Nikhat Zarin receiving the Arjuna Award from President Draupadi Murmu
New Delhi:
The newest Indian sportsperson to make a splash on the global scene and the world Boxing champion Nikhat Zareen was conferred the Arjuna Award by president Draupadi Murmu in a glittering ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Wednesday.
The President gave away the National Sports Awards 2022 and National Adventure Awards 2021. The National awards are given every year to encourage and honour outstanding sportspersons.
This time, 25 sportspersons were given Arjuna Awards. Telangana sportsperson Nikhat Zarin, who recently won the World Boxing Championship one among them.
She expressed her joy and gratitude at the award on social media.
President Draupadi Murmu awarded the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, 2021 – to Neena Dhakad. She is the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse. She accomplished this feat in less than 10 days.
President Murmu presented Dronacharya Award 2022 to Sujit Mann, wrestling coach. He has trained many outstanding racing athletes including Bajrang Punia.
Nikhat Zareen displaying her award
Dronacharya Award was also conferred on Soma Siddharth Shrur, who has trained top shooting athletes including Oni Lekhra, Ishwari Pratap Singh Tomar, and Sunidhi Chauhan; Jeonjot Singh Teja, archery coach. The latter has trained Harvinder Singh, Raj Kaur, Rajat Chauhan, and Maskan Kher.
Raj Singh, the wrestling coach, who was honoured, has trained Yogeshwar Dutt, Sanjay, Ashok Kumar, and Umair.
Bimal Prafla Ghosh, the football coach has also been conferred the Dronacharya award.
Dinesh Jawahar Lad was awarded for his achievements in cricket coaching. He has trained Rohit Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Harmeet Singh Budhan, and Sudhish Lad.
BC Suresh received Dhyan Chand 2022 for his achievements in Kabaddi – Gold Medal in World Cup, 2004 and Gold Medal in Asian Games, 2002 –
Dharamveer Singh got the award for his achievements in hockey.
President awarded the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy, 2022 to Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar for best all-around performance in sports.
Fazeela Tabassum Shaik, a 9-year-old child from Chilakaluripeta, Guntur district has broken her previous Guinness World Record of “The Fastest time to arrange all elements of the periodic table” in which she took 1min 57sec. Now she arranged in 1min 43 sec setting up a new Guinness record.
Earlier, a Pakistani child had set a record in 2.27 minutes, which has now been broken by Fazeela Tabassum Shaik. Fazeela practised nearly 4 to 5 months for daily 5 to 6 hrs daily to achieve this. Fazeela is presently trying to break her own record by setting the periodic table in 1 min 30 seconds.
In January 2021, Ganapavaram CR College conducted an official attempt at the Guinness Book of World Records and Fazeela Tabassum completed the event in 1.43 minutes.
In this regard, Fazeela has received an official confirmation and certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records on April 27.
source: http://www.sakshipost.com / Sakshi Post / Home> Andhra Pradesh / May 09th, 2021
Giving a tight slap to all the protestors, 18-year-old Tabassum Shaik scored a perfect 100 in Hindi, Psychology and Sociology.
Image Source : TWITTER/@TAHSEEN_JNU Tabassum Shaik with his parents.
A year after Karnataka hit the headlines of major global media outlets following a controversy that erupted after a dispute pertaining to some Muslim students who wanted to wear hijab in classes were prevented by their classmates, it has again gained media attention. But this time, for some good reasons.
Among the Muslim girls who protested against the college uniform, 18-year-old Tabassum Shaik again hit the headlines and proved “Success is the best revenge”. Notably, Karnataka’s 2nd PUC results were declared on Saturday, April 21. Shaik, who faced thousands of her classmates agitating against her Muslim attire, topped the arts stream in the Second Pre-University (PU) exams.
Shaik scored 593 points out of 600
Among the highest scorers, the 18-year-old who still wears a black scarf proudly, received 593 points out of 600 and placed first in the Arts Stream. Giving a tight slap to all the protestors, she scored a perfect 100 in Hindi, Psychology and Sociology.
Meanwhile, speaking to Indian Express after her achievement, Shaik said that she preferred to choose “education over hijab.” “I decided to give up the hijab in college and pursue my education. We will need to make some sacrifices for education,” Shaikh was quoted as saying to The Indian Express.
