By TCN News

Kuwait City: Rajindar Sachar, former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court and the chairman of the Committee that prepared the Sachar Report will be the chief guest at Indo-Kuwait Friendship Society (IKFS) 3rd anniversary program to be organized on Nov 1st at Simiya Indian Model School in Kuwait.

Justice Sachar was also a member of United Nations’Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights said that he is very much impressed with IKFS’ activities and contribution towards restoring national unity, patriotism, and the Indian national integrity irrespective of caste and religion.

Dr. Ghalib Al-Mashoor, President of IKFS said our members are very much honored to receive such a great personality in their 3rd anniversary celebrations and added that IKFS will bestow Justice Sachar with IKFS Excellence Award for his valuable contributions towards social justice.

Justice Sachar will be accompanied by his daughter Madhavi Sachar, along with IKFS Patrons Sami Bubere (Chief Editor of Indo-Gulf Times, Ummeeth magazines and President of Mumbai based Sahyogh Cultural Society) along with Dhaval Bhatia (International trainer) who has agreed to conduct memory classes which IKFS hopes to mesmerize the students of Salmiya Indian Model School to be held at SIMS auditorium on1st November 2013.

Prominent Personalities both from India and Kuwaiti community will grace the function along with many patrons of IKFS and various Executives of Indian Associations. A.K.S Abdul Nazar, IKFS General Secretary said.

By TCN News

Boston: Coalition Against Genocide (CAG) a broad alliance dedicated to justice and accountability for the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, and for continued violations of human rights in Gujarat, today called on the Central government to initiate prosecution of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, following the written confession of disgraced Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Gujarat, DG Vanzara who has been in prison since 2007 on trial for several extra-judicial killings, including that of 19 year-old Mumbai student Ishrat Jahan in 2004.

The explosive letter has shaken the nation for the gravity of the charges it contains against Mr. Narendra Modi and his Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah. Mr. Vanzara has revealed that the "fake encounters" in Gujarat, were a conscious policy adopted by the Modi administration. The fact that these killings furnished the 'halo of a brave chief minister' to Modi is an indication of the cold-blooded political chicanery behind the encounters.

"I categorically state that officers and men of the Crime Branch, ATS (Anti-Terrorist Squad) and Border Range, during the period 2002-2007, simply acted and performed their duties in compliance with a conscious policy of this government," wrote Mr. Vanzara, once considered a confidante of Modi and Shah, in his resignation letter.

This is the first time that a police officer of Mr. Vanzara's rank, has publicly cited Mr. Modi's approval of the killings committed in the name of fighting terror, and his endorsement of the state police's brutality in return for political gain. Mr. Modi's disregard for the rule of law has been known since the carefully orchestrated Gujarat pogrom of 2002, which according to human rights organizations and revelations by senior officers such as Sanjeev Bhatt and R. B. Sreekumar, took place with Mr. Modi's complicity.

In a separate development, an independent journalist released a video showing senior BJP leaders discussing how to shield Mr. Amit Shah, currently out on bail, from the fallout of the Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter case. The video is a "smoking gun" that corroborates Mr. Vanzara's charge that the Gujarat police's impunity in murdering innocent people through fake encounters was backed by a conscious policy of the Gujarat government under Mr. Modi.

"The Central government needs to act on Mr. Vanzara's revelations, so that those who hold innocent human lives cheap, and are willing to expend them for political gains are held accountable under the law of the land," stated Mr. Raja Swamy, a spokesperson for CAG. "The PIL filed in the Supreme Court, pleading for the court's direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take Mr. Vanzara's confession, should be speedily heard and appropriate orders passed for a CBI investigation and prosecution of Mr. Modi," added Mr. Swamy.

Mr. Vanzara's letter and the video from the sting operation also explain why so many senior IPS officers are currently serving time in jail for fake encounters. As Mr. Vanzara pointed out, the state government has a motive in keeping them in prison so that the probe is not transferred to the CBI from the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

"The people of Gujarat have suffered enough. This dark night of state terror must give way to a new dawn, of respect for democracy, the rule of law and the sanctity of human life," said Dr. Ubaid, a co-founder of CAG. "This is the time for the judiciary to demonstrate its independence and its adherence to the dictum. 'Be you ever so high, the law is above you,'" added Dr. Ubaid.

The Coalition Against Genocide is composed of a diverse group of organizations and individuals in the United States and Canada that have come together in response to the Gujarat genocide to demand accountability and justice.

Link:

http://coalitionagainstgenocide.org/

By TwoCircles.net Special Correspondent,

Muzaffarnagar: Muzaffarnagar district is under grip of communal insanity, according to official figures till now 19 people including a journalist in the line of duty has been lynched to death. This riot is not a spontaneous reaction to some flare up, but a result of well organized campaign to fan communal tensions.

It all started with the killing of three youngsters in clashes on August 27 in Kawal village over eve teasing. Two youths belonging to Jatt community Gaurav and his cousin Sachin of Malikpura village attacked Shahnawaz of Kawal village with knives after he passed lewd remarks on their two female cousins. Shahnawaz suffered serious injuries in the attack and died in the hospital. Shahnawaz's relatives and his local villagers caught hold of Sachin and Gaurav and killed them in mob beating.

Going by the track record of Khap dominated Western UP those killings was not a unique case in the region. But tensions did flare up as predators and teasers were from different communities.

But this didn’t end here; political strategist found potential of dynamite in the incident and started to prepare the ground for the explosion.

