24 pages ` 15 ISSN 0972-3366 FORTNIGHTLY Vol. 15 No.8 Issue Serial # 342 facebook.com/milligazette www.milligazette.

com 16-30 April 2014

Modi 2,10,11
Elections 3,4,5,8
Symptoms of Fascism 6
J&K 10 Analysis 11 Special Reports 3,13
Issues 2,11,13 Speaking Out 11 Books 21
Newsmakers 12 International 16-20
Community News 14-15 Islamic Perspectives 20
Our Publications 19 Classifieds 22 Letters 23
Inside
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THE
MILLI
GAZETTE
INDIAN MUSLIMS LEADING ENGLISH NEWSPAPER SINCE 2000
MG/Yusuf
ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN
Three diplomats sat in the French consulate in Beirut in May 1916
while the First World War raged and agreed on a secret plan to
divide the Middle East among their countries. They represented
Britain, France and Imperial Russia. After the Bolshevik Revolution
in October 1917, Russia withdrew from the scheme. Britain and
France stayed committed and soon after the end of the war, divid-
ed the countries among themselves under what is known as
Sykes-Picot Agreement. The Arabs, who had been promised
freedom by the British, revolted and were eventually placated with
the creation of the Emirate of Transjordan (now Kingdom of
Jordan) and Kingdom of Iraq to be ruled by the sons of the leader
of Arab Revolt, Sharif Husain of Mecca.
A second attempt to throw away the Sykes-Picot yoke start-
ed shortly after the Second World War and countries like Syria,
Iraq, Iran and Egypt witnessed coups and popular revolts. New
dictatorships emerged while the old systems, essentially support-
ed by foreign powers, remained intact. New elites, including a mil-
itary ruling class, emerged while masses continued to lead a life
of penury, bereft of civil and political rights.
Iran finally managed to break free of the Sykes-Picot yoke in
1979, but Arab countries had to wait for another three decades.
The long overdue movement started in Tunisia in December 2010
and soon spread to many corners of the Arab World. Its biggest
success was in Egypt where the movement to topple the long-
entrenched military ruler (Air Marshal) Hosni Mubarak started on
25 January 2011 and finally succeeded in toppling him after 18
days of violent protests. But the reins of power did not fall into the
hands of the protesters or institutions as there were no institutions
worth their name with the exception of the Supreme Council of
Armed Forces (SCAF) which hastened to take over the state and
effectively ruled from February 2011 to June 2012.
The military rule in Egypt was established in July 1952 by Col.
Gamal Abdel Nasser. Over the years, the army and army officers
seized most of the positions of power in Egypt, directly or indirect-
ly owning and controlling more than 50 percent of the Egyptian
economy. The 2011 popular revolt challenged this status quo.
A new parliament was elected in a free and fair election in
January 2012 but in June, SCAF dismantled it on technical
grounds using a court verdict which found flaws in the electoral
law.
On 24 June, 2012, Dr Muhammad Mursi, a university profes-
sor belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), was elected as
President defeating the armys nominee. The new President tried
to resurrect Parliament by issuing on 8 July a decree which was
struck down by the constitutional court the very next day.
On 26 December, 2012, President Mursi signed a constitution
approved by 63.83 percent of the voters in a free and fair referen-
dum. But it still remained heavily in favour of the army, e.g., a mil-
itary officer was to be the defence minister (art. 195) and the
National Defence Council was to have a majority of military com-
manders (art. 197). This effectively gave the military a veto over
any national security or sensitive issue.
The fact is that President Mursi was not allowed to rule even
for a single day. The deep state frustrated all his attempts to
control the system. This deep state comprises of the military, the
ministry of interior and the General Intelligence Directorate in addi-
tion to the Mubarak era technocrats including the judiciary.
SCAF had bestowed upon itself extra-constitutional powers
vide a constitutional addendum issued in July 2012. In August,
President Mursi froze this addendum and retired the generals who
had signed it. But his choice of the new military leader, Gen. Abdul
Fattah Al-Sisi, was catastrophic. Mursi was fooled by the gener-
als show of piety and submissiveness while the latter was fully
committed to the interests of the Army and the Mubarak State
which was still fully intact.
Soon an orchestrated street and media campaign was start-
ed by the deep state. SCAF had already placed the media in the
hands of the liberals who had been routed in the parliamentary
elections. State and private media including the mass-circulation
government-owned newspapers and TV channels started an
unprecedented daily campaign to ridicule and abuse the President
and his team. Rogue and liberal elements rushed to the streets in
frequent protests. Black Bloc, the secret militia kept by the inte-
rior ministry, started a reign of terror, extortion, attacks, murders
and bombings to induce popular unrest as the first priority of any
nation is peace and security. A managed scarcity of essential
goods was launched under which the supply of crucial items like
bread, petrol and electricity became erratic and scarce. Mubarak
regimes hand-picked judges started overruling the new regimes
decisions and overturning presidential decrees.
While the deep state with the help of the judges was moving
fast to dismantle the Shoora Council (upper house of Parliament)
and the Constituent Committee drafting the constitution, President
Mursi stepped in to protect his government from an impending
serious vacuum by signing the Constitutional Declaration of
22 November, 2012, which protected his decrees from judicial
review until the next parliament was elected and the new consti-
tution was passed. He also ordered re-trial of Mubarak officials
accused of murder, terror and causing injuries to protesters, after
they had been summarily acquitted en masse by the Mubarak era
judges.
Now, at the behest of the deep state, many liberal members
of the Constituent Committee resigned, street protests started and
even the Presidential Palace was besieged. Soon, on 26 April,
2013, Tamarod (Rebellion) movement started in Cairos Tahrir
Square and claimed to have collected signatures of 22 million
Egyptians demanding removal of President Mursi.
This situation allowed SCAF, late in June, to openly intervene
giving to the government and opposition one week to find a solu-
tion for the impasse. Soon, on 1 July, this ultimatum was reduced
to 48 hours and, finally, Egypts first freely-elected President was
deposed two days later. He was detained along with all his close
aides, advisors, prime minister and members of the cabinet.
Now, millions of supporters of the deposed President and
opponents of a fresh bout of military regime started street
protests and camped at hundreds of spots across the country,
especially at Cairos Rabia Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda squares. The
protests at both these huge squares were mercilessly broken on
14 August 2013, killing at least 638 persons (2600 according to
the field hospital in the square) and injuring around 7000 persons.
During an earlier attack on the Rabia camp on 4 July, 70 persons
were killed. Pro-Mursi protesters observed a Day of Rage at
Cairos Ramses Square where 173 protesters were mercilessly
murdered by the security forces.
Many more have been killed in police attacks on peaceful
mass protests which have continued ever since, in all parts of
Egypt on a regular basis despite a ban on holding demonstrations
without a police permit.
According to a conservative estimate, at least 3,000 protest-
ers have been killed by the Egyptian army and police since
President Mursi was toppled.
Has the third Arab liberation movement failed?
Seemingly, the counter-revolution in Egypt is
complete by now. The old regime is fully back
in the saddle thanks to full US, Israel and Gulf
support. They were all, for different reasons,
wary lest a popular, honest and enlightened
movement takes roots in a key Arab country
which was to have serious repercussions for
the whole region....
It is still too early to write the epitaph of the
25 January Revolution. Sykes-Picot legacy is
yet to be dismantled.
THE MEDIA-IGNORED BOMBSHELL...7
Continued on page 9
A shorter version of this article appeared in DNA newspaper
MB Chief Muhammad Badie looking from behind cage in court
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JAVED JAMIL
Shriman Modiji,
At the very outset I want to restate what is already known to you
and all your supporters: that Muslims (except very few) are not
going to vote for you in the coming elections. And this is not
merely on account of you; it is primarily due to the ideology of
BJP and its family. And if the ideology of BJP remains the same,
you can rest assured that they will never vote for BJP. Your pres-
ence at the top has of course only added fuel to the fire, as
Muslims perceive you as the most dangerous player of the team
that you represent.
Having said that, I strongly feel there is an urgent need of
dialogue between BJP ideologues and Muslims. This alone can
bridge the gap that exists between the two biggest communities
of the country and can help them in finding a common agenda
which both of them can work upon.
This dialogue must ideally begin immediately after the elec-
tions, irrespective of whether BJP comes to power or not.
Muslims will of course not want to see BJP coming to power. But
to be fair to the country, if your party fails to emerge victorious
despite the most high-pitched campaign this country has wit-
nessed since Independence, it will not be due to the Muslim fac-
tor but on account of lack of support by the majority of Hindus.
If you have not been able to gain power for long since
Independence, this again is primarily because the majority of
Hindus do not support BJPs ideology. Instead of asking people
to give us 60 months in return of 60 years to Congress, you
should better ask yourself why your party has failed to win the
confidence of the people of the country. Ideally, this question
must haunt you even before the elections and also if you win
them. But, if you lose, this question will certainly not let you
sleep. If you cannot win the confidence of Hindus, how can you
win the confidence of Muslims and other minorities?
Muslims, of course, have much bigger reasons to feel aver-
sion for the Sangh ideology. I want to quote below a few para-
graphs that I had written about the basic flaws in Sangh ideolo-
gy and also about your contribution to the feeling of aversion:
Everything about BJP is farce. From ideology to practice, it
is drowned in deception. Religion is an important part of human
life; it must in fact be the most important. Secularism in the
Indian context is not the negation of religion but synthesis of reli-
gious values enshrined in different religions. Every community in
India has the right to practice and profess its religion. I do not
agree with those who want separation of religion and politics.
Negation of religion as such means total negation of the good-
ness of religion and the moral values that are associated with it.
What is bad is not the religionaisation of politics but politicisation
of religion, which often breeds communalism. If BJP had been
preaching religious values enshrined in Hindu Dharma, there was
nothing bad about it. If it had been fighting for the rights of
Hindus, even then it would not have created much of a havoc.
The problem with BJP is that its definition of Hindutva, in prac-
tice if not in theory, is based on its aversion of Muslims and
everything that is or can be made to look linked to them. They
are not interested in introducing the Hindu vision to the constitu-
tion but in demolishing Muslim personal laws. They are not too
much fond of building temples; they are more concerned about
demolishing mosques. They love singing Vande Mataram not
because of its inherent beauty but because it irks Muslims who
find it hard to eulogise the land instead of the Creator of the land.
Even if they do not read their scriptures with any regularity, they
would want to impose it on Muslim students. They are not con-
cerned about saving Hindu lives from fellow Hindus; they derive
some sort of pleasure if Muslims are killed. They are not cam-
paigning for bringing comforts to their fellow religionists; they
are more interested in teasing and harassing Muslim populace.
Even their hatred towards Pakistan is based not on nationalism
but on hatred because Pakistan is a Muslim country. They count
only the Hindu dead or displaced. The Muslim counts hardly
bother them. When talking of Gujarat riots, they will shout about
the deaths in Godhra, the blame for which they have put on the
heads of Muslims without any proof, and would not want to
count the dead in the riots that followed. They forget that even for
the deaths in the train whoever the killers or the victims, Gujarat
government was responsible. First it failed to protect the Kar
Sevaks, and then allowed their deaths to be used for the carnage
of thousands of Gujaratis, most of whom were Muslims but also
included some Hindus. In Kashmir, they will keep counting the
number of the Brahamins killed, which does not cross even a
few hundred mark, and would keep mum on the killings of more
than 40000 Kashmiris.
The media is doing everything to help you. It is overplaying
the recent BJP attempts to appease Muslims and downplaying
your recent outbursts against Muslims. The national media and
to my amazement even the Muslim media has remained tight-
lipped on your outburst against meat marketing and exporting,
what you described as Pink Revolution. Several times, you
have spoken negatively about the facilities provided by the gov-
ernment to the meat exporters without telling us what these facil-
ities are. When you or your folks talk of terrorism being a grave
threat for the country, it almost always means Muslim
Terrorism. You forget that more than 95 per cent of the deaths
in India in terrorist attacks have been caused by terrorists who
are identified as Hindus in the Indian constitution. Sometimes,
you talk of Naxalites to counter the Muslim-specific allegation
because you regard Naxalites and other leftists as the enemies
of your self-styled Dharma. Of course, the Tamils and
Aseemanands do not weigh much in your calculations.
BJP leaders always need some Muslim villains to sustain
their anti-Muslim psychological warfare; and if they dont find
any, they manufacture them. During the last few years, they took
the name of Afzal Guru so many times that the people of the
country perhaps knew him better even than their President and
ministers. None in India happens to remember who killed Rajiv
Gandhi. They did not talk of 1984 riots till 2002. How can they
tolerate Hindus being punished for killing Sikhs? They started
making it an issue only as a propaganda tool to target Congress
after 2002. Nobody is reminding them that the 1984 riots were
the result of the brand of majorityism which Hindutva Parivar has
been propagating since Independence, or to be more precise,
since Partition. In the face of Sikh militancy, this brand engulfed
Congressmen too. But I am sure, if the identity of rioters is fully
disclosed, many of them will be recognised as the fathers of
those who are the active BJP protagonists today.
You have recently unfurled another flag of Hindutva. You
vowed to take back every Hindu from any country of the world,
if he or she happens to migrate to India. And of course you
would expel every Muslim from the land of the country whatev-
er the reasons of his migration, even if their human rights have
been violated in their country of origin. Not only Bangladeshi
Hindus are welcome and Bangladeshi Muslims unwelcome, you
may be thinking in terms of preempting any possibility of
Myanmar Muslims migrating to India in the face of extreme lev-
els of persecution there.
I can also not understand how secular people including
Muslims can be so appreciative of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Of
course, he might not have been as dangerous a bowler as you.
But of course, he was a member of the Hindutva team, a kind of
all-rounder who can do something or the other in all matches.
Vajpayee was also a shrewd captain. He let the blame of Babri
Masjid demolition stick to Advani. He expressed anguish in the
evening of that black day of Indias history when Babri Majid was
demolished. But he never expelled Advani and others involved in
the act from the party. Advani became his Deputy Prime Minister.
He only reminded you of Raj Dharma in the wake of Gujarat
riots but did never punish you. Neither were you dismissed from
office nor expelled from the party. Advani has now settled into
the shoes of Vajpayee. If you become Prime Minister, sooner or
later, you will step into the shoes of Advani. Hopefully, you do
that before presiding over any countrywide riots that can ensure
you the highest post in the government till you are alive or till a
new faster bowler emerges in the rank of Hindutva.
Once the elections are over and the dust has settled, BJP
and Muslim leaders must begin the dialogue. I strongly believe
that ways can be found out to minimise the differences and to
come to a common programme. The overwhelming majority of
Hindus, including Sangh activists, and Muslims are religious
people. Theologically, they may be on different pedestals, but in
terms of moral and social issues, similarities outweigh differ-
ences. All religious people love God, are keen to be morally right
and believe in family values. The overwhelming majority of
Indians disapprove of drinking and gambling (BJP has been
instrumental in banning them in their states), nakedness, sex
outside marriage and practices like prostitution, promiscuity,
pornography and homosexuality. Yet all these vices are being
promoted by market forces in violation of the natural inclinations
of the people of the country. There are many other issues like
economic disparity, inflation, corruption and rising crimes,
which can unite the two communities. Both Hindus and Muslims
are witnessing rapid Westernisation of the people with unease. If
religion-based groups come together against the forces that are
commercialising these vices and give up communalism and sec-
tarianism, India can set an example for the whole world. It can
show what true peace is. The need of the hour is the unity of all
religious communities to unite against the forces of
Westernisation. In particular, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and
Hinduism have to come together, as they are the four big reli-
gions of the world in terms of followers. Of course, other reli-
gions should also be taken along. In the Indian context, Hinduism
and Islam are the religions that have to take lead in working
together for the common cause of comprehensive peace. In
addition, both communities have to recognise each others gen-
uine needs, and when the question of justice comes, communal
considerations are to be kept aside.
I am sure if we start talking about these issues, the distance
between the Hindutva organisations and Muslims will shrink.
BJP can then hope to play a more effective political role in the
country. But it must understand that the route to political unity
passes through social cohesion, and political successes do not
necessarily come instantly. If it fails to recognise the truth, it will
quickly lose its credibility.
Seeing the nature of the proposal, I am not enthusiastic
about the prospects. But I still feel it is an exercise worth
attempting even at the risk of failure. Frankly speaking, if your
style of functioning is kept in mind, the risk is pretty big. But the
realities of India will hopefully make you realise that the progress
of the nation cannot be ensured unless the two communities
learn to believe in each other. Once the Hindutva Parivar starts
seeing Muslims as equals, hatred will replace love.
With thanks
An Indian Muslim
Dr Javed Jamil is a thinker and writer with over a dozen books and
can be reached at doctorforu123@yahoo.com
Open Letter to Modi: Post-Election, we can talk
If you have not
been able to
gain power for
long since
Independence,
this again is
primarily
because the
majority of
Hindus do not
support BJPs
ideology.
Instead of
asking people
to give us 60
months in
return of 60
years to
Congress,
you should better ask yourself why your
party has failed to win the confidence of the
people of the country all these years.
Instead of asking people to give us 60
months in return of 60 years to Congress,
you should better ask yourself why your party
has failed to win the confidence of the people
of the country.
NATIONAL The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 3 www.milligazette.com
GIVE ONE-TO-ONE FIGHT
TO BJP IN 2014:
Shahabuddins formula to defeat the BJP
New Delhi: Syed Shahabuddin, ex-MP and former president of AIMMM, issued
the following press note on 9 April, 2014:
In the General Election 2014, BJP is trying to write a new history in inde-
pendent India. Not only its prospective Prime Minister Modi is the first RSS
pracharak to stand for the post but also because his entire election is powered
by the Corporate Sector, propelled by the RSS and organised directly by the
candidate. No doubt if Modi wins, secular India shall turn into Hindu Rashtra,
thus fulfilling the dreams of Savarkar and Golwarkar.
For the first time, violating the undertaking given to the then Home Minister
Sardar Patel in 1949, the RSS has come out into the open to guide its political party, the BJP, at every
step.
In 1996, the BJP made an impact for the first time and in every subsequent election it has openly
propagated its ideological and political views, slowly moving towards the achievement of its basic goal:
to gain full control of the central government. The BJP feels that now its time has come.
BJP wants to repeat Germany of 1933, in India of 2014, when Hitler came to power in Germany in
1933 through a democratic election. The only way to avoid it is by all democratic secular forces voting
unitedly and massively to defeat the BJP candidates, out of love for their motherland.
