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Indian Muslims Leading English Newspaper, published since January 2000
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THE MILLI GAZETTE
www.milligazette.com
ISSN 0972-3366
Fort ni ght l y
Rs 10 Vol. 13 No. 10 Issue Serial # 296 16-31 May 2012 24 pages
Inside MG
FAHEEM AHMAD
Chitra (Jharkhand): Bharatiya Communist Party
(Maoist) has now completely strayed from its
original agenda and has opened an anti-Muslim
front in some regions which makes people think
that now they are completely saffronised and
have become RSS cadres in the name of
Maoism. Since 1987 under Naxali mission, they
are doing every thing against Muslims which is
the agenda of the Sangh gangs. In other words,
it can be said that now the RSS is carrying on its
anti-Muslim mission with full force in far-off rural
areas of Jharkhand through its cadres mas-
querading as Naxalites. As a result, thousands
of well-to-do Muslim families living in these
regions are either spending every moment of
their lives in fear and terror or, in order to save
themselves, are migrating to safer places.
Those who are not able to move to other places
are silently bearing with the inhuman and illegal
Maoist atrocities. It a pity is that neither the gov-
ernment is helping them in any manner nor the
police is taking any action to stop the brutalities
of these Maoists. Even if someone picks up
the courage to file an FIR against these Maoists
in police stations, police officers refuse to regis-
ter their complaints.
This report is being filed from Chitra dis-
tricts far off villages like Raharya, Charka, Tiria
etc. On reaching the area after an strenuous
journey, the situation emerges as extremely ter-
rible. Maoists are forcing Muslims to leave their
lands, properties and everything else and leave
their villages. If they fail to comply, they are
forced, at the point of the gun, to change their
religion or compelled at the point of pistols to eat
pork or be prepared to die in case of refusal.
These areas are considered dens of
Naxalites and very sensitive from the point of
view of security. One of the victims of the
Naxalite cruelties and compulsions disclosed on
condition of anonymity that the murder of
Muslims here is a common occurrence and
almost a daily routine. After killing them,
Maoists/Naxalites take over their lands, houses,
cattle etc. He disclosed that Muslims of these
villages were owners of acres of land, were
leading a prosperous life but for the past two
decades or so their properties are targets of loot
and many of them were killed, their daughters
and daughters-in-law kidnapped on the point of
gun and their honour violated. He said that
Muslims of these areas were prosperous land-
lords but after arrival of the Maoists, they are
facing a reign of terror and merciless murder of
the influential and powerful people in 1988 after
which the entire area was filled with terror. That
process is still going on and till date hundreds of
Muslims have been killed. Even beards of
Muslims were cut and tied to their sexual
organs. Many of them were buried alive and
after killing them, they threw the dead bodies on
the roads or hanged them from trees. These are
common occurrences in this area. On the occa-
sions of festivals like Holi, Saraswati puja, men
and women are compelled at the point of gun to
participate in these festivals and thereafter
women and girls are dishonoured.
Sometimes the Maoists hold Jan Adalats in
forests where decisions are taken to compel
Muslims to eat pork. Sometimes they enter
Muslim houses by force and outrage the mod-
esty of women. This has become a routine.
Their zonal commander is Anurag Yadav and
the area commander is Paras Nath alias
Ajay Kanjhu on whose orders the Maoists are
indulging in these coercive and criminal activi-
ties.
This source said that once in the past they
occupied 200 acres land of one Javed Mian in
Raharya village and another 25 acres land of
Wadood Khan of the same village, all by force,
and this illegal occupation continues till date. In
yet another case, in 2006-07 they compelled
Muslim owners to get their lands registered in
the name of area commanders Bilas Yadav,
Nageshwar Yadav, Balkeshwar Yadav etc. with-
out making any payment to the owners. They
got their signatures on plain papers at gun point.
Many families, he said, fed up with these cruel-
ties have migrated to other places like Ranchi,
Hazaribagh, Jamshedpur, Chitra, Sherghati,
Gaya and even Delhi but those who were
unable to migrate to other places, are compelled
to bear the cruelties of these thugs.
The same person who narrated the atroci-
ties and high-handedness of these brutes, said
that in 1992 these people had thrown cow dung
inside a mosque and after tearing pages of the
Quran had thrown the pieces in the well. Police
and administration, inspite of knowing every-
thing, remained silent because the victims were
Muslims. He added that even now if the govern-
ment does not pay attention to their misdeeds,
there is a great possibility that Muslims of the
area will be compelled on the point of gun to
change their religion. (Translated from Urdu)
Maoists or Sanghi beasts?
Sometimes the Maoists hold Jan Adalats in
forests where decisions are taken to compel
Muslims to eat pork. Sometimes they enter
Muslim houses by force and outrage the
modesty of women. This has become a routine.
Their zonal commander is Anurag Yadav and the
area commander is Paras Nath alias Ajay Kanjhu
on whose orders the Maoists are indulging in
these coercive and criminal activities.
The so-called "Haj Subsidy" started in around
1974 when Govt. of India stopped pilgrims
from travelling by sea and insisted that only
air travel mode should be used by the Indian
pilgrims going to Mecca on Haj. This was a
government decision; no Muslim individual or
organisation had demanded it. As a gesture,
the government started paying the small dif-
ference between the sea and air fares.
Initially, a very small amount was paid out
but the so-called "subsidy" kept growing as
both airfares and the numbers of pilgrims
kept growing. Last year (2011) 1,25,051 pil-
grims went for Haj from India. By 2007, the
amount of the subsidy had gone up to Rs. 595
crore, and in 2008 it rose to Rs. 770 crore. The
government policy since 1994 has been that it
will pay any amount in excess of Rs. 12,000
per pilgrim. This applied only to the pilgrims
going through the Haj Committee, a Govt. of
India organisation fully controlled by the
Central government. Pilgrims going through
private tour operators or privately did not
qualify for this benefit.
Over the years, communal Hindu individ-
uals and organisations agitated against this
"appeasement". The Central government
decided last year to decrease this subsidy
gradually and end it by 2017. It was also pro-
posed that the subsidy would be given only to
the poor pilgrims once in a lifetime.
Now, the Supreme Court on 9 May has
ordered the government to do away with this
subsidy in ten years and also to restrict the
numbers of the Indian Haj Delegation which
was a backdoor means for the government to
send its favourite Muslims free of charge put-
ting their burden on the poor pilgrims. Over the
years this official delegation crossed a hun-
dred pilgrims who do nothing for the pilgrims
while in Mecca and Medina; rather they are a
sheer burden on the local consulate staff, stay
in 5-star hotels and use luxury cars while the
poor pilgrims are herded in far away buildings.
The co-called "subsidy" was never given
to the pilgrims but to Air India, which accord-
ing to the Haj Act, monopolises the carriage
of the Indian pilgrims and the "subsidy" is
paid to it directly. Air India charges fares
much above the prevailing market rates. Last
year, while you could buy a Delhi-Jeddah-
Delhi economy class ticket for around Rs.
18,000, Air India charged pilgrims Rs. 62,000
and pocketed the difference from the govt.
We demand that this subsidy is stopped
right away and the Haj Committee is autho-
rised to float international tenders to obtain
best air fares for the Indian pilgrims, which,
we believe, will be quite close to the prevail-
ing market rates. This will end this charade of
a subsidy which actually is a subsidy to the
sick Air India which has just received a whop-
ping bailout amount of Rs. 30,000 crore from
the government. ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN
YUSUF ALI...12 ALLIANCE SCHOOL...13
Ahmedabad: Janvikas, an NGO in
Gujarat has just published a detailed
survey report which shows that while
over 200,000 people were displaced
during the 2002 violence in Gujarat, over
16,000 people are still living in 83
refugee camps across the state 10 years
later.
Surviving without basic infrastruc-
ture facilities like roads, electricity and
gutter lines, the victims are victimised by
the systems laissez-faire approach in
solving their issues.
Some of these victims narrate tales of their
miserable existence beside garbage dumps
and living in places that are nothing short of
dump yards themselves.
They were speaking at a convention titled
Gujarats internally displaced: Ten years later,
which is part of the programmes organised by
several NGOs under Insaf ki Dagar Par event.
The convention was held by Janvikas here on
30 April. Recounting tales of horror that contin-
ue even after a decade, Shama Banu Ansari, a
resident of a relief colony said, I have been liv-
ing in a pathetic condition for the last 10 years.
We lack basic facilities and our complaints to
government officials fall on deaf ears. She said
that the water which flows out of the overflowing
gutters and right into her colony has even killed
a girl, not to mention about the others who have
fallen ill from the unhygienic living conditions.
Rohit Prajapati, secretary of Peoples
Union For Civil Liberties (PUCL), said it is high
time the government, that would like everyone
to believe that there are no riot-affected in the
state, takes a hard look at reality. It is time they
made a package for the internally displaced
and also helped those who want to return to
their villages, said Prajapati. He further said
those who live in riot colonies are people who
dont dare to return to their original place due to
threat to their lives.
Several other victims apart from activists
include Prakash Shah of Movement for Secular
Democracy (MSD) and Vijay Parmar, CEO of
Jan Vikas. These are the people who cannot
dare to return to their original place of residence
and have, since 2002, been residing in shelters
built by NGOs and Muslim charitable organisa-
tions.
To read the Janvikas report, visit:
http://janvikas.in/download/Status_report_IDPs.pdf
16000 Muslims still displaced in Gujarat
Who needs Haj subsidy?
ISSUES / OPINION
2 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012
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IMRAN KHAN
My generation grew up at a time when colonial hang up was at its
peak. Our older generation had been slaves and had a huge infe-
riority complex of the British. The school I went to was similar to
all elite schools in Pakistan. Despite gaining independence, they
were, and still are, producing replicas of public schoolboys rather
than Pakistanis.
I read Shakespeare, which was fine, but no Allama Iqbal - the
national poet of Pakistan. The class on Islamic studies was not
taken seriously, and when I left school, I was considered among
the elite of the country because I could speak English and wore
Western clothes.
Despite periodically shouting Pakistan Zindabad in school
functions, I considered my own culture backward and religion out-
dated. Among our group if any one talked about religion, prayed
or kept a beard he was immediately branded a Mulla.
Because of the power of the Western media, our heroes were
Western movie stars or pop stars. When I went to Oxford already
burdened with this hang up, things didnt get any easier. At
Oxford, not just Islam, but all religions were considered anachro-
nism. Science had replaced religion and if something couldnt be
logically proved it did not exist. All supernatural stuff was confined
to the movies. Philosophers like Darwin, who with his half-baked
theory of evolution, had supposedly disproved the creation of
men and, hence, religion were read and revered.
Moreover, European history reflected its awful experience
with religion. The horrors committed by the Christian clergy dur-
ing the Inquisition era had left a powerful impact on the Western
mind. To understand why the West is so keen on secularism, one
should go to places like Cordoba in Spain and see the torture
apparatus used during the Spanish Inquisition. Also the persecu-
tion of scientists as heretics by the clergy had convinced the
Europeans that all religions are regressive.
However, the biggest factor that drove people like me away
from religion was the selective Islam practiced by most of its
preachers. In short, there was a huge difference between what
they practiced and what they preached. Also, rather than explain-
ing the philosophy behind the religion, there was an overempha-
sis on rituals.
I feel that humans are different to animals. While, the latter
can be drilled, humans need to be intellectually convinced. That
is why the Quran constantly appeals to reason. The worst, of
course, was the exploitation of Islam for political gains by various
individuals or groups.
Hence, it was a miracle I did not become an atheist. The only
reason why I did not was the powerful religious influence my
mother wielded on me since my childhood. It was not so much out
of conviction but, love for her that I stayed a Muslim.
However, my Islam was selective. I accepted only parts of the
religion that suited me. Prayers were restricted to Eid days and
occasionally, on Fridays, when my father insisted on taking me to
the mosque with him.
All in all I was smoothly moving to becoming a Pukka Brown
Sahib. After all, I had the right credentials in terms of school, uni-
versity and, above all, acceptability in the English aristocracy,
something that our brown sahibs would give their lives for. So
what led me to do a lota on the Brown Sahib culture and instead
become a desi?
Well, it did not just happen overnight. Firstly, the inferiority
complex that my generation had inherited gradually went as I
developed into a world-class athlete. Secondly, I was in the
unique position of living between two cultures. I began to see the
advantages and the disadvantages of both societies.
In Western societies, institutions were strong while they were
collapsing in our country. However, there was an area where we
were and still are superior, and that is our family life. I began to
realize that this was the Western societys biggest loss. In trying
to free itself from the oppression of the clergy, they had removed
both God and religion from their lives.
While science, no matter how much it progresses, can
answer a lot of questions - two questions it will never be able to
answer: One, what is the purpose of our existence and two, what
happens to us when we die?
It is this vacuum that I felt created the materialistic and the
hedonistic culture. If this is the only life then one must make hay
while the sun shines - and in order to do so one needs money.
Such a culture is bound to cause psychological problems in a
human being, as there was going to be an imbalance between
the body and the soul.
Consequently, in the US, which has shown the greatest
materialistic progress while giving its citizens numerous rights,
almost 60 percent of the population consults psychiatrists. Yet,
amazingly in modern psychology, there is no study of the human
soul. Sweden and Switzerland, who provide the most welfare to
their citizens, also have the highest suicide rates. Hence, man is
not necessarily content with material well being and needs some-
thing more.
Since all morality has it roots in religion, once religion was
removed, immorality has progressively grown since the 1970s. Its
direct impact has been on family life. In the UK, the divorce rate
is 60 percent, while it is estimated that there are over 35 percent
single mothers. The crime rate is rising in almost all Western soci-
eties, but the most disturbing fact is the alarming increase in
racism. While science always tries to prove the inequality of man
(recent survey showing the American Black to be genetically less
intelligent than whites) it is only religion that preaches the equal-
ity of man.
Between 1991 and 1997, it was estimated that total immigra-
tion into Europe was around 520,000, and there were racially
motivated attacks all over, especially in Britain, France and
Germany. In Pakistan, during the Afghan war, we had over four
million refugees, and despite the people being so much poorer,
there was no racial tension.
There was a sequence of events in the 1980s that moved me
toward God as the Quran says: There are signs for people of
understanding. One of them was cricket. As I was a student of
the game, the more I understood the game, the more I began to
realize that what I considered to be chance was, in fact, the will
of Allah. A pattern which became clearer with time. But it was not
until Salman Rushdies Satanic Verses that my understanding of
Islam began to develop.
People like me who were living in the Western world bore the
brunt of anti-Islam prejudice that followed the Muslim reaction to
the book. We were left with two choices: fight or flight. Since I felt
strongly that the attacks on Islam were unfair, I decided to fight. It
was then I realized that I was not equipped to do so as my knowl-
edge of Islam was inadequate. Hence I started my research and
for me a period of my greatest enlightenment. I read scholars like
Ali Shariati, Muhammad Asad, Iqbal, Gai Eaton, plus of course, a
study of the Quran.
I will try to explain as concisely as is possible, what discov-
ering the truth meant for me. When the believers are addressed
in the Quran, it always says Those who believe and do good
deeds. In other words, a Muslim has dual function, one toward
God and the other toward fellow human beings.
The greatest impact of believing in God for me, meant that I
lost all fear of human beings. The Quran liberates man from man
when it says that life and death and respect and humiliation are
Gods jurisdiction, so we do not have to bow before other human
beings. Moreover, since this is a transitory world where we pre-
pare for the eternal one, I broke out of the self-imposed prisons,
such as growing old (such a curse in the Western world, as a
result of which, plastic surgeons are having a field day), material-
ism, ego, what people say and so on. It is important to note that
one does not eliminate earthly desires. But instead of being con-
trolled by them, one controls them.
By following the second part of believing in Islam, I have
become a better human being. Rather than being self-centered
and living for the self, I feel that because the Almighty gave so
much to me, in turn I must use that blessing to help the less priv-
ileged. This I did by following the fundamentals of Islam rather
than becoming a Kalashnikov-wielding fanatic.
I have become a tolerant and a giving human being who feels
compassion for the underprivileged. Instead of attributing suc-
cess to myself, I know it is because of Gods will, hence, I learned
humility instead of arrogance.
Also, instead of the snobbish Brown Sahib attitude toward
our masses, I believe in egalitarianism and strongly feel against
the injustice done to the weak in our society. According to the
Quran, Oppression is worse than killing. In fact, only now do I
understand the true meaning of Islam, if you submit to the will of
Allah, you have inner peace. Through my faith, I have discovered
strength within me that I never knew existed and that has
released my potential in life. I feel that in Pakistan we have selec-
tive Islam. Just believing in God and going through the rituals is
not enough. One also has to be a good human being. I feel there
are certain Western countries with far more Islamic traits than us
in Pakistan, especially in the way they protect the rights of their
citizens, or for that matter their justice system. In fact, some of the
finest individuals I know live there.
What I dislike about them is their double standards in the way
they protect the rights of their citizens but consider citizens of
other countries as being somehow inferior to them as human
being, e.g., dumping toxic waste in the Third World, advertising
cigarettes that are not allowed in the West and selling drugs that
are banned in the West.
One of the problems facing Pakistan is the polarization of two
reactionary groups. On the one side is the Westernized group
that looks upon Islam through Western eyes and has inadequate
knowledge about the subject. It reacts strongly to anyone trying
to impose Islam in society and wants only a selective part of the
religion. On the other extreme is the group that reacts to this
Westernized elite and in trying to become a defender of the faith,
takes up such intolerant and self-righteous attitudes that are
repugnant to the spirit of Islam.
What needs to be done is to somehow start a dialogue
between the two extremes. In order for this to happen, the group
on whom the greatest proportion of our educational resources are
spent in this country must study Islam properly.
Whether they become practicing Muslims or believe in God is
entirely a personal choice. As the Quran tells us, there is no
compulsion in religion. However, they must arm themselves with
knowledge as a weapon to fight extremism. Just by turning up
their noses at extremism the problem is not going to be solved.
The Quran calls Muslims the middle nation, not of
extremes. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was told to sim-
ply give the message and not worry whether people converted or
not. Therefore, there is no question in Islam of forcing your opin-
ions on anyone else.
Moreover, we are told to respect other religions, their places
of worship and their prophets. It should be noted that no Muslim
missionaries or armies ever went to Malaysia or Indonesia. The
people converted to Islam due to the high principles and impec-
cable character of the Muslim traders.
At the moment, the worst advertisements for Islam are the
countries with their selective Islam, especially where religion is
used to deprive people of their rights. In fact, a society that obeys
fundamentals of Islam has to be a liberal one.
If Pakistans Westernized class starts to study Islam, not only
will it be able to help society fight sectarianism and extremism,
but it will also make them realize what a progressive religion
Islam is. They will also be able to help the Western world by artic-
ulating Islamic concepts. Recently, Prince Charles accepted that
the Western world can learn from Islam. But how can this happen
if the group that is in the best position to project Islam gets its atti-
tudes from the West and considers Islam backward? Islam is a
universal religion and that is why our Prophet (peace be upon
him) was called a Mercy for all Mankind.
The author is leader of Pakistans Tahreek-e Insaf and a for-
mer captain of his countrys cricket team
Why the West craves materialism & why the East sticks to religion
I read Shakespeare, which was fine, but no Allama Iqbal - the national poet of
Pakistan. The class on Islamic studies was not taken seriously, and when I left
school, I was considered among the elite of the country because I could speak
English and wore Western clothes -- this is the story of the modern Muslim
educated elite which is alienated, ignorant and arrogant. Here is how an icon
of this class rediscovered his roots.
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012 3
NATIONAL
Quote,
Unquote
There are mysterious twilight zones in the
manner her [Israeli diplomat] case was report-
ed in the media, the way the Special Cell and
Indian home ministry dealt with her case, her
rather superficial interrogation, and her quick
departure in a special Israeli plane from Delhi.
Also, what was her role in the Israeli embassy
and the nature of her work?
Strangely, when I visited her in the hospital,
there was no security presence. The doctor
told me she was fine and there was no serious
injury, not even any burn injury, a source told
Hardnews.
Hardnews magazine, May 2012
Indian intelligence agencies...have been trying
out potentially useful proxies in Pakistans
Balochistan province as well as Afghanistan.
These adventurist spies and the perennially
belligerent men in uniform now seem to consti-
tute as formidable a lobby against peace
between India and Pakistan as the Islamic
zealots on the other side of the border.
Pankaj Mishra, bloomberg.com
NA ANSARI
New Delhi: And Miles to go, is a booklet, a sort of limited autobiogra-
phy or narratives of five women of Gujarat who either themselves suffered
during the 2002 pogrom or saw and felt the pains of people who suffered,
and its victims. It was released by Abhijit Sen, member of Planning
Commission, at a function held in Delhi on 21 April. While releasing this
booklet, he said The 2002 Gujarat riots,
whether you like it or not, questioned the idea of
India. Another speaker, Prof. Apoorva of Delhi
University who is a writer and social worker, said
on this occasion that after the 2002 Gujarat
riots, thousands of affected families are eagerly
looking to the courts for justice, but, he asked,
will the direction of justice be decided by the
verdicts of courts only or our society also will do
something in this connection? He said that the
treatment meted out to Muslim men and women
and the circumstances which they faced are
dreadful parts of human history. He questioned
as to why after all, our Hindu society is tolerat-
ing groups of murderers and why are they being
allowed to roam freely?
Another Planning Commission member
who is also a member of Sonia Gandhi headed
National Advisory Council, Sayida Saiydain
Hameed, in the light of her 10 years experience
said that as a Muslim woman whatever she has
seen in Gujarat is extremely painful. She added
that incidents and treatment meted out particularly to Muslim women in
Gujarat are open facts but inspite of these naked truths the wave of jus-
tice was not seen there. On the basis of her own experiences she said
that after the riots whenever she went to Gujarat, met Muslim women,
heard their extremely sad stories and saw them closely she found and felt
pain everywhere. Speaking about Memories of the past which is one of
the parts of the booklet And Miles to go...., she said that after the parti-
tion of the country the wave against everything Muslim had almost sub-
sided but the incidents of Gujarat inflamed it again. She said that our mis-
sion will continue till social justice is established in Gujarat. Social worker
of Gujarat, Zakia Sonam whose painful write-up titled So what, if I am a
Muslim is a part of this booklet, said that in the lanes and bylanes of
Gujarat, everywhere she saw hatred against anything associated with
Muslims. Narrating the bitter experience of her family, she said that our
house was burnt many times. She said that after 2002, her own and her
familys private life and everything else is completely changed. She
added that she still remembers that during the riots her friends not only
completely forgot and ignored her but also began to consider meeting her
a danger for themselves.
When a burqa-wearing housewife Noorjahan Diwan, belonging to a
poor family of Sabarkantha district, decided to become a social worker
and step out of her house to help victims of
riots, her husband threatened to divorce her.
Undaunted, she gave him a pen and paper and
asked him to write what he had said, so that she
could work freely and without any tension.
Looking at her in disbelief, he neither divorced
her at that time nor thought of doing so later.
The change in Noorjahan was not sudden.
Herself a survivor of the riots, she had wit-
nessed the brutality of epic scale with her own
eyes in February-March 2002. After actively
working for relief and rehabilitation of riot vic-
tims, she began to work for communal harmony
and peace in her locality Gupta Nagar, where
about 150 houses were set on fire. It is adjacent
to Juhapura in Ahmedabad.. Her write-up titled
My Journey into Activism is also a part of this
booklet.
The short autobiographies in this booklet
describe the way in which the 2002 riots trans-
formed and affected the five women including
Syeda Saiyadain Hameed, Shabham Hashmi of
ANHAD, Zakia Soman of Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan and Soofia
Khan, Director of SAFAR, in addition to Noorjahan Diwan over the last
decade. Syeda Saiyadain Hameed referred to Maya Kodnani, a former
minister in Narendra Modis cabinet (who was jailed for inciting 2002 riot-
ers), telling her team during the 2002 riots that incidents like the post-
Godhra massacre are ingrained in the prakriti of Gujarat. Hameed said
that the concept of justice demands that Gujarat should reject such black
sheep by its leaders by ensuring that every single victim sincerely feels
that justice has been done to him/her. She criticised the conspiracy of
silence by people who are in fact not communal-minded but remained
indifferent and silent at the genocide, thinking that the victims are oth-
ers. Shabnam Hashmi said that in Gujarat the murderers are even today
enjoying the freedom of moving about openly and fearlessly, mocking at
justice. She said that for her it was most difficult to work in Gujarat
because of her Muslim name.
Mission for justice in Gujarat to continue
HC acquits 12 in
Ghodasar riots case
The Gujarat High Court on 20 April has acquit-
ted all 12 persons earlier convicted by a trial
court in Nadiad in December 2003 for the mas-
sacre of 14 Muslims at Ghodasar village in
Kheda district on 3 March 2002. Fourteen
Muslims were brutally killed in five separate
incidents in various agricultural fields. This was
among the first post-Godhra riots cases in
which the accused had been sentenced to life
imprisonment for murder, rioting and unlawful
activities. According to the police statement
members of the minority community were
picked up and killed by armed men while they
were hiding in the agricultural lands in villages
of Ghodasar, Jinjir, Jalanpur, Sindhoda and its
adjoining places. The Nadiad sessions court in
its 2003 judgement had convicted 12 people
and acquitted 51 others citing benefit of doubt.
The two main accused Bhima Lakha and Mera
Rama were absconding for almost eight years.
They were tried for murder and rioting but later
got acquitted because witnesses turned hos-
tile. Advocate Sameer Khan, who represented
a witness in the high court, has alleged that a
deal had been struck between the witnesses
and the accused and requested the judges to
look into the issue. A division bench of Justice
AL Dave and Justice NV Anjaria acquitted 12
persons citing lack of conclusive evidence
against them.
Maha Minorities Commission
vested with powers of civil court
Mumbai: A bill to vest the state Minorities
Commission with all the powers of a civil court
was passed in the Maharashtra State assem-
bly on 18 April by virtue of which the
Commission will be empowered to summon
any officer or person of the state in the
Commissions office if any complaint against
him has been made to the Commission. After
making enquiries against him it can recom-
mend to the government suitable action to be
taken against him. Under this bill the
Commission can issue summons to any officer
anywhere in the state and declare his / her
presence compulsory in its office, ask for any
official document, proofs etc. and ask the offi-
cer to make or send a statement alongwith an
affidavit to its office, as in a court. The
Commission can also order an officer to
search for and submit any document to it
(Commission) either the original or copy or
authorise any officer of the Commission to visit
any office and inspect any document even if it
is confidential or secret.
MG NEWS DESK
New Delhi: Over 15 social organisations have taken up the cause of rights
and welfare of Muslims in a meeting with the full bench of the Planning
Commission and urged members to learn from the mistakes of 11th 5-
Year Plan and rectify those mistakes in the 12th Five Year Plan which is
in the final stages of completion. They pointed out that invisibility of
minorities (Muslims) in the mainstream, lack of extra efforts to monitor
and presence of institutionalised prejudice at the operational and imple-
mentation level have been some of the reasons for non-implementation
and non-utilisation of the special provisions made for the minorities, i.e.,
Muslims. For example, it is found that most of the progress under area
development schemes like Multi-Sectoral Development Plans (MSDP) for
minority-concentrated districts and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalas dont
reach Muslim-concentrated areas, according to S.M. Hilal of the
Foundation for Civil Liberties, one of the social groups. He said that some
very good and fruitful schemes were there in the 11th Plan like those for
setting up new model schools on the pattern of Kendriya Vidayalas and
polytechnics in minority-majority districts, i.e., where Muslims lived in
large numbers, did not get any benefits from these schemes because
these do not come under Prime Ministers 15-point programme. S.M. Hilal
who is a member of the Planning Commissions Steering Committee, fur-
ther said that even when Muslims are said to be more concentrated in
urban areas, Muslim-concentrated towns like the 338 towns with 20%+
population in the country do not benefit from M.S.D. Projects.
Shabnam Hashmi of ANHAD, while strongly criticising the govern-
ment and its bureaucratic and executing agencies, said that many
schemes are made for the welfare of minorities (Muslims) and large funds
are allotted but when these are reviewed at the ground level to find out
their beneficial effect, it is discovered that other minorities have benefited
while funds allocated for Muslims have not been utilised and they
remained denied their due benefits. She said that all this is because of
institutional prejudices which result in the non-implementation of these
plans and schemes at the ground level in Muslim-concentrated areas.
She suggested that for this, a mechanism of accountability should be for-
mulated, in addition to goading and sensitizing the bureaucracy, police
and ground level executing authorities and personnel about the prevailing
prejudice and institutionalised discrimination faced by the minorities
(Muslims). Moreover, she said that as compared to other marginalised
communities, the funds allocated for the Muslim minority was insufficient
and too meagre. Giving figures, she said that in 2011-12 budget whereas
the per head amount assigned was Rs. 138 only for Muslims, for S.C. and
S.T. it was Rs. 1,228 and Rs. 1,450 respectively. She, therefore, demand-
ed that the budget allocated for Muslims should be substantially
increased. She said that another distressing fact was that even this mea-
gre amount was not being fully utilised. She suggested new initiatives for
Muslim women, i.e., their literacy/education and skills development. She
suggested special attention in areas like Mewat and minority-concentrat-
ed areas in Bihar and Assam. She said that the school dropout rate
among Muslim girls is high and hence schemes for special classes for
girls should be prepared. She further said that the attitude of the bureau-
cracy being as it is, i.e., prejudiced and unhelpful, voluntary social organ-
isations and NGOs cooperation should be obtained, who are playing
important roles in the promotion of education and other welfare and devel-
opmental projects.
Ramzan Chaudhary of Mewat Vikas Sabha, one of the speakers
complained that discrimination was meted out to Mewat at the political
and administrative levels. He said that earlier Mewat was not a backward
region but under a planned conspiracy, it was deliberately turned into a
backward area. He said that before independence, literacy percentage in
Mewat was 30 but today it is only 5 percent - the lowest in the country. He
said that MDP Board was constituted in Haryana and Rajasthan but its
benefits also were confined to majority communities. S.M. Hilal, while
adding to his earlier intervention, said that villages also should be includ-
ed in MSDP scheme and that the government should engender the feel-
ing of safety and security among the minorities (Muslims) on a priority
basis. He said that a proposal regarding the progress of 100 most back-
ward villages was sent by the Union ministry for minorities welfare which
the Planning Commission should accept in toto. The speakers expressed
these views in a press conference held at Womens Press Club on
26 April. MG NEWS DESK
Social organisations demand special attention
on Muslims welfare in 12th Plan
23 persons accused of Dalit
carnage in Bihar acquitted
The Patna High Court on 16 April acquitted 23 persons accused of the
massacre of 21 Dalits at Bathani Tola in Bhojpur in 1996 while the ses-
sions court had sentenced them in May 2010. The massacre took place
in July 1996 when upper caste landowners of the Ranvir Sena stormed
Bathani Tola in Bhojpur and mercilessly hacked Dalits including women
and children. FIR was lodged against 33 persons and thereafter the
Bhojpur police framed charge against 23 persons. In May 2010, the
sessions court in Ara district had convicted all the accused and sen-
tenced them. Of the accused three were given capital punishment while
the rest were pronounced life imprisonment. But, on 16 April this year,
a Division Bench of Judges Navneeti Prasad Singh and Ashwani
Kumar Singh acquitted all the accused while citing imperfect evidence.