Fake videos of ‘killing of Hindu youths by Muslim mob while they were protecting the honor of their sister’ were circulated through mobile phones and internet. The horrific video showed men in beards and traditional Muslim attire killing two youths mercilessly.

That disgusting video is originally from Pakistan of infamous 2010 killing of two brothers in Sialkot Punjab province by lynching mob who misidentified them as dacoits.

Fake video was edited to incite the passion to illustrate typical bearded Muslims killing helpless innocent Hindu boys who were just trying to protect honor of their sister.

The video spread like wildfire and shared by many people, shockingly including local BJP MLA from the region. BJP MLA from Sardhana constituency of Meerut district Thakur Sangeet Singh Som shared the video on his Facebook profile asking people to ‘see what is going on in Muzaffarnagar’, 500 local right wingers distributed it immediately (he has removed it now after a case was filed by the UP police).

That Pakistani Video clip was so popularized in the district that even widely circulated Hindi news paper like Dainik Jagaran in its local edition printed the screen shot image of that Pakistani video clip and showed one of the boy lying on ground in blood surrounded by an apparent Muslim crowd, appallingly without even cross checking the authenticity of the video.
That print news item of Jagaran with screen shot image of Pakistani video came as a blessing for hate mongers who then started widely circulating the forged news item to weight their claim behind the Pakistan Sailkot killing video to present it as Muzaffarabad, Kawa killing clip of two Hindu Jat boys.

Sensing trouble police immediately tried to block the video clips from the internet and filed FIR against the BJP MLA and other 229 unidentified persons for sharing the video was registered. They have been booked under Sections 420 (forgery), 153-A (promoting enmity on religious grounds) and 120-B (conspiracy) of the IPC and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act at the Kotwali police station in Muzaffarnagar.

But damage was already done. According to ADG, law and order Arun Kumar, “A fake video related to murder of two people in a village was uploaded on the internet. We blocked that particular video but unfortunately the CDs were circulated in the village.”

Such was the determinant plan for communal riots that even after blocking the video on internet, fringe groups distributed CDs of that fake video.

Local right wing leaders giving weight to the fake video gave a call for Mahapanchayat defying prohibition orders and created law and order situation. Elders of two religious groups were invited to sort out the simmering tension between the two communities. Police said a bus headed for the mahapanchayat was stoned near Basi village, resulting in injuries to six people. As news spread, people of both communities pelted stones at each other.

In that Mahapanchayat meeting literally called to discuss the issues arise through fake videos, four people were killed and five others were injured in passionate stone pelting.

From then on fake video and images has already done their job, whole district in now under fire. Dozens killed, scores has injured with army called in to control the mob fury. Five companies of PAC and five of RAF and police have been deployed in Muzaffarnagar.

But the menace doesn't stop here right wingers is circulating those fake pictures of Pakistani video with Hindi text to incite passion of Hindus. Several FB pages related to Hindutva organisations and individuals, and on other social media like Twitter the video was vigorously shared. This could have repercussions in other parts of the country as well.

It appears more than clear that Muzaffarnagar communal riot is a well orchestrated plan to polarize western UP for Mission 2014.

By TCN News,

Aligarh: A seminar was organised on the topic “Teachers and Teacher’s Responsibilities” by Shams Muslim Educational Welfare Society of India in which many teachers of government schools and colleges were also honoured.

Speaking on this occasion Chief Guest, Inder Preet Singh, Additional District Judge said that the profession of a teacher is not simply a service but are very pious and important duty, it is the teacher who creates great man out of ordinary children. Citing examples from Mahabharat and Guru Granth Sahib he said that paying respect to the teachers has been a tradition in our country and society from the very ancient times.

Memento being presented to IP Singh Josh by Dr. Shakeel Samdani, Naseem Shahid and others.

Trust is the most important factor between the disciple and his teacher, it has to be earned, preserved and protected. The easiest way of doing this is by practicing what we preach. The teacher must be convinced of the morals and values which he is practicing He said that the work of Shams Educational Welfare Society and its cooperation with Sir Syed Awareness Forum in propagating virtuous values and teachings of Sir Syed in the society must be appreciated.

Speaking as Guest of Honour, President, Sir Syed Awareness Forum, Dr. Shakeel Samdani of Aligarh Muslim University said that the teachers should focus more on their duties rather than focusing on their rights and privileges. They should do their duty of teaching their students as a mission and their mission should be to cultivate the feelings of large heartedness, tolerance and justice in their students. He said that generally only two types of persons are behind the success of man, either their parents or their teachers.

Deliberating upon the decline of Urdu language in North India he said that Urdu is an Indian language which was born in India, grew in India and now it is becoming weaker in India. Due to this decline the pronunciation of the entire country has gone wrong and now the non Urdu knowing people are unable to pronounce certain words correctly. They are unable to distinguish between ‘Sh’ and ‘S’, ‘Z’ and ‘J’ and ‘Q’ and ‘K’. This is unfortunate and this should be stopped. He requested the teachers to try their best to save Urdu language and make special efforts for preserving this language. He asked the audience to purchase one daily newspaper, one weekly magazine and one monthly magazine so that the publication of Urdu newspapers and magazines is increased and the interest of children will also be enhanced in Urdu language.

Dr. Shakeel Samdani addressing the gathering.

Prominent Human Rights Activist, Dr. Mohibul Haq of the Dept. Of Political Science, AMU said that nowadays the role of a teacher has increased manifold because the students have many sources of knowledge and they have a lot of information from various sources, that’s why the information is not the monopoly of the teacher. So it is a challenge for the teachers to satisfy their students. He appreciated to efforts of the organisers, especially Naseem Shahid and Dr. Shakeel Samdani for organising the function.

