Tag Archives: Muslims of Maharashtra

Shahnawaz Pathan becomes first Muslim woman judge of Pune

Pune, MAHARASHTRA :

Shahnawaz Khan Pathan with her parents and brother
Shahnawaz Khan Pathan with her parents and brother

Come August and Shahnawaz Khan Pathan of Pune would join the training course for the First Class Judge. Her’s is an incredible journey from living with her family in a ten-by-ten space in Ghorpadi Pait Lohia Nagar slum settlement where she grew up and studied. 

Shahnawaz Khan’s story proves that success is not achieved in a day and only one who has the determination to make it will succeed. Shahnawaz Khan Pathan is the third sibling among her four sisters and one brother. Their father Aman Khan Pathan manages the family with his earnings from a small grocery shop.

Shahnawaz Khan Pathan being felicitated by the Pune Bar after her selection as Judge

Despite Aman Khan’s low income,  he tried his best to provide proper education to his children as a result all his children are educated.

Shahnawaz Khan Pathan’s success has her father happy and proud. Aman Khan Pathan says that due to the poor financial condition of his family, he was not able to study. Sumaiya not only made his dream come true and also made him a proud father who can tell the world that he is the father of Shahnawaz Khan Pathan. 

Speaking with Awaz-the Voice, Aman Khan Pathan became emotional and said: “I am proud of Shahnawaz.” 

Her mother  Sugrabi Pathan wipes her tears of joy and says that her daughter was always very good in her studies from the very beginning. “We had high hopes from her and see she did it. I always pray for her success and success.”

Shahnawaz Khan with her Uncle Jia Khan Pathan

The family has lived all through in a small hut in the narrow streets of Lohia Nagar. There is hardly an environment conducive to studies.

However,  Shahnawaz Khan Pathan worked hard and made history by becoming the first Muslim first-class judge of Pune. 

Shahnawaz says that mere imagination does not lead to success. One needs to work hard to fulfill one’s dreams and achieve success. 

On her family’s support, Shahnawaz says that her father was always there to guide her. “Even with his meager income, he made every effort to provide for me whenever I needed something.” 

However, Shahnawaz has another hero in her life: her uncle Jia Khan Pathan, and his wife – whom she credits with encouraging her and filling her with hope and enthusiasm to keep moving.

Shahnawaz being felicitated by a civil society organisation in Pune

“From the first day till the JFMC interview, Uncleji was with me like my shadow. Whenever I had to go outside the city for writing an examination, my uncle and aunty would accompany me. He never left me alone. My mother and my entire family, friends, and neighbors all kept encouraging me.” 

However, her failure to clear the Public service Commission conducted Maharashtra Judicial Services Examination in her first attempt in 2019  caused her disappointment. “At that time my father encouraged me and told me to try it again. I tried with renewed vigor and confidence and this time my name figured in the list of results declared in 2020,” she says.

 Shahnawaz has studied at Maharishi Annasaheb Shinde, Zilla Parishad School. Today, when she is all set to become the first Muslim judge of Pune, Shahnawaz says she believes that “education is not preparation for life but education is life.” 

She says she was always determined to not let the circumstances of her life become a hindrance in her path. It was only some time back that her family shifted to their new house in the Kondhwa area. 

Shahnawaz Khan Pathan speaking at a function

Shahnawaz was a practicing lawyer before becoming a civil judge-cum-judicial magistrate first class (JFMC). She married software developer Sunny Sayyed before on May 25 before the JFMC results were out. She lives with her husband in the Urudi Kanchan area of Pune. 

As a legal professional Shahnawaz says that awareness campaigns should be launched to make common people aware of the legal options and legal aspects of life. Legal camps and street plays can be very helpful in this direction. She says that lack of proper information aggravates many problems.

