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

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

Juned and Ramandeep rewrite men’s and women’s 35km race walk national records

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HARYANA :

The 23-year-old Ramandeep clocked 3:00.04s and clipped more than 13 minutes from Priyanka Goswami’s earlier national record of 3:13.19s.

Juned Khan of Haryana and Ramandeep Kaur of Punjab. (Photo | Twitter)
Juned Khan of Haryana and Ramandeep Kaur of Punjab. (Photo | Twitter/ ians india)

The 23-year-old Ramandeep clocked 3:00.04s and clipped more than 13 minutes from Priyanka Goswami’s earlier national record of 3:13.19s, set in the World Athletics Race Walking Championships in Muscat last month. Goswami did not take part in the 35km event on Sunday. She had taken part in the 20km event on Saturday but could not finish the race.

Ramdeep’s Punjab team-mate Manju also came inside Goswami’s earlier national mark to take the silver in 3:07.49s.

In the men’s 35km event, 22-year-old Juned pulled away from Ram Baboo and Chandan Singh after the 20km mark to lower the national record by five minutes, clocking 2:40.16s. Eknath Sambhaji Turambekar, who held the earlier national record of 2:45.17s, was among the four who were bunched in the lead till the 20km mark but dropped out after being second with 10km to go.

The 35km race walk event was introduced in India only last year in the wake of World Athletics’ decision to do away with the 50km event after the Tokyo Olympics.

Uttarakhand’s Sachin Bohra edged out Gujarat’s Rohit Kumar Yadav by a mere second to win the men’s U-20 10km crown with a time of 43:12s. Deepika Sharma of Rajasthan won the women’s U-20 10km race with a time of 51:32s

The Results:

Men’s 35km:

1. Juned Khan (Haryana) 2:40.16;

2.Ram Baboo (Uttar Pradesh) 2:41.30;

3. Chandan Singh (Uttarakhand) 2:42.02.

Women’s 35km:

1. Ramandeep Kaur (Punjab) 3:00.04;

2. Manju (Punjab) 3:07.49;

3. Payal (Uttarakhand) 3:15.47.

Men U-20 10km:

1.Sachin Bohra (Uttarakhand) 43:12;

2. Rohit Kumar Yadav (Gujarat) 43:13;

3. Aditya Negi (Uttarakhand) 44:27.

Women’s U-20 10km:

1. Deepika Sharma (Rajasthan) 51:32;

2. Bharti Bhadana (Haryana) 52:23;

3. Indu (Haryana) 52:40.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sports> Others / by PTI / April 18th, 2022

Hyderabad mosque allots space for free dialysis centre

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Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

The unit is being run under medical supervision of Dr Shoeb Ali Khan, leading consultant nephrologist and a kidney transplant surgeon.

A patient undergoes dialysis at the unit

Hyderabad :

Probably for the first time in the world, a mosque in Hyderabad has allotted space on its premises for establishing a full-fledged haemodialysis unit. Masjid-e-Mohammadia, located in Langar Houz area now houses a state-of-the-art free dialysis centre that mainly caters to the weaker sections of the society, regardless of caste and creed.

The centre, set up by two NGOs – Helping Hand Foundation and SEED US, has five latest Fresenius brand machines and will acquire five more machines in the next three months.  The swanky centre, designed like a corporate hospital, has a separate access for dialysis patients and it is equipped with high quality equipment, clinical care as well as facility to manage onsite emergencies.

The unit is being run under medical supervision of Dr Shoeb Ali Khan, leading consultant nephrologist and a kidney transplant surgeon.A medical doctor, ANMs, dialysis technicians and an ambulance will be available at the centre from 8 am to 8 pm on any given day. “We have invested about Rs 45 lakh for the initial setup of this unit. About Rs 2 lakh per month will be managed by Helping Hand Foundation,” said Mazhar Hussaini of SEED.

To register for free dialysis, one can call Ph: 9603540864.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Express News Service / July 22nd, 2022

Innovative staircase of Sameer Bagwan wins heart of Anand Mahindra

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Ahmednagar, MAHARASHTRA :

Video of Sameer Bagwan and his foldable staircase are  being admired on social media platforms widely.

This fabricator has successfully designed a low cost folding staircase,video of this went viral in minutes and  trending on social media.