Dr Amna Malik, Principal, Abdullah Girls High School, AMU said that India at the time of Independence had several challenges including provision of adequate and appropriate education system and requisite infrastructure. Over the last six decades, immense progress has been achieved in this area and the country has produced world class scholars, teachers, doctors, lawyers, judges, etc.

On this occasion Mr. Naseem Shahid , Patron, U.P. Urdu Teachers Association welcomed the guests and presented mementos and certificates to the Guests and Teachers. On this occasion, Mr. Nishesh Jar, Education Superintendent, Aligarh and Mohd Ahmad also expressed their views.

In this function many teachers were honoured and felicitated including Mrs. Sabeeha Kamal, Shan-E-Alam, Rashid, Mrs. Tahira Parveen. Poonam Sharma, Hashim Ansari, Parveena Sharma and Haji Afzal Ahmad.

The program became great success due to the efforts of Master Abdul Qadeer, Dr. Jarrar Rizvi, Abdullah Samdani, Mansoor Ilahi, Sec. SAF, Mina Mahmood, Shoaib Ali, Ex Cabinet AMUSU, Nasar Kazim, Nizam Uddin, Manager, Madarsa Muskan, Shafiuddin, Rajeev Singh, Razia Chauhan, Tasavvur Querashi,and Dr. Sadia Saleem.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

New Delhi: Muslim organisations have condemned the spate of riots in Uttar Pradesh and the worsening law and order situations in the state since Akhilesh Yadav took over the rein.

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind national president Maulana Qari Mohammad Usman Mansoorpuri and its general secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani have condemned the fresh bout of communal violence erupted in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas.

Maulana Mahmood Madani has written a letter to Sushil Kumar Shinde and UP CM AKhilesh Yadav in this regard. Although forces have been deployed in the city area of Muzaffarnagar but violent attack continues to take place against the minority community in the adjoining villages and hamlets.

Citing names of villages such as Mansoorpur, Shamli Qutubpur, Snasuali, Tewda etc, Maulana Madani said the minority community in these villages is very frightened and communal elements are constantly targeting and killing them. The violence is spreading form one village to other. The situation is looking very serious and seems out of control. Therefore, seeking urgent intervention from the centre, Maulana Madani claimed that the state government and local administration has failed to control the violence and despite high alerts in the region, the administration was unable to stop Jat community’s meeting aimed at provoking their people to target minority community.

“The on-going violence only escalated following the same meeting in Naglabadhod yesterday. The participants were shouting slogans ‘’Miya: Pakistan Ya qabrastan” Maulana Madani demanded from the centre to look into in the matter and provide security to the minority community in the troubled region, and deal with iron hand with those who engineer the violence and are hell- bent on killing masses.

Advocate Mohammad Shoaib, Chairman of Rihai Manch, meanwhile flayed the Samajwadi party government and accused them of colluding with the Hindutva forces to polarise the voters.Since May 20 Rihai Manch (Forum for the Release of Innocent Muslims imprisoned in the name of Terrorism) is on indefinite dharna outside the UP Assembly demanding arrest of police officers involved in Khalid Mujahid's murder, issuing the RD Nimesh commission report and action report, and the immediate release of innocent Muslim youth imprisoned in the name of terrorism.

The All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, umbrella body of Indian Muslim organizations, said today that the Akhlesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh has utterly failed on the law and order front and should be dismissed forthwith to allow for a spell of governor raj.

The Mushawarat also demanded that political parties indulging in communal politics should be derecognised and individuals found guilty of indulging in communal politics and stoking violence should be barred from contesting in elections. The Mushawarat made these demands in a letter to the Union Home Minister Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde.

Following is the text of the Mushawarat letter to the Home Minister:

8 August, 2013

Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde
Hon’ble Union Home Minister
Government of India
New Delhi

Dear Sir,

We approach you on behalf of the All India Muslim Mjalis-e Mushawarat, umbrella body of Indian Muslim organisations, to express to you our grief and anguish at the unfolding communal polarisation in Uttar Pradesh. Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas have been simmering for close to two weeks and now when the fire spread even to rural areas, the state government has woken up and started taking hesitant steps.

Ever since the Samajwadi Party government came to power in Uttar Pradesh early last year, it has looked the other way giving full freedom to the RSS-BJP-backed hate peddlers who are pushing the whole state to strife and riot for political gain. According to reports available with us, over two hundred riots have taken place in the state during the short period of SP government which itself has accepted on the floor of the state assembly that 27 communal riots have taken place across the state.

It is our considered opinion that the SP government in Uttar Pradesh has failed in its basic duties and it is collaborating with communal elements to polarise the society ahead of the general elections next year. It is, therefore, necessary to dismiss this government and bring in a spell of governor raj to control the situation and shackle the communal elements in the state.

It is also our considered opinion that communal politics has become a tool of winning elections. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to derecognise political parties playing the communal card and to strip individuals doing communal politics and stoking violence of their right to contest elections if they are found guilty of indulging in communal politics aiming at the polarisation and division of society.

Yours sincerely

Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan
President

By IANS,

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday demanded a court-monitored investigation into the communal clashes in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district that have left at least 12 people dead.

Party vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told IANS that the Uttar Pradesh government has failed to control the violence and take firm steps to nab people involved in the communal violence.