Follow the law of the land: Proud father
Her proud father, Abdul Khaum Shaik, who played a significant role during her tough days, said he always suggested his daughter prioritise her education over other kinds of stuff.
He told his daughter it is important to “follow the law of the land. Education is more important for the children”.
Notably, all the Muslim girls including Shaik stubborn about wearing hijab, had filed a petition in the court, seeking permission to attend classes wearing hijab.
Tharoor praises efforts
When the controversy broke out, the matter was confined to some regions of the state but soon it evolved into a significant dissension that even the High Court had to intervene. According to the agitating students, wearing a black scarf was their ‘fundamental right’ bestowed under Articles 14 and 25 of the Indian Constitution. Besides, they also argued wearing a hijab is an ‘integral practice of Islam’. However, the Karnataka high court upheld a government order and asserted to continue banning religious attire in educational institutions.
Subsequently, Shaik said she accepted the court’s order and resumed her studies without the scarf. Meanwhile, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor praised the efforts of the student and said, “Success is the best revenge”. #ShabashTabassum!
source: http://www.indiatvnews.com / India TV / Home> English News> Karnataka / by Ajeet Kumar, New Delhi / April 24th, 2023
The Canadian Indian Muslims Association is helping people integrate into Canadian society.
Members of the Canadian Indian Muslims Association gather at a previous event. (Canadian Indian Muslims Association/Facebook)
When Ali Nizami moved from India to Canada 26 years ago, he struggled to find his belonging in a new country as an Indian Muslim.
“Even though there are so many Indians in the city and in Canada, Indian Muslims share a slightly different culture. Those subtle differences make a huge impact on people when they’re trying to connect with somebody,” said Nizami.
With a lack of organizations in Calgary for that specific community, he also felt alone.
He’s trying to change that for others — whether they’re a new immigrant or have been in Canada for a while.
He co-founded the Canadian Indian Muslims Association two years ago in Calgary. Since then, it’s grown to nearly 300 members across the country, but mostly in Calgary.
Islam is India’s second-largest religion, making up 14.2 per cent of the country’s population, according to the Pew Research Center. It follows Hinduism, which makes up 79.8 per cent of the population.
“We are a minority within a minority,” said Nizami.
Ali Nizami (left) with other members of the Canadian Indian Muslims Association at an Eid event. (Canadian Indian Muslims Association/Facebook)
Still, Indian Muslims are the second biggest Muslim population in the world, says the research centre.
The goal of the organization, says Nizami, is to bring the often underrepresented and neglected community together so it’s easier for Indian Muslims to integrate into the bigger bubbles of Canadian society.
“There’s no voice, there’s no platform. That’s what we’re trying to change. That’s the gap we’re trying to close.”
Nizami says the community is a strong entity in India, and they want to bring that to Canada.
The organization provides career mentorship and support for new immigrants. Nizami says the services and events are not only for Indian Muslims — they’re here to help anyone who needs it.
‘There are lots of Muslims in India, too’
Mir Ali and his wife Humaira Fatima moved to Calgary a year and a half ago. Before that, they lived briefly in Mississauga, and in Chicago for seven years.
They say of all the cities they’ve lived in across the world, they couldn’t find an organization that was focused on promoting Indian culture in addition to Islamic culture — until they heard of the Canadian Indian Muslims Association.
By connecting with people from the same background and with shared interests, they say the organization helped them find their belonging in Calgary.
A few months ago, they officially joined the organization as members.
Spouses Mir Ali and Humaira Fatima are new members of the Canadian Indian Muslim Association. They say joining the organization has made the integration into Calgary easier. (Submitted by Mir Ali)
“They were very open and welcoming,” said Ali. “It’s like an extended family to us right now.”
Fatima says she hopes working with the organization will spread more awareness about the community across the country.
“Whenever I wear a headscarf, people think that I’m not from India, but I’m from Pakistan,” said Fatima. “Not everybody is aware that there are lots of Muslims in India, too.”
Saima Jamal, co-founder of the Calgary Immigrant Support Society, says the community is getting increasingly marginalized in India because of their religion, and that’s now spreading to Canada.