The CEO of mahindra and mahindra company noticed the invention and cheered him up by tweeting .

Sameer  is an owner of a small fabrication welding shop in Ahmednagar. He undertakes  the orders of  steel and iron furniture and other items.

As soon as the construction work  began at site, people started complaining about the ladder which was an  obstacle for padestrians and

Considering the site conditions  sameer decided to make a 14 x 12 size foldable ladder and he within ten days at the cost of only 25 thousand rupees he made the staircase.

Sameer  Ishaque Bagban a 31 year old fabricator  is originally from Ahmed Nagar city. Interestingly this skilled young man  has no relevant qualification, diploma or certification in the field of fabrication, however he managed to complete education till 10 th std.

Sameer is running his firm “Darbar Fabrication” since 5 years.

During conversation with Muslim Mirror Sameer said that our fixed stair case was obstructing padestrians, owner of the firm requested us resolve the issue by doing some Jugad, I took it as a challenge, after four days work and discussion with my partners Eijaz Khan and  Asif Pathan we decided to make this staircase foldable.

As we make and design foldable tables and other items, we thought we should try foldable staircase too, and Alhamdulillah we did it. Now it is functioning normally, Sameer added.

Sameer thanked Industrialist Anand Mahindra for his tweet and expressed happiness, he says, I am feeling myself fortune that such high profile person of the country and renowned industrialist has taken note of my work and  praised the idea.

He  further said after Mahindra sir’s tweet I started receiving  calls continuously from friends, relatives and media persons.

source: http://www.muslimmirror.com /Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim> Positive Story / by Imran Inamdar / July 17th, 2022

BDO inspires young girls

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WEST BENGAL:

This IAS officer held a career counselling camp at the recent Islampur Book Fair.

This IAS officer held a career counselling camp at the recent Islampur Book Fair.

In the few months following her first posting at Goalpokhar-I in November 2014, Shama Parveen, “BDO Mam” as she is addressed by many, has become a source of inspiration to several, especially young women belonging to the minority community.

She is the first woman IAS officer in North Dinajpur district from the minority community.

Shama, a 2013 batch officer from Kanpur, had wanted to do something for the underprivileged. At Goalpokhar-I, one of the most impoverished areas of North Dinajpur, she began to act on her dreams.

Goalpokhar is largely agriculture-based. There are no industries here and not a single college in the block. People from the minority community comprise roughly 80 per cent of the block’s population. 

During her short stint — she is waiting for a transfer order — Shama has, on her own, held career counselling sessions by visiting schools in her area. She told the young girls as well as their parents that if she could make it, these girls could too.

“The main impediment for the girls from my community are members from their own families. It is a popular belief that we cannot do well in higher studies. Whenever I meet the guardians, I tell them their daughters have the capacity to do well in higher studies. Please stand beside them. I tell them, let them shine. I am a woman from a humble background and if I can achieve what I have, so can these girls,” said Shama, who hails from a middle-class family. Her father is a businessman and her mother a homemaker.

Shama said her younger sister is studying civil engineering and her brother is a schoolteacher. She said her father is proud of both his daughters.

“When I started preparing for the civil service exams, I went to a tutorial in Delhi. But I realised that it was not the proper way, it was a kind of cheating. I left the tutorial and began preparing at home. I concentrated on reading media reports and hunting up events and data on the Internet. I had done my masters in history and that remains my favourite subject. I tell young people to read books as they are the cornerstone of success,” Shama added.


Choudhury Abdul Karim, minister for library services and mass education and Islampur MLA, could not praise the young bureaucrat enough. “She is an inspiration for the women of our community,” Karim said.

Rashid Alam, resident of Lodhan in Goalpokhar, said that this year’s Madhyamik exams were being conducted smoothly mainly because of the efforts of the BDO. Examinations have often been conducted here among allegations of cheating and violent reactions.

Shama’s interactions with school students have prepared the way for peaceful examinations. “She has been keeping a watch. My daughter is sitting for her Madhyamik and all arrangements are being overseen by the BDO. We know that she will be promoted and leave the block. But she will remain an inspiration for all of us,” he said. The students of the schools that Shama has visited fondly recall her quiet manners and gentle way of persuading them to carry on their studies. 

