproven charges, Bashir Ahmad Baba , 44, from Srinagar’s Jogi Lankar area, wants to just remember his post-graduate degrees and diploma certificates he earned in his 8×10 jail cell and the letters of his now dead father.
Mr. Baba, booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in 2010, was acquitted of all charges this week by a Gujarat court.
“I decided to keep myself busy in a constructive way in the jail. I chose studies to stay sane. I completed a post-graduation course in Urdu and other diploma courses,” Mr. Baba said, who is busy meeting his friends, neighbours and relatives, whom he was seeing for the first time in 11 years.
“The look of most people have changed,” he added.
The jail authorities, Mr. Baba said, helped him with study material and met his requirements to complete the courses.
Mr. Baba, who had a computer degree then, was just 33 when he decided to attend a camp management course for post-cancer cases in Ahmedabad in February 2010.
“Within six days of my arrival in the city, I was picked up by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) team. Later, in March, I was produced before the media. I did not even know what the charges were as the charge sheet was in Gujarati,” Mr. Baba recalled.
The Gujarat ATS booked Mr. Baba on charges of recruiting boys into militancy and affiliation with Hizbul Mujahideen handlers across the border on email and phone. He was charged under the IPC and UAPA.
“It was a long struggle to prove my innocence. I have to nurse the wound all my life for not being able to participate in the final rites of my father in 2017,” Mr. Baba. His father died of colon cancer and bail was denied to him on the occasion.
Mr. Baba has a metaphoric way to explain his prolonged tenure in the jail and the visible changes he observed in Kashmir now. “There are smartphones everywhere. I remember the phones would run by pressing buttons and not screens then,” he said.
His mother, who met him once in the jail in 11 years “only after selling gold ornaments for tickets and stay”, said, “I had given up on everyone. I had faith in Allah. When Baba left home in 2010, I had bid him saying ‘Ghas Khodayas hawali’ [Go and Allah be your protector]. And Allah has returned him to me,” she said.
Mr. Baba wants to start afresh. “I am hopeful of a good beginning now,” he said.
The Anand district court released him this week, saying there was not enough evidence to prove the charges levelled against him.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by Peerzada Ashiq / Srinagar – July 03rd, 2021
Dr Mohammad Askandar Iqbal and his team at the Department of Biotechnology, Jamia Millia Islamia(JMI), discovered the antagonistic roles of CBX2 and CBX7 genes in regulating glucose utilization in breast cancer cells. The discovery has enabled them to identify drugs that could be more effective in treating breast cancer patients with higher CBX2 and lower CBX7 expression.
Using a large amount of diverse molecular data from more than 3000 breast cancer patients along with gene silencing experiments, Dr Iqbal’s team identified the pro-cancer role of CBX2 and the anticancer role of CBX7, based on their effects on glucose metabolism in breast cancer.
Dr Iqbal and team also found that breast cancer patients with higher CBX2 and lower CBX7 expression in their tumors showed lesser survival probability compared to those having the reverse trends of expression of these two genes.
Highlighting the biological relevance of findings, CBX2 gene was found to be expressed at higher levels in breast cancer compared to normal breast tissue, whereas, the exact opposite trend was observed for CBX7. Further, the study reported that more deadly cancer tends to express higher levels of CBX2 and lower CBX7.
This research entitled “Multiomics integrative analysis reveals antagonistic roles of CBX2 and CBX7 in metabolic reprogramming of breast cancer” is published in Molecular Oncology, one of the most reputed journal worldwide in the field of oncology- a branch of medical science dealing with the study of cancer.
Yusuffali MA is a UAE-based Indian businessman. He is a billionaire who operates the Lulu Group that owns Lulu Hypermarkets and shopping malls.
It was nothing sort of rebirth for Becks Krishnan, serving a death row in UAE when his 500,000 Dirhams (around Rs 1 crore) compensation was paid in full and the man hailing from Kerala was released. The generous compensation was paid by Yusuffali MA, the chairman and managing director of LuLu Group.
Krishnan was sentenced to death by UAE’s Federal Supreme Court. He had been found guilty of killing a young Sudanese boy when he recklessly drove his car and rammed a group of children in September 2012. Ever since the sentence, the family had been trying for his release. But that required a hefty compensation to be paid. This is where Yusuffali stepped in.
In his career as a business tycoon, Yusuffali has headed the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI). He is the only non-Arab to be elected to the director board of ADCCI for three consecutive terms.