Under the BJP, loktantra shall turn into Brahmanvad, enact laws in accordance with the Manusmriti
and not the principles enshrined in the Constitution. Such government shall violate the basic principles
of our citizenship Freedom, Equality, Justice -- and shall discriminate against citizens on the basis of
religion, sect, caste and domicile. It will be a Hindu state and deprive non-Hindus from economic bene-
fits and social progress and treat them as second class citizens, if not foreigners.
This is the Moment of Truth for all democratic forces to take cognizance of the threat, set aside their
political and ideological differences and join hands and stop the march of Hindutva Rath.
To ensure victory of Secularism and the defeat of the BJP, all secular parties, national or regional,
must withdraw from the election arena from the seats which they never won even once since 1952 and
which they are not likely to win in 2014, in favour of another secular party which has won it at least dur-
ing the last general election of 2009. The parties which withdraw from the contest should remain cer-
tain that their sacrifice for the cause of Democracy shall be rewarded by the people of India when time
comes.
To arrive at a simple formula because the time is short, the secular and democratic parties do not
need a common manifesto or to conduct joint electoral campaign or commit themselves to form an
alliance or after the election a government but they should in principle agree to join a coalition govern-
ment after the general election leaving the question of leadership to be decided after the election.
MAGIC FORMULA FOR DEFEATING THE BJP
The BJP had won only 116 out of 433 it contested in 2009 on 18.8% votes. It lost most to INC. But INC
has already shed its hegemonic tendencies. So should the Left its ambitions, the Janta Parivar should
do away with their obsessions with the anti-Congress rhetoric, and with political one-upmanship.
Let each secular party contest only the seat it won in 2009.
Also, let each concentrate on defeating the BJP in the seat it had lost to the BJP or its allies in 2009.
Let few seats which will remain be divided among the Secular parties by consensus, in terms of
social demography, their own social base and availability of suitable candidate.
If the secular and democratic parties can come to such an understanding, they shall win against BJP
by a high margin, supported by all deprived sections of our country.
Respond now if you care about your
community
White Paper on Terrorism
The issue of fake terrorism charges and the unjust arrests and defamation of our community,
especially since 2001, is the biggest challenge facing the community ever since. A grand con-
spiracy hatched by the powers that be, IB, Police and media, has sullied and defamed our com-
munity. This campaign has affected our lives, peace of mind and has thwarted our efforts to
progress and educate our children to join the national mainstream.
Our efforts so far to present our case, to bring out our innocence and force the national and
state governments to listen to our grievances have mostly failed. All we have received are a few
words of solace which have no real meaning and have not changed the situation on the ground.
Our children by their thousands are still languishing in jails on the basis of fake confessions
obtained through torture and blackmail.
As a long-term solution and a serious response to this problem thrust upon us, AIMMM
decided last year to bring out a white paper on the Muslim-related terrorism in the country.
The work is going on with all seriousness and many researchers, scholars and journalists are
busy preparing writeups on various aspects of this issue, covering the history, genesis, com-
munalism, vested interests in various related fields, analysis of various laws like TADA, POTA
and UAPA, fake encounters, narco tests, torture, acquittals, IB & Police role, media attitude,
case studies, statewise surveys, SIMI, Indian Mujahidin, Hindutva terror, individual tragedies
of victims, Azamgarh, Bhatkal, Malegaon, Darbhanga modules, some basic documents, etc.,
etc.
The target is to bring out this white paper during the next few months and to release it in a
big convention at Delhi as a combined effort of major Muslim and civil rights organisations, and
thereafter present this huge document of over 600 large format pages to politicians, media,
human rights organisations, especially outside the country, in order to enlighten public opinion
at home and abroad as well as to build pressure on our blind and deaf government.
The estimated cost of this white paper is Rs 35 lakh divided as follows: Rs 15 lakh cost of
preparation and payments to contributors plus six months salaries to researchers and experts;
Rs 15 lakh for designing and printing the document in a world-class format; while the grand con-
vention at Delhi will cost at least 5 lakh. Effort will be made to release the White Paper in some
state and world capitals also.
You can help this effort in four ways,
1. To buy copies of the White Paper on Terrorism in advance to help defray part of the huge cost
of research, printing, publication and distribution of at least one thousand complimentary
copies. The estimated price of the white paper is Rs 2000 per copy in India. You may place
an advance order by paying Rs 1000 only per copy in India including postal charges).
Payments for the copies may be made to The Milli Gazette, D-84 Abul Fazal Enclave-I, Jamia
Nagar, New Delhi 110025. Email: edit@milligazette.com. Individuals and organisations order-
ing a minimum of 100 copies in advance will be included as Sponsors of the White Paper.
2. Contribute to the cost of the grand convention to be held in Delhi. This should be payable to
the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, D-250, Abul Fazal Enclave, Jamia Nagar, New
Delhi-110025. Tel.: 011-26946780 Fax: 011-26947346. Email:
mushawarat@mushawarat.com.
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months working in our Delhi office or from your own home to complete this project - write
to the Editor, MG now at edit@milligazette.com.
4. Contact us if you have vital information/documents about this issue.
New Delhi: Communist Party of India in its elec-
tion manifesto for the general elections 2014 has
given priority to the problems of Muslims and has
laid emphasis on reviewing governments policy
on terrorism, punishing the guilty officers who
falsely implicated innocent Muslims in terrorist
activities and cases of terrorism, and working for
judicial and electoral reforms.
While releasing the manifesto at its head
office at Ajay Bhawan in New Delhi on 28 March,
CPI declared that it aims at freeing innocent
Muslims falsely arrested for terrorism, their link
with fake and non-existent Indian Mujahideen
(IM), penalising policemen and officers found
guilty of falsely accusing and arresting innocent
Muslims on the pretext of alleged connection with
IM and other terrorist organisations and payment
of suitable compensation and government jobs to
those honourably acquitted by courts.
CPI leaders A. B. Bardhan, S. Sudhakar
Reddy, Shamim Faizi, Gurudas Dasgupta and oth-
ers released the election manifesto booklet and
presented their plan before the media. The party
has tried to strongly raise the problems of minori-
ties, particularly Muslims, in its manifesto and
reiterated its promise of thwarting the communal
forces from grabbing power.
Regarding the arrest of innocent Muslims
on the pretext of terrorism, the Par ty has stated
that in the name of the fake Indian Mujahideen
the process of arrests of innocent Muslims is
going on every now and then and even today
hundreds of innocent youths are locked up in
jails without FIRs and chargesheets. New black
laws on the pattern of POTA, TADA, ESMA
(Essential Services Maintenance Act) are being
enacted.
Speaking about the present conditions, the
Party promised that emphasis will be laid on abol-
ishing all black laws including UAPA (Unlawful
Activities Prevention Act) and steps will be taken
for the immediate release of innocent Muslims
who have been locked up in jails and demand pun-
ishment for guilty officers who committed fake
encounters or falsely implicated innocent youths.
It also promised sincere and honest imple-
mentation of Sachar Committee and Rangnath
Mishra Commission recommendations, ending
discrimination against people belonging to Dalit
and OBC categories in matters of facilities and
denying the same to others on religious basis,
plan for largest minority, i.e., Muslims on the
model of plans for ST and SC people, enactment
of laws for putting an end to communal violence
and rehabilitation of riot-affected people, granting
statutory or constitutional status to National
Commission for Minorities, right to the use of
income from all Waqf properties for educational
and economic progress of minorities and eviction
from or return of all occupied waqf properties,
complete implementation of prime ministers 15-
point programme along with all welfare schemes
of government, ensuring right to education in
mother tongue including Urdu, from primary to
secondary classes, and abolition of discrimination
on religious basis in recruitment for government
jobs.
It further said in the introduction to the elec-
tion manifesto that the cat of Gujarats develop-
ment is getting out of the bag. Modi government in
Gujarat is in fact government of corporate houses,
particularly of Adani, Ambani, Tata and Mittal
groups. CPI leaders also said that such huge
amounts were given free to corporate houses that
the entire Gujarat is drowned in debt and farmers
of Gujarat are simply ruined. (N. A. Ansari)
VOTE FOR SUBHASHINI ALI!
Subhashini Ali, CPIM candidate from
Barrackpore constituency in West
Bengal, is an upright and principled
secular politician who has fought all her
life for the rights of marginalised people
and minorities and has worked for
womens empowerment. She is the
vice president of All India Democratic
Womens Association and has been
active of late in Muzaffarnagar area
helping riot victims and building houses
for them.
Subhashini is the daughter of
Colonel Prem Sehgal and Captain
Lakshmi Sehgal who were a part of the
legendary Indian National Army. She
was formerly married to filmmaker
Muzaffar Ali.
As a trade Unionist and leader of
the All India Democratic Womens
Association, she was once very influential in the politics of Kanpur. In the General elections of
1989, she had defeated her nearest rival BJP candidate Capt. Jagatvir Singh Drona from Kanpur.
She is currently a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
She is fighting elections from Barrackpore. We at the Milli Gazette have been following her career
and believe that she deserves our full support and we believe that Subhashini will be an asset for
all marginalised sections of our society especially minorities for whom she has worked tireless-
ly all her life. We appeal to our readers and friends in Barrackpore area to wholeheartedly sup-
port Subhashini. She is your candidate, your friend and your supporter.
DR ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN
Editor, The Milli Gazette
CPIs manifesto focuses
on problems of Muslims
THE MILLI GAZETTE
requires
JUNIOR JOURNALISTS
write with details in the first instance to the Editor at edit@milligazette.com
Basic requirements: good command over English, interest in and knowledge
of Muslim community issues, knowledge of Urdu
4 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 NATIONAL www.milligazette.com
ABDUL BARI MASOUD
New Delhi: In the wake of the latest incident in Assam where an
electronic voting machine was only blooming lotus, noted acade-
micians and social activists from Gujarat have demanded that the
general election should be postponed for 15 to 20 days as there is
grave apprehension that EVMs may be manipulated on a massive
scale to tilt the election results. They alleged that communal ele-
ments have infiltrated in the Election Commission and this is pos-
ing threat to free and fair elections as happened during the last
assembly elections in Gujarat.
Talking to media persons here, PUCL Gujarat president
Gautam Thakker, Gujarat Social Watch president Mahesh Pandya,
noted economist Prof Hemant Kumar Shah and ANHADs
Shabnam Hashmi said EVM was found to be voting only for BJP in
Assam and this has proved that the alarm bells rung by them after
the Gujarat assembly elections in 2012 were not wrong. The voic-
es of activists who raised this question before and after the 2012
Gujarat elections were ignored, called mad and as imagining
things, they recalled.
PUCL Gujarat president Gautam Thakker said a study done by
the PUCL Gujarat unit found that EVMs are not foolproof and can
be manipulated by using simple devices such as a cell phone or
laptop. He further said the PUCL had sent a letter to the EC in this
regard in December last year but it took four months to reply insist-
ing that EVMs are foolproof and secure. Citing many examples of
manipulation from Gujarat, Gautam Thakker said many experts,
both national and international, have experimented with Indian
EVMs and have shown that even the third generation machines are
not as secure as these are made out to be.
Shabnam Hashmi said use of EVM machines should be aban-
doned in the elections. If Gujarat was used as the laboratory of the
hate ideology it can also be used as the laboratory of undermining
the democracy in India, she alleged.
She reminded that there was a strong wave against Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the state but the anti-Modi wave
was not reflected in the assembly election verdict. No way could
Modi have won. There was subversion and manipulation, she
said.
Pandya said it is a mockery of democracy. He mentioned some
incidents of manipulation in Gujarat. In Padra assembly bye-elec-
tion (Dist Baroda), only 44 votes were cast in the EVM but after
counting, 111 votes were reported to have gone into BJPs candi-
dates favour; while in Surat, votes outnumbered voters at five
polling booths and the Collector promised action. In Sabarmati
Ashram, noted Gandhian Chunu Bhai Patel voted for some other
party but his vote went into BJPs favour.
Claiming that EVMs are susceptible to manipulation, Prof
Shah, who wrote a book Truth of Gujarat, which exposes the
Gujarat development model, told the Milli Gazette that the EC can
postpone the elections for 15 to 20 days for saving democracy as
it did when former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was
killed in a suicide attack in 1991. He said only five per
cent votes are needed to turn the election results
either way.
A documentary was also shown as to how EVMs
machines are manipulated. Presenting a study done
by experts, he said manipulations are difficult to detect
and correct. The technical reality is that every elec-
tronic machine can be manipulated. All electronic
machines are designed by humans and are open for
manipulation. The real issue is who can manipulate a
machine and who cannot. There cannot be a machine
without an input and an output window, therefore,
there is always a possibility of manipulating a chip or
a microprocessor or a super-computer. In this age of
electronics, when human beings can manipulate
instruments on the moon or Mars, any machine and
that too, architecturally as simple as EVM, can easily
be manipulated sitting on earth. It is a childs play to
design a cheap instrument, or programme a laptop or
even a cell phone, which can write and re-write on any
chip either through direct connection or through
remote operation. There are many ways in which
EVMs can be manipulated. A few of these have been
explained in detail on Internet. These are easy to
grasp and execute.
Casting aspersions on the role of the EC, they alleged that an
artificial Modi wave has been created by the media, particularly
electronic media, to manipulate final elections results through
EVMs as happened in Gujarat.
The objective of this operation will not be to control all EVMs,
but to control the final results of the election. If one party keeps
winning elections everywhere, the entire operation will be jeopard-
ized. The idea is to manipulate results only where it is crucial, he
added.
Activists highlighted some major methods of manipulation.
Simplest of all is to put a small piece of paper between the push-
button, designated for a specific candidate, and stop it from mak-
ing electrical contact. Another method is polling booth officers cast-
ing vote in favour of a specific candidate, just after releasing a vote,
and before the illiterate voter is asked to press the button. There
have been many complaints that the results have been manipulat-
ed. Candidates and their supporters have refused to believe the
results as happened recently in UP and Gujarat elections. There
are unbelievably high voting percentage in constituencies and
states. This phenomenon has been observed in the recent past
(UP, Gujarat and especially in tribal areas). Voters and observers
have complained that people with laptops have entered the polling
booth area (Gujarat elections). Entire staff and polling agents are
involved in subverting the election results.
The activists also demanded that a committee of experts must
be constituted by the Parliament. This committee must identify
some 20 groups of IT and electronic experts from IITs, DRDO,
BARC, TIFR, ISRO, CSIR, etc. These groups should be given a
one-line mandate: change the results in EVM during actual poling
without getting detected; each group should be provided with suffi-
cient funds and support system that they ask for. The extent of
funds cannot be an issue when Indian democracy is at stake, if no
group is able to accomplish the mandate then we are safe, but if
even one of them is able to manipulate just one EVM without detec-
tion we should abandon EVMs and revert to the paper ballots as
many countries have done. They said some most developed coun-
tries have rejected EVMs. The use of similar paperless DREs has
been discontinued in California, Florida, Ireland, the Netherlands,
and Germany.
In recent years, there have been numerous allegations and
press reports of election irregularities involving Indian EVMs. But
there has apparently never been prosecution related to EVM fraud
and there has never been a post-election audit to attempt to under-
stand the causes. The EC has done two expert committee studies
since the introduction of EVMs for polling.
The EC has developed the countrys EVMs in partnership with
two government-owned companies, the Electronics Corporation of
India and Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL). Though these are pub-
lic-sector enterprises but they are not under the administrative con-
trol of EC.
Indian Democracy at stake:
EVMs can be manipulated
One third children in Gujarat
are malnourished and
underweight: CAG Report
Gandhinagar: Comptroller & Auditor General of India has stated
in its latest report that every third child in Gujarat is under-
weight. Criticising the state government for its poor implemen-
tation of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) which
aims at improving the nourishment among children the CAG
report says that though there were about 223 lakh eligible ben-
eficiaries under Supplementary Nutrition (SN) programme under
ICDS, more than 63 lakh children were left out. This report was
tabled in the state assembly on 3 October. According to this
report, every third child in this state is underweight and, on an
average, about 37 percent adolescent girls are not getting ample
nutrition. The CAG report further says that about 1.87 core peo-
ple are being deprived of the benefits of ICDS because of short-
age of Aanganwadi centres, seeing that as many as 75,480
Aanganwadi Centres are needed in the state but only about 52
thousand such centres have been sanctioned but of these sanc-
tioned number, slightly more than 50 thousand are in operation.
Since the CAG report projects the state in somewhat bad light,
at least from this point of view, BJP which is beating the drum
of Gujarats so-called all round progress as a model for the
whole country at a high pitch and projecting the states chief
minister Modi as the architect of this progress and adopting all
fair and foul tactics for winning next years general election, it
has refused to accept CAGs report because it pricks the inflat-
ed balloon of the state so-called progress. In other fields also,
though it does not reflect the economic and social progress of
the state, the CAG report says that coastal security arrange-
ments in the state are not satisfactory, seeing that in view of the
longest coastline of this state in the country which is about 235
kms in Kutch district alone which is adjacent to Pakistan, there
is only one marine police station at Mundra and there is none
at other coastlines which touch as many as 13 districts of the
state. Hence from the security point of view, there only being
one marine police station on such a long coast is risky.
Hindu converted to Islam doesnt lose
backward class status: Madras HC
Chennai: The Madras high court has ordered the Tamil Nadu
government to instruct its officials to issue backward class (BC)
community certificates to people who embrace Islam, categor-
ically saying that a BC member would get all the benefits meant
for BCs even after conversion to Islam. I have no hesitation to
come to the conclusion that a person belonging to Hindu back-
ward class community, on conversion to Islam, would get the
benefit of backward class status if the person is covered under
List III of the government order no. 85, said Justice
D Hariparanthaman on 9 April. The list contains seven sects of
backward class Muslims. They are: Ansar, Dekkani Muslims,
Dudekula, Labbais (including Rawthar and Marakayar speaking
Tamil or Urdu), Mapilla, Sheik and Syed, the judge pointed out.
In his 88-page order tracing the origin of caste-resistance
movements by various communities and the prevalence of two-
tumbler system in several parts of the state, Justice
Hariparanthaman trashed two government communications
sent in February 2010 and August 2012 asking collectors not to
issue BC certificates to converted Muslims. Describing it as
persecution of Muslim brothers and akin to untouchability
practised on dalits, the judge said, Denial of BC community
certificate to converted Muslims amounts to deprivation of fun-
damental rights. The judge was passing orders on a petition
filed by M U Aariffaa, who was a Nadar (a BC community)
before her conversion to Islam in 2006. Though she cleared the
TNPSC examination for village administrative officer (VAO) in
2012, she was not selected as she was treated as others.
Later in the same year, she was not appointed station officer in
fire service department citing the same reason. On both occa-
sions she moved the high court and obtained an order directing
the respective departments to keep one post vacant.