Anand Vatsyayan, counsel for the witnesses in the Bathani Tola case
has said that he is surprised by the High Court verdict because the evi-
dence provided was more than enough to uphold the judgement
passed by the Ara sessions court.
NATIONAL
4 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012
India tops the list of arms
importers in the world
New Delhi: It is
surprising that
India, inspite of
many public
sector under-
takings in the
defence fields
producing mili-
tary hardwares
and software
like armoured cars, military trucks, heavy artillery, tanks, missiles,
fighter planes, rockets, radars, naval ships etc. with indiginious
and / or foreign help is the biggest importer of arms in the world
and has purchased maximum arms during the past five years
which amount to almost 10 percent of total arms sales in the
world. After India, South Korea is the second highest importer and
its total arms purchases come to around 6 percent of the worlds
total sales. China and Pakistan come next with almost 5 percent
of total sales each.
According to a Stockholm (Sweden) think tank India, China,
South Korea, Pakistan and Singapore taken together have pur-
chased almost 30 percent of total arms sold in the world. India as
compared to the years 2002-2006, has added about 38 percent
to its heavy arms purchases during the 4-year period 2007-11.
According to Stockholms International Peace Research Institute
during the 4-year period of 2007 to 2011 India has purchased war
planes from Russia and France. On the other hand Pakistan
stands at No. 3 from the point of view of arms imports or purchas-
es. It purchased G.F. 17 and F. 16 war planes from China and
U.S.A. In the Middle East inspite of the on-going Arab revolution
and fightings, supply of arms continued to these countries.
According to the same think tank inspite of the existing state of
uncertainty and instability in these countries Russia exported mis-
siles, war planes and other arms to Syria without any break. In
addition to this, America had supplied 45 tanks to Egypt last year
and had promised to supply 100 more.
According to this report China will soon become one of the
five large exporters of arms of the world. Most of its arms exports
are to Pakistan. According to the latest report of this think tank,
there has been a 24% increase in the export of arms in the world
during the period 2007-11. America stands at No. 1 in the sale /
export of arms followed by Russia, Germany, France and
England. Inspite of tense conditions in North Africa and Middle
East export of arms to countries in these regions goes on.
According to the Swedish think tank, arms purchases have no
direct relationship with external security because many countries
buy arms to maintain their influence and position at the interna-
tional level.
The recent Def Expo-2012 held in New Delhi saw more than
200 foreign firms producing arms flocking to India to display their
products, enter into deals with their Indian counterparts, govern-
ment undertakings for tie-ups, joint ventures, transfer of technol-
ogy and know-how. In addition to arms producing companies from
countries mentioned above and also Israel which has become
one of the important arms suppliers to India, there were govern-
ment and private delegations to negotiate deals with their Indian
counterparts in defence fields whose number also runs into hun-
dreds including Tatas, Punj Lloyds, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindras,
in addition to the old ones in this field like Bharat Heavy
Electricals Ltd. (BHEL), Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML), Bharat
Dyanamics Ltd., Midhani (Mishra Dhatu Nigam), Hindustan
Aeronautics Ltd., Hindustan Shipyard, Mazagon Docks and
dozens and scores of others. Leaving aside the expected deals in
the Def Expo-2012, India has already signed many agreements
with different countries, the latest one in this series being the
20 billion Dollars deal with the French firm Dassault for the sup-
ply of 126 fighter planes for its vast armed forces of around
1.3 million. (NAAnsari)
Suicides claim more lives in
Army than bullets
New Delhi: Suicides proved to be the Armys biggest adversary
than enemys bullets with around 100 troops losing their lives in
acts of self-annihilation against 65 in counter-insurgency and
security operations last year. Suicides claimed 99 lives in Army
last year. Of these, 23 cases were registered in field areas and 76
in peace areas, Army officials told a news agency.
Though the number of lives lost due to suicides was a cause
for concern, the number of such cases had come down in the past
few years, they said.
In 2010 and 2009, the number of deaths due to suicides was
115 and 110 respectively. The figure stood at 142 in 2007 and 150
in 2008.
In a few cases, the families of soldiers had alleged murder
after which court of inquiries were conducted, the officials said.
In 2011, the number of lives lost in security operations was
65, they said.
In 2011, 11 officers, 8 JCOs and 46 men achieved martyr-
dom in operations to uphold the security of our nation, Army
Chief Gen VK Singh said recently.
To curb incidents of suicide, the Defence Ministry had taken
several steps ranging from appointment of counsellors to aug-
mentation of psychiatric centres to grant of liberal leave to jawans
to yoga training, the officials said. (zeenews.india.com)
A draft bill Matrimonial Property Rights of Women upon
Marriage Bill 2012 prepared by Maharashtra states
Department of Women and Children and Department of Law
was discussed in detail in the cabinet meeting. It was strongly
opposed by Muhammad Arif Naseem Khan, minister for minori-
ties affairs, on the ground that if passed this bill will interfere in
Shariat. Explaining the provisions of this bill, he said that under
this bill all divorced women in the state irrespective of their reli-
gion will have the right to claim and get 50 percent share in the
property of the husband. He said that in addition to a share in
husbands property, a divorced woman will be entitled to get
many more facilities, rights and privileges such as her share in
husbands pension, P.F. etc. all of which are against and in vio-
lation of Islamic Shariat and hence this bill should not be intro-
duced.
Nasim Khan further said that the central government had
enacted Muslim Womens Property Rights on Divorce in 1986
and in addition to this, different laws were enacted in 1937
and 1939 which do not interfere in Shariat. Hence, in view of
these laws and Acts, introducing this bill is not proper as far
as Muslims are concerned. He also referred to the Supreme
Courts verdict of 1983 in the Shah Bano case which was
against the spirit of Islamic Shariat and in view of which there
was a strong opposition by Muslims to the Supreme Courts
verdict. As a result, the 1986 law was passed under late
prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. He further said that Muslims of
the whole country including those of Maharashtra have been
solving or getting their problems solved regarding marriage,
divorce, land, property and other family matters in the light of
Shariat. Moreover, the provisions in the proposed bill are
against the rights given to them under the Constitution.
Naseem Khan is understood to have also written a letter to
chief minister Prithvi Raj Chauhan expressing his opposition
to the proposed bill alongwith the reasons and facts. It is
reported that chief minister, after receiving Naseem Khans
letter, directed the concerned departments to hold back this
bill till a green signal is given by the department of minorities
welfare.(NA Ansari)
Maharashtras proposed bill on rights of
divorced women withheld after opposition
The Mazgaon court in Mumbai sentenced
Maharasthra Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Abu
Asim Azmi to two years imprisonment and a fine of
Rs. 11,000 on 30 April for making inflammatory and
hate-spreading speech in the year 2000 (February) in
a rally at Nagpada to incite communal riots.
Metropolitan magistrate Sanjashri Gharat also sen-
tenced, in addition to Azmi, four more persons viz.
Ms. Vaqarunnisa Ansari, Ali Shamsi, Lalbahadur Singh and
Ehsanullah Khan to two years imprisonment and same amount
of fine to each. When all the five persons who were present in
the court sought time to file an appeal in the higher court, the
magistrate suspended the sentence order. They paid the fine
and also furnished personnel sureties and were allowed to go.
The 12-year old issue was raised in the assembly by Shiv Sena
and BJP MLAs who stalled the House proceedings and demand-
ed action against Abu Asim who is a former MP (Rajya Sabha).
Reacting to the sentence, Abu Asim said that there are many
loopholes in the verdict and even the police witnesses have not
confirmed police claims. He expressed his surprise
that these important points have been ignored while
delivering the judgment. He said that on many occa-
sions Bal Thackery and Raj Thackeray and other
Shiv Sena, BJP and saffron brigade leaders made
and continue to make inflammatory and hate mon-
gering speeches but no action is taken against them
or very weak cases are framed against them and
they are discharged immediately but if we raise our voice against
oppression and injustice, our speeches are dubbed inflammato-
ry and we are jailed. He said that the verdict against him and
others smacks of prejudice and it is influenced by pressure by
government and police. He asked what kind of justice is this that
when a person fights for his communitys rights and justice to
Muslims he is thrown into jail but when Thackeray, saffronites &
company make inflammatory and hate-mongering speeches,
government and police as well as courts play the role of silent
spectators. He said that he will challenge this verdict in the ses-
sion court soon. (NAAnsari)
Abu Asim sentenced in 12-year-old case
Even if Modi said let Hindus
kill Muslims, it is not an
offence: SITs twisted wisdom
The detailed report of a Special Investigations Team into allega-
tions that Gujarat Chief Minister ordered his police officers to
allow Hindu mobs to kill Muslims in 2002 has controversially
claimed that even if Modi gave such an order, it would not con-
stitute an offence.
Here is the excerpt: The interpretation made on alleged ille-
gal instructions given by the Chief Minister by [former DGP R. B.]
Sreekumar and [suspended police officer] Sanjiv Bhatt appear to
be without basis. Further, even if such allegations are believed
for the sake of argument, mere statement of alleged words in the
four walls of a room does not constitute an offence.
The detailed report was made available Monday to
Zakia Jafri, the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who
was burned to death with nearly three dozen other Muslims on
February 28, 2002 in his house by a Hindu mob.
The Supreme Court had appointed the SIT in 2008 on a plea
by Ms. Jafri who had contended that the Gujarat government was
deliberately sabotaging the investigations and prosecution into
the killing of her husband and others.
The SIT, led by former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
Director, R. K. Raghavan , has faced criticism for its clean chit
given to Modi, especially by Sreekumar and Bhatt.
In an affidavit submitted before the SIT, Bhatt had claimed
that he was present at a meeting that Modi had called at his offi-
cial residence on February 27, 2002, and instructed his police
officers to not intervene to stop the actions of Hindu mobs the
next day.
The meeting had been called in connection with a call by the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an affiliate of Modis Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP), to protest the burning of Sabarmati Express
train at Godhra railway station a day earlier, on February 27. At
least 58 people, including many VHP activists, were burned to
death in that fire.
The VHP-BJP blamed the Muslims in a locality of Godhra
adjacent to the railway station. The violence that began after
Modis meeting with the states top police officers saw more than
2,000 Muslims killed in hate violence in many parts of Gujarat.
The SIT said it found no evidence to support Bhatts claim
that he was present at the meeting.
In a separate affidavit filed before the SIT, Sreekumar had
claimed that the then Director General of Police K. Chakravarty
had told him a day after the meeting at Modis residence that the
chief minister had told them specifically not to interfere in the
work of the Hindu mobs.
Indian Muslims poorer than
other minorities
The plight of Indian Muslims has remained more or less static
since independence despite numerous promises made by our
political parties one after another. The latest poverty figures
released by the Planning Commission on 19 March show that
Muslims are even poorer than other minorities like Christians and
Sikhs.
The overall grim picture of Muslims in every sphere as com-
pared to Dalits, SC,ST and other sections of society has already
been highlighted by the Sachar Committee report. In terms of
progress and growth, Muslims are far behind and poorer than
other poor from the general category or SC/ST. As per the
Planning Commission estimates, the poverty ratio is highest
among Muslims at 33.9 percent both in rural and urban areas as
compared to Christians where only 12.9 percent are poor in the
urban areas. In rural areas only 11.9 percent Sikhs are poor. In
urban areas, SCs have a poverty ratio of 34.1 percent and STs
are at 30.4 percent while for OBCs the figure is 24.3 percent. If
we go by other figures available, we will find that there has been
an overall decline in urban poverty from 25.7 percent to 20.9 per-
cent and in rural poverty from 41.8 percent to 33.8 percent.
Surprisingly, Muslim poverty has not decreased.
The trends are alarming and an eye-opener. But the big
question is: are Muslims discriminated against within the minori-
ty structure? If it is true, how can one accept that 4.5 percent
reservation to minorities will help Muslims to get their chunk out
of it or will it go the same way where one would again be forced
to say that Muslims are even more jobless than other minorities
in the end. Will the authorities responsible for implementing var-
ious minority schemes in states or at the Central level ensure
that Muslims would not be discriminated against within the ambit
of minorities at all levels or will it merely end up in just keeping
the estimates in files for further reference while preparing anoth-
er estimate for minorities.
The figure of the Planning Commission indicates that
Muslims are more backward as compared to other minorities in
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal. The
figures released by the Planning Commission are based on data
collected by the National Sample Survey Organisation. The esti-
mates of poverty by the Planning Commission are based on
assuming a daily income of Rs 32 as the poverty line.
The statistics reveal that political parties over the years have
only paid lip service to the cause of Muslims because their prom-
ises hardly generate any action on the ground. The greater
emphasis is on how to show their concern by simply drum-beat-
ing or by fulfilling promises in bits and pieces. Poor implementa-
tion of Sachar and Ranganath Mishra recommendations speaks
volumes about the seriousness of the government towards the
upliftment of the community. (Mohammad Naushad Khan)
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012 5
NATIONAL
ASGHAR ALI ENGINEER
In view of what is going on in Gujarat where vic-
tims have been denied justice for more than ten
years, a debate has started that one should for-
give and forget and march forward and engage
oneself in economic development which is taking
place there. For how long the victims will keep on
wailing over what happened in 2002, however
disastrous it might have been. Sometime ago
Maulana Vastanvi too, who runs several
madrasas and other high level secular educa-
tional institutions, expressed similar views and
advised Muslims to join the developmental
stream in Gujarat and benefit from it.
It is, in my view, a very important debate and
one must understand all its implications thor-
oughly. It has both moral and legal implications
quite serious in nature. At one level it might have
moral appeal that one should forgive the killers of
Muslims in Gujarat and forget the whole incident.
But, at another level, one may argue, it has
equally serious legal and constitutional implica-
tions. First, let us understand the difference
between forgiving and forgetting. We often use
the two words together and in one breath.
However, there is a significant difference
between the two. One belongs to morality (forgiv-
ing) and the other to psychology. It is easier to
forgive (though not so easy for those who seek
revenge) but much more difficult to forget.
Gujarat genocide was traumatic in nature
and it is nearly impossible to forget the trauma it
caused to thousands of its victims in Gulbarg
society, Naroda Patia and other parts of
Ahmedabad and North and Central Gujarat.
There have been countless incidents in which
women were raped and brutally done to death in
the presence of their close relatives and many
relatives were killed in front of their eyes as in the
case of Bilqis Begum.
Can such traumatic experiences ever be for-
gotten, however hard one tries? Even an ordinary
rape incident is traumatic enough for a woman to
forget, but one committed during communal riots
and accompanied with other violent barbarities, is
much more so. Also ones memory is selective as
it forgets selectively. It is a psychologically selec-
tive process. What is remembered is helpful for
psychological reasons, and what is forgotten also
plays a healthy role. Certain memories will make
life a hell and are thus selectively forgotten and at
another level remembering an incident plays a
healthy role. So it is a very complex process.
Forgiving, on the other hand, is a conscious
moral decision which a person has to take over-
coming lots of initial resistance from within. One
is programmed by nature to take revenge for the
wrong done to an individual by another individ-
ual. But then often seeking revenge leads to con-
tinued bloodbath and hence religious scriptures
exhort us to forgive the enemy in order to break
the cycle of violence. The Bible even advises us
to offer the other cheek, if one slaps us on one
cheek -- a most difficult moral decision to make.
The idea is to put the enemy to shame for his/her
act of violence.
But forgiving has other conditions. Forgiving,
as already pointed out, is moral in nature and is
primarily meant for change of heart. It should
succeed in bringing about reconciliation. If it fails
to bring about reconciliation and a change of
heart on the part of the perpetrator, such forgive-
ness is infertile and wasted though morally it may
still be desirable. And in the case of Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi, he has not even once
owned up to his responsibility as head of state
government (if not as active perpetrator though it
is alleged by many that he was).
Many had suggested that a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission be set up on the
South African model but the idea was rejected
outright. That means there was no sign of repen-
tance on the part of the perpetrators who are ide-
ologically motivated and consider what they did
to their victims in 2002 was fully justified by their
Hindutva ideology. Thus even the act of forgive-
ness on the part of victims does not move their
hearts, let alone change their hearts. Thus, the
act of forgiveness will not achieve anything in
Gujarat. The perpetrators and their patrons think
their party is in power and hence no one can
touch them. The Best Bakery and Bilqis Bano
cases had to be tried outside Gujarat state at the
direction of the Supreme Court in order to give
justice to the victims. Not only that, these perpe-
trators keep on threatening their victims to with-
draw cases against them, else they will not be
allowed to come back to their villages from where
they had to flee during the Gujarat carnage.
Had these perpetrators shown any sign of
repentance it would have been worthwhile to for-
give them and bring about reconciliation.
Forgiveness, when the perpetrators show signs
of repentance and reconciliation, is good for the
moral health of the victims who will be able to
successfully resist the feelings of revenge. In a
way, it compensates the victim for the spiritual
suffering due to the violence and humiliation
inflicted on them.
Now let us take the question of justice. The
question of justice is no less important. It is per-
haps more important. The mighty and powerful
should not get away with what they do in subject-
ing the weaker sections to oppression and vio-
lence. The whole basis of democracy is on the
rule of law. And when the head of the govern-
ment who is responsible for running the state on
the basis of the Constitution and maintain law
and order not only fails to do so but justifies vio-
lence by citing Newtons law of action and reac-
tion publicly in the midst of violence, the matter
of justice becomes even more important.
To strive for justice in a constitutional democ-
racy is most essential for the health of democra-
cy as well as for the moral compensation to the
victims. The idea of justice, though it basically
falls in the legal category, has a victims point of
view, which falls is in the moral category. If the
perpetrators are subjected to the process of jus-
tice, it brings about an inner satisfaction to the
victims and their faith in the system is strength-
ened. However, if ends of justice are not met, it
may have serious implications for a constitution-
al democracy as indefinite wait for justice erodes
ones faith and the systems credibility. Justice
delayed is justice denied and victims feel this
system favours only the politically powerful. But
for the repeated intervention of the Supreme
Court, no justice would have been available to
the victims in Gujarat.
What happened in Gulberga Society was
utterly shocking. Former MP, Ehsan Jafri and 61
others were bunt alive and even the dead bodies
were maltreated and despite all efforts of the
widow of Jafri, justice remains denied. The
Special Investigation Team appointed by the
Supreme Court gave a clean chit to Modi though
Raju Ram Chandran, amicus curiae, has clearly
maintained that SIT has erred in giving a clean
chit to Modi. The widow of Ehsan Jafri has not
given up and her yeoman struggle clearly shows
that after such a grave tragedy, justice is the only
hope for the victims. Justice, not for revenge, as
revenge could have been taken in other ways
also, but justice for preventing such monstrosi-
ties in future and justice for relieving the survivors
from the guilt that they did their best for those
innocents killed in such a barbaric manner.
And it is not in Gujarat alone. What hap-
pened in 1984 with innocent Sikhs in North India
is also equally shocking. The anti-Sikh riots cul-
prits also have not been punished as they too are
quite powerful. And what happened in
Hashimpura & Maliana in 1987 is even more
shocking. More than forty young Muslim boys
were pulled from their houses, loaded onto
trucks, taken to a canal on the outskirts of
Meerut, shot point blank and their bodies thrown
into the Hindon canal. It is more than 25 years
since and yet the culprits have not been pun-
ished. One wonders whether there is rule of law
in our democracy. Our administrative machinery
and delay in dispensation of justice shows us in
a poor light. What is worse is that our law and
order machinery has been badly communalized
and what is even more worse is that it is known
to our political rulers and yet no effective steps
are being taken to cleanse the machinery of this
malaise. Some political parties openly provoke
caste and communal violence for political benefit
and go scot free.
Once justice is dispensed honestly, politi-
cians and policemen would certainly be afraid of
the consequences, and communal violence
would not occur, at least not like what happened
in Gujarat and elsewhere. It is for this reason that
justice needs to be done, otherwise our demo-
cratic functioning will further degenerate and law
and order will become a thing of the past.
Those who talk of forget and march ahead
have to think seriously of the consequences of
what they are saying. They may be giving such
advice sincerely so that the community may
engage itself in matters of education, develop-
ment etc. But while this is important, efforts to get
justice is even more important for reasons stated
above. Efforts to get justice should not be under-
rated in any case. Above all, obtaining justice has
a cathartic effect for victims who otherwise suffer
constant mental pain. (Secular Perspective)
Gujarat: Justice or Forgive and Forget?
When actor Shah Rukh
Khan was detained for a
couple of hours at a New
York airport recently, the
media as well as Indian
authorities went into over-
drive and sought an apolo-
gy from the United States
administration. When
American officials promptly said sorry for
SRKs detention, the Indian government reject-
ed the mechanical apology. Ironically, the very
same government is in no mood to apologise to
the hundreds of Muslim youth who have been
illegally detained, tortured, branded terrorists
and condemned, in spite of being innocent,
says Manisha Sethi, Member Jamia Teachers
Solidarity Association.
Says Manisha Sethi, These youth have
waited for an apology for their wasted years, for
the stigma, the loss of dignity and the torture
they have undergone. May we ask the hyper-
active and hyper-sensitive Indian government
to tender apologies and a genuine apology
please, not a mechanical one for illegally
detaining, incarcerating, torturing in short,
destroying and tearing apart the lives of hun-
dreds of its own citizens supposedly to fight
terror.
Mohammad Amir Khan had to spend half
his life in prison before the case against him fell
apart as there was no evidence against him.
Will someone apologise to him for his lost
childhood, his grief-crazed mothers paralysis,
his heartbroken fathers early death and his
broken, crumbling home? asks Sethi.
Khan spent 14 years in jail in connection
with 20 cases of bomb blasts. A resident of
Azad Market in New Delhi, Khan was picked up
on February 20, 1998, and implicated in 20
blast cases. Today, he has been acquitted in 17
cases and a sentence of life imprisonment
against him has been overturned by the Delhi
high court. Two of his cases are currently going
through the appeal process. Those years in jail
have not only taken a toll on him, but on his
entire family. His father Hashim Khan died of a
heart attack after struggling to prove that his
son was innocent. Ironically, when Mohammad
returned home after his acquittal, his mother
was barely able to recognise him as she had
suffered a brain hemorrhage and a paralytic
stroke. Life will never be the same for
Mohammad. He is still afraid of a witch-hunt by
the police and prefers to spend most of his time
at home, since he fears that the police may try
to frame him again.
Syed Maqbool Shah had to spend 14 years
in a high-security prison because the Delhi
police falsely claimed that the tyre of a stolen
car, used in the Lajpat Nagar blasts in 1996,
was recovered from him. In 2010, the courts
pronounced Shah innocent. By then, all that
was left of his life could be bundled up in a
small pouch: his mercy petition, copies of hand-
written letters pleading for justice addressed to
all the chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir
since, Union home ministers and the
International Committee of Red Cross, his jail
diaries and a passport-size photo of Shah when
he was merely 17 years old, taken at the time of
his arrest. He was arrested on May 21, 1996,
and sent to Tihar Jail. Today, he is 32 years old
and finally a free man, who is wondering how to
make a fresh start. He carries with him diaries
which detail his sufferings in jail and hopes to
get them published soon. He was in Delhi with
his brothers at the time of the blasts. He was
picked up during a raid and then charged under
anti-terror laws and the Indian Explosives Act.
He was studying in class 12 at the time of the
incident.
After a marathon legal battle, fraught with
anxiety and grief, he was finally declared inno-
cent. The joy of his release was shadowed by
the death of his father and sister, who had
fought hard to prove his innocence. Soon after
being released, Shah left for the graveyard
where his family members had been buried.
Today, Shah wants justice, rehabilitation and at
least an apology. But that seems unlikely. When
he contacted the J&K chief ministers office and
the Union home ministry, he was told that they
were unaware of his case. No one can ever
compensate him for his loss. The only thing
Shah wants now is a government job, so that
he can support himself and live with dignity.
Shakeel Ahmed Khan spent six years in jail
after being booked under the Terrorist and
Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act for
allegedly conspiring to assassinate BJP leader
Murli Manohar Joshi and former J&K governor
Jagmohan. His family was reduced to penury
and survived with donations from a local shrine.
Khan, a resident of Kashmir, had come to
Delhi in search of work. He was picked up by
the police and charged under the Explosives
Act soon after he arrived in Delhi. During deten-
tion, every time he pleaded that he was inno-
cent, he was tortured more. After years of legal
battle, justice finally came his way. Throughout
his ordeal, his wife and children had survived
on the relief money donated by a local shrine.
They could not manage with the meagre
amount and survived on just one meal a day,
says a weeping Khan. Today his life is limping
back to normal but the damage has already
been done. Will he get an apology from the
government?
These are just a few of the many men
whose lives have been damaged irreversibly by
a vindictive and unapologetic system. Who will
pay for the 11 men who spent three years in
solitary cells on charges of helping SIMI? The
Andhra Pradesh government has channelised
funds of the Mecca Masjid administration as
compensation to some of the Muslim men who
were wrongfully implicated in the double blasts
case. But an apology is still not forthcoming,
says Manisha Sethi.
Dozens of those falsely implicated by the
Special Cell of the Delhi police Saquib
Rehman, Bashir Ahmed Shah, Nazir Ali Sofi,
Ghulam Moinuddin Dar, Abdul Majid Bhat,
Abdul Qayoom Khan, Birender Singh, Imran
Kirmani, Gulzar Ahmed Ganai and Amin Hajam
had been accused of being operatives of the
Inter Services Intelligence, Laskar-e-Tayiba or
Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami. They were all later
acquitted by the courts. Does anyone, any-
where in the machinery of our government ever
feel any remorse when young men like Rashid
Hussain (an engineer picked up in connection
with Jaipur blasts) are detained for questioning
and when their employers Infosys otherwise
the paragons of corporate social responsibility
refuse to let them return to their jobs, asks
Sethi.
When govt will apologise to its innocent terror victims: Manisha Sethi
Forgiving, as already pointed out, is moral in nature and is primarily meant for change of
heart. It should succeed in bringing about reconciliation. If it fails to bring about recon-
ciliation and a change of heart on the part of the perpetrator, such forgiveness is infertile
and wasted though morally it may still be desirable...
NATIONAL
6 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012
After assembly elections fiasco, the RSS is grop-
ing in the dark searching for a face that can rejuve-
nate the BJP before the mega political event in
2014. The RSS gameplan to strengthen the BJP in
order to push its agenda has failed because a reli-
gious and divisive agenda does not win over peo-
ples loyalties anymore. RSS praise for Modi, who
failed to follow the rajdharma in Gujarat during
2002 riots contradicting Atal Behari Bajapyee, the
tallest leader in the BJP, is an indication of the dan-
gers for the polity ahead.
RSS in its mouthpiece Organiser has lauded
Narendra Modi for carrying out his rajdharma dur-
ing the 2002 Gujarat riots after the magisterial
court announced that SIT did not find any prose-
cutable evidence against him. In Panchajanya, RSS has mentioned that
the people of the country were waiting for a national role for Modi, beyond
Gujarat.
But what is equally important is that on moral grounds Narendra Modi
cannot give himself a clean chit for all that happened covertly and overt-
ly during the Gujarat riots. The RSS statement, under this context is dan-
gerous and may further encourage people like Modi to play the same
again to polarise the electorate. In the recent Hyderabad riots, a prelimi-
nary inquiry by the police concludes that the clashes were deliberately
instigated by some right-wing political elements. Mail Todays report on
19 April says that at the outset, these incidents appeared to be isolated
ones. But a close study of their pattern indicates that they might have
been instigated with a political motive.
Talk of a bigger role of Modi has come out with the regional grouping
against the NCTC. The conclusion that the BJP or the RSS has drawn is
that such grouping may consolidate the NDA. That it is a grievous miscal-
culation is a forgone conclusion. The purpose of that grouping is to weak-
en the existing national parties in order to consolidate the regional group-
ings.
A bigger role for Modi will not only disintegrate the NDA but may also
help the regional players to regroup in order to provide an alternative to
Congress and the BJP by projecting themselves to be more secular and
democratic. The parties currently in the NDA loop can switch sides to the
Congress. Even in that circumstance, the question of stability will be
raised and in that scenario the bigger party with a more credible secular
credential would lead the way. RSS and BJP after having assessed the
grey areas in their performance in the assembly elections in Uttar
Pradesh, want to address the leadership issue because, among other fac-
tors, confusion about the leader and projection of too many leaders for the
chief ministerial candidate harmed the party, as voters and cadres were
left confused. But the big question is: would it be easy for the party to
decide the prime ministerial candidate under the given situation and
intense political rivalry at the top.
Even though the RSS has spoken in favour of a
bigger role for Modi, his political equation with BJPs
rank and file has not been smooth and convincing.
Modi and LK Advani were until yesterday not on
good terms. Modis chemistry with the party presi-
dent has gone from bad to worse and in such envi-
ronment of political rivalry and bickering, choosing
an acceptable prime ministerial candidate for the
BJP may not be easy.
Gadkari, in an interview, admitted that he and
Narendra Modi had not spoken to each other for the
past six months. The political connotation of this con-
fession goes deep. Modis Sadbhawana in Gujarat is
no less than an effort from his side to make him more
acceptable in national politics. He is also reaching
out to other regional players to feel their mood and at the same time to
put pressure on the BJP by projecting himself in the regional group. But
inspite of all this posturing and image makeover exercise, can he really
get rid of the riots taint which haunts him perpetually?
Before deciding the prime ministerial candidate, the litmus test for
the BJP and RSS would be to arrive at a consensus for a second term
for the party president Nitin Gadkari.The more the RSS will press for a
second term for Gadkari the greater will be the infighting and chaos in the
BJP. Recently, senior leaders from the BJP and RSS met in the national
capital after the assembly polls to assess the performance of the party
president and at the same time to know the viewpoint of the BJP as to
how far they can go to support Gadkari for a second term if the RSS
chooses to do so.
No US visa to Modi despite
appearing on Time cover
The US administration has made it clear that there will be no change in its
visa policy towards Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The Gujarat gov-
ernment might have expected some leniency on the part of the US admin-
istration in its visa policy after Modi was featured on the cover of Time mag-
azine. The call for no visa to Modi has now reached UK after America.
