By IANS,

New Delhi: Students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Thursday held a protest here demanding that the university be declared a minority institution.

The students also demanded passing of the Anti-Communal Violence bill in its original form without amendments.

"All previous governments and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had herself assured the declaration of AMU as a minority institution. But so far the government has not taken any step," said Jasim Mohammad, secretary of the Millat Bedari Muhim Committee (MBMC) in Aligarh.

MBMC's Razaullah Khan said: "India is a secular country but some political parties are using communalism to consolidate their vote banks. Riots occur on a regular basis. So to contain communalism and riots, the Anti-Communal Violence Bill should be passed by parliament in its original form without any amendment."

By TCN News,

Mumbai: On the International Minorities Rights Day, Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) has demanded more scholarships and benefits for Muslim students at par with Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes’ students.

AMP had organised a conference to mark the International Minorities Rights Day.

Aamir Idrisi of AMP said, “This conference seeks to highlight the glaring differences in the scholarships that have been provided for Schedule Castes who constitute about 16.2% of India’s population whereas there is no financial support for students of Muslim Community to pursue higher education, although they constitute the largest group of socially and educationally backward sections @ 13.4%. In the absence of education, they are unable to compete for jobs with those who have acquired good quality education, thereby affecting their income.”

Maulana Mustaqeem Azmi, Presiden JUH Maharashtra said, “We appeal to all fair and just minded individuals to join us in appealing to the Prime Minister of India, Central Government of India and State Governments to quickly enhance the scholarship amount for Muslims, bring parity with regard to eligibility criteria as well as promote Top Class education, Overseas and Higher education on par with those granted to Schedule Castes.”

Demands:

a) Allocate more funds for Scholarships Schemes for Muslims as have been made available to the Schedule Castes, as per their size of the Muslim population, i.e. 13.4% (Source Census 2001).

b) Bring in uniformity with respect to eligibility criteria and other standards as applicable to Schedule Castes.

c) Introduce other schemes for higher and specialised education like Top Class Education, Overseas education, Post-doctoral scholarships schemes on par with those made available for Schedule Castes with the same eligibility criteria; so that students beginning their education in Academic Year 2014-15 can benefit from this.

AMP has appealed to the Prime Minister to act upon the counsel of his ministers and provide remedial measures to correct this more than five decade old discrimination between two socially and educationally backward communities and also give the Muslim community its rightful due as per provisions made in the Constitution.

By Saiyed Danish, TwoCircles.net,

New Delhi: Several Muslim Members of the Parliament have written a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to look into the property dispute of Dargah Hussain Shah Wali in Andhra Pradesh.

A letter dated, December 19, 2013, a copy of which is with TwoCircles.net, Muslims MPs has brought up the case of Dargah Hussain Shah Wali in Andhra Pradesh not being handed over to Wakf board.

In the first lines, the MPs have mentioned that they discussed the concerns of the community on December 18, 2013 which, more specifically, is in the light of the late PM Indira Gandhi’s letter dated 26.03.1976 addressed to the CM of states in which she had directed the case to be settled on an administrative basis and made suggestions for quick settlement of such cases and the property be handed over to Wakf board.

The letter mentions a Joint Parliamentary Committee on Wakf presented its report for the Rajya Sabha on 23-10-2008 and recommend to the government “to release the Manikonda open land available to the Wakf Institution and to compensate for the land utilized for IT companies.

“Release of Wakf Land of Manikonda (V) R.R. Dist. In favour of Dargah Hussain Shah Wali in consonance with Muntaqab of 1935, Judgement of Nizame Atiyat dt. 31-5-57 confirmed by Judgement of HC of AP in W.P. No. 666/1959 will be a precedence to meet the Late Prime Minister,” reads the letter in bold.

“But on the contrary,” the letter signed by MPs complained, “to its own admittance the Govt. of AP and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Corporation (APIIC), filed SLP No. 15398, 15399/2012 in Supreme Court engaging Attorney General of India. The Govt. of India’s permission to Attorney General of India to fight the State Case is against the spirit of the Wakf Act 1995.”

The MPs demanded to resolve the matter and safeguard the legitimate interest of Minority community to uplift the charitable and religious institution. It is the policy of the Congress party to protect the interest of the Wakf property and minority community.

The letter holds the signatures of 10 Muslim representatives, among them Mohammad Adeeb, Mohammad Shafi, Sabir Ali, Anwar Ali Ansari, Hussain Dalwai are the prominent names.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

New Delhi: Aligarh based Millat Bedari Muhim Committee (MBMC) held a Hunkar Dharna at Jantar Mantar demanding equity and empowerment for Muslims.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Razaullah Khan of AMU said that India is a secular country but some political parties are using communalism to consolidate their vote banks and riots occur on regular basis. He said that to contain communalism and riots, Anti Communal Violence Bill should be passed by parliament in its original form without any amendment.

MBMC Secretary Jasim Mohammad demanded that the Aligarh Muslim University be declared a minority institution without further delay in the winter session itself. He said that the AMU was established by Sir Syed for promotion of education among Indian Muslims and it is very unfortunate that the Central government has not declared AMU as a minority educational institution despite demands of Muslims.

Hafiz Abdul Qayyum spoke about the neglect of the Urdu language.

Biju Nayak of Lok-Raj Sagathan, Delhi said that whole system of governance has cracked and in the present system we cannot get justice. He said that we have to change the system which is not possible without unity of marginalized sections.

Mohammad Aslam Khan, former Secretary of AMUSU Said that UPA government itself had appointed Sachar Committee but failed to implement its recommendations and that is injustice.

MBMC took out a protest march from Jnatar Mantar to Parliament House raising the demands for the empowerment of the Muslims. At the end, a memorandum was submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office on behalf of the MBMC.

By Saif Khan,

The recent Supreme Court ruling which re-criminalized homosexuality in India by setting aside the landmark judgement of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court wherein they struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code as unconstitutional has evoked sharp reactions from rights activists and the common populace. The protests which followed the judgement were indeed taken very seriously by the government as someone as high and mighty as Sonia Gandhi came out and supported the right of consenting same sex individuals to make love.

However, the point of discussion for me is not about safeguarding the rights of sexual minorities nor is it about discussing whether homosexuality is natural or unnatural. No matter what the sceptics say, homosexuality has come up as a universal phenomenon. Be it human beings or penguins, both have tendencies of homosexuality within them. In an egalitarian society, every religious, linguistic and sexual minority should be protected by means of the Constitution. The fact that India is among the few conservative nations which is yet to take such a step is extremely appalling considering the tall claims which we keep making about our inherent plurality and heterogeneousness.

In a secular democracy, religion should have no bearing on the decision making process in a country. Yet it is amazing how religion has been brought up to defend homosexuality. Instead of scientifically substantiating the phenomena of MSM, public intellectuals have resorted to defending homosexuality the Hindutva way. The argument goes like this: the indigenousness of homosexuality cannot be denied because of the existence of an entire chapter on homosexuality in the Kamasutra (Ancient India’s self-guide on sex life), depiction of same sex lovemaking in the form of engravings on the walls of temples in South India and the tales of homosexual characters in Hindu mythology. It is further said that the proscription on homosexuality was a result of the intolerance and bigotry of the foreign races who invaded India.