“The Indian Muslims that are here in Calgary, they have been facing it. They’ve been feeling it,” said Jamal.
“The Indian Muslim community decided, you know what, we’re going to make a positive step in all of this. We’re going to help new immigrants that are coming in who are Indian Muslims. And we won’t just stop there — we will help anybody coming in that needs help.”
Grand Iftar dinner event
To celebrate Ramadan, the Canadian Indian Muslims Association is hosting what they believe is one of the biggest Iftar dinner events in Calgary, on April 9. It’s sold out at 350 tickets.
Together, attendees will come together to pray, break their fast for Iftar with “good Indian food,” listen to speeches from organizers and socialize with the community.
“Ramadan is the time to come together. It’s the time to reflect on your own self. Ramadan is the time to celebrate and that’s all we are trying to do — live the spirit of Ramadan,” said Nizami.
Moving forward, Nizami says the organization is also planning a food bank drive and a blood drive. Everyone is welcome to those events, he says, no matter how they identify.
source: http://www.cbc.ca / CBC NEWS / Home> News> Calgary / by Karina Zapata / April 08th, 2023
Dr. MOHAMED BEDEEUZZAMAN is CEO of Integrated Education Council India (IECI). He completed his Ph.D in Biomedical Signal Processing from Aligarh Muslim University after having his B.Tech and M.Tech degrees from Govt Engineering College, Thrissur and NIT, Calicut respectively.
Dr. Zaman served MES College of Engineering, Kuttippuram, Kerala in various capacities for 22 years.
He was Vice Principal of the College from 2013 to 2020. He has contributed many papers and attended conferences and workshops at Rome (Italy), Prague (Czech Republic), Loughborough (UK) and Sharjah (UAE).
Dr Zaman is a good orator and prolific writer. He is an expert in outcome-based education, school grading and accreditation. He has conducted many workshops on NEP 2020 and its NCFs.
In an interview with MOHD NAUSHAD KHAN, he said, IECI gives academic support and guidance to about 100 schools, 600 plus primary/secondary madrasas, and 2 dozen colleges.
Excerpts:
What inspired you to work for education?Please tell us about your educational journey and what have you achieved so far?
In the early 90s, during inception of the college, the political atmosphere of Kerala was very much hostile to running of a private college due to its leftist leanings. Running a private college was considered almost synonymous with some anti-social activity. Being part of a team that attempts to establish something anew gave us many insights. It gave us a conviction that strong will and committed team with visionary leadership will make any dream true. The mentoring that we got from elders during the initial phases of the college was unparalleled.
Later, as Professor in the Applied Electronics and Instrumentation Department and Vice Principal of the college, I could shoulder many academic and administrative responsibilities.
By the grace of God Almighty, as NBA coordinatorI could be instrumental in getting NBA accreditation for four undergraduate programmes. This gave me an opportunity to closely learn the importance of outcome-based education. It made us ponder over the positive changes that may happen if the outcome-based approach was brought to different facets of education. Also, I strongly felt that rather than tertiary education, the outcome-based experiments will be more fruitful at the formative levels of education where the stakeholder involvement is much higher.
Fortunately, amid nurturing the dreams of doing something in a larger framework, I have got an invitation from Integrated Education Council India (IECI) to join them. IECI is a public spirited non-profit educational entity. It coordinates the activities of multitudes of educational institutions, from preschools to colleges across Kerala and Gulf region. It is engaged in preparing schemes and plans to promote quality in all facets of education.
What is the objective of your educational vision?
IECI has a rightly crafted vision statement: To make the world a better place by creating generations that uphold the dignity of humankind. We understand that the root cause of all problems that has afflicted the world today is our miserable failure to honourthe dignity of humankind. The solution to this anathema is to train younger ones to imbibe the values of human dignity, justice, and equality during their formative years.
What is the model of your educational system?
In tune with the noble vision statement, we have developed certain mission statements that act as the basis of multitudes of activities carried out by IECI. They include: To equip people to actively participate in knowledge society by imbibing quality in various facets of education, Lead students to climb the social ladder by fixing suitable benchmarks and thereby making them vehicles of social change, Nurture the future generation as responsible citizens by providing them with a worldview built upon strong moral foundations, Design and implement various curricular and no-curricular programmes that will infuse self-esteem and awareness about the cultural moorings among the stakeholders.