“Once she came to our school. The manner in which she spoke to us was very impressive. I do not know about the others but I am determined to pursue higher studies. I used to be convinced that higher secondary would be as far as I would be able to study. Almost all girls here do not go to college as the two colleges are far away in Islampur or Dalkhola. But BDO Mam has kindled a tremendous urge in me to study,” said Arjuna Khatun, a resident of Goagaon, a village in the block.

Shama’s formula of success is simple. “If you have nek irada (honest resolve), it can help you achieve anything,” she said.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> West Bengal / by Mehdi Hedaytullah / March 09th, 2015

“Heemal” — The unsung illiterate poetess of Kashmir

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Srinagar, JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Photo: Ahsaan Ali

Khatija Begum (75) over the past 40 years has written thousands of poems and has compiled hundreds of books. It was not an easy job for her to do so, being illiterate she could not pen it down by herself. Whenever some verse come to her mind she would call somebody to write it. It was through her dedication to poetry that she was able to compile her couplets into books successfully.

The narrow allies of Zaina Kadal area of Srinagar lead to her house. Every day she looks at the pile of her poetry collection placed on a desk in her room with a deep sigh hoping that her books will be published someday.

“While I was into the journey of my poetic life, It was not easy for me to memorize each verse of my poetry so I asked my son to bring a tape recorder for me”. Heemal (pen name) recalls how she used to wake up at night to offer prayers and on the same prayer mat record the verses that would come up to her mind.

When Khatija took bundles of those recorded cassettes to a writer for transcription he asked for 70 ₹ per page which was a huge amount at that time so she start doing hand embroidery to earn some money. And spend all that money to preserve her poetry.

It took her 7 years to get her first book published through J&K State Cultural Academy by the title “Ser e-Asraar” which means “The secret of Mysticism”.

Khatija says that the journey of her poetic life started when she was 35 years old. At that time she was busy with her ill mother spending all her time with her, praying for her recovery. One day when she brought her mother to visit a doctor she encountered something unusual, some verses came up to her mind but she was not able to apprehend what was happening to her. After returning home she told her niece about it who wrote those verses for her.

She believes that poetry came into her life because of the prayers she got from her ill mother during her ailment. She dedicates her poetry to a Sufi saint whom she was very close to and consider like her father.

“When I took my books to show him, he was overwhelmed and he told me to endure a lot of patience so that I can bear all the hurdles that will come to my path in this journey. Moreover, he told me that what I have achieved is priceless” with teary eyes she said.

When she recites her poetry, everything around gets blurred and one gets lost in those mystic verses. She is a poetess who needs love and support so that she will be always remembered among the great poets of Kashmir.

source: http://www.milligazette.com / The Milli Gazette / Home> Community News / by Urvat Il Wuska / The Milli Gazette Online / April 10th, 2022

Jamia Professor Dr. Shama Parveen Wins Women Scientist’s Prize

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NEW DELHI :

Jamia Millia Islam faculty member, Dr. Shama Parveen, to receive prestigious Sayeeda Begum Women Scientist Prize 2018 to be presented by Hon’ble Vice President of India.

Dr. Shama Parveen, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) has been selected for the prestigious “Sayeeda Begum Women Scientist Prize 2018”, instituted by Jamia Hamdard (University).  

pix: @ Twitter

Dr. Parveen is actively involved in research in the area of Molecular Biology of human viruses and focuses on Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika and respiratory viruses (human metapneumovirus, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus). Her research articles published in journals of international repute are being well cited.

The award is given annually in the memory of Late Mrs. Sayeeda Begum, wife of Late Hakeem Abdul Hameed, founder of Jamia Hamdard. The award aims at recognizing the academic excellence of women scientists working at any minority institution of the country in basic and applied research in the areas of biosciences, biotechnology, biomedical, pharmaceutical and environmental sciences. Scientific contributions of the candidate during last 5 years are evaluated for the award. The award carries a citation and prize money.