While I do agree that the British are to be held responsible for de-legitimizing homosexuality, I fail to understand why people resort to invoking religious imagery while supporting gay rights. I saw this happening twice. Once on Karan Thapar’s show The Last Word when noted sociologist Ashish Nandy referred to gay characters in the Mahabharata and then again on Ravish Kumar’s prime show on NDTV India where gay rights activist Laxmi could be seen castigating the culture given to us by the British, Turks and Mughals while simultaneously exalting the indigenous Indian attitude towards homosexuality.

An editorial published on the website Firstpost titled ‘SC Verdict on Section 377: Why is BJP on the wrong side of history’ had claimed that the BJP’s support for Section 377 is an attempt to woo the minorities. The media shouldn’t deliberately communalize this debate when conservative elements belonging to all sections of society are somehow involved in stonewalling the aspirations of gay people.

When people talk in such a tone then they fail to realize that they are committing the cardinal sin of mixing religion with politics and law-making. It would certainly set a terrible constitutional precedent if an issue as serious as homosexuality is dealt-with by referring to religious texts. Besides leaving an indelible stamp of majoritarianism, it would successfully draw a line of separation between the so-called indigenous culture of India and the culture of the Semitic or foreign races. In fact, it is also unjustified on the part of Bishops and Maulvis to cite the teachings of the Church and the Islamic law, respectively to oppose homosexuality.

The composite culture of India as also the constitutional balance enshrined within our foremost law-making document requires that we stand up for individual liberties and give people the right to choose. Let the people call the shots and decide whether they want to drink, cast their vote or practise homosexuality. Compulsion and democracy do not go hand in hand. No issue should be judged by the scale of sectarianism because there are a host of concerns to be deal with be it caste discrimination, women empowerment, tribal rights, linguistic fascism or religious liberty. Religious laws and customs often overlap on all these issues.

Today, if we initiate this historic debate by raking up religion then we are setting ourselves up for a catastrophic confrontation in the coming future. After all how can we forget that it was Gandhi’s constant usage of Hindu-centric terms like Ram Rajya which cost Congress mass support of Muslims in the freedom struggle and they ended up siding with Jinnah which culminated with the tragic partition of India.

(The writer is presently a student of journalism at the University of Delhi and has contributed articles to various newspapers and news portals.)

Related:

As a religious minority, I empathize with sexual minority

By TCN News,

Mumbai: Mumbai based Blossom Media Pvt Ltd, a research, advisory and media firm on emerging Muslim consumer market has recently announced for the nominations of the Mumbai and suburbs based Muslims in terms of the most recalled names for the People’s choice award.

This award is unique as it is going to be happening for the first time in India and here it is the Muslim masses who will be nominating their favourite Muslim figures.

Maulana Ubaidur Rahman Qasmi, Managing Director of Blossom Media said that since this is for the first time that such concept is been coined, we have asked the People from Mumbai, Suburbs and India, through Facebook, Linkedin, Whatsapp and Muallim - the Muslim Lifestyle magazine, to nominate the Muslim figures of their choice.

The Convener of Award Committee and Director of Blossom Media, Ziaulla Firdos Nomani said they have asked people to keep the figures from Bollywood out of the nominations as they want that name to come up which work for the betterment of the community and the country at ground level.

The nominations for the People’s Choice awards are open till 10th of January 2014; people can send their entries on the Face book page of Muallim magazine and can get the details by visiting Muallim Magazine websites www.muallim.in

The winners will be announced in an event to be held in the last week of January 2014.

The winners name will be released through advertisement in the reputed dailies in Mumbai.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

Guwahati: Their nights are already sleepless. And as if that is not enough, the shivering cold evenings come to add more pain to the wound. Besides, peace has long been lost. Tears, frown foreheads, gloomy eyes shape an uncertain future for each and everyone in the zone.

Meet Saiful Ali, a 58 year old farmer, who has been witness to the bloody violence which killed more than 70 people and injured hundred others in Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD) in lower Assam. Once upon a time he was living happily with his family from the income he earned from his 15 odd bigha of agriculture land. He had also 12 numbers of cows to plough the land. But now he is daily wage earner at his neighbourhood areas leaving him to toil hard to make the ends meet.

The victims of BTAD violence in Guwahati seeking assistance from government.

“Our lives are really terrible. No one can understand until you go there and realize. I have tough time to run my six-member family. In spite of having the land for cultivation, I do not have the cows to go to plough. We also do not have the man power. Earlier, both the Bodo and Muslim people used to work together but that is not happening,” Ali expressed his concern.

There are many like Ali in the BTAD. Similarly, agriculture lands are lying vacant unused for months. Now, the only way for these people is to beg at the door steps of the government after losing the wealth and energy.

Several hundred such people have gathered in the state capital during the ongoing winter session of the assembly to make their voice heard. People from the both communities – Muslim and Bodo – sought government assistance to normalize their lives.

All of them are under a common forum called Central Relief Committee (CRC). CRC is demanding Rs 5 lakh which was assured by the central government to all the families of victims of the riot besides early rehabilitation under various schemes like Indira Awas Yojna type accommodation.

“Besides, we also want the government to withdraw all the terms and conditions which was set to hand over Rs 50, 000 to the families which are living in the khas land. These people have been living in the area for a long time and should be hand over the said amount to the victim without any delay,” said CRC president Hemendranath Brahma.

Biswajit Narzary of Aminkhata village of Kokrajhar district is also facing the same fate of uncertainty. Narzary is a small time businessman and his customers range of all communities. “Now the major problem we are facing is the lost faith among each other. After the violence, everything changed so drastically. People still fear to mingle with each other of different communities. It’s a very bad sign for the area from every aspect of life,” said Narzary, who had to face loss in his business besides losing his house and property during the riot.

Besides all the monetary assistance from the government, another important issue which they want from the administration is the confidence building measure among the people of different communities at the grass-root level.

“The man to man involvement is important at the grass root level to bring back the lost faith. All the funds and schemes cannot heal the damage if the people do not understand each other,” he said.

Moreover, with the arrival of winter, the life of the poor is getting tougher as many are living in plastic roofed houses with the sufficient amount of clothes.

Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Hagrama Mohilary assured them all possible help from his side. “Their condition is really poor and we will convince the chief minister for the assistance. Be it Muslim, Adivasi or Bodo all these people have been living there for several decades and all of them should be treated equally,” Mohilary said.

The miscreants who did all these rioting and violence have done their job by killing people and burning houses but these common and poor people are the sufferers from heir ill-deeds. Their lives have been changed forever.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has emphasised on the need to expedite the rehabilitation of the ethnic violence affected people as he discussed a gamut of issues pertaining to relief and rehabilitation in the BTAD areas with BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary, Group of Ministers and senior officials at Assam Legislative Assembly office chamber on Thursday.

Minister for Panchayat & Rural Development, Rakibul Hussain said his department has allocated 12,500 IAY houses at Rs 75,000 per unit to the violence-hit BPL families with identity cards. “The process for allotting IAY houses to the non-BPL families without identity cards would begin once the State Government receives a detailed proposal from the BTC administration,” Hussain said, adding that the proposal would be forwarded to the Planning Commission for seeking approval.