Our attempt is to focus our activities on those who can be linked and mapped to the given vision and mission statements.
IECI gives academic support and guidance to about 100 schools, 600 plus primary/secondary madrasas, and two dozen colleges. Our institutions stand out in that admissions and appointments are made purely on merit without any discrimination based on caste, creed, or religion. Among other things, the IECI strives for educational uplift of the backward and marginalised sections of society by awarding scholarships to meritorious but economically weaker students and for strengthening the associated schools, quality-wise.
Concerns and apprehensions about preserving cultural sensibilities act as a major barrier to the education of children belonging to minority communities. We are helping people to overcome this fear by providing quality education with due consideration to the culture and tradition of stakeholders. Everybody wants to inculcate values and morals in future generations. Many of the times, this is achieved through earmarking separate periods for value education in the weekly timetable. Though we are also doing the same, our striving is to provide a value-laden ecosystem at our institutions in a level-appropriate manner. We train our institutions to adhere to the proclaimed core values and mentor them to stand witness to these values in the process and premises.
How is your chain of schools different from other existing chains of schools?
Our school activities are organised under the banner of Vidya Council for Education (VCE). It is an agency that stands for an education that aims for good academic standards. It strives for a process by which good citizens who honour the dignity of all fellow beings will be nurtured.
India is a very large country where the educational aspirations of citizens cannot be fulfilled by the government alone. Philanthropic interventions from not-for-profit entities are very much needed to reach our stated targets of access and equity in education. Schools associated with VCE fulfil the educational aspirations of many pupils belonging to rural areas where good education is not readily available. Also, many of our students are coming from socially deprived sections. In that sense VCE is contributing to strivings of our governments to create an equitable knowledge society.
We support the associated schools to improve their governance and process. In addition to the support to improve academic quality, we plan and implement various competitions and talent search examinations. We conduct training programmes for different stakeholder segments, considering their scope in the educational process.
If you ask for two features that make our school system unique, we will immediately tell you that one is its anchoring on values and the other respect for diversity. We are engaged in the process of equipping students to live in the knowledge economy by preserving cultural sensitivities. The twin task is done within the curricular framework created by governments and statutory bodies. We believe that the beauty of India lies in its diversity and it can make use of its demographic dividend if this diversity is preserved and taken care of. We find no difficulty in making respect to diversity a core value and at the same time preserving the cultural moorings of the Muslim community to which the major share of our students belongs. We have been conducting various programmes in our schools to give exposure to students regarding the social mosaic on which they will have to lead life as responsible citizens.
As stated in NEP 2020, teaching students the importance of “doing what’s right” at a young age and giving a logical framework for making ethical decisions is an important aim of school education. Through its multifaceted activities, IECI is working towards achieving this end.
Pre-primary schools have become a market these days.How are you different from those who have only commercial interest?
As stated earlier, not only the preschool, but the entire enterprise of IECI is envisaged as a not-for-profit entity.
Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all by2030 is an important component of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of UN. This noble goal can be met only if quality education is provided since the very beginning. That is why much emphasis is being given to enhancing the quality of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) nowadays. Building the foundation for literacy and numeracy skills is a major learning outcome that is expected out of preschool education.
Even at their tender age, children are repository of boundless potentials. On many occasions they pose difficult questions that emanate from their inquisitive minds. Rather than addressing these innate queries properly, elders used to silence them. Our classrooms are also not an exemption. Instead, a conducive environment should be provided for the children where they feel the school as an extension of their homely settings. To reach this end, education must be more experiential, inquiry-driven, learner-centred and flexible.
Education is not mere imparting of literacy and numeracy skills. It should be a process that must help students to build character and enable learners to be ethical, compassionate, and value-driven.
IECI has developed two streams of pre-school curricula for foundational stage of schooling: One is Fly High and the other Heavens. Both were prepared to make the child school ready with 3-year pre-schooling. The latter gives emphasis on teaching recitation of the Qur’ān also along with other subjects.