Shahnawaz believes that a common citizen can become a force multiplier in the progress of the country by staying within the purview of the law for redressal of his grievances.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> India / by Shahtaj Khan, Pune / July 14th, 2022

Yasmeen Khan teaches children on roadside in Mumbai

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Yasmeen with her students
Yasmeen with her students

A few mats and a blackboard make a school on a city lane for 50 kids. This footpath of V Power Gym Street in the Kanakia area of Mira Road in Mumbai attracts the attention of the passers-by but the children remain engrossed in studying and oblivious of the world passing by.

The noise of passing traffic and pedestrians does not affect the privacy of students – mostly children of construction labourers and other daily wage earners – for their minds are focused on what their Yasmeen Madam says.

Yasmin Parvez Khan, a homemaker whose husband is a manager in a  global software company, has been trying to provide basic education to children in this makeshift roadside school. She has been setting it up from 3 to 5 pm every day for the past ten years. 

She is a volunteer who wants to change the lives of children who can’t afford a regular school for various reasons; she neither runs an NGO nor is affiliated with any government agency.

awaz
Gallery of images from Yasmeem’s school

Yasmeen says: “One day I thought of doing something for these poor children. After much deliberation, I realized that no amount of monetary or material help will be of much use to them while education has the potential to change their lives and also impact the future of their families. With this idea, I started teaching two kids and today I have 50 of them.”

Yasmeen’s school is for slum children where they receive basic education and then for formal education, Yasmin Madam takes the children for admission to regular schools. This way Yasmeen plays an important role in initiating these underprivileged children into regular education by invoking their interests in studies and knowledge. “It takes time to get children from very poor families interested in education and getting their parents to understand the importance of education is no less than a harder task.”

Yasmeen says she doesn’t charge a fee but children need many things like notebooks, pencils, books, colours, bags, etc. She has an innovative idea for getting these needs of children fulfilled. Pointing to her blackboard, she says, “Whenever I need something for children, write it on the board and you will be surprised that within a short time, someone delivers it.”

To date, children have never had to wait more than half an hour to get their basic things for studies. She smiles and says that she feels happy to cook for children each Thursday and feed them. After seeing this, many passersby and neighbours have started bringing food and gifts for the children. This makes children very happy and adds to their enthusiasm.

awaz
Children enjoying meals cooked by Yasmeen Khan on a Thursday

Yasmeen Madam’s teaching sidewalk has neither walls nor roof, but education is complete. The first child who got his primary education from this footpath and reached school today has reached the 11th standard.

People are often inquisitive about Yasmin Parvez Khan, who wears a Burqa. People stop for a moment when they see a veiled woman teaching children on the sidewalk.

Yasmeen says that initially, even her family was not happy with her decision. “When I explained my point that she has to go to them and teach, they understood.”

She says: “Today, my family including my mother-in-law, father-in-law, husband, and my children support me.” Yasmeen Parvez Khan’s husband is a project manager at Wipro Company.

These days Yasmeen’s school is on Monsoon break. She is looking forward to the end of the monsoon and the resumption of her school.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> India / by Shantaj Khan, Pune / July 26th, 2022

Devapriya Sanyal’s Salman Khan The Man The Actor The Legend review: Decoding Salman Khan

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Steering clear of the actor’s controversial life, a new biography focuses on India’s notion of stardom and celebrity instead

A recent bout of illness and feeling all round wretched had me turning to my favourite comfort food — Hindi movies (I refuse to call them Bollywood movies) from the 1990s. That I was simultaneously reading Devapriya Sanyal’s Salman Khan The Man The Actor The Legend, a deconstruction of bhai’s celebrity, proved an adequate road map to my film choices…

Rather than start with Salman Khan’s big, fat blockbuster, Maine Pyaar Kiya (1989), I chose Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), also directed by Sooraj Barjatya (who had made his directorial debut with Maine Pyaar Kiya). The film, which cemented Khan as a bonafide star, actually gave his co-star, Madhuri Dixit, higher billing, a fact which Sanyal’s book mentions.

Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! unlike that other game-changer of the ‘90s, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), has not aged well, Dixit’s phulkari-inspired jacket notwithstanding. The film plays out like a loosely strung together series of incidents, songs and comic interludes. How is a dog playing an umpire at a cricket match supposed to be funny is one of those unsolved mysteries. And while we are on the topic, hope Tuffy, the dog, was treated right on set.