Of the Rs 100 crore received from central government as special package for relief and rehabilitation of violence-hit families, Rs 65 crore has been spent on IAY houses to the BPL families with identity cards.

It may be mentioned here that the central government has offered a special aid of Rs 300 crore which comprises special assistance of Rs 100 crore for relief and rehabilitation, Rs 100 crore under special plan assistance for development works in the affected areas and Rs 100 crore under the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) scheme for re-building damaged houses.

The CM instructed the officials of the Revenue Department to provide ration for another two-and-a-half-months to the affected families following a plea from the BTC Chief.

The meeting was attended, among others, by the Group of Ministers comprising Minister for Revenue & Disaster Management, Prithivi Majhi, Minister for Panchayat & Rural Development, Rakibul Hussain, Minister for Social Welfare, Akon Bora, Minister for Tourism, Chandan Brahma, Chief Secretary, Jitesh Khosla, Additional Chief Secretary, Panchayat & Rural Development, JB Singh, Principal Secretary, Home & Political, Sailesh, Principal Secretary to CM, Jishnu Barua, Commissioner & Secretary, Finance, Pawan Kumar Borthakur, Secretary, Home, GD Tripathi and Commissioner, Panchayat & Rural Development, KK Dwivedi .

Later, a separate meeting was also held by Chief Minister Gogoi with BTC Chief and senior officials of Home and Political Department on the law and order situation in BTAD areas.

The state government sought the cooperation of the BTC administration in tackling the law and order situation and in restoring complete normalcy in BTAD areas. The meeting was attended, among others, by DGP, Jayanto Narayan Choudhury, ADGP (SB) Pallab Bhattacharyya and ADGP, AP Rout.

By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,

Bhopal: The Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), ruled Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that his top priority is that common people’s works should be hassle-free. Common people should feel that this is their own government. Like Chief Minister, officers should also not consider themselves as rulers, but public servants.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that Jan Sunwai should not remain a mere formality and people’s problems should be redressed in effect. Administration should pay attention to employees’ facilities but at the same time adopt attitude of zero tolerance against corruption. Every district should become an example of good governance. Collectors should chalk out development plan and one-year action plan for their respective districts. Their work will be assessed on this basis.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan addressing Collectors-Commissioners Conference in Bhopal on Thursday.

The above remarks were made by Chief Minister Chouhan while addressing Collectors-Commissioners Conference here on Thursday. He said that entire 7.50 crore people of Madhya Pradesh are my near and dear ones. There is no separate friend or relative. Officers should not commit any irregularity under pressure of anyone. Those committing irregularity deliberately and not completing work in time should be ready to face consequences.

Chouhan directed that collectors should ensure effective implementation of public welfare schemes in their districts, live up to people’s expectations and contribute in better development of the state. Programmes like Jan Sunwai should not remain a mere formality and people’s problems should be redressed in effect through it. He asked the officers to respect all and give them a patient hearing. They should live up to their expectations and work towards improving common people’s lives. Simplify procedures, use modern techniques and extend facilities to common people speedily. Make delivery of public services more effective. Collectors should act like CEOs of districts. In the state, there is policy of zero tolerance against corruption. Collectors should keep keen eye and act immediately when a complaint is received. Contribute in development of state in the right earnest, bring out happiness in people’s lives and make their lives meaningful. He asked them to complete every work within time-limit and cooperate in fulfilling promises made in Vision 2018 and Jansankalp BJP Manifesto 2013).

15 lakh houses to be constructed for poor

In the first session of the conference, a presentation was made on scheme for construction 15 lakh houses in 5 years for the poor. According to it, 10 lakh houses for the poor will be constructed in the rural areas and 5 lakh in the urban areas. The houses will be constructed under Indira Aawas Yojana, Indira Homestead Aawas Yojana, Indira Aawas Vananidhikar Yojana, Antyodaya Aawas Yojana and Mukhymantri Aawas Mission. In the urban areas, urban bodies will construct 1.50 lakh houses, Development Authorities and Housing Board one lakh each and private builders will construct 2.50 lakh houses. Chief Minister Chouhan said that immediate assistance for houses should be provided to the people whose houses have been damaged by recent floods.

Mukhyamantri Khet-Sadak Yojana

The Chief Minister said that no village should be left unconnected with roads. The village not covered under any other scheme should be connected under Mukhyamantri Gram Sadak Yojana. A presentation was given on Khet-Sadak Yojana at the conference according to which panchayats will construct roads in villages, Majra-Tolas and clusters of agriculture fields. Minimum 2 roads will be constructed in every panchayat. Special attention will be paid to quality of roads. He said that these roads will be handy in agriculture operations and provide facility to farmers to transport crops.

Smart cards also to be prepared

It was informed during presentation on the issue of social justice that the department has chalked out a scheme to prepare Samagra Smart Cards through which beneficiaries will get benefit of all government schemes. This work will be accomplished in next 6 months. It was informed that assistance under Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojana has been increased from Rs.15,000 to Rs.25,000. The Chief Minister said that destitute beneficiaries should be provided pension every month. Pension of any destitute should not be discontinued without prior notice. Scheme should be chalked out for welfare and education of rag picker children. All eligible beneficiaries should be registered under Mazdoor Suraksha Yojana. Additional arrangements should be made for taking care of elderly persons availing benefit of Mukhyamantri Tirth-Darshan Yojana. Schemes for the disabled should be made with more sensitiveness in the districts and Antyodaya Melas should be continued.

Irrigation in 40 lakh hectare

A presentation was made in the conference about increasing area under irrigation in the state from 25 lakh hectare to 40 lakh hectare area. It was informed that Water Resources Department used to irrigate about 9 lakh hectare during year 2010-11, which has been increased to 25 lakh hectare this year. Narmada Valley Development Department used to irrigate one lakh hectare, which has been increased to 3.25 lakh hectare. A scheme has been chalked out to increase area under irrigation in the state to 40 lakh hectare. Chouhan asked to give it top priority since irrigation has important role in agriculture growth. He directed to move ahead in the work of recharging of rivers.

Skill development of youths for employment

It was informed that district-level skill development schemes have been chalked out for skill development of youths under which market demand-oriented training is being imparted. Besides, efforts are also being made to open more Industrial Training Institutes. At present, 135 skill development centres exist in the state. Chief Minister Chouhan said that special attention should be paid to raising of skilled manpower. Wherever there is a possibility of employment, youths should be imparted training in concerning trades. Collectors should include this in their priorities.

Self-employment cells in districts

It was informed that as per Chief Minister’s wish, a strategy has been chalked out to make 5 lakh youths entrepreneurs and lay a network of small and cottage industries. For this, youths will be motivated through Mukhyamantri Yuva Swarozgar Yojana. Assistance will be given to about 50 thousand youths under the scheme during the current year also. Chouhan said that role of small and cottage industries to be set up by youths will be important in transforming the state. Madhya Pradesh will be made number one state of the country in industrial investment. In the state, 27 industrial areas are being developed. Collectors should motivate youths to become entrepreneurs in every district. Self-employment cells should be set up in all districts to help youths.