Justice Hariparanthaman said: Counsel for the TNPSC
does not dispute the genuineness of the conversion of
Aariffaa to Labbai Muslim. According to her, converted
Labbai Muslim is not on List III which covered only born
Labbai Muslim. This is, in fact, doing violence to the List. The
only thing that has to be seen is whether the candidate has
genuinely converted to any one of the sects in List III. If it is
so, there ends the matter.
Muslims perturbed
over clerics
diversified appeals
ZAFAR ALAM KHAN
Bhopal: Intellectual and elite class of the Muslim
community here is perturbed over the unneces-
sary interference and diversified appeals of
community clerics regarding voting for the 2014
general elections.
Notably, Shahi Imam of Delhis Jama Masjid
Syed Ahmed Bukhari on 4 April announced his
support for Congress while his younger brother
Yahya Bukhari and the head priest of Lucknows
Shahi Asafi mosque Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad
Naqvi on 7 April called on the community to boy-
cott the Congress.
Disturbed over the diversified appeals by
the noted clerics of the community, the
acclaimed Urdu poet from the state capital
Manzar Bhopali said, Time has come when the
community members should not look at these
religious leaders who are confused among
themselves. We should not look at any of the
political parties instead we should see at the
image of the candidates contesting from our
constituency and should vote for the one who is
best among them.
Bhopali further said, While casting our vote
we should not see the caste, religion or the polit-
ical outfit of the candidate, the only thing that
need to be checked is who would do compre-
hensive development of the area and under
whose rule calm and peace would be main-
tained.
Over the issue, member of the Central
Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) Dr Yusuf
Khalil Hussaini Shifa said, The appeal of these
clerics does not have any effect as they do not
have any following, they are limited to only small
areas where they live and hence the political
leaders should also think twice before reaching
them to garner their support.
Dr Yusuf Shifa further said that the commu-
nity members should vote as per their judgement
and local conditions, and if they feel that not one
deserves to be their representative, then they
should also go for the NOTA option that has now
been made available to them.
President of the Madhya Pradesh Muslim
Vikas Parishad (MPMVP) Mohammed Mahir said,
The diversifying appeals of the clerics have con-
fused the community. Before going public, the sen-
ior religious leaders should have brainstorming
sessions and should come up either with one view
or better they should keep quiet. The different opin-
ions expressed by them makes them laughable
besides confusing the community.
Muslim Literacy Society (MLS) president
Khalid Ghani is of the view that the clerics
should stay away from politics and should leave
it for commoners. In order to teach a lesson to
the Congress that treats Muslims like slaves, we
have decided to campaign for the NOTA option,
he added.
Modi in
Azan, Modi
in Quran!
Despite the hue and cry over
har har modi: ghar ghar
modi in Varanasi, Modi
mania continues unabated.
He has been portrayed as
Goddess Durga. In a daring
display of Modi mania,
Bhopal finds posters hurting
the feelings of the Muslims.
In a letter of complaint,
Muhammad Saleem, state
president of minorities cell of
Congres, submitted a poster
that reads: Azan mein Modi:
Quran mein Modi
Aghaz mein Modi:
Namaz mein Modi / Ab to
maan lo Rasool hai Modi.
A. G. Khan)
NATIONAL The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 5 www.milligazette.com
A delegation of Zakat Foundation of
India led by its President, Dr Syed
Zafar Mahmood had a long and frank
discussion in Lucknow with the
Bahujan Samaj Par ty General
Secretary Satish Mishra.
Through a PowerPoint presenta-
tion, Dr Mahmood explained that the
basic cause of denial of justice to
Muslims is their abject under-repre-
sentation in the Lok Sabha and state
assemblies. He said that as per cen-
sus, Muslims constitute 13.4% at the
national level. Hence in a Lok Sabha
of 543 members there should be 73
Muslims. But since 1952 till date in
all the Lok Sabhas the average num-
ber of Muslims has been less than
27. The situation in state assemblies
is either equally bad or even worse.
The main reason for this injustice is
that predominantly Muslim con-
stituencies are reserved for
Scheduled Castes even though SC
percentage there is insignificant. On the other hand, con-
stituencies where SC percentage is quite substantial are not
reserved. For example, in Assam, the Karimganj Lok Sabha
constituency has 52% Muslims (as per census) and 13% SC
population but it is reserved for SCs. Yet, Jorhat and Dibrugarh
are not reserved even though Muslim population there is only
5%. Likewise, Bahraich assembly constituency is reserved for
SCs while it has 35% Muslims and only 16% SCs. But Rae
Bareli is not reserved while there SCs are 30% with only 6%
Muslims. State after state, this trend continues. Satish Mishra
assured ZFI that after the Lok Sabha elections 2014 this mat-
ter will be immediately taken up and a new Delimitation
Commission shall be appointed with specific directions to
remove these anomalies within a given timeframe, as suggest-
ed by the Sachar Committee.
Others in the ZFI delegation included the Vice President Sri
SM Shakil and the Secretary Sri Mumtaz Najmi.
Besides, the BSP General Secretary promised to forcefully
take up and get implemented the
following long pending Muslim wel-
fare programs: Institution of
Alternation Admission Criteria for
admission in colleges and universi-
ties as recommended by Sachar
Committee so that academic merit
is considered upto 60% and the
remaining 40% is covered by the
backwardness and lack of
resources of the applicants; cre-
ation of time-bound fast track courts
to try terror allegations; compensa-
tion of Rs fifty lakh to each person
who is found by the court as not
guilty of terror allegations; enact-
ment of anti-communal violence
law; evolving mechanism to nomi-
nate Muslims to public positions of
authority; out of the reservation to
be made for minorities, internally
earmarking 2/3rds for Muslims as
they comprise 73% of all minorities;
like Scheduled Castes, creation of a
special component for Muslims in the plan / budget; for the 15-
point minority welfare programme, enhancing budget from 15% to
19% as minorities comprise 19% of the total national population;
for planning of infrastructure schemes and their implementation
for minorities, making village & ward as units rather than district
or block; scrapping the limited competitive examination for
recruiting 1400 additional IPS officers; establishing Indian Waqf
Service; upgrading the post of Secretary, Central Waqf Council to
the level of at least Joint Secretary to Govt of India; cancelling the
provision of prior approval of waqf lease by state government;
mandatory leasing out of waqf properties at not below the current
fair market rate; time-bound vacation of Waqf properties by Govt
and others; publicising Madarsa scheme in Urdu and other lan-
guages; establishing equivalence between Madarsa and other
education; restoration of minority status of AMU; giving option for
interest-free finance in the banking sector; getting Central Urdu
Teachers Scheme implemented in states; establishing Equal
Opportunity Commission; instituting incentive schemes based on
diversity index; involving Muslim beneficiary groups in planning
and oversight of projects; and benefiting the whole Muslim com-
munity - not only a few individuals. Dr. Zafar Mahmood also told
Sri Satish Mishra that the ZFI representatives are not interested
in taking any personal advantage for themselves or for their rela-
tives either now or in future.
New Delhi: The All India Muslim Majlis-e
Mushawarat, the umbrella body of Indian Muslim
organisations, issued a statement about its polit-
ical agenda and advisory for secular, especially
Muslim, voters, at a press conference held at its
central office here on 7 April 2014. The national
President Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, Vice President
Janab Muhammad Jafar, General Secretary
Janab Masoom Moradabadi and Central
Committee members Prof Salim Engineer and
Janab Shees Taimi participated in the press con-
ference. Speakers reieterated Mushawarats
stand that the country is standing today on the
cross-roads and has to make a clear choice
between fascism and secularism. Mushawarat
leaders appealed to the secular voters to frus-
trate the fascist agenda and help secular forces
win the next elections. Mushawarat asked voters
to vote for Aam Aadmi Party and Congress Party
on the national level and for Muslim parties
where they have established themselves in
Kerala, Assam and Hyderabad. On the regional
level, Mushawarat supported a number of secu-
lar regional options like BSP, Trinamool
Congress, JD(U), RJD and CPI so that candi-
dates with secular and clean image win every
constituency.
Following is the full text of the statement
issued at the press conference:
Political Agenda for Elections 2014
Today there is hectic activity of elections in the
country for the formation of the 16th Lok Sabha.
The biggest danger during these elections is that
fascist and communalist elements may come to
power. On the strength of false propaganda,
attempt is being made to create an impression
that there is a one-person wave in the country.
However, the ground reality is that this fake wave
is a product of unreliable and irresponsible sec-
tions of media and a result of rumours spread by
the Sangh Parivar.
The fact is that no single person has the
solution for the serious issues and problems
India faces today, let alone a person who is
accused of responsibility in the murder of inno-
cents during Gujarat 2002 riots and who is con-
sidered as the greatest danger to the communal
harmony and secular-democratic fabric of the
nation. Different issues and problems are rais-
ing their heads in various states of the country,
and it is nothing but fraud to claim that all these
issues and problems will be solved if he became
PM. The fact is that basic powers in our demo-
cratic and federal system rest with the states,
and no prime minister can intervene in matters
of regional governance. Therefore, it is a fraud
to claim that the fate of all citizens of the coun-
try will change if a single person became PM.
Communalism and fascism, along with dis-
honesty and corruption, have irreparably dam-
aged the country. Most political parties and lead-
ers are competing with each other in the field of
corruption and no one can claim to be totally
clean in this environment.
In this complex situation, the great issue
before the Muslims of India is to decide in
whose favour they should cast their valuable
votes so that a just and transparent government
is installed and prejudice, bias and injustice
checked.
The parties Muslims supported after
Independence exploited them politically. These
parties remember Muslims only when there are
elections, and they include beautiful slogans in
their manifestos for this purpose. As a result,
Muslims cast their votes in favour of such parties
but get only disappointment in return. We can take
the example of the Congress manifesto during the
last Lok Sabha elections when it declared that they
will provide reservation at 4.5 percent to Muslims
on the lines of Kerala and Karnataka in govern-
ment jobs and educational institutions. But the
result of this promise is known to all. The much-
hyped Communal Violence (Prevention) Bill was
allowed to lapse because of lack of political will.
Another secular party, SP, had declared in its
manifesto during the UP assembly election of
2012 that 9 per cent reservation would be given to
Muslims. They had also pledged to release the
innocent youth arrested for alleged terrorism, but
not a single promise was remembered by the SP
after getting the reins of power. Muzaffarnagar
riots and insults to the riot-affected people need no
elaboration.
When it comes to Muslims, the attitude and
behavior of other secular parties is not too differ-
ent. Of course, parties like Indian Union Muslim
League, Majlis Ittihadul Muslimin and AUDF
(Assam) waged successful strug-
gle for political rights and man-
aged to create their identity in
Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and
Assam through raising their voice
for social justice and fundamental
rights.
Today, the most important
question is how Muslims should
get connected with secular parties
in the states where Muslims do not
have their own powerful political
parties or significant presence.
Sagacity requires that fascist ele-
ments should be stopped from
coming to power by using tactical
voting. Wherever, any secular can-
didate has the capacity to defeat
the fascist candidates, we should
vote for the secular candidate if he/she has a clean
image and his/her behaviour with Muslims and
marginalised sections has been just.
On the national level, we have two secular
options for Muslim and secular voters: Aam
Aadmi Party and Congress Party. Tactical voting
should also be used in favour of secular, power-
ful and clean-image candidates of BSP (U.P.),
TMC (West Bengal), RJD and JD(U) (Bihar),
Communist Party of India (CPI), and the secular
parties of South India. AIMMM supports Indian
Union Muslim League in Kerala and AUDF in
Assam.
Individually, AIMMM supports its members
contesting elections, viz., Salman Khursheed
(Farrukhabad), Mohammed Adeeb (Bijnore),
Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi (Hyderabad),
Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasmi (Kishanganj)
and Sultan Ahmad (Uluberia).
In general, AIMMM advises secular voters,
especially Muslims, to vote for secular candi-
dates with cleam image with a view to defeat
communalist and fascist forces.
Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan
President, AIMMM
7 April 2014
Please see also page 8
Mushawarat supports Aam Aadmi and Congress
De-reserving Muslim-dominated constituencies
BSP promises Delimitation Commission
Satish Mishra assured ZFI that after the Lok Sabha
elections 2014 this matter will be immediately taken
up and a new Delimitation Commission shall be
appointed with specific directions to remove these
anomalies within a given timeframe, as suggested by
the Sachar Committee.
The Mumbai Mirror's
unconditional hypocrisy
For the last 12 years
we have been writing
about the chief minister
of Gujarat as being
responsible for the
happenings in his state.
We called him a com-
munalist with no grip
on his administration. A
man unable to curb vio-
lence against thou-
sands of citizens, and
who showed laxity in
prosecuting its perpe-
trators.
Now that he is clearly ahead in the polls we realise that we have
been utterly mistaken.
He is in fact a visionary with total grip on his administration. His
revolutionary view on development has made life better for thou-
sands of citizens.
We are shocked by our misidentification and we offer Mr Modi
our most sincere and unconditional hypocrisy.
Signed All journalists and anchors
Mumbai Mirror, 3 April, 2014
MG: This is of course a sarcastic note from people who still
have some conscience left. Otherwise almost the whole
Indian print as well as electronic media has suddenly discov-
ered the greatest son India ever produced, past, present and
future included. It is only sign of the times that Times of
Indias website is now deleting uncharitable material on Modi,
especially its coverage of the Gujarat 2002 pogroms. Others
must be following suit. Lenin was right after all: intellectuals
are the first to betray (Zafarul-Islam Khan)
(L to R) Masoom Moradabadi, Zafarul-Islam Khan, Muhammad Jafar, Prof Salim Engineer, Shees Taimi
RAM PUNIYANI
ram.puniyani@gmail.com
Fascism, a phenomenon
which emerged in Europe
post-First World War has
haunted the humanity since
then. Its brutality, its crushing
of democratic norms, its tar-
geting of minorities, its mega-
lomaniac projection of power
of the nation, its ultra-nation-
alism, projection of its leader as a 'strongman', the
charisma built around such a leader, are all etched
on the memory of human race as a lesson as to
what should not happen anywhere in the world
again. Since then two words, Fascism and Hitler
have also become part of the popular vocabulary,
expressing the nature of the dictatorial regime and
a tyrannical dictator. At the same time these words
many times get diluted and used in a loose sense
for any dictatorial regime, any authoritarian leader
or person. The socio-political characteristics of the
political phenomenon are very specific and one
has to keep them in mind while labelling some per-
son or a regime as fascist or a Hitler incarnate.
The debate around this got revived with
Rahul Gandhi hinting that Narendra Modi is like
Hitler. Not to be left behind, BJP's Arun Jaitley
went on to say that the only leader in post-
Independence India who can be compared to
Hitler, is Indira Gandhi, as she was the one who
imposed internal emergency, got her opponents
arrested and abolished the democratic freedoms
during that period. It's true that she did impose
the emergency on the country, which is most
condemnable act on her part. It is also true that
the coterie around her exercised her powers like
a dictator. But was it a fascist regime? Can she
be compared to Hitler? No way. We must under-
stand that there are many types of dictatorships,
authoritarian regimes, military dictators, the few
surviving kingdoms even now. But fascism is a
different cup of tea (or poison) to be sure.
Major fascists in Europe came to power
through democratic route and then abolished
democracy by and by to assume the role of a
dictator, who presents himself as the saviour of
the nation, who also tries to expand the bound-
aries of the country claiming neighbouring coun-
tries to have been part of their country at some
point of time in history. The two other major
defining characteristics of fascism are the
unstinted support by the big Industrialists, who
in turn get all the state facilities in a smooth fash-
ion and the second is the targeting of minorities
who, through propaganda by various means, are
presented to be as anti-nationals, threat to the
nation and source of all problems of the country.
Starting from here the mass pogroms against
them take off with silent or vocal sanction of
large sections of society. The massacre of inno-
cent minorities is pass and there is a silent or
vocal sanction for this.
The overarching ideology of this political
phenomenon is sectarian nationalism which
takes legitimacy from race or religion (in case of
Hitler it was race).
In post-colonial states, the leftover of ideolo-
gies emerging from feudal sections and picked
up by some middle classes-upper castes have
such fascist potentials. The same characteris-
tics can also masquerade through political fun-
damentalism where a particular narrow interpre-
tation of religion is imposed on the society and
cruel treatment is meted out to the dissidents,
among whom some groups are targeted. Many
Islamic countries suffer from these fundamen-
talisms. In India also politics in the name of
Islam has fundamentalist-fascist potentials; fun-
damentalism being a close cousin of fascism. In
India these tendencies have potentially been
there in the politics in the name of religion. Nehru
very aptly understood this. A warning of Nehru
sounds particularly appropriate today. As per
him, Muslim communalism is in its nature as
bad as Hindu communalism, and may even be
stronger among Muslims than its counterpart
within the majority community. "but Muslim
communalism cannot dominate Indian society
and introduce fascism. That only Hindu commu-
nalism can" (quoted in Frontline, January 1,
1993).
In India, the nascent seeds of fascism-fun-
damentalism begin with the rise of Muslim and
Hindu communal politics from the 1880s. The
Muslim communal politics had its own trajecto-
ry and it tormented Pakistan's civil society no
end. In India it is having its own negative impact.
The Hindu communal politics running in parallel
did assume fascist potentials. M. S. Golwalkar,
the major ideologue of RSS, outlined it in his
book, 'We or Our Nationhood Defined'. This book
draws heavily from the German Nazi Fascism,
appreciating most of their concepts. It upholds
racial pride, brutal methods to deal with the
'other' (in this case non-Hindus), calls for adop-
tion of Hindu culture as national culture, exhort-
ing people to glorify Hindu race and nation, treat-
ing others as subordinates to Hindus, curtailing
'other's privileges and citizens rights on the lines
German Fascism under the leadership of Hitler
adopted for the Jews in particular. Appreciating
this, Golwalkar writes, "To keep up the purity
of nation and its culture, Germany shocked the
world by her purging the country of Semitic
races - the Jews. National pride at its highest has
been manifested here. Germany has also shown
how nigh impossible it is for races and cultures,
having differences going to the root, to be
assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson
for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by. (We or
Our nationhood Defined, Nagpur 1938, p. 27).
The major formative tool of fascism is con-
structed around and followed by a 'social com-
mon sense' directed against 'the other' commu-
nity. This is where anti-Muslim and anti-Christian
violence is different from the horrendous anti-
Sikh violence of 1984. Muslims and Christians
have been deliberately demonised and have
been 'constructed as the 'other' in the popular
imagination, and so there is a silent social sanc-
tion for regular repeated violence against them.
