By Abdul Kalam Azad, TwoCircles.net,

Guwahati: Under most tragic circumstances, a family committed suicide by jumping mid into the mighty river Brahmaputra in Guwahati. Local media reported that the family consisted parents and a 10 months old girl child. It is also reported that the child was suffering from heart disease. Doctor informed the parents that her treatment will not be possible in Assam, hence, will need to be sent outside for surgery. The expected financial cost of the operation was not within the limit of the family.

Somebody also told the father that there is a scheme by Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Assam, but he couldn’t find any way out. And thus the parents planned to eliminate the child as well as themselves. On Monday last they committed suicide by jumping into river Brahmaputra!

But why the family had to choose the ultimate path, despite having the provision to get their entitlement. As per the scheme initiated by the government, if a child below 14 years suffers from heart disease and the family doesn’t have an annual income more than six lakhs, the state government will bear the cost of the medical expenses. The scheme says that, government will not only bear the medical expenses but will also cover the expenses incurred for accommodation and air fare of the parents as well as.

After having such robust schemes, why the family had to suicide? Why the welfare programmes are not accessible to the poor? Where the problem really lies? These are the basic question, everybody should ask themselves.

If you have recently visited the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, you might have seen the big hoardings of RSBY (Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna). Government is expending thousands of crores of rupees for this scheme. The programme is meant for the marginalised people like PBL, construction workers etc. to get the healthcare facility without paying from his/her own packet. The health insurance policy gives a sum insured amount of Rs. 30000 to cover a family of up to five members (parents and first three children) for a year. The policy is working fine in other states. But do you know what the scenario in Assam is? It’s pathetic! Till 31.08.2013 only 5065 odd people have benefited from the scheme. At the same time, in Patna, only one districts of a poor state like Bihar has benefited 21427 persons till the same period of time. A single district is getting more than five times benefit than whole state of Assam. If you look at the below table you can easily find it out that except two or three districts, there is no remarkable work done so far. The same scenario in case of construction workers also, 11 years after the enactment of Building and Other Construction Workers Act, our state government formed the required welfare board in 2007 only. But the registration rate is not more than 2%. Ultimately, the most marginalised construction workers are not getting the benefit of the Act as well as the RSBY scheme. On the other hand the collected cess for construction worker has crossed 100 crores in Assam; it will cross 500 crore by 2015. What excuse we can put forward other than political dissidence?

Let me share something interesting, recently we were part of a team from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati, to have a visit to the Mini Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Kharguli, Guwahati, as a part of our organisational visit plan. The team was headed by two professors from the institute and followed by eight post graduate students of Community Organisation and Development Practice course. While interacting with the Medical Officer Dr. Deka some shocking revelation came to light.

The Kharguli Mini PHC is supposed to have four Medical Officers to serve 15000 population of the area. But now it is being run by only one Medical Officer and serving more 26000 people of the locality. Just imagine a PHC, which is supposed to cater 15000 people with the help of four Medical Officers is now catering more than 26000 people with the help of only one Medical Officer! Yet the Medical Officer is not only assigned to do medical practices, but she has to do huge paper works and reporting as well. The story doesn’t end up here; the Medical Officer Dr. Deka is a contractual Ayush doctor from NRHM. The government is promoting Ayush (Ayurvedic, Homeopathic and Unani Medicine) as an alternative to modern medication or allopathic form of medication. But surprisingly, no Ayush medicine is available in the pharmacy of the said PHC. Most shocking part is that the Ayurvedic Dr. Deka is being compelled to prescribe allopathic medicine! The Medical Officer has also informed us that the health centre supposed to have an ambulance, but it is not being provided by the authority. The community management committee of the PHC also seems to be inactive. The Medical Officer doesn’t have any information about the annual development fund of the PHC.

If this the scenario of our medical infrastructure, human resource and attitude of government, how we can expect a better life expectancy, minimal maternal mortality rate or infant mortality rate or even how we can avert the suicide due to non availability of healthcare facility?

But everything is not so pessimistic; some ray of hope is being shown by some cordial effort of a few individuals and organisations. We can take the example of Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research. Professor Sanjoy Hazarika and his team at C-NES have developed the concept of boat clinic to provide healthcare facilities for the people of interior riverine (Char-Chapori) areas. Though government agency NRHM is working with C-NES, We believe that it could be speedy in penetration with more government support and also can be replicated in the plain areas as well. We should make sure that the community gets involved in any development process to get maximum benefit out of it and boat clinic is a classic example of it. The documentary made by Maulee Senapati on this project “Where There Are No Roads” is a must see documentary for every public health policy makers and practitioners as well.

In the concluding note, we would like to propagate a paradigm shift in our approach towards public health system. We need some professionals to manage the pre and post medical trauma of the patient and relatives of the patients. We can take the example of Tata Medical Centre, Kolkata, they have appointed fulltime professional social worker to look after the nitty-gritty of the patients, whereas this is a not for profit hospital! Perhaps, thus we can save the families from suicide and other fatal consequences!

(Abdul Kalam Azad is a Post Graduate student at Tata Institute of Social Sciences.)

By TCN News,

Aligarh: The general body meeting of Aligarh Muslim University Teachers’ Association (AMUTA) has decided to contribute one-day salary as a token support to help the victims of the mindless violence unleashed on Muslims in Muzaffarnagar and its surrounding areas recently.

Dr. Aftab Alam, Honorary Secretary, said that AMUTA has also decided to send a fact-finding team of volunteers to document the entire incident that has left more than fifty thousand people, mostly from Muslim community, displaced and with devastated livelihood. He said that the AMUTA expressed deep sorrow and anguish over the communal violence, which went on for a week, in Muzaffarnagar and surrounding areas claiming more than 50 lives, while the actual number might be higher.

Alam said that a large number of people have been forced to live in the relief camps, terrified and trembling with bare minimum facilities. AMUTA has condemned the UP government for its failure to act in a timely manner to prevent the violence and allowing the tension to simmer leading to a full scale communal riot. It felt that strong preventive measures by the administration would have prevented the situation from escalating to this level.