Chief Secretary Anthony de Sa said that district administration should function with sensitiveness in the interest of common people. Those issues have been included in the conference which are mentioned in Vision 2018. Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries and heads of concerning departments attended the conference.

By TCN News,

Al Jubail: The new office of Spar Company was inaugurated by Industrialist Nasser Al Otaibi few days ago. Inaugural function was attended by prominent businessmen, industrialist and social worker from Jubail some of the esteemed guest was from Dammam and khobar as well.

Vetran Indian actor Raza Murad was the chief guest. Who along the guest of honor veteran actor of Indian cinema Ali Khan came from India to attend the function.

Industrialist Mr. Nasser Al Otaibi inaugurates the office.

The chief guest Raza Murad acted in more than 500 Indian cinema. He recited one poem of the great poet Sahir Ludhyanvi. One public demand the chief guest delivered the dialogue of Rajesh Khanna starrer supper hit film “Namak Haram” in which he acted as a young poet. The audience applauded a lot. He delivered a few more dialogue from different film; one of the block buster films was “Hena” in which he acted as Police Inspector.

The guest of honor Indian cinema actor Ali Khan recited a few couplets. On public demand he delivered the dialogue from Amitabh Bachan Starrer film “Khuda Gawah” in which he acted as the younger brother of Kiran Kumar. Both the veteran actor from Bollywood entertained the audience.

CEO & President Mr Shibli Siddiui with bord of director.

“Narendra Modi will not be next Prime Minister of India” Raza Murad said in response to a question from the audience. He said that in the general election of 2014 Congress may not perform well but BJP will not be in position to make his prime ministerial candidate into PM office.

The 3rd front or regional party will gain more and without them no one can form government in Center. He said majority of majority community believe in the secularism. He appreciated Chief Minister of MP Mr. Shive Raj Chauhan. He further said that Mr. Chauhan did lots of developments for all section of community irrespective of caste and creed.

By Meha Mathur, IANS,

New Delhi : Asma Naseem began her primary education in 1990 in a small village in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh. Six months after she started going to her two-room school, her family decided that she deserved a better education. Her father then shifted, with four-year-old Asma, to Delhi.

The little girl was admitted to the primary school in Jamia Millia Islamia, and her father found work in the city. The girl's mother joined them four years later.

Asma finished school, then graduated in biotechnology from Jamia's Faculty of Natural Sciences, and won the gold medal in the post-graduation class of biosciences at Jamia. She then researched protein conformational diseases at Jamia, and is now pursuing post-doctoral studies at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in Italy.

Just like Asma, Samreen Jahaan joined the mechanical engineering course at Jamia Polytechnic after school. She is the only woman student in the first-year batch of the course. But being the lone girl in her class is not something Samreen makes much of: "If boys can, why can't girls?" she asks.

"Initially I hesitated in sitting in an all-boys' class, but now I don't mind. The boys help me in all the subjects," Asma told IANS, expressing happiness that her parents support her in her career decision.

Zainab Zafar, a first-year student of the Bachelor of Physiotherapy course at Jamia, has joined this paramedical field with the aim of treating patients. In a course where numerous girl students had withdrawn their names in the initial batches because lab work requires physical touch with "models" of the other sex, Zainab and her fellow girl students are confident that they are doing noble work.

"Our parents are today comfortable with what we are learning. After all, it's a noble job. I will be treating someone," says Zainab.

Nor does she feel that the burqa that she wears could prove a hindrance at the time of recruitment. "Recruiters will see my potential," Zainab told IANS, exuding confidence.

Asma, Samreen and Zainab represent the brave new face of Muslim girls, confident of their skills, competitive in spirit and hungry for success. Irrespective of their geographical distance or social situation, Muslim girls are converging at Jamia Millia Islamia, the 92-year-old central university in New Delhi, because of its stimulating academic environment, the safety if offers women, and the religious and cultural ethos at this central university.

Shaila Naaz, a student of architecture from Daltonganj in Jharkhand, says: "Getting admission in a central university is an achievement. And Jamia provides an ideal atmosphere for studies. It's safe too, there's abundant security." Polytechnic student Ayesha Ghayas says she chose Jamia for a degree in computer engineering because it's a Muslim university, with no ragging.

Jamia, on its part, follows a proactive policy to promote girls' education. The 10 percent reservation for women at the university is showing results. In Jamia Polytechnic, for example, of 900 students, 92 are women. While women students traditionally chose courses in humanities, languages and education, today there is enough competition even in courses like physiotherapy.

Ejaz Hussain, director of the Centre for Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Sciences at Jamia, says that in the first two years of its existence since 2007, the centre had to counsel parents to admit their daughters to the course. These days, the men:women ratio is 70:30.

Jamia is also building more women's hostels. A new hostel for women was recently inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, taking the capacity to have women living on campus from 500 to 750. With the University Grants Commission grant of Rs.26 crore at the behest of United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the university is set to add 400 more hostel seats for girls.

A zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment helps too. The earlier University Complaints Committee has been replaced with an Internal Committee to Deal with Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace. While women staff and the administration are covered under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, for students the university has its own ordinance.

There are complaint boxes at different points on campus, and any complaint dropped into the box is taken up for action. Bulbul Dhar James, director of Sarojini Naidu Centre for Women's Studies at Jamia, is a member of the committee and says women are now picking up courage to lodge complaints.

Sarojini Naidu Centre also teaches men students the right conduct in a multi-cultural milieu. This is especially important because students come from villages, where codes of conduct may be vastly different, and their backgrounds may also create inhibitions and diffidence.

Sabiha Hussain, faculty member at the Centre for Dalit and Minorities Studies in the university, says a sea change has occurred in the attitude of students in the last few years.

"Parents are now open to sending their daughter to Delhi for courses like computer science, biotechnology, physiotherapy and polytechnic. They have high aspirations for daughters, and hope their daughters will get better exposure here," Hussain told IANS.

(Meha Mathur can be contacted at mehamathur@gmail.com)

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

Bangalore: When Saif Sultan Sayed and his group of friends read about the death of little children in relief camps, housing victims of communal riots that broke out in Muzaffarnagar, he and his two friends wanted to step up and help.

And help they did.

The friends teamed up with Bangalore based Guidance for Mankind Trust (GFM Trust) and managed to collect funds for 2,500 blankets, 30 temporary toilets, 200 kilo grams of infant food, 300 winter ear plugs, 1,000 litres of milk for children and pregnant women and hot food for around 500 people. They finally set out to Muzaffarnagar and distributed the materials to those in need.

Saif Sultan Sayed and Jawed Manzoor with children at the relief camp.

Speaking at the fundraising event organised today by various city based Muslim organisations, Saif who recently returned from Muzaffarnagar, warned the audience of the dire humanitarian situation in the relief camps. Recollecting his and his team's experience at the camps, he said there are thousands of people living in sub-human conditions, where there is scarcity of food, shelter or absolutely any basic human amenities.