The RSS ideology is the Indian incarnate of
Fascism. The ultra-nationalism, the 'construction
of 'other' (Muslim and Christian), the concept of
Akhand Bharat (most of South Asia), the loyalty
to Hindu nationalism in contrast to Indian nation-
alism, are the ideological foundations of Indian
fascism. Mahatma Gandhi could see some of
the symptoms of RSS thought even then when
he called it a 'communal body with totalitarian
outlook'. Till the rise of Modi, one wondered how
can RSS-inspired movement be a fascist one as
there is no charismatic leader, as fascism does
require one. Modi has emerged and constructed
as such a leader post-2002. As such, the fascist
persona of Modi was not in doubt to serious
scholars and social scientists even before his
emergence as a big leader, as he is projected
today. Ashish Nandy wrote much before Gujarat
carnage, " More than a decade ago, when
Narendra Modi was a nobody, a small-time RSS
paracharak trying to make it as a small-time BJP
functionary, I had the privilege of
interviewingit left me in no doubt that here
was a classic, clinical case of a fascist. I never
use the term 'fascist' as a term of abuse; to me
it is a diagnostic category comprising not only
one's ideological posture but also the personali-
ty traits and motivational patterns contextualizing
the ideology.
He (Modi) had the same mix of puritanical
rigidity, narrowing of emotional life, massive use
of the ego defence of projection, denial and fear
of his own passions combined with fantasies of
violence - all set within the matrix of clear para-
noid and obsessive personality traits. I still
remember the cool, measured tone in which he
elaborated a theory of cosmic conspiracy
against India that painted every Muslim as a sus-
pected traitor and a potential terrorist. I came out
of the interview shaken and told Yagnik that, for
the first time, I had met a textbook case of a fas-
cist and a prospective killer, perhaps even a
future mass murderer.
(http://such.forumotion.com/t17216-ashis-
nandy-narendra-modi-is-a-classical-clinical-
case-of-a-fascist)
In a similar way, when a German delegation
visited Gujarat (April 2010), one of the members
of the delegation pointed out that he was
shocked by parallels between Germany under
Hitler and Gujarat under Modi. Incidentally, in
Gujarat school books Hitler has been glorified as
a great nationalist. (deshgujarat.com/2010
/04/10/german-mps-mind-your-own-busi-
ness/)
Gujarat has been the laboratory of Hindu
Rashtra. Post-carnage 2002, one knows that
despite the propaganda, the conditions of reli-
gious minorities is abysmal.
Can we say that Fascism is specific to
Europe only and it cannot a phenomenon in
India? Fascism is essentially a phenomenon
which emerges from sections of society which
are opposed to democratic polity and are out to
abolish the democratic space by projecting
imaginary fears and assert a need for a strong
leader to set the things right. It harps on ultra-
nationalism and has aggressive attitude towards
neighbouring countries and targets minorities. In
that sense it can emerge in any country where
social movements are either weak and frag-
mented or are not vigilant about the dangers of
this phenomenon.
Some say, India is a very diverse country
and so fascism cannot come here! It is a good
thought, and partly it has been a factor in hold-
ing back the fascist forces in India. With time
many factors become evened out and similar
tendencies grow all around. So it is not ruled out,
especially with the rise of the mass support for
such a phenomenon. Only a concerted struggle
to nurture democratic ethos, values of pluralism
and correct diagnosis of fascist forces alone can
save our democracy. (pluralindia.com)
Symptoms of Fascism
6 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 NATIONAL www.milligazette.com
New Delhi / Kolkata: Muhammad Abdullah, a student was
released on 27 February by a local court in Kolkata, City Session
Court after 8 years of incarceration on charges of terrorism and
not believing in the Indian Constitution. After his release he said
while speaking to UNI that he was sure that he would get justice
from the courts but he wants to know: what his fault was. The
best years of his life had to be spent in jail and during these past
8 years he was constantly under mental strain and torture and in
spite of being totally innocent it took him 8 years to prove his
innocence.
It may be stated that City Session Court of Kolkata, finding
him (Abdullah), Tariq Akhtar and Noorur Rahman, innocent,
ordered their release. All these three were imprisoned for 8 years
on charges of terrorism. They were accused of being in contact
with terrorists and disobeying the Indian Constitution but the
police had no proof, and the court had ordered their release.
Kolkata police had claimed that names of these people were men-
tioned in the diary of some terrorists and all these three had talked
to them many times over the phone but the Kolkata police could
not produce any record of their conversation to the court.
Abdullah, who belongs to Bihar's Vaishali district while talking
about himself said that after primary education in Delhi's Jamia
Sanabil he took admission in Jamia Salfia, Banaras. On
31 January 2006 at about 1.30 p.m. a student of the madrasa
came to him and said that he has been called by the Shaikhul
Jamia. When he reached there he found two policemen who told
him that they had come for some enquiry about a passport.
Abdullah told them that he had not sent any application for a pass-
port. The police said that probably some of his family members
might have sent the application hence he would have to accom-
pany them to the police station and after enquiry he would be sent
back to the Jamia. The policemen took him to a hotel where many
other senior police officers were already present. The two police-
men told him that they are officers of the 'agencies' and want to
enquire from him something about terrorism because a person
Waliullah Qasmi, an accused in Shramjivi express bomb blast was
in contact with him. Abdullah told the two policemen that he did-
n't even know what Shramjivi express was and that he was hear-
ing Waliullah Qasmi's name for the first time.
After about an hour Kolkata police officers also reached
the hotel and told him that the terrorists arrested in Kolkata
'have mentioned your name' but they (Kolkata policemen) did
not produce any thing as proof. At that time the S. P. of
Varanasi was also present. When the Kolkata police wanted his
(Abdullah's) custody, S. P. of Varanasi said 'how can you take
him to Kolkata without any proof'. Kolkata police promised that
if no proofs are found against him he will be released.
Thereafter Kolkata police officers got him seated in a Scorpio
along with them and set off for Kolkata. Next day on 1 February
the car reached straight to City Session Cour t where the cour t
sent him to 14 days police custody. Kolkata police headquar-
ter's ATC did investigate but almost immediately they were
convinced that 'I am innocent'. A high official of Kolkata police,
Gyanwant Singh told his senior officer that he was innocent
and that he had been arrested wrongly; but another senior offi-
cer said 'let it remain so, we will see later on'. Investigations
went on for 14 days after which 'I was sent to jail custody'. For
the first two months my family members could not find out
where I am and how I am'. They came to know through the
media that 'I had been arrested on the accusation of terrorism.
Media widely published that I had been working for Lashkar-e
Taiyyaba. Media also repor ted that dangerous weapons and
arms were recovered form me. I got the message sent to my
family through a kind and sympathetic police officer in jail that
I am locked up in a Kolkata jail', he said.
Abdullah said that during trial, investigating officer Basu Deb
Bhattacharya told him at least 30 times that he was innocent and
he would be released and that he was arrested because of pres-
sure from higher officials and that 'you have done nothing'.
Abdullah said that in spite of the absence of any proof, sections
121, 121 A, 124 AK of IPC were invoked against him. Speaking
about his experiences in jail he said that Muslim officers in jail are
more strict and their attitude is insulting and humiliating because
in order to prove themselves impartial and unbiased officers, atti-
tude of Muslim officers towards Muslim prisoners particularly is
very bad. Hence Muslim prisoners in jails wish and pray that they
may not be put under the care and supervision of Muslim police
officers.
Yet another innocent Muslim youth Mushtaq Ahmad of
Malegaon, accused of terrorism was released on bail after 8 years
of imprisonment in different jails of Maharashtra, by Mumbai's
special MCOCA Court's judge, G. T. Qadiri. Justice G. T. Qadiri had
in fact issued the order for his release on bail about 2 weeks ear-
lier but because of legal formalities like confirmation by local
police and Tahsildar's office his release was delayed by two more
weeks. After Mumbai's session court's order for his release he
came out of Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail on 27 February. When he
came out his old father Muhammad Ishaq, his elder brother and
authorities of Jamiatul Ulama, Malegaon were there to receive
him. When his father and brother embraced him he burst into
tears of joy. Thereafter, in addition to his father and brother, sen-
ior authorities of Jamiatul Ulama, Maharashtra who also had
come there, all of them went to Jamiat's office at Imambara Road.
Gulzar Azmi who handles legal cases of innocent Muslims arrest-
ed on the charge of terrorism said that Maharashtra ATS had
arrested 23 Muslim youths in connection with Aurangabad arms
seizure case and cases against them, all of whom are in jails for
the past 8 years and facing jails hard life. He said that Mushtaq
Ahmad was the fourth person to be released on bail in this case.
He said that in consultation with its senior lawyers, Jamiat will file
petitions for release on bail of other innocent Muslim accused too.
N. A. ANSARI
...when a German delegation visited Gujarat (April 2010), one of the members
of the delegation pointed out that he was shocked by parallels between
Germany under Hitler and Gujarat under Modi. Incidentally, in Gujarat school
books Hitler has been glorified as a great nationalist....Gujarat has been the
laboratory of Hindu Rashtra. Post-carnage 2002, one knows that despite the
propaganda, the conditions of religious minorities is abysmal.
Abdullah and others freed after 8 years of imprisonment
NATIONAL The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 7 www.milligazette.com
How BJP has eroded the Constitution and Democracy
DINESH NARAYANAN
In February 1992, a top Intelligence Bureau man
had bugged a room in which senior Sangh
Parivar leaders met to discuss plans to demolish
Ayodhya shrine.
Investigative website Cobraposts sting
operation on leaders of the Bharatiya Janata
Party and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders has
added a layer of unwitting tes-
timonials to heaps of circum-
stantial evidence that the
demolition of Babri Masjid was
meticulously planned and clin-
ically executed.
In a series of 24 videos,
the main actors in the demoli-
tion reveal how they planned
the destruction of the shrine
on India on December 6,
1992.
The sting operation has
revived speculation that the
Central government of the
time, headed by Prime
Minister PV Narasimha Rao,
was privy to the plans but let it
happen anyway.
In fact, a top-ranking intel-
ligence officer has written that
Rao probably even knew
about the plan down to its last detail. In his auto-
biography, Open Secrets, published in 2005,
former joint director of the Intelligence Bureau,
Maloy Krishna Dhar, revealed how he was
ordered to snoop in on a top-level meeting of the
Sangh Parivar outfits.
Dhar writes that in February 1992, soon
after BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshis unsuc-
cessful Ekta Yatra, he was asked to arrange
technical coverage of a key meeting of the
Sangh Parivar. Simply put, he was told to bug
the meeting that would be attended by BJP
leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and
Vijaya Raje Scindia, Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh leaders Rajendra Singh, KS Sudarshan
and HV Sheshadri, and VHP leaders Vinay
Katiyar, Uma Bharti and Champat Roy, among
others. These last three were caught on hidden
camera by Cobrapost as well.
Dhar himself was an unabashed RSS sym-
pathiser. I literally faced a crisis of faith, he
writes. I was a self-proclaimed friend of the
Sangh Parivar and I genuinely expected them to
do better in the forthcoming national elections.
Despite this, Dhar planted audio and video
bugs to record the meeting.
Thank God, I did, he writes. The audio of
video tapes rattled my emotional attachment to
the Hindutva protagonist organisations. The
February meeting tapes disillusioned me.
According to the spy chief, the contents
showed that the Sangh Parivar had adopted a
stringent Hindutva programme soon after Indira
Gandhis murder. The meeting proved beyond
doubt that they had choreographed the pralaya
nritya at Ayodhya in December 1992.
The leaders at the meeting had agreed that
all Sangh Parivar organisations should coordi-
nate their work. Uma Bharti was particularly
advised to hold back her emotional leanings to
[her colleague] Govindacharya till the mission
was complete.
Dhar writes that he retrieved the audio and
video tapes after a couple of days by breaking
into the building and handed it over to his boss.
I have no doubt that he had shared the chilling
contents with the Prime Minister and the Home
Minister.
If Narasimha Rao knew about the plan, he
never gave an inkling of it - except perhaps a
week before the demolition. On November 26,
1992, Rao told a Congress Parliamentary Party
meeting that the temple dispute had reached a
crucial state with the VHP already having given
orders to karsevaks (volunteers) to gather in
large numbers in Ayodhya on November 27 and
28 and the Supreme Court about to intervene in
the matter.
I pointed out that not much time was left
before the kar seva, Rao recollects in his book
Ayodhya 6 December 1992, The deliberate
intention of the state government appeared to
be to delay the court intervention and thus sab-
otage the move for a peaceful resolution of the
dispute.
There is no doubt that Rao was in
favour of building the Ram temple. At a
meeting of the National Integration Council
on November 23, which the BJP boycotted,
the prime minister said, As regards the
construction of the temple, we all agree that
a grand temple should be constructed in
Ayodhya. I had said as much from the Red
Fort on Independence Day. I do not think
that there is anyone here who would dis-
agree wi th thi s basi c proposi ti on.
(scroll.in)
Legal notes
Nimesh report and
aquittals vindicate the
stand of UP Government
M.R. SHAMSHAD
A full bench of Allahabad High Court, Lucknow, took another seri-
ous view [after about three years of Ayodhya dispute verdict] in
relation to the power and its exercise by the state government
under the Code of Criminal Procedure if it wanted to withdraw the
criminal cases pending in different courts in alleged terror cases
where youths are in custody for substantially long time.
The High Court, in a PIL, has held that they cannot be with-
drawn by the decision of the state government alone, without the
permission of Central government, and also such withdrawal can-
not be without independent application of mind and satisfaction of
the public prosecutor in the case. Now at the instance of the state
government, the matter has reached the Supreme Court.
The view of the High Court is based upon the fact that once
the criminal case has travelled to the court, the court and its offi-
cers must have control over the case to decide its fate. Nobody
can have quarrel with that proposition of law as it reiterates the
principle laid down by the Supreme Court in earlier cases.
However, the ultimate basis is the test of good faith, interest of
public policy, justice and also the material provided by the
State for withdrawal.
In these terror cases, the process of criminal justice adminis-
tration, like other cases, starts with the registration of an FIR by
a special team of police and upon investigation they collect the
material and other prima facie evidence on the basis of which
the prosecution conducts the trial. The concern here is that the
accused have remained in jail for a period ranging between
seven to 15 years. The charge sheets in such cases have been
filed after long time violating the statutory period, and the trials
are yet to be concluded.
The prototypes of dealing with these cases by the investiga-
tion and prosecution, where most of the accused are youth, are
certainly not in good faith or to serve justice to any one.
As far as material to support continuance of trial and on the
other hand the material in favour of withdrawal is concerned, we
need to look at it objectively. As and when a terror act takes
place, there is huge pressure of public, media and civil society
upon the police to act upon. Consequentially, arrests take place.
Very few detainees are let off after questioning. In the case of
arrests made in such cases in the year between 1995-2010,
invariably, charge sheets were filed against most of them.
We cannot also lose sight of the fact that in the recent past,
in various cases relating to Mecca Masjid blast, Malegaon blast,
story of Amir in relation to blasts in Delhi buses from 1996-2001,
acquittal of Javed and Ashiq by a Delhi court where police has
been accused of plotting and framing the accused etc., etc have
created a lot of insecurity in the minds of youth (of a particular
community).
After seven to 15 years of custodial trial, if the accused are
found not guilty -- as many have been found in various cases -
- that will not serve the cause of victim in terror cases and cer-
tainly would be against the interests of justice and basic funda-
mental rights of the accused.
The Sachar Committee report recorded that every bearded
man is considered an ISI agent, Whenever any incident occurs
Muslim boys are picked up by the police etc. These findings
should be seen with seriousness. Does that not reflect a serious-
ly flawed public policy?
Though it very rarely happens, State of UP had constituted
Justice RD Nimesh Commission under the Commissions of
Enquiries Act. This commission submitted its report on 30
August, 2012 in relation to one of the celebrated terror cases
which is also one of the cases proposed to be withdrawn by the
state government. The findings of the commission are shocking.
It found that one suspect, Tarique, was picked up on 12
December, 2007 while another, Khalid, was picked up on 16
December, 2007 and they were subjected to barbarous acts of
torture. The commission concluded that the involvement of
Tarique and Khalid in the case is seriously doubtful. Even the
prosecution story of the arrest was seriously doubted. It raised
questions on the conduct of the investigators.
After the publication of the report, the same Khalid was
declared dead under suspicious circumstances on 18 May, 2013
in police custody, of which a CBI enquiry is on. The commission
also gave 12 recommendations, including the determination of
the guilt/offence of the police as alleged and thereafter punish-
ment to them. Despite the said position, surprisingly, the District
Government Counsel (DGC) had opined on 11 October, 2012
that withdrawal of that case was not in the national interest. The
High Court took into consideration the cryptic note of DGC but did
not consider the detailed report of the Nimesh Commission which
was placed on record.
Before the applications were moved, the said cases were
considered by the highest authorities in the state including the
Committee of Law and Home Secretaries which had expressed
their view in favour of the withdrawal of the cases by considering
each case separately. The Advocate General also, separately,
opined in favour of the withdrawal of the cases.
In this background, the elected governments view on this
issue cannot be subjected to suspicion by branding it to be a gen-
eral political agenda or appeasement for political gain. Not
only this, another case in the list of withdrawal included the case
of Nasir Hussain, arrested in 2007, claimed to be belonging to
Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami alleged to be planning a bomb blast. RDX
and other items like detonators were shown to have been recov-
ered. Nasirs trial concluded in his acquittal. The trial concluded
with the finding that Nasir was picked up much before he was
shown to be arrested. The pattern is the same as concluded by
Nimesh Commission in relation to Khalids case.
These two instances are in relation to the cases listed in the
proposed withdrawal of the criminal trials by U.P. government.
Both have been tested by judicial officers, one in criminal trial and
another in enquiry commission.
Most of the terror cases are registered under huge public
and/or political pressure to act immediately. Many arrests turn out
to be wrong, evidences collected are quite frequently found either
fake or inadmissible, charge sheets are awaited for long time,
prosecutors never record dissenting note at the time of filing the
charge sheet, meaning that they act mechanically, trial of cases
prolong for unexpectedly long periods, the concept of bail in such
cases is nonexistent, trial concludes in acquittal, and finally, no
action is taken against the officers who framed the accused.
It is time now to look at such cases with a different approach
from the one followed until now. Even the judicial approach, in
this changed scenario, needs to be objective rather than subjec-
tive. We also need a mechanism to evaluate the work assess-
ment of the investigating officers (IO) and find out as to how many
criminal trials have failed in which that particular IO had charge
sheeted the accused. The Central Government also needs to
consider an appropriate amendment in Sections 321 and 173
CrPC, keeping in view the assessment of the work of the IO and
large numbers of trials ending in acquittal.