The award was announced on 14th September 2018 at the Founder’s Day of the Jamia Hamdard University and it will be presented to Dr. Shama Parveen during the forthcoming Convocation of the University on 23rd October 2018 by the Chief Guest, Hon’ble Vice President of India. (PRO, JMI)

source: http://www.milligazette.com / The Milli Gazette / Home> News> Community News / The Milli Gazette Online (headline edited)/ by PRO, JMI / September 21st, 2018

AIMIM wins Local Polls in Khandwa, plays spoiler for Cong in Burhanpur

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Hyderabad, TELANGANA / MADHYA PRADESH :

Making entry in Madhya Pradesh (MP) politics, Asauddin Owaisi’s AIMIM won local elections in Khandwa and played a spoiler for Congress in Burhanpur Mayor Elections 2022

Bhopal : 

Making entry in Madhya Pradesh (MP) politics, Asauddin Owaisi’s AIMIM won local elections in Khandwa and played a spoiler for Congress in Burhanpur Mayor Elections 2022, results of which were announced Sunday.

Khandwa and Burhanpur both have considerable population of Muslims. Khandwa was recently in news for the exodus of migrant labourers for lack of jobs.

The AIMIM candidate, Shakira Bilal, won the election from ward number 14 of the Khandwa Municipal Corporation by defeating her nearest Congress rival Noorjahan Begum by a margin of 285 votes.

Besides fielding its nominee Kaniz Fatima for Khandwa Mayor Election 2022, the AIMIM had fielded candidates in 10 wards of the Khandwa Civic Body that has a total of 50 seats.

Burhanpur Mayor Election Result

In Burhanpur Mayor Elections, AIMIM candidate polled a total of 10,274 votes – a huge number if compared with the margin of 542 votes by which the BJP Mayoral candidate defeated her nearest rival of Congress.

Madhuri Patel got a total of 52,823 whereas Shahnaaz Bano of Congress got 52, 281 votes in Burhanpur Mayor elections 2022.

AAP Debut in MP

Meanwhile, the debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also made its entry in Madhya Pradesh politics after winning mayoral post of Singrauli Municipal Corporation, the district which is filled with coal mining and also called – ‘energy capital of India’.

AAP candidate Rani Agrawal has won the election for mayoral post against BJP’s Chandra Prakash Vishwakarma.

Polling was held for mayoral posts in 11 municipal corporations, including Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Sagar, Satna, Singrauli, Chhindwara, Khandwa, Burhanpur and Ujjain. A total of 101 candidates are fighting for the mayoral posts.

The counting of votes for the second phase of the MP municipal elections will be held on July 20.

source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> India / by Ummid.com with input from Agencies / Jujly 17th, 2022

AMU Vice Chancellor releases eight books published by K.A. Nizami Centre

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, Museums, Libraries (wef. April 16th, 2022), World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

Eight books published by the K A Nizami Centre for Quranic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) addressing key themes on the history of South Asian Muslims, diverse responses to the scholarly contributions and rationalist traditions of Islamic scholarship were released today at the Vice Chancellor’s Office.

They are ‘Contemporary Islamic Scholarship in South Asia: An Assessment’, ‘Humanness of Prophets: The Quranic Prophetology’ and ‘Contribution of Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband to Tafasir’ by Dr Abdul Kader Choughley; ‘Dil Jo tha Zulmat Kadah, Ma’ah-e-Munawwar Hogaya’ by Dr Mohammad Haris Mansoor; ‘Qurani Ulum ka Irtiqa Ahd-i-Islami ke Hindustan Mein’ by Prof Zafarul Islam; ‘How to Promote the Study of Quran among Women’, edited by Dr Nazeer Ahmad Ab. Majeed and Dr Arshad Iqbal; ‘Tarjumani Rahmani’ by Prof A R Kidwai and ‘Allah ki Kitab ki Paanch Mangay’ by Prof Fazlur Rahman Gunnouri.          

“These books will answer some of the most frequently asked questions about traditions in Islamic faith, offer a new understanding on the works of Islamic scholars, explore key Islamic events and provide an understanding of important traditions in Islamic philosophy and the intellectual movement that emerged from South Asian Islam”, said AMU Vice Chancellor, Prof Tariq Mansoor while releasing the books. 

Prof A R Kidwai (Honorary Director, K A Nizami Centre for Quranic Studies) pointed out: “The K A Nizami Centre has published over 80 titles on Quran-related scholarship since 2013. Publications of the Centre represent contemporary literature on furthering Quranic understanding and research in Hindi, English and Urdu by authors from various disciplines including translations from various languages”.

source: http://www.amu.ac.in / Aligarh Muslim University / Home / by Public Relations Department / Aligarh, July 13th, 2022

Muslim institutes bring empowerment to a coastal village in Kerala

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Edavarakad Village (Vypin Island) Ernakulam District, KERALA :

Photo Courtesy: Muhammed Shahabas

Muslims of Edavanakad in Vypin island of Kerala have set a vibrant example of empowerment by building community institutions that provide education, and interest-free loans to local farmers. 