He shared one particular incident, which he encountered at a camp where, in the name of doctors and medical aid, the government had sent, low rung officials, who gave the same medicine for fever, diarrhea and pneumonia. He said the situation of women and children in particular is most alarming, where girls as young as 12 are being molested. Parents fearing the safety of their female children are getting them married off and Saif says there has been more than 300 such marriages since the camps were setup. He also pointed at a dangerous recent trend where, seeing the vulnerability of women in these camps, men from surrounding villages come to hawk on them every night.

Jawed Manzoor and Sameer Siddiqui distributing relief material.

Saif stressed the urgency to help victims in this hour of need and emphasized the need for volunteers, especially doctors and nurses to render their help.

Other speakers at the event included Shaikh Samiullah, Mr.Imtiaz Chowdhry, Mr.Zaid Hussain, Mr.Ashraf Ali, Shaikh Javeed Oomari and Mr.Umar Shariff, who spoke about the collective efforts required from the community to help each other and urged the audience to donate as much as they can towards the cause.

Sameer Siddiqui and Saif Sultan Sayed updating record.

"Caravan of Hope" will be visiting relief camps in Muzaffarnagar, in different batches in coming weeks and has urged people to donate and volunteer in the initiative.

Interested organisations and individuals can send their donations to:
G.F.M. CHARITABLE TRUST.
RTGS/NEFT/IFSC Code icic0000252.
A/c No 025205003975 ICICI Bank
Cox Town, Bangalore.

You could also call them at: +91 9900260031, +91 9845784433, email at: info@gfmtrust.org and find them on: https://www.facebook.com/gfmcaravanofhope

BY IANS,

Hyderabad : Police here Friday booked actor Salman Khan for hurting religious sentiment of Muslims in a TV reality show hosted by him on Colors channel.

A case against Salman and producers of the show "Bigg Boss" for insulting a religion was booked under section 295 of the Indian Penal Code at Falaknuma police station in the old city of Hyderabad.

Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma told reporters that the case was booked on the direction of a city court after a petitioner, in his complaint, alleged that the religious sentiments of Muslims were hurt during the show.

"Before proceeding further with the investigations in the case, we have sought legal opinion with regard to the jurisdiction and culpability," he said.

The police chief said the petition alleged that the show hurt the religious sentiments by depicting "Jannat" (heaven) and "Jahannum" (hell).

Mohammed Fasihuddin had filed a complaint in the court of VIth Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, which directed police to register a case.

By IANS,

New Delhi : A court Friday asked the city police to file its reply on bail plea of Lashkar-e-Taiba bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda, accused in the 1997 Delhi Sadar Bazar blasts case.

Tunda moved the plea Tuesday, saying that the other two co-accused in the case have been discharged or acquitted.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Amit Bansal has posted the matter for further hearing Jan 3, 2014.

Police have charge sheeted Tunda under Sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon), 307 (attempt to murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Tunda was part of the conspiracy which led to two bomb blasts at Sadar Bazar and Qutab Road Oct 1, 1997, in which many people were injured, they said, adding the two other accused in the case earlier disclosed that the blasts were carried out at Tunda's behest.

One of the co-accused Mohammad Shakeel alias Hamza was acquitted in April 1999 while the second, Mohammad Amir, was discharged in the case in April 2001.

Tunda argued said the other two accused were already released by court and the question of conspiracy with them does not arise, and their disclosure statements not admissible as evidence.

By TwoCircles.net staff reporter,

New Delhi: Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh registered doubled the number of communal incidents this year compared to last year. The data was released on Wednesday by Minister of State Home Affairs R.P.N. Singh replying to a question in Rajya Sabha.

Minister informed the Parliament that Central Government doen’t maintain list of people displaced as a result of communal violence.

There were a total of 668 communal incidents in 2012, in which 94 people were killed and 2117 injured. In 2013 for data till October, number of incidents has jumped to 725 and number of people killed showed an increase of 50% with 143 killed and 1978 injured.

States that show an increase in communal violence from last year are Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. Among these only Rajasthan registered fewer killed this year as compared to last year otherwise it’s a significant increase in number of people killed in communal violence in the four states.

Curiously enough, data table records zero for communal violence in Assam even though the state showed brutal anti-Muslim violence in 2012.

Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Maharashtra, & Kerala showed significant decrease in the number of communal incidents in these states.

By IANS,

New Delhi : A court extended alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal's police custody till Jan 3 after Delhi Police said they wanted to question him to find the source of the explosives he allegedly supplied to two accused in the Sep 13, 2008 Karol Bagh blasts.

As police requested court to grant them 15 days custody to unearth the conspiracy saying that he will be likely taken to Karnataka, Additional Sessions Judge Daya Prakash allowed Delhi Police to quiz Bhatkal till Jan 3.

Meanwhile, the court sent another accused Asadullah Akhtar to 15 days police custody in connection with the blast in Greater Kailash area of south Delhi on the same day.

Akhtar was sent to ten days police custody with Bhatkal by the court on Dec 10 in connection with the blast in Karol Bagh area in central Delhi.

Police told the court that Akhtar's custody is not required in this case but requested them to allow his custodial interrogation in the Greater Kailash blast case.

Several bomb blasts had rocked the capital city Sep 13, 2008. As many as 13 suspected Indian Mujahideen members are currently facing trial in the case.

By IANS,

New Delhi : India could be an ideal partner for Iraq in tackling international terror, visiting Iraqi National Security Advisor Falih Al Fayyadh said Friday.

"India with its historical ties with Iraq and a country which itself is inflicted with terrorism could be an ideal partner with Iraq in tackling international terror," Fayyadh said at an interaction at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis here.

With around seven million Indians working in Gulf, India has strong interests in the region.

"India like Iraq faces same challenges from externally supported extremist groups. Therefore, it is logical that both India and Iraq cooperate over the issue of terrorism," said Fayyadh, who is here on an official visit.

He said counter terrorism cooperation between the two countries can be in the form of information sharing and capacity building.

Fayyadh said his country has transitioned from authoritarian rule to democracy under difficult conditions, but now faces the brunt of international terrorism, which is attacking the democratic process.

"Terrorism is an unrealistic and unstable ideology but, unfortunately, this is supported by some of the rich countries in the region," he said.

He however expressed satisfaction that the international community is now willing to cooperate and assist Iraq in dealing with terrorism.

By Abdul Rauf Lala

As we came to know through the media that a Mumbra girl namely Ishrat Jahan has been gunned down in an encounter in Gujarat, we reached her home at Rasheed Compound which is at walking distance from my house in the city. There we saw the house comprising one bedroom along with a washroom and a tiny kitchen. There was a tiny wooden box which contains of their clothing. And the family had access to neither television/newspaper nor a telephone. On our request, her mother Shameema Bi provided us with details.