The author is Advocate-on-Record, Supreme Court of India
The byline of the article Talaq & its Prior Conditions by
Mr M.R.Shamshad in the previous issue on this page was
inadvertently dropped during the designing process.
The error is regretted. - Editor
Malhotra statement is
irresponsible, criminal
and defamatory
New Delhi: The All India Muslim Majlis-e
Mushawarat, the umbrella body of Indian
Muslim organisations, ,on 26 March con-
demned the statement of the senior BJP leader
VK Malhotra in which he claims that Jamia
Nagar and Batla House areas of South Delhi are
dens of terrorists, that Police is not allowed to
enter and search these areas, etc. This state-
ment, published by a number of leading news-
papers today, is criminal, defamatory and utter-
ly irresponsible. The fact is that the two youths
arrested in the morning of 23 March were taken
into custody without any resistance from the
local residents although the police did not show
any arrest warrant. Moreover, those two youths
were released late same evening after being
found innocent. In such a situation, it is elec-
toral politics which makes Malhotra issue such
an irresponsible statement in order to polarise
voters on communal lines. AIMMM President Dr
Zafarul-Islam Khan demanded a clear apology
from Malhotra and said that AIMMM will take
legal action against Malhotra if he failed to
quickly and unconditionally apologise for his
baseless statement.
Later, on 4 April, the All India Muslim
Majlise Mushawarat, issued a legal notice yes-
terday to the BJP head Mr VK Malhotra who had
recently defamed the Batla House and Jamia
Nagar localities of South Delhi by claiming that
they are dens of terrorists.
The Mushawarat told Mr Malhotra in its
legal notice, sent through Adv. Durga Manyu
Gupta, that you have made these statements
with criminal intent to promote enmity between
different groups on grounds of religion, commu-
nity, place of birth, residence, etc., and to incite
acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, and
you have intentionally insulted, and thereby
given provocation to common people, intending
and knowing it to be likely that such provocation
will cause such persons to break the public
peace, or to commit other offences. As such,
your acts of making and publicising the afore-
said defamatory, malicious and provocative
statements are offences under law.
The legal notice further told the BJP leader
that your aforesaid statements have caused
immense and irreparable damage to the reputa-
tion of an entire locality, its residents, its co-reli-
gionists as well as such other localities and
their residents throughout the country. The
damage caused is beyond calculation in term of
money.
Mushawarat has asked Malhotra to tender an
unconditional public apology, particularly to the
residents of Jamia Nagar and publicise the
same on an equal scale. Mushawarat further
said in its notice that failure to comply with the
aforesaid demand, will force it to initiate appro-
priate legal action.
All these videos may be viewed on Youtube as playlist at:
http://tinyurl.com/OperJanmabhoomi
SOME WHO HAVE SPILLED THE BEANS
PALLAVI POLANKI
New Delhi: In yet another indication of the grow-
ing political support for the Aam Aadmi Party in
the Muslim community, the All India Muslim
Majlis-e Mushawarat (AIMMM), an umbrella-
body of Muslim organisations, has said that had
the Aam Admi Party (AAP) been a bigger nation-
al force, it would have declared its support only
to AAP and to no other party at the national
level.
On Monday [7 April], the AIMMM
announced its support for both AAP and the
Congress for Lok Sabha 2014.
Describing the choices before the Muslim
voter in this election as being a complex one,
the AIMMM in a statement has said the great
issue before the Muslims of India is to decide in
whose favour they should cast their valuable
votes so that a just and transparent government
is installed and prejudice, bias and injustice
checked.
Conspicuously absent from the umbrella-
bodys advisory to voters at the state-level is the
Samajwadi party (SP). Aclear indication of com-
munitys deep loss of faith in the party following
the SP governments handling of the
Muzaffarnagar riots, not to mention the 247
communal violence-related incidents that took
place in 2013 under Chief Minister Akhilesh
Yadavs watch.
On the national level, we have two secular
options for Muslim and secular voters: Aam
Aadmi Party and Congress Party. Tactical voting
should also be used in favour of secular, power-
ful and clean-image candidates of Bahujan
Samaj Party (Uttar Pradesh), Trinamool
Congress (West Bengal), Rashtriya Janata Dal
and Janata Dal (U) (Bihar), Communist Party of
India (CPI), and the secular parties of South
India. AIMMM supports Indian Union Muslim
League in Kerala and AUDF in Assam, read
AIMMMs statement.
Firstpost spoke to Zafarul-Islam Khan, pres-
ident of AIMMM, about their decision to back
AAP and how Narendra Modis rise as BJPs
prime ministerial candidate was impacting vot-
ing patterns.
Excerpts from the interview.
In your statement you have said: The country is
standing today on the cross-roads and has to
make a clear choice between fascism and sec-
ularism. In your opinion, does this election rep-
resent an unprecedented scenario for Indias
voters?
It is unprecedented in the sense that there
is a possibility that a certain ideology that does
not believe in secularism and inclusiveness may
get hold of the reins of power on its own and, if
that happens, and they come to power on their
own then, it will pose a big danger for Indian
secularism and Indian democracy.
What led you to support AAP? Have you met
with any of their leaders?
We met them before the Delhi election. We have
had no contact with them since. We think they
are now clear on the two important issues from
our point of view. First, of course, is corruption
which is what they started their movement with.
The second is communalism.
We think our country faces two big prob-
lems. Now they are clear on both these issues.
They have accepted openly that communalism
is as big a problem if not bigger than corruption.
So we are on same page with them.
We think they are the right people. That is
why we have supported them. Had they become
a really big option nationally we might have sup-
ported only them. But because they are not, and
their influence is limited to certain urban centres
that is why we have supported the Congress as
well. The Congress party is clear about commu-
nalism but when it comes to taking action or to
making laws, they are not forthcoming.
Otherwise, we believe that Congress is also a
secular force. We have no problem with the
Congress apart from this fact that they fight shy
of taking on forces of communalism and taking
on people like Modi. They are not doing their
duty as they should.
Is there a concern that Muslim votes may get
divided?
The situation is very complicated. It is a six-,
five- dimensional fight. So many candidates are
fighting. It is not possible to predict what will
happen in this or that constituency. We only
hope that the local voters are wise enough to
make the right choice. We can only advise and
hope that they will make the right choice.
AAP has drawn criticism from some quarters for
not having a clear policy on minorities. Your
comments.
I think they are sufficiently clear now. The prob-
lem with AAP is that they are not present every-
where. They are limited to certain pockets. I
think they have clear vision of a secular India
and an India that is inclusive.
Why was the Muslim community reluctant to
vote for it in the Delhi assembly polls?
Before the Delhi election there was an atmos-
phere that AAP was not such a big force. So the
ordinary voter thought it would be a waste of his
vote. But they ended up with 28 seats. And so
people have changed their mind. But still, AAP
is not present everywhere.
Do you think AAP will get the majority of the
Muslim vote in Delhi?
It will be in a better situation than it was in
assembly election. But not every Muslim voter is
going to vote for AAP because there are many
local leaders who wield a lot of influence in their
constituencies. But otherwise, my reading is that
more Muslims will vote for AAP this time.
So you are not writing off the Congress yet?
Congress has a good and powerful presence in
certain pockets. And there are voices in the
Muslim community who believe Congress is the
right choice and they can give BJP a good fight.
We are seeing new level of desperation by polit-
ical parties in wooing the Muslim voter in this
election. What do you make of this?
After election, they will become indifferent
again. The problem here to which you are allud-
ing is that the Muslim vote is the only floating
vote in India. Otherwise, other segments have
found their moorings, theyve got their parties,
and theyve got their leaders. The Muslim vote is
up for grabs. It is like an orphan in the society.
This is the problem. Our vote is not committed to
any party or to put it the other way, no particular
party is taking care of our interest.
What are some of the most worrying aspects for
you in this election?
This election shows that we are facing the
prospect of a dictatorial kind of government,
where one person is going to decide everything
as he has been in Gujarat. It is a scenario where
you follow the masters order or you get out of
the game.
If this comes to Delhi, I think it will be dan-
gerous. In India, so many communities, regions,
languages, cultures co-exist. If a certain person
tries to force his way using the state power ruth-
lessly, we are in great danger of civil unrest.
Modi is very different from Vajpayee, who
was a person who took other people along.
Modi, on the other hand, bulldozes his way
through. He doesnt believe in consultation.
There can be no supercomputer in India, there
are many computers and all of them have to be
configured.
Who or what factors would hold responsible for
this cross-roads that India finds itself at?
The person most responsible for this is Advani.
He unleashed these forces, now these forces
are beyond his control. In mid-1980s, he started
the Ram mandir movement and rath yatra.
These very forces that he unleashed are
beyond his control now and he is now helpless.
The other side is that secular parties, the
Congress party, instead of fighting them tooth
and nail, adopted soft-Hindutva. On many
issues, such as the Babri Masjid issue they
looked the other way. They adopted soft-
Hindutva thinking they could contain this kind of
thought in society. But such thought has to be
fought and defeated. There is no other alterna-
tive.
Are parties that describe themselves as secular
responding effectively to take on the Modi-led
BJP in this election?
Nobody is doing it. Everyone is jostling for their
own space. They are more concerned with
questions like who will gain power if there is a
hung parliament, how can they consolidate. No
one is concerned about secularism. AAP may
not be thinking in those terms but otherwise
everybody wants space for himself in the politi-
cal arena. They are not very concerned about
what is happening in the country or how things
can turn if a certain ideology becomes very pow-
erful in India. Now the BJP is even ready to junk
the no-first-use nuclear policy. This is a big dan-
ger, not just to India.
What do you make of the political choices
before the Muslim voter in this election?
The Muslim voter is very confused. There are so
many different voices, parties, small Muslim
leaders here and there. The Muslim voter is con-
fused just like every other voter is.
How would you describe the overall mood in the
Muslim community as they prepare to vote in
this election?
Everyone is talking except the Muslim voter. He
is silent. They have made up their mind but they
are not saying anything.
People are apprehensive that if BJP gets a
majority it will not be good, not only for the
Muslim community but for the whole country.
However, if a coalition is cobbled up like in the
time of Vajpayee, they will be saddled with many
demands by many parties and there will be a
common minimum programme.
(Source: http://www.firstpost.com -- 8 April 2014)
If AAP was stronger nationally, we wouldnt
have backed anyone else: Muslim body
8 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 NATIONAL www.milligazette.com
The corporate-communal nexus has become so
powerful in these elections that they are tram-
pling upon the democracy with the right boot of
their money power and the left boot of communal
hatred, says JAVED JAMIL
The whole process of elections will take about seven weeks. If the
latest spate of attempts to polarise the elections is any indication
of the days to come, these seven weeks can signal horror. BJP is
making last ditch efforts to see its long-planned strategy to come
to power and install Narendra Modi, its champion proponent of
Hindutva, as Prime Minister of the country to fruition. Modis most
trusted lieutenant is playing his game with perfection. His form is
never in doubt; and if he gets the perfect UP pitch to bat on, fours
and sixes of communalism will flow in quick succession.
Vasundharas and Uma Bhartis are in no short supply in the
Parivar.
Whenever polarization occurs anywhere, it is the minority that
suffers most. Muslims are watching with dreaded silence. They
cannot run away from the elections. They do not have any party
they can vote for happily considering it their own. They have no
option but to choose from among those who are relatively less
dangerous for them.
The corporate-communal nexus has become so powerful in
these elections that they are trampling upon democracy with the
right boot of money power and the left boot of communal hatred.
Congress has abysmally failed to counter this double attack. The
party appears to be fighting for survival. The nexus has run such
an orchestrated and high-pitched campaign that every other party
looks clueless. AAP has almost been destroyed through system-
atic onslaught of falsehood. Its tally may not perhaps touch the
double digit figure.
The nexus seems to be already celebrating. But they must
know that the celebrations may still prove to be premature. They
are relying too much on the manufactured opinion polls and the
rent-a-crowds in Modis rallies. They need to know that there are
much bigger numbers of Indians than those who attend his rallies
or answer the questions in the opinion polls. They must also know
that not only Muslims but also a majority of Hindus are inherently
secular.
Though apparently Hindu psyche has been bombarded with
an endless propaganda, there are still many who will refuse to be
carried away by the communal appeal. The combined strength of
Hindus and Muslims will hopefully turn the tide against the corpo-
rate-communal onslaught.
Muslims will end as losers whatever the outcome of the elec-
tions. If BJP fails to come to power, they will have some satisfac-
tion. But this will embolden the secular parties further in think-
ing that Muslims donate their votes just in return of a guarantee
that these parties will not do what they fear from BJP. There will
be hardly any effort to raise their level of income and education,
their participation in democratic institutions and their living stan-
dards. If BJP wins, Muslims will be running in constant fear of not
only a big nationwide riot (that can ensure BJP power for a longer
period) but also of being further hit under the belly through steps
like ban on meat exports, further shutdown of already shutting
small-scale industries and further erosion of their presence in
democratic institutions as has already happened in Gujarat and
Madhya Pradesh. There is a clear threat that their numbers in the
next Lok Sabha may hit an all time low.
Hopefully, Muslims learn to become the real vote banks (and
not the vote banks which they are often described as) not giving
their votes in charity but in return of appreciable dividends.
Hopefully, they will learn the art of bargaining sooner than later.
Hopefully, they will understand that participation in democracy
does not simply mean casting votes but getting their genuine
share in every field. Hopefully, they will learn the strategy of form-
ing alliances with other vote banks on the basis of shared inter-
ests.
We have no problem with the
Congress apart from this fact that
they fight shy of taking on forces of
communalism and taking on people
like Modi. They are not doing their
duty as they should.
The Muslim vote is up for grabs. It
is like an orphan in the society. This
is the problem. Our vote is not com-
mitted to any party or to put it the
other way, no particular party is tak-
ing care of our interest.
There can be no supercomputer in
India, there are many computers and
all of them have to be configured.
Polarization hits Muslims most, if not alone
NATIONAL The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 9 www.milligazette.com
Re-writing even recent history
MUSTAFA KHAN
The pogroms of Gujart 2002 are a matter of only just over a
decade. Still, the Sangh Parivar and essentially BJP does not want
to call them as pogroms or Holocaust or genocide. But they were
just that. Officially, even today India calls them as communal riots.
This is misleading. Muslims were visited with such initial shock
and awe or stun strategy that there was no chance of their retali-
ation. The police opened fire at them and led the extremist Hindus
to attack the minority people.
This ethnic cleansing was initially done by the police. The
marauding mobs were well-armed and included RSS volunteers
and Bajrang Dal activists taking active part in murder, loot and
arson. This is a well-documented fact of history that is still fresh
in the minds. By not calling the events as pogroms or holocaust
even by the mainstream media, common Indians are made to
believe that the events were just riots!
Within just over a decade the re-writing of the recent history
has begun. In a much publicized public appearance on 31 March,
2014 Arun Jaitley remarked that Modi was concerned over the
"violence" and was about putting in place a system so that riots
did not recur.
[1]
Thus Jaitley has reduced the even watered down
riots to a system which is not a riot but a riot-control strategy.
This is a very disturbing phenomenon for India. Instead of calling
a spade a spade, we in our own democratic country see a fascist
tendency of superimposing a falsehood to beguile the people who
had seen on news channels how rampancy and savagery was
taking place during 2002.
It is even more disturbing that the same strategy was used in
Muzaffarnagar. What happened in UP in September 2013 was
stark replication of pogroms. It was holocaust in the sense that
suddenly a complete change in the life of people came about
when they were brutally killed and their women were raped by
their next door neighbours and they were rendered abjectly help-
less spectators, too dazed to make out any sense of why such a
calamity had taken place. If this were not so, Samiuddin and
Hamida would have been alive and Hassan would have had his
parents to vote for the Jats whom they had habitually voted in pre-
vious elections. Now Amit Shah is trying to turn these rioters into
victims by telling to avenge for the riots!
Jaitley as an automation in a well set and pre-programmed
way went on to demolish even the notorious fake encounters of
Gujarat along with the pogroms. The fake encounters were anoth-
er strategy to eclipse the pogroms and enhance the image of Modi
as a Hindu leader facing danger from Islamic terrorists on account
of the pogroms and his championing the Hindu cause. Jaitley
says, Those asking for an apology wanted the apology to be an
act of confession. If he actually committed a mistake, why apolo-
gise, he should have been prosecuted and punished. ..We can
squabble over the kind of expressions one wants to useTo sat-
isfy a fake campaign he does not have to apologise.
Thus the concern for genocide and the fake
encounters perpetrated by Modi using state
machinery has now been transformed into a
fake campaign.
It was this concern for which Nancy Powell
tendered her resignation and Katrina Lantros
Swett wondered at the sworn affidavits submit-
ted by no other than the chief of intelligence in
Gujarat, RB Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt. Powell
and Swett are of foreign origin and if their objec-
tivity is also swept under the carpet of mobocra-
cy, as is prevailing since long, what sense of
propriety could be expected?
Modi had bluntly told mediapersons that they
would be at risk of the fate meted out to Daniel
Pearl. Those journalists who cover Gujarat may
meet the fate of Daniel Pearl. Cover communal
riots at your own risk, look at Daniel Pearl. Modi
had also said the unthinkable: The killing of
Daniel Pearl in Pakistan is a perfect example.
[2]
In the pogroms of Muzaffarnagar, the Hindu
extremists used very careful strategy of remov-
ing two journalists, one covering the event and
the other shooting video. The police had opened
fire and they blamed that the journalists died
because of stray bullets! This would mean that
state machinery was used even in UP which was
under the rule of Samajwadi Party. But there was
a difference. The police officers in the field were
not unnameable to communalism. If the ATS
Mahrashtra chief Krish Pal Raghuvansis niece can get her uncle
delay the deployment of the army and paramilitary forces until
more Muslims were killed, there are enough eager policemen
afflicted with VHP and RSS mindset to carry out the same work
as did the Bajrang Dal and RSS volunteers.
Notes
[1]Asian Age, April 1, 2014
[2] Indian Express June 11, 2002
Despite these grave violations, human rights
activists and tweeterati in Egypt and West have
maintained an eerie silence if not actively sup-
porting the army in its bid to crush and eliminate
all opposition and criminalise the MB and its
political wing (Justice & Freedom Party - JFP)
which had won four successive elections and a
referendum.