Human rights campaigners in UK are demanding no visa to Modi for his role
in the 2002 riots in Gujarat. Under UKs new immigration rules non-EU citi-
zens accused of serious human rights abuses in their countries will be
banned from entering Britain. Under such circumstances Modi is likely to be
kept out of UK in the near future. BJP spokesperson, Ravi Shankar Prasad
expressed concern that US administration provides safe haven to extrem-
ists and dictators but denies visa to a chief minister who has won thrice.
Union Law and Minority Affairs minister Salman Khursheed reacted sharply
on the issue by saying that the denial of US visa to Modi is a matter of seri-
ous concern and puts a question mark on his personality, especially when
he rules a major state in India.. MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN
RAM PUNIYANI
ram.puniyani@gmail.com
The UP Assembly elec-
tions results gave a clear
mandate to the Samajwadi
Party. Congress was
claiming that the results of
UP will be a shocker,
meaning a surprisingly
better performance of
Congress. As results came through, Congress
was nowhere close to the claims it made or the
results it expected. Prior to the elections the
main leaders of UP Congress with Rahul
Gandhi in the lead, campaigned vigorously. The
carrot of reservations for Muslims was dangled
and the Congress President Sonia Gandhis pri-
vate tears on Batla House encounter were on
public display, but it seems the Muslim voters in
particular were not impressed. So far Congress
had a very safe equation with the Muslim voters,
also called Muslim votebank by its critics. The
understanding was that since Muslims know
that communal BJP is not the option where will
they go except to the secular Congress.
Where do matters stand? It is true that
large sections of Muslims realize that the BJP
can never be the option for Muslims as BJP is
the epitome of communal politics being the polit-
ical child of RSS, which is working for the agen-
da of Hindu Rashtra through its multiple proge-
nies like VHP, Bajrang Dal, Vanvasis Kalyan
Ashram and myriad other organizations. In com-
munal violence, while the Congress has played
a despicable role in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, it
has also been the mute witness to the series of
anti-Muslim riots and pogroms against Muslims.
Justice to the victims of violence has not been
actively pursued by the Congress wherever it
has been in the ruling formation. Mumbai vio-
lence of 1992-93 was the worst example of
ignoring and marginalizing the victims of car-
nage. Muslims have also suffered at the hands
of Congress-ruled governments in the aftermath
of acts of terror, particularly those of Mecca
Masjid, Malegaon, Ajmer and Samjhauta
Express blasts. In the aftermath of these blasts
Muslim youth were arrested, tortured, their
careers crushed and later they were released
for the lack of any credible evidence whatsoev-
er.
Still, despite all these lapses, the Muslim
community has realized that Congress is a less-
er evil, particularly after the Gujarat anti-Muslim
pogrom under the leadership of Narendra Modi
where the transformation of the democratic set-
up to a semi-fascist Hindu rashtra is more than
visible. They have also seen that the real cul-
prits of bomb blasts mentioned above belonged
to the RSS pantheon, for whom BJP made all
the efforts and noise to shield and protect.
This distinction between Congress and BJP
seems more or less clear, especially when one
reflects on the acts of commission and omission
of the NDA Government at the Centre between
1998 and 2004. Having kept aside the BJP as
an electoral option, what happens to the
Congress claim to be a secular party committed
to the interests of minorities. There is a mixed
bag here. On one hand, Congress instituted
Sachar Committee and Rangnath Misra
Commission, which have given the true picture
of the plight of Muslims and suggested the
remedies too. On the other hand, the implemen-
tation of the recommendations of these reports,
if at all, is too slow. The intimidated Muslim
minority is looking for policies which can lift it up
from the stifling atmosphere of the ghettoes in
which they have been forced to live due to the
massive recurring communal riots and the pre-
ceding and accompanying demonization of the
community in the social space and media. A
large section of the community wants reserva-
tions, but putting it as a mere electoral promise
cannot fool the community, which is watching
the dismal fate of the Sachar Committee and
Rangnath Misra Commission recommenda-
tions.
The Batla House encounter, the refusal of
the UPA II Government to institute a proper
inquiry into it and the accompanying demoniza-
tion of Muslim youth was a big blow to the com-
munity which is struggling against odds to come
out of ghettoization and wishes to embrace
modern education and take advantage of oppor-
tunities to the best of its capabilities, which at
present are not adequate to pull it out of the
morass in which it is trapped. The Batla House
encounter and the negative attitude of the
Congress for a proper inquiry showed that the
Congress does not have courage to take up the
issue of the security of Muslims in right earnest.
Mere tears do not protect you. The event in the
neighbouring Rajasthan, where the police
entered a mosque and opened fire to kill those
sitting inside was also something which cannot
be pardoned at all.
The Congress seems be a mixed platform
and a pragmatic party as far as the principles of
secularism are concerned. It will go this far and
refuse to take the decisive steps for principled
democratic-secular values. One knows that the
state apparatus has also been heavily commu-
nalized and it takes a strong will-power to take
up the principled secular stand and to live up to
that. In UP, it seems the Muslim voters had the
choice between Samajwadi and Congress.
Samajwadi had also temporarily allied with
Kalyan Singh who had presided over the demo-
lition of the Babri mosque, but that was a brief
alliance. Riots in Mau and other places had
erupted during the Samajwadi regime. Here
surely Mulayam must have sounded like the
lesser evil vis--vis BJP or Congress.
Is this the same Congress which had the
glorious tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and
Pundit Nehru who staked their all for preserva-
tion of secular values? With the present dither-
ing attitude of the Congress leadership such
claims are nowhere close to be acceptable.
Many a Congress youth are also much commu-
nalized. One does not know whether this grand
old party is making its workers know about what
secularism is, what is the truth behind the preva-
lent biases against minorities, how MK Gandhi
had ensured Hindu-Muslim unity by staking his
life and how Jawaharlal stood like a rock sup-
porting the edifice of plural values. A party is
made by its workers and their mindset. While
leadership dithers on such issues the workers,
by and large, have no clue as to how to take up
the issues of minorities battered by the
onslaught of communal violence and communal
politics.
UP Assembly election results apart from
other things are a pointer for the party to take up
the secular legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and
Jawaharlal Nehru, if it wants to make a positive
contribution to Indian democracy. (Issues in
Secular Politics)
Electoral equations and Secular values
Bigger role for Modi will shatter NDA
PMO drops limited exam
plan for IPS officers
New Delhi: Prime Ministers Office (PMO) has
rejected the Delhi High Courts verdict on limited
examination for the appointment of IPS officers in
response to a petition filed by Zakat Foundation of
India that the governments order of limited exami-
nation will be harmful for minorities, particularly for
Muslims. It may be stated in this connection that last
year, the Union home ministrys Department of
Personnel made a proposal that for the appoint-
ment of 490 new IPS officers during the course of
the next seven years a limited or restricted exami-
nation should be held so that well-qualified, experi-
enced and suitable IPS officers could be selected.
The eligibility condition for this limited examination
was that not everybody but only those persons
could apply who are working for at least five years
as majors, captains in the defence forces or as
assistant commandants in central police units or as
deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) in states
police departments. The PMO had approved this
proposal of the department of personnel. ZFI chair-
man Dr. Syed Zafar Mahmood raised objection to
the eligibility condition for limited examination on the
ground that minorities, particularly Muslims, repre-
sentation in the army and police even at lower lev-
els, not to talk of higher level, is already very low
and hence no Muslim will be qualified for appearing
in these examinations for IPS posts. Subsequently
he filed a petition in the Delhi High Court pleading
for rejection of this proposal.
Delhi High Court Bench pronounced its verdict
on 25 April. While rejecting the petition on technical
grounds, it said that the government has the discre-
tion to appoint qualified persons in any posts and
also lay down eligibility conditions and other
requirements thereof. Hence it would not be proper
for the court to interfere in governments selection
and appointment procedures. The court, however,
did not say anything about the non-representation
of Muslims and other minorities in the police depart-
ment under the restricted conditions. Dr. Zafar
Mahmood had written a letter to the Union minister
for minorities affairs on 17 April pointing out the
above points. Minister Salman Khurshid informed
Dr. Zafar Mahmood verbally over the phone that the
Prime Minister has decided even before the courts
verdict that whatever be the courts verdict, the lim-
ited examinations as proposed by the home min-
istrys personnel department will not be held.
Accordingly, after Delhi High Courts verdict on
25 April, PMO stayed, or rather cancelled the plan
of holding limited examinations. (NAAnsari)
The Batla House encounter, the refusal of the UPA II
Government to institute a proper inquiry into it and the accom-
panying demonization of Muslim youth was a big blow to the
community which is struggling against odds to come out of
ghettoization and wishes to embrace modern education and
take advantage of opportunities to the best of its capabilities,
which at present are not adequate to pull it out of the morass in
which it is trapped.
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012 7
NATIONAL
New Delhi: Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari, president of
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, expressing serious concerns on the
continued arrests of Muslim youths in the name of counter-ter-
ror operations, demanded the government of India to stop the
whole ongoing act of injustice and release all innocent persons
immediately and give them reasonable compensation. He was
addressing Jamaats monthly press meet here on 5 May. He
announced that the Jamaat will launch a nationwide campaign
against the arrests of Muslim youths.
He said, Government is not adopting fair measures in this
regard despite the continuous demand by the Muslim commu-
nity to stop this unjust drive. Inspite of showing sympathy with
the innocents, the government has unleashed a new campaign
of arresting innocent Muslims in terror cases. Its recent
episode is the arrest of journalist Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi
and putting hurdles in his way to get bail.
On the issue of the 25-year-old Hashimpura anti-Muslim
massacre by the PAC, the president of the Jamaat said that it
is a sad reality that a long period has passed but the victims still
did not get justice. He expressed hope that the new Samajwadi
Party government in Uttar Pradesh will seriously consider this
issue and will take all steps which can give justice to the victims
on the one side and prosecute the culprits from the police, PAC
and others. on the other side.
On the violation of the rights of the Assamese Muslims,
Maulana Umari expressed concern about the deletion of Muslim
voters names from the voters list and placing them as D Voters
(whose citizenship is doubtful). He demanded the government to
stop violating the rights of Muslim citizens.
The President of the Jamaat said that the whole Muslim com-
munity views with concern the governments move to make reg-
istration of all marriages compulsory. He stressed that the deci-
sions taken in the All India Personal Law Boards (AIMPLB)
recent Mumbai convention represented the opinion and feelings
of the Indian Muslims. He appealed to the government to consid-
er AIMPLBs decisions while enacting any code in this regard.
Speaking on the Naxal problem, Maulana Umari called on the
government to ensure the rights of the tribals and draw policies
based on the ground realities regarding the Maoists.
On the Middle Easts present
situation, Maulana Jalaluddin
Umari said, Israel is continuous-
ly committing atrocities against
all Palestinians. Even the world
community is ignoring the hunger
strike of the Palestinian prisoners
in Israeli jails. The efforts of
United Nations for a ceasefire in
Syria yielded no results. The UN-
Arab League special envoy Kofi
Annans peace tour has also
failed. The Syrian government is
committing outrage against its
own people and protesters. He
called on all Muslim countries to
come forward to resolve these
two major issues by united and
sincere efforts.
Maulana Umari strongly condemned the act of desecrating
the Holy Quran by the American Pastor Terry Jones. He said,
the Pastor has once again hurt the whole Muslim community by
burning the holy scripture of the Quran and the silence of the US
administration is tragic. He asserted, It is the appeal of all Indian
Muslims and justice-loving Indian people that the US government
should stop its frenzied persons from committing such immoral,
illegal and sacrilegious acts and should give exemplary punish-
ment to such persons.
JIH to campaign against arrests of Muslim youths
New Delhi: A three-day function to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of
the Institute of Objective Studies (IOS) was held during 13-15
April at the Constitution Club here. Speakers from different walks
of life expressed their views about different themes related to
Minority Rights and Identities.
On the first day, activities and problems faced by IOS were
discussed. Speaking on the second day, Justice Rajinder Sachar
said that if minorities in any country or society think that they will
not be treated properly, equally and justly, that country or society
cannot progress and consider itself civilised because protection
of minorities rights is an essential part of any countrys secular-
ism. At the same time it is the responsibility of minorities also that
they should be aware of their rights, he said. Supreme Courts
retired judge Justice Markandey Katju sounded views which were
more or less on the same lines. Former Chief Justice of India
A.M. Ahmadi said with reference to communal harmony among
followers of different religions of India that now instead of toler-
ance, preference should be given to capability and if this princi-
ple is promoted, minorities also will be satisfied and they will
move forward on the road to progress.
Executive Director of the Delhi-based South Asia Human
Rights Documentation Centre, Ravi Nair said that illegal arrests
of members of the Muslim minority are their biggest problem
today because of which there is a feeling of fear and terror pre-
vailing in the community. He demanded that action taken reports
(ATR) prepared on the basis of reports of National Commission
for Minorities (NCM) should be brought to the notice of common
people by the media and other sources.
Wajahat Habibullah, chairman of NCM, regretted the arrests
of innocent Muslim youth and said that in their cases
chargesheets also are not prepared properly. He said that these
facts came to light when the reports of the committee constituted
by NCM to find out facts about Makkah Masjid bomb blasts were
made public. He raised the question of the arrests of 53 innocent
Muslim youth and their confessions under duress by the police
and said that their illegal arrest is a serious problem. He demand-
ed that criminal and legal action should be taken against those
who make illegal arrests and file false chargesheets creating an
impression that all Muslims are terrorists.
Former judge of Supreme Court, Justice Roma Paul while
emphasising the point that under true secularism everyone
should live freely with his identity, hoped that institutional preju-
dices in Police and other departments will come to an end.
Minister of state for agriculture and food processing indus-
tries Harish Rawat said that there is no doubt that the condition
of Muslims collectively is really very bad in almost all fields,
hence special attention should be paid to improve their overall
condition. He said that people who do not know Urdu, even with-
out reading a single book, describe any Urdu book as jehadi lit-
erature. He proposed that people who are arrested and face trial
should be tried by special and fast-track courts so that their cases
should be disposed off without delay and their ordeal is brought
to an end at the earliest.
Noted social activist Teesta Setalvad said that civil society
and media play a very important role in the protection of rights of
minorities but when medias role becomes partial, it has negative
and adverse effect on society. She said that even after truth being
revealed in the bomb blasts cases of Malegaon, Ajmer,
Samjhauta Express etc., it is not at all justified to keep on arrest-
ing minority youth and keeping them in jails indefinitely. She said
that one of the reasons for the oppression of and injustice to
Muslim minority is that their representation in government depart-
ments and agencies is negligible and even their important issues
and problems are ignored by media.
P. Guha Thakurta said that media gives prominence to issues
which are associated with the rich and influential but does not
give any importance to even important issues of Muslims and
poor people even if their rights are blatantly violated or sup-
pressed.
On the third and final day, Union minority affairs minister
Salman Khurshid, while speaking on the implementation of
Sachar Committee and Ranganath Mishra Commissions reports
and the promised Equal Opportunity Commission, said that there
is no uniform opinion among Muslims and hence it is very essen-
tial that first of all there should be unanimity of views among
them. Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Rahman Khan, said that
it is a pity that even 60 years after independence we have to talk
about the rights of minorities inspite of the fact that everything is
clearly laid down in the Constitution.
Chairman of IOS, Dr. Muhammad Manzoor Alam said that
today an atmosphere of organised partiality is found collectively
against Muslims in the country and as long as this continues, they
will continue to be deprived of justice. He said that anti-Muslim
organisations on some pretext or the other either directly or
through secret organisations and agencies are bent upon harm-
ing Muslims. He added that today we are living in an atmosphere
of fear which must stop if our dreams of an ideal society are not
to be shattered. Addressing K. Rahman Khan and Zafaryab
Jilani, he asked them to use their influence in government to free
innocent Muslim youth who are falsely implicated in terrorism and
jailed.
Dr. Abu Saleh Sharif, noted economist, said that Sachar
Committees report was presented to government five years ago
which is quite a long time but even now many of its 14 chapters
have not been properly considered and analysed. Zafaryab
Jilani, the new Additional Solicitor General of U.P. said that
fathers of our Constitution especially added in clause 4 section
16 or 16 (4) that reservation in employment to citizens of back-
ward classes can in no case be denied but, sadly, this is not
being done in actual practice. He said that though backward
class of citizens have not been defined in the Constitution, many
verdicts of Supreme Court clarify that social, educational, eco-
nomic, political and even physical backwardness of citizens is
covered under section 16 (4). He said that Muslims need to get
reservation not as a minority but as Muslim community even if
central government has to amend the Constitution for this pur-
pose. (NAAnsari)
IOS celebrates silver jubilee
Only 2.5% Muslims get into UPSC
New Delhi: Out of a total of 920 successful candidates who
passed Indias prestigious civil service examination this year,
only 30 Muslims candidates managed to get in which is about
2.5 percent of the total while Muslims constitute 13.8 percent of
the countrys population. Interestingly, seven Muslim candidates
from Kashmir, one of them in the top 25, are among the suc-
cessful entrants. The results were announced on 4 May.
30-year old Syed Aabid Rashid from Srinagar appears
among the top 25 position holders in the All India Civil Services
examination. Hailing from Habib Colony in Baghat, Barzulla
area of Srinagar, Aabid, son of a retired forest department offi-
cial Abdur Rashid Shah and retired headmistress Jehan Ara
Naqashbandi had appeared in All India Civil Services examina-
tion for the first time in 2010 securing 180th rank and was sub-
sequently awarded IPS cadre (JK).
The other successful Muslim candidates are Syed Sehrish
Asgar (118), Inayat Khan (176), Adeela Abdulla (230), Shanavas
C (235), Yumkhaibam Sabir (244), Mohd Aijaz (268), Inamulhaq
Mengnoo (280), B Fouzia Taranum (307), Mirza Azhar Beig
(313), Toufel Tahir (345), Mohammad Imran (408), Mohammad
Arshi (419), Bashir Ahmad Bhat (434), Manazir Jeelani Samoon
(451), Qazi Mohd Salman Ibrahim (459), Patil Salmantaj Jafertaj
(466), Naieem Mustafa Mansury (520), Waseem Akram (568),
Irina Masoom (604), Md Imteyaz Alam (649), Afsar Ali (667),
Shama Parveen (685), Zeeshan Qamer (706), Mohd Rehan
Raza (760), Ilyas K P A (764) and Zahid Parvez (776).
NATIONAL
8 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012
ASGHAR ALI ENGINEER
Muslims keep on complaining that media is hostile to Islam and
Muslims, and projects more often than not their distorted image.
The Western media in particular has been quite antagonistic,
particularly after the terrorist incident of 9/11. But even earlier, it
was not very friendly, if not hostile, to Islam and Muslims. There
are complex reasons for this which must be properly understood
by Muslims rather than all the time condemning the media. It is
easier to condemn but difficult to understand. We analyze these
reasons here because on our proper understanding depends
remedial measures.
To start with, let us keep in mind that this hostility is more
political than religious though it appears to be religious. Both
Islam and Christianity are global religions and rulers belonging to
these two religious communities were also rivals and tried to build
their empires at each others cost.
Islam and Christianity as religions were never rivals but polit-
ical rulers were and they fought against each other, which creat-
ed powerful prejudices in the minds of the followers of these
respective religions. The Crusades were most zealously fought
and left deep impact on the minds of both sides. Turkey became
one of the worlds greatest empires and penetrated right up to
central Europe. This left scars over the memories of Europeans.
Muslims were a dominant power right through the medieval
ages, while Europe emerged after renaissance as a powerful
force. It made tremendous advances in science and technology
and soon began to colonize Asian and African countries. In these
countries it was confronted with Muslim rulers. In India too the
British had to defeat the declining Moghul Empire to seize power.
Needless to say, all this struggle for power and domination
created powerful prejudices against Islam and Muslims. These
rulers at times also used missionaries to aggressively preach
Christianity and Muslims too responded to keep their flock togeth-
er or to convert tribals to Islam as rival preachers. Such an
approach made the whole struggle appear as religious rather
than political.
Clash of civilizations
Thus this hostile attitude is carried over and is reflected in the
media approach towards Islam and Muslims. Prof. Huntingtons
Clash of Civilizations which got rave reviews in the western
media was also nothing but a reflection of this attitude. This book
became all the more important after collapse of the Soviet Union
when the USA was looking for an external enemy and Islam
came handy for the historically rival western powers.
There was a sort of lull after the devastations of two world
wars in which mainly Christian powers were involved and the
strife was more for national domination than domination by two
religious rivals. Once reconstruction of destroyed nations began
and United Nations Organization (UNO) came into existence,
human rights and human dignity became more central than reli-
gion, and religious rivalry receded into the background.
But now another factor emerged on the scene in the form of
creation of Israel in what was Palestinian area. What crusades
could not achieve was achieved through Israel post-World War II.
Israel was created, not so much to compensate for killing of inno-
cent Jews in Europe but to continue to dominate the Muslim world
through other means. Arabs in any way were in no way responsi-
ble for anti-Semitism or killing of innocent Jews, yet it is Arabs,
particularly Palestinians, who were made to pay the price.
Zionism emerged as most aggressive right wing political ide-
ology with the support of Western powers, particularly the USA
which had emerged as the most powerful nation after Second
World War replacing the British. Thus USA backed Israel to the
hilt and continues to do so till today. Israel with its right wing ide-
ology and Neocons of USA found in each other political allies and
came close to each other.
It is these elements which control US media, print as well as
electronic, and their interest was well served by maligning Islam
and Muslims. Their alliance was not that of Jews and Christians
but as right wing political forces. Similarly, in Palestine the Muslim
Arabs and Christian Arabs are solidly united as allies as both are
victims of Zionist aggression. This makes it clear that it is not
Christian or Jewish assault on Muslims but a right wing political
assault on Palestinians.
It is interesting to note that Western nations are generally
secular and believe in secular nationalism but fully support Israel
which is a religious nation and all non-Jewish people - Muslims
as well as Christians - are second-class citizens there. But since
Israel serves the interests of Western nations it is acceptable as
a key ally even if it is founded on the principle of religious nation-
alism. Any other nation, if based on religion, would be denounced
as reactionary.
9/11
This hostility towards Islam and Muslims which has historical
foundations became much more acute with the events of 9/11.
Now it was an open war with Islam and Muslims. It was project-
ed in Western media as such. It is for Muslims to deeply reflect
that such terrorist acts do not achieve anything, instead they
bring bad name to Islam. This act by a handful of al-Qaida follow-
ers led by Osama bin Laden has tremendously harmed Islam and
thanks to Western media now it is universally believed that Islam
is a religion of violence.
Of course al-Qaeda never enjoyed the support of the majori-
ty of Muslims, it was always supported by a small aggressive
minority as it generally happens with other communities also.
Many surveys conducted by various agencies like PEW and oth-
ers clearly showed that right from Algeria to Indonesia only a
minuscule minority supported acts like that of 9/11 and yet the
mainstream Western media never splashed such news promi-
nently whereas any violent attack would be displayed most promi-
nently.
Muslims should not only be peaceful but also appear to be so
in various ways so that the media is compelled to splash such
news also. If not, as we have been seeing, violence by a few
would be presented as if all Muslims are behind it.
Also, there are other reasons too for projecting Islam and
Muslims in an unfavourable light and it is for us Muslims to deeply
reflect about it and bring about changes in our society.
They see lack of freedom and abundance of dictatorship
in most of the Muslim countries. Instead of probing deeper,
they take it that Islam is the main reason, that Islam does not
permit democracy and promotes autocracy. Many Muslim
youth belonging to right wing ideologies propagate early
caliphate system as the only solution and then media builds
upon it.
Western media and Islamophobia
ZAFAR ALAM KHAN
Bhopal: Muslim leadership in the central Indian state of Madhya
Pradesh is on the decline and the condition is so bad that the
state assembly that has a strength of 230 had only one legislator
from the Muslim community despite the fact that the state has a
sizeable population of the community and its literacy rate is
77.3 per cent which is much higher than the national average of
67.6 per cent.
Political parties refrain from fielding Muslim candidates in the
assembly and parliamentary elections from the state resulting in
the decline of elected representatives from the community.
Community intellectuals are concerned over the trend and are
seriously planning to find ways for increasing community repre-
sentation in the state assembly.
The decline in Muslim representation in the state assembly
has become a major cause of concern for the community that
accounts for over five millions in the states population of 72.5 mil-
lion according to the 2011 census. The states Muslim population
is over seven per cent.
The Congress has stopped fielding Muslim candidates while
Muslims have no hope of being fielded by the BJP. The Congress
and the BJP are the two dominant parties in the sprawling state
that sends about 40 parliamentarians to the two houses of
Parliament (29 Lok Sabha, and about a dozen Rajya Sabha). The
state has failed to send a single Muslim parliamentarian to either
house since long.
Community elders hold the bipolar political situation of the
state responsible for the deteriorating condition of the community
leadership and feel that there is no choice with the community but
to go with the Congress which exploits this compulsion to the hilt.
Smaller political parties that mushroom in the state during
each election trying to exploit the situation but fail due to their
negligible presence on the field, charismatic leadership and con-
crete plans to woo the community.
Things reached such an impasse that there was not a single
Muslim in the state assembly after the 1993 elections. Then
Congress chief minister Digvijay Singh using his discretionary
power subsequently inducted Ibrahim Qureshi in his cabinet.
The representation did increase marginally in the next
assembly when three Muslim candidates won in 1998 (Arif
Aqueel from Bhopal North, Sayeed Ahmad from Satna, and Haji
Ghulam Sibtain from Badwara) and all of them belonged to the
Congress. Again their numbers dropped to two in 2003 when only
Arif Aqueel from Bhopal North (Congress) and Hamid Qazi from
Burhanpur (NCP) got elected. The number dropped to just one in
2008 when only Arif Aqueel of the Congress won.
This lone Muslim legislator, while talking to this correspon-
dent said, The only cause for declining community representa-
tion is conscience selling Muslim leaders who spring up during
election times and are approached by political outfits and politi-
cians to contest against winnable Muslim candidates for their own
meagre personal benefit.
Aqueel further said, It is only conscience selling Muslims
who defeat Muslims in the elections and if the conscience selling
Muslim leaders could be contained then it is for sure that state
assembly could have over half a dozen Muslim legislators.
Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) state president
Advocate Sajid Siddiqui holds both the major political parties of
the state responsible for the declining Muslim representation in
the state. SDPI is striving hard to unite the Muslims politically in
the state Siddiqui said, both the major political parties of the state
are united over the issue and leave no stone unturned to political-
ly marginalise the community.
Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) state representa-
tive Dr Yousuf Khaleel said, Muslims are not satisfied with their
representation. The Congress did not allow Muslim leaders to
develop even in places like Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur which
have a large Muslim population. Dr Khaleel further said, We are
worried because our civil liberties are being restricted across the
country. We are often looked at with suspicion, but the Congress
isnt bothered about our plight.
Senior Samajwadi Party leader of the state and Rajya Sabha
member Chowdhry Munnawwar Saleem said the Congress was
a bigger evil for the Muslim community than the BJP. Even if
there are a few odd riots, the atrocities against Muslims are few
during the BJP rule. In contrast, they face much higher atrocities
under Congress regimes, he added. Chowdhry further clarified
that he was speaking in the context of BJP regimes in the state
and not the entire country.
All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member and
former M.P. Congress Committee spokesman Arif Masood holds
Congress leadership responsible for the cause. Winnable candi-
dates are not given tickets, sycophants of big wigs incapable of
wining are fielded just for namesake, raising serious doubts over
the intents of the party in promoting Muslim leadership, he said.
Acclaimed Urdu poet from Bhopal, Manzar Bhopali, said,
There is undoubtedly a sense of alienation among Muslims as
they feel the Congress has exploited them without giving them
ample representation.
Madhya Pradesh Muslim Vikas Parishad (MPMVP) president
Mohammad Mahir said, There are about a dozen constituencies
including Indore, Mhow, Jaora, Sironj, Shajapur, Agar, Burhanpur,
Khandwa, Shujalpur, Neemuch and Mandsaur where the per-
centage of Muslim voters is above 30 percent but the Congress
doesnt field Muslim candidates in these places. He further said
that there was a time when Muslims used to win from constituen-
cies across the state. These included Ratlam, Ujjain, Jabalpur,
Katni, Sagar, Satna, Sehore, Indore and Khandwa but post-Babri
demolition things have changed. Both Congress and BJP want
Muslims votes but do not wish that Muslim leadership should
develop.
Indian Olympian Association President, former union minister
and former chairman of the M.P. Congress Committee Media
Cell, Aslam Sher Khan said, Things prior to Babri Mosque dem-
olition were different, communalism at those times remained out
of electoral politics and Muslims used to win in the state by get-
ting majority community votes but post-demolition the communal
divide affected the electorate also and since then things became
very difficult for the Muslim community.
M.P. Waqf Board chairman and Congress leader Ghufran-e-
Azam, a former MP, felt that even winnable Muslims are not field-
ed. There is no dearth of winnable Muslim candidates but rarely
do they get the ticket. Instead, hopeless persons are fielded for
namesake and that too from constituencies that will not elect a
Muslim, he said.
Muslims are more than 10% in nine districts of the state and
can play a significant role in deciding the winner of more than a
dozen assembly constituencies. Congress has been able to find
Muslim candidates for only five of the 228 seats that it contested
in 2008 of them only one managed to win.
Historically, Muslim institutions have been weak in Madhya
Pradesh and, therefore, Muslim leadership too could not emerge
in the state.
Decline in Muslim representation in M.P.
Keeping an eye on the Muslim vote bank in the state, the BJP has nominated Najma Heptulla
for the upper house of parliament. However, her nomination came only after the move of
Samajwadi Party to send Choudhary Munawwar Saleem, a native of Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh,
to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha biennial elections held last month.
Now, the state that last time sent a Muslim parliamentarian was in the year 1999 when Congress
nominated Maulana Obaidullah Khan Azmi to the upper house, has all of a sudden two Muslim
members of parliament.
Continued on the next page
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012 9
NATIONAL
KARAMATULLAH K. GHORI
Id not the faintest idea
when writing my previous
piece-that asked the
rhetorical question
whether Muslims of India
were still paying the price
of Partition of 1947 (MG,
16-30 April 2012, p. 8) -
that it would unleash a
spate of passionate intellectual and emotional
intensity.
The British, as colonial masters of undivided
India, had a saying that their Indian subjects had,
perhaps, the lowest boiling point in the world. So
true to that dictum, the debate spilled into emo-
tional outbursts that mostly clouded what should
have been an ambience of intellectual discourse
and inquiry. Some were so incensed by counter
opinion challenging their engraved-in-stone-ver-
sion of history or events surrounding the cata-
clysm of 1947 that they couldnt hold themselves
from sliding into the miasma of name-calling.