What are the challenges before pre-primary education in India?
Following are some of the challenges before the pre-primary education:
Access and Enrolment: Due to the absence of sufficient schools or preschool facilities, many children, especially those in rural and economically backward areas, lack access to quality pre-primary education.
Equity and Inclusivity: Ensuring equitable access to all children remains a major challenge. Children from marginalised sections, including those from lower castes, educationally backward minorities, tribal backgrounds, and economically disadvantaged families, often face barriers to pre-primary education.
Medium of Instruction: It is a fact that those who are getting quality English medium pre-schooling have an edge over those who are getting substandard pre-schooling in vernacular languages in their later careers. At the same time, English medium pre-schooling is a luxury beyond the scope of many ordinary Indians.
Parental Awareness and Involvement: Lack of awareness about the importance of early childhood education among parents can lead to low enrolment rates. Additionally, some parents might not have the resources or time to actively engage in their child’s learning process.
Lack of Proper Funding: Adequate investment in early childhood education is essential to improve infrastructure, teacher training, and overall quality. While limited financial resources allocated to pre-primary education can hinder its growth and development.
source: http://www.radianceweekly.net / Radiance Views Weekly / Home> Education / by Mohd Naushad Khan / August 22nd, 2023
Mr. Abdul Basit Anwar, former Secretary Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and former Ameer Halqua JIH Andhra Pradesh (united) passed away at a hospital in Hyderabad on August 17, following a brief illness. He was 73. While he was conducting a Qur’ān class during the Arkan Ijtima of JIH Hyderabad, he felt some unease and was admitted to hospital on August 16.
He was Zonal President of SIO Andhra Pradesh. During his last days, he was serving the organisation as Patron of Tarbiyatgah, Telangana.
His funeral prayer was offered at Masjid Darus Shifa Hyderabad after Zuhr Prayer and laid to rest at Sultan Shahi Graveyard on August 17.
A large number of Muslims and their leaders including JIH Ameer Syed Sadatullah Husaini, JIH Secretary Muhiuddin Shakir, Ameer Halqua Telangana Dr. Muhammad Khalid Mubashiruz Zafar, Ameer Halqua A.P. Muhammad Rafeeq, President All India Majlis Tameer-e-Millat Ziyauddin Nayyar, Ameer Amarat-e-Millat-e-Islamia Telangana Muhammad Husamuddin Jafar Pasha and others attended Mr. Anwar’s funeral prayer.
The Internet has been overjoyed with Ilham’s success. Many shared her success story and pointed out that her religious identity did not deter her from securing a top rank.
Ilham and Anisha Mallya
On June 18, as Karnataka PUC results were being announced, Ilham, a Muslim woman who wears a Hijab, discovered that she had scored overall state second rank in the science stream. Her batchmate Anisha Mallya from the Commerce section also scored overall second rank in the state.
Both the girls have scored first rank in Dakshina Karnataka. While Ilham scored 597 out of 600, Anisha secured 595 out of 600 marks.
Ilham and Anisha are students of St Aloysius PU College from Mangalore in Dakshina Karnataka. The irony is worth noting as a mere few months ago the hijab row had engulfed the country?
Speaking to reporters, Ilham said, “I am very excited. I checked my percentage which was 91.5%. I informed my relatives. After some time, I started getting calls from my cousins saying my name is coming in the news. At that moment I realised that I got a rank. Till then I was unaware.”
Ilham says she still has not come in terms of her success. Asked what would she want to become in the future, she said she was always interested in pursuing a career in BSc in Clinical Psychology.
Ilham’s parents are over the moon. Her father, Mohammed Rafiq, used to work in the Gulf as an IT employee and now is retired while her mother Moizatul Kubra is a housewife.
The Internet has been overjoyed with Ilham’s success. Many shared her success story and pointed out that her religious identity did not deter her from securing a top rank.
Her classmate, Anisha Mallya, who secured Karnataka second rank in the Commerce section said the results were unexpected. “I have achieved this feat with the help of teachers and they have been really supportive. I gave my 100 percent. I am very happy and content,” Anisha said. She plans to continue studying in the same college.