The administration also failed to respond swiftly when the news of communal violence broke out and remained a mute spectator and abandoned its duty to provide security and protection to people during the communal carnage, it alleged. AMUTA has also condemned the UP government for abdicating its responsibility for relief and rehabilitation in the aftermath of the communal violence. It alleged that the communal violence was a deliberate attempt to create tension in the state ahead of the 2014 parliamentary elections in order to polarize the voters on communal lines.

AMUTA has demanded stern action against the officials who failed to discharge their duty of controlling the violence and register criminal cases against all who were responsible for instigating the people and those indulged in the violence. It also demanded a high level time bound enquiry by a joint team of National Human Rights Commission and National Commission for Minorities to ensure justice to the affected people. It demanded that all those found to be involved be tried and punished through a fast track court.

The teachers’ body has urged the government to provide adequate compensation for all losses suffered and employment to one of the family members of the victims. It demanded crafting of a coherent and credible rehabilitation plan for displaced persons. It further demanded re-construction/repair of all houses, Mosques, Madarsas, and other buildings damaged/destroyed during riots by the government at the earliest.

The general body appealed to the central government to enact the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill which has been languishing in the Parliament since 2005.

By Nawab Khan, Kuwait News Agency

Brussels: The Dar Al Athar Al Islamiya museum in Kuwait will be lending two of its collections from ancient times for an arts festival on India, to be held in Belgium in October.

"Europalia" is a major international arts festival organized by Belgium every two years to celebrate one invited country's cultural heritage. The organizers in a press conference in Brussels Monday said this year's Europalia festival will focus on India.
The Europalia festival starts on October 4 and continues for four month ending on January 26, 2014 and will feature India's culture in every form of artistic expression, both historical and contemporary, through hundreds of events in Brussels and in other Belgian cities, said Kristine De Mulder, director general of Europalia.

The festival will kick off on October 4 by the Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and King Philippe I of Belgium in Brussels. There are nearly 55 lenders to the exhibition.
"Dar Al Athar Al Islamiya in Kuwait is one of our main lenders of this exhibition who are lending two really extraordinary subjects coming from Kuwait for this exhibition" Naman Ahuja, associate professor of Indian art and architecture at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, said in an interview with KUNA.

Ahuja, who is also the curator for the exhibition titled "Body in Indian Art" which will show how the common Indian thinks about the human body, noted that one Kuwaiti relic is a pure silver mask made during the Gupta period (350 BC) which was found in the region of Peshawar. The other Kuwaiti relic is an ivory statue that is dated back to 300 BC.
He referred to the comparison of the human body in Islam and Hinduism, pointing out that "not only can there be a comparison but It has been a very enriching experience as a scholar to go into different kinds of real literature of the history of Islam and comparing it with Hindu and Buddhist traditions.""The greatest contribution in the history of the world on the thought of not worshipping the physical body and the idea that we should not be worshipping images has come from Islam" added Ahuja.

"In the same way ancient Buddhists did not allow for image worshipping. The early Buddhists had no image worship. Vedic India has no image worship. This came later," he explained, adding that these are very solid common comparisons.

The Vedic period was a period in Indian history during which the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed estimated around 1700 BC.

By Faraz Ahmad

There is one thing I find peculiar about the BJP/Narendra Modi and his NRI supporters. These NRI variety keep lecturing us on how we should live in our country and who we should vote and choose as our leader. Of course it pleases immensely people like Narendra Modi and generally most BJP leaders when this crowd, which dominates the social media plugs for Modi, Sadly nobody seems to mind their meddling in our country.

Actually BJP has all along had a good deal of support among this NRI variety. But who are these guys, by the way? They are those who fled this country for the lure of big money and comfortable lifestyle, when we were all struggling hard here to improve our lot and our nation’s as well.

The BJP questions Muslim affinity with Pakistan and I agree with the BJP. Indian Muslims should not have any affinity with Pakistan, nor do the Pakistanis have a right to question anything happening in India and vice versa. Fair enough. Most Muslims who left their homeland to migrate, did so largely for better opportunities. It is another thing that not even a small percentage actually benefited from this migration. But once there the Jana Sangh and the BJP have been arguing that they have no business to look back and question how India is run. Nor is there any reason for the Indian Muslims to look across the border. But does this apply only to Muslims? What about all those BJP/VHP sympathisers who migrated to England and the USA in the 1960s, 70s and even later. Every Winter vacation they would come to India and flaunt their wealth, the clothes they wore, the cars they drove and the dream homes they lived in to us the poor cousins and we poor fellows would gape apologetically at them. However the BJP/Jana Sangh found never anything amoral about this. On the other hand they consistently approached them for support and ran to London and New York to set up friends of Jana Sangh/BJP in the aftermath of Emergency, as they were to be our saviours. But why?

And now again while Rajnath went dashing to the USA, Modi is anxiously awaiting the day he gets a visa for London and New York. I wonder why does it not embarrass this so-called ’Hindu nationalist’ Narendra Modi and his party the BJP, why they dont hold their heads in shame when the NRIs on social media go around lobbying for Modi. How can such a person claim to be a Hindu nationalist? And as for those NRI worthies, now that they have chosen USA or England or wherever their homeland, they should get involved and take serious interests in the politics and development of that nation, instead of looking back at India. And my advice to the countries where these people are living, be it the USA or UK or any other West European nation, all such imported citizens, if they turn back and look at their nation of origin with undue interest, be it Pakistan, or Bangladesh or an Arab land or India, all such people ought to be repatriated immediately to their nation of origin, without the riches they have acquired there. I guarantee all the Jihad there and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad would vanish in no time. But then those guys have a different agenda, they nurture such elements and outfits and these elements thrive on such nurturing. Only such elements be they there or here have no business to swear by the defence of Islam in Muslim countries or call themselves Hindu nationalists here.