Opinionated people ought to resist the temptation
of indulging into academic discourse; they arent
cut out for that, simply because they dont have
the visceral fortitude to bear intelligent critique of
what they might regard as gospel truth.
Some of my friends were so carried away by
the sweep of their scholarship that they accused
me of concocting or imagining things to fit into my
narrative. Now, I dont claim to be faultless or with-
out blemish; Im too small a person to claim that.
But concocting things to blend into my narrative is
not my phobia. Ive been writing this column for
MG for 11-plus years. However, I never had the
bravado to write on Indian Muslims until this time,
when Ive visited India and seen things for myself
from the perspective of a prodigal son.
The debate was detoured into two unexpect-
ed directions: Hyderabad and Maulana Abul
Kalam Azad. The intense focus on the persona of
the Maulana wasnt all that unexpected or unwar-
ranted. He still remains very pertinent and quite
intensely relevant to any discussion of the
Partition, or whatever flowed from it. Equally
expected is the train of strong emotions that the
Maulana still sets in motion at opposite ends of
the Great Divide.
But, as I argued in my previous piece, a bet-
ter understanding of him is gaining ground on
both sides because even ordinary students of
India-Pakistan history now have the facility to
access independent and unbiased sources of
material on him. This has raised the level of intel-
lectual enquiry, and also helped in raising the
stature of the Maulana, as it should. Independent
and unbiased inquiry into the Maulanas contribu-
tion to the cause of Indian emancipation, in gen-
eral, and that of Indian Muslims, in particular,
places him, deservedly, on a pedestal where he
towers above his peers like a titan.
However, injecting Hyderabad into the
debate-and that, too, with venom-was unwarrant-
ed. My narrative was about Indian Muslims, in
general; all of them, without exception. I still insist
on following that pattern and have no intent to
divert the debate-which amounts to derailing it, in
my esteem-into parochial marshlands.
Hyderabad, irrespective of the fact that it was
the largest of Indian princely states, was as unpre-
pared as any other to deal with the deluge of the
Partition. The Nizam was a very munificent man,
no doubt about that. His philanthropy for the pro-
motion of Muslim arts, culture and education was
legendary, for which history must always pay him
the debt of gratitude.
But the Nizam wasnt a leader-not by a long
shot. He simply didnt have the intellectual or vis-
ceral wherewithal to deal with what the Great
Divide had in store for his state. Nor, for that mat-
ter, had anybody else, in the motley crowd around
him, the mettle of a leader. And the Nizam didnt
have the good fortune of Maharaja Hari Singh of
Kashmir, who had a master-strategist like Nehru
tendering him advice, on the lam, on how to pre-
pare himself for the D-Day.
The princely-state culture of Hyderabad, like
any other in that league, had only fostered a debil-
itating culture of sycophants and courtesans
whose lives revolved around the pathetic pursuit
of staying on the right side of the ruler and saying
yes to every word dropping from his lips. That suf-
focating culture couldnt produce a Jinnah or an
Iqbal, or an Abul Kalam, to map out a strategy of
survival in the face of the onslaught of Partition.
What went by way of leadership, there was a
demagogue and rabble-rouser like Qasim Rizvi,
whose misplaced zealotry and bravado sent thou-
sands of Hyderabadi youth, if not tens of thou-
sands of them, to their graves, prematurely.
The point missed by Qasim Rizvi, and others
of his ilk, was that geography wasnt in their
favour. So Hyderabad paid the horrible price of
Rizvis misplaced exuberance trying to turn back
the tide of an unfriendly geography.
Much more than Hyderabad, its Pakistan that
has paid the ultimate price of a hostile geography.
Only Maulana Abul Kalam had the perspicacity
and prophetic vision to warn the Pakistani leader-
ship of the potential backlash of geography
against the ideological state. He was proved right
within a quarter century of the birth of Pakistan
when its eastern part decided to opt out of the
union at the end of a blood-soaked confrontation
between its feuding politicians and fortune-seek-
ing generals.
Many in Pakistan now openly question the
wisdom of Jinnah, its founding father and archi-
tect, why did he have to settle for what he himself
lamented as a moth-eaten Pakistan? They
arent, necessarily, anti-Pakistan or anti-Jinnah.
Their question is entirely valid and relevant, all the
more because of what has become of Jinnahs
idealistic Pakistan.
For an answer to this intellectual query, one
has to have recourse to the Maulana, once again,
in order to get a lucid and categorical explanation
why Jinnahs hand was forced to settle for nothing
less than his Pakistan.
The limited space of this column doesnt give
me all the room to go into the details of the twilight
days of the long freedom struggle in India-the
period, in particular, from the day the Cabinet
Mission landed in Delhi up to the day the Sub-
continent was carved into two separate states.
Any intelligent reader can get all that history from
the account recorded by the Maulana in his sem-
inal book on the subject: India Wins Freedom.
The edition of it that came at the end of the 30-
year moratorium that the Maulana himself
imposed on some of its text-out of his regard for
his colleagues-gives the real picture.
It was Nehrus monumental arrogance that
forced Jinnah to press home for what was until
then-July, 1946-an option of last resort and
demand the separate state of Pakistan. Nehru, in
his bloated ego, renounced the Congress
Working Committees own commitment on the
Cabinet Mission plan and forced Jinnah to fall
back on the demand of Pakistan. Until then,
Jinnah and his Muslim League had accepted, with
an open heart, the Cabinet Missions scheme of
three autonomous units constituting the
Federation of India. The Maulana has described
it, in his lasting words, as Nehrus Himalayan
Blunder. Many of those whod still fault Jinnah for
truncating India pose the rhetorical question why
did he not reveal the medical fact that he was a
very sick man and dying from TB.
Jinnah would have been a very nave man to
give away what was a most closely guarded
secret about his losing bout with a disease that
was eating him out hollow. That secret was
shared between him, his sister, Fatima, and his
Parsi doctor. Hats off to that noble physician who
remained true to his medical pledge to his dying
moment and kept his pledge of physician-client-
confidentiality.
Jinnah was more a pleader of Pakistans
case than a leader of Indian Muslims. None
couldve pleaded their case better than him. No
two-bit lawyer likes to leave his brief half-deliv-
ered. How could a barrister of Jinnahs recognised
brilliance ever countenance the idea of leaving the
most important brief of his life half-delivered or
abandoned when he was so close to success.
It doesnt take a genius to reason that
Jinnahs adversaries, in Congress and among the
British colonial hierarchy, wouldve delayed a
denouement of the freedom struggle had they
sniffed, even remotely, that he was dying.
Besides, Jinnah knew the crowd around him well;
many of them, especially the feudal barons, were
those whod resisted the idea of Pakistan, tooth-
and-nail, but had jumped ship and boarded
Jinnahs bandwagon once they were convinced
that Pakistan was unstoppable. Jinnah knew their
calibre and bemoaned them as counterfeit cur-
rency in his pocket.
Subsequent events in Pakistan proved
Jinnahs hunch right that there was none among
that bumbling class capable of shouldering the
burden of leadership once he were gone and
carry on with his lifes mission.
And yet Pakistan couldve banished the
demon of a hostile geography for good-and
proved the Maulana wrong-had the Pakistanis,
especially the leaders that succeeded Jinnah,
understood him and how the architect of Pakistan
wanted his state built.
Jinnah gave the Pakistanis the road map of
his dream state in his inaugural address to the first
Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11,
three days before the birth of his country. He
dreamed of a secular state, wedded to Islams
pristine egalitarian culture in which there was
room for everyone-believers and others.
Many a pundit has tried to find fault with
Jinnah that by articulating a secular roadmap for
his state he was forsaking the entire thrust of his
struggle for Pakistan. How could the man whod
won Pakistan on the premise of Muslims of Indias
unique religious identity now plead the need for its
secular moorings?
There was, however, no dichotomy between
the two positions of Jinnah. Wielding the card of
religion was for him the winning strategy to wrest
maximum elbow room for Muslims of India; the
secular brief was what he regarded as the blue-
print of a forward-looking nation not held hostage
to an archaic and nihilistic version of religion. In
simple words, Jinnahs Pakistan was not meant to
be a theocratic state given to blood-letting with
impunity in the name of religion.
Of course, Jinnah was let down by the lead-
ers who came to power after him. Within ten
years of Jinnahs demise, political power in
Pakistan went into the hands of feudal barons
whom hed denounced as counterfeit; theyve
hogged it ever since, with intermittent shifting of
power centre to Napoleon Bonapartes in uniform.
Is there any surprise that the incumbent
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yusuf Reza Gilani, is
hanging on to power despite his conviction by the
apex court for contempt? Hes the scion of a fam-
ily that has made a fortune by virtue of being
shrine-keepers. His grand-father was a man who
hailed the British for their brazen slaughter of hun-
dreds of innocent Indians at Amritsars Jalianwala
Bagh in 1919. The letter of praise he wrote to the
then Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab, Michael
ODwyer, is on record testifying to the abject infat-
uation of the feudal class with the British Raj and
all the misery it heaped on ordinary Indians.
The biggest losers in the rapacious game of
political chicanery in Pakistan have been none
other than the so-called Mohajirs of Pakistan.
These are the children of those Muslims from the
Hindu-majority provinces of India who heeded
Jinnahs call but didnt pay sufficient heed to the
Maulanas candid appraisal of the pitfalls and trap-
doors threatening to devour them in their new
abode.
Small wonder, by the same token, that the
bulk of the Pakistani diaspora-especially in the
west where immigration is skills-based-is made
up of Mohajirs forced to embark on a second-
migration in the lifetime of some, like this scribe.
The question repeatedly asked of me during my
recent visit to India focused on this aspect of my
life: what was the compulsion for me to leave
Pakistan?
There was no economic reason, for sure, for
me to emigrate from Pakistan. But I just couldnt
reconcile myself to living in a country whose flirta-
tion with virulent religious fanaticism of a most
lethal kind has been gnawing at the moorings of
Jinnahs pristine Pakistan.
It would be a befitting footnote to say that
while Jinnah was successful in realising, with emi-
nent success, the short-term agenda of founding
a new state, Maulana Abul Kalams perception of
the larger picture has turned out to be more
enduring and relevant to our times. He richly
deserves the accolade of being the man who
could see the future.
The Price of Partition is shared on both sides of the Divide
Much more than Hyderabad, its Pakistan that has paid the ultimate price of
a hostile geography. Only Maulana Abul Kalam had the perspicacity and
prophetic vision to warn the Pakistani leadership of the potential backlash of
geography against the ideological state. He was proved right within a quarter
century of the birth of Pakistan when its eastern part decided to opt out of the
union at the end of a blood-soaked confrontation between its feuding politi-
cians and fortune-seeking generals.
The moment some article or cartoon or picture
derogatory to Islam or the Prophet or any other revered
personality appears in Western media there are violent
demonstrations or even threats to kill the person who
wrote the article or drew the cartoon and this leads to the
conclusion that there is total intolerance and lack of free-
dom in Islam or Muslim societies as the Western culture is
totally different.
They forget that until yesterday western society was
no different and Muslim society is still pre-modern and
semi-feudal. The young generation of journalists brought
up in a very different culture and environment and also
subject to rightwing propaganda thinks it is serious viola-
tion of human rights and write strongly against it. It thinks
only western culture guarantees freedom and has demo-
cratic culture whereas Islamic societies are highly intoler-
ant and autocratic.
The present generation of journalists has been
brought up in highly commercialized world of journalism
and lacks the investigative ethos of the older generation. It
draws instant conclusions on the basis of hasty and
sketchy evidence and under pressure to file reports quick-
ly and sensationally. This is the truth of investigation of
modern-day journalism and it is investigation of the truth
which is the casualty.
What is worse is that what is written in Western press
or spoken and discussed in electronic media in the West is
taken as gospel truth by the media in third world and repro-
duced blindly for local readers. Thus it acquires global
dimensions. India is no different. Though there is free and
independent media here but it prides itself on regurgitating
what appears in Western media. And India has its own
right-wing parties and ideologies which are strongly
reflected specially in language media.
Media is supposed to be an essential part of the dem-
ocratic functioning as it cultivates public opinion but
instead of creating critical opinions it caters to existing
prejudices and thus strengthens status quo and majoritar-
ian point of view. The same is true of the media in Muslim
countries. It also reflects majoritarian point of view and
caters to anti-minorityism and right-wing ideologies. What
is worse, there is hardly free media in Muslim countries
except in few cases. Thus objective media is a casualty
everywhere.
Continued from the previous page
5503 youth held for the 2010
unrest are still in jails in J&K
The promise of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to pardon
all youths arrested during the 2010 unrest has so far not been redeemed. At
least 5503 youths, mostly students, were arrested during the 2010 turmoil in
the state and till date not a single youth has been let off to keep the promise
made by the chief minister. Nasir Aslam Wani, while reacting to the demand by
the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in the state, said that the govern-
ment is aware of the promise made by it but amnesty has been delayed
because of some formalities. Contrary to this, many believe that the issue of
awarding clemency to all the youths was postponed because there was no
green signal from New Delhi. Separatists in the state have started to exploit
the issue and have questioned the motives of the government. Ayaz Akbar, the
spokesperson of the Syed Ali Shah Geelanis Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, said that last
year a promise was made by the chief minister to award clemency to these
youths as an Eid gift but so far he has failed to fulfil the promise and it seems
that the issue has also been forgotten by the state government. Approximately
half of the 5503 youths held are still languishing in jails and those released on
bail are undergoing trial. MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN
NATIONAL
10 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012
AFSANA RASHID, SRINAGAR
Terming the Apex Courts verdict on Pathribal killings as a major
setback for the victims, Amnesty International has said that the
court relied on emergency laws instead of upholding the univer-
sal and constitutional right to life...Todays ruling is a major set-
back - not only for victims in this case but for other victims unlaw-
fully killed by the army or paramilitary forces in Jammu and
Kashmir, said Ramesh Gopalakrishnan, AIs India researcher in
a statement on May 1, adding, option of court martial allows
these army officials to continue to avoid judgment in a court of
law.
While granting the option to the army authorities to try officers
involved in Pathribal encounter killings under court martial pro-
ceedings or alternatively subject them to trial in a criminal court,
Supreme Court on May 1 upheld that prosecution of army officers
has to be sanctioned by government.
Instead of upholding the universal and constitutional right to
life, the Supreme Court chose to rely on emergency laws that pro-
vide excessive powers and impunity to army, said Amnesty,
adding special powers that allow armed forces personnel sus-
pected of involvement in extra-judicial killings to sidestep civilian
courts have been reinforced in court-ruling over notorious killings
of five Kashmiri civilians 12 years ago.
It added, the court should have taken into account evidence
provided by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Gopalakrishnan
emphasized impunity for human rights violations by army and
paramilitary forces under special powers legislation must stop.
Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society while terming
the judgment disappointing said it suggests crimes like fake
encounters, rapes, custodial deaths and disappearances would
continue to be subject to seeking prior sanctions under AFSPA
from Government of India.
Unfortunately, the judgement further emboldens the armed
forces, which may result in further human rights violations by the
armed forces and strengthen a process that has appeared to
always favour perpetrators, said its spokesperson on May 2,
adding that its fall-out on people would be a reaffirmation of their
suspicion and distrust about Indian state institutions.
Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani in a statement
here on May 2 said, It has vindicated our stand that getting jus-
tice within the Indian system is impossible. Those involved in the
killing of Kashmiris are being rewarded with promotions and
rewards. The International community should intervene to inves-
tigate war-crimes committed here on the pattern of Bosnia.
Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has been quot-
ed as saying, On the one hand India is talking about democracy,
on the other immunity is given to security forces to kill innocents.
There is an accountability deficit and every institution is unfair.
PDP spokesperson, Naeem Akthar described the judgment
as a positive step and underlined the need to revoke AFSPA.
Well have to wait and see its impact and how it is taken and
implemented. Apparently, it looks positive in the sense that the
Army has been asked to take action within a particular deadline.
National Conference spokesperson, Tanvir Sadiq said,
Since the Apex Court has asked the Army to come out with their
decision, so the best way is to wait and watch. It has brought the
need to repeal AFSPA and accused soldiers should be given
exemplary punishment.
Pertinently, Amnesty International in its fresh report has
observed that mere amendments to Public Safety Act by the state
government arent enough; instead the law should be scrapped.
These observations followed the visit of its two-member team,
Saptarshi Mandal and Sahana Basavapatna, to the valley last
month.
It has also been reported that the three-member Human
Rights Watch delegation is expected to visit the valley soon to
take stock of alleged human rights violations.
Hurriyat calls for a wholesome approach
Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has asked the gov-
ernment to come clear on what he termed a policy to fragment
Kashmiri society along sectarian lines. A divide is being created
under a conspiracy and it has institutional support of the govern-
ment. Resources and money are being spent on creating a divide
in the name of Barelvis, Deobandis and Wahabis, said Mirwaiz
while addressing a Friday congregation here at the historic Jamia
Masjid, April 27.
He said government machinery and institutions were being
used in the name of Kashmiriyat and Sufiyat to create a wedge
among masses. Mirwaiz vowed to fight all attempts to divide the
people.
Ulema of different schools of thought on May 5 resolved to
stand up together against conspiracies to whip up Maslaki hatred
among Muslims here. Unity among Muslims is the need of hour,
said Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman Hurriyat (G), while speak-
ing at a seminar. He appealed to Ulema to ignore differences in
the larger interest of the Umah and stand united to strengthen
matters of religious and national importance.
Meanwhile, police on April 25 registered a case of attempt to
murder and stone-pelting (FIR No. 78/2012 dated April 6, 2012)
against Geelani in Baramulla police station. He had addressed a
gathering in the area on April 6. Hurriyat (G) spokesperson how-
ever, said that the rally was peaceful.
Peoples Conf launches youth wing
Announcing the launch of the students wing of his party, Peoples
Conference chairman Sajjad Gani Lone said the same would
empower the youth and end the hold of dynastic politics in
Kashmir. Formation of Peoples Students Union (PSU) would
work as students wing of Peoples Conference founded by Lones
slain father Abdul Gani Lone three decades ago.
It is after a gap of decades that the political party is launch-
ing a students union. Since the University of Kashmir has banned
politics on the campus, it will be off-campus activity. The same
would imbibe a culture of politics among students, said Lone
while addressing the media here on April 28.
Lone advocated the lifting of the ban on student politics.
There has been no evolution of leadership due to the absence of
student politics here. The party is mulling, the approach option of
High Court against a ban on student politics. Kashmir is the only
place in the world where student politics is banned. He said that
Shafat Siddiqui will head the students wing of the party.
Politics in Kashmir has been a story of either dynastic or
tragic successions. Either leaders have groomed their children to
take over in a planned manner or like, in my case, succession has
been brought about by tragic assassination, Lone said. In
response to a query, he said that the party will contest the upcom-
ing urban local bodies polls.
Commission demanded for child rights
Demanding the establishment of a Commission for the protection
of child rights and framing of Juvenile Justice (care and protection
of children) Act at par with national and international standards to
safeguard the rights of children, social activists here stressed
upon the need for a strong movement for child care and protec-
tion. Child protection and security laws here are weak. It is
important to take an initiative to provide security and rehabilitate
juveniles, said Kalpana Tikku, chairperson of the voluntary
organization Arnimaal during a day-long consultation on Juvenile
Justice Act on May 5.
She argued that traditional objectives of criminal justice, ret-
ribution and repression must give way to rehabilitative and
restorative objectives of juvenile justice.
Mohammad Ashraf Matoo, father of Tufail Matoo, a teenager
who was killed by security forces in the valley on June 11, 2010
allegedly after they fired a tear-gas canister at him, explained how
lack of juvenile justice Act is hampering investigation in the killing
of his only son. Tufails death led to widespread protests and trig-
gered a summer of unrest in which more than a 100 people lost
their lives. The family still awaits justice.
Dr Rouf Mohi-ud-din Malik, director Koshish, a local NGO
said, Currently, weve a vague law, which is actually a copy of the
1986 central law. The state enacted a law in 1997 and after 10
years rules were formulated as Juvenile Justice Act (care and
protection). The activists plan to organize a candle light protest
here on May 11 to mount pressure on the government and carry
out sensitization about the need for the Act within the state.
7 out of 10 subscriptions are through WORD OF MOUTH
You know we dont have the resources to advertise & promote ourselves, so
please ask your friends to get their copy now
THE MILLI GAZETTE
First English Newspaper of Indian Muslims. Telling the Muslim side of the story fortnight after fortnight since January 2000
Court stand on Pathribal a setback: Amnesty
Modi can be prosecuted for
promoting enmity: Amicus
Ahmedabad: A Supreme Court-
appointed amicus curiae has
held that Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi can be prosecut-
ed under various sections of the
IPC for promoting enmity
among different groups during
the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The report by Raju
Ramachandran on the complaint
of Zakia Jafri is in sharp contrast
to the report of the Supreme
Court-appointed Special
Investigation Team (SIT) which
had earlier given a clean chit to
Mr. Modi and others.
In my opinion, the offences which can be made out against
Shri Modi, at this prima facie stage, are offences inter alia under
Sections 153 A(1) (a) & (b) of IPC which means promoting enmi-
ty among different groups on grounds of religion and 153 B (1)
which says assertions prejudicial to national integration, Mr.
Ramchandran said in his report.
He (Mr. Modi) should also be prosecuted under IPC 166
which says public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause
injury to any person and 505 (2) meaning statements creating or
promoting enmity, hatred or ill- will, the amicus curiae said in the
report.
The SIT in its report had rejected suspended IPS officer
Sanjiv Bhatts allegations that Mr. Modi had given instructions in
a meeting held on February 27, 2002 to allow Hindus to vent
their ire and teach Muslims a lesson in the wake of the Godhra
train burning incident.
Mr. Bhatt had filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court in
this regard. Regarding Mr. Bhatt, the amicus curiae (adviser to
court) said that in my opinion, despite the aforesaid background
(SIT rejecting Mr. Bhatts claims), it does not appear very likely
that a serving police officer would make such a serious allega-
tion against Shri Modi, the Chief Minister of the State, without
some basis.
The complainant, Ms. Jafri, was on Monday handed over the
SIT report, along with the report of the amicus curiae, by the SIT
in the court of the metropolitan magistrate.
Ms. Jafris husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri
was among 69 people killed at the Gulberg Society during 2002
post-Godhra riots.
Advani must be tried for
Babri conspiracy: CBI to SC
New Delhi: The CBI has told the Supreme Court that it was not
only against dropping of conspiracy charges against BJP leader
L K Advani in the Babri Masjid demolition case but also wanted
him and other leaders to face trial along with the accused kar
sevaks. In the demolition incident, two FIRs were lodged. FIR
No. 197/92 was against kar sevaks who allegedly demolished
the mosque while FIR No. 198/92 had named Advani, Murli
Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar, Ashok Singhal, Giriraj
Kishore, Vishnu Hari Dalmiya and Sadhvi Rithambara for mak-
ing provocative speeches to instigate kar sevaks.
The CBI in its recent affidavit said, It is not possible to sep-
arate some of the accused persons from 197/92 because they
did not have a personal hand in the actual demolition of the dis-
puted structure and be transposed as accused in 198/92. The
agency added, It is incorrect to state that case crime no. 197/92
and 198/92 are two different cases and facts and the place of
occurrence are different. The investigations by CBI had dis-
closed that there was a single larger conspiracy to demolish the
disputed structure on December 6, 1992 and various accused so
charged in the consolidated chargesheet in all the 49 cases
played their own roles in achieving the object of the said criminal
conspiracy.
On Advanis role, the CBI said, Before the demolition start-
ed and during the course of demolition, various accused persons
including the eight named in the FIR of crime no. 198/92, made
provocative slogans from the manch (dais) causing the assem-
bly to turn unlawful resulting in rioting and storming of the struc-
ture by the kar sevaks.
In its 30-page affidavit, the CBI said, As and when the
domes fell, the accused leaders and others on the manch cele-
brated the same by clapping, hugging each other and distributed
sweets on the manch which was at a visible distance of 175
metres from the disputed structure.
All the offences of shouting of provocative slogans creating
enmity between two communities, affecting national integration
as well as the demolition of the structure and assault on media
persons not to create (sic) record of what was going on, formed
part of the same transaction and could not be separated from
each other. It also quoted a February 12, 2001 judgment of the
Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court.
Through the affidavit, the CBI at one go challenged the HCs
2010 judgment putting its stamp of approval on dropping of con-
spiracy charges against Advani, separation of trial of the two
FIRs and the dropping of charges altogether against Bal
Thackeray and 12 others on the ground that they were not pres-
ent in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012 11
ANALYSIS
A
s expected, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, the day-long meeting of Chief Ministers
held earlier this month to discuss the National
Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) ended without
any consensus between various state governments and
the Centre on their respective stands towards this issue.
At most, in their speeches, the chief ministers gave differ-
ent suggestions on strengthening the countrys counter-
terrorism apparatus. State governments are apprehensive
about NCTC undermining the countrys federal structure,
encroaching on powers of state authorities which, in the
perspective of most, will not help the country or the peo-
ple but can further add to problems linked with terrorism.
Not surprisingly, it is now being debated as to what
prompted the Centre to come up with such a proposal. In
this context, some importance should be given to the tim-
ing of this meeting and a few points made by Home
Minister P. Chidambaram. The meeting was held on the
5th of May, shortly ahead of the arrival of the US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the capital city.
During his concluding remarks, Chidambaram drew spe-
cific attention to, as pointed out by a chief minister, bor-
rowing the language of the NCTC in the US
Elaborating on this, he said: What we need is a counter-
terrorism organisation that mobilises all elements of
national power - diplomatic, financial, investigative, judi-
cial, police. So we need to move beyond looking upon
counter-terrorism as a police operation and enlarge our
scope to make it a truly counter-terrorism organisation
that will mobilise all elements of national power.
The timing of the meeting and reference to the US by
Chidambaram naturally raises the question as to whether
the one-day shows significance was nothing more than a
diplomatic and political gimmick. Considering that the
Centre has started giving some importance to the idea of
NCTC only recently, it would have been more appropriate
to hold this meeting after having discussed the issue with
each chief minister separately. Bringing them together to
a common platform, without having given substantial
importance to the stand of each on this highly controver-
sial issue, only adds to the view that the meeting was not
probably convened for sake of taking a serious stand on
NCTC. Nevertheless, diplomatically and politically, the
meeting was viewed as important to convey the message
that India is paying serious attention to counter-terrorism.
Chidambarams comments succeeded in conveying
the message that United States NCTC is a model for
Indian NCTC. A few harsh critics of NCTC have pointed
out that even United States NCTC does not have legal
powers which its Indian form has. Criticizing it, Tripura
Chief Minister Manik Sarkar pointed out: Even NCTC of
USA, which is the model for Indian NCTC, does not have
such legal powers of seizure, arrest etc.
T
here is yet another side to this one-day drama that
cannot be sidelined. The opposition voiced by state
governments rests primarily on their concern over their
powers being encroached upon by NCTC. Undeniably,
while referring to security agencies failure to take timely
action, Chidambaram pointed out that most of these
cases concerned so-called jihadi terrorists and cadres
of CPI (Maoist). This implies that central government is
seriously concerned about lapses in countering terrorism
where so-called jihadis and Naxalites are involved. It is
intriguing that the central government has not displayed
similar concern regarding terrorist-incidents for which
members of the Saffron brigade (Sangh Parivar) have
been held as responsible. Should this be viewed as a
biased approach held by the Central government towards
linking Muslims with terrorism and sparing non-Muslims,
even when there prevails ample evidence against the lat-
ter being responsible for many terrorist incidents? Isnt
this suggestive of a grievous lapse in the approach of the
Centre, which needs to be corrected?
I
ndeed, it is ironical that while Prime Minister and Home
Minister strongly referred to measures that need to be
undertaken to counter terrorism at various levels, includ-
ing cyber-terrorism, they ignored shortcomings in the
present policy, which need to be corrected. Yes, this
refers to numerous cases of fake encounters, in which
usually innocent Muslims have been targeted. There are
also numerous incidents of innocent Muslims being held
as suspect terrorists, not on ground of their actual
involvement in any terrorist-case but primarily because
of their religious identity. Isnt it time that central and
state governments paid adequate attention to correcting
the biased approach held by police and other officers
against Muslims?
Besides, there has been no report on day-long meeting
referring to compensating Muslims and/or their families
who have been killed in fake encounters and/or have
been wrongly held as suspect terrorists. One has no
objection to measures the Centre and state governments
may consider seriously to counter terrorism. Yet, equal
attention must be paid to correcting lapses in their pres-
ent approach of countering terrorism, the worst sufferers
of which have been Muslims. This issue must be paid
serious attention even when such meetings significance
is held to be nothing more than a political gimmick or a
diplomatic show!
Speaki ng Out
NCTC Meeting:
A Political &
Diplomatic Show
NI LOFAR SUHRAWARDY
DR. SUMIT S. PAUL
I
often wonder when pseudo-intellectuals like
Subramanian Swamy and Arun Shourie say
that the Subcontinental Muslims must
acknowledge their Hindu past as their
ancestors were Hindus. This very demand
reeks of a kind of inferiority complex thats deep
down in the psyche of Hindus and these schol-
ars are no exceptions. Can they ever deny the
fact that the great Hindus of the Subcontinent
remained the subjects of the Muslim rulers who
came from outside India? For centuries, Hindus
were slaves to Muslim rulers. Muhammad Bin
Qasim invaded Sindh in 712 AD and from that
time till 1857, Hindus were ruled by Muslims.
Those invaders were not converted from
Hinduism. They were pristine Muslims who
came from Arabia, Central Asia, Turkey and
Transoxiana. It was because of Muslims, the
Hindus of the Subcontinent learnt the nuances
of life. Chirstopher Mavet of The London Times
wrote in his seminal essay in 1978 that,
Because of the Muslims, the spineless Hindus
learnt how to fight for their rights. Before the
arrival of Muslims, they didnt even understand
the concept of unity and uniformity. Muslims
taught them how to live life gracefully. Why was
this essay proscribed by Mrs Gandhi (a
Kashmiri Brahmin)? Can you suppress the
truth? Swamy talks of Hinduism. What does he
know of it? And what does Shourie know of
Islam or his own Hinduism? These people nei-
ther know their religious tongue Sanskrit, nor do
they know even a smattering of Persian, Arabic
or even Urdu. Didnt Allama Iqbal honestly
accept the fact that his ancestors were Kashmiri
Hindus, Brahmins at that? Didnt Shibli Nomani
accept that his ancestors were Rajput Hindus?