In December 2021, six Muslim students wearing Hijab were banned from their school in Udupi, Karnataka. The management stated that they cannot enter the school wearing a hijab as it represents a religious symbol.
The issue soon spread in other schools of Dakshina Kannada which then snowballed into a national issue. Female Muslim students wearing hijabs were not allowed on the school premises. Even the teaching staff faced the brunt and many resigned.
In fact, it took a deadly turn with many Hindu students, all from pre-university colleges (PUC) started supporting the anti-hijab movement and partook in proests. Visuals of saffron shawl-clad teenagers in their school uniforms began flashing in news channels as the students revolted against their Muslim peers.
The issue took a legal turn with the six Muslim students filing a petition at the Karnataka high court against the state government of Karnataka. Unfortunately, the verdict was pronounced against the girls and Hijab has been banned.
For many, especially members from the right-wing sector, it was a huge win.
The Karnataka government made it clear that those wearing Hijab will neither be allowed into the classrooms nor allowed to sit in the recently concluded PUC examination. As a result, many young Muslim girls opted to stay at home rather than abandon the hijab.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> India / by The news desk (headline edited) /posted by Veena Nair / June 20th, 2022
The Karnataka State Sunni Student Federation (SSF) celebrated a significant milestone on Sunday, marking 50 years of dedicated service to the student community. A grand event was held at the Palace Grounds in Bengaluru, where thousands of students and community members gathered to commemorate the organization’s achievements.
Addressing the attendees, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lauded SSF’s contributions to upholding the values of unity, the constitution, and the integrity of the country. He emphasized the importance of education and urged students to channel their energy and organizational skills to propel India’s development.
The Chief Minister reiterated that India belongs to every Indian and pledged to protect the rights of all citizens, discouraging any form of discrimination based on name, caste, or religion.
Housing and Minority Affairs Minister Zameer Ahmed commended SSF for its exceptional 50-year service in education. He praised the organization for becoming a global model and for its significant contributions to the nation’s prosperity.
Minister Ahmed highlighted SSF’s role in producing IAS and IPS officers from its alumni and reaffirmed the Karnataka Congress government’s commitment to supporting minority community students, particularly in higher education.
He also announced plans to introduce Kannada language teaching in Madrasas within the state and the consideration of establishing a Madrasa Board, drawing inspiration from Kerala’s Madrasa education system.
SSF State President Hafiz Sufiyan emphasized the organization’s educational priorities and its dedication to operating numerous madrasas. He underscored that SSF members have remained committed to societal well-being.
The conference also featured the presence of notable figures, including the Grand Mufti of India, Sheikh Abubakr Musliyar, Kerala Muslim Jamaat General Secretary Syed Kalilul Bukhari Thangal, Waqf Board President Anwar Basha, former Karnataka Wakf Board President Shafi Saadi, Nasir Lucky Star, and others.
Founded in 1973 by Sheikh Abubakr Musliyar in Kerala, the SSF’s mission is to provide students with opportunities for education, social engagement, and community service.
For five decades, the SSF has been actively involved in the field of education, playing a significant role in promoting education and empowerment among Muslim students. Over the years, the SSF has established numerous educational institutions, including schools, colleges, and madrasas. The organization has also offered scholarships and financial aid to deserving students. In addition to its educational activities, the SSF has been engaged in various social welfare projects, including healthcare, housing, and poverty alleviation.
Over the past 50 years, the SSF has evolved from a small group of students in Kerala into a large organization with branches in multiple states.
source: http://www.thecognate.com / The Cognate / Home> News / by The Cognate News Desk / September 11th, 2023
Zaika-e-Nizamuddin, run by 11 women of Delhi’s Nizamuddin basti, is carrying forward the 700-year-old legacy of culture and cuisine.
Members of Zaika-e-Nizamuddin
The awe-inspiring neighbourhood of Nizamuddin is located in the heart of Delhi. One of the oldest parts of the capital city, this bustling area comprises the World Heritage Site of Humayun’s Tomb, the vibrant seven centuries-old settlement of Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti and the 70-acre Sunder Nursery, among other landmarks. It also has a delectable cuisine, that is distinct in its rootedness and flavour, which is integral to Delhi’s food scene.