--
Faraz Ahmad is a Freelance journalist with past association with several national dailies.

By IANS,

Srinagar : Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Wednesday told a European Union delegation that the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India was on four issues of currency, communication, foreign affairs and defence.

During his interaction with the delegation members in Srinagar about economy and development affecting the political situation, Abdullah said he time and again made it clear that while economic development and peace could create conducive atmosphere for dialogue process, these could not solve the basic political issues confronting Jammu and Kashmir.

"You can neither buy a solution to a political problem nor shoot it out. You have to address it politically and only politically", he said.

Highlighting the significance of his repeatedly advocating doctrine of dealing with political issues in a political framework, Abdullah referred to the special status of the state recognised by the constitution of India, an official statement issued here said.

"While all the states acceded to union of India and then merged with it, Jammu and Kashmir only acceded and not merged. That is why we have special status, our own constitution and the state flag," he said adding that the political issues of Kashmir were not born with the militancy in 1990 but their genesis is associated with the partition of the country when the future of all states other than Jammu and Kashmir was decided.

Abdullah underlined the need for sustained internal and external dialogue between the central government and the separatists and the neighbouring countries of India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue once and for all.

The delegation was led by ambassador and head of the European Union to India, Joao Cravinho.

Omar also said there are diverse views regarding the Kashmir issue.

"While one extremist view is for secession, the other extremist opinion is total merger of the state with the union of India. Unless the process of dialogue is started with a view to find out flexibility in both of the views and carve out a roadmap of addressing the issues, the position will not change," he said and referred to constitution of various teams of interlocutors and Track-II diplomacy to ascertain the public perception in general and the opinion of various shades of political beliefs to resolve the complex Kashmir issue.

The chief minister expressed dismay that these initiatives were not taken to the logical conclusion adding the latest interlocutors' team formulated a comprehensive report after meeting some 6,000 opinion groups in all parts of the state.

He said the failure to make headway in this and in other reports formulated by others, including Justice Sageer Working Group on State-Centre Relations, make the people apprehensive and subscribe to the idea that union government engages people of the state when there is trouble in the state and sleeps over the situation when it is more or less conducive.

Abdullah said the constitution of India provides framework for the dialogue with the separatists adding their role in resolution of the issue is important as they are on different page rather than the mainstream parties whose views are candidly clear on the subject. He said the reluctance by separatists to get engaged in dialogue is a stumbling block in finding the roadmap to the problem.

He said that he does not see any immediate headwork in the India-Pakistan or centre-state dialogues for the fact that parliament elections are in the offing. However, he underscored the need for a positive and flexible approach by India, Pakistan and separatists to come on the same page to get the political issues of Jammu and Kashmir resolved politically.

Abdullah said he holds his view firmly and will continue to bat for revocation of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from the state gradually, reply to a question about the presence of the security forces in Kashmir.

The chief minister replied to questions on development, politics, peace initiatives, security, human rights asked by various ambassadors which included ambassador of Greece I.E. Raptakis, ambassador of Lithuania L. Talat-Kelpsa, ambassador of Austria B. Wrabetz, ambassador of Poland P. Klodkowski, ambassador of Ireland F. McLaughlin and others.

The European Union expressed gratitude to Abdullah for his candid and thought provoking interaction with the delegation and apprised him of their discussions with various groups and public representatives during their stay in Kashmir.

By TCN News,

Aligarh: A program was organized by the female students of Aligarh Muslim University at IG Hall on 25 September seeking justice for the Hyderabad rape victim, and to create an awareness among female students about their rights and promote gender sensitization.

Anam Rais Khan, student of BA (LLB) 4th year who was the convener of the program, said that the severe physical and mental abuse which the victim has undergone is really hard for us to even imagine.

Dr. Bazigha Tabassum, Social Activist and Director, Council for Research and Empowerment of Women, urged the students to speak up for an honorable and safe existence, which is a basic human right. She encouraged the students to learn self defense through martial arts and develop strong and bold personalities.

Dr Samina Khan, Associate Professor Department of English AMU, stressed the need to be sensitive in all spheres of life. she said that we should contribute in our own small ways towards gender sensitisation and violence against women.

Finally a memorandum addressed to the President of India was read out by Dr. Aeman Khalid on behalf of all students of AMU, Council for Research and Empowerment of Women, and Girls Islamic Organization, Jamat e Islami Hind.

Many teachers and eminent personalities of the town were also present in the Program

Related:

Rape survivor comes forward to fight for justice alleging police prejudiced complicity

Hyderabad rape case fallout: Anger on streets and social media

By IANS,

Jammu : Nine people, including an army officer, were killed Thursday when separatist guerrillas mounted an audacious attack on a police station in Jammu region and commandeered a truck which they drove into an army camp where soldiers took them on.

The brazen attack took place ahead of ahead of Sep 29 meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in New York on the sidelines of the UN general assembly meet.

Three militants reached the Hira Nagar police station in Kathua district in an autorickshaw, police sources told IANS.

They then attacked the police station, which is barely seven km from the international border.

"Militants used grenades and automatic weapons to attack the Hira Nagar police station today (Thursday) morning...," said a source.

The rebels lobbed grenades and fired automatic weapons, killing a shopkeeper.

Four policemen were also killed.

At least four people suffered critical splinter and bullet injuries.

Once the attack at the police station got over, the guerrillas shot dead a truck driver and stole his truck that was parked at the police station complex and escaped.

They took to the Pathankot-Jammu highway and the gunmen opened fire in Samba town -- only to run into Indian troops. The highway has now been closed.

"We intercepted the truck which the militants were driving in Samba area," a military spokesperson told IANS.

Army sources said the militants then entered an army unit of Samba brigade, about 35 km from Jammu, and opened fire. Exchange of fire between the militants and the security forces is underway.

An army officer and two soldiers were killed while three soldiers were wounded.