What is all the more ridiculous is the fact that
Hindu historians arent actually aware of their
own past. Hinduism is not a religion. Its a con-
glomeration. Before Islam came to the
Subcontinent, it was a big mosaic of assorted
races and communities. Subcontinental society
was a rudderless community. The very word
Hindu is not of Indian origin. Persians used to
call the people of the Subcontinent Hindoo
because of their complexion. The word Hindoo
in Persian connotes black. If you read
Zahiruddin Babars autobiography Tuzuk-e-
Babri, written in Turkish and translated into
Persian as Babarnama by Abdul Rahim
Khanekhanan, youll come across the word
Hindoo 17 times and nowhere did he use the
term to denote the religion or faith of the people.
The classical Turkish word hidoo without
noon meant black and was used by the mod-
ern Turkish poet Najim Hikmat. Babar was least
bothered about the faith of the people of the
Subcontinent at that time. His hindoo or hidoo
was for the rather darkish Indians. Didnt Hafiz
Shirazi say, Agar aan Turk-e-Shirazi badas-
tayad dil-e-maara/ Bakhaal-e-hinduash
bakhsham Samarkand-o-Bukhara? (I can give
away cities like Samarkand and Bukhara in
preference to the black mole on the face of that
young lad from Shiraz in Turkistan; Khaal
means mole and Hinduash connotes black).
Its time, Hindus looked back and studied their
past to find their roots rather than cast asper-
sions on Muslims and others. Only those
whove nothing to brag about, resort to mud-
slinging.
What do Swamy and Shourie know of their Hindu past?
AG KHAN
Indonesia (then known as Netherlands East
Indies) during the World War II was fighting its
war of independence from the Dutch clutches.
Allied forces (British and Dutch) under the pre-
text of fighting the Japanese were deployed at
various places. The Gurkha regiment was part
of these forces comprised of Muslims, Sikhs,
Jats and Marhatas. During their operations, they
found that they were not deployed to fight the
Japanese but to suppress the Indonesians who
were struggling to throw away the Dutch yoke of
slavery. Repeated cries of Allah-u-Akbar from
the resisting Indonesians and their villages
made the Muslim soldiers realise that they were
misled by the British and, in fact, were made to
fight their co-religionists. Inspired by the zeal of
jihad, 600 Muslim soldiers defected from the
British forces and joined the Indonesian resist-
ance group of freedom fighters alongwith their
arms and ammunitions.
Though they were instructed not to listen to
radio or mix with local people, Muslim soldiers in
the British army quite often used to listen to
radio and speeches by Mahatma Gandhi,
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Muhammad Ali
Jinnah urging them to fight against the imperial-
ist forces and enlightening them about the
plights of Muslims of Indonesia who were fight-
ing for their independence.
These 600 soldiers fought shoulder to
shoulder with the Indoneaisn freedom fighters
and suffered heavy losses. By the time
Indonesia gained its independence in 1945, the
600-strong band of deserters was reduced to
only 75. With their mission coming to an end,
many of the surviving soldiers preferred to
remain in Indonesia which readily granted them
regular ranks in the Indonesian army. Some of
them married locally and those who opted to
return to their homeland (India/Pakistan) were
absorbed by the Indonesian embassies as
security officers.
On 25 September 1945, Japan surrendered
to the Allies after America dropped its atomic
bombs on Nagasiki (5 August 1945). The British
army was assigned the Indonesian region to
disarm the surrendering Japanese forces. Three
brigades of Muslim troops landed on the Dutch-
held island of Java. Brigade I landed in Jakarta,
Brigade 38 in Semarang and Brigade 49 in
Surabaya. Division 32 of Brigade 1 was com-
manded by Abdul Matin and Ghulam Ali. Their
first task was to disarm and take all Japanese as
prisoners and confiscate weapons from local
residents. When they heard appeals made by
Gandhi, Azad and Jinnah, Muslim troops
became reluctant in carrying out the British
orders which they felt as detrimental to
Indonesians.
Ghulam Ali and other Muslim soldiers
unlocked a clothing warehouse and distributed
clothes to the Indonesians. Many Indonesians
did not have enough food and suffered from
serious medical problems such as swollen feet.
Ghulam Rasul distributed rice, sugar, salt and
other items among them. Muslim troops jointly
deserted from the British army and joined the
Indonesian resistance army. They took their
equipment and weapons too alongwith them.
They were integrated into units of Tentara
Keamanan Rakayat (TKR), Badan Keamanan
Rakayat (BKR) etc. Major Ahmad Husein was
made commander of Regiment III with the rank
of Lieutenant Colonel.
Without the knowledge of their British army
commander, Ghulam Rasul and seven of his
compatriots conducted a secret meeting and
contacted the commanders of the army of the
Republic of Indonesia in the Siliwangi division.
Their code words for communication used to be
Assalamu alaikum.
In view of the refusal of 600 soldiers to
cooperate with the British army, the British high
command was obliged to change its original
plans and they tried to impress upon the people
of Indonesia and others that on 30 November
1946 they would quit Indonesia.
Recognising the significant contribution of
these Indian soldiers, to their war of
Independence, the Indonesian government
awarded them with highest honours of the coun-
try. For many it was a posthumous award.
Among the prominent soldiers who participated
in this struggle of independence were Lance
Naik Mir Khan, Gilmar Bani, Muhammad Yacub,
Umar Din, Ghulam Rasul, Ghulam Ali, Major
Abdul Sattar, Muhammad Sidik, Muhammad
Khan, Fazul and Senjah Fazul Din. Even Major
Ziaul-Haq who later became the President of
Pakistan was also among these fighters. On
one particular occasion, they rushed to rescue
Soekarno (Bung Karno) who was surrounded by
NICA soldiers (Netherlands Indies Civil
Administration) trapped inside a car. Though
Soekarno escaped unhurt, the car got highly
damaged.
About the services of these soldiers, Nip M
Karim said, I cannot find the right word to
express my gratitude. In those days of bleak
revolution, they had come forward and partici-
pated in the freedom struggle. This should be
never forgotten by the Indonesian people.
Ghulam Ali received a Presidential order to
receive the Yanautama award (1963).
(Based on The Role of Pakistan During the Indonesia
Struggle by Zahir Khan: Jakarta, 2004 (2010 ed), pub-
lished by Zahir Khan Centre, Jakarta Utaru)
Indian Muslim soldiers: heroic
role in Indonesias liberation
Some Indian Muslim soldiers who defected to the Indonesian freedom fighters
Baram Khan Hikmat Khan Zarif Khan Ibrahim Zaristan khan
GOOLAM ESSAJI VAHANVATI, the
first Muslim Attorney General of India
whose 3-year term is to expire in the
first week of June has been given 3
years extension. He was first appoint-
ed to this post in June 2009. Earlier he
was solicitor General of India for five
years. His extension is because of his
good and significant works he has
done for the central government,
including the latest controversy about
the date of birth of the Army Chief Gen.
V.K. Singh. He also represented Indian
government in many international con-
ferences on law and human rights, dis-
crimination against women, racial dis-
crimination etc.
AZIZ QURAISHI, a senior Congress
leader of 72 years of age who was for-
merly a minister in Madhya Pradesh
has been appointed Governor of
Uttarakhand. He was an active social
worker who worked for the uplift of
people belonging to weaker sections of
society and physically handicapped
persons. He also worked for the pro-
motion of education.
AADHIL, a class 4 student of Crescent
Public School in Chabyaim, Kozhikode
(Kerala) got a place in Guinness Book
of World Records for Swimming with
his hands and legs tied to a distance of
2.87 miles in three hours and 48 min-
utes, thereby breaking the earlier world
record of swimming upto two miles in
three hours in the Xiang River in 2007
set up by the Chinese girl Huang Li.
The entire process of swimming was
recorded for scrutiny and examination
by the officials of Guinness Book.
Ms. SANIA FATEMA, a student of
Amity International School, after
achieving creditable success in MBBS
final year examination has been got
registered with Medical Council of
India. She also visited U.K. and U.S.A.
two times in connection with her edu-
cation. Grand daughter of (late) Azad
Rasool, former Principal of Jamia
School, she aspires to serve her coun-
try and community as a doctor and also
to open a charitable hospital in the
name of her maternal grand father
where treatment of poor people will be
free.
ARSHAD MIR, who is engaged in
handicrafts business like production
and export of handicraft items like
scarfs, Pashmina and Kashmiri scarfs,
embroidery etc., has been elected Vice
President of Export Promotion Council.
Owner of Mir Handicrafts, Srinagar, he
is also the Chairman of Srinagar Export
& Manufacturers Association.
Ms. SAMINA SHAFIQUE, a member
of All India Congress Committee has
been appointed a member of National
Commission for Women.
Ms. SHAZIA QADEER alias Uzma of
Darbhanga who secured first position
in her city and school in 14th National
Science Olympiad Foundation
Competition 2011 was honoured with a
Gold Medal by her schools Principal.
Indian Tabla Maestro, Ustad ZAKIR
HUSAIN will lead the group of Indian
artistes who have been invited to par-
ticipate in the 3-month long cultural
festival, termed Cultural Olympiad and
London 2012 Festival to be held in
London and other places from 21 June
to 9 September 2012. All the 204
countries of the world have been invit-
ed to participate in this Festival /
Olympiad which will feature thousands
of events in which about 25000
artistes from all the 204 countries will
participate.
Syed GHULAM AKBAR, a former
finance secretary of Jamat-e Islami
Hind and member of Markazi
Majlis-e Shoora died of heart attack
in Hyderabad on 29 April at the age
of 76 years. He had also worked in
Saudi Arabias home ministry as an
engineer. A highly qualified person,
he had obtained mechanical and
electrical engineering degree from
Usmania University and anti-corro-
sion engineering degree from
Moscow University. He was a wide-
ly travelled person and had trav-
elled to more than 10 important
countries of the world. He had also
worked in two public sector organi-
sations i.e. Indian Drugs &
Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (IDPL) and
Bokaro Steel Plant as an engineer.
He leaves behind his wife, three
daughters and two sons.
M. SALEEM, noted journalist and
social worker died of heart attack
on 22 April while he was on his way
to Delhi from some place where he
had gone. With the help of a police
van he was rushed to Guru Tegh
Bahadur Hospital but was declared
brought dead. He was a famous
Urdu and English journalist and
was associated with the former
English weekly Blitz, Bombay for
about 20 years as a crime reporter.
He was also associated with many
other Urdu newspapers like Qaumi
Awaz and his own weekly Paigham-
e Chaman which is still being pub-
lished. In 1980 he set up Maulana
Muhammad Ali Jauhar Academy of
which he was general secretary till
his death. He was 62 and is sur-
vived by his wife and four sons.
Hakeem ABDUL HAMEED
QASMI, Head of Darul Uloom
Deobands historical library who
was also a famous hakeem (unani
physician) died of heart attack on
23 April at the age of 65 years. He
had played an important role in sys-
temically organising the library. He
also used to teach in Darul Ulooms
Tibbia College and treat patients.
After the closure of Tibbia College
because of legal hurdles, he was
appointed incharge of the library.
Dr. AHMAD HUSAIN Saifi, noted
poet and unani physician of Amroha
died in the city on 3 May at the age
of about 85 years after a prolonged
illness. He was president of Sher-o
Adab Society of Amroha.
Haji Syed MAHRAM ALI Shohrat
Nauganvi, noted poet and mercia
(dirge) composer and singer and
well known social worker died of
heart attack late night on 20 April.
He had founded Shohrat Inter
College and Shohrat I.T.I. in 1981
which are now famous institutions
in Naugavan Sadat (Amroha). He
was a great social worker also
because of which he had become
very popular. He was 70 and leaves
behind two sons and six daughters.
Justice MURTAZA HUSAIN, former
judge of Allahabad High Court and
former Lok Ayukt of U.P. suddenly
died on 26 April at Lucknow. Born in
a village of Faizabad in 1920, he
retired as judge in 1983 after which
he was appointed as Lok Ayukt and
retired from this office in 1989. An
active social worker, he also wrote
a number of books. He was also the
founder-secretary of Unity Degree
College. He is survived by four sons
and two daughters.
AHSAN RAZA KHAN, noted histo-
rian and a member of Indian
Council of Historical Research died
in a Shimla Hospital on 26 April at
the age of 72 years. Starting his
professional career as a Fellow at
AMU, he later joined Indian Institute
of Advanced Studies at Shimla. He
also held many important posts in
Himachal University in early 1980s
including Founder-Chairman of the
Department of Journalism & Mass
Communication. At Himal
University he had the honour of
being the teacher of present
President of Afghanistan, President
Hamid Karzai. An author of many
books, he is survived by two daugh-
ters.
ALI ABBAS NAQVI, a senior social
worker and literary personality of
Amroha died on 28 April in the city
at the age of 82 years. Born in a lit-
erary and intellectual family he was
active member of many social,
political and literary organisations
and his social and community serv-
ices cannot be forgotten. He wrote
at least two important and popular
books and retired from an important
post in Delhi Public Library. He
leaves behind three sons and four
daughters.
NASIR QURAISHI, a Smajwadi
Party leader and editor of Urdu-
Hindi newspapers was shot dead
by unidentified assailants late
night on 26 April as he was return-
ing to his residence on his bike. He
was shot from behind so he could
not see them. Reason of his
assassination is not known but
police believe that old revalry may
be the reason.
NEWSMAKERS
12 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012
MEN & WOMEN IN NEWS
OBITUARIES
Tuesday April 24, 2012 - IANS NRI business
magnate M. A. Yusuf Ali has been selected for
the prestigious Interfaith Harmony Award spe-
cially endowed with United Nations Interfaith
Harmony Week initiatives and observations.
Kerala-born M. A. Yusuffali is dubbed now
as one of the most influential Indians in the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC), a political and eco-
nomic alliance of six Middle Eastern countries -
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates,
Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.
He is the first non-Arab elected member of
Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
Khaleej Times reported.
The Thrissur-born Yusuf Ali is managing
director of the Middle Easts retail giant Emke
Lulu Group. The group is all set to register a 20
percent business growth this year, hitting $5.4
billion as the UAEs home -grown regional
brand expanded outlets to 100 with the opening
of a hypermarket at its newly built mall last
month.
Lulu, which started out as supermarket and
department store chain, has gradually moved
onto to the big format hypermarkets (retail store
that combines a department store and a grocery
supermarket), and now manages 10 shopping
malls in the GCC, said Yusuf Ali.
The retail major, accounting for 32 percent
of the retail business within the GCC, cruised to
a 19 percent sales growth in 2011 to $4.5 billion
despite the general downturn.
Yusuf Ali said despite the global financial
meltdown and industry-wide recession, the Lulu
Group has gone ahead with its plan. It opened
23 hypermarkets and shopping malls during the
last three years in almost all major cities of the
GCC.
Speaking to reporters, Yusuf Ali said Lulu
brands success story would continue apace
with the opening of more outlets in the Middle
East and India this year.
He said the retail major would have four
new stores in 2012 in the GCC and Egypt and
would make a retail foray into India with the
opening of a hypermarket by end 2012.
The groups next move is to launch a
Webstore. One of the most popular and
recognised local brands of the region, Lulu
today is a market leader in almost all the coun-
tries that they operate, he said.
Delhi Urdu Academys Awards Executive Committee in its meet-
ing chaired by Vice Chairman Prof. Akhtarul Wasey selected the
following persons for its annual awards for 2011 which were
approved by Academys chairperson, chief minister Shiela
Dikshit. This year, because of 150th death anniversary of last
Moghul king and poet Bahadur Shah Zafar, Academys highest
award Bahadur Shah Zafar Award was given to three persons,
(for this year only) instead of the normal one award. The three
men of letters selected for this Award are WARIS DEHLWI,
prominent Urdu critic, author, intellectual and author of about two
dozen books; MUHAMMAD ALVI, prominent and senior poet
credited with about half a dozen anthologies of poetic works
(who is also a Sahitya Academy awardee); and MAZHARUL
HAQUE ALVI, famous author and translator. All these three liter-
ary personalities are honoured with All India Bahadur Shah Zafar
Award separately which carries a cash prize of Rs. 1.5 lakh, a
shawl, memento and certificate each. Dr. ASLAM PARVEZ, for-
mer Professor of J.N. University (Delhi) and editor of Urdu Adab,
a quarterly literary magazine is honoured with Pandit Brij Mohan
Datatriya Kaifi Award which also carries an award of Rs. 1.5 lakh
in cash, shawl, memento and certificate. Other awardees are:
Ms. ANWAR NUZHAT, senior and famous fiction writer and nov-
elist of Delhi is honoured with Creative Prose Award, QAMAR
Sambhali, noted poet of Delhi is honoured with Poetry Award,
Dr. MAULA BAKHSH, Urdu Professor of Dayal Singh College,
Delhi and a great critic is honoured with Research and Criticism
Award; Dr. AKHLAQ AHMAD Aahan, a prominent translator
and President of JNU, Delhis Department of Persian is hon-
oured with Urdu Translation Award and MAUDOOD SIDDIQI, a
noted and senior journalist of Delhi is honoured with Urdu
Journalism Award. Another award, for the first time i.e. Fine Arts
Award is given to Ustad IQBAL AHMAD KHAN, famous artiste
and musician of Delhi Gharana. All these awards carry a cash
prize of Rs. 50 thousand, a shawl, memento and certificate each.
SHAMOEL AHMAD, distinguished Urdu fiction writer and novel-
ist has been selected for being honoured this year with sixteenth
Majlis Farogh-e Urdu Adab, Doha (Qatar) Award. His name for
this Award was decided by a jury of four prominent Urdu men of
letters headed by Prof. Gopi Chand Narang, noted Urdu critic.
Other jury members were Prof. Dr. Muhammad Zakir,
Chanderbhan Khayal and Dr. Parvez Shaharyar. Collections of
his short stories are Singhardaan, Ankaboot (meaning spider),
Al-qamboos ki Gardan. His novels are Nadi (published by
Penguin) and Mahamari (epidemic). He wrote short stories in
Punjabi also and the collections of his Punjabi short stories is
titled Mrig Trishna which means thirst of deer. In Pakistan,
ATAUL HAQ QASMI, famous writer of humour and sarcasm has
been selected for this Award which consists of Rs. 1.5 lakh, Gold
Medal and Scroll of Honour. These awards will be given in Doha
(Qatar) on 8 November 12.
SADIQ MAHMOOD, a student of Sonepat (Haryana)s Jamia
Imam Ahmad who secured first position in All India competition in
Hadees was given a shield and a cash prize of Rs. 10,000 at the
madrasa function held on 26 April 2012.
Indian Islamic scholars and intellectuals Maulana Syed
MUHAMMAD SHAKIR NAQVI, Prof. AKHTARUL WASEY of
Delhi Urdu Academy, Maulana SHIEKH MUMTAZ ALI, Prof.
Syed AZIZUDDIN HUSAIN and Kashmirs SHAHEED MATH-
ARI PHILOSOPHICAL & CULTURAL CENTRE were honoured
with Shaheed Mathari Award by New Delhis Khana-e Farhang
Jamboori Islami (cultural section of Irans embassy in Delhi) in
recognition of their research and scholarly services at a function
held in the embassy premises on 4 May, the martyrdom day of
Shaheed Murtaza Mathari, Irans great Islamic researcher, intel-
lectual and teacher.
M.A. ALAMGIR, a senior journalist of U.N.I. Urdu Service has
been honoured by Indira Gandhi National Open Univesrity
(IGNOU) and UNICEF in recognition of his great services in the
field of health and creating awareness among people about vac-
cination of various diseases, polio etc. The award was given to
him by English journalist Mark Tuli at a function held in Delhi on
26 April 12.
EHTASHAMUL HASAN, Urdu journalist of ETV and NAEEM
JAVED, photographer of Rashtriya Sahara Urdu daily were
among the 24 journalists and photographers of different T.V.
channels, newspapers and magazines of Urdu and Hindi who
were honoured with Mata Shri Media Award. The awards were
presented to the awardees at the 36th Mata Shri Media Award
function held in Delhi on 6 May by Shahnawaz Husain, BJP
leader.
Dr. SAABIR HUSAIN was one of the six senior veterinary doc-
tors of U.P. who were honoured with awards at a function held on
the occasion of World Cattle Medication Day at Lucknow on 29
April. Agriculture Commissioner Alok Ranjan said while speaking
on this occasion that a large veterinary hospital equipped with
modern facilities and equipment including ultrasound, x-ray etc.
facilities will be opened in Lucknow soon.
AWARDS
Kerala-born YUSUF ALI makes waves in Gulf
SPECIAL REPORTS
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012 13
BY OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT
Kolkata: Welfare Party of India (WPI) organized
its two-day Orientation Camp for central office
bearers, members of the federal working com-
mittee and state party functionaries at Kolkata
during 27-28 April. Its theme was Policies,
Priorities & Future course of Action. Issues dis-
cussed during the orientation camp and the
main speaker about each were: Social Groups
and Marginalised Sections (Women - Mrs.
Sheema Mohsin; Tribals - Dr Lalitha Naik;
Dalits - Dr. Subramani; Minorities, general
issues - Fr. Abraham Joseph; Reservation -
Aariz Mohammad Khan; Reforms in the Indian
electoral system - MC Raj; Food security &
health policies - Aariz Mohammad Khan;
Education/RTE - Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan;
Employment - PC Hamza; Indian Economic
Policies - Sadatullah Husaini; Security -
Mujtaba Farooq.
At the end of the two-day discussions, an
open panel discussion (Dr Subramaniam, A.H.
Akhtar, Mohammad Ibraheem, Ambujakson, Dr.
Raisuddin, Zakir Zubairi) and an open session
were held on important issues facing the coun-
try, which should be taken up by the party.
On the third day (29 April) the second meet-
ing of the Federal Working Committee was
held. The first one was held last year in
Hyderabad during 4-5 June. The meeting dis-
cussed the steps and issues taken up during
the past year and the future strategy and the
issues which will be taken up like state terror-
ism, electoral reforms, corruption, women
issues, waqf, reservation and economic
reforms.
The West Bengal WPI unit which facilitated
these meetings also held its first public meeting
on 28 April at Kolkatas Rani Rashmoni Avenue
in the Espalnade area. WPI National President
Mujtaba Farooq said that people are confused
with the current political practices and leader-
ship. WPI is serious in its commitment to offer
an alternate for people. Policies of national par-
ties are changing from pro-poor to pro-corpo-
rate, he said adding that the burgeoning gap
between haves and have-nots, if not addressed
well, will lead to social conflict and will give birth
to Occupy Wall Street-like movements in our
country.
WPI Vice President and former Karnataka
minister Dr. Lalitha Naik said that WPI stands
for affirmative actions and special measures for
all weaker sections and communities till they
achieve complete social emancipation and dig-
nified space in society.
General Secretary of WPI Dr SQR Illyas
said that the party stands for development but
not at the cost of common people as was seen
in Singur in Bengal. Dr Illyas added that WPI is
of the view that humanity and human beings
must get precedence over economy and capi-
tal. All development should be implemented
with a humane face. He criticised the motives of
the Central Government on some current
issues like National Counter Terrorism Centre
which will give undue powers to the law enforc-
ing authorities which will commit grave violation
of human rights and innumerable number of
fake encounters.
Another WPI Vice President Fr. Abraham
Joseph, a priest from Kerala, attacked corrup-
tion. He lamented that corruption has made life
of common people more miserable than ever.
He alleged that corrupt and inept officials get
political patronage. He made it clear that doors
of the Party will remain closed in the face of
tainted persons.
Another WPI Vice President, Maulana
Abdul Wahab Khilji, a religious scholar, said that
no ones integrity is to be questioned merely on
the basis of his region, religion, caste etc.
Another WPI Vice President Dr Zafarul-
Islam Khan said that we are encouraged by the
seemingly impossible ouster of CPIM from
West Bengal and believe that people of India
can do the same to all corrupt and communal
forces now occupying the seats of power in the
country.
West Bengal WPI president Dr Raisuddin
called on the Mamata Banerjee-led government
to keep the words of their election manifesto.
He said that West Bengal having the tradition of
accommodating social justice and progressive
movements and of safeguarding communal
amity is giving good response to the Party since
its state unit was launched in last October. He
said that, after 34 years of Left Front rule, the
people of Bengal brought change at Writers
Building with lots of hopes and aspirations but
they are getting disappointed at the slow pace
of reforms. For example, the Left government at
its last days decided to provide 10% reservation
to socially and educationally backward Muslims
and Mamata Banerjee included it in her election
promise also. The new government though
recently announced many measures for Muslim
uplift has not taken any step regarding this cru-
cial matter while it is going to complete its first
year in office.
He took strong exception to the govern-
ments lack of seriousness in starting the AMU
centre at Murshidabad and in controlling corrup-
tion in government schemes. The state govern-
ment failed to give 100 days work under
NREGS prompting mass exodus and migration
of people to other states.
Welfare Party federal committee meets in Kolkata
Alliance School
Murshidabad holds
its 4th annual day
Murshidabad: Alliance School Murshidabad, sit-
uated at Uttar Ghoshpara near Jalangi town in
Murshidabad district, celebrated its 4th annual
day on 30 April. It was attended by the Charity
Alliance president Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan as
well as by a number of local dignitaries like the
Murshidabad MLA Ms Souni Shingha Ray
(Congress), Mousumi Begum, headmistress of
the Raipara Vidyalaya, Samsuzzoha Biswas,
headmaster of Jalangi High School, Asraful
Islam, headmaster of Ghoshpara Sarvapally
Vidyaniketan, Ms Bijoli Mondal, Pradhan of
Ghoshpara Gram Panchayat, while the area
school inspector deputed two representatives to
attend the function on his behalf.
Dr Khan exhorted the children and their
parents to take education seriously as it is the
only avenue for progress in todays life.
At the end, Charity Alliance president dis-
tributed certificates to 19 persons who complet-
ed the 4th batch of the tailoring course organ-
ised by the vocational centre run by the charity
at Uttar Ghoshpara. At present 36 trainees in
the 5th tailoring batch are receiving training in
this 6-month long course which has helped
many men and housewives in the area to stand
on their own feet, open shops and start supply-
ing ready-made garments to shops in the area.
Even the school children and teachers were
wearing uniforms and shirts stitched by persons
who learnt tailoring in this vocational centre
which earlier also taught zari and knitting work.
The school, which has 360 children and 15
teachers upto class 6 at present, is adminis-
tered by Golam Kibriya while the vocational
centre is looked after by Hakim Mondal, both
full-time local staff of the charity since it started
work in the area in the wake of the hunger
deaths in 2005.
For more information on the history and nature of Charity
Alliance work in the area, please visit charityalliance.in
Recepients of completion certificates of the tailoring course Parents at the annual day of the school
Children of Alliance School
Public meeting
COMMUNITY NEWS
14 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012
M.P. govt honours three Muslims
Bhopal: With the trend set by U.P. election results and assembly
elections a year and half away M.P. government realised the need
for appeasing Muslims. Three state level awards for prominent
Muslim names have been instituted. While the first one named
after Havaldar Abdul Hamid a Param Vir Chakra (posthumous)
recipient of 1965 Indo-Pak war was given to Abdul Rashid Patel
of Barwani for his social service; Ashfaqullah Khan award named
after great freedom fighter of the famous Kakori case was con-
ferred on Mehmood Ahmad Quaderi of Jabalpur for rendering
social service. The third award in honour of former President
APJ Abdul Kalam is conferred on Dr. Razia Hamid described as
an author of two dozen books.
Court orders appointment of 5500 Urdu translators
Lucknow: Justice Shabihul Hasnain of Allahabad High Courts
Lucknow Bench has issued a notice to UPs chief secretary, in
response to a writ petition filed by lawyer Muhammad Ali on
behalf of Syed Hadi Asghar and some others, asking him why the
5500 or so Urdu translators, instead of being appointed in UP
government offices, were appointed in municipal corporations
and other municipal institutions. The learned judge also directed
the chief secretary either to look into this matter himself or
appointment a high power committee to find out this irregularity,
rectify this mistake within four months and submit a report to the
court about progress in this matter.
It may be stated that the petitioners had stated in their peti-
tion that the state government had issued orders for the appoint-
ment of 5500 Urdu translators in state government departments
but some government officers, under a conspiracy or bias had
appointed them not in government departments but in municipal
corporations and bodies because of which their future has
become uncertain and after retirement they will also be losing the
benefits of pension and other post retirement facilities. Hence
they had requested the court that they all should be appointed in
government offices. The learned judge stated in his verdict that by
not appointing these translators in government offices the con-
cerned officers, who are government employees, have committed
this mistake and hence they themselves, or in other words the
government itself, should rectify this mistake. The judge admitted
that by appointing them in municipal bodies / institutions they will
be losing pension and other post retirement benefits to which all
government employees are entitled. The honourable judge also
said that all the affected employees need not file such petitions
individually now and this verdict will be applicable to all the (5500)
affected employees / translators.
More than 0.2 m apply for U.P. Madrasa Board exams
Lucknow: Every year the number of students appearing for U.P.
Madrasa Education Board examinations is increasing steadily.
About a decade ago when 20 to 25 thousand students used to
appear for this Boards examinations their number has now
reached in lakhs. Under this Board annual examinations for Molvi,
Munshi, Aalim, Kamil and Fazil will be held in the last week of
May. This year there will be an increase of about 25000 students
for this examination as compared to last year when applications
of about 180,000 students (boys and girls) were received.
According to the Boards Registrar Javed Aslam, this year about
2,05,000 boy and girls students have applied to appear in these
examinations for different classes. After completion of entry of
applications in computers, their districtwise lists will be prepared
and depending upon the number of students in each district,
examination centres will be decided. According to Javed Aslam,
Board has unanimously decided that there should be at least one
examination centre in each district so that students may not have
to go to another district to appear in examinations. In districts
where the number of examinees is quite large, more than one
centre will be fixed. He (Javed) also said that there will be sepa-
rate centres for boys and girls.
Kishanganjs 35 middle schools upgraded to High Schools
Kishan Ganj: Kishan Ganj, a Muslim majority district of Bihar, is
among the most backward, educationally as well as economical-
ly, areas of Bihar where upto now there were only 35 middle
schools. Now, after more than six decades of Independence the
state government has upgraded all these 35 middle schools to the
level of High Schools and the list has also been officially issued
by Kishan Ganjs District Education Officer (D.E.O.) Ejaz Shoaib
Hashmi who said while talking to media persons that the state
government is promise-bound to eradicate educational backward-
ness from the state. However, whereas the people of this district
are happy and satisfied with this step of the government, five mid-
dle schools in neighbouring Simbal Bari are those which needed
upgradation very urgently but they have not been upgraded which
has disappointed thousands of people of this place and they are
unhappy. Important people of this place told media persons that
in Simbal Bari 80 percent children of middle schools of minority
community (Muslims) and 20 percent of Dalit community receive
education but it is a pity that these schools have not yet been
upgraded. They said that after 8th class girls of this area either sit
at home or work in fields because High Schools are at a great dis-
tance and they cannot and do not want to go there. Ejaz Hashmi
said that he will do everything possible to get these middle
schools also upgraded.