Defence of toxicity

Sanyal’s book mostly steers clear of all the scandals and controversies that followed Khan like faithful shadows. While there is mention of the 2002 hit-and-run case, his tumultuous relationship with Aishwarya Rai and its fallout, and the blackbuck hunting and Arms Act violations cases, the book focuses on decoding Khan and India’s notion of stardom and celebrity through his career.

What little we glimpse of Khan is through his good friend Kailash Surendranath’s reminiscences. Surendranath, who knew Khan from his days as an eager 15-year-old getting his first break in modelling for Campa Cola (remember?) to his decade-spanning superstardom, remembers Khan dropping by for late night paratha-bhurji (scrambled eggs) and his motto for working on his body — “When you have no work, work on yourself.”

An introduction sets out what Sanyal intends to do through the book in great detail. The shortest chapter is the one called ‘With Human Failings’, which lists Khan’s headline-grabbing misbehaviour. His public brawls and brushes with the law are explained away as the cost of celebrity, which does not cut much ice as one cannot sweep bad and outright criminal behaviour under the carpet of “boys will be boys”. The book is at its weakest when trying to defend Khan’s toxicity.

An engaging journey

On the other hand, Sanyal’s book is its most engaging when deconstructing Khan through his roles especially in the chapter, ‘The Journey from Prem to Chulbul Pandey’. The chapter introduces the concept of the Emploi, “a theoretical framework as developed by Erving Goffman in his book, Frame Analysis.” The emploi, Sanyal posits “is a category that accounts for the close interaction between performance and reception.”

Just as Amitabh Bachchan’s angry young man was invariably called Vijay (is his Jai in Sholay a diminutive for Vijay?) and Shah Rukh Khan’s many versions of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’s Raj went towards building an on-screen persona, so too does Salman’s Prem emploi create a film version of Salman Khan.

Sanyal traces Khan’s development through his 15 different portrayals of Prem. From the slender, doe-eyed Prem of Maine Pyar Kiya, the naughty ‘devar’ Prem in Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, the Prem who sets things right in Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999) and the slightly dim-witted Prem of Andaz Apna Apna (1994), who nevertheless gets the girl to the tongue-in-cheek narrator Prem of Ready (2011), the cheating-on-his wife Prem of No Entry (2005), the dating guru Prem of Partner (2007) and the travelling theatre artiste Prem of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015), in his fourth collaboration with Barjatya.

Since the chapter details Khan’s journey from Prem to Chulbul Pandey, there is an analysis of the characters he played who are not named Prem, including Akash in that slightly cringy but melodious triangle Saajan (1991), Sameer in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s exotically colourful Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), the obsessed lover, Radhe Mohan in Tere Naam (2003), the tapori Radhe in Wanted (2009), Devil in Kick (2014), Bajrangi in Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) and Tiger in Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), Laxman in Tubelight (2017) Sultan in and as Sultan (2021), and of course the corrupt but loveable cop Chulbul Pandey in the Dabangg movies.

Sanyal, who teaches English literature at the University of Delhi, has written a thesis on the anatomy of fame with academic rigour— right down to how Khan’s perfect body also contributes to his iconography. Wish the book was better proofed as there are silly errors that grate coming on the back of such a well-researched book.

All looking for salacious details of Khan’s life will be disappointed while those seeking the magic in the bottle of stardom will not. And I am going back to watching Khan fight off the evil Crime Master Gogo in the delightful Andaz Apna Apna.

Salman Khan The Man The Actor The Legend; Devapriya Sanyal, Bloomsbury, ₹699.

mini.chhibber@thehindu.co.in

source: http://www.thehindu.com/ The Hindu / Home> Books> Review / by Mini Anthikad Chhibber / July 22nd, 2022

Aurangabad Children Mohilla libraries celebrate World Book Day in style

Aurangabad, MAHARASHTRA :

Aurangabad:  

On World Book Day, the Maryam Mirza Mohilla (neighbourhood) library movement commemorated the occasion with zeal. Several book reading and distribution activities were held in city mosques and Urdu schools under the auspices of the Read & Lead Foundation.