"There has been an attack on a police station and an army camp...we are collecting information," union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters in New Delhi.

Army sources say that they have taken the help of helicopters, which were used to bring army commandos to the site of the firing.

The Samba brigade belongs to the 9 Corps, which is headquartered in Himachal Pradesh. It falls under army's Western Command.

By IANS,

Srinagar : Twelve people have been killed in the terror attack Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir, said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Abdullah said reports have been received that "12 people have been killed".

"...I would speculate that this infiltration probably took place between 12-24 hours," he said.

He added: "Encounter is on at army camp."

By Shaik Zakeer Hussain, TwoCircles.net,

Bengaluru: Readers of Nasheman Weekly, the country's largest selling Urdu weekly, woke last Sunday to the news that the paper's management had decided to shut down the newspaper, after successfully running it for more than five decades.

Founded in 1962 by prominent Urdu journalist Usman Asad, Nasheman at its peak had, a circulation of 3 lac; a feat hardly matched by any of its rivals.

A lifelong activist, Usman Asad had started his career as a journalist, at the daily Pasban newspaper and later moved on to be its manager. However, an inside urge to start a paper on his own, lead to the creation of Nasheman. Later, he invited Ameerulla Nizami, who would himself go on to become a celebrated name in Urdu journalism to join the paper, he believed would be nothing less than a revolution.

The weekly was so popular in its heydays that during the creation of Bangladesh, readers bought it for Rs. 50 per copy.

Published from Bengaluru, Karnataka, the paper was circulated not only in India but also abroad. Copies of it were shipped to countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and even Pakistan. "There was a time, when places had shortage of water, but not of Nasheman," says Rizwan Asad, the weekly's editor and eldest son of its founder.

Recalling an event he says, "I was travelling in a train, along with some of my journalist colleagues, when it stopped at the station in Chennai and to our absolute astonishment, the first thing we saw was a man selling Nasheman, then we saw the same thing happen in Andhra Pradesh and then again at Kolkata station." That's the legacy of Nasheman, he says proudly.

Then how did this newspaper, whose founding editor was jailed thrice during Indira Gandhi’s tenure, as political retribution come to this shattering demise? “It was due to unavoidable circumstances,” says Rizwan diplomatically, who recently contested in the Karnataka assembly elections from the Shivajinagar constituency unsuccessfully.

"The major stake holders in the newspaper were my brother and mother, who in my absence took this drastic step," he says. He then lamented that his brother, who is younger to him, is not a journalist and did not understand the value, the newspaper played in igniting public minds. He also blames the plummeting readership of Urdu language.

Urdu, he says, is not read anymore, “People feel ashamed to be seen reading an Urdu paper”. Speaking from his experience, Rizwan says that there is a lack of interest in the language, “people feel it is archaic and not a mark of future.” And this lackadaisical attitude towards the language, he feels, keeps advertisers away from Urdu newspapers and magazines, which has an effect on its circulation, as publishers cannot afford to print more and this in turn has an adverse effect on the quality of journalism, as papers cannot afford to hire good reporters and writers. “It’s a vicious cycle, where everyone is to be blamed” he says.

Most Urdu papers, Rizwan says, do not have reporters and as a result, most of their content is a reprint from other media sources. “There are some papers, who only print, when they get ads from political parties and when they don’t get ads, they don’t print,” this way he says many of them, make a lot of money.

Nasheman, according to him, however was a class apart. Written wholly by him and Ameerulla Nizami, who passed away early this month, the paper used to publish analysis of current events and focus was on national and international issues.

Whether it is the state of Urdu readership, the demise of its longtime assistant editor, misunderstanding among family members, or other reasons, since the shutdown however, his phone has not stopped ringing. Readers, well-wishers, friends and relatives continue to call to check the status of the newspaper and the reason behind the decision. "I feel ashamed to go on streets, as everyone who recognizes me, asks the same question," he says.

So is this the death of Nasheman, as we all know it? “Absolutely not, this newspaper was the legacy of my father and I see it as my duty to carry on his legacy”. Rizwan says he will resurrect Nasheman again.

“I regret the fact that, I let my readers and supporters down. Though not actually responsible for its shut down, I take the moral responsibility for it and want to assure everyone that, the paper will be started again,” he says.

Rizwan Asad is all set to launch Nasheman Weekly in October this year. For now, he is looking for enthusiastic journalists and writers to join him in his endeavor. He says, “All who are interested can contact me.”

Contact number of Rizwan Asad, Editor: 9844019267

By Dr Syed Ahmed for TwoCircles.net,

Imphal: An interactive session with one of India’s most gifted young writers, Anjum Hasan was held at Dave Literature Centre on September 25, 2015. The session organized by North-East Writers Forum, Manipur Chapter, was attended by some of the well-known literary figures of the State.

Anjum Hasan read some of the poems from her first book, titled Street on the Hills, which was published by Sahitya Akademi in 2006. Few lines from her poem titled, “Rain”: You will hear it waking to the roar of a ceiling fan, in the rustling of dry palm leaves, in pebbles pouring from a lorry onto the dusty street. You will hear it in the last aeroplane of the night (whose sound you will mistake for thunder), in the alphabets of the birds, in indignant pressure cookers. You will look for it in the evening, searching for one cloud among tremendous shadows, at night when it might come from a great distance and touch the city with a new light…

Anjum Hasan also read some paragraphs from her second novel, Niti, Niti, published in 2009. This novel was long-listed for the Man Asain Literary Prize in 2008 and short-listed for The Hindu Best Fiction Award in 2010. She also introduced her debut novel, Lunatic in my Head, published in 2007, and her latest work, Difficult Pleasures, a collection of short-stories, was published in March 2012. The debut novel was short-listed for the Crossword Book Award 2007, while Difficult Pleasures is described in a review as “reminders of what classic short stories are supposed to look like, and that the most eloquent authors let their characters do the talking.” The book was long-listed for the Frank O'Connor Short Story Prize, 2012 and also short-listed for The Hindu Literary Prize. Anjum Hasan also contributes poems, articles, short-stories and reviews in numerous national and international literary journals.