People have great respect and praise for Ejaz Hashmi
because, according to them, he is working very hard for the
removal of educational backwardness, the results of which are
being seen and felt by every body.
A.P. government allocates 35 acres of land to Waqf Board
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh government has allocated 35 acres
of prime land to A.P. Waqf Board in lieu of the land of a Dargah in
Hyderabad which was acquired by the state government. With
this the state government has so far returned a total of 85 acres
to the Waqf Board against the Dargahs land occupied by the gov-
ernment. APs minister for minority welfare Syed Ahmadullah
handed over the relevant papers of ownership of 35 acres of land
of Koheela village near Hyderabad to the Chairman of State Waqf
Board Ghulam Rasool Biyabani at a function held in the secretari-
at in the presence of prominent Muslim and other leaders includ-
ing MIM-MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi. The minister said that the first
part of the 50 acres was given back to the Board by the then chief
minister (late) Y.S. Raj Shekhar Reddy and at that time he had
promised to return the remaining 35 acres also. This land of
35 acres is not, however, near or adjacent to the Dargah but at a
different place because the government was not able to find land
near or adjacent to the the Dargah (of Hazrat Sharifuddin) which
is near the Shamsabad airport.
T.V. serial on Sufi saints under Roshni kay Minar
New Delhi: A T.V. serial related to the 800th annual Urs of
Khwaja Gharib Nawaz Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti Ajmeri will be
telecast by Aalami Sahara Urdu channel twice a week on
Sundays and Thursday from 26 April at 10.30 p.m. In addition to
India this spiritual serial can be seen in other countries of the
Middle East, West Asia, Europe and Africa also. Consisting of
about 60 episodes, this serial has been produced by Shaukatullah
Khan Qadiri, and directed by Qari Muhammad Mian Mazahiri,
journalist and chief editor of the daily Secular Qayadat (leader-
ship), script writer is Farooq Argali, Urdu writer, researcher and
journalist. Since Sufi music also finds a place in this serial, its
music director is Iqbal Ahmad Khan Nizami. The serial starts from
Makka and Madina, centres of Islam and covers saints who visit-
ed and settled down in India during the course of a thousand
years including among others Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti,
his disciple Khwaja Bakhtiar Kaki Chishti and ends with the 19th
century famous saint Hazrat Shah Masood Naqshbandi
Muhaddis Dehlwi and includes all the four chains of Sufis i.e.
Naqshbandi, Qadiri, Chishti, Sahrawardy and their branches
spread all over the world. The serial is in simple and easy lan-
guage. In some episodes messages of the different sufi saints
have been presented in original Persian by different artistes in
their own peculiar style with translations in simple and easily intel-
ligible language. Effort has also been made in this serial to
include the messages of leaders and saints of other religions and
to give the message of social equality, brotherhood, religious tol-
erance and humanism.
UP govts plan to free innocent Muslims is dangerous: RSS
The RSS has protested the move of the Samajwadi party to
release all jailed innocent Muslims by saying that this kind of act
would give them a licence to do anything and get away with it.
RSS also claims that a similar demand to release saffron terrorist
would raise a lot of hue and cry. RSS in its mouthpiece Organiser
has criticised Akhilesh Yadav for promoting a communal agenda
for political benefits. RSS has also mentioned that such an
announcement will force the police to think twice before arresting
Muslims and because of that the investigating agencies would be
under tremendous pressure.
Muslims deviating from the true path of Islam: Kalbe Sadiq
Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, senior member of the Muslim Personal
Law Board while speaking at a Ram Katha gathering at Rajkot in
Ahmedabad recently asked the Muslims to ignore the preaching
of the fundamentalists and follow Islamic scholars in order to
learn and know the true spirit of Islam. Sadiq also expressed his
unhappiness that Muslims are deviating from the true path of
Islam. Maulana Sadiq said that namaz is a pious activity but while
offering namaz it must also be taken into account that nobody is
troubled by it. He emphasised that due to shortage of space the
general practice of offering namaz on pavements or roads should
be avoided so that people do not face any problem.
NCM seeks Delhi govt clarification over school admissions
New Delhi: The question of discrimination in the admission of
Muslim children in nursery classes by private and public schools
in Delhi was raised by L.J.P. president Ram Vilas Paswan and
NCPs general secretary Tariq Anwar in Parliament (Rajya Sabha)
in the third week of March. Thereafter National Commission for
Minorities (NCM) Chairman Wajahat Habibullah had written a let-
ter to Delhis chief minister Shiela Dikshit bringing this fact to her
notice and seeking clarification from her. NCM chairman had stat-
ed that after receiving LJP secretary general Abdul Khaliqs com-
plaint to this effect and also complaints of discrimination received
from some other persons regarding discrimination by schools in
nursery admission of Muslim children he had sought a clarification
from the chief minister. Though the chief minister had verbally
stated that the complaints of discrimination in admission of
Muslim children to nursery classes are not true, an official reply
from her is still awaited and on receipt of her reply, further action
will be considered. He however admitted that this problem is real-
ly serious. When Wajahat Habibullah was Chief Information
Commissioner he had issued a guideline that 20 percent seats in
all such schools should be reserved for the admission of children
of persons leading life below poverty line but no school followed
these guidelines of the CIC. Chief minister Shiela Dikshit had also
stated, while denying any discrimination, that after receiving com-
plaints of discrimination by these schools, enquiries were made
and it was found that famous public schools like St. Mary,
Presentation Convent and St. Francis never made any discrimi-
nation in admitting Muslim children and in these schools 16%
seats have been filled by Muslim children. She however did not
give any figures about other non-Christian Schools whose num-
bers are more than hundred. It is estimated that out of about
12400 seats in nursery classes of private schools in Delhi only
208 seats have been filled up by Muslim children which is less
than 2 percent! She however said that since these schools have
adopted the principle of neighbourhood for the purpose of admis-
sion, this may be the reason of lesser number of admission of
Muslim children. Habibullah however said that this issue being
really very serious, he is waiting for an official reply from the C.M.
before thinking of any other step.
I.A.S. officers agony: justice denied
Pradeep Sharma, suspended IAS officer, expressed his agony
against the Gujarat government by saying, In Gujarat power lies
only with one man. He claimed that he and his IPS brothers were
being targetted by the state government. He described the exist-
ing centralised power very dangerous for democracy.
Kamraz to organise intll. literary festival in J&K
Adbee Markaz Kamraz aimed at promoting Kashmiri language is
planning to organise an International Kashmir Literary Festival in
the state on the lines of Jaipur Literary Festival to project Kashmir
on the International literary scene. Dr Shujaat Bukhari, General
Secretary of the organisation and in charge of International
Festivals has said that the event will be the first of its kind in the
state and authors from across the globe would be invited to share
their perspective with the local authors. In this literary festival,
Kashmirs cultural and literary history, students, teachers and
scholars from universities and educational institutions will be
involved. This will be a platform not only for exposing local
authors to an international audience to showcase their works but
also an opportunity to highlight the sufferings of the people in the
last 21 years.
Jamia Millias 50-bed hospital inaugurated
New Delhi: Jamia Millia Islamia Universitys own 50-bed hospital
named King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Hospital was inau-
gurated by Jamias former Vice Chancellor Lt. Gen. (Retd.)
M.A. Zaki in the university campus on 28 April in the presence of
the university authorities, teaching and non-teaching staff mem-
bers and students. In this hospital, equipped with medical, surgi-
cal and other modern facilities 50 patients can be admitted simul-
taneously. There is also a Faculty of Dentistry in Jamia which will
soon become a dental college.
Ahmedabad: The heavy toll of victims during the 2002 riots
remains a nightmare for many who survived. However, their
hopes for justice suffered a serious set back with two recent
judgements in which all the accused were acquitted.
The Gujarat High Court acquitted all the 12 accused convict-
ed for killing 14 persons. They were earlier sentenced to life
imprisonment. With the prosecution reluctant to challenge the
acquittal the persons went scot free. The statements of five eye
witnesses had led to the convictions. Thirty-one of the accused
were nabbed from a vehicle with arms but the witnesses did not
testify against them during the trial. They were acquitted by the
High Court because the evidence was challenged by the defen-
dants The defence lawyer said that the witnesses were present
in a relief camp but turned up to testify before the police only four
days later on March 7, 2002. The prosecution case was neither
properly presented nor meticulously pursued. The reluctance to
challenge the acquittal establishes the half hearted effort on the
part of the prosecution.
Close on the heels of the Ghodassar riot came the decision
by a trial court in Visanagar, acquitting all the 109 accused per-
sons in the murder of two persons Judge K.B. Manganani gave
them the benefit of doubt in the seven-year long trial.
This reminds one of the recent popular film (televised on DD)
No one killed Jessica. It had reached a dead end till some
courageous person took the bull by the horns which ultimately
led to the conviction of Manu Sharma. In the Gujarat case more
Teestas are needed to carry out the campaign for justice.
Both the parties felt aggrieved in the Ode village case in
which 18 persons were sentenced to life imprisonment and
five others were sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
While family members of those killed during the riots felt dis-
appointed and had wanted a death penalty for killing 23 per-
sons; members of the accused persons began protesting the
judgement by shouting anti-Modi slogans. In fact, prior to the
decision the village had observed a bandh under tight police
security.
The reluctance of the prosecution in all the cases sends
wrong signals. Zaheera, Zakia Jafari and Teesta Setalvad
cannot fight all the battles. It is for the state to show a strong
will-power to ensure that justice prevails. This, it seems, is
conspicuous by its absence. Till then Satyamev Jayate
remains mere lip service. (AG Khan)
They came, they killed, they escaped
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012 15
COMMUNITY NEWS
Amjad Khan: an unsung hero
Kudos to all who helped secure the
release of Sukma district collector
Alex Paul Menon from Maoists to
reunite with his family but what is
equally painful is that none of them
even bothered to acknowledge the
bravery of Amjad Khan, the body
guard of Menon killed, while pro-
tecting the district collector from
Maoist. At a time when several
politicians, bureaucrats and others
visited the house of the abducted
collector, no one reached the
doorsteps of Amjad House, if only
to console the aggrieved family.
Amjads brother Feroze has said
that no one from any side talked to
us, the government could have at
least acknowledged my brothers
valour. Feroze complains that earlier the government had
announced that Amjads dead body would be brought by helicop-
ter but later on refused and they themselves had to send people
to bring the dead body, so what can be expected from the estab-
lishment? He lived his life with his favourite quote which he also
got painted on his motorbike, Sahido ki Basti Banti Nahin Sasti
(Abode of martyrs is never cheap to build). Amjad had admitted
his father in hospital in Raipur who is a heart patient and then left
for Sukma on 16 April never to return. The entire family is
shocked as to why there is no recognition despite the fact that he
was killed while trying to save district collector Alex Paul Menon.
Quota and Batla harmed Congress in UP: Cong panel
The panel constituted under AKAntony to assess the reasons for
the dismal performance of the Congress in the recently held
assembly elections, found that controversy over minority quota,
Batla House encounter and irresponsible and divergent state-
ment by various senior leaders led to the poll debacle in Uttar
Pradesh. Apart from all this, the panel has concluded that the
other reasons were lack of organisational structure at the grass
root level, wrong selection of candidates and failure to counter
the charges of corruption against the UPA government. The
panel while citing all the reasons for the unexpectedly poor per-
formance absolved Rahul Gandhi of any blame for poor perform-
ance despite the fact that he led the campaign in the state and he
had himself taken the blame for his role in the election defeat in
the state after the election results were declared. The panel with-
out pinpointing any leader has outlined that the minority sub
quota did not strike a chord with the Muslim electorates. Two sen-
ior leaders, P Chidambaram and Digvijay Singhs contradictory
statements on the Batla House encounter created unnecessary
confusion in the minds of the voters. Salman Khursheeds con-
frontation with the election commission was out of the context
and it further alienated the OBC.
AIMES to launch educational and socio plan for Muslims
In order to expedite the educational process particularly in med-
ical, technical and other higher education, the All India Muslim
Educational Society (AIMES) is planning an action plan for the
Educational and Socio Economic upliftment of Muslims and their
empowerment through concrete action plans and projects. In
order to make its action plan more acceptable the AIMES is to
organise a conference next month. The main purpose of this
action plan would be to motivate Muslim students to find ways to
ameliorate their educational standard by generating a competi-
tive atmosphere for boys and girls. Dr Idrees Qureshi, president
of AIMES said that it is the need of the hour to promote literacy
among Muslim boys and girls in the northern states. Muslims in
these states are less educated as compared to Muslim of south-
ern states. As per the figures available the literacy rate in Kerala
is 100 percent and other southern states have 90 percent educat-
ed Muslims. In Madhya Pradesh it is 77 percent. In northern
states the percentage of educated Muslims is 35 percent.
Qureshi believes that if the overall percentage goes up then
Muslims could also become a part of the development process
because the country cannot achieve progress and development
if one community lags behind other communities. Qureshi also
said that although the government has accepted 80 percent of
the recommendations of the Sachar committee, only 20 percent
of Muslim have benefited from it due to lack of proper implemen-
tation by the government.
Environment Award named after Veer Abdul Hameed in U.P.
Lucknow: UPs Akhilesh Yadav government in an important deci-
sion has named the states award in the field of environment and
ecology in the memory of Shaheed Abdul Hameed winner of
Indias highest military award, Param Vir Chakra. Till now it was
named Manyawar Shri Kanshi Ram Award for Forests, Wild
Animals and Environmental Protection Award Scheme by the
Mayawati government. Now it has been decided and approved
by the state cabinet to name it Veer Abdul Hameed Jungalaat
aur Mahauliyat Tahaffuz Inam (Veer Abdul Hameed Award for
Protection of Environment and Forests).
One days catch of fish makes a man a multi-millionaire
Rajkot (Gujarat): A fishterman of Jamnagar Hasan Isha Bhayya
set out for about a week-long fishing expedition at sea on 24 April
but on the very first day by sheer good luck his catch of ghol fish,
an expensive and somewhat rare species of fish was so big that
he was unable to go further and had to return to the shore. His
catch of ghol fish on that day was about 550 kgs, a rarest of the
rare case. This booty was so great and heavy that he had to seek
the help of more fishing trawlers owned by others to bring them
to the shore. It may be stated here that one ghol fish on an aver-
age is about 4 ft. long and weighs between 30 and 45 kgs. The
normal price of a male ghol is about Rs. 1900/kg. while that of a
female fish is Rs. 800/kg. This means that even the smallest ghol
fish (male) of 30 kgs. costs about Rs. 60,000. This fish has
medicinal value and some other purposes. Bhayya had no idea
of the value of this fish but Salim Sorathiya an exporter of fish
who purchased all the fish agreed to pay him the incredible
amount of Rs. one crore for the whole lot. He said that he has
never seen so much ghol in his 30 years in this business. This
fish is exported to Singapore, Malayasia and other countries
where it is in great demand. Another person, Abdul Shah Pirzada,
president of a Fishermens Association of Gujarat also said that
this is for the first time that any one has caught so much ghol in
one lot in Gujarat.
Plain murder: SC lets Army choose what kind of trial
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on 2 May gave the Army full dis-
cretion to choose between a court martial and a criminal trial for
seven officers accused of killing five persons in a fake encounter
in Pathribal over 12 years ago. The verdict is the end-result of a
legal battle fought by the CBI - from the chief judicial magistrates
court in Srinagar to the Supreme Court - to defend its May 24,
2006 chargesheet accusing the officers of having hatched a con-
spiracy to kill innocent persons in a fake encounter.
The CBI had challenged the Armys interpretation of Section
7 of the Armed Forces J&K (Special Powers) Act of 1990 - that
prior sanction is required even before the CBI can file a
chargesheet against a serving Army officer. It had said that the
Pathribal case was one of cold-blooded murder and the accused
officials deserve to be meted out exemplary punishment. It had
argued that no prior sanction was required for prosecuting the
Army personnel and the need to ensure public confidence in the
rule of law and dispensation of justice warranted their prosecu-
tion.
With 2 Mays verdict, however, the tug-of-war between the
Army and the CBI over the question of prior sanction has come a
full circle. The apex court made it clear that prosecution of the
officers is possible only if the Centre sanctions it. This is exactly
what the Army said before the Srinagar court on May 24, 2006 in
an application: No prosecution could be instituted except with
the previous sanction of the Central Government in view of the
provisions of Section 7 of the Armed Forces J & K (Special
Powers) Act, 1990 and, therefore, the proceedings be closed by
returning the chargesheet to the CBI. In plain English, the mur-
derers in uniform will go scott-free.
Muslim nuclear scientist found dead
Chennai: Nuclear scientist Mohammed Mustafa, 24, was found
dead in his quarters at Kalpakkam, around 80 km from here, with
his wrists slashed on 23 April evening, police said. A police offi-
cial in Kalpakkam said: We found Mustafa with his wrists
slashed. We were called in when Mustafas room-mate was not
able to open the door as it was locked from inside.
The police broke open the lock and went inside the quarters
to find Mustafa dead. We have recovered a note purportedly
written by Mustafa stating that nobody is responsible for his
death, the police official said. According to police, Mustafa son
of Mohideen Kutty of Kozhikode in Kerala was on night duty and
his room-mate on general/morning duty. Mustafa, a scientific
assistant-B grade, had joined Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
(BARC) a year ago, had undergone a one-year training and had
been posted at Kalpakkam Reprocessing Plant (KARP), said an
official. He was confirmed in his post only two months back, he
added. Even on Sunday Mustafa was playing cricket with his
friends. He called in sick and did not report for Sunday night shift
work. Similarly on Monday too he told his colleagues he was not
feeling well, the official said. According to him, Mustafa was
mentally stable and there was no work pressure.
Gujarat municipality to ban non-veg food
Ahmadabad: Palitana Municipal Committee, under the pressure
of the Jain leadership on 20 April passed a resolution to ban the
sale of meat and other non-vegetarian food, including eggs, with-
in its municipal limits. The town has a population of over one lakh,
with 25 per cent Muslims. BJP leader and municipality president
Pravinbhai Gadhvi told mediapersons that the decision was
taken following the demand of the Jain religious leadership led by
Maharajsaheb Maitriprabhasagar who had last March sat on a
dharna demanding ban of meat in the town. Maitriprabhasagar
even threatened to self-immolate himself if the municipality did
not accept his demand. Before implementing the decision, the
municipality would collect objections from the residents and then
recommend to the state government to issue a notification impos-
ing the ban.
Six Congress members led by Hidabhai Baloch, a Muslim,
boycotted the resolution. A municipality official said that the deci-
sion was taken by the municipality under political pressure as
Jains were politically very influential in the state and contributed
a lot to the BJP election coffers. However, the official said, the
decision for a ban was not as per constitutional provisions.
Muslim residents of the town fear that if the ban is implement-
ed, they would also not be allowed to slaughter animals during
Eid Al-Adha, which is their religious duty. They say that the deci-
sion is in favour of one community, overlooking the religious
responsibilities of the other. They have requested the administra-
tion not to buckle under the pressure of Jains who do not account
for even five per cent of the towns population.
Madrasas in J&K reject Centres grant
Madrasas in Jammu and Kashmir have refused to accept grant
under the centrally sponsored scheme for providing quality edu-
cation in Madrasas (SPQEM). Under the scheme the Jammu and
Kashmir government had received a grant of Rs 7.61 crore,
between 2011 and 2012 in three installments. Madrasas and their
managing committees refused to accept the grant when chief
education officers for all district began distributing the grant.
Mufti Mohammad Anayatullah, Imam of Jamia Masjid in Jammu
has categorically made his point clear that madrasas do not want
any grant from either the state or Central government to run
madrasas in the state. Managing committees of these madrasas
have even questioned the intention of the government in releas-
ing the grant even without knowing their viewpoint on the issue.
He also said that the madrasas are imparting education as per
the guidelines of Darul Uloom Deoband. These authorities have
expressed concern over the propaganda by the media and the
government that the central govt. distributed Rs. 800 crores to
Madrasas. Presently, 75 madrasas are registered with the school
education department. At least 328 madrasas and 16 maktabs
operate without any formal registration. Altogether 19,295 stu-
dents are enrolled in these religious institutions.
UP government plans SC status for 17 OBC sub-castes
In order to fulfil the promise made by Akhilesh Yadav during his
election campaign to MBC leaders the Samajwadi party govern-
ment is planning to include 17 OBC sub castes into the
Scheduled Castes list. Akhilesh had assured MBC leaders that if
the Samajwadi party is voted to power then their concerns would
be addressed at the earliest. It is also believed that the Chief
Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav also raised the issue
during his meeting with the prime minister in Delhi on 16 April.
The plan to include these OBCs into Scheduled Castes is seen
as an effort by the party to consolidate its vote bank keeping an
eye on the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in 2014. Those OBCs to be
included in the SC category are Nishad, Kewat, Kashyap, Kahar,
Bind, Rajbhar, Prajapati, Bhar, Mallah, Majhi, Tura, Gaur,
Batham, Machua, Dheemar and Kumhar.
Mumbai: a new political party of Dalits and Muslims, called the
Awami Vikas Party, emerged here with the former police officer
Shamsher Khan Pathan as its head. Poor and under-represent-
ed in public and private institutions, both Dalits and Muslims feel
deeply deprived under the current Congress-NCP rule. Both
groups desperately want an alternative.
Pathan, who retired on April 30 and launched the party the
very next day, says he had been planning it for quite some time
after seeing the wave of Islamophobia being fanned by senior
police and intelligence officers. All the intelligence alerts we
received were about threats of attacks from Muslim terrorists.
There were never any alerts that Hindu terrorists could attack
though they were involved in several terrorist attacks as in the
cases of Malegaon and Samjhauta Express. When I analysed
this, I found that only a changed political set-up could change
the situation. It will make a lot of difference if we are in power or
share power with other parties.
The Dalit face of Pathans party is Baban Kamble who edits
the Marathi daily Samrat, and claims a considerable following
among Dalits. Kamble too believes that despite reservations for
SCs and STs, Dalits have little say at the policy-making level.
Brahminical hegemony deprives Dalits of their due share at all
levels. This will change if we form our government, he says.
Despite its claims of being the true representative of
Muslims and Dalits, AVP suffers from a significant lacuna. None
of its core committee members, except Urdu journalist Sarfaraz
Arzoo (who unsuccessfully fought the last assembly election on
a Samajwadi Party ticket from Byculla), are political creatures. At
its launch, the AVP showcased kids dressed as Ambedkar,
Maulana Azad, a Dalit and a Muslim girl. It remains to be seen if
it can do anything beyond this display of tokenism.
The last time Muslims and Dalits created a joint political plat-
form in Maharashtra was in the 1980s. Led by former smuggler
and don Haji Mastan, the Dalit Muslim Suraksha Mahasangh
(DMSM) couldnt survive the heat and dust of politics and died a
premature death. Interestingly, while the previous one was
headed by a gangster, the new party is led by former police offi-
cer. Mastan was a Tamil migrant who spoke a smattering of Urdu
but no Marathi while Pathan, hailing from Nasik, was a tough
cop and speaks Marathi fluently.
The circumstances under which the two parties were born
were different. The 1984 Bhiwandi riots had deeply angered
Muslims. We wanted a party that would counter the Shiv Sena.
We thought Haji Mastan would be a match for Bal Thackeray
and our cadre for the Shiv Sainiks, recalls Khalil Zahid, an Urdu
journalist who fought the 1984 Lok Sabha elections from
Aurangabad on a DMSM ticket. The AVP, on the other hand, is
far from the shadow of any kind of communal strife at present.
(Excerpted from Mohammed Wajihuddins report in The Times of India,
May 7)
Dalit-Muslim party emerges in Maharashtra
Amjad Khans father with
his portrait
INTERNATIONAL
16 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012
The Fastest Growing Religion In
America Is Islam
Do you know what the fastest growing reli-
gion in America is? It isn't Christianity.
According to the latest U. S. Religion
Census that was just released on May 1,
2012, the fastest growing religion in
America is Islam. The data for the census
was compiled by the Association of
Statisticians of American Religious Bodies,
and the results were released by the
Association of Religion Data Archives. From
the year 2000 to the year 2010, the census
found that the number of Muslims living
inside the United States increased by about
1 million to 2.6 million - a stunning increase
of 66.7 percent. That is an astounding rate
of growth.
Meanwhile, most Christian denomina-
tions had rates of growth that were far
below the overall rate of population growth
in the United States, and some Christian
denominations actually lost members. Sadly, when Barack
Obama once said that "we are no longer a Christian nation" he
wasn't too far off the mark.
Christianity is rapidly losing influence and other religions
such as Islam are rapidly gaining members and building new
places of worship. As other major religions such as Islam contin-
ue to grow in the United States, it is inevitable that this will
reshape America in many different ways in the years ahead.
So what about other religious groups?
How did they fare according to the U. S. Religion Census?
Well, the following are some of the growth rates for major
religious organizations from the year 2000 to the year 2010.
Mormons: +45.5%
Evangelical Protestants: +1.7% (far behind the overall rate of
population growth)
Catholics: -5.0%
Mainline Protestants: -12.8% (an astounding decline)
But it was Islam that experienced the most explosive growth.
According to Ihsan Bagby, a professor of Islamic Studies at
the University of Kentucky, there were about 1,200 mosques in
America back in the year 2000. According to this new census,
there are now 2,106.
All over the United States we are seeing "mega-mosques"
being constructed, and in many cases the funding is coming from
overseas. And these mega-mosques are not going unused. In
some areas of the country, Islamic communities are experiencing
absolutely explosive growth.
T
he following example comes from a recent USA Today arti-
cle.
Imam Muhammad Musri, president of the Islamic Society of
Central Florida, saw growth explode by a whopping 473 percent
in and around Orlando's Orange County, according to the RCMS
study, and he thinks the growth is actually double the 10,000 new
Muslims reported by the study.
He said Muslim growth has been fueled by a wave of post-
9/11 converts, American-born children of immigrants having kids
of their own, and jobs in the booming medical industry. In central
Florida, he said, Muslims are just following everyone else in
search of "better weather, cheaper prices, cheaper homes."
A lot of this growth is being fueled by immigration. A survey
conducted by the Pew Research Center back in 2007 discovered
that 39 percent of all adult Muslims living in America were immi-
grants that had arrived in the United States since 1990.
This rapid influx of Muslims is reshaping communities all
over America. For example, Muslim students now account for
approximately 10 percent of the total number of students in the
New York City School District.
And all over the country many school districts are now
changing their school calendars to observe Islamic holidays. In
fact, in Dearborn, Michigan football practices are actually sched-
uled around Ramadan.
T
he following is from a Fox News article.
In Dearborn, Mich., where schools are closed on both the
day before and the day of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the pre-
dominantly-Muslim football team has switched its two-a-day
summer practice schedule to 11 p. m. to 4 a. m. during Ramadan,
so that Muslim players - who fast while the sun is up - won't be
forced to practice in the heat without drinking water. The move
received little backlash in Dearborn, because most of the football
players are Muslims.
Dearborn is located just outside of Detroit, and it contains
one of the densest Arab communities outside of the Middle East.
Each day, the local mosque's call to prayer can be clearly heard
all over the city. Dearborn is a clear example of why we can no
longer call America a "Christian nation".
But Islam is not the only non-Christian religion that is grow-
ing rapidly in America. The latest U. S. Religion Census found
that non-Christian groups grew by 32 percent overall from the
year 2000 to the year 2010. Meanwhile, as I have written about
previously, the decline of Christianity in America is accelerating.
Back in 1990, one survey found that 86 percent of all Americans
identified themselves as "Christian" of one sort or another.
By 2008, only 76 percent of all Americans identified them-
selves as "Christian" of one sort or another.
Meanwhile, atheism and the "not religious" are experiencing
huge gains in numbers. For example, the U. S. Census Bureau
says that the number of Americans with "no religion" more than
doubled between 1990 and 2008.
Even many of those that still apply the label of "Christian" to
themselves are not very committed. The latest U. S. Religion
Census found that approximately 150 million Americans are not
actively engaged with any religious community at all. That is
nearly half of the population. So America is changing. It is
becoming less religious and it is becoming less Christian.
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Israeli government policies
are a form of national sui-
cide: Paul Krugman
New York Times columnist and Nobel prize winner says
criticism of Israel silenced by accusations of anti-
Semitism.
New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize winner Paul
Krugman believes that the policies of the current "narrow mind-
ed" Israeli government "are basically a gradual long-run form of
national suicide."
Writing in his New York Times blog "Conscience of a Liberal"
about Peter Beinart's controversial book "The Crisis of Zionism",
Krugman writes, "Like many liberal American Jews I basically
avoid thinking about where Israel is going. It seems obvious from
here that the narrow-minded policies of the current government
are basically a gradual, long-run form of national suicide - and
that's bad for Jews everywhere, not to mention the world."
Krugman's unusually harsh critique of Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's government is sure to elicit howls of
protest from Israeli spokespersons and American Jewish organi-
zations - more so, perhaps, as they come on the eve of Israel's
Independence Day. It is also sure to further inflame the continu-
ously deteriorating relationship between the Israeli government
and the New York Times, considered by many to be the most
important newspaper in the world. Last December, Netanyahu
declined an offer by the Times' to pen an article for the paper's
opinion pages, citing the newspaper's alleged anti-Israel bias.
Krugman, probably the world's leading economic columnist,
won the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences (infor-
mally the Nobel Prize in Economics) in 2008 for his contributions
to the theories of free trade. Born to Jewish immigrants from
Eastern Europe, Krugman, 59, has written only rarely about
Israel. At an economic conference in Tel Aviv in 2009 he had only
high praise for Israel's economic performance.
In another controversial comment in his blog, Krugman
noted that he has refrained from commenting on Israel out of fear
of the potential Jewish reaction. "I have other battles to fight," he
wrote, "and to say anything to that effect [that the Israeli govern-
ment is leading to national suicide] is to bring yourself under
intense attack from organized groups that make any criticism of
Israeli policies tantamount to anti-Semitism." (haaretz.com)
People Aren't Smart Enough for
Democracy to Flourish: Scientists
The democratic process relies on the assumption that citizens
(the majority of them, at least) can recognize the best political
candidate, or best policy idea, when they see it. But a growing
body of research has revealed an unfortunate aspect of the
human psyche that would seem to disprove this notion, and imply
instead that democratic elections produce mediocre leadership
and policies. The research, led by David Dunning, a psychologist
at Cornell University, shows that incompetent people are inher-
ently unable to judge the competence of other people, or the
quality of those people's ideas. For example, if people lack
expertise on tax reform, it is very difficult for them to identify the
candidates who are actual experts. They simply lack the mental
tools needed to make meaningful judgments.