Judiciary fully supported the police and
armys bid to crush all protests and put every
possible opponent behind bars. According to
official figures, 16,000 MB leaders, workers and
supporters are in jails, while an Egyptian human
rights organisation has put the number of the
arrestees at 22,000 which includes hundreds of
women and minors and around 3000 MB lead-
ers and workers. The detainees also include
hundreds of journalists including three Aljazeera
journalists who are accused of terror charges
simply because they had met MB leaders.
The army-appointed council of ministers
banned MB within the country and without on
25 December, 2013, declaring it a terrorist
group and accusing it of all violent activities in
the country. MBs political wing, JFP, too, was
banned. All their assets including bank accounts
have been seized.
On 25 March, a court in Minya startled the
whole world by sentencing 528 persons to death
for killing a police officer although the officers
widow has told media that the killers of her hus-
band are freely roaming on the towns streets.
The whole court proceedings took some half an
hour over two days. During the second session,
the defendants and their lawyers were not
allowed into the court-room! The same judge
(Saeed Yusuf) had earlier acquitted all police offi-
cers accused of killing anti-Mubarak protestors.
This verdictt has been condemned all over the
world. UN Commission for Human Rights said it
is against international law and has no parallel in
modern history. Amnesty International said this
verdic offers the worst example of the incompe-
tence of the Egyptian judicial system, while
London Guardian said this verdict is a death sen-
tence for the Egyptian democracy.
The fact is that this verdict was part of a
consistent process. Earlier, in February 2014,
three Alexandria courts had sentenced a group
of protesters to 945 years in jail and a fine of 0.5
million Egyptian pounds. Then, on 19 March, a
Cairo court sentenced 26 persons accused in
the so-called Suez Cell to death while one per-
son was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
They were accused of sabotaging the Suez
Canal. More sentences against 682 MB mem-
bers will be announced on 28 April. They are all
supporters of President Mursi and are accused
of unlawful assembly, setting a police station on
fire and membership of an illegal organisation.
In a further escalation, the Public Prosecutor
on 26 March ordered the trial of 919 supporters
of President Mursi in Minya. They include the
Leader (Murshid) of MB, Muhammad Badie who
is accused of inciting people. President Mursi
and thousands of his supporters and MB leaders
and workers are being tried now. Mursi himself
is charged of treason and communication with
enemy (Hamas)! To deprive the accused any
opportunity to grandstand for a nationwide audi-
ence, the proceedings are not televised and the
accused are produced in well-insulated steel and
glass cages.
The coup leader, Gen. Abdul Fattah El-Sisi,
who got himself elevated to Field Marshal, has
now announced his candidature for the presi-
dential elections which will be held on 26-27
May. His announcement was instantly greeted
on the Facebook with the hashtag Intakhibu al-
Ars - Elect the Pimp - which went viral and was
seen and supported by millions within hours. But
the field marshals winning the elections is a for-
gone conclusion as no serious rival will be
allowed to contest.
Seemingly, the counter-revolution in Egypt is
complete by now. The old regime is fully back in
the saddle thanks to full US, Israel and Gulf sup-
port. They were all, for different reasons, wary
lest a popular, honest and enlightened movement
takes roots in a key Arab country which was to
have serious repercussions for the whole region.
The Egyptian deep state has succeeded in
unravelling the 25 January revolution, sending a
message in the region that Arab Spring has been
buried, that political power flows not from a con-
stitution but from the barrels of guns. To ensure
that masses do not rise again, the main political
force has been criminalized and ruthlessly
crushed. A demon has been created as seen
earlier in Argentina and Algeria. MB is accused
of involvement in terror, which the movement
fervently denies saying that the authorities are
using terrorism to suppress dissent. Non-MB
opponents of the regime too have been arrested
on a large scale.
The road ahead for the field marshal is not
paved with flowers. His ruthless tactics can
hardly help his regime tide over a difficult eco-
nomic situation which has already claimed the
putschists first prime minister. Generous Gulf
aid to the tune of some US$ 17 billion can hard-
ly shore up a corrupt and kleptocratic system.
Ever-rising unemployment, inflation, capital flight
and absence of tourists will soon push the
masses to the streets and the generals will have
no place to hide.
It is still too early to write the epitaph of the
25 January Revolution. Sykes-Picot legacy is yet
to be dismantled.
The writer is a keen student of the Middle East
developments since late 1960s.
This ethnic cleansing was initially done by the police. The
marauding mobs were well-armed and included RSS
volunteers and Bajrang Dal activists taking active part in
murder, loot and arson. This is a well-documented fact of
history that is still fresh in the minds. By not calling the
events as pogroms or holocaust even by the mainstream
media, common Indians are made to believe that the events
were just riots!
The road ahead for the field marshal is not paved with flowers.
His ruthless tactics can hardly help his regime tide over a difficult
economic situation which has already claimed the putschists first
prime minister. Generous Gulf aid to the tune of some US$ 17
billion can hardly shore up a corrupt and kleptocratic system.
Ever-rising unemployment, inflation, capital flight and absence of
tourists will soon push the masses to the streets and the generals
will have no place to hide.
Continued from page 1
Joint Statement of Muslim
Leaders against arrests of
Muslim youths and
scholars in false cases
Muslim community leaders issued the following
joint statement on 4 April 2014 in response to the
spate of arrests of Muslim boys and even a
respected scholar from Hyderabad who was
arrested in an 11 year old case:
We the undersigned strongly condemn the arrest of educated
innocent Muslim youths and Ulema (scholars) in false cases in
different states of the country and demand the government to end
its indifferent attitude towards the countrys largest minority and
violation of human rights by the state machinery and to immedi-
ately release all the arrested people who are victims of the police.
We feel that our government is either acting on some imperi-
alist or Zionist policy or is working under the influence of anti-
Muslim mindset of fascist and communal officers of the adminis-
tration. If it is not, then how it is possible that the democratic val-
ues of the country and justice are being bludgeoned to death and
the government perhaps as strategy is a mute spectator. This atti-
tude of the government is very disturbing and concerning not only
for Muslims but also the justice-loving people of the country.
It is surprising and beyond our comprehension, that leaders
of various religious and social organizations and politicians have
been meeting leaders of the state and central governments and
demanding an end to atrocities and injustice with Muslims, and
government representatives have also been assuring to take
action, but neither has the series of arrests ended, nor the cases
against innocents withdrawn and the victims released from jails.
Rather, the terrible series has continued unabated. The arrest of
around 20 youths from Rajasthan and Delhi and a cleric from
Delhi airport in last one week is its clear example.
Issued by:
Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan, President All India Majlis-e Mushawarat
Mr. Nusrat Ali, Secretary General, Jamaat Islami Hind
Maulana Asghar Ali Imam Mahdi Salfi, General Secretary, Markazi
Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadees
Dr. Manzoor Alam, Chairman of IOS
Maulana Jalal Hydar, Shia leader
Maulana Mufti Ataur Rahman Qasmi, General Secretary, All India
Majlis-e Mushawarat
Mr. Abdul Waheed Khan, President, Jamaat- Islami Hind Delhi
State
AFSANA RASHID, SRINAGAR
H
olding a remembrance meet in south Kashmirs Brari
Aangan in Anantnag district, March 25, the victims fami-
lies said they want to convey to the Army that we havent
forgotten our loved ones. The Army might be in a denial
mode, but it doesnt matter for us, because everybody knows the
truth. The day marked the 14th anniversary of the case. Later, a
protest demonstration was held.
Advocate Parvez Imroz, president Jammu and Kashmir
Coalition of Civil Society, in a statement here March 25, said the
incident reflects impunity to the armed forces in state. He fur-
ther said The Indian State, as part of a policy, and through the
executive and legislature, has carried out violations and ensured
impunity for the perpetrators.
Imroz added that the case sends a clear message to the peo-
ple, including family members and victims of human rights viola-
tions, that there can be no justice from India.
The victims included Zahoor Ahmad Dalal, Bashir Ahmad
Bhat, Mohammad Yousuf Malik and other two youth both named
Juma Khan. The CBI indicted five Army personnel including
Brigadier Ajay Saxana, Lt Colonel Brajendra Pratab Singh, Major
Sourabh Sharma, Major Amit Saxana and Subedar Idress Khan of
7 RR in the fake encounter killing and described the encounter as
cold blooded murder.
The Apex Court, May 1, 2012, gave the Army eight weeks to
decide whether the accused should be tried by a regular criminal
court or face a court-martial. On June 29, 2012, the Army decid-
ed to opt for Court of Inquiry. The Army, January 23 this year,
closed the case, saying the evidence recorded couldnt establish
prima-facie case against any of the accused.
Imroz further argued that evidence strongly suggested that
Indian army, specifically 7RR and J&K police, were responsible
for the Pathribal killing. The bodies were burnt in an attempt to
hide the identity of victims and portray them as foreign militants.
Election activities in top gear
Since the time the election bugle has been blown in the state; the
atmosphere has been abuzz with political activities. Separatists,
on one hand, are campaigning for a poll-boycott and mainstream
political parties, on the other hand, are trying their best to woo
voters. Elections in the six Lok Sabha constituencies in the state
will be held in five-phases, starting from April 10 to May 7.
Though it is going to be a tough competition between the two
regional parties; National Conference and Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) in Kashmir, candidates from Aam Aadmi Party led by
Arvind Kejriwal and Awami Ittihad Party led by independent legis-
lator, Er Sheikh Abdul Rashid too are going to offer stiff competi-
tion to both the parties.
National Conference president, Dr Farooq Abdullah is going to
lock horns with PDPs Tariq Hamid Qarra, Aam Aadmi Partys
Raja Muzaffar Bhat, noted RTI activist and Awami Ittihad Partys
Rashid Rahil, renowned journalist and Chief Editor the Daily Asian
Mail are in the fray in Srinagar-Budgam constituency, going for
polls on April 30. PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti is contesting
from south Kashmirs Anantnag-Pulwama Parliamentary seat
against National Conferences Dr Mehboob Beg, Awami Ittihad
Partys Tanveer Hussain Khan, noted social activist and others.
The election in the constituency is scheduled for April 24.
Awami Ittihad Partys president Er Rashid will be contesting
from north Kashmirs Baramulla-Kupwara Parliamentary con-
stituency against National Conferences Sharifuddin Shariq and
PDPs Muzaffar Hussain Beig, May 7.
Similarly, it is going to be a tough competition between the
two national parties, Congress and BJP in the Jammu region. PDP
is expected to add some twist.
Congress announced Union Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi
Azad as its candidate from Udhampur-Kathua constituency, going
to polls on April 17. Azad is also the chief campaigner of the party
for Parliamentary polls in the state.
He is believed to be a strong contender from the constituency
as he is expected not only to win, but to tide over BJPs prime
ministerial candidate, Narendra Modis wave in the region.
Dr Jitender Singh is BJPs candidate from the said constituency.
Prof. Noor Ahmad Baba, renowned political commentator and
former head, department of Political Sciences, University of
Kashmir, says BJP was very optimistic about Jammu before
Azads intervention.
Pertinently, the coalition-partners, National Conference and
Congress are fighting the polls, as per seat-sharing agreement,
wherein National Conference would be fighting from all the three
Parliamentary constituencies from Kashmir and the Congress
would contest from both Lok Sabha seats in Jammu region and a
lone seat in Ladakh.
The BJP has launched an aggressive campaign in Jammu.
After conducting a public rally in Jammu in December last year,
Modi addressed another rally in Hiranagar-Jammu, March 26.
Even PDP has this time done some ground work in Jammu
region. In Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat theyve fielded Yash Pal
Sharma, who is believed to offer a stiff challenge to Congresss
candidate, Madan Lal Sharma and BJPs state president Jugal
Kishore. The constituency is scheduled to go for polls on April 10.
PDPs candidate Mohammad Arshad Malik from Udhampur-Doda
constituency is believed to have a good following in erstwhile
Doda. The Congress however, expects to add more to its kitty. It
hopes to reap all the benefits from Ladakh, keeping in view the
recent Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council elections.
Ladakh is going to polls on May 7.
Separatists, on the other hand, ask people to stay away and
boycott the upcoming polls. Hurriyat Conference Jammu and
Kashmir and JKLF kick-started poll boycott campaign from north
and south Kashmir, respectively, last month (March 7 and March
14). Senior separatist Shabir Ahmad Shah termed the elections as
an attempt to dilute the Kashmir issue and hoodwink the interna-
tional community about the aspirations of Kashmiris. JKLF chair-
man, Mohammad Yasin Malik said, To vote or not is a legitimate
right of an individual in a democratic set up.
Besides, both the factions of Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz Umar
Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief
Aasiya Andrabi have asked people to stay away from all such
exercises. Certain civil groups too have joined the fray. Accusing
the government of discrimination against the Sikh community, All
Parties Sikh Coordination Committees chairman, Jagmohan
Singh Raina, March 21, asked the Sikh electorate not to cast their
votes for upcoming polls.
Echoing similar views, Chunni Lal, spokesperson/publicity
secretary Hindu Welfare Society Kashmir, said they wont take
part in elections due to the governments apathy towards them.
Around 70 lakh voters are expected to exercise their adult-fran-
chise in the forthcoming elections, here.
Steep rise in airfares
Steep hike in airfares has raised serious concern among the
masses here, especially those associated with tourism and allied
sectors. They accuse the airliners of a deliberate attempt to cut-
out influx of tourists.
They further argue it has become a pattern with the airliners
that at the beginning of every tourism season here they unilater-
ally and arbitrarily increase the fares, making Kashmir packages
unaffordable. Airfares for other destinations, both within and out-
side the country, are cheaper, compared to Kashmir.
Terming it a well-designed ploy to derail the tourism-sector,
Adventure Tour Operators Association of Kashmir, president Rauf
Tramboo, said there is no regulatory authority to check the arbi-
trary airfare hike by the airlines.
Musadiq Shah, Secretary General, Kashmir Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, said the Chamber has already raised the
issue with CEOs of all private airliners and the Union Ministry of
Civil Aviation. If they wont act positively, then well take legal
recourse.
Staggering price of air-tickets has also affected students and
patients, who off and on, have to travel to other parts of the coun-
try for medical emergencies.
A petition by Huneef Mohammad, a blogger, on Change.org, a
website providing platform for petitions, asks for the regulation of
airfares. It says if Srinagar airport operates round the clock, prices
will automatically reduce and there will be increase in traffic mak-
ing travel convenient for all.
Minister for Tourism, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, March 31, said the
Union Minister for Civil Aviation has categorically rejected their
demand for fixing any upper ceiling on airfares. He however,
assured that the Centre will help in reducing some of its taxes to
give some relief to passengers.
Stating that the government cannot act against the private air-
liners, the minister blamed travel and tour operators, who book
air-tickets in advance under fictitious names.
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
10 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 NATIONAL www.milligazette.com
The butcher of
Gujarat is being
hailed as god and his
sycophants are chant-
ing Har Har Modi (in
tune of Har Har
Mahadev). Being an
atheist, Ive no prob-
lem as I dont believe
in sacrilege/kufr or shirk (an Arabic word which
means sharing god with someone/something
else). But my point is, why theres so much
grovelling sycophancy? Hindus in Varanasi are
calling him bhagwan. One lady called him, Shri
Narendrabhai Modi ji Sahab. All epithets are
being heaped upon this dubious character.
Hinduism has never had a dearth of gods and
new gods keep getting accrued to its already
huge divine corpus with a monotonous regular-
ity. Now, Modis being deified to augment this
pantheon. Were too much into cult-worship.
Modi is a cleverly crafted cult. Nature has its
fixed and inexorable law: Whom it catapults to
stardom, also brings down with a thud. I envis-
age the same fate to befall Modi. Remember the
words of Urdu poet Bashir Badr, Sar jhukaoge
toh patthar devta ho jaayega/Itna na chaho usay,
woh bewafa ho jaayega (If you bow down
before a slab of stone, it becomes a god/Dont
adore someone so much that he eventually lets
you down). Aqlmandaan ra ishaara kaafist
(Nudges and insinuations are enough to make a
sane person understand). But in this chaos of
Modi-pooja, wheres a sane soul? Can you find
anyone? Let me know if you find a single level-
headed person in this tsunami of Modi-worship.
After hanging two
Muslims...
After executing Ajmal Kasab in November 2012
and Afzal Guru in February 2013, India seems to
be dispensing with capital punishment like other
advanced countries.
Rajiv Gandhis killers, Sikh terrorist Bhullar
as well as many other potential killers escaped
the gallows in recent times. Im completely
against capital punishment and of the view that
its inhuman to execute anyone. My point is:
Why doesnt Indian government declare that it
has OFFICIALLY abolished death rap? After
Dhananjay Chatterjees hanging on August 14,
2004 at Alipore Central Gaol, Calcutta, Indian
government hanged Ajmal Kasab in 2012 and
soon after that UNLAWFULLY executed Afzal
Guru at Tihar in Delhi. Both the hangings were
carried out in a hush-hush manner, raising a
slew of doubts and a possibility of foul play.
Anyway, it seems that the judiciary wants to
expiate Afzals execution by commuting almost
all potential death penalties to life imprisonment.
So doesnt it stand to reason to do away with
capital punishment in an official manner?
Modis rise: A
paucity of choice
This morning (April 3), I got a mail from an edu-
cated 46-year-old Hindu lady. Ive just a nod-
ding acquaintance with her. She mailed me Vote
for Narendrabhai ji Modi/Vote for Lotus (BJPs
electoral symbol). I felt irritated not because I
consider Modi to be a dubious character whos
too prejudiced against Muslims, I was exasper-
ated because educated people are getting
brainwashed into believing that Modi can save
this country from its current outrageous state.
Hindus are now wearing their religious senti-
ments on their sleeves and openly flaunting their
doctrinal political bent of mind. This is a danger-
ous sign. Its a kind of fascism
thats raising its ugly head just
prior to elections. I can under-
stand if Hindu youngsters feel
inclined towards Modis demagogue image, but
when educated middle-aged Hindus also sing
paeans to Modi, I feel that there must be some-
thing wrong with our whole idea of democracy
and electoral fair play. Were too deeply into reli-
gion-based politics and people like this woman
add fuel to fire of divisive politics.
Modis a shameless liar. His claim to trans-
form Gujarat is a hogwash. Visit Gujarat and
meet people at the grassroots level. The truth
will transpire in a jiffy. Farmers in Gujarat are
seething with (impotent) anger because Modi is
usurping their lands and is issuing threats if they
refuse. Gujarats Kayapalat (total change) vindi-
cates the Persian saying, Aawaaz-e-duhul az
door khush mee numaayad (Door kay dhol
suhanay/Blue are the hills that are far from us).