Anjum Hasan was born in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong, hailed as the Scotland of the East. Her sister Daisy Hasan is also a well-known writer and film-maker. Her book The To-Let House was long-listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2008 and short-listed for The Hindu Best Fiction Award in 2010. Daisy holds a Ph.D from Swansea University, UK, and teaches at the University of Cardiff, Wales.

Interestingly, the small picturesque state has produced many other talented writers in English, namely Siddhartha Deb, Desmond Kharawphlang, Robin Ngangom, Samrat Choudhury, Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, Janice Pariat, among others. Jenice Pariat won this year’s Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar, given to writers below 35 years. She happens to be the first writer from the State to receive Sahitya Academy Award in English literature.

Anjum Hasan is at present working in Bangalore. She is the Books Editor for The Caravan, a journal of politics and culture.
North East Writers Forum, formed in 1998, is a forum for promotion of creative writing in English in North-East India. The forum organizes literary meets and workshops, and releases journal and new-letters too. The forum has its chapters in all the states of North-East.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

Hyderabad: Chief Minister N. kiran Kumar Reddy flagged off the first batch of Haj pilgrims of Andhra Pradesh at a function organized in Haj House on Wednesday.

The first batch of 300 pilgrims from the state flew for Jeddah by special charted Haj flight on 8:40 p.m. from Haj terminal at Shamshabad international airport.

Chief Minister N. kiran Kumar Reddy flagging Haj pilgrimage

Chief Minister Mr. Reddy while congratulating the pilgrims asked them to remember country and state in their prayers, “It’s a matter of pride to be selected for such a holy journey, please remember people of your country and state in your prayers and pray for peace and prosperity in the nation”.

Chief minister on this occasion also assured the Hajis that he will take up the issue of charging of hefty UDF charges on pilgrims by GMR the caretaker of the airport, and if the corporate giant doesn’t agree for 50% concession, than Government will bear Rs. 955 on each Haji which will amount to Rs. 78 lakh, the extra incurred amount will be refund back to the Hajis.

Giving best wishes in Urdu Chief Minister said his Government worked seriously for the success of haj camp, he reminded that in this fiscal year, Government increased the Haj budget from 1 crore to 2 crore.

Head of Jamia Nizamia Mufti Khaleeluddin Ahmed gave a sermon on the significance of the Haj pilgrimage; Minority Affairs Minister Mohammed Ahmedullah also congratulated the pilgrims and asked Hajjis to thank Allah for choosing them for holy pilgrimage. He asked Hajjis to pray for the welfare of the state and for good life of Chief Minister.

Also present on the occasion of flagging ceremony were, chairman of state minorities commission Abid Rasool Khan, social welfare minister P. Satyanarayana, senior Congress M.P. Hanumanth Rao, former minister Mohd Fareeduddin, Wakf board chairman Afzal Biyabani, MIM MLA Virasat Rasool Khan, TDP MLA Mastan Wali, and Congress MLA Shahjahan Basha.

Prof. S.A. Shakoor special Haj officer and Abdul Hameed executive officer of Haj committee proposed the vote of thanks.

Relatives and visitors at the Haj house bid farewell to the first batch of Hajjis amidst the chanting of Talbiya, while C.M. showed the green flag to the buses carrying Hajjis to the airport.

But during this occasion neither Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy nor the other dignitaries addressed the apprehensions in the mind of many regarding absence of Haj committee during the most crucial period of its service. State Haj committee whose termed was ended on August 15th is yet to be appointed by the Government.

Nearly 8,000 pilgrims from the state and six neighboring districts of Karnataka will be making this audacious journey to the holy city of Mecca in 25 special charter flights till October 9th.

By TCN News,

Aligarh: The students of Master in Tourism Administration, Department of Commerce at the Aligarh Muslim University today celebrated the World Tourism Day. Mr. Shabir Bhat, Deputy Director, J&K Tourism Department was the chief guest.

Delivering the presidential remarks, AMU Vice Chancellor, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Zameer Uddin Shah said that India is the largest country but with least tourism in the world. He said that most of the foreign tourists considered India most unsafe place for women. He said that India should concentrate on Sports Tourism, Medical Tourism, Religious Tourism and Wildlife Tourism to attract a large number of foreign tourists.

Mr. Shabir Bhat addressing the programme on World Tourism Day.

Gen. Shah said that Japanese and Koreans may be attracted for Golf and AMU is planning to establish a Golf Course to attract foreign tourists. He said that AMU is the safest university for women students. He said he would not tolerate corruption and bad behavior to women students.

Mr. Shabir Bhat, an alumnus of this institution, urged the University to update the syllabus according to the needs of job market in the tourism industry. He highlighted the role of J&K Tourism department for promotion of tourism in this region.

VC Lt. Gen. Zameer Uddin Shah giving away certificate and prize to winners on World Tourism Day

On this occasion, Prof. Z. U. Khairoowala, Chairman, Department of Commerce and Dr. Sheeba Hamid, Training and Placement Office (MTA) also addressed the celebration.

Mr. Azeem Kafeel highlighted the importance of World Tourism Day. Mr. Faizan and Miss Ruby conducted the programme.

AMU Vice Chancellor also presented certificates to the participants of Photography and Essay Writing Competitions.

By TCN News,

Aligarh: Sir Syed Minority Foundation of India, an organization of Aligarh Muslim University students, organized a National Convention here on September 22 at the Kennedy Hall Auditorium.

Delivering the presidential address, AMU Vice Chancellor, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Zameer Uddin Shah assured that he will extend full cooperation to organizations working for the restoration of minority character of AMU. He, however, stressed on the need for working in this direction in a unified manner so that maximum force could be exerted on the government to enact a law ensuring minority status for the university. He said that a case pertaining to the minority status of AMU is pending before the Supreme Court of India and we should wait until the case is vindicated.