"Some ministers have added fuel to the fire," Naqvi alleged, terming the violence as "state-sponsored".

"There should be proper investigation under the supervision of judiciary," he said.

By TCN News,

New Delhi: Welfare Party of India organised a dharna at Jantar Mantar on September 7 and urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to revise and redraft the economic policy pursued by UPA and demanded to make it humane, free from local and foreign corporate pressures and be people-friendly.

Party general secretary Dr. S.Q.R. Ilyas while inaugurating the sit-in-dharna organized by the Delhi unit as part of its nationwide protest day against price rise observed the country was witnessing an unprecedented and worse economic slowdown since independence. He demanded to make the Public Distribution System (PDS) stronger and to make essential commodities easily available through the PDS as a way to control the price rise. He also asked for special drive against the hoarders and black marketers all over the country. He urged the governments to constitute Price Regulatory Authorities at Centre and state levels that would monitor trends in the market, suggest effective and timely steps to control and regulate the prices of commodities.

Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan, vice –president of the Party alleged that the Congress-led UPA government increased the price of petrol many times. Government imposes various kinds of taxes and levies on oil making it highly expensive whereas petroleum products are much cheaper in almost all neighboring countries. With deregulation policy of petroleum products in force, it has become common to increase the prices of petrol and diesel at intervals, citing dubious reasons and under pressure from powerful oil corporates. He made it clear that every increase in the prices of petroleum products automatically pushed prices up of other commodities and thereby raising the cost of living.

Welfare Party secretary Dr. Tasleem Rehmani criticized the Congress led UPA government for ignoring the farming community and those who live in villages. He said the freedom struggle was not fought to replace white British with black
Indians with same exploitative mindset. He said Welfare Party will spearhead a new movement aimed at eradicating all exploitations and eliminating socio-economic imbalances in the country.

P.C. Hamza, general secretary of the Party said that prices of essential commodities within last four years have gone up to nearly 300 % as per official figures of the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs. Day-to-day experience testifies that the rise is much higher than these figures and it makes the common man’s life unbearable. He alleged that the Central government was more worried about the fake agonies of the corporate sector than the real woes of the common man. Foreign investments with no strings attached have proved to be a bane not a gain for our economy as seen in the continuing slide of the national currency vis-à-vis the US dollar.

A press release issued by the Party said that the national protest day against price rise was observed across the country with various programmes like dharnas, processions, public meetings, cycle rallies etc

By TCN News,

Aligarh: There is difference between beef and meat. Religious sentiments are associated with beef and we respect them but we oppose the conspiracy to shut down legal meat business in Aligarh by some vested interest and communalized organisations said Prof. Razaullah Khan, Managing Director of Vision Academia Publications Private Limited. While chairing a meeting of Muslim businessmen and industrialists at Media Centre Aligarh. He pointed out that the Udhyog Vyapar Mandal which should have supported meat traders itself become a party in opposing it due to politicization of issue.

Jasim Mohammad Director, Media Centre Aligarh pointed out that the Aligarh is an important centre of meat trade and it is also exported. If any organization or individual creates hurdles in its way that is illegal. He adviced the participant Muslim traders and industrialists to form their own Muslim Chamber of Commerce & Industries in view of the apathy shown by the Udhoyog Vyapar Mandal and its communalization.

Mrs. Nikhat Parveen Director of Alisha Publications said that usually Vyapar Mandal ignores Muslim traders and the reason is its politicization. She said that we pay taxes and do our business legally but our interests are ignored by the government as well as administration.

UP Muslim Halwai (Faridi) Welfare Association Alhaj Abdul Hamid said that not only meat business but there are other traditional businesses which Muslims are engaged and they have to face considerable hurdles. Due to wrong policies and neglect by the government the handloom industry is dying. Aligarh Darbar owner Sohail Ahmad that we are neglected despite the fact that we contribute heavily to the foreign exchange reserves of the nation.

In the end of meeting a separate Muslim Chamber of Commerce & Industries (MCCI) was founded to solve problems of Muslim businessmen. It has been decided to constitute Executive committee of the MCCI in next meeting. In another resolution MCC has demanded to district magistrate Aligarh to take steps for conducting meat business without any threat or hurdle and to take legal actions against those who are threatening meat traders to extract money and political mileage.

Apart of large number of Muslim traders and industrialist notably Iqbal Saifi, Dilshad Qureshi, Mehmood Ansari, Azad Faridi were present in the meeting.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

Hyderabad: Even as eyes of the world and media were stuck to Kashmir on renowned musician Zubin Mehta’s Ehsaas-e-Kashmir concert which became test of tolerance for the valley, the ‘broadmindedness’ towards ‘K’ word was shattered in Hyderabad.

While Kashmiris restrained to peaceful protests, activists of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), youth wing of the BJP attacked, vandalized and ransacked the venue where exhibition on short films based on Kashmir was held.

Right wing goons barge into L.V. Prasads theatre at Banjara Hills on Saturday afternoon, where film festival, “Kashmir, Before Our Eyes” was organized by Kashmiri origin film makers.

The attackers led by a Kashmiri Pandit Rahul Razdan who is working as software engineer in Hyderabad damaged furniture, busted glasses and beaten up the show organizers.

A mob of 40 right wingers first marched into the projector room on the third floor of the theater where screening was about to begin, they cracked the monitor, and coercively stole the laptops of the film makers.

Filmmaker Ajay Raina organizer of the festival and guest Filmmaker Siddartha Gigoo (both Kashmiri Pandits) were assaulted by the violent mob.