He has been a key mediator in the Kochi Smart City project between the Kerala government and the Dubai-based TECOM Group. Apart from his role in business, he has also organised several relief measures in India, notable among those are during the Lathur earthquake in Maharashtra, the Gujarat earthquake, and the Uttarakhand floods.
Yusauffali was conferred with Padmashree by President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil in 2008 for his achievements in business and industry. He was the first non-resident Indian (NRI) from the Gulf and the Middle East countries to be awarded Padmashree. Previously, he had been given the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award by late President APJ Abdul Kalam in 2005.
The UAE government in April awarded him with its highest civilian award for his noble and charitable contribution to the community. After accepting the award, Yusauffali said, “I first arrived in Abu Dhabi 47 years ago with dreams and hopes. I faced a lot of challenges and ups and downs in my life, but, today, I have reached this stage by the grace of Almighty God and the wholehearted support from the Royal Family of the UAE.”
Securing the release of Krishnan, Yusuffali simply “thanked the almighty and the benevolence of visionary rulers of UAE” for the decision, and wished him a happy and peaceful life ahead.
source: http://www.indiatoday.in / India Today / Home> Business / India Today Web Desk, New Delhi / June 04th, 2021
Srinivas University, Pandeshwar, here, announced the list of rank holders of BCA and MCA undergraduate and postgraduate degree examinations held during the academic year 2020-21 under the College of Computer Sciences and Information Sciences, City Campus, Pandeshwar, here.
In postgraduate degree programme of MCA Ayshath Safwana D secured the first rank with 9.76 CGPA and was awarded a gold medal.
L-R: Top Row: Ayshath Safwana D, Ayshath Napiha M, Ayshthul Barrera, Sandhya Bottom Row: Sarishma V, Thasreena Banu, Aravinda Sing Rao
Ayshath Napiha M secured the second rank with 9.14 CGPA.
In the undergraduate degree programme of BCA, Ayshthul Barrera secured the first rank with 9.75 CGPA and was awarded a gold medal. Sandhya secured the second rank with 9.65 CGPA, Sarishma V secured the third rank with 9.54 CGPA, Thasreena Banu secured the fourth rank with 9.02 CGPA, Aravinda Sing Rao secured the fifth rank with 8.9 CGPA.
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld / Home> Campus Beat / by Media Release / April 26th, 2021
Mumbai based successful entrepreneur, sportsperson and the founder of Significant Sports Capt. Rashid Ali Khan has bought Gaya Gladiators, a team in the Bihar Cricket League (BCL) T20. The auction for the same was held in Patna today.
Founded in 2011, Significant Sports holds a reputable position in the world of Sports Marketing & Celebrity Management. The company constantly aims at working towards being the frontrunner across various sports verticals and for being a one-stop destination for everything in and around sports.
Commenting on this development Capt. Rashid Ali Khan said, “We are delighted to be a part of this Bihar Cricket League T20, which will provide an opportunity to flourish and nourish hidden cricketing talent in Bihar. This initiative taken by BCL will bring a paradigm shift in the development of Bihar and will help the young cricketers grow exponentially.”
“Being a sportsperson, I am always inclined towards promoting young talent and honing their skills in cricket. Gaya Gladiators will nurture the youngsters with potential and I am delighted to announce that legendary Sri Lankan cricketer Tillakaratne Dilshan would be the mentor of Gaya Gladiators”, he added.
Ex-Army personnel Sheikh Abdul Kareem drives autorickshaw in Hyderabad. (Photo: Screengrab from youtube video)
Hyderabad:
An ex-serviceman, who was a star medal awardee during the India-China war, now drives an autorickshaw in Hyderabad for a living and has appealed to the state government for help.
Sheikh Abdul Kareem, an ex-Army personnel is a Star Medal recipient, a special award for his contribution to the India-China war.
Speaking to ANI, Kareem said, “I was recruited into the Indian army after the death of my father who worked for the British Army and then for the Indian army. In 1964, I entered the Indian army.”
“I participated in the India-China war and was posted in Lahaul area. I was awarded Star Medal and was the special award recipient in 1971,” he said.
Kareem said, “During the reign of Indira Gandhi, as there were surplus army personnel, many of them were removed from the postings and I was one of them. While in the army, I applied for government land and was given five acres of land in Gollapalli village in what is now Telangana.”
He said, “After nearly 20 years, the five acres land that was given to me has been distributed among seven village persons and after complaining about the same, I was offered another five acres under the same survey number but was denied the original land. Now it has been nearly about one year and till now the document of the land details are not ready.”