AMU Vice Chancellor Lt. Gen. Zameer Uddin Shah addressing the convention on Restoration of Minority Chracter at AMU

Gen. Shah said that he will ensure that 50% reservation in admissions is granted to Muslims. He said that the University has decided to grant the fund allocated for the Sir Syed Day celebrations at residential halls, to the riot victims of Muzaffarnagar. The students present in the Kennedy Hall lauded the announcement by the Vice Chancellor with resounding clapping.

Member of Parliament, Aligarh, Rajkumari Chauhan, said that it was a historical fact that AMU was established by Muslims for the educational development of Muslims and restoring minority character to the University will be correcting a wrong done erroneously in past. She said that she has raised this issue in the parliament and will always be available to fight for this cause.

Mr. Shahid Ali Khan, Minister of Minority Affairs, Government of Bihar, said that Aligarh Muslim University was a great centre of secularism in India despite the fact that it was established by Muslims for Muslims. He said that India’s secularism will be protected and promoted if AMU is given a minority status. It was all the more essential to ensure the educational right of the community in the light of the Justice Sachar Committee recommendations.

Chancellor, NOIDA International University, Mr. Arvind Kumar Singh expressed solidarity with the cause and assured his full support to the motion.

Mr. Shahid Ali Khan, Minister of Bihar addressing the convention on Restoration of Minority Chracter at AMU

Mr. Vivek Bansal, MLC and Chairman, said that he is in full support of the cause and will always be there to lead a drive for the restoration of AMU’s minority status.

Eminent Journalist and Editor, Urdu daily Azizul Hind, Aziz Burney said that Sir Syed established this institution for the educational and social development of Muslims and minority status is the fundamental right of the AMU. He said he will always be available for this cause. He urged all to come up and support the motion.

Kapil Patil, Member Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra, said that he supports the motion and demands the restoration of minority character for the University at the earliest.

Dr. Izhar Ahmad, Chairman, Estimate Committee, JD(U) said that being an old boy of the University he fully supported the motion and was always available to fight for the cause tooth and nail.

President of Human Chairman, an NGO at New Delhi, Mr. Aslam said that he would be available whenever his support is needed to drive a political movement in Delhi for this purpose.

Audience present at the convention on Restoration of Minority Chracter at AMU

National President, Parcham Party of India, Saleem Peerzada expressed concern for the minority status of the University and assured all support from his side. He however lambasted the AMU community for its indifference towards the victims of Muzaffarnagar violence.

Tanveer Alam, President, AMU Alumni Association, Maharashtra, said that he would arrange for the submission of a memorandum at every district headquarter of Maharashtra for the restoration of minority status to the Aligarh Muslim University.

Dr. Mohammad Shahid, Member, Executive Council, Syed Qutuburrahman, President, Old Boys’ Association, UAE, Fareed Khan, General Secretary Urdu Markaz, Mumbai, Dr. Maroof Husain, General Secretary, Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee and Engineer Ahmad Rais Siddiqui, Editor, Nadia Times also spoke on the occasion.

Earlier, welcoming the guests, Mr. Shamsur Rahman, President, Sir Syed Minority Foundation of India, called upon the UPA government to restore the minority character to the University and fulfill its election commitment it made in the last Parliamentary elections. He urged the government to introduce a suitable legislation in the next session of the Parliament to enact or amend laws for this purpose.

Perwez Siddiqui, General Secretary proposed a vote of thanks. Dr. Ayub Shabab conducted the programme.

By Mayabhushan Nagvenkar, IANS,

Panaji : Did the negligence of Goa Police allow suspected terrorist Yasin Bhatkal a long rope, enabling him to plot more attacks?

Two weeks ago, Bhatkal escorted investigators of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to several places he had earlier scouted as possible sites of attack and also his earlier living quarters.

That tour has now opened up a trail of paper as well as human stories, which indicate that police may have ignored crucial intelligence about the co-founder of the Indian Mujahideen.

Bhatkal is suspected of plotting the German Bakery attack in Pune in February 2010 and also one in Hyderabad's Dilsukhnagar in February this year.

IANS has in its possession a letter written in July 2012 by a businessman, Mohammad Hussain Shaikh, of Baina, a Muslim-dominated area 40 km south of Panaji.

This is an area Bhatkal reportedly visited often to recruit young men for the Indian Mujahideen and for indoctrination.

The detailed letter, addressed to a police station, claims that money was being pumped in from Gulf countries and that key members of the mosque were involved in "inciting people, planting hatred".

Shaikh specifically identifies "one person named Zarrar Siddibappa whose identity is fictitious and needs to be investigated as he is also a patron of the Jamatul Muslimin Shaffi Masjid's unregistered committee".

According to Indian security agencies, one of Bhatkal's many alibis is Yasin Muhammad Ahmad Zarar Siddibapa.

"Police were even alerted in writing about secret meetings being held at the mosque, controlled by Bhatkal natives," says Tara Kerkar, a social worker from Baina. (Bhatkal is the name of a coastal town in Karnataka.)

Goa Police's own internal intelligence units had recorded Bhatkal's presence in Goa several times since 2009, a year before the German Bakery bombing was executed.

The report claims that Bhatkal visited Goa often in 2009-10 and stayed for a few days each time before deciding to camp for several months in the state in 2011-12.

When the intelligence report was published by a newspaper in 2012, this is how Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar reacted: "One person named Mohammad Jawar ... was frequenting Vasco to get donation for a mosque. He was mistaken for Yasin Bhatkal."

The chief minister also said that the case of missing boys from Baina and the Vasco region of Goa, suspected to have been recruited for terrorist activities, would be probed.

Miriam bi, for one, does not quite believe this assurance. In April, her son Imtiaz, 17, went missing. Miriam claims Imtiaz was lured to Ratnagiri with five others from Baina area by an Abdul Hameed, also from Bhatkal.