As usual objection of the VHP and BJYM goons was those short films scheduled to be screened at the festival were ‘Anti-Indian’ as they were allegedly putting Indian Government and Army in bad light.

Shouting slogans against Kashmir separatist movement, venting their anti-national anger, attackers destroyed everything they found perishable their way. In minutes jubilant venue packed with excited audience, was transformed into combat zone with glasses and broken furniture lying on every step till the exit point.

According to local police, earlier VHP and BJYM activist approached them to stop the screening, but when the police refused to interfere, those activist informed the police there plan to observe a ‘silent protest’ outside the venue, which police didn’t objected.

However, when ‘silent protest’ turned unruly police rushed to the spot and arrested nine of those hoodlums including the lead Rahul Razdan when they were trying to escape after vandalizing and stealing theater equipments. Later they were shifted to Banjara Hills police station where a case under Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 145 (joining or continuing unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapons) and 353 (deterring a public servant from discharging his duties) of IPC were registered against them.

Still organizers have decided not to bow down before xenophobia, they informed media that film festival which is going to be screened in many parts of India will not be affected by any cowardly attacks and the events will go on as per schedule.

Meanwhile Professional Solidarity Forum condemned the disruption of Kashmiri Film Festival by goons of BJYM.

In there statement PSF said, “We are living in a democratic country; where everyone has the freedom to express their views. The way the organisers were attacked and the kind of vandalism took place has exposed the inability of state Government and Police to provide adequate security after repeated threatening by the right wing groups. The growing intolerance in the country is a matter of concern. The believers of violence are threatening the whole country from North to South. The hypocrisy of Govt. Administration is also visible in this incident as it could deploy thousands of Police and Paramilitary personnel at LB Stadium but ignored the security for Film festival. In the past in same kind of incidents Police didn’t take any serious action against these violence mongers.”

PSF demand Govt. and Police for a stringent action against those who were involved in the vandalism of Film Festival at Prasad labs.

By IANS,

Lucknow: Ten more people were killed Sunday on the second day of rioting in Muzaffarnagar, taking the toll to 21. At one place, miscreants fired upon army men who retaliated.

The Uttar Pradesh government worked overtime Sunday to douse the communal flare-up.

With clashes continuing in the countryside, officials fear the situation would take time to be brought under control and the toll could climb further.

Eight companies of army that were requisitioned by the state government to assist the civil administration staged a flag march in the violence-hit areas.

At one place, miscreants fired upon the forces from roof tops. The army also retaliated by firing.

On the Uttar Pradesh government's call for help, army troops were Sunday moved in to Meerut and Shamli as a precautionary measure.

The state government has sought 28 more companies of para-military forces while the central government had already dispatched 22 companies Saturday.

Minister of State for Home Affairs R.P.N. Singh said in New Delhi: "The union home ministry is in constant touch with the UP government and every assistance would be given to it to bring back communal harmony."

State home secretary Kamal Saxena said extra para-military forces and police reinforcements have been sent to the troubled areas and added that the security forces had been give the go-ahead to open fire if the situation warranted.

Saxena also informed that intensive patrolling was being done in strife-torn areas like Kalapar, Sisauli, Shahpur, Fugna and Bhaurakala of Muzaffarnagar.

Additional DGP (law and order) Arun Kumar said efforts were on to contain the spread of violence. Curfew clamped in Civil Lines, Kotwali and Nai Mandi areas continued Sunday and was unlikely to be eased Monday.

The administration has, meanwhile, announced closure of all schools and educational institutions in the district for the next three days.

A total of 52 persons have been arrested since Saturday night for inciting mobs and indulging in violence. Cases are also being filed against local political leaders, a district official said.

Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav Sunday called an emergency meeting of officials and senior party leaders and expressed his displeasure at the rioting and the the administration's failure in anticipating the communal tension brewing in the area.

Reporters with little training in conflict reporting often fall prey.

By Shahnawaz Alam, TwoCircles.net,

We should not be surprised over fateful killings of one IBN 7 journalists and a freelance photographer in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Rajdeep Sardesai expresses his condolence on Twitter saying “Rajesh and Irshad were their family's breadwinners; good, honest Indians killed in line of duty. Killed by those who want to divide us. RIP.”

I don’t question his intentions to express his grievous mourn. In another tweet he simultaneously writes “Akhilesh govt must answer: from Faizabad to Bareilly to Muzaffarnagar: where is the state? and who is stirring the communal pot”. As of now you might be wondering to know who were these two Journalists killed, particularly their profile. So, here we have the answer, one was the freelance photographer Irshad who was hired by local police and other guy a stringer Rajesh.

One can easily guess the social background they shared? What could be their socio-economic conditions and consequently you would get answer to many other questions.

Rajdeep himself has given a gist of details about the two that they were the breadwinners of their family. The larger question here arise that how much professionalism they held both in terms of institutional training and conflict reporting. It inevitably important to note here that how they could have avoided this fateful casualty of losing their life on a professional duty. And there comes only with an extensive training for conflict reporting. Why would a corporate organization bother to incur an additional expanse what seems unreasonable for the big bosses running the business.

Same set of questions were raised inwardly in the Industry when Tarun Sehrawat, succumbed to the dengue when he came back to Delhi from the conflict zone of Chhattisgarh and the brazenness shown by the Tehelka’s top management.