Ishrat’s father, Shameem Sheikh, died in 2002. He worked as a constructor. After the sad demise of Ishrat’s father, the whole responsibility came to her mother’s shoulder and she joined a medical company so as to feed her family of six. There her work was to stick tags/labels on the medicine wrappers. Her elder daughter, Ishrat, was a B. Sc. (2nd year) student and was helping her mother by teaching at a coaching centre as well as giving private tuitions at her home. In fact, Ishrat was the backbone of her family and it was she who was winning the bread for the family. Days ago, she was out for some business purpose only to meet her ill fate.
After listening to the complete story, we smelt a rat in the incident. And first of all, we demanded from the authority to return her body as we wanted to bury her in her hometown. Then a team comprising of myself, my friends Munna Sahil, Shakeb Khan, Asadullah Hanafi along with Ishrat’s mother headed towards Ahmedabad the very next day. When we reached Ahmedabad at 5 in morning, a reporter from Gujarat Samachar approached us soon and told us earnestly to raise the issue strongly, as he said that was a fabricated story and a fake encounter. He further added that many of them knew the truth but could not speak out for one reason or another.

Abdul Rauf Lala

Then our team reached the Gujarat Crime Police Head Station at Haweli. At the police station, we met Singhal and NK Amin. They conducted their investigation upon us in a very rough manner. They talked to us as if we were criminals and were detained in our way to carry out some big mission. We were not given even water to drink and meal to eat during the period and were not allowed to perform Juma Namaz that day. After 5-6 hours of traumatising enquiry, Vanzara came and then started his turn which lasted for three more hours. Our only demand that made them torment us was our claim to return the body of Ishrat. They left no stone unturned to persuade us to withdraw our demand of taking the body to the hometown. When we refused to lend an ear to their requests or rather orders they put a condition before us and said the body would be released provided we bury it in Ahmedabad. We again declined their order and after 9-10 hour long torture we were given access to the body.
We already smelt something fishy in the incident; their behaviour turned our suspicion into surety. We made up our mind to go through legal proceeding in the whole incident as our Constitution allows us to fight on behalf of an accused whom you consider an innocent.

On return, we consulted my friend Advocate Shahid Azmi and subsequently filed a petition with Advocate Hashim Quraishi of Gujarat in the Ahmedabad Metropolitan Court. After one year and a half we found there was no significant development in the case as Advocate Quraishi seemed more interested in making headlines than fighting the case seriously. Then we formed a team along with Jitendra Awhad, who is now (not at that time) MLA from Mumbra, and met Vrinda Grover who is an advocate in Supreme Court. After having listened to our story, she stood firmly and boldly with us and assured us to fight the case with full potential and she is still keeping her promise. She also refused to take any charge for this case. Then, with her consent, we appointed advocates Mukul Sinha and Shilpa Setty in Gujarat and filed a writ petition in Gujarat High Court.

The hearing in Gujarat High Court started in 2007. Our sole demand was to set up a CBI enquiry as we consider the encounter a faked one and the deceased had no terror link. The court appointed Satish Verma as a member of CBI enquiry team. Verma had earlier played an important role as a member of the SIT which had said in its report that the encounter was a staged one. The report of the CBI is now before the country. Half the truth has been exposed and another half is yet to be exposed. Those who brutally killed Ishrat and others have been identified by the court and those who monitored the killing are likely to be exposed soon.

We have got “half justice” with this report of the CBI which has mirrored the earlier report of Magisterial Enquiry and the report of Special Investigation Team. Now the whole world is saying what we said earlier that the encounter was staged. And—Alhamdulillah—for the first time—and no doubt as a result of our constant hard work—the Intelligence Bureau has been exposed and its Special Director, Rajindra Kumar, would be charge-sheeted soon in the case. Until now, individually some officers have been found guilty for some unholy nexus but this time the whole team of IB has been exposed.

It is, in fact, more noteworthy than the names of some political tycoons because all the innocents killed so far have been killed at the behest of IB and today the report of CBI makes it clear that IB, on “certain” occasions, circulates wrong information for “some reasons”. Rajindra Kumar and NaMo share very close relationship and, as per the information I have, Rajindra Kumar was completely involved in the plan right from sketching the script until it was executed. He was present at the encounter site as well. There were several phone calls from the cell phone of Kumar to Modi and Amit Shah that day. After Rajindra Kumar, we hope NaMo, Shah and others would be in jail next door.

Ishrat and others were allegedly out to kill Modi. There were earlier several warnings of this sort in the state. But all such warnings later proved groundless. It was a political gimmick of NaMo to project himself as a “hero” doing some great work in public interest and hence “villains” are rushing to kill him so as to continue running their “unfair” business. But the real story is when NaMo was sent to Gujarat and the sole target of him was to put a complete control on the state machinery at any rate, he started his scheme from Godhra carnage. First, he got his own men killed and then a state-sponsored riot started for the first time in the history of the nation and then started a battery of encounters—which numbers around 21 until the encounter of Ishrat—to en-cash the massacre. In this period Modi projected himself as a hero. And when this scheme of his was over and he gained whatever he wanted to, he propagated a second story of development.

Here one might say that the ruling Congress Party is playing this card to appease Muslims before general elections as it has earlier irked them on many occasions, especially by hanging Afzal Guru last year. Also the CBI and others have been blamed on many occasions for working for the ruling party. But I do not think it a handiwork of the Congress because the party, as I experienced, has always created hurdles in the case instead of benefitting us. As far as the autonomy of CBI is concerned, it is true that it works under pressure of the ruling party. But this time it was a completely different situation. The CBI was being monitored by a bench of Justices Patel and Avinas Kumar of Gujarat High Court. The two judges are widely known for their fair, uninfluenced and impartial decree. So it is not fair to say that the CBI worked under pressure at least in this case.

The case took a nine-year-period to reach here. It is enough time to make one give up the case. But we have started our fight reposing our faith in Allah alone. We never pinned our trust on either any individual or any organisation. And I have to say, at this stage, with great sorrow that no organisation came forward to help us and the handful of persons who backed us were either non-Muslims or communists. Among those who supported us are Shabnam Hashmi, Vrinda Grover, Jitendra Awhad and some others. Also Mukul Sinha and Shilpa Shetty extended their help in Gujarat and there is a group of 15 social activists with Grover helping us at every stage. For our greatest distress, no Muslim organisation came offering their help to us during this period. I am sure everyone includes us in his special prayers and Dua but only this act of Muslims will not support us. What we needed is to encourage us in our service by standing with us or at least by extending their support through a single phone call. Also, we did not approach any group asking for its help. Once we organised a meeting of all Muslim parties in Mumbra on the issue and – Alhamdulillah— we get representation from almost all the organisations.

Any way, we never felt nervous as we had started our work basing our trust in the Almighty and the Omnipresent Allah. This only was enough to encourage us in our disappointing times. Apart from this, we were mentally prepared for all types of sufferings. We were fighting for a martyr and we were sure since the beginning of the case that the decree will be in our favour. And finally it is so.

At last I want to add that everyone should fight for the right cause with patience and must be ready to face difficulties. We have travelled to Gujarat once in every month for nine years on a stretch and on many occasions we had to run away to save our lives. Many a hotel refused to accommodate us under the pressure of state authority. On some occasions, we reached the city to appear in the court on given date but left it without appearing. Singhal has always abused us even in courts. I remember the time when a hotel owner made us check-out at 3 AM saying some Bajrang Dal activists are coming here to protest.