"Three of the boys came back. My son did not. He called me a couple of times, but since then he is missing. My fear is that he may have landed in the wrong hands, with people who do all wrong things," she told IANS.

For months, the Goa Police refused to file a complaint about her missing son or probe the allegation she made against Hameed. But days after the Bhatkal issue heated up, a complaint was hastily registered.

"Many families have complained about their young sons going missing. But police don't take it seriously. They tell the parents that their sons must have gone chasing women," said Kerkar.

Deputy Inspector General of Police O.P. Mishra now concedes that the issue of the missing boys is a serious concern.

"I am getting a detailed analysis of missing persons from particularly that area (Vasco)," he said. "When we get feedback from the investigating agency, we will act."

(Mayabhushan Nagvenkar can be contacted at mayabhushan.n@ians.in)

By TCN News,

Muzaffarnagar: The distribution of relief materials by Popular Front of India to the victims of Muzaffarnagar riots began with a simple function held at Toda Kalyanpur village in Budana Taluk of Muzaffarnagar district. The get-together was attended by large numbers of riot victims sheltered in the village and local community leaders besides leaders and relief volunteers of Popular Front.

Popular Front General Secretary O M A Salam who inaugurated the programme said that there were no hands above that give charity and hands below that receive charity here. “We are doing our duty to our brothers and sisters who have been victimized in an inhuman violence by the enemies of humanity. The mission of calamity relief is not limited to activities like distribution of some relief kits. The primary task to be fulfilled by the civil society is to rebuild the lost confidence and sense of security among the victims and facilitate their safe rehabilitation. He promised that Popular Front being an organization which is in the forefront of people’s rights for justice, is determined to extend all possible support in the legal fight until every single victim of this riot is delivered due justice that Indian constitution assures to its citizens. He also stressed the need for building trust and harmony between different communities.

Moulana Usman Baig Rashadi , the national president of All India Imams Council delivered the key note address on the occasion. Moulana Baig told the victims neither lose their confidence nor get disappointment and advised them to start rebuilding their lives. He also congratulated Popular Front and their determined volunteers who took up this noble mission. Popular Front U P president Waseem Ahmed, Chowdhary Muhammed Murtaza, Moulana Muhammed Shadab also participated in the Programme.

Relief kits containing 2 blankets, a bucket and a set of household items were distributed to 200 refugee families in the village. During this week Popular Front plans to complete the first Phase of distributing relief kits to 3000 families sheltered in different camps and houses in 14 villages. Popular Front has set up three different working groups to attend to different tasks: Relief Distribution Team, Village Survey Team and Legal Aid Team. Along with distribution relief materials, collecting details of the riot-affected people and identifying the requirements of legal assistance are also being attended by the volunteers.

By IANS,

Mumbai : Veteran actor Dilip Kumar was discharged from a hospital here Thursday after 12 days, said his wife Saira Banu's manager Murshid Khan.

The 90-year-old thespian was hospitalized at Lilavati Sep 15 after he complained of uneasiness. Doctors later diagnosed a heart attack. His wife and yesteryears actress Saira Banu was with him to look after him.

"Dilipji got discharged today (Thursday) afternoon at around 3.15 p.m. He is absolutely fine," Murshid Khan told IANS.

Earlier, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan paid a visit to the ailing star.

One of the stalwarts of Hindi cinema, Dilip Kumar was active in front of the camera for six decades and in his long innings he played both hero and character roles.

Some of his best works are "Jwar Bhata""Mela", "Naya Daur", "Tarana", "Devdas", "Ganga Jamuna", "Leader", "Mughal-E-Azam", "Shakti", "Karma" and "Saudagar".

He decided to call it a day after the 1998 film "Qila".

By IANS,

New Delhi : Over 20,000 Haj pilgrims flew out of India for Saudi Arabia from the Indira Gandhi International Airport this year.

The 20,700 pilgrims were allotted Terminal-2 of the airport, said Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) in a statement.

DIAL said it ensured the safe outbound journey of the pilgrims for the holy pilgrimage of Haj to Medina. It said the Haj pilgrims were able to use Terminal-2 for the fourth year in a row. Pilgrims were provided specially earmarked areas for offering prayers and basic medical support both inside and outside T2.

Eight immigration counters, 20 check-in counters, convenient washroom areas specially modified to Indian style and eight foreign exchange counters were opened.

Specially trained traffic marshals from RAXA along with Delhi Traffic Police ensured the smooth flow of the extra vehicular traffic during departures. The first batch of pilgrims left on Sep 9, 2013 and the departures ended Thursday. Saudi Arabian Airlines was the designated carrier and it operated 52 flights using B-747, B-767 and A-330 type of aircraft, said the statement.

By TCN News,

Jaipur: Kalidar Anjum and Al Bayan Foundation is conducting online essay competition for the Muslim Students of Rajasthan.

Representative of Khalidar Anjum Mr. Ziyaul Islam stated that the competition will be conducted in two categories one Junior and other Senior. Students between grade 9th to 12th can participate in Junior group where as the graduation or post graduation students can participate in the senior group. Hindi is the Language been chosen for essay Writing.

Online Essay Compitition Muslim Students Rajasthan

Student need to submit their essay’s before 10th October 2013. Students self Handwritten essay must be attested from their respective School and College Principal or from any gazetted officer in case of Private institute. Student need to scan their Attested content along with a Photo and School/ College ID Card and mail it to essay@khaildaranjuman.com.

Topics Online Essay Compitition Muslim Students Rajasthan

Rules Online Essay Compitition Muslim Students Rajasthan

Ms. Khansa Naeem representative of Al Bayan Foundation's said that best essay from each category will be awarded with cash prize listed as follows:

1st - ₹ 5555 / -
2nd - ₹ 3333 / -
3rd - ₹ 2222 / -

All essays will be awarded with the certificates to participation.
Selected students will also be given special gift.
Selected Essays will be published in magazine, news papers, websites.
Top 10 selected Students will get Free Career counseling by Experts.