As a result, no amount of information or facts about political
candidates can override the inherent inability of many voters to
accurately evaluate them. On top of that, "very smart ideas are
going to be hard for people to adopt, because most people don't
have the sophistication to recognize how good an idea is,"
Dunning told Life's Little Mysteries.
He and colleague Justin Kruger, formerly of Cornell and now
of New York University, have demonstrated again and again that
people are self-delusional when it comes to their own intellectu-
al skills. Whether the researchers are testing people's ability to
rate the funniness of jokes, the correctness of grammar, or even
their own performance in a game of chess, the duo has found
that people always assess their own performance as "above
average" - even people who, when tested, actually perform at the
very bottom of the pile. We're just as undiscerning about the
skills of others as about ourselves. "To the extent that you are
incompetent, you are a worse judge of incompetence in other
people," Dunning said. In one study, the researchers asked stu-
dents to grade quizzes that tested for grammar skill. "We found
that students who had done worse on the test itself gave more
inaccurate grades to other students." Essentially, they didn't rec-
ognize the correct answer even when they saw it.
The reason for this disconnect is simple: "If you have gaps in
your knowledge in a given area, then you're not in a position to
assess your own gaps or the gaps of others," Dunning said.
Strangely though, in these experiments, people tend to readily
and accurately agree on who the worst performers are, while fail-
ing to recognize the best performers.
The most incompetent among us serve as canaries in the
coal mine signifying a larger quandary in the concept of democ-
racy; truly ignorant people may be the worst judges of candidates
and ideas, Dunning said, but we all suffer from a degree of blind-
ness stemming from our own personal lack of expertise. Nagel
concluded that democracies rarely or never elect the best lead-
ers. Their advantage over dictatorships or other forms of govern-
ment is merely that they "effectively prevent lower-than-average
candidates from becoming leaders." (Life's Little Mysteries)
From the year 2000 to the year 2010, the census found that the number of Muslims living
inside the United States increased by about 1 million to 2.6 million - a stunning increase
of 66.7 percent. That is an astounding rate of growth.
Parliamentary committee
approves tougher punish-
ment for 'distorting' Quran
Parliament's Proposals and Complaints Committee on 8 May
approved a draft law submitted by MP Yasser al-Qady proposing
a harsher punishment for printing the Quran without a license.
The suggested penalty is imprisonment and a fine of not
less than LE100,000 and not more LE200,000 for those who
print, publish, distribute, display or circulate recordings of the
Quran without license, or print and record it abroad.
The Justice Ministry also suggested that imprisonment be
for a term of not less than 10 years and not more than 15 years,
and a fine of not less than LE100,000 and not more than LE1.3
million for those who intentionally change verses while printing
or recording the Quran.
Ahmed Mohib, a member of the legislation sector at the
Ministry of Justice, praised the draft law and affirmed the min-
istry's approval of it. (Al-Masry Al-Youm)
A mosque in the US
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012 17
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MOHAMMED AZHAR ALI KHAN
Ottowa, Ont.: Israel's ongoing oppression of helpless
Palestinians is eroding support for Israel among American Jews
and the Israeli government is now courting Christian Zionists for
support. This was stated by Israeli historian and academic Ilan
Pappe, history professor at the University of Exeter, at a function
sponsored by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle
East in Ottawa.
Though Pappe asserts that the Middle East will remain
unstable and a threat to peace as long as the dispute simmers,
he differs from some Israeli dissenters, such as Israeli journalists
Gideon Levy and Amira Hass, in that he says he is optimistic for
a durable and just settlement sooner than people expect.
Pappe made statements about Israeli violation of the
Palestinians' basic rights that have also been made by UN and
other observers. But he differs from those who blame the illegal
settlers and the right-wing Netanyahu regime for blocking a just
peace. Pappe argues, after combing Israeli archives, that it is
Israeli society as a whole that supports denying Palestinians their
basic rights and perpetuates the conflict.
Pappe says that huge military and economic aid from the U.
S. enables Israel to have its way. But he asserts that most of the
world sees it as a rogue state that violates core Jewish values,
rules the Palestinians by brute force and maintains an apartheid-
style system in the occupied territories and in Israel itself.
Pappe has been described as Israel's "bravest, most princi-
pled, most incisive historian" by journalist and filmmaker John
Pilger. His critics revile him as anti-Semitic and he receives death
threats.
He was born in Haifa to Jewish parents who fled Nazi perse-
cution in the 1930s. He joined Israeli defense forces and fought
in the Yom Kippur War. He graduated from the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem and got his PhD from Oxford University. He taught
at the University of Haifa and chaired the Emil Toouma Institute
for Palestinian and Israeli Studies in Haifa. He has written sever-
al books on Palestinian and Israeli history.
He discovered from Israeli archives that the Palestinians
were expelled from Jewish- controlled areas under the Plan Dalet
that Israel's future leaders had drawn up in 1947. Israeli military
and political leaders wanted to seize all of Palestine in 1948 and
kill or exile Palestinians as was done in the Galilee. Israeli Prime
Minister Ben-Gurion, however, vetoed this proposal. He had
agreed to let Jordan seize the West Bank in return for participat-
ing in the 1948 war only in a minor way; he also feared that eth-
nically cleansing the West Bank would turn the world against
Israel.
Pappe stated that in 1965 the Israeli military and government
met on the Hebrew University campus, built on an ethnically
cleansed Palestinian village, to finalize plans about administering
the West Bank once they had conquered it. They implemented
the plan swiftly on taking over the West Bank in the 1967 war that
President Gamal Nasser had precipitated. Pushed by Generals
Moshe Dayan and Yigal Allon, the cabinet decided that Israel will
annex the West Bank but deny West Bank's Palestinians citizen-
ship and other rights and harass them, forcing them to barely
subsist or to leave forever.
Since then West Bank Palestinians have been harassed con-
stantly. Jobs, building permits, essential health and municipal
services are severely restricted and civic rights denied. They face
check- points, cannot travel freely to their own fields, their hous-
es are demolished, they cannot return if they leave the area
briefly, their trees are uprooted and they are detained without
charge indefinitely. Three- fourths of the Palestinians have suf-
fered this fate, Pappe stated.
Palestinians within Israel fare better, Pappe said. They can
vote, elect their leaders and speak out. But they were subject to
military rule for decades and still face huge obstacles and dis-
crimination that perpetuate poverty and despair. The country's
laws favor Jews and denies similar rights to Christians and
Muslims.
Though western governments, media and elites are cowards,
Pappe said, civilized society around the world has condemned
Israeli policies. The Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions move-
ment is gaining world-wide. The Israeli government has had more
meetings to discuss the powerful BDS movement than it has had
on peace proposals. Pappe stated that though Israel has military
and economic might, its policies, based on force and on racial
and ethnic discrimination, cannot be sustained. Israel cannot vio-
late fundamental Jewish and universal values still be considered
a Jewish state.
Pappe said a two-state solution is now impossible because
Israel has seized land, built exclusive roads for settlers and
encouraged illegal settlements. He expressed the hope, howev-
er, that a peace settlement will be reached which respects the
legitimate rights of the Israelis and Palestinians and provides
them equality.
Pappe received a thunderous applause at the University of
Ottawa from Canadians of all ages and all walks of life. They
share his vision for peace based on justice, equality and the rule
of law. They hope that the Middle East, which is the cradle of
great religions, will become a place where these values are
implemented and not violated every day.
Pappe's tour of Canada was sponsored by Canadian for
Justice and Peace in the Middle East, a group of individuals who
seek to inform Canadians about the real situation in the Middle
East to counter the biased and distorted version they get from
their own government and the mainstream media.
Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan is a retired Canadian newspaperman, civil
servant and refugee judge
Israel slowly losing support
Mujahidin-e Khalq Organisation,
popularly known as MKO, is a
criminal terrorist outfit which
unleashed a reign of terror in Iran
shortly after the success of the
Islamic Revolution in 1979. They
killed, maimed, blasted a whole
building with leaders of the revo-
lution in and tried to hijack the
revolution. They were defeated
and found shelter in Iraq under
Saddam Husain and after him
under the American occupation
forces. Now the Israelis are using
them...
Tehran (FNA)- Zionist lobbies are seeking to
shelter members of the anti-Iran terrorist
Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) in
Azerbaijan as the US administration is trying to
station the terrorists in five neighboring coun-
tries of the Islamic Republic.
Authentic reports from sources privy to the
MKO disclosed that the US administration is
consulting with five of Iran's neighboring states
to persuade them into sheltering the MKO ter-
rorists.
After nearly three decades, Iraq is now
expelling the MKO from its soil, while no world
country has accepted to shelter the terrorist
group.
The US allies in the Middle-East, including
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Azerbaijan, Qatar and
Pakistan, are likely to be the destination of the
MKO terrorists, the sources added.
The sources also pointed out that Zionist
lobbies are pressuring the US and Baku offi-
cials to station MKO terrorists in bases and
desolated air fields, and added that the issue
was a topic of recent discussions between
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and
Azeri officials.
Zionist lobbies are seeking to create Camp
Ashraf-like conditions in Azerbaijan to save
MKO from complete dissolution.
The MKO's main stronghold was a training
center called Camp Ashraf in Iraq's Northern
Diyala province, but the post-Saddam Iraq
decided to close the camp specially due to the
MKO's massacre of Iraqi Shiites during the
Saddam era and its terrorist operations against
Iran in the last 33 years. Iraq started expelling
the group a few months ago.
The MKO is seeking to transfer its mem-
bers to another country, but no world state,
including the US and the European countries,
accept to lodge the terrorist group.
To date, almost 1200 MKO terrorists have
been transferred from Camp Ashraf to Camp
Liberty which lies Northeast of the Baghdad
International Airport, in three groups of 400
each, on February 18, 8, and March 20. About
2,000 members still remain in Camp Ashraf.
Camp Liberty is a transient settlement facility
and a last station for the MKO in Iraq.
The MKO cannot find a shelter outside Iraq
as it is blacklisted by much of the international
community, including the United States.
Before an overture by the EU, the MKO
was on the European Union's list of terrorist
organizations subject to an EU-wide assets
freeze. Yet, the MKO puppet leader, Maryam
Rajavi, who has residency in France, regularly
visited Brussels and despite the ban enjoyed
full freedom in Europe.
The MKO is behind a slew of assassina-
tions and bombings inside Iran, a number of
EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in
which they slammed a British court decision to
remove the MKO from the British terror list. The
EU officials also added that the group has no
public support within Iran because of their role
in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi
imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).
(english.farsnews.com)
The Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions movement is gaining world-wide. The Israeli government
has had more meetings to discuss the powerful BDS movement than it has had on peace proposals.
Pappe stated that though Israel has military and economic might, its policies, based on force and on racial
and ethnic discrimination, cannot be sustained.
Zionists Seeking to station MKO terrorists in Azerbaijan
INTERNATIONAL
18 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012
YAMIN ZAKARIA
yamin@radicalviews.org
London: Was it Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or
Osama Bin Laden behind the 9/11 attacks?
The US-led coalition went to war, and in the
process killed almost a million people, in order
to capture Usmah bin Laden, who allegedly
masterminded the 9/11 attacks from the caves
in Afghanistan. To avenge the killing of
innocent civilians, by killing many more
innocent civilians is a perverse notion
of justice. If dispensing collective pun-
ishment is the policy, then it makes lit-
tle sense to talk of innocence or guilt.
Thus a suicide bomber is no differ-
ent to those dropping bombs from a dis-
tance, both dispensing collective pun-
ishment on a community. Yet there was
constant talk of guilt, and everybody
pointed the finger at Osama Bin Laden.
He was conveniently killed, instead of
being captured and put on trial - which
would have provided the perfect oppor-
tunity to discover who was telling the
truth. Of course, that is assuming he
was going to be given a fair trial, rather than
one based on 'evidence' acquired from water-
boarding and other forms of torture that are
regularly used by the Americans, euphemisti-
cally called "enhanced interrogation".
Today we hear Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
and others are being tried as the masterminds
behind the 9/11 attacks. The Pentagon has
already said Khalid Sheikh Mohammed admit-
ted he was responsible "from A to Z" for the
9/11 attacks. In that case, chasing Bin Laden
for 9/11 was a lie, unless one can provide
clear evidence that Usmah Bin Laden liaised
with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to plan the
9/11 attacks or he was ordered by Bin Laden
to do so. It would be interesting to hear what
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said about the role
of Osama Bin Laden in planning the 9/11
attacks.
Everyone knows the maxim - innocent
until proven guilty; it is implied that the
process is carried out through a court of law
that is fair. Accordingly, the Taliban at the time
offered to hand over Bin Laden to a neutral
court that would offer a fair trial. The
Americans were not interested, and preferred
the cowboy 'justice' of water-boarding in the
hellish dungeons of Guantanamo Bay or Abu-
Ghraib to get their evidence.
Indeed, official documents have shown
that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was subjected
to water-boarding - or simulated drowning -
183 times in 2003 [1].
The limited access given to the legal rep-
resentative of the defendants and the secret
nature of the 'evidence' presented along with
the 'evidence' obtained from torture makes
this legal process a laughing stock. Even the
former chief US prosecutor at Guantanamo
Bay has denounced the military trial as unfair,
simply because the world will never see any
trial as legitimate where evidence was
obtained through torture [2]. This farcical trial
serves one purpose - that is to pretend that
the US has been civil and upheld the
values it preaches to other countries.
To be fair, the current US
President did suggest trying Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed in a normal city
court in New York, but met resist-
ance. Some residents objected, say-
ing the security hazard and the dis-
ruption the trial would pose to city life
would be too much to bear. What
security hazard, given that Al-Qaeda
is almost finished, and the US has
ample resources at hand? Or do they
think Al-Qaeda men will appear like
X-Men with extraordinary powers?
Isn't justice more important than
minor inconvenience to city life?
Even the US President knows that
Guantanamo Bay is an embarrassment, espe-
cially if you want to lecture other nations like
China, Iran, Sudan, and North Korea. One of
his pre-election promises was to close down
the prison, but he failed due to so much oppo-
sition from within; it reconfirms the perverse
nature of the American mindset when it comes
to the notion of justice.
[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12964158
[2] https://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/world/
2012/may/04/khalid-sheikh-mohammed-military-
prosecutor
Was it Khalid Sheikh or Bin Laden behind 9/11
A
n editorial in the Israeli daily Ha'aretz says Israeli Premier
Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister for Military Affairs Ehud
Barak are creating "falsehoods and deceptions on the
Iranian issue."
The article, published on Sunday, said while former Israeli
premiers such as Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert did not allow
war rhetoric against Iran "to reach apocalyptic proportions,"
Netanyahu has baselessly turned the Iranian issue into the be-
all and end-all.
According to the editorial, while there is a consensus among
experts that Iran's nuclear energy program "is being conducted
methodically" and does not pursue a military capability,
Netanyahu and Barak are creating "falsehoods and deceptions"
on the issue.
"Many people, among them [Israel's] Chief of Staff
[Lieutenant General] Benny Gantz" believe that Iran will not pro-
duce a nuclear weapon, the article adds.
Gantz said on April 25 that he does not believe Iran will pur-
sue nuclear weapons after years of efforts made by Tel Aviv and
its allies to convince the world otherwise. He described Iran's
leadership as "very rational," who would not make such a deci-
sion.
Tel Aviv has recently been subjected to harsh criticisms by
the regime's military-intelligence officials over its stance towards
Iran.
On April 27, former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) direc-
tor Yuval Diskin said Netanyahu and Minister for Military Affairs
Ehud Barak were not fit to stand at helm of the Israeli regime.
"I will tell you things that might be harsh. I cannot trust
Netanyahu and Barak at the wheel in confronting Iran. They are
infected with messianic feelings over Iran," Diskin said.
Pointing to the recent wave of criticisms targeting the Israeli
policies on Iran, senior Iranian author and Middle East expert Dr.
Ismail Salami said, "A rift the size of a potential coup is taking
shape between the Israeli government and the military-intelli-
gence men over Iran, a fact which threatens the ruling Israeli
political apparat on the one hand and exonerates Iran of all
years-long groundless allegations on the other."
The US, Israel and some of their allies have repeatedly
accused Iran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy
program.
Washington and Tel Aviv have time and again threatened
Tehran with a military strike against its civilian nuclear facilities.
Iran argues that as a signatory to the Non-proliferation
Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear
technology for peaceful purposes. (presstv.ir)
Israel ex-security chief says leader-
ship 'misleading public' on Iran
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Defence Minister
Ehud Barak Mr Netanyahu and Mr Barak have repeatedly
warned that Iran is trying to obtain nuclear arms.
The former head of Israel's domestic intelligence agency has
accused the country's leadership of "misleading" the public on
the merits of a possible military strike on Iran.
Yuval Diskin said an attack might speed up any attempt by
Iran to obtain a nuclear bomb.
The comment follows remarks by other leading figures con-
tradicting the prime minister and defence chief's views on the
subject. Iran denies it is seeking nuclear arms.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence
Minister Ehud Barak have repeatedly said Iran must be prevent-
ed from building nuclear weapons and have not ruled out military
action to disrupt its nuclear programme.
Mr Diskin, who stepped down as Shin Bet chief last year
after six years, said he had "no faith in the current leadership"
of Mr Netanyahu and Mr Barak, according to Israeli media
reports.
"I don't believe in a leadership that makes decisions based
on messianic feelings," he said at a public meeting.
"They are misleading the public on the Iran issue. They tell
the public that if Israel acts, Iran won't have a nuclear bomb. This
is misleading. Actually, many experts say that an Israeli attack
would accelerate the Iranian nuclear race."
The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes says this was by any
measure a stinging attack on the Israeli prime minister and his
defence chief.
Mr Diskin's harsh criticism appears to be another sign of
deep disquiet within the Israeli military and intelligence commu-
nity over Prime Minister Netanyahu's threats to attack Iran.
The former Shin Bet chief's comments come days after
Israel's military chief said he did not think that Iran had yet decid-
ed to build nuclear weapons.
Chief of Staff Lt Gen Benny Gantz said he believed interna-
tional sanctions against Iran were bearing fruit in dissuading it
from taking such a decision.
In March, the former head of Israel's foreign intelligence
service, Mossad, publicly opposed military action against Iran.
Meir Dagan said an Israeli attack would have "devastating"
consequences for the Jewish state and would not prevent Iran
from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Such views are at odds with those of the prime minister and
defence chief. Prior to Mr Dagan's remarks on US television, Mr
Netanyahu had hinted he would not countenance a long delay
before taking direct action against Iran's nuclear programme if all
other options failed. (bbc.co.uk)
Tel Aviv spreads falsehood, deceptions against Iran: Israeli daily
Israel peace accord
'dead and buried':
Moussa
Amr Moussa tells a mass rally in south Egypt
that the Camp David Accords with Israel should
be 'consigned to the shelves of history.' By Zvi
Bar'el The leading candidate in Egypt's
presidential race said on Sunday that the Camp
David Accords should be consigned to the
shelves of history, describing the agreement as
"dead and buried."
At a mass rally in southern Egypt, Amr
Moussa, who is currently ahead in Egypt's race
for president, spoke of the peace agreement
between Israel and Egypt, saying that "the
Camp David Accords are a historical document
whose place is on the shelves of history, as its
articles talk about the fact that the aim of the
agreement is to establish an independent
Palestinian state." Moussa went on to say that
there is "no such thing" as the Camp David
agreement. "This agreement is dead and
buried. There is an agreement between Israel
and Egypt that we will honor as long as Israel
honors it. The Jewish document that defines
relations between Israel and the Arabs is an
Arab initiative from 2002 whose advancement
should be bilateral: step for step, progress for
progress."
Moussa, who served for ten years as for-
eign minister under former president Hosni
Mubarak (and left his post over disagreements
with the former leader), differentitaties between
the Camp David Accords, which include the
Palestinian articles, and the peace treaty
between Israel and Egypt. The Egyptian public
does not necessarily make the same differentia-
tion, however. The Camp David Accords are
seen as one whole, and all public discussions of
them are seen as a test of the foreign policy that
is expected of Egypt's presidential candidates,
and mainly code according to which U. S. policy
towards each one of the candidates will be
decided.
In a visit to the west of Egypt two weeks
ago, Moussa described the agreement as "ink
on paper whose period of authority is over,"
without differentiating between the articles that
deal with the Palestinians, and those that deal
with peace with Israel. Although Moussa is lean-
ing on the support of some of the secular parties
and activist groups that were the backbone of
the January revolution, it is actually Islamist
leaders that are talking about their commitment
to the Camp David Accords.
Who was behind 9-11?
Iran would recover fom attack on its
nuclear sites within six months: U.S. report
U.S. congressional report says Israel and U.S. do not know exact loca-
tion of Iran nuclear facilities, which may be dispersed in such a way that
an Israeli attack would not be successful. Iran could probably rebuild
most of its centrifuge workshops within six months after an attack on its
nuclear sites, according to a new report by U. S. congressional
researchers, Bloomberg reported on 25 April.
The report by analysts at the Congressional Research Service, citing
interviews with current and former U. S. officials, said that the Islamic
Republic's centrifuge "workshops" are widely dispersed and hidden,
which could complicate a potential Israeli military strike.
According to the report, neither Israel nor the U. S. knows for certain
where Iran's nuclear facilities are located and the possibility of dispersed
nuclear sites makes any assessment of a military strike's success more
difficult. It is "unclear what the ultimate effect of a strike would be on the
likelihood of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons," Bloomberg quoted the
report as saying.
The congressional researchers said that, "An attack that left Iran's
conversion and centrifuge production facilities intact would considerably
reduce" the time Iran would need to resume its nuclear activities.
Moreover, the researches quoted a former U. S. official as saying
that Iran could probably replicate most of its centrifuge workshops within
six months.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has recently voiced "serious
concerns" about possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear activities.
Iran denies suspicions that it is covertly seeking nuclear weapons
capability, in part by coordinating efforts to process uranium, test high
explosives and revamp a ballistic missile cone to accommodate a
nuclear warhead.
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The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012 19
ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN
P
eace in peoples personal lives, societies and the world
over, is one of the main objectives of Islam, which in
itself means peace. Likewise, the Muslim greeting,
Salam, means peace and one of the names of the Abode
of Islam is Dar as-Salam, abode of peace. Islam is seen these
days as a religion which promotes violence and terrorism but this
is an impression created by the western media during the last
two decades or so. It does not faithfully reflect either Islamic faith
or history or even the current situation.
War in Islam is fought as a case of last resort. In Mecca,
where the Prophet spent the first 13 years of his prophetic mis-
sion, he did not allow his followers to resort to violence or even
revenge despite a continuous barrage of crimes against his com-
panions. Those who could not tolerate the persecution were
advised to migrate to Abyssina (Ethiopia) and later to Madina.
After the Prophets migration to Madina due to persecution, the
Quraish with the help of their allies kept attacking Madina time
and again (Badr, Uhud, Ahzab etc) and this eventually led the
Prophet and his followers to march to Makka in January 630 CE
and conquer it in an expedition where no drop of blood was spilt.
After the takeover of Makkah, the chieftains came and stood in a
row in front of the Prophet who said, what do you think I am
going to do with you? They replied, (You are) a generous broth-
er and son of a generous brother. The Prophet replied, o, you
all are free. These were the chieftains who persecuted him and
his followers at Mecca, expelled him and his companions from
Mecca, and repeatedly attacked Madina with their followers and
Arab allies. But the Prophets most generous behaviour after the
Conquest of Mecca closed a long chapter of violence.
The Prophet is said to have fought many wars and killed
many people but the reality is that during all his defensive wars
fought over ten years in which he personally took part or sent out
forces led by others, only 756 persons were killed from both
sides (Muslims and non-Muslims).
1
Compare this with the First
and Second World Wars during each of which an estimated 80
million people were killed.
A very pertinent point to note here is that all the Prophets
wars were fought against the tribes and sub-tribes of Mudar, i.e.,
against his own tribal kins.
2
It must be mentioned here that Jews
of Arabia against whom the Prophet fought for their treachery
were also allies of Mudarite tribes.
Islam does not encourage war. The Quran says: O who
believe, enter into peace whole-heartedly (2:208). It describes
the Prophet as Mercy to the Worlds (21:107). The Quran allows
war only when there is no alternative and when it is in defence.
Force was not used and cannot be used to spread Islam as the
Quran in more than one place clearly pronounces that there is
no compulsion in matters of faith (e.g., 2:256). Hence, it was
only Islam in pre-modern times which allowed followers of other
faiths to live in peace within its boundaries with no interference in
their religion and customs. Everywhere else, subjects had to fol-
low the faith of the ruler.
Islam teaches moderation in all matters and issues of life.
While the Old Testament repeatedly tells the Jews to mercilessly
kill one and all who come in their way (e.g., Deut.: 34, Judges:1,
Numbers: 21, Ezekiel:21), Jesus Christ told his followers in the
New Testament if one beats you on one cheek, offer him the
other cheek (Luke:6:29) though the behaviour of his followers
has been totally different). In contrast, Islam tells its followers:
Fight in the path of Allah against those who fight you and do not
transgress limits. Verily, Allah does not like those who transgress
limits (Quran, 2:190).
The Quran says that permission to fight is given to people
who have been wrongedwho have been unjustly expelled from
their homes (22:39-49). Islam orders its followers to seek
peace if the enemy seeks peace: But if the enemy incline
towards peace, you (also) must incline towards peace, and trust
in Allah, for He is the One who hears and knows (all things).
(Quran, 8:61). Quran teaches that enmity with a people or group
must not prompt a Muslim to do injustice to them (Let not the
hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart
from justice. Be just, that is next to piety - 5:8). Allah says in the
Quran that he does not like mischief-makers (28:77). In another
verse, the Quran says that killing one person is equal to killing
whole humanity and saving the life of one person is equal to sav-
ing whole Mankind (if anyone slew a person - unless it be for
murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he
slew the whole Mankind: and if anyone saved a life, it would be
as if he saved the life of the whole Mankind - 5:32).
The Prophet told his followers: Do not wish to face your
enemy [in war], and ask Allah to spare you its evils but if you final-
ly meet them, stay steadfast.
There is a very detailed Islamic law of statecraft, law of war,
and law of nations including rules of international diplomacy and
conduct of war which evolved over centuries. One such book is
Al-Shaybanis Al-Siyar al-Kabir in around 12 volumes which is
still very relevant today.
3
Islamic law of war does not allow betrayal or treachery. If the
Muslim ruler or state is bound by an agreement or treaty with
another ruler or state, he/it has to publicly revoke that agreement
or treaty before initiating any act of war against that enemy
(Quran, 8:58). An oft-repeated rule of war in Islam is the order
iissued by the first Caliph of Islam, Abu Bakr, to the commanders
and troops while sending them out to fight the Romans: Do not
mutilate, do not kill a small baby nor an elderly nor a woman; do
not cut down a tree or burn it; do not cut a fruit-giving tree; do not
kill a sheep or camel unless you want to eat its meat. You will
pass by people who are busy in temples, so let them do in what
they are busy in.
It is a common belief these days in non-Muslim circles that
Islam spread by sword. The historical fact is that Islam did not
spread by sword. Force was used only against the Arabs in the
immediate environs of Mecca and Madina in what is known as
Hijaz. The spread of Islam in areas conquered by Muslim was
very slow outside Arabia. According to an American study, it took
four centuries for Syria and Egypt after their conquest to become
Muslim majority societies. Here is a chart showing how Islam
spread in some key countries in its early days:
Percentage of Muslims at the end of the first 100 years:
Persia Iraq Syria Egypt Spain
5% 3% 2% 2% Less than 1%
Muslim percentage and the years it took to reach
4
Years taken for Muslims to reach %
Persia Iraq Syria Egypt Spain
25% 185 225 275 275 295
50% 235 280 330 330 355
75% 280 320 385 385 400
Islam achieves this state of universal peace through a clear set of
rules of private and public behaviour and by establishing a simple,
accessible and cost-effective justice system which treats all as
equals in front of law, from the ruler down to the ordinary man.
This system of Pax Islamica worked well for a thousand
years in vast areas of Asia, Africa and Europe until the advent of
the colonial period which wrecked every part of the Islamic sys-
tem, be it education, judiciary or political sphere and the world of
Islam is yet to recover from this total dislocation.
Violence, physical or virtual, individual or communal or State-
driven, has been a part of human behaviour and history since the
very beginning of the human race. Every country and communi-
ty has experienced violence of some kind or another. Islam, per
se, does not outlaw violence. Instead, it endeavours to control it
and channelise it in order to establish justice, equity and equilib-
rium in society,
All force used under the guidance of the divine Law with the
aim of re-establishing an equilibrium that is destroyed is accept-
ed and in fact necessary, for it means to carry out and establish
justice. Moreover, not to use force in such a way is to fall prey to
other forces which cannot but increase disequilibrium and disor-
der and result in greater injustice. Whether the use of force in this
manner is swift and intense or gentle and mild depends upon the
circumstances, but in all cases force can only be used with the
aim of establishing equilibrium and harmony and not for person-
al or sectarian reasons identified with the interests of a person or
a particular group and not the whole.
5
Islamic law opposes all violence except in the case and
duration of war or for punishment of criminals in accordance with
Islamic law and that too at the hands of a competent authority,
the Qadi (judge). Even in war, the use of violence is strictly not
allowed against children, women, non-combatants and people
found in prayer places like churches and temples. And the vio-
lence during war has to stop the moment the war stops,
ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES
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The present-day neo-Kharijites emerged in Gamal Abdel Nassers torture chambers in Egypt during
the 1950s and 1960s when thousands of Muslims Brotherhood (MB) rank and file were thrown into dun-
geons and concentration camps like Tora prison near Cairo due to their political disagreement with a
regime they had helped to usher in. The jailers followed a daily routine of torture and insult of the
inmates, rape of their female relatives, confiscation of their properties and extrajudicial murders. Those
who escaped jails saved themselves by fleeing to other countries. This led some younger MB members
conclude that their jailers and their political masters cannot be Muslims as such behaviour is unthink-
able of a Muslim believing in Allah, Quran and the Hereafter.
Peace and Violence in Islam
Continued on page 21
20 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012 21
BOOKS
Book: Dawat-e Fikr-o Amal (Urdu)
Author: Waris Mazhari
Publisher: Foundation for Islamic Studies, Jamia Nagar, New
Delhi
Year of Publication: 2009
Price: Not Mentioned
Pages: 176
MUSHTAQ UL HAQ AHMAD SIKANDER
9/11 proved to be a watershed in the Muslim-West relations. West
became offensive and hostile towards the Muslim World and the
Clash of Civilizations theory became a reality. The aftermath of
9/11 was a period of hostility of West towards Muslims and any-
thing Islamic. Every notion, connotation, ideology and relation
with the Muslim World was challenged, probed and delved into by
the West in order to discover what went wrong with the Muslims
and why they hate us? These radical changes and different
atmosphere led some conscious Muslims to introspect about their
shortcomings and identify the loopholes so as to plug the same.