The Foundation’s President, Mirza Abdul Qayyum Nadvi, announced the commencement of a “Book at Home, Book at Every Home” campaign at the event. He stated that the book-reading awareness campaign is only getting started because today’s young generation is losing interest in reading due to the introduction of new electronic gadgets, particularly smart phones

Urdu, Marathi, English books were distributed to the children members of Maulana Syed Abul Hassan Ali Nadvi Mohalla Library situated in  Masjid Faiz Beri Bagh, Harsol area of  Aurangabad.

It should be noted that for the past year in Aurangabad, 28 libraries have been working under the aegis of the Read & Lead Foundation in various sections of the city, slum mosques, Urdu schools, and neighbourhoods. More than 5,000 children are connected to these libraries.

It’s worth noting that eleven (11) of the 28 libraries are dedicated to children are located in mosques. Masjid Shadab Hina Nagar, Ahmadi Masjid, Shatabdi Nagar, Maulana Hasrat Mohani Mohalla Library, Misrarwadi, Qazi Iqbaluddin Mohalla Library, Bismillah Masjid, Madrasa Falah Darin Ghulam Mustafa,  Sher Khan Pathan Mitra Mandal Library, Narey Village Mohalla Library and other places.  In addition to this, Al-Huda Urdu High School Baijipura, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Mohalla Library Baijipura and other libraries celebrated World Book Day.

Maulana Sheikh Yusuf Nadvi, Imam of Masjid Faiz, where the Maulana Syed Abul Hassan Ali Nadvi Mohalla Library is located, stated that he would do everything in his power to ensure that the library benefits the children and women of the area as much as possible. After Friday prayers, he also declared the start of the door-to-door book drive.

Sheikh Nargis Fatima, Headmistress of Al-Huda Urdu High School, stated that her school’s students and instructors would be more active in the campaign and would offer all available assistance. Farhat Jahan, a school teacher, and other teachers took part in the presentation and offered their opinions..

Children’s monthly periodicals such as “Bachu ki Dunia,” “Umang,” “Taleemi inquilab,” “Majhi Marathi,” “Meri English Kitab,”,” “Gulzar Urdu,” and other books, magazines, and journals were distributed to members of the aforementioned libraries.

source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Positive Story / by Special Correspondent / April 26th, 2022

Elorda Cup: Indian boxer Alfiya stuns former world champ to clinch gold

Nagpur, MAHARASHTRA :

India’s Alfiya Pathan and Gitika produced sensational performances to win gold medals in the Elorda Cup in Kazakhstan on Monday.

Alfiya in action. (File Photo)   –  SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

India’s Alfiya Pathan and Gitika produced sensational performances to win gold medals in the Elorda Cup in Kazakhstan on Monday.

On the other hand, Gitika, who hails from Rohtak, handed the country first gold by winning an intense all-Indian final against Kalaivani wherein both the boxers started off with an aggressive intent and kept attacking each other.  While they continued to exchange heavy punches, Gitika  effortlessly shifted the gears as the bout progressed and did enough in the end to tilt the result in her favour.

“It was a great feeling to win a gold medal in the first senior international tournament. This is a start; I want to win more medals at the senior level in international competitions,” Gitika said after her win.

Meanwhile, the 2019 World Championships bronze medallist Jamuna gave her all against Uzbekistan’s Nigina Uktamova but ended up with a 0-5 loss in the 54kg final.

Alfiya and Gitika fetched themselves a prize money of USD 700 for their gold medal-winning feats while silver and bronze medal winners were awarded with USD 400 and USD 200 each respectively.

With the addition of two gold and as many silver medals on the final day, the Indian contingent also concluded their campaign with 14 medals, including 10 bronze, in the inaugural edition of the tournament.