A women’s collective—Zaika-e-Nizamuddin (ZeN)—is carrying forward this 700-year-old legacy of culture and cuisine. As the name suggests, it is the flavours (zaika) of Nizamuddin that the group curates. Swati Batra, Women’s Livelihood coordinator of the initiative, says, “Zaika-e-Nizamuddin was initiated in 2012 under the Nizamuddin Urban Renewal Initiative of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in response to a study conducted under the initiative’s ECCD (Early Childhood Care and Development) component. The study revealed more than 50 percent of the children under the age of six in Nizamuddin Basti are malnourished. Further exploration highlighted junk food to be one of the major causes of malnourishment in children. ZeN came into existence when a group of mothers was brought together to make and supply healthy homemade alternatives to the junk snacking.”
What makes the dishes made by this group of chefs different from what one eats at Jama Masjid? “That food is more commercial, and laden with oil and spices . We, on the other hand, are simple home cooks. We don’t have a degree in culinary skills,” says Fatima Shahjahan, a member of the collective. “Our food is loved because we make every dish from scratch with age-old recipes. The taste upholds the living heritage and also gives a peek into the culture of Nizamuddin,” says another member, Kulsum. “It looks simple, but it has struck a chord with many,” says ZeN member, Noorjahan.
The group started its catering wing in 2015, and since then it has grown into an independent women’s enterprise and provides food beyond Nizamuddin. They were invited to Park Hyatt, Hyderabad, and JW Marriott Mumbai for special food festivals in 2019 and 2020. The group recently got registered as an LLP company with 11 women members as partners.
The product repertoire of ZeN includes home delivery, picnic baskets, catering, pop-up restaurants and live counters with dishes like khichda, salans, koftes, laddoos, namkeens and more. They also participate in several food exhibitions and have a weekend stall in Delhi’s nature hub, Sunder Nursery. “The main value proposition is that every order is made exclusively (from scratch), using fresh ingredients (no refrigeration) and age-old recipes (no internet),” says Batra.
It is empowering to see the ‘bajis’ (elder sister in Urdu) of Nizamuddin sport aprons and headgears to make nihari and haleem using their grandmother’s recipes in a commercial bawarchi khana (kitchen). It has been a transformative journey for 11 illiterate women, who have never done any work outside their homes, apart from being domestic helps. To work on something of their own has been empowering. “It wasn’t as difficult to form a group as it was to keep the group together, especially during phases of low income. All the women come from a difficult reality and investing time into something without any immediate income has been very trying. They faced a lot of resistance from their families initially. But fortunately, the members held on to the hope and stuck around. Now they are partners of their firm,” says Batra.
The AKTC team responsible for incubating and anchoring the group tried to keep the women active during lean periods and the initial phase (when the quantum of business was lesser) by involving them in different kinds of training, regular meetings and organising exposure visits. When they started out, the women made around ₹200 a month. They are now earning up to ₹6,000 a month per person. There is also a communal kitty that they circulate among themselves. Over the years, ZeN has been able to create a place for its brand in the multi-faceted food space of Delhi. It has a small but loyal customer base who appreciate the quality of the food along with the journey of the enterprise.
“ZeN works with the objective of creating sustained, dignified, and enhanced incomes for its women members through promoting the indigenous cuisine of Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin,” emphasises Batra. As the group coordinator receives an order from a customer she puts in the duty of the chef(s) according to an internal roster. The chef(s) in charge procures fresh meat and vegetables and prepares the order which is finally delivered by a local delivery boy working with the group. Bigger or difficult orders are made under the supervision of group leaders.
The collective works on a flexible model where the members can choose the number of hours they want to devote. If a member decides to not take up the order, the one next in line in the roster gets it, and so on. Every member has a work passbook that records their daily duties. At the end of every month, the chefs’ income, according to the work they have done, is transferred directly to their bank account.
The pandemic was challenging and the collective is still coming to terms with it. “It was a huge and disappointing speed breaker, and the kitchen remained closed for months. Concealment of Nizamuddin, after it was marked a ‘red zone’, made everything worse. The annual turnover reduced by more than 20 percent in FY 2020-21 compared to FY 2019-20. The enterprise also lost many hard-earned customers,” rues Batra.