Unfortunately, we did not question it then and probably we won’t do it even now. Since, we have sold our conscience in the hands of corporate interests and hence most of us cautiously tend to justify such eventualities keeping the corporate interest unhurt.

Here we deal with another aspect of this corporateracy which is encroaching on quality Journalism intrusively. Both Rajdeep Sardesai and Ashutosh happened to be great admiring journalists for the younger generation. But things have completely changed in present scenario. They are now happy putting themselves in the list of the laziest journalists of the country and the list is long.

Corporate investment in Indian journalism industry has certainly earmarked a lavish life for the top level bosses but, at the same time it has disguised the other journalists who are actually the major contributor to credible journalism. Otherwise these corporate journalists would have ended up doing prime time shows with some folks in different colors making crap noises and shouting at each other.

Its time for the younger generation to revive the true journalism in India and rebel against corporate encroachment on journalism. Thirst for luxury always claims some of your distinguished feature and you end up compromising with the basic principles of honesty and truthfulness. The moment you prioritize luxury over your honesty and truthfulness, you actually bury your spirit for responsible journalism there only. You get huge money and probably name and fame too for some reasons. Consequently your responsible journalism is inflicted and it degrades simultaneously. Choice is all yours what you choose to continue with. And if you do a moral retrospection of your deeds, in other way when you revisit your honesty then only you get to know the level of dishonest to your professionalism and creativity.

Rajdeep acknowledges his concern for those two vulnerable journalists and their misery, but refuses to address the grievances of those 350 living journalists who were sacked by Network 18 group on 16th August. No remedy for those who are compelled to live a miserable.

“How can Rajdeep Sardesai afford to buy a worth rupees 52 Crore bunglow in a posh colony of south Delhi if his business is running on loss?” exclaimed Subhash Chandra Yadav, a journalist sacked by Network 18 who joined IBN 7 just five months back in the hope a better job. Does Rajdeep really acknowledge what it feels to an individual whose wife was seven months pregnant and he was asked to sign the resignation letter.

In the second tweet he smartly questions Akhilesh government in U.P. and I too share concern with him over the issue for the kind of misgovernace U.P. has witnessed in recent time. But, why is his conscience dead over addressing the grievances of journalists sacked from his own organization in which he holds more than thousand crores of stakes. If Akhilesh government is held responsible for what is happening in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Why not Rajdeep Sardesai and other stakeholders should be responsible for sacking 350 journalists from Network 18?

Mr. Ras Bihari, Senior Editor ‘Governance Now’ magazine expresses his strong resentment saying “ A media organization cannot overcome losses merely by firing operational level employees”. He also suggests media houses to hire cheaper CEOs and to cut their crores of salaries into lacs which can save many operational jobs.

Shoma Chaudhary, Managing Editor Tehelka looks at this whole issue eventuality differently and suggests some structural changes to avoid sacking. She adds “It’s time for our society to value intellectual property for a sustainable journalism industry. Our heavy dependence on advertisers for production cost and other has certainly embarked journalism industry to some other directions where business department gets an edge over the editorial department”.

Some journalists have come forward to take this disparity down and it has a long way to go.

(Shahnawaz Alam is a final year student of MA Convergent Journalism at AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia.)

By Abdul Gani, TwoCircles.net,

Guwahati: Like the previous years, this year too the Haj pilgrims of the northeast region will start their holy journey from September 11. This time altogether 3,113 pilgrims of the region will make the trip, which is regarded as one of the five pillars of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so at least once in his or her lifetime.

The North East Haj Pilgrims Reception Committee in association with the Joint State Haj Committee of Assam and Meghalaya has already completed all the arrangements for these pilgrims. A special camp has also been organized for the pilgrims from September 9 at Haji Mushafirkhana at Islampur in Guwahati.

This year from Assam 1974 males and 746 females will visit Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage while one male and female from Sikkim, two males and females from Nagaland and 31 males and 8 females from Meghalaya will join them.

“It is our humble request to everybody and the pilgrims as well to co-operate with us so that we can arrange a safety and systematic journey for the pilgrims,” said Nekibur Zaman, chairman of the reception committee addressing a press conference on Sunday.

From Assam Dhubri district has the highest number of pilgrims with 325 numbers. Last year altogether 3, 730 pilgrims from the region went for the pilgrimage.

Maulana Lukman Tarapuri says Gujrat CM was complicit in the 2002 pogorm.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

New Delhi: Maulana Lukman Tarapuri, Pesh Imam of the Jama Masjid in Anand in Gujarat, who was recently on a tour to the United States for the Global Gujarati Conference, has denied that his tour was meant to ‘bat’ for the Gujarat CM Narendra Modi , as certain section in the media had suggested.

In the news report Tarapuri was quoted as comparing the conditions of Muslims in Gujarat with that of the Congress ruled Assam.

In a written clarification statement Tarapuri said, “The interview has been reported in a manner that projects my views in a manner quite different from my intent,” adding that he is a religious leader and his trip to the US to address the Global Gujarati Conference was “for the sole purpose of spreading the message of peace.”

He sought to clarify the statement over comparison between Assam and Gujarat, saying, “While I am cognizant of the dismal condition of many Muslims in several parts of India, the reference to Assam was in no way intended to trivialize the enormity of the human rights violations committed during the Gujarat pogrom of 2002.”

He further added, “The murder of over 2,000 people and the sexual violence inflicted on hundreds of women are wounds that can begin to heal only when all the culprits are brought to justice. Unfortunately, most victims of the Gujarat pogrom have been denied justice.”