Modi just focussed on the development of
Ahmedabad, Baroda and a couple of other big
cities in Gujarat. The rest of Gujarat is still reel-
ing under poverty, ill-development and misman-
agement. Modis a despot, who knows how to
silence those who dare raise their voice against
him. That such an autocratic bigot is being pro-
jected as Indias saviour, shows the paucity of
choice and bias of the majority.
SUMIT PAUL
sumitmaclean@hotmail.com
Modi: Yet another god in Hindu pantheon!
Families of Pathribal victims demand probe by intntl org
The nature of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s
election manifesto for the ongoing parlia-
mentary elections clearly highlights a major
communication lapse, leading to communi-
cation error in this partys understanding of
Indian socio-political pulse. The partys
decision to explore all possibilities within
framework of Constitution to facilitate con-
struction of Ram temple in Ayodhya is
equivalent to BJP adding religious fervour to its political aim
of assuming power at the Centre. BJP leaders are apparently
over-confident that this religious move, viewed by critics as
extremely communal, will help the party secure Hindu-major-
ity votes and thus win parliamentary elections.
BJP leaders have apparently lost track of the hard reality
that this is 2014 and not 1980s. Earlier, the common Indian
voter tended to go by what was communicated to him by their
leaders. Three decades ago, communication had not reached
the peak in India that it has in the present period. Television,
in black and white, during that period played a major role in
having a strong impact on peoples psychology. Thus when
the only channel, government-controlled Doordarshan tele-
cast a serial, based on Hindu epic Ramayana, viewing it for
majority of Hindu viewers was a religious exercise. Many
actually worshiped the actors playing the roles of Hindu
deities as actual religious figures.
Nowadays, religious serials telecasts no longer hold the
viewers as spell-bound and religiously-aroused as was the
case thirty years ago.
The decision of BJP to specifically mention the controver-
sial Ayodhya-issue in its manifesto indicates that this party is
still hopeful that usage of this religious-card will help it gain
significantly in elections. BJPs decision to fall back on this
card raises the question as to whether the party is no longer
very optimistic about its prime ministerial candidate
Narendra Modi faring extremely well in the polls? Or perhaps,
Modi himself does not want to take the risk of not playing this
Hindu-card? Despite opinion polls and political analysts
painting a rosy picture of BJP emerging as the winner, Modi
is probably not too confident. Thus, he has gone a step further
by highlighting the Ayodhya-issue in BJPs election mani-
festo.
Definitely, BJP leaders are entitled to be as religious as they
desire to be. But there is a difference between their being reli-
gious and their exercising religious card with extremely commu-
nal overtones. How can it be forgotten that when Babri Masjid in
Ayodhya was demolished by BJP and its saffron brigade associ-
ates, on 6 December, 1992, communal riots targeting Muslims
erupted in most parts of the country. BJP had tried then, using its
communal designs, to promote its Hindutva-agenda - which
included construction of Ram temple in place Babri mosque, to
emerge as a prominent political party.
Communal designs, marked by major riots, gave BJP in
the international media the label of a Hindu-extremist party
and also a terrorist group.
Therefore, BJPs decision to include the controversial
issue in its manifesto has naturally raised eyebrows across
the country and the world.
Observers are now having doubts about this party and
Modis secular aims. Politically and socially, the BJP has
certainly erred in falling back on using its Hindutva-card.
Communication revolution has had a very, very strong impact
on the common Indians mindset. Three decades ago, there
prevailed the strong option of his being strongly influenced by
religious cards used by political leaders. Today, a common
Indian does not want to be a participant in communal fervour
aroused by politicians. He is well aware that riots can prove
to be economically damaging to his own professional and
economic pursuits.
If 2002 Gujarat-carnage had not occurred, the BJP-led
coalition may not have been pushed out of power in 2004
elections. The majority of Indians did not want Gujarat-car-
nage to be repeated in other parts of the country and so they
voted against BJP and helped Congress return to power in
2004. Considering that Muslims constitute less than 14 per-
cent of countrys population, only their vote could not have
pushed BJP-led government out of power. India would not
have been a secular country in spirit if the majority of Hindus
entertained extremist and communal designs.
Even in the demolition of Babri Masjid, less than one per-
cent of the countrys Hindu population participated. From this
angle, the international media erred then in labelling Hindus
as communal and/or terrorists. Similarly, by highlighting a
disputed, communal issue in its election manifesto, BJP can-
not claim to speak for the entire Hindu community. What is
more important is that thanks to communication revolution,
each individual is politically more conscious and critical than
was the case thirty years ago.
From its angle, BJP may be trying to arouse voters by
using a communal card. The party has forgotten that todays
Indian is strongly concerned about his religious as well as
secular leanings, which he is least likely to abandon to help
Modi and BJP promote their communal agenda. Even if polls
favour BJP, the party will have put its communal agenda at the
backburner to succeed in forming a coalition government.
Speaki ng Out
BJPs
Communication Error!
NI LOFAR SUHRAWARDY
ANALYSIS The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 11 www.milligazette.com
DR MOHAMMAD MANZOOR ALAM
Of late the BJP has suddenly created another,
more powerful, hate wave. Vasundhraraje Scindia
has announced menacingly that there will be a lot
of cutting people to pieces after the election.
Last week she was supposed to be replying to a
similar remark by a SP politician six months ago.
The man has lately joined the Congress party.
Soon Narendrabhai Modi raised the highly
emotive issue of cow-slaughter in Bihar. This is
one issue which has caused numerous anti-
Muslim riots in the past and the BJP (or its prede-
cessor Jan Sangh) was always behind those riots.
Using this tested and tried mantra Modi told
Yadavs that they should not vote for Lalu Prasad
Yadav because he was trying to form an alliance
with Congress party, which had been trying to
promote the export of cows flesh.
Yadavs being cow-herders, Modi had calcu-
lated the remark to incite anger against the
Congress party, RJD and the number one beef-
eaters within the country, the Muslims.
These antics go on to show that the BJP has
recently been trying to increase the communal
temperature by referring to highly emotive issues.
Last week the controversial BJP campaign
chief in UP, Amit Shah, took the anti-Muslim hys-
teria to a higher pitch. He told a gathering of Jats
in Muzaffarnagar that apman ka badla lena hoga
(we have to take revenge for the insult). He also
talked about cows being killed. For this clear
incitement to violence, FIRs have been rightly filed.
Earlier, he had told a gathering of Dalits that
Muslims were to be given reservation in jobs. He
made the false claim that the reservation to
Muslims would come from the Dalit quota. This he
did to promote enmity between Dalits and
Muslims. Mischievously, he declared, Mahesh ka
haq Mahmood ko dena BJP nahin bardasht kare-
gi (the BJP will not tolerate Mahmood getting
what is Maheshs due).
Now the point is why the BJP is doing it so
brazen-facedly now? Does it believe that only
development and campaign against corruption is
not enough to mobilise votes in its favour? Or,
does it feel that corruption and development are
good issues for the big cities, but in smaller places
only anti-Muslim hysteria will work?
The BJP seems to have realised at the last
moment that its strength lies in hate-mongering.
That is why it is giving Dalits their own sweet rea-
son to hate Muslims and Jats their own reasons
for it. Or, are they panicking at the last hour? Do
they fear that despite all the hype and hoopla they
may not be able to make Modi the Prime Minister
of India?
Raising Communal Temperature
The BJP seems to have realised at the last moment that its strength
lies in hate-mongering. That is why it is giving Dalits their own sweet rea-
son to hate Muslims and Jats their own reasons for it. Or, are they panick-
ing at the last hour? Do they fear that despite all the hype and hoopla they
may not be able to make Modi the Prime Minister of India?
Modified Agenda of
Trouble, Terror &
Turbulence finally out
DR JAVED JAMIL
The balloon of development has finally burst. What has come
out is the flame of terror and turbulence. There is of course a lot
for the selected few to roast their bread in the flame. The corpo-
rate agenda is in full show; but in bigger show is the Communal
Agenda.
Those who were hoping that BJP will be a changed party and
Modi a changed leader once they come closer to power have been
proved wrong. The closeness to power has in fact strengthened
their resolve to remain in power after getting it. And a party based
on hatred can only think of hateful ways to do so. They know it
pretty well that communal riots in India pay. They have put enough
ammunition in the manifesto to ensure that the riots continue to
take place. Mandir will be built in Ayodhya; Uniform Civil code will
be applied; 370 will be scrapped; Kashmir Pundits will be given
justice; Madrasas will be modernized - what can be better
recipe for riots and terror in India? Polarization will reach its peak
and this will sustain the march of Hindutva. This is the ultimate
goal.
What should the secular forces do now? There is no need to
panic. No need to help the BJPs game plan to bring Hindutva to
its peak just before the elections. Secular forces need not counter
it aggressively through words. The best way will be through the
ballot. Reacting angrily at this juncture will only help their cause.
Let the elections be held first. Let the nation reject the Manifesto
of trouble, terror and turbulence. If they win, their agenda is to be
confronted through the cooperation of all those who believe in
secularism, the rights of minorities and justice.
Dr Javed Jamil is a Delhi-based thinker and writer. He can be contact-
ed at doctorforu123@yahoo.com
KALEEM KAWAJA
In the pre-globalisation era the mainstream
media was operated by its owners for the upper-
classes and uppercastes to serve their objec-
tives. In the seventies and earlier, it was pretty
difficult for those who did not have connections
with the rich and powerful to even get a job
there.
Doordarshan, the first national electronic
media, was an example of that. The TV news
anchors were usually men and women who
were sponsored by some high govt official.
I know of a few women from my family
friends circle who became news anchors on
Doordarshan in this manner, even though they
had no background in journalism. Their news
materials were written by others and they sim-
ply came on TV to perform as anchors. The writ-
ten material though was controlled big-time by
the Doordarshan bosses, who were always pay-
ing attention to what the ministers (mantris)
wanted.
After the advent of globalisation in India in
1991, some big businessmen started new TV
news channels as a line of business. Those
new TV channels gave jobs to some journalism
graduates without them being sponsored by
the rich and powerful. But the dictation of the
owners of the channels as to the subjects to be
covered and making sure that the misdeeds of
the big politicians were never spoken about,
continued uninterrupted. Thus speaking about
the violations and wrongs committed by the
major parties, e.g., Congress, BJP, chief minis-
ters of states, senior ministers has remained
taboo.
The media went along with the abuse of
religion, caste, money-power by the major polit-
ical parties and their bosses. A clear example is
the manner in which injustice, police brutality
and bribery, practiced against religious and
caste minorities by senior police and govt offi-
cials with impunity, has been totally ignored for
50 years now by the media. Most owners of the
media (print and electronic) perpetuated this
suppression of real news.
This collusion of media owners and big
politicians has resulted in what we see today -
massive loot of the nations resources by a few
super-rich.
For the first time in the last one year some
educated young people have started challeng-
ing this degeneration of various forums of soci-
ety, mainstream media being one. And finally an
andolan has begun, encouraged by the
unprecedented success of Aam Aadmi Party in
the December 2013 Delhi state elections. Also
surprisingly, AAP is holding fast to all its promis-
es of integrity in politics and are boldly spurning
pressures and enticements. The high courage,
candour and integrity of AAP has made a large
number of youth and others who are genuinely
tired of this broad-based corruption of various
forums of society in the country, support AAP
enthusiastically.
However, AAP leaders need to remain calm
and not get angry in the face of unfair media
attacks and manipulation, and should not over-
react, as Kejriwall did in Bangalore. Because
the media and big party bosses are waiting for
AAP to make the smallest mistakes, which they
can blow up, and utilising their massive
resources, spread across the country where
most people are not literate and are easily per-
suaded by contrived reporting on TV channels.
It is very encouraging to see so many IAS, IPS,
private sector high officials take retirement from
their prestigious jobs to join this andolan. It is
not just an election, it is a wide-ranging move-
ment.
The volunteers and leaders of this movement
will face much hardship in the years to come
because they are trying to remove many basic ills
of polity that have accumulated for 66 years.
Bias is a core characteristic of Indian media
The media went along with the abuse of religion, caste, money-power by the
major political parties and their bosses. A clear example is the manner in which
injustice, police brutality and bribery, practiced against religious and caste
minorities by senior police and govt officials with impunity, has been totally
ignored for 50 years now by the media. Most owners of the media (print and elec-
tronic) perpetuated this suppression of real news.
12 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 NEWSMAKERS www.milligazette.com
Dr. Z. K. KHATEEB, a senior and popular unani physician of Maharashtra was hon-
oured with Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his services in medical
field by union minister for communications and information technology at a func-
tion sponsored by Humanity Health Organisation at Mumbai on 23 March.
SYED NASEER AHAMED, noted Telugu histori-
an and writer from Guntur was honoured by
Book Of State Records with SNGHA MITHRA
award in recognition of mailing his ten books of
2000 pages free of cost to all those requested
since 2010. Ahamed wrote nine books in Telugu
exclusively on the role of Muslims in the freedom
struggle. In addition to these, he authored anoth-
er book about 333 Muslim writers and poets
who wrote in Telugu. At present Ahamed is
working on an album which will contain 150 pic-
tures with details of Muslim heroes who fought against the British from 1757 to
1947.
AWARDS
MUHAMMAD QUTUB, noted Islamic scholar and thinker
died in Jeddah on 5 April at the age of 95 years. Jamat-
e Islami Hinds Ameer Maulana Jalaluddin Umri, while
condoling his death said that his death is a great loss of
Islamic World. According to him he authored more than
45 important Islamic books which played an important
role in providing religious and philosophical guidance to
Muslims and in removing misconceptions about Islam.
Dr OBAIDUR RAHMAN, a noted Unani physician and
surgeon of Old Delhi whose clinic was known as Darul
Shifa, died on 1 April at the age of 88 years. After a road
accident about six years ago he was virtually confined to
bed and had been ill since then. He is survived by three
sons and five daughters.
SHAKEEL AHMAD, a teacher in Paragpurs Junior High
School, died on 3 April during the training for EVM
(Electronic Voting Machine). Teachers union, Prathamic
Shikshak Sangh (PSS), held district authorities responsi-
ble for his death, while expressing their anger at them.
Zonal secretary of PSS, Mukesh Sharma and Sanjay
Sharma said that (he) Shakeel Ahmad) was having chest
pain and had requested for leave
and district officers were told
about this but they did not grant
him leave. He probably died of
heart attack. After about half an
hour of complaint of chest pain
ambulance was called and he was
taken to hospital where he was
declared dead. Election Incharge,
Sandhya Tiwari, DM and Vinesh Chandra, AdM, after
hearing the news of his death reached the hospital and
consoled Shakeel Ahmads family members who were
present there and assured them that a compensation of
Rs 5 lakhs will be given by the Election Commission. His
dead body was brought at his home late at night and
buried in the local graveyard. He was 56. President of
Saakchharta Mission, Sunil said that even though med-
ical certificate about his illness was presented to the
Saharanpur DM, a lady, but she ignored every thing and
insisted that all those deployed for election duty must
perform their duty.
M GHAZALI KHAN
Much has been written on Khushwant Singh by
eminent personalities, writers and activists who
knew him personally and had interacted with
him. Yet, as an Indian Muslim, who enjoyed his
writings and jokes, I feel there are some aspects
of his personality that need to be highlighted and
remembered.
I grew up seeing my father, an old Aligarian
and a farmer by profession, reading Illustrated
Weekly of India regularly and talking to his
friends about Kushwant Singhs articles and
columns. When I joined AMU in 1974 in PUC,
the collection of short stories in our English liter-
ature course contained "Mark Vishnu" by
Khushwant Singh. That was the first time I ever
read anything by the great writer and developed
a habit of never missing his "Malice" columns in
the Hindustan Times.
I liked his jokes and sarcasm. In the 1980s
when he was a member of Rajya Sabha, the
house debated the menace of corruption in the
country. Next day in his Malice column,
Khushwant Singh wrote that seeing politicians
speaking against corruption he felt as if whores
were sermonising other women on the virtues of
chastity.
When it came to writing against sectarian-
ism, he did not hesitate in condemning it in
harshest language. During the 1984 anti-Sikh
riots when he was forced to flee from his house
and take refuge somewhere else, he wrote in
Sunday magazine that for the first time he
realised how Muslims must have gone through
during Moradabad riots.
Although in my student days I used to read
his columns in the Hindustan Times pretty regu-
larly, I do not remember what he wrote on
Moradabad riot. However, Dr Ahmed Cameron,
a friend and Toronto-based scientist, recalls how
Mr Singh had helped him and his colleagues in
organising an exhibition against sectarianism.
"In the wake of Moradabad riots a group of
student activists from IIT, Delhi came up with an
idea of arranging a poster exhibition against
sectarianism and casteism in our society. The
famous Hindi poet, Ashok Chakradhar, referred
us to Mr Khushwant Singh to obtain some pho-
tos of riot-hit areas from the library of Hindustan
Times then edited by him.
"With no visiting cards with us we scribbled
our names on a piece of paper and handed it to
his peon to give it to Mr Singh. He immediately
called us into his office and inquired about the
purpose of our visit. No sooner had we finished
our explanation than he called for the librarian of
the newspaper and asked him to bring all the
photographs of previous riots from his library.
"We selected around 25-30 photos.
Mr Singh asked the librarian to print duplicates
for us. The librarian expressed some reluctance
and inability in printing the photographs or giv-
ing us original copies. Librarian Sahib, do you
know who they are and from which institution
they come from? Khushwant Singh asked him
rather angrily and continued, They have come
to seek our help. They are the students of IIT
Delhi, one of the top institutions of our country.
They have stood up to send the message of
communal harmony after the Moradabad and
Belchi riots which have shaken the roots of our
nations ethos. Let these photos be issued to me
and I will sign it. The librarian was stunned and
handed the photos to us. The exhibition was
inaugurated by Minister of State for Education
Shiela Kaul in the RCAof IIT Delhi on 1 October,
1981 and was covered by all the major newspa-
pers of Delhi."
On Gujarat riots, he wrote, "Gujarat remind-
ed me of the Partition. So many innocents who
could not hit back were just killed, butchered,
wombs knifedSo many people who nurture
hate. You have the Advanis who still have poi-
son inside them; who believe in they need to be
taught a lesson. And you have the Vajpayees
who like to think they are a little more sophisti-
cated than the Narendra Modis and the
Togadias. After the demolition of the Babri
Masjid - another event that partitioned Indian
Hindus and Muslims"
When writing about women and sex, he
often became obscene and crossed the lines of
decency, although those who knew him person-
ally say that this was his persona and that in his
private life he was just the opposite of it.