The catering service re-started after a break in July 2020 after collecting customers’ responses through a survey on their willingness to place orders. During the second wave, ZeN launched a new product idea of simple home-cooked food. The food received encouraging response and was mostly ordered by Covid-positive patients across the city. “The biggest learning has been to take feedback constructively and continue to work in a systematic manner with constant efforts towards improvement. For community enterprises like these, teamwork is very important,” says Batra, revealing that Zaika-e-Nizamuddin is planning to scale up in the future by considering collaboration with cloud kitchens and delivery partners while maintaining their authentic value proposition. “I can’t say any more on this topic. Just keep a watch out for us going big,” she smiles.
ZeN can be contacted through their Instagram page: @zaika_e_nizamuddin. They deliver across Delhi-NCR and orders can be placed via WhatsApp on 9891543356.
source: http://www.lifestyle.mint.com / Mint / Home> Mint Lounge> Food> Discover / by Medha Dutta Yadav / March 28th, 2022
Nizamuddin S. cultivates 32 varieties of the luscious fruit as well as date palms. (Supplied)
In India there is a presumption that good, juicy dates are procured only in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Little do we know that similar quality dates can be grown in India too.
Though the Kutch region in Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan are two major date-growing states, with Gujarat alone home to 2 million date palm trees, Tamil Nadu in south India is fast catching up.
Despite India being the one of the largest importers of dates in the world – around 3.5 million metric tons every year – there is good market for homegrown dates both locally and abroad.
India imports around 3.5 million metric tons every year. (Supplied)
Farm-cum-nursery
Meet Nizamuddin S., who cultivates 32 varieties of the luscious fruit as well as date palms. His farm-cum-nursery at Ariyakulam in Dharmapuri district in western part of Tamil Nadu literally bears fruits of hard labor and innovation.
The dangling cluster of dates on date palms at his farm are feast for the eyes. Owner of Saliah Dates, Nizamuddin got the idea of cultivating dates while working in Saudi Arabia.
Nizamuddin got the idea of cultivating dates while working in Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)
Finest Saudi dates
Responding to emails from Al Arabiya English, Nizamuddin said: “Saudi Arabia has the finest dates in the world. One fine day I thought why such dates cannot be grown in India? It seemed possible and I bought 100 plants for testing and the idea blossomed”.
There has been no looking back since then as his nursery-cum-farm now has more than 32 varieties of date palms. One of them is the Barhee dates, which costs Rs. 300 per kilogram. Barhee is the best variety and yields more than 200kg per plant.”
Tamil Nadu is an important state for dates in southern India. Here climate, soil and irrigation facilities in some coastal regions like Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Ramanathpuram districts favor date palm cultivation.
Tamil Nadu is an important state for dates in southern India. (Supplied)
Tissue culture technology
Over decades of cultivation practices followed in different regions, regenerating dates either by seeds or offshoots and trying different imported cultivars, have led to the present date fruits of great variations in size, shape, color, weight, taste and astringency.
Moreover, controlling date palm diseases using methods, which do not pollute soil, plant and products, has not been easy.
The obvious solution was to produce date palms by adopting tissue culture technology, which enables farmers to select only the best trees as every plant produced from the cut stem is genetically identical to the parent tree.
Nizamuddin imports tissue culture plants from wherever they have been developed. (Supplied)
Transforming technology
Nizamuddin is aware that tissue culture can do wonders to the plantation. So he started to import tissue culture plants from abroad where such technologies have been developed.
“Twenty years ago first we tried seedlings. But there was an issue in the sense that we could not differentiate between a male and female plant. Only the female date palm can bear date fruits. But with tissue culture the plant is 100 percent female and we can get yield by 2 1/2 years”, says Nizamuddin.
“We import such plants from Abu Dhabi and sell all over India. We are soon planning to introduce new varieties. Ajwa dates are our first priority. Depending on how successful the yield is we will go for further new varieties. On the anvil are making different types of food products with dates like date syrup, chocolates, etc.”
source: http://www.english.alarabiya.net / AlArabiya News / Home> Features / by Aftab Husain Kola / June 21st, 2018
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