Maulana Tarapuri also accused the Gujarat CM of being “complicit” in the 2002 riots and the subsequent fake encounters, saying, “There is ample evidence gathered by independent human rights organizations that shows the state government under Mr. Modi was complicit in these crimes against humanity, and should be held accountable for them. The recent letter by DG Vanzara shows that the state government was also complicit in the fake encounter killing of several innocent people.”

Highlighting the discrimination against the Gujarati Muslims in the state, he said, “Moreover, while sections of the Gujarati Muslim community may be doing well economically, before and after the tragic events of 2002, the unfortunate reality is that discrimination along communal lines is rampant, worsening the society's polarization.”

Urging the people of the state to united, he said, “For the different communities in Gujarat to be united, we must work towards a society that is compassionate, just and above all, adheres to the rule of law. I have worked for peace all my life, and will continue to do so in the future.”

By IANS,

Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh): Two brothers kill a man stalking their sister and the stalker's family kills both of them. It was a revenge killing that triggered sectarian violence in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district that has left 28 people dead.

On Aug 27, two brothers of a girl were beaten to death when they went to talk to the family of a stalker who was stabbed to death by them in Kawaal village.

Sources said police registered the first information report (FIR) against the parents of the girl who were not present on the spot.

The inclusion of parents' names in the FIR did not go down well with the majority community of the area, following which the sympathizers of the girl's family announced a panchayat in Kawaal Aug 31. The rival community opposed the plan.

Opposing the Kawaal panchayat, a parallel panchayat was planned in Khalapar area of the city. At this, the government representatives, including members of parliament and state legislature, and local leaders dared the Kawaal panchayat organisers to hold it at the appointed time on Aug 31.

The authorities concerned then assured the angered locals the Khalapar panchayat would be put on hold, and the civil administration after deliberations with the Bhartiya Kisan Union leaders Rakesh and Naresh Tikait announced that the scheduled panchayat had been postponed.

A huge gathering of about 40,000 people turned out but the Kawaal panchayat organizers called off the proceedings and announced the assembly again Sep 7. But when the participants of the - 'Beti Bachao Bahoo Bachao panchayat' - were returning to their homes they were attacked by swords at Basi village under Shahpur police station.

The police booked under the National Security Act (NSA) eight people, of whom seven people were from the majority community and one person was from the minority community.

The riot quickly spread to the neighbouring areas falling under Shamli and Meerut districts.

On Sunday, 48 injured people were admitted at district hospital.

The dead include two people -- one of them a photo-journalist -- who were killed in Khalapar, four killed in Bhopa, two killed in Mansurpur and one killed in Sikeda village. In addition, three people were killed in Kawaal and three people were also killed in Kutba village of the area.

"The administration has put the adjoining districts of Meerut, Baghpat, Bulandshahr on high alert...," IG (Meerut Zone) Brij Bhushan told IANS.

By IANS,

New Delhi: Bahujan Samaj Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati Monday demanded imposition of President's rule in the state following sectarian violence in Muzaffarnagar district.

Mayawati criticised the Samajwadi Party regime for "failing to control communal flare-ups and (deteriorating) law and order".

Communal clashes have left at least 28 dead over the past two days in Muzaffarnagar district.

"The present state government has acted very late. It has allowed communal tensions to simmer for 10 days and I can say that they are presiding over jungle raaj in the state," Mayawati told reporters in New Delhi.

Mayawati also refuted the charge of the SP government that the Bharatiya Janata Party was behind the riots, and said that she did not buy this theory as the matter escalated from a trivial case Aug 27.

"The state government is trying to hide behind falsehood and trying to cover up its incompetence," she added.

By IANS,

New Delhi: Terming the sectarian violence in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh "unfortunate", Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said Monday it was "incumbent" on the state government to bring the situation to normalcy and punish the perpetrators.

Asked if the central government would intervene after the violence claimed 28 lives so far, the minister said: "It is incumbent on the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that the situation is brought to normalcy and the perpetrators are brought to book."

Law and order was a state government subject and if the centre is asked it would provide help, the minister said on the sidelines of an event here.

"I hope the state government will quickly take control of the situation," he added.

Asked if the Akhilesh Yadav government was lax in tackling the situation in the state that spun out of control since three youngsters were killed Aug 27 over a case of harassment, Tewari said this was not the time to criticise but to act to control the situation.

He said the media also had a duty by acting with responsibility in its reportage of the violence.

Tewari's comments come in the wake of Uttar Pradesh Governor B.L. Joshi dashing off a letter to the union government, in which he is reported to have blamed the state government for failing to control the situation.

Shoot-at-sight orders were issued Monday in Muzaffarnagar district while cases have also been slapped against over 1,000 people.

By IANS,

Aligarh: The Millat Bedari Muhim Committee (MBMC) Aligarh Monday demanded the dismissal of the government of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, and the imposition of President's rule, in the wake of communal clashes since Sep 7.

"Not only has the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh broken down, but the state government has failed in stopping communal riots and punishing the guilty," said Jasim Mohammad, as he chaired the meeting of the Millat Bedari Muhim Committee (MBMC) of Aligarh at the city's Media Centre.

Mohammad said the Samajwadi Party (SP) government had allowed communal forces to indulge in rioting and the riot of Muzaffarnagar served as a glaring example of how the state government failed to act even as tension was brewing. He alleged that the government was waiting for riots to break out before taking action.

Humayun Murad, a teacher at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), said that even as leaders of the ruling party broke laws, the Akhilesh Yadav government sat silently and watched.

