By Dr. Syed Ahmed for TwoCircles.net,
Imphal: All Manipur Muslim Students’ Organization (AMMSO) organized a get-together function on June 23, 2013 at the Conference Hall of Orient Hotel at Imphal to discuss some of the key issues that the Muslim community is facing today in the State. A list of demands was also prepared to be placed before the State Government for implementation.
The gathering was attended by Advisors and Executive Members of AMMSO, President Farid Khan, General Secretary Saddam Hussain, Advisors A. Qayum, Syed Azam and Md. Aulad Shah, members, Muslim social activists, students and sympathizers. Parliamentary Secretary Md. Amin Shah graced the function as Chief Guest.
Speaking at the gathering, Advisor of AMMSO, Md. Salim Azad said, “AMMSO was formed in February 2002 at Mass Hotel in Imphal with the guidance of the Muslim intellectuals and civil society organizations as a platform to address the issues of the Muslim students of the State. Over the years, the organization has tackled various issues of the community. AMMSO played a significant role in the demand for reservation of seats/posts for Muslims in education and Government employment. O. Ibobi accepted the demand for reservation and issued an order for reservation of 4% of seats/posts for Muslims in Government jobs and admission to technical education in Dec. 2006. Besides these, the organization also played a vital role in the institution of Minority Commission in Manipur, bringing ITI in the minority concentrated area of Lilong, converting the Wakf Board, Manipur into a full-fledged body and construction of its office building at Hafiz Hatta. The organization also pressed the State Government to construct the Muslim girls’ hostel at Hafiz Hatta. AMMSO had also been organizing felicitation programmes for meritorious Muslim students. We had even engaged the Hon’ble Chief Minister O. Ibobi for the programme. The body has also organized a prayer meeting on May 3 this year and prayed for those who died in the 1993 communal riot in the State. We also recently held a reception for Md. Helalluddin Shah who topped the High School Leaving Certificate Exam 2013 conducted by Nagaland Board of School Education.”
Azad also said that AMMSO is planning to felicitate those Muslim students who cracked the High School Leaving Certificate Exam and Higher Secondary Exam with distinction in a grand way. We are also preparing to construct the Office Building of the organization very soon, he further added.
Later, Azad placed a list of demands which the organization is soon going to submit to the State Government for implementation. The list of demands included: 1) to institute a separate Directorate for the Minority Muslims, 2) to up-grade Lilong Haoreibi College as a Post-Graduate institution, 3) to institute a college for Muslim women, 4) to improve the infrastructure of the schools and colleges in Muslim areas, 5) to reserve seats for Muslim students in the school, colleges and professional institutions of the State, 6) to construct a Haj House and a Muslim Guest House, 7) to institute IT and Computer training centres in Muslim areas, 8) to give more power to the State Minority Commission, and 9) to make the Engineering Cell of Minority and Other Backward Classes Economic Development Society (MOBEDS) a full-fledged cell.
The gathering also paid tribute to Md. Hanif Shah, who had served as the President of the Organization, by offering supplication. He was killed on 17 Nov. 2007 by some unidentified gunmen.