His novel Delhi made Muslims particularly
upset. But then in his writings he did not spare
anyone. Despite being threatened by
Khalistanis, he continued narrating his Sikh
jokes in his columns. His depiction of Ranjit
Singh in the history of Sikhs is not what you
would expect of a faithful Sikh worth his name.
Once he wrote in his column that in his view
Sikhism was closer to Islam while KK Birla, the
owner of Hindustan Times, thought it was clos-
er to Hinduism and he asked readers to send
their opinions. For one or two weeks he pub-
lished some letters in this regard but stopped it
soon as he said many thought that that was not
the right time for such a debate. It was in the
1980s when Khalistani movement was at its
peak.
In bringing facts to light no one could expect
mercy from him, not even close friends. He had
noticed some contradiction in the professed ide-
ology of his friend and noted progressive Urdu
poet Ali Sardar Jafri and his private religious
practices. Much to Mr Jafris annoyance during
a TV interview, Khushwant Singh asked him to
clarify this contradiction.
He did not hide his good or bad feelings and
views about anyone or anything. Although a
Sikh, he once wrote on the poetic beauty of the
Quran. Similarly reading his review on Karen
Armstrongs book Muhammad: A Prophet for
Our Time, one is reminded of another Sikh, the
famous Urdu poet Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi
Sahars couplet, Ishq hojai kisi se koi chara to
nahiN. Sirf Muslim ka Muhammad pe ijara to
nahiN (If one falls in love with someone one
cant do anything about it; Muslims alone do not
have monopoly upon Muhammad).
On Khushwant Singhs death, daily Inquilab
rightly headed its editorial as "Ek mohibb-e-
Urdu ki maut" (Death of an Urdu lover.).
He was very sensitive about correct pro-
nunciation of Urdu words and how the lan-
guage is spoken. When former Pakistani
Army Chief overthrew Nawaz Shareef in
1999, Khushwant Singh wrote that upon
learning that Musharraf was born in Delhi he
was under the impression that the new
Pakistani leader would speak good Urdu. But
to his utter disappointment, Khushwant Singh
wrote, Musharraf spoke Urdu in Punjabi
accent. (Mr Singh had used very harsh lan-
guage. This particular piece must be available
on the net).
Not only did he often quote Urdu verses in
his columns, translated Allama Iqbals poem,
"Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa" and "Umra-o-
Jan" (novel) into English, once writing and prais-
ing legendry actor Dilip Kumar he wrote that
from his speech and eloquence it appears as if
he has studied in Aligarh Muslim University
(AMU).
In the 1980s, Khushwant Singh was also
elected as a member of AMU court. I am not
sure how many meetings did he attend and how
much did he participate in these meetings.
Usually he used to pen all of his experiences in
his columns but I do not remember having read
anything by him about AMU. In the same year,
AMU Alumni Association (UK) had given me the
responsibility of bringing out its annual maga-
zine. I wrote to Mr Singh requesting him to con-
tribute a small piece in the magazine as a mem-
ber of AMU Court. Usually known and busy fig-
ures in the Indian sub-continent do not even
acknowledge the receipt of such letters let alone
giving a decent reply. Although the response
was disappointing, I was surprised to receive an
aerogram from Mr Singh, in his own handwrit-
ing, explaining that he was working on a novel
and would not be able to oblige us for the next
six months. Strangely, even official press
release issued by AMU PRO Office do not men-
tion that Mr Singh had been a court member.
He had always been a man of very inde-
pendent and free thinking. Readers may find fol-
lowing excerpts on his first-ever experience in a
full time job, a young Information Officer at the
Indian High Commission in London. He writes,
"Between me and [High Commissioner Krishna]
Menon was my ultimate superior, Sudhir Ghosh,
the P.R.O, who, unknown to me at the time, was
on very bad terms with Menon. Sudhir had
worked for a time with Mahatma Gandhi and
had been entrusted by the Mahatma to deliver
personal messages to Attlee and Cripps
"It was the autumn of 1947 when Kashmir
was overrun by tribesmen coming across
Pakistans frontiers with Pakistani connivance.
The Hindu Maharaja belatedly turned for help to
India; Indian troops were rushed to stem the
tribal onslaught. The Mahatma made a state-
ment exonerating the Indian Governments
action. This statement repeated by Reuters was
given prominence in many English newspapers
including The Times. Sudhir, without consulting
anyone, sent off a telegram to Bapuasking
him to deny his (Gandhis) departure from paci-
fism. This the Mahatma did. Sudhir sent a letter
to The Times quoting the Mahatmas letter and
accusing Reuters of anti-Gandhian bias.
Unfortunately, a day earlier I had received the
official version of Gandhijis speech which I had
released to the British Press through the India
House news-sheet "Indiagram". The release
was worded in exactly the same way as
Returers. Christopher Chancellor, then head of
Reuters, triumphantly quoted "Indiagram" to
refute Sudhir Ghoshes allegations. Next morn-
ing The Times published Sudhirs and
Chancellors letters side by side...
"Ghosh sauntered into the office at 11 a.m.
and leisurely began to pursue the daily papers,
starting with The Times. He summoned me to
his office. Why was this Indiagram sent out
without my approval? he demanded somewhat
haughtily."
"I could afford to be cheeky, It is always
sent out between 4 and 5 p.m. You are seldom
in the office at the time. If you like, we will dis-
patch it a day later. Only, the High
Commissioner is anxious that it should get to
the papers that very day. Incidentally, he is most
anxious to see you at once!
"I refused to be snubbed and played the
double game as adroitly as I could. I wish you
could settle these matters with the High
Commissioner, I get one set of orders from him,
another from you. And rudeness from both. I will
just throw in the sponge. I marched triumphant-
ly.
"Menon took it upon himself to suspend
Gosh and ordered me to take over till a new
P.R.O.
"My own career as Menons P.R.O came to
a swift and deserved end. He never thought
very highly of my ability; he never thought of
anyone having any brains except himself.
"I waited for the opportunity to bring mat-
ters to a head. I did not have to wait longI do
not recall the precise details but it had some-
thing to do with Miss Singh [wife of Military
Attach, a Sikh brigadier] conveying H.E.s
instructions to my assistant Jamal Kidwai, des-
tined to be my successor. I pulled her up. She
complained to Menon. I was summoned by
Menon and asked to apologise to Miss Singh.
My response surprised Menon. I was rude to
both, slapped my resignation on his table and
marched out of the office (My days with
Krishna Menon published in Kushwant Singhs
India: A Mirror for its Monsters and
Monstrosities, edited by Rahul Singh, IBH
Publishing Company, Bombay 1969).
An Indian Muslims tribute to Khushwant Singh
NADEEM AHMAD KAZMI of NDTV has been elected General Secretary of Press
Club of India during the election held on 31 March.
MEN & WOMEN IN NEWS OBITUARIES
Another mosque demolished in Delhi
Police refuses to register FIR; Muslim leadership busy with election; Waqf Board assures stringent measure
SPECIAL REPORT The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 13 www.milligazette.com
SALEEM SIDDIQUI
The audacity of communalists in countrys cap-
ital have risen to the highest levels of which a
fresh example was witnessed on 8 April when an
ancient Eidgah [a mosque where Eid prayers are
held] was demolished in Thana Fatehpur Beri in
south Delhi in broad daylight early in the morn-
ing and until late evening, police had failed to
register an FIR while the DCP of South Delhi,
Bhola Shankar Jaiswal, even denied that any
such incident had really taken place.
According to sources, this Eidgah, spread
over an area of around 800 yards is located next
to Farm No 16, Oso Drive, near Mehrauli. Its four
walls and other structures were built with
stones. The owners of the farmhouse have been
eyeing on the Eidgah land for quite some time.
Only two days ago, local Muslims had reported
the matter to the local police after which the SHO
got the Eidgah photographed. Despite all this, the
owner of farm number 15, Babulal Agarwal
commissioned bulldozers in the morning and got
the mosque demolished.
When local Muslims came know of the dem-
olition activity, they phoned the plice dialing
number 100 but by the time police arrived at the
scene Babulal had finished his task.
Mosque imam of a nearby locality,
Sultanpur, Maulana Abdul Jabbar and chairman
of of Gadaipur Muslim Samaj Samiti Imran Khan
informed Rashtriya Sahara that Agarwal and his
family about the incident. They said they have
photographs and video recording of the Eidgah.
Imran Khan said that he had feared the incident
for quite some time and had written to the Delhi
Waqf Board, Delhi Police Commissioner, Delhi
Municipal Corporation and DC expressing his
fears but no action was taken. He said
that instead of registering an FIR, the
police have questioned their concerns
by asking, Who are you to interfere in
this matter? and asked them to leave
the place at once. In protest against
police inaction against Babulal and his
family and for not registering an FIR, a
large number of Muslims, led by
Maulana Abdul Jabbar and Imran
Khan, started a sit-in at the Eidgah.
They have also seized the bulldozer
used to demolish the Eidgah walls.
Imran Khan further said, All of
this has happened due to the sheer
carelessness of Delhi Waqf Board.
Several months ago we had written to
the Waqf Board requesting it to
appoint a committee to look after the
adjoining graveyard and the Eidgah
but to date no attention has been paid
to our request.
He added that, adjacent to the
Eidgah, there is a graveyard spread
over an area of seven bigahs and one
biswah land and that too has been
occupied by Babulal Agarwal.
Because of this Muslims are forced to use a
smaller graveyard located at some distance to
bury their dead. On top of this illegal construc-
tion, work is openly continuing on this graveyard
land and so far two stories have already been
completed.
He said that after the complaint, employees
of the Waqf Board came to visit the place but
went away without taking any action. Local
Muslims allege that the Waqf Board officers have
some understanding with Babulal.
When South Delhi DCO Bhola Shankar
Jaiswal was contacted for further details about
the incident, he put the phone down saying,
Nothing of the sort has happened here.
This scribe repeatedly tried to contact
Section Officer of Delhi Waqf Board Khurshid
Faruqi but his mobile was found switched off.
When Survey Officer Allah Noor was contacted,
he said he was not aware of the demolition.
Board member Mufti Aijaz Qasmi too expressed
ignorance about the incident but, he said, if this
has happened FIR will be filed and strong action
will be taken under the new Waqf Act.
Untill now no FIR has been registered while
more than two dozen people are continuing their
sit-in at the place. They include Maulana Abdul
Jabbar, Imran Khan, Muhammad Akram,
Muhammad Shahid, Rashid, Shahid Ali, Inamul
Haq, Banne Khan, Muhammad Salman, Rashid
Ansari, Akbar, Muhammad Ghani, Manto, Talha,
Haris Muhammad and Muhammad Yusuf and
others. (Rashtriya Sahara, Delhi 9 April 2014, English
translation by urdumediamonitor.com)
SYED KHALED SHAHBAAZ
A solar-powered Chakra was inaugurated by
Khan Lateef Khan, Chairman, Sultanul- Uloom
Education Society during the Annual Day cele-
brations of Muffakham Jah College of
Engineering and Technology. Developed by stu-
dents Farhan Ali Khan and Aditya Mekala of B.E
4th year, the solar-powered spinning wheel aims
at easing worker burden, doubling yield and pro-
moting employment in rural areas where poor
women use these charkhas to earn their liveli-
hood. The project, funded by MJCET and dubbed
as Solar-powered charkha, involved trans-
forming two manual operated charkhas (popu-
larised by Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom
movement) to a modern and self-sufficient spin-
ning machine with a juice-pack of its own. The
solar-powered charkha not only increases the
yield and quality of the conduced fabric but also
doubles productivity. In fact, the solar charkha
yielded 50 yanks per eight hours when tested by
actual women users at the site, which is double
the yield obtained by using manual charkhas. For
example, a woman who earlier used to work on
only one simple charkha would now be able to
work on two solar charkhas simultaneously and
earn about Rs. 250 per day (or about Rs. 6250
with eight hours of work for 25 working days a
month). The cost of refur-
bishing the manual chakra
into a solar gadget was Rs.
75,000 for the two
machines. With the current
subsidy of 30 percent by
government of India on
solar-powered devices, the
actual cost will be Rs.
52,500 and the total invest-
ment will be recouped within
12 months. The solar-pow-
ered chakra can help
increase the wages of rural
people from Rs. 22,500 to
Rs. 75,000 annually. The solar chakra is equipped with suffi-
ciently large solar panels that charge the rechargeable batter-
ies fitted into its chassis. As the solar panels conver t solar
energy into electrical power, the accompanying inver ter auto-
matically conver ts the incoming alternate current (AC) into
direct current (DC) to power the motors to run the two
charkhas. The spindle motor rotates at 60-90rpm that drives
the charkha with the help of a speed regulator. Excess power
is stored into the battery to power the charkhas and lights for
up to four hours after sunset. As rural areas face severe power
shor tage, the solar energy technology will help workers to not
only work in the absence of power but also allow the generat-
ed power to be used for house lighting, charging mobile
phones and running TV sets. Since the solar charkha can also
be operated by physically-challenged people, it is expected to
create more employment oppor tunities in the rural areas and
change the lives of people for the better.
The writer is a software engineer turned journalist. He can be reached
over email at syedkhaledshahbaaz@gmail.com
MJCET students invent solar charkha
AMU confers honorary D. Litt. on Qureshi, Yusuffali
Aligarh: During its 61st Annual
Convocation, AMU conferred
honorary D.Litts on two distin-
guished sons of India,
Uttarakhand Governor, Dr. Aziz
Qureshi and NRI businessman
and philanthropist Yusuffali.
Expressing a deep sense
of gratitude, Dr. Qureshi said
that it was the best honour
in his life and the degree
added a lustre to his career.
Paying rich tributes to Sir
Syed, Dr. Qureshi said that he
bowed his head to his memory for the services he rendered for the uplift of the Muslim com-
munity and bringing them out of darkness. The Muslims of India would have remained con-
fined to the Class III and IV positions in services without his leadership.
The other recipient of honoris causa degree, Mr. Yusuffali M. A., an NRI businessman
based in UAE, felt humbled by the award of D. Litt. degree on him. He paid his respects to
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and said that he was one of the architects of modern educated India
who thought for the future generations. Mr. Ali urged the students to work hard to attain excel-
lence in their higher studies and not consider their parents outdated or illiterate. He said that
we should never treat them with contempt or with a business-like attitude. Mr. Ali announced
a donation of Rs. 5 crore for the construction of a sports complex for female students in the
name of his mother. He had already donated a separate sum of Rs. 5 crore for boys sports
complex.
Presenting the annual report of the University, AMU Vice Chancellor, Zameer Uddin Shah
highlighted the significant points of his Vision Document for the University for 2020. He reit-
erated his resolve to take the University to number one position among Indian universities by
2017 and secure a rank for it among 200 universities of the world by 2020. Gen. Shah said
that the AMU has launched an innovative and historic one-year bridge course for madrasa
graduates to equip them to qualify in entrance examinations for various courses in AMU. He
mentioned that Prof. S. M. Hadi of Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences is
the most cited scientist of the University, while several other teachers have also brought lau-
rels to the University by garnering awards and honours received in the country and abroad.
Yusuf/MG
Islam
is
cylindrical
No, it is flat
It is like a pillar
No,
Islam is
like a
broom
Darul Uloom Deoband library online
Deoband: Darul Uloom Deoband has now started its on-line library
for the convenience of readers who are interested in the study of
religious books. Now they can, whenever they want, read Islamic
articles or books of their favourite authors. For the present books
in 4 languages i.e. Arabic, Urdu, Hindi and English will be available
online. In order to familiarise its students with modern sciences
Darul Uloom has set up a computer centre then it started the facil-
ity of on-line fatwas from which many people have benefited dur-
ing the past six years. For extending the scope of this service Darul
Uloom has now started online Islamic Library. A special feature of
this is that Darul Uloom Deobands website www.darul-uloom-
deoband.com has been linked to the online library so that readers
may not face any difficulty.
Hnd over of Kashi and Ayodhya temples to us: VHP
New Delhi: After about 30 years when the way has been cleared
for handing over of 123 Waqf properties to the Delhi Waqf Board,
Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which had filed an appeal in court against
handing over of Waqfs own properties to it, is again trying to
block the transfer of these properties to Delhi Waqf Board. This is
not surprising as VHP and other communal organisations are con-
stantly working and trying to deny Muslims their due. After biting
the dust in court, it has now made an appeal to the President of
India against handing over these properties to Muslims. Not only
this, it has laid its claim to many historical buildings of Muslims
and demanded that in return of the 123 properties to Muslims or
Waqf Board, Kashi and Ayodhya temples should be given to
Hindus.
It may be stated that though the central governments belated
decision to denotify 123 properties and transferring their owner-
ship to the Delhi Waqf Board at a time when Lok Sabha elections
are to take place is welcome, until Muslims or the Waqf Board gets
de facto possession of these properties, it will be considered an
election propaganda of the government to woo Muslims. The Delhi
High Court in its verdict of January 2011 had ordered the transfer
of these properties to Delhi Waqf Board and had rejected VHPs
petition. Now VHP has made an appeal to the President to reject
denotificaion of these properties. It has also accused the central
government of following the politics of Muslim appeasement and
vote bank which, according to it, is illegal and unconstitutional.
On the other hand advocate Muhammad Sajid who has been
consistently trying for the transfer of these properties to tkhe Delhi
Waqf Board, says while doubting the intentions of the central gov-
ernment, that the High Court had given its order more than 3 years
ago but the government had been sitting over it and took this deci-
sion just at the time of elections. He said that they were still wait-
ing for the time when these properties, after getting vacated by the
illegal occupants, will be formally handed over to the Waqf Board.
Minorities Commissions not constituted in 16 states so far
New Delhi: Minorities Commissions could not so far be constitut-
ed in 16 states and union territories of the country, according to a
statement made in the Lok Sabha by union minister of state for
minorities affairs Ninong Ering on 20 February. He said that
National Minorities Commission has informed that state-level
minorities commissions have not so far been constituted in
Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland,
Orissa (Odisha), Sikkim, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Dadar &
Nagar Haveli, Lakshdeep and Puducherry. The minister said that
this matter is being taken up with states and union territories
where these commissions have not so far been constituted.
Jai Hind was started by Subhash Boses secretary
New Delhi: Contrary to the common belief that it was Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose who had given the national and patriotic
slogan of Jai Hind, according to a book titled Legends of
Hyderabad by a former bureaucrat, Narendra Luther, it was
Netajis secretary and spokesman, Zainul Aabdin Hasan, son of a
collector of Hyderabad who had suggested this slogan. Narendra
Luther has written this book on some great personalities of
Hyderabad and also mentioned small matters and anecdotes.
According to this book, Zainul Aabdin