Former president of the AMU students' union Naseem Ashraf said governance was hardly confined to the free distribution of laptops.

Razaullah Khan, who has served as president of the teachers' union of AMU, said that ever since the SP government has taken over, nearly 50 small and big riots have taken place. In each case, the state government has failed to bring the guilty to book.

A resolution was passed unanimously at the end of the meeting, demanding that the central government dismiss the Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh and impose President's rule.

The Forum of Muslim Studies and Analysis (FMSA) in its resolution demanded that the guilty in the Muzaffarnagar riots be immediately punished, and Rs.20 lakh be offered as compensation to the families of victims.

By IANS,

New Delhi: Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Monday said that there is likelihood of communal tension in the country ahead of the general elections scheduled for early 2014.

"I had said in my monthly conference in Delhi that as elections are approaching, there is a likelihood of communal tension in the country," Shinde told reporters here without naming any political party.

Asked whether he was pointing to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shinde said: "We have information that some people will create this (communal tension). I don't blame any party as such."

Shinde said that the riots took place despite the central government issuing a warning to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav about intelligence reports suggesting tension in the state.

"I had talked to the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh that tension is arising and you have to be alert. He said that he will make arrangements. However, this incident (riots) has taken place," Shinde said.

The home minister further said the situation was being handled by the para-military forces and the army, and Uttar Pradesh could ask the central government for help.

Shoot-at-sight orders were issued Monday in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district as the toll in communal clashes climbed to 28.

Cases were slapped against 1,000 people, while the governor sent a report to the centre blaming the state government.

By Mohit Dubey, IANS,

Lucknow: Just hours after Governor B.L. Joshi sent a detailed report to New Delhi on the Muzaffarnagar conflagration, the union government Monday sought a report from Uttar Pradesh on the violence that has left at least 28 people dead.

Officials said that ministry of home affairs (MHA) has assured full support and has sought to know the ground assessment as well as the present condition.

The action comes hours after Governor B.L.Joshi shot off a detailed report to the centre detailing the sequence of events that led to the killings.

Refusing to share the contents of the report, a senior official, however, said that the governor "was of the view that the situation in Muzaffarnagar was grim and required prompt and serious action".

Samajwadi Party leaders admit that they were stumped by the "proactiveness of the governor".

Officials in the government admitted that the governor's promptness in passing off ground report to the centre also spurred the government in an action mode. This, they added, included transfer of senior officials and dispatching of competent police officers to the violence-hit areas.

Unconfirmed reports say that Joshi's report was terse and had put the Akhilesh Yadav government in the dock for "delayed action post riots and for not acting promptly on intelligence reports pre-riots".

A retired Indian Police Service (IPS) official, Joshi is learnt to be miffed at the delay in controlling the riots and the failure of the police to act on intelligence reports that communal tension was simmering in the area after a girl was teased Aug 7.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is learnt to have telephoned Joshi and apprised him of the ground situation.

Informed sources said that the governor dispatched a report to the union government after the army was called in to help the civil administration in controlling the flare-up.

Joshi, an affable man, enjoys great rapport with the young chief minister and the latter visits Raj Bhavan on "courtesy calls" quite often.

The fact that the governor acted independently and suo moto, many feel, was an indication enough that the violence had not gone down well with B.L. Joshi.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati Monday aired her disappointment that the governor acted late.

"I had met him two months back and sought recommendation of President's rule in the state but the governor had maintained long silence till now," she told reporters in New Delhi.

She, however, added that she was still not satisfied as Joshi should have sent a report for imposition of President's rule in the state.

(Mohit Dubey can be contacted at mohit.d@ians.in)

By Abdul Gani, TwoCircles.net,

Guwahati: Demanding refugee status for all riot victims of Bangladesh who had fled to India Citizens’ Right Preservation Committee, Assam (CRPCA), a body which is raising its voice for the ‘D’ voters in Assam has demanded immediate disposal of over one lakh ‘D’ voter cases pending in the tribunals of the state.

Chief Advisor of the committee and senior advocate of the Gauhati High Court Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury said the government must bring legislation to give refugee status on compassionate ground to the thousands of Bangladeshi riot victims who have fled to India in fear of life.

Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury .

“We will not say the refugee status which to be granted only to the Bangali Hindus who have fled to India from Bangladesh but all genuine riot victims which have fled out fear of life should be rehabilitated by giving refugee status. The burden of the refugees should not be bear by a particular State of India but it should be equally distributed. If Tibetans can enjoy refugee why not Bangladeshi riot victims,” he said.

The ‘D’ voters right body on Sunday organised a general meeting of its members in the city where these issues and the harassment meted to genuine Indian citizens in the name of ‘D’ voters in Assam was also discussed.
On the Sunday’s meeting it was decided that the committee will move the President of India and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking their intervention in speedy disposal of 1.47 lakh pending ‘D’ voter cases in the tribunals of the state as on July, 2013.

“Two years back the central government has told us to give details of 50 names of genuine citizens who are being harassed in the name of ‘D’ voters, we gave them 200 but till date no action,” said president of the committee Nripendra Chandra Saha.

He also said the leaders of the committee will meet President Pranab Mukhejee during his visit to Shillong in October next to apprise him on the plight of the ‘D’ voters in Assam.

“We demand the state government should immediately make arrangement for the disposal of the pending ‘D’ voter cases and if anyone in the list of ‘D’ voters is found to be not the genuine citizens of India should be push back to his country of origin,” Choudhury said.