By TCN News,

Mumbai: Association Of Muslim Professionals (AMP) organised a job mela (fair) in Mumbai in association with LabourNet and Educational & Welfare Foundation on September 25.

One of the core objectives of AMP has been supporting the community in economic empowerment.

Many job aspirants across Mumbai as well as nearby cities like Pune and Malegoan earnestly attended the event since it provided the rare opportunity to directly connect to potential employers and demonstrate their skills to them in a one-on-one manner.

Mr. Aamir Idrisi, President of AMP said, “The response for the event was indeed very overwhelming. Although we had estimated a head-count of around 2000, more than 4000 people turned up for the Job fair hoping to find their ideal job”.

At the end of the day around 272 candidates were given on-the-spot offers by the recruiters while another 368 were shortlisted for further evaluation. The recruiters when contacted also conveyed that they were indeed very pleased with the organization of the entire event and the quality of the individuals whom they interacted with. This Job fair gave a chance to the candidates to give interview for vacancies in Sales, Marketing, Back Office, Admin and other departments of these prestigious firms.

One of the participants Ms. Sana Shaikh who got an offer of Rs 15000 per month from Eureka Forbes said that she is extremely delighted by the offer as she will now be able support her family with better means and conveyed her sincere gratitude to the AMP team for giving her this opportunity.

When enquired about the idea behind such an event Mr. Aamir Idrisi said, “The youth of our country possess a lot of potential and are quite skilled. However due to the current market scenario many a times they are not able to connect to the industry and do not get an opportunity to present their skills. Such events are needed to give everyone a fair chance to prove their potential. This is indeed a benchmark for AMP and we will definitely strive to take it a notch higher the next time with similar events in other cities as well.”

The organizers have also decided to conduct an Employability Training for everyone who had registered for the Job Fair. Mr. Aziz Ahmed Makki, one of the co-organizers of the Job Fair said “We will be conducting one week training for 50 candidates per batch and we have planned to cover around 500 students by the end of the current year.”

The Job Fair was inaugurated by Mr. Abde Ali (PRO of Bohra Trust and close aide of Syedna Burhanuddin), Mr. Amin Patel (MLA), Mr. Nandkumar Mehtar (Senior Inspector of Police, Nagpada) and was attended by esteemed dignitaries like Maulana Syed Athar Ali (Member, All India Muslim Personal Law Board), Mr. Saeed Khan, Mr. Manoj Jamsutkar (Corporator), Mr. Sanjay Naik (Corporator), Mr. Noshir Mehta (Corporator), Ms. Rubina Firoz and Maulana Abdul Jabbar Azmi amongst others.

By Ahamed Ansar MS, TwoCircles.net,

Trichy, Tamil Nadu: The 'Youth Lotus Conference' of Bharatiya Janata Party ended in Tiruchirapalli of Tamil Nadu on Thursday amid controlled social groups protest against the public address of the party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

All the usual price rise, rupee value, terror strike in Kashmir, youth employment, anti-Congress topics came second when the Gujarat chief minister took 'Tamil' soil pride in his lead paragraph by overtaking the Tamil ownership of two big regional parties, the DMK and the AIADMK.

Narendra Modi (TCN File photo)

Modi equalized Gujarat with Tamil Nadu while speaking about industrial growths and fishermen issue as Gujarat facing Pakistan and the latter continued dealings with Sri Lanka.

"The Centre is irresponsible in dealing fishermen issue with Sri Lanka," he said.

"Tamils are talented and holding top positions in Microsoft and many organisations in overseas because of their hard work and loyalty," added the PM candidate of the BJP.

Prior to Modi's address, the state leaders of BJP have praised their leader with Tamil political legends which might increase the blood pressure of his Tamil Nadu counterpart J.Jayalalithaa.

"Our leader Narendra Modi is like, a Kamaraj (late Congress chief minister of the state), an MGR (founder of ruling AIADMK)" said Ms.Thamizhisai Soundararajan, one of BJP's national secretary who belongs to Tamil Nadu.

The gratitude extended by state BJP president Pon.Radhakrishnan to a prominent Tamil daily 'Dinamani,' a publication from The New Indian Express Group, has left a big question against imbalance journalism by the paper.

"I thank Dinamani for its today's cartoon in which the illustration says, over 1 lakh public would visit BJP's Trichy meet even without offering cash and biriyani packets," Mr. Radhakrishnan openly said from the dias while speaking at gathering indicating the Dravidian parties who offer those free things.

However, local activists laughed at BJP on their Facebook posts (and other social media) that the maximum seating capacity of the meeting venue ground in Trichy is actually 20,000 in numbers.

A newly launched Tamil news channel called Lotus News, BJP's state mouthpiece, however, did not even hesitate to run '4.5 lakh people gathered to hear Narendra Modi's speech' on its scrolling.

Meanwhile, many social media posts by activists in the state had criticised Mr. Pachamuthu Parivendar, a media baron and Chancellor of SRM University, a famous private educational group in the country based in Chennai over his support for BJP.

The activists also allege that Mr. Pachamuthu gave his institution buses for BJP members and also directed some of his university students to attend the Trichy conference.

A month ago Mr. Pachamuth, who is also the founder of IJK party (Indiya Jananayaga Katchi) reportedly met Rajnath Singh at his residence in New Delhi after his institutions and media house were raided in Chennai by income tax officials.

The two-year old Chennai based satellite Tamil news channel called Puthiya Thalaimurai (New Generation), which itself self-crediting apolitical journalism, unlike AIADMK's Jaya TV and DMK's Kalaignar TV, is actually run by Mr. R.P. Sathyanarayanan, son of SRM Chancellor Mr. Pachamuthu.

Within two months after its launch in 2011, the TRP of Puthiya Thalaimurai TV beats Sun News of Kalanithi Maran, Managing Director of Sun Group and grand nephew of former chief minister M. Karunanidhi.