Kerala :

Edavanakad is a village in Vypin Island of Ernakulam district in Kerala. Surrounded by the Arabian sea and Vembanadu lake, the main livelihoods of the people here is fishing and agriculture. Muslims, Ezhavas, Arayas, and Latin Christians constitute the major communities of the place. Traditionally engaged in fish trade and agriculture, Muslims have set examples of community empowerment through various institutions.

Empowerment through education
Hidayathul Islam primary school was run by one Vadakkeveettil Muhammed Haji, where children are taught modern education and Islamic principles. 

Currently, a school and a madrasa are being run from the village. “After their primary education, teenagers had to go to the outskirts of the town to obtain higher education. It was far for them. This became a big concern for the elders in the town, and they decided to do something about it,” said Mahin PM, a local activist. 

Irshadul Muslimeen Sabha [IMS] was established in 1850 to administer the madrasa. Later in 1922, Hidayathul Islam Primary School also came under IMS. Thus, the school and madrasa system came under one body and devised a comprehensive syllabus to provide religious and secular education. In 1979 the school got the status of a high school, and by 2000, it became Hidayathul Islam Higher Secondary School [HIHSS].

Mahin, the editor of the school’s jubilee souvenir, believes HIHSS sets the best example in the state for an effective model of success in public education. “Students from different backward communities study here. The school has continuously maintained a 100% success rate in the examinations.” Mahin said. 

He said that IMS was active during relief activities after the 2004 tsunami that hit the coastal community. “Muslim traders came forward to open the gates of institutions and competed to help the affected as much as possible. Those were days that reflected the place’s fraternity,” he recalled.

Effective redistribution of wealth
Zakat, a form of almsgiving in Islam, is considered obligatory for Muslims. Muslims in Edavanakad used to give the zakat in a dispersed manner. Many didn’t participate in it because of a lack of awareness of its importance. “It was Ali Kunju Mash who changed this situation by establishing an institution to distribute the zakat,” said Mahin. 

Kunju, who came to Hidayathul Islam school as its headmaster, wanted to structurize the zakat distribution system. With the help of two other people KM Abdulla and PA Muhammed, he founded Al-lajnathul Islamiyathu Li-baithulmaal [AIL] in 1983.

AIL is the state’s first centralized community wealth redistribution system. “After Ramadan, we open applications to provide support for self-employment using the remaining zakat share. We also offer monthly scholarships to students and a weekly ration for widows,” said a committee member.

Towards a moral economy
The people of Edavakannad, primarily farmers and fishers, depended on loans with heavy interest rates from moneylenders. The fluctuations in produce resulted in them falling into a debt trap. Understanding the pressing need to provide an alternative, five youths Abdussamad MK, Mahin PM, Aboobacker, Illyas, Rasheed, and Umar Khayyoom decided to form an interest-free credit society. In 1999, they invited people from the community to a general body meeting and presented their Islamic microfinance scheme. 

Abdussamad, one of the founders, narrated how they convinced people to pool one rupee daily. “In this way, Islamic Welfare Fund got formed, and we approved its first loan of 3000 rupees to buy a boat and fishing net,” he said.

“We don’t work like ordinary credit societies. We form our working capital by pooling small amounts from every member. There will be a collective responsibility, and it becomes everyone’s duty to ensure the repayment of loans,” Abdussamad said. 

The financing schemes provided by IWF do not promote consumerism in any way. They approve loans to the needy only after conducting a detailed investigation into the case, and one of the members will have to stand as a guarantee.

IWF’s activities have grown into many areas now. “Our headquarters facilitates an entrance coaching centre for applicants from minority communities to public services (PSC), and the nodal centre of the PM Foundation provides necessary information regarding educational scholarships,” one of the board members said.

Basil Islam is an independent journalist and researcher based in South India. He tweets at @baasiie

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Basil Islam, TwoCircles.net / July 14th, 2022