Indian women boxers secured two gold, two silver and six bronze medals in the tournament which witnessed top players in action from strong boxing countries such as India, Uzbekistan, hosts Kazakhstan, Cuba, China and Mongolia.

Jyoti Gulia (52kg), Sakshi (54kg), Sonia Lather (57kg), Neema (63kg), Lalita (70kg) and Babita Bisht (81kg) were the six bronze medallists in the women’s category.

Among men, Kuldeep Kumar (48kg), Ananta Chopade (54kg), Sachin (57kg) and Jugnoo (92kg) claimed bronze medals.  

Medallists:
Women: (Gold) Gitika (48kg) and Alfiya Pathan (+81kg); (Silver) Kalaivani Srinivasan (48kg) and Jamuna Boro (54kg); (Bronze) Jyoti Gulia (52kg), Sakshi (54kg), Sonia Lather (57kg), Neema (63kg), Lalita (70kg) and Babita Bisht (81kg).

Men: (Bronze) Kuldeep Kumar (48kg), Ananta Chopade (54kg), Sachin (57kg) and Jugnoo (92kg).

source: http://www.sportstar.thehindu.com / SportStar / Home> More Sports> Boxing / by Team Sportstar / July 04th, 2022

News warrior of a different kind

NEW DELHI :

At a modest house in South Delhi’s leafy Sarita Vihar colony, a tall, handsome man woke up early in the morning to read a bunch of newspapers religiously. He didn’t only read whatever “readable” news and views a dozen newspapers in Hindi, Urdu and English carried, but also shared them with the wider world. For five years–ceaselessly, tirelessly.

His huge circle of friends, from Birmingham to Barabanki, Miami to Mumbai, Seattle to Singapore devoured the selected news and views this selfless, soft spoken news warrior shared with such dedication and devotion. I don’t know any other person on the planet doing this with such consistency for five long years. Yes, some of us news premi pick up news randomly and share them with a few friends.

Shafique Ul Hasan, a senior journalist-turned-advertising professional, completed five years of sharing the news clippings on June 24 this year. Among hundreds of friends who value his work and have congratulated Shafique Bhai—that is how most of us address him—on reaching this milestone include filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, writer-politician Shashi Tharoor, former bureaucrat and ex-VC of Jamia Millia Islamia Najeeb Jung. They all underlined the importance of Shafique Bhai’s work—making available some of the important news and opinion pieces at one place. In our crazily busy schedule, many of us have forgotten what and how to read news. In the age of social media explosion, it has become very important to decide what news and views one should consume. At a time when fake news and viral videos are shared with an ulterior motive, Shafique Ul Hasan’s work assumes significance.

It all started with the news of Hafiz Junaid’s lynching. The young, kurta-pajama clad maulvi was returning home after shopping for Eid when a group of boys accosted him in train, beat him up so badly that he succumbed to injuries. The news shocked us. Most of us silently mourned the loss of an innocent’s life due to demonization of Muslims. Had fellow passengers intervened, young Junaid’s life could have been saved. But the hate-mongering has made us so insensitive and numb that we don’t react till the trouble reaches our own doorsteps. “This is not our problem,” we dismiss and move on. We forget the episode till a fresh case of mob violence hits the headlines.

Shafique Bhai reacted to the lynching of young Junaid in a different way. It affected him so deeply and intensely that he decided to do something beyond mourning his death silently. He made clippings of the horrific news and shared them with some of his friends on WhatsApp. And then he thought more. “What can I do to stop this madness? What power do I possess to make an intervention?”, he asked himself.

Most of us don’t realise the hidden power we possess. The strength lies in communicating the pain too. If we share some genuine, truthful news, this too is a service. Taking out morchas and petitioning authorities are not the only forms of protest. A protest is registered if news about an unkind, unjust thing or event is shared with a purpose to create awareness and help form an informed opinion. Shafique Ul Hasan decided to share the news clips from newspapers in the morning daily.