One of the oldest institutions of Muslim learning which helped
Muslims to preserve their distinct identity, culture and religion
even during the dark days of colonialism and alien rule, i.e.,
Madrasa, became a bone of contention between the Muslims and
West, as the latter alleged them to be bastions of terrorists.
The direct target of this ridicule were the Madrasas of the
Subcontinent as they were alleged to train and depute the terror-
ists to become Angels of Death. These Madrasas became a tar-
get because thousands of their cadres had fought and became
cannon fodder in the US-led war in Afghanistan against USSR
which ultimately led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The West
was correct in describing these madrasas as terrorist factories
but it forgot that these madrasas were on the Pakistan-Afghan
borders built and funded by Uncle Sam to fight its war and its text-
books were formulated and published by the University of
Nebraska which consisted of a heavy diet of a violent interpreta-
tion of Islam teaching Jamaat, Jihad, Jannat and Shahadat. After
the demise of the Soviet Union a new enemy was needed, hence
Islam came in handy and madrasas became the butt of ridicule
and a cause to initiate an
unjust, pre-emptive war killing
millions of innocents.
The argument of Uncle
Sam lapped up all enemies of
Islam, fascists and right-
wingers to settle old scores
and put down every genuine
Muslim demand as appease-
ment leading to terrorism. In
India too, where Muslims
were already marginalized,
driven to the wall with fre-
quent riots, and treated as
second class citizens whose
loyalties are suspect, under a BJP government, these arguments
were welcomed with open arms.
The present book is a collection of articles and papers written
to address the above burning issues as well as debates that are
taking place at the global level regarding Muslims. The author is
the known scholar Waris Mazhari. In his preface, Waris Mazhari
calls for self-introspection among Muslims, radical reformation in
the fields of education and social life. This theme of introspection
and reformation runs through the whole book. Less than half of
the articles deal with the madrasas, changes which are desper-
ately in need and how they can be more contributive. Mazhari
regards the cause of Muslim Ulamas present crises is their unin-
spiring leadership and non-seriousness of masses towards them
due to: 1. Unshaken faith in exaggerated glorification of the past;
2. Insecurity or a sense of danger looming over their heads. (p.
19). These two serious flaws make them suspicious of any new
move towards reform, making them happy and content with the
status quo.
Mazhari is against a division like that of Church and State in
the field of education where knowledge is divided between reli-
gious and worldly, i.e., secular (p. 23). He states that madrasas
are in dire need to introduce English language in their curriculum,
and if it is not done, further marginalization will take place for
Muslims.
Mazhari dedicates a chapter to the progressive views of Maulana
Ashraf Ali Thanwi regarding the changes in madrasa education.
Thanwi is held in reverence by all but his views and opinions are
in oblivion as he was for a change in curriculum, introduction of
new disciplines and believed in complete functional specialization
of different madrasa students according to their abilities.
Mazhari decries the inadequacy of teaching skills among the
madrasa teachers which hampers the whole process of
madrasas education as well as the state of research in madrasas
which is in doldrums and ill-equipped to deal with the present-day
scholarly challenges. Though Mazhari is for the end of exploita-
tion and nepotism which is a norm in madrasas, he is not in full
favour for the proposed Central Madrasa Board to oversee and
regulate madrasas.
Mazhari calls the Ulama for a positive role and wants them to
be socially engaged but he is also aware of the fact that South
Asia is emerging as a new field of Muslim studies and Muslim
ulama must be prepared scholarly to meet these challenges as
well as to react to the adverse media image of Muslims and to
build an alternative Muslim media to face the challenges of
Islamphobia and Muslim bashing. He is aware of the fact that
when it comes to the Muslims, all have double-standards and
strands of hypocrisy lay bare.
The positive effect of 9/11 has been the promotion of a cul-
ture of dialogue instead of clash, though dialogue hasnt percolat-
ed to the common masses and is only prevalent as inter-faith
while Mazhari calls for an inter-maslaki dialogue too between
Shia-Sunni and various other sects in Islam.
A number of articles deal with the challenges baffling Indian
Muslims and how the majority of Muslim organizations which
boast about their work for the empowerment and upliftment of
Muslim masses and community work are confined to paper with
no or little real grassroot work done.
This collection is an invitation towards introspection as it
identifies the flaws and inspires to contribute something positive.
Mazhari deserves our appreciation and encouragement to carry
out such efforts in future too so that Muslims become a contribut-
ing and progressive, inclusive and introspective force.
The reviewer is a writer-activist based in Srinagar, J&K
9-11 and other challenges: a call for introspection
The perspective of Islam is based upon moderation and its moral-
ity is grounded upon the principle of avoiding extremes and keep-
ing to the golden mean. Nothing is more alien to the Islamic per-
spective than vehemence, not to say immoderate vehemence.
Even if force is to be used, it must be on the basis of moderation.
6
The goal of Islam is to attain permanent peace on earth and for
this it exhorts its adherents to exert (jihad) themselves in their
own lives. This jihad starts with the struggle against ones self,
which is called Al-Jihad al-Akbar (the Greater Jihad), in which
one controls the whims and base instincts of ones human nature
and behaviour. The other Jihad is Al-Jihad al-Asghar (the Lesser
Jihad) in which the believer alongwith the community and society
takes part in correcting the evils of society, country and world and
it includes waging war which cannot be waged by individuals,
groups and clandestine societies. Only a proper political ruler or
State can declare and wage this kind of Jihad.
This does not mean that the whole Islamic history was a vio-
lence-free peaceful society. We will not look here at the violence
inflicted on Islamic societies by foreign forces like the Crusaders
or Mongols or colonialists or neo-colonialists these days. Islamic
societies started experiencing internal violence within half a cen-
tury of the advent of Islam. Political violence by non-State actors
first appeared during the rein of the third Caliph Uthman and
became a movement during the time of the fourth Caliph Ali in
the shape of the Kharijites (Khawarij) who dissociated them-
selves from the fourth caliphs ranks on a trivial matter, excommu-
nicated (takfir) him and his followers, which meant that it was
legitimate to wage war against the excommunicated in all possi-
ble ways, in addition to shunning such people socially.
Though the Kharijites soon disappeared physically because
of active persecution by successive Muslim states and rejection
of their extremist thoughts and ways by Islamic scholars and
masses but their ideas and literature cloaked in religious terms
still survive and feed similar movements to this age.
In Islam, the life (nafs), honour (ird) and property (mal) of a
Muslim and dhimmi (protected person) are inviolable except by
law and by verdict of a court of law, but the Kharijites believed that
anyone who disagreed with them made his life violable, so he
could be killed with impunity.
A similar secretive organisation called Assassins (Hash-
shashin) appeared during the Crusades. Its members, high on
narcotics, used to go out from their hideouts and kill Crusaders
and Muslims they believed were not properly fighting the
invaders. This group too disappeared soon.
During the colonial period, we saw the emergence of armed
groups in various countries to fight the foreign invaders, like Imam
Shamwyl in the Caucasus, Amir Abdul Qadir Al-Jazairi in Algeria,
the Sanussis in Libya, Uthman ibn Fudi (Osman Dan Fodio) in
north Nigeria, Mulla Abdullah Hasan in Somalia, Omar Tal in West
Africa, Sayyid Ahmad Shahid Barelvi in British India before 1857.
Leaders of all these movements were full-fledged ulama and sufis
who were fighting against foreign occupation and they did not
emulate the Khawarij. More or less, they acted as a resistance
force and protectors of their people against the colonial
onslaught.
The present-day neo-Kharijites emerged in Gamal Abdel
Nassers torture chambers in Egypt during the 1950s and 1960s
when thousands of Muslims Brotherhood (MB) rank and file were
thrown into dungeons and concentration camps like Tora prison
near Cairo due to their political disagreement with a regime they
had helped to usher in. The jailers followed a daily routine of tor-
ture and insult of the inmates, rape of their female relatives, con-
fiscation of their properties and extrajudicial murders. Those who
escaped jails saved themselves by fleeing to other countries. This
led some younger MB members conclude that their jailers and
their political masters cannot be Muslims as such behaviour is
unthinkable of a Muslim believing in Allah, Quran and the
Hereafter.
The mainstream MB leadership did not support them in these
ideas. The then MB head Justice Hasan Al-Hudaybi (d. 1972)
wrote a book, Duat la Qudat (Preachers, not judges), in which he
forcefully argued that the job of the Islamic movement and its
workers is only to preach, not to judge people and that they have
to continue this mission under severest conditions. The dissident
youth were not satisfied. They found a supporter in a junior MB
ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, who was also facing torture in Cairos
Tora jail alongwith others. He wrote a book, Maalim fit-Tariq
(translated into English as Milestones) which has become the
bible of the neo-Kharijites and political Islamists. A US-educated
literary critic, Qutb was executed by Nassers regime in 1966
(barely two months before my arrival in Cairo as a student). This
further inflamed the neo-Kharijite young MB workers. They and
their followers later organised themselves in successive secretive
organisations like Gamaat Al-Takfir wal-Hijra (correct name:
Gamaatul Muslimin), Al-Gamaah Al-Islamiyah and Tanzim Al-
Jihad. This last one assassinated President Anwar Sadat in
October 1981 and later germinated what is now called Al-Qaeda.
It should be mentioned here that these people learnt their violent
tricks from the Zionists, communists and Baathists who were the
first to introduce such violence and terrorism into the Middle East.
Takfir (excommunication) and accusation of disbelief (zan-
daqah) were the lot of people opposing this approach. Muslim
regimes were accused of being agents and puppets of foreign
powers. With these angry and violent accusations came threats
of assassination, murder, physical liquidation which were violent-
ly executed in places like Afghanistan, Iraq and Algeria where
bodies of victims were even mutilated in flagrant violation of the
dignity and the graceful status given by God to man.
The finest hour of this movement was in the 1970s and 1980s
when it was coopted, armed and financed by the CIA and Arab
rulers to fight against the Soviet presence in Afghanistan. Once
the Afghan Jihad succeeded in 1989, these fighters, unable to
return to their homes (as their governments had hoped that they
will perish in Afghanistan), started going to places like the Indian
part of Kashmir (where, as a journalist, I met one of them in
1993), Chechnya, Bosnia and Kosovo etc.
The CIAcontinued to use these people for its plans, especial-
ly in the former Yugoslavia. The leader of this group, Osama Bin
Laden, turned against the Americans in early 1990s when they
started stationing forces in Saudi Arabia and waged the first Gulf
War. Thus started Al Qaeda attacks on American targets since
around 1992 in places like Aden, Riyadh, Nairobi etc. and culmi-
nated in the terrorist attacks of 9-11 for which Al Qaeda is blamed.
This crime was used to attack Afghnistan in October 2001, which
housed Al-Qaedas main bases at the time. Many were killed and
Osama was said to have fled and was finally said to have been
killed on 1 May 2011 at Abbotabad in Pakistan.
Today, similar neo-Kharijite autonomous mini groups have
spread in many parts of the world. Apparently, they are not con-
nected to any central organisation or leadership. They survive on
local support and resources and are fed by the foreign occupation
and physical and political challenges to Muslim societies.
Islamic movements believing in violence to achieve their
goals never succeeded in securing mass support of either people
or ulama. People had apprehensions about their rigid solutions
while ulama, both Sunni and Shia, found their approach incom-
patible with the spirit and style of Islam. This isolation led these
movements to become more violent in their approach and appli-
cations, while trying to find support for their thoughts from Islamic
texts.
(Written notes of a lecture delivered at Jamia Millia Islamias
Academic Staff College on 2 March 2012)
Frootnotes
1. Al-Radd ala shubhat al-Islam intashara bisl-saif -
http://www.da3wh.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8237&page=1.
2. Ibid.
3. Civil and criminal Islamic laws are no longer implemented any-
where, with the exception of Iran and Saudi Arabia. Constitutions
of Islamic states usually mention that Islam (or Quran) is a/the
source of legislation. But, wherever an Islamic state will rise,
Islamic laws will be implemented with due changes as required by
changed situations and times. In Iran, the ruling Mullas could not
confiscate properties of the supporters of the former regime
because ulama decreed that it is against the laws of Islam.
4. Al-Radd ala shubhat al-Islam intashara bisl-saif -
http://www.da3wh.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8237&page=1
5. Sayyed Hussein Nasr, Islam and the Question of Violence, Al-
Sirat, XIII:2 - http://www.al-islam.org/al-
serat/islamandviolence.htm
6. S. Hussein Nasr, ibid.
Political violence by non-State actors first
appeared during the rein of the third Caliph
Uthman and became a movement during the time
of the fourth Caliph Ali in the shape of the
Kharijites (Khawarij) who dissociated themselves
from the forth caliphs ranks on a trivial matter...
Continued from the previous page
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Essay Writing Competition 2012
Idarah Ulum Al-Quran invites students, intellectuals
and scholars to a National Level Essay Writing
Competition. Successful participants will be entitled
to cash awards and certificates.
Group A: Non-Muslim scholars and intellectuals.
Topic: Quran For All
Ist Prize: 20,000 II Prize: 15000
III Prize: 10,000
Group B: Students of Madaris, Colleges and
Universities.
Topic: Is it necessary to read Quran
100with understanding ?
Ist Prize: 10,000. II Prize: 8000. III Prize: 6000.
7 Consolation Prizes: 1000
Terms and Conditions:
Those interested must get themselves regis-
tered by writing to the undersigned through letter/email
with full details including name, profession, address, e-
mail ID and Phone Number. Students need to mention
their class and institution.
Last date for the submission of essays is May 31, 2012
The essay may be written in Urdu, Arabic, English or
Hindi language.
The essay of Group A should be between 30 to 40
pages of A4 size and should not exceed 20000 words.
The essay of Group B should be between 20-30 pages
and should not contain more than 15000 words.
The name and address on the cover page should be
written in such a way that it could be easily detached.
No sign should not be left inside the essay which could
reveal the identity of the writer.
The essay should be supported with Quranic Verses
and necessary references from well researched books
and sources.
Ishtiyaq Ahmad Zilli Ashhad Jamal Nadwi
President Convener
IDARAH ULUM AL-QURAN
POST BOX NO 99, SHIBLI BAGH
ALIGARH, 202002
0571-2720311 alquran85@gmail.com /
ashhadjnadvi@rediffmail.com
MG
I congratulate the Editor of MG for the fantastic report published in
16-30th April 2012 which is an eye-opener for all Muslims.
Muslims lag far behind in Media race is a thought-provoking
report. Most of the madrasas lack modern education as they teach
only Islam and Quran. The students who are qualified there can be
useful for only preaching and teaching Islam. They are deprived of
modern scientific knowledge which is the need of the hour. Dr.
Zakir Naik is not only an Islamic scholar who can speak with
authentic references to all religions. His teaching of concepts of
God in Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddism, Jainism and many
more religions is the right path to know ones own religion, and to
honour other religions for the the sake of Universal Brotherhood.
Western Media is playing a game and blaming Muslims around
the world.
Mohd. Azam, Telangana
deomohdazam70@gmail.com
Modi and SIT
As chief minister, Modi was bound by oath to protect all people in
his state. To instruct his staff to permit violence against specific
persons was thus without doubt an action that went against the
Constitution of India. The SIT appears not to be able to tell its arse
from its elbow: or it has been eating out of a rich pigs trough.
Mukul Dube, Mayur Vihar 1, Delhi 110091
uthappam@gmail.com
J&K
The statement issued by Abdul Gani Bhat regarding the irrele-
vance of UN resolutions on Kashmir is quite strange and absurd.
UN resolutions on Kashmir provide a guiding principle for long last-
ing solution to Kashmir issue. These resolutions bind both India
and Pakistan to address the aspirations of Kashmiris. Prof. Bhat
seems to lack political acumen and looks tired. He should re-read
the genesis of Kashmir issue. He should be cautious enough to
respect the sacrifices and sentiments of the bruised and oppressed
people of Kashmir.
Nasir Hussain Peerzadah, Malla Bagh, Srinagar
nhpzd07@gmail.com
Jains and Gujarat riots
It is ironic that Jains are so paranoid about the sale of even eggs,
considering it as killing life. Yet the Jains were the leaders of the
2002 Gujarat pogrom, The rapes, killings and loot were organised
by Jain leaders, among them Amit Shah, the Modi confidante, now
barred by the Supreme Court from entering Gujarat. To the best of
my knowledge, no Jain Acharya has denounced these killings of
Muslims - Dr. J. S. Bandukwala
Farooq Abdul Gaffar Bawani, Rajkot
mohammed.galeriya@yahoo.co.in
Elimination of Haj subsidy is a welcome step
The Supreme Court direction to the Central government, for the
gradual elimination of Haj subsidy within a period of ten years
should be welcomed by all Muslims with earnestness. Among the
five pillars of Islam, Haj and Zakat are obligatory only for the rich
Muslims. Therefore, there is no justification in the governments
giving of sops to the Haj pilgrims in the form of subsidy. However,
the government should seriously contemplate upon implementing
the suggestions made by Rajinder Sachar committee and
Ranganath Mishra commissionto bring a large majority of the
Muslim community languishing with socio-economic backward-
ness into the national mainstream. The Muslims in the country
have great expectations from the Supreme Court too. They expect
the apex court to take cognizance of survey indices reflecting the
Muslims backwardness -- and give directions to the ruling class,
for effecting suitable constitutional amendments in the Parliament
by providing reservation to the community in the educational and
employment spheres, as has been done to SC/ST and OBC com-
munities.
Syed Sultan Mohiddin, Kadapa (A.P)
sultan_awaz@yahoo.co.in
II
It is ridiculous that Supreme Court has considered the subsidy
extended to the Hajj pilgrims as against the spirit of Indian
Secularism. But what made it to persist the practice till the coming
decade. If it is bad it should have been stopped forthwith. The
order is defective and passed on the behest of the government.
Those Muslims who can afford will proceed for Hajj even if it cost
them ten lakhs. The government need not give a single paisa as
the subsidy even the Muslims have not applied to help them. But
the government is giving subsidy in the air fare of Air India which is
an absurd government undertaking giving low grade service to the
Hajj pilgrims and minting money. The hajj committees should
allowed engaging the air companies which can offer cheep and
best service calling a tender. Now the fanatics Hindus are victimiz-
ing Muslims for getting undue advantage from the government.
Though members of other religions are also getting aid from the
government. But only Hajj subsidy is being blamed.
Dr Maqdoomi. Hyderabad
drmaqdoomi@yahoo.com
Urdu media
I have counted the news and reports about mushaira from January
to March in an Urdu daily it reached to 139. On the other hand
Hindi daily invites one school in a week and teaches the students
the art of journalism. They ensure their kids to know journalism.
This week the kids touched the subject like Role of Media,Ideal
student, Without Aim a failure, Importance of English,
Choosing Career, Facebooks not face books What they are
teaching and what we are trying our kids to learn? English and
Hindi newspapers are full of academic, admission exam prepara-
tion, best colleges, selections, cut off marks etc. but our Urdu
dailies serve us news about urs, political gossip, filmy reports and
Sham-e-Gazal reports etc. Our priority is negative but we fail to
oppose such useless activities.
S. Haque, Patna
A landmark judgement
It is a well known fact that the government apparatus is highly
lethargic and ineffective in case of human rights violations. The
Supreme Court deserves congratulation for its historic landmark
Judgement through which it has stricken down the notion of blan-
ket immunity considered legal right of armed personnel under
AFSPA even if grave crimes like murder and rape are committed.
The Court has rightly questioned the extent to which the army can
claim blanket immunity under the AFSPA and has declared that
heinous crimes like murder and rape committed by army person-
nel should be considered crimes and there is no question of get-
ting sanction from government to prosecute the offenders of such
crimes.
Dr. M. Hashim Kidwai, ex-MP, New Delhi 91
15 points, 72 recommendations why not 1 point
During Indira Gandhi regime Congress had announced 15-point
programme for the development of the minority. During Manmohan
Singhs regime the new 15 point programme was enacted with
some cosmetic changes. In a reply minority affair minister of state
said 72 recommendations of Sachar Committee has been
approved. Why Congress is sweating so much in old 15 point. Just
give reservation in proportion to their population. This one point
would ensure justice to prevail Congress had promised in elec-
tions.
S. Haque, Patna
Hazares team out to subvert democracy
In the name of fighting all-pervasive corruption, Civil Society group
led by Anna Hazare is trying for the passage of a strong and effec-
tive Jan Lokpal Bill ceding excessive powers to the Lokpal or
ombudsman who will have jurisdiction over the P.M., ministers,
MPs, judges and bureaucrats. He will thus become a super power
and this is clear legation of Democracy. Moreover, the very name
and nomenclature of the party i.e. civil society which is led by Anna
Hazare is wrong as it assumes that politicians and political leaders
are uncivil. Anna Hazares team which is like a shadow govern-
ment in fact represents forces that aim at not only subverting par-
liamentary democratic system but destabilize the country. It is
therefore, the duty of all Indians who are wedded to Indian Secular
Democracy to come forward and give a crushing defeat to these
forces which are deadly opposed to Indian Democracy.
Dr. M. Hashim Kidwai, Ex-MP, New Delhi 91
Sachin in Rajya Sabha
There has been vast and varied reaction to Sachin Tendulkars
nomination to Rajya Sabha. All is not complimentary. There is a
joke doing the rounds on SMS. Nominating Sachin is Dr
Manmohan Singhs idea because he is fed up of being called the
dumbest member of the parliament. People having digs at Sachin
Tendulkar should not forget that he may prove to be a hit as an MP
beyond anybodys expectations. After all, with a catching script and
proper direction he has succeeded in selling products ranging from
biscuits to insurance policies. Nuclear power, go get it!
Mookhi Amir Ali, Santacruz West, Mumbai 400054
drmookhi@hotmail.com
Rejuvenate Congress Party
It has been reported in the media that four ministers of Congress
party have appealed the Congress president Mrs. Sonia Gandhi to
permit them to take up the organizational work to strengthen the
party like Mr. Salman Khursheed, Mr Velar Ravi, Mr. Ghulam Nabi
Azad and Mr. Jai Ram Ramesh. This is a good suggestion moved
by the four ministers. The present plight of Congress is woeful. It
has come to fore in the UP elections. If the present situation is con-
tinued the chances of winning in the parliamentary elections in
2014 are bleak. The party needs overhauling. Being a central party
it can keep the nation unite no other party have this capacity. The
main reason of the defeat of party in UP is the alienation of
Muslims. The anti Muslim and anti Islam elements in the party
have become stronger. The fake encounters like Batla house and
arrest of Muslim youths has become rampant. The minister who
was responsible for Batla House encounter was given the honour
of governorship. Spiralling prices and the Naxalite menace has
increased to the alarming heights. The prime minister and the
Congress president should take action and overhaul the party in all
the states. All the senior ministers such as Pranab Mukherjee, Mr.
P Chidambaram, and Mr. Digvijay Singh should resign from min-
istries and take up the party work and improve public relations.
Pranab should take charge as party president in West Bengal as
he had left that. They should work day in and day out till the next
parliamentary elections are held on the do or die basis. Simply sit-
ting in Delhi and giving sharp statements will not be of any use.
Dr Maqdoomi, Hyderabad
drmaqdoomi@yahoo.com
Chamatkari healers
Apart from the Rights of the People under the Indian Constitution,
there are clear cut Obligations and Duties for the Citizen of India.
Article 51A (h) of the Indian Constitution states in an unambiguous
terms: Citizens have a duty to develop the scientific temper,
humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform (in the Society). I
am amazed that in spite of these Constitutional Obligations and
Provisions, Governments (Central as well as Sates) fail to check
the irrational, illogical, irresponsible and even inhuman activities of
Chamatkari Healers (belonging to any faith) causing huge losses
for the Aam Aadmi in terms of both money and lives. Lack of
Scientific Temper in the Society and exploitation of masses by self
styled Healers is as harmful as Corruption prevailing in the coun-
try. Will the so-called Civil Society Activists express their anger
over this evil too?
Dr. M.I.H. Farooqi, Lucknow
mihfarooqi@gmail.com
Supreme Court on security-cover
It refers to Supreme Court taking cognizance of security-covers
provided to large number of people mostly from legislature. Red-
light cars and a fleet of security-persons by those in politics are
now-a-days mainly required for status-symbol rather than actual
necessity. An appreciable part of available security forces is mis-
used for such status symbol where many misuse security-person-
nel for even household jobs. Case of killing of Lalit Maken should
not be forgotten when the security-persons on duty were some-
where else at time of killing. Spokesperson of Union Ministry of
External Affairs on the issue of children of Presidents accompany-
ing them equated Indian practice with that of USA. In security-mat-
ters also, US practice should be followed where security is not
available even for former VIPs like retired President. Prime
Minister of a country in response to demand of Parliamentarians
there replied that those sensitive to their lives need not contest
elections at all! Same principle should be followed in India.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal, Delhi-06
subhashmadhu@sify.com
Disturbing trend of suicide in students
In the students community you can find a very disturbing trend of
suicide is seen entering in the past few years. If you refer to the
studies, it says that after every ten minutes you see some student
trying suicide. The recent suicide incidents in Bangalore and
Gurgaon poses a harsh question, are students not being brought
up in a suitable environment? If you dig deep, the root causes to
this heinous trend include failed relationship, family pressure or
college or studies stress pilling up their confusion level especially
when their hormones are already in a bad state. Psychiatrists are
of the opinion that disturbed teenagers have always the issue in
dealing with various relationship stresses. Despite the alarming
data, its ironical to see our police and legal system hardly care
about these figures. The growing pressure from the parents to
score high marks and do remarkable in their extracurricular activi-
ties is the real menace behind the suicide attempts among the
teenagers. Its high time that parents should think above their high
level aspirations from their children and properly connect with their
wards with utmost care and help in alleviating this devastating
trend seen among the students.
Mohd Ziyaullah Khan, Nagpur - 440013
writeziya@gmail.com
Silver lining on a dark cloud?
The agreement signed by the four mediators on behalf of
Chhattisgarh government and the Maoists which would set free
Alex Paul Menon will be welcome all over the country. The more
joyous tiding is the hint given by Raman Singhs government that
there exists a broader agreement behind this. Such encouraging
news from the red corridor has not come in a long time. The opti-
mists among activists and NGOs who have been seeking a dia-
logue with the Maoists will see a glimmer of hope in this step taken
by a BJP government. Hitherto the BJP has been breathing fire on
this front. Too often they have demanded military solution to the
Maoist menace.
Dr Mookhi Amir Ali, Santacruz west, Mumbai 400054
drmookhi@hotmail.com
Mayawatis extravagance
When you see our nation pitted with corruption and economic inse-
curity, where we still fight for things like poverty, you have leaders
like Mayawati the self proclaimed Messiah of Dalits seems to be
investing around 800 million mall avenue bungalow in the last five
years. However, if you believe the reports, the above figure seems
to be a tip of iceberg since the minister was known to put sea of
money on things like her birthday bash, statues, bungalow renova-
tion and what not. According to the report published in TOI, a sen-
ior estate department official was seen figuring out an exorbitant
amount of more than 1000 million. Perhaps, the Daulat ki Beti tag
very well justifies the persona of Mayawati who originally claims to
be leader of poor and needy. Though Mayawati had made a cou-
ple of Dalit parks in the state to gain the sympathy of her commu-
nity, however, her exorbitant spending by the former minutes is
really scandalous. Any Indian would never appreciate this misuse
of money and power from a leader who was elected as the state
leader for four consecutive times. Perhaps this could be the reason
why she was thrown out of the power.
Mohd Ziyaullah Khan, Jafar Nagar, Nagpur - 440013
writeziya@gmail.com
Alternate Banking Window in conventional banks: ICIF :
Indian Centre of Islamic Finance delegations visit to an Indian gov-
ernment official to lobby for introducing Islamic Banking windows in
conventional Banks as a pilot project, is a sincere effort to help pro-
vide Islamic Banking facilities to primarily Muslim citizens of India
to abide by their strict Islamic injunctions against interest. However,
as the balance of power is in the hands of a committed bureaucra-
cy as well as the ruling class, ICIF should realise that even if
Islamic Banking is adopted by Indian Banking system, the entire
control of the facilities offered may or may not be in strict compli-
ance with Sharia requirements. ICIF should consider how Muslim
Personal Laws are being flaunted with impunity by the govern-
ment, legislation, bureaucracy as well as judiciary and we have a
big ongoing struggle to get Government to grant us full constitu-
tional freedom to practice our religion in all its manifestations and
corollaries. Time and again simple minded and sincere people
have relied on State to be fair with Muslims. However, there seems
to be a ideological reluctance by all section of Indian governance,
to appease Muslims, even though their demands are just, consti-
tutional, legal, viable and deserving. Muslims have no effective
political leverage with the political class. So much so, that we have
not even planned to lobby the political parties first, to include
Muslim demand for Islamic Banking in their manifesto. I doubt
even either Muslim League or Welfare Party of India, has included
in their manifesto, the Muslim demand for Islamic Banking facili-
ties. So all such visits to government ministers and bureaucrats
become fruitless and increase Muslim frustrations when their most
cherished demand are merely given polite hearing but never any
effort to move in the direction of even remotely coming forward with
any positive sign that Islamic Banking is under consideration. This
state of affair should force us to review our strategies for the
achievement of our goal. A window of opportunity could open,
when globalized India now desperate for Foreign Funds might look
to Gulf countries with bulging Sovereign Funds, to invest its major
infrastructure projects. I would suggest that we should lobby with
investing Gulf countries, to channelize their investment through
Islamic Banking system and as an extension of cooperation, lobby
with Indian authorities to allow private Islamic Banks from Gulf
countries to open their full branches as pilot project to offer Islamic
Banking facilities to all sections of Indian population. Since we
would be helping our country to raise billions in investment funds
for national or private projects, we will certainly cultivate some
leverage to our demands on our government to come to a trilater-
al arrangement, so that it may not appear to be politically vulnera-
ble to opposition charge of appeasement of Indian Muslims. Our
efforts will be based on a fair exchange of give and take and we
will not be begging for favors of without any direct and visible quid
pro quo. I would request Indian Centre for Islamic Finance (ICIF).
ICIF must proceed with the project in a professional manner
instead of throwing the ball in the court of a reluctant government
that is interested to play the ball with its Muslim citizens.
Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai
ghulammuhammed3@gmail.com
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 May 2012 23
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DNA Replication within wombs revealed in Quran
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