But we never even thought of giving up and I think when a person has complete trust in Allah and believes that the ultimate decision is of Allah’s, he should never give up. Today the case of Ishrat has become a national issue. This goes to suggest that if you start fighting for a good cause even though you have limited resources, it is the Almighty Allah who will help you. I request all the citizens in general and Muslims in particular to take all such cases seriously and go through legal proceedings instead of issuing emotional and political statements. There are many a non-Muslim activist who is fighting for human cause and ready to help on humanitarian ground. Take assistance from them and be constant while fighting for social causes. Leave behind the idea of giving up.

[Abdul Rauf Lala is NCP Corporator of Mumbra. Article as told to Zaid Arif, first published in Radiance Viewsweekly]

Dr. M.H.Jawahirullah,

Kumar Chellapan’s ‘Fatwas Ban Outsiders’ Entry into Rameshwaram Villages’ (The Pioneer December 16,2013) is full of falsehood, mischievous misrepresentations and blatant errors. It exposes the prejudiced, hate mongering journalist culture of the Sangh Parivar’s mouthpiece. The biased and motivated ‘report’ exposes the unethical journalistic ‘culture’ of the Sangh Parivar.

Kumar Chellapan alleges that Fatwas (Muslim religious edicts) have been issued to ban the entry of the outsiders into Rameswaram villages. To my thorough knowledge, no such fatwa has been issued in any village in Ramanathapuram Distirct. The so-called reporter needs to learn basic facts of geography and politics. Let it be rightly known that only Pamban is in Rameshwaram island and that all the other villages located in Ramanathapuram District come under Thiruvadanai Constituency and its MLA is Suba Thangavelan of the DMK.

Kumar Chellapan alleges “Ramanathapuram is represented in the Tamil Nadu Assembly by MH Jawahirullah of the ‘Muslaim’ (sic) Munnetra Kazhagam (MMK), an Islamic outfit.” It is true that I represent the Ramanathapuram Constituency but the political party I belong to is Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (Humanitarian People’s Party). It is a registered political party which works for the welfare of all communities, Muslims not excluded. Further he states that ‘The MMK was an ally of the AIADMK in the 2011 Assembly election and switched over to the DMK camp during the July 2012 Rajya Sabha election.” Incidentally the Rajya Sabha elections took place in July 2013, not in July 2012. These factual errors are enough to expose his ignorance of simple political matters.

Chellapan states that “Local Jamaath Councils have issued ‘fatwas’ declaring Muslim-majority villages out of bounds for people even from the district itself. At the entry points to Athiyuthu, Puthuvalassai, Panaikulam, Azhagankulam and Sitharkottai are found such boards, all put up by the local Jamaath Councils.” His ‘guide’ Arumugam reports “There are boards deep inside these villages which declare outsiders are not allowed,” These allegations are totally wrong and utterly false. The truth is no such board declaring that these villages are out of bounds for non- Muslims was ever put up in these villages. There were notice boards but they carried no fatwa. They merely displayed completely innocuous restrictions against indiscriminate pasting of bills, noisy announcements from loudspeakers mounted on vehicles and parking of vehicles obstructing smooth flow of traffic. Pioneer did not corroborate its version by publishing the offensive board. The actual pictures of the notice boards are reproduced below for the benefit of anyone who cares to verify the real message and not to get carried away by rumours of nonexistent fatwas.

The message on the notice board translated into English reads as follows:
Warning: Advertising and Pasting bills without permission and using loudspeakers mounted on motor vehicles inside the village is disallowed. Those who violate this will be lawfully proceeded against. Do not park vehicles disturbing flow of traffic – Muslim Jamath Thajul Islam Sangam, Pottakavayal

There is not a single word in this notice which states that this village is out of bounds for outsiders. Further these notice boards only reinstate the existing general restrictions relating to billboards, pasting bills and loudspeakers on vehicles and are well within the ambit of Tamilnadu Open Places (prevention of disfigurement) Act 1959) and The Motor Vehicles Act. These restrictions apply to all parties and organizations irrespective of their religious or caste affiliations.

In Alagankulam both Muslim and Hindu community leaders had come to an agreement several years back and had put up boards of which one is given below. (Pioneer had not published this picture)

The translation of this into English is:
Warning: Propagation through Loud speakers, Pasting bills and writing advertisements on walls are disallowed inside the village. Severe action will be taken against those who violate this – Hindu Muslim United Sabha Alagankulam.

Quoting Senthilvel, in reality an office bearer of BJP in Alagankulam masqueraded here as a foreign exchange dealer, it is reported that “the villagers are still in a state of shock as some Muslim youth slaughtered a cow in front of the Muneeswarankoil Temple. ‘The Jamaath Council president and secretary told us that they were helpless as the youth would not listen to them.” This is an unadulterated lie. No slaughter of any cow took place in the village in front of the temple.

As was their practice in previous years during the Bakrid festival, bulls were slaughtered at Alagankulam in a compounded place belonging to one Noorullah, a Jamaat office bearer. The compounds was about 100 feet away from the temple But this year a few people belonging to Senthilvel’s party organized a road roko protesting against this and the police booked cases against them. In Alagankulam harmonious relationship exists between Muslims and Hindus. Both communities have such cordial understanding that the Presidentship of the Panchayat is shared in rotation among Muslims and Hindus. The board put up by Hindu Muslim United Sabah is an indication of this unity.

These type of boards have been in existence in the villages for more than 30 years. Such boards have also been placed in some Hindu majority villages. These restrictions have contributed to preserving social harmony. No wonder there had been no clashes between the Hindu and Muslim communities in these villages. I should also mention that these restrictions have not been strictly implemented in these villages. I am giving below pictures posters pasted by some Hindu organisations 2 weeks ago in a bus shelter at Panaikulam one of the villages mentioned by Kumar Chellapan.

Quoting Kuppuramu , State President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Ramanathpuram District President of RSS, presented here as a lawyer it is claimed that in Pamban “the Panchayath road has a board put by the Islamic extremists banning outsiders from the road: ‘Not a public thoroughfare. Ladies move about in this place,’ says the board.”

The photograph of the notification which Pioneer has not published is given below:

This notice is not on any public thoroughfare of Pamban. It is not on any main road. It is on the wall of a house in a narrow by-lane in the Muslim mohallah of Pamban. Four such noticeboards were put up by the local Jamaath (not by ‘Muslim extremists’) about 4 years ago following an eve teasing incident to ensure protection to women. Restriction of movement in this exclusive women passage is applicable to Muslim men as much as to others. When we have exclusive buses, exclusive seats in buses and separate trains compartments for women what is wrong is providing an exclusive passage for women in the narrow lanes?