He made it part of his daily routine. So, he didn’t miss sharing the clippings even if he was travelling, in India or abroad, attending wedding celebrations or birth parties, vacationing in Europe or in the Middle East. “Once during our holiday in Europe I ensured that I woke up in the morning according to Indian time and made clippings from digital editions of the newspapers while my wife was fast asleep. Not many of my friends realized that they had shared those clippings sitting in Paris or London,” he told me recently.

Significantly, Shafique Bhai’s services have been acknowledged and appreciated widely. Many individuals and organizations have feted him for this yeomen service. Among those who have awarded him for this service include Sirajuddin Qureishi of New Delhi-based India Islamic Cultural Centre (IICC), several NGOs and organisers of a programme celebrating 200 years of Urdu Journalism recently in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, sticking to a fixed schedule for long and sitting for a few hours without a break daily began to take a toll. Shafiqul Hassan’s health got affected. His BP shot up and had to be hospitalized before his condition could have worsened. He didn’t stop from doing what he loved to do even while he recuperated in a hospital. Despite protests from his lovely family, he didn’t take a break. He resolved to complete at least five years of sharing the news and views clippings. He fulfilled the promise he had made to himself.

Meanwhile, a few well-meaning friends advised him to monetize it. Since many websites and other news outlets charge money for their products, it would have been quite fair had Shafiqul Hassan too put a price to his services. “No. I don’t want to make any money out of it. It will be free of cost till whatever time I do it,” he told me.

But he had to take a break. Many of us told Shafique Bhai to take a long break after completing five years of this selfless service. He deserves to pay attention to his health, his business and spend more quality time with family. He has announced that much-deserved break. I suggest he finds a mechanism through which he resumes this service in a more organized way. He needs to get a team of computer savvy individuals who can work with him. Rather than doing everything himself, he should delegate work to subordinates. He should now work more as a supervisor. But to create such a team, some funds will be needed. Shafique Bhai is a self-respecting man. He will never seek charity or any other funds to set up a professional team for news/views gathering and dissemination. It is the duty of all concerned citizens to ensure that such a corpus is created and this work resumes.

Mohammed Wajihuddin is a senior journalist, now associated with the Times of India, Mumbai. His write-ups are popular with wide range of readers.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Opinion / by Mohammed Wajihuddin / June 27th, 2022

Inspired by Kalpana Chawla’s story, Hijabi girl secures commercial pilot’s license

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Inspired by Kalpana Chawla’s story, Hijabi girl secures commercial pilot’s license

Mohaddesa Jafri
Mohaddesa Jafri

Mumbai : 

A 26-year-old Hijabi girl who was inspired by Kalpana Chawla’s story, recently secured a commercial pilot’s license. She became Maharashtra’s first Shia girl to get the license.

The girl, Mohaddesa Jafri, daughter of Maulana Sher Mohammed Jafri and Aalema Farah Jafri recently returned from South Africa where she had undergone the training.

How did she become fan of Kalpana Chawla?

Mohaddesa Jafri was seven-year-old when Indian American astronaut Kalpana Chawla died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in February 2003.

After Chawla’s demise, posters and banners were seen at multiple places in the country. When Jafri went out of home along with her father saw the posters and asked him about the astronaut.

Her father narrated Kalpana Chawla’s story and explained how brave she was. After listening to the astronaut’s story, Mohadddesa became a fan of Chawla.

After reading many articles on Chawla and watching her videos, Jafri informed her parents that she want to join the aviation industry.

Finally, in 2020, she joined a flying school in Johannesburg, South Africa. However, her relatives were not happy with her parent’s decision to send her for pilot training. The relatives commented that despite being Maulana and Alema, they sent their daughter for pilot training.

Ignoring the remarks against the decision, they allowed their daughter to continue pilot training as they were sure that it is not irreligious.

Who was Kalpana Chawla?

Kalpana Chawla was the first woman of Indian origin who went to space. She who was a Mechanical engineer had gone to space thrice.

The first two missions were successful. Her third flight which was on Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003 was not successful as the spacecraft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Apart from Chawla, six other crew members died in the disaster.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> India / by Sameer / May 29th, 2022