He said that after being removed from the army, he faced a lot of problems. He said that he does not even own a home and currently, at the age of 71, is driving auto-rickshaws to feed his family.
“I offered my services to this nation as an army personnel for nine years but was removed and am now driving an auto-rickshaw at the age of 71. It has been difficult to feed my family. I do not even have my own house so that I can look after my family,” he said.
He also urged the government to provide ex-servicemen who are homeless with the double bedroom flats that are given to the poor.
“Despite winning a good service medal, I have not even received any sort of pension or any financial support from the government. I also request the central government to financially support ex-servicemen who are in need of help,” he said.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad News / by Sakina Fatima / March 03rd, 2021
Meet this She Cab driver, who’s posted at the airport and ferries female passengers to their destinations be it rain or late evening.
Umtul Hamida
Hyderabad :
At 34, Umtul Hamida is energetic enough to drive through the roads of Hyderabad from 10 am till midnight.
Meet this She Cab driver, who’s posted at the airport and ferries female passengers to their destinations be it rain or late evening. Her face is framed in a white lace scarf and matches with the pink kurta that she teams up with embroidered shalwar as she drives and speaks with us.
She’s been driving the cab for the past six years. Says this mother of a nine-year-old girl, “I was selected among the 50 women by RTA for this job. I feel quite proud that I have been doing this for years.”
On being asked if she’s been treated differently because she’s the only woman driver of She Cabs from the minority community she replies, “No. It’s not happened. All the lady passengers have been really kind to me.” But what about the male taxi drivers at the airport? She smiles and shares, “They were a bit hesitant initially but took their own time to accept me.”
She learnt driving at her father’s house. Says this resident of Hyderguda, “My father owned an Esteem and I learnt driving from the chauffeur. After I got married, this skill helped me sail through financial difficulties.” Back then she used to take her infant child along with her rides. However, she’s not willing to let her daughter choose this profession.
“I am not sure if she’ll get similar support when she has her own family. Her first passenger was a journalist who interviewed Umtul for an audio-visual media platform. On average, she gets seven to eight passengers on a daily basis. The bookings are done at the pre-paid taxi booth at the RGIA premises. All seems well with her but she says that the government needs to do more for she can drivers.
“They have been supportive but we need more backing in terms of finance, policies etc. It will be great if we are appointed for government transport as the same will offer us assurance of our careers,” says she adding that the lockdown had affected their work severely given airports were closed and all the flights were on hold.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Saima Afreen, Express News Service / March 06th, 2021
Syed Jamaluddin Quadri who was known among his friends and family members as Khusro passed away last year in Hyderabad, his hometown.
He wasn’t keeping well for quite some time. I had been told that he has developed difficulty in walking owing to serious knee problem.
I remember Jamal as Jamaluddin and not as Jamalullah that he is referred to by many of his friends.
When his close friend and companion Sheikh Ibrahim said his organization is bringing out a special issue on him and wanted me to pen my own thoughts, I agreed immediately.
His demise had triggered a stream of memories ranging from his childhood to the time he spent in Jeddah. I had attended his funeral prayers that were held at Abdullah Shah Saheb mosque in Hussaini Alam.
I first came to know of him when I was admitted to Modern Kinder Garten, a new English medium school in Hussaini Alam, the area in which I too lived. I was not alone in not knowing the meaning of Kinder Garten. We always thought it was Kinder Garden. And no one took pains to explain to the students the meaning of the school’s name. It was much later in life that I came to that Kinder means children and garten means garden.
Khusro was two years senior to me in the school. Traditionally, the juniors do not get the attention of the seniors. But circumstances at the school were such that I came to know of him and his family in the first few weeks of entering the MKG. His father Janaab Imaduddin sahib, a salt and pepper bearded gentleman was committed to the cause of education. He was looked at with tremendous respect by his peers, teachers and students. Khusro was his only male child. He had sisters, older and junior to him. Some of them taught at the school. We the students called them Bajis. One such sister, Rafia Baji, later became the Principal of the school. That of course was much later than I left the school. Interestingly, the school is still working.
I distinctly remember two incidents from the MKG days. The first was a Kabbadi tournament where we the fourth or fifth class students were pitted against the eighth class boys in the finals. Khusro was in that team which won the tournament. We had no regrets in losing to the big boys because we had given them a tough competition. In fact, we won more appreciation as we were the underdogs.
The second incident belonged to the annual day function that was organized in the mid-sixties. The war with China was still fresh in the minds, therefore, the management decided to present a play on that subject. The play showed the dedication of the people to sacrifice their lives for the country. The story revolved around a family that had just celebrated the wedding of its son who was on vacation from his army duty. Khusro played the bridegroom wearing an impressive army uniform. Since the girls were not allowed to take part in the play on stage, especially with the boys, the management was looking for boys who could play the female characters. My friend and classmate Abdul Wahab Abid played the role of Khusro’s mother and I was cast as his newly wed bride. As I was being prepared in a red bridal dress and jewelry for the stage a senior student, Nayeem, suddenly entered the room, stared at me intently for a few moments and suddenly kissed on my cheek and ran away. He left me red-faced and bewildered. I believe he was punished for the ‘mischief’ later.
It was a great show where the beautiful bride asks her handsome husband to attend to the call of the nation and fight against the enemy. But she does it with lots of weeping. That patriotic play was a hit.
A few years after I left the MKG I was invited by Khusro and his group of dedicated friends to teach younger students at a mosque during early morning hours every day. I accepted the offer and joined the group. That was a great social initiative led by Khusro. I saw in him at that age the leadership qualities that blossomed further during his long stint in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to which he had migrated in the middle seventies. Incidentally, many of those who had worked in that mosque also left for the Kingdom. These young men and their families lived in a neighbourhood located on way to King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. It was perhaps called Kilo Six or Seven.
After joining Saudi Gazette, one of the two English language newspapers published from Jeddah, in early 1982 I started meeting some of the members of that group. I found that in his own way Khusro had kept his tradition of social activism alive. He was helping the newly arrived Indians to find jobs and settle down. He was holding weekly classes on social and religious norms of the Kingdom and explained to them matters pertaining to religion.
He began working for the preservation and promotion of Urdu by helping students. He also started the tradition of celebrating The Education Day in commemoration of the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, every year on November 11. To coincide with the occasion he was regularly bringing out a souvenir on Maulana Azad. While I was working with Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad as its Consultant/Advisor he used to phone me asking for my articles for the souvenir. I contributed a couple of write-ups on Maulana Azad for the souvenir.
His another area of interest was Jamia Nizamia, the 135 years old Islamic institution in Hyderabad. He invited Aalims and scholars to Jeddah to be part of the celebrations he would organise to sustain the interest in religious education among Indians, especially students, who were missing a lot by being away from their homeland.
A Sufi by the belief he never hesitated in working with different groups. I remember his regular meetings with Janaab Maslehuddin Saadi with friends to gain more knowledge about Sufi philosophy and practices.
I also remember the deep sorrow in his eyes when one of his sons drowned in the sea near Visakhapatnam. That boy was spending his vacation there. But Khusro managed to control it and did not allow the tragedy to deter him from his regular work.
I truly believe that people like Khusro come from are a rare breed. They do not forget that they have to play their role, however small or insignificant it may sound. I hope his friends in Hyderabad as well as those who are still in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or in other parts of the world would carry forward his positive work.
Mir Ayoob Ali Khan is a Senior Journalist who has worked with Saudi Gazette, Deccan Chronicle and Times of India. He is currently associated with Siasat.com, an English language news portal.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Featured News / by News Desk / December 28th, 2020
Two young girls going door to door to create awareness about family planning and the desirability to have fewer children may be quite unusual. But that’s exactly what Shazia Parveen and Afreen Khatoon have been doing to promote the idea of having a small family to overcome the wages of poverty and illiteracy.
Shazia and Afreen talking to village women during their drive to create awareness on gender bias and family planning.(HT photo)
Two young girls going door to door to create awareness about family planning and the desirability to have fewer children may be quite unusual. But that’s exactly what Shazia Parveen and Afreen Khatoon have been doing to promote the idea of having a small family to overcome the wages of poverty and illiteracy. By doing so, they have already carved a niche for themselves.
Hailing from a rural area of Muzaffarpur, the girls paddle their bicycles for 10 to 15 kilometres every day to create awareness among the rural folks about the problem of gender discrimination and virtues of family planning.
The effort has made Shazia and Afreen household names in over a dozen villages under Meenapur block of Muzaffarpur district and in the suburbs of the district headquarters town, also known as Muzaffarpur.
Their journey of disseminating the light of knowledge started some three odd years back, when they visited their maternal aunt’s house at Jamalabad village, which also falls in Meenapur block of Muzaffarpur.
There, they were shocked to see a beeline of women at the ‘aanganwadi’ centre, where their aunt Jamila works as an ‘aanganwadi sevika’.
“Seeing the sad plight of these women, many of them saddled with a large number of children, despite being poor, the idea to create awareness about family planning struck my mind and I decided to do something about the problem,” said Shazia the elder sister.
She discussed the issue with her younger sister, Afreen, who was pursuing her matriculation at that time. “She promised me to lend me her support in the noble mission,” said Shazia, who has just completed her graduation from Ram Briksha Benipuri Mahila College in Muzaffarpur.
Shazia said she was perturbed to find that most of the women who came to the aanganwadi centre run by her aunt discussed the problems associated with being saddled with big families.
“I found them chatting about only one thing – that they are busy all the time in struggling to manage their families and household work. They have not enough time to spare for themselves, so that they can do something for their own betterment,” Shazia told HT.
So she, along with her younger sister started moving on bicycles from door to door. “We started with our own village and later on started covering other nearby villages, after getting huge support from the people,” said Shazia.
Afreen, who topped in the matriculation examination in the district last year and is pursuing her intermediate course in the science stream, said they were enthused by the huge public support they were receiving.
“This boosts our morale and encourages us to go ahead with our mission. We are happy that we have made nearly 25,000 people aware of the need to practice family planning,” the younger sister said.
“Later, we added the need to stop sex determination tests and slogans against foetus killing, in our mission. This has also drawn great attention of the people,” said Afreen, adding, chief minister Nitish Kumar’s endeavour for women’s empowerment encouraged them.
Her one regret is, despite getting much public backing and appreciation for their mission, they failed to get support from government officials.
The girls said initially, they had to face much difficulties from some members of the Muslim community, what with people mocking them and hurling invectives at them. But these adversities only strengthened their resolve to continue.
“Now, we are planning to do it on bigger canvas after completing our studies. And for this we are looking for some helping hands,” said Afreen.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Patna / by Ajay Kumar, Hindustan Times, Patna / February 08th, 2016
At a time when educational institutions across the country have been shut due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching has become the new reality. While online classes have come as a boon to students who otherwise would have lost valuable time, for the teachers adapting to online classes meant creating educational videos, conducting online classes via Google meet, synchronizing activities through WhatsApp groups.
While those students who have smartphones, internet availability, laptops and other electronic gadgets are getting benefits from it, other students belonging to India’s rural areas and considerably underprivileged are scrambling to access education through smartphones.
In Solapur district of Maharashtra, nearly 60 per cent of students are underprivileged and don’t have smartphones or adequate access to the internet.
Responding to this crisis, a Zilla Parishad Urdu primary teacher Javed Kazi from Solapur came forward with an idea of the workbook of all the subjects including drawing, math’s and languages to provide an option to the deprived students from 1st standard to 5th standard. The workbook offers these children to learn, read, write and solve equations at home under the telephonic guidance of concerned teachers and elderly people.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, Javed said he is doing it with the aim to serve his mother tongue Urdu and its students. “I am not intending to make money from it,” he said.
The notebook is not expensive, and as per Javed, is paid for by concerned class teachers from. “We don’t want to put a financial burden on our poor students,” he added.
Javed said that the notebook was a success and he has received an overwhelming response from teachers and students. “I have received calls from private schools and other cities of Maharashtra as well,” he said.
Javed said that three thousand copies of the trimmed syllabus based workbook have nearly finished and they are planning to publish three thousand more to meet the demand of all the five thousand students of 65 Zila Parishad’s, 22 corporation and 12 Nagar Parishad school students of the district.
Amid the ongoing pandemic, the government has encouraged Online Educational Resources OER but the availability of OER for Urdu medium students is very limited.
“In such a situation, we have to provide something to these students to engage them,” he said.
A Zila Parishad primary school teacher Mohsina Bangi said that the workbook has made learning activity easy for them. “We are supervising by making calls and students are giving a good response. They are reading textbooks and writing answers and solving problems of other subjects in the workbook,” she added.
A parent of a student from Aurad Zila Parishad school told TwoCircles.net that concerned teachers send educational videos and other online learning material but, “our children can’t get the benefit of it because we have four children and only one smartphone that I always carry.”
“This workbook has made all the children busy in learning activities. Children are reading, writing and informing their teachers as per convenience,” he added.
Ayesha Wasim Bagwan, mother of a fourth standard student expressed happiness over the provision of this workbook. “This has given momentum to my daughter’s learning process. Now she is giving some time to study, trying to solve math’s problems, writing answers by taking my help,” she said.
source: http://www.twocirlces.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Children / by Imraan Inamdar / TwoCircles.net / September 18th, 2020