Chellapan also quotes Kuppuramu as saying “Pamban Swamy (1848-1929) a great Saivaite saint was born in Pamban. Pamban Swamy, who preached love, compassion, kindness and equality, would be turning in his grave if he comes to know what his successors have done in his place of birth.” Pamban has been a peaceful village with the Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities living in harmonious and cordial relationship. It has not given any space for any fascist organisation to rear its ugly head, perhaps much to the discomfiture of Sangh Parivar communalists. Pamban village also encompasses Kundukaal the place where Swami Vivekanada first landed on 26th January 1897 after his famous lecture in Chicago. The Raja of Ramanathpuram welcomed him at Kundukaal. When the Ramakrishna Mutt wanted to construct a commemorative structure in honour of Vivekanada, it had to approach a Muslim family namely the Mandapam Maraicoir family who owned that particular place. The Mutt was prepared to pay the market value for the land. However the Muslim family preferred to donate 5 acres of Land to the Mutt to build the commemorative structure. This is now known as Vivekanada Illam and was declared open in 2009. So Pamban Swamy who had many Muslim well-wishers and patrons would have been doubly rejoiced to know of the Hindu – Muslim unity which is prevailing in his birth place.

Chellappan also quotes Kuppuramu the VHP leader as saying, “during the DMK regime in 2008, some Muslim youths hoisted the national flag with chappals at Vethalai village. The case was hushed up by Hassan Ali, the then MLA of the Congress... there was another instance of tricolour with chappals being hoisted in Puthumadom (sic) village which too was hushed up Hassan Ali.” No such event dishonouring our National flag had happened in Vethalai village. In Pudumadam five students studying in 5th and 6th standards playfully hoisted chappals for which they were charged. The police booked them and produced them in the court and they were fined Rs1000 each. There was no question of the matter being hushed up by the then MLA Mr.Hassan Ali.

Quoting VHP President Kuppuramu, Chellappan says “nearly 50 per cent of the business establishments in Ramanathapuram are owned by members of the Muslim community. A Hindu can launch his business only if he gets approval from the Muslim community. This is an unwritten rule in the district” This is a blatant lie. Ramanthapuram District has of course the highest Muslim population in the state in terms of percentage. Even then it does not cross 15 per cent. According to 2001 census, the District population comprises 80.41% Hindus, 14.4% Muslims, Christians 5.08% and others 0.11%. Muslims being a trading community no doubt have good number of business establishments in Ramanathapuram. Muslim business establishments in Ramanathapuram Town will be around 20 per cent and in the entire district it would be around 12-15% and not 50 percent as alleged. Moreover the Muslim NRIs and Gulf returnees have invested their hard- earned money in Ramanathapuram which has contributed to its overall development and has generated employment opportunities to all sections. It is a win-win situation for all communities. Any Hindu can open a business venture in Ramanathapuram and they do not need anybody’s permission, leave alone the Muslim community’s. The charge is nothing but a naked lie, not a sin for the followers of Goebbels.

Chellapan states that according to Suba Nagarajan, a BJP leader in Ramanathapuram “Religious conversion and smuggling are rampant in the district. Panna Ismail and Bilal Mohammed, who murdered Hindu leader Vellaiyappan in July 2013 at Vellore had come to Keezhakarai after the murder. The police should probe the details of their visit to Keezhakarai,” If Mr. Suba Nagarajan is really in the know of such movements and activities, he should have brought them in writing to the notice of the District Police authorities. That no such complaint has been lodged is an indication about the flimsy nature of these sweeping statements. Further if at all the wanted accused, for whose capture the State government had announced awards, were really in Keelakarai, Mr. Nagarajan should have given the information to the police which would have enabled them to apprehend the criminals and prevented further murders.

Chellappan also states that Nagarajan has stated “Muslims in the district are on a warpath with the Hindus since 1981”. This is a misconception. By and large the Hindu and Muslim community are living in harmony and cooperation. Even in the villages mentioned by Chellappan Muslims have contributed considerably for the development of Government schools and hospitals which have benefitted all communities.

Quoting N. Suriyaprakash the Ramanathpuram Town President of BJP the article states that “for the last 20 years, only Muslim candidates had been elected from this constituency. Only Muslims could be elected from this Assembly constituency,” It is true that Ramanathapuram Assembly Constituency has been represented by Muslims belonging to various secular parties from 1996. What is wrong in it when someone is elected in a free and fair election? However it should be noted that prior to 1996, for 44 years (including in 1981 from when Nagarajan alleges ‘that Muslim are on warpath with Hindus’) Ramanathpuram constituency had been represented by Hindus belonging to various secular parties.

As a Member of the Legislative Assembly representing Ramanathapuram constituency I request Kumar Chellappan to read my speeches and questions in the Assembly. To his wonder he will find that I have spoken a lot about improving the infrastructural facilities and extending other facilities to help the Hindu pilgrims visiting not only the famous Shri Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameshwaram but also in Thiruuthrakosamangai and Tirupullani which also house famous Hindu temples. I have taken up several issues relating to these towns in my constituency to the authorities and redressed various grievances. True Hindu leaders like Swamy Pravananda of Ramakrishna Kudil in Rameswaram would vouch for my services to all sections of the society.

Kuppuramu and the Sangh Parivar are nourishing hatred against Muslims as well as Hindus that they could not succeed in drive a wedge between Hindus and Muslims in Ramanathpuram District. This news article is a reflection of their frustration. Hindus, Muslims and Christians population in Ramanathapuram District will never fall a prey to their nefarious designs and will continue to live in harmony, peace and mutual cooperation.

(Dr. M.H.Jawahirullah, Member of Legislative Assembly, Ramanathapuram Constituency, Legislative Party Leader, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi)

By Saiyed Danish, TwoCircles.net,

New Delhi: In order to meet the challenges of economy through interest free banking, a group of Muslim members of Parliament have sent a letter addressed to the Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram over the same.

“We the under signed Members of Parliament would like to bring Financial Instruments recommended by the High Level Committee on Financial Reforms,” reads the opening line of the letter. CFSR of the Planning Commission of India (2008) is currently headed by Dr. Raghuram Rajan, Present Governnor of Reserve Bank of India.

The letter, a copy of which is with TCN, has also cited Chapter 3, page 72 of the recommendations titled ‘Broadening Access to Finance’ in bold letters to further its cause which reads:

“The Committee recommended measures be taken to permit the delivery of interest-free finance on larger scale, including through the banking system. This is in consonance with the objective of inclusion and growth through innovation. The Committee believes that it would be possible, through appropriate measures, to create a framework of such products without any adverse systematic risk impact.”

The letter asserts that many foreign countries like the UK, France, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong have been practising Interest free Banking/ Alternative finance and that through this window of opportunity India will be able to meet its requirements “CAD” and “attract FDI to boost funding for infrastructure development through instruments like ‘Sukuk’ as suggested by ‘Standard & Poor’ and help to stabilize economy.

The signatory MPs, ten in total, in the letter have demanded to take necessary action to implement ‘Interest Free Finance’ as recommended by Dr. Raghuram Rajan committee “to meet the inclusive financial policy of the Government.”

“We request you to arrange a consultation with the concerned authorities including the Governor of RBI for sorting out Legal and Technical apprehensions to implement the Recommendations on the subject. We will extend necessary Subject expertise,” demands the letter.

Among the noted MPs who have signed this letter is Ali Anwar Ansari, Rajya Sabha MP, (JDU), Hussain Dalwai, Mohd. Salim Ansari, Shafique Rahman Burq, Shariq Sharifuddin, Sabir Ali, Mohd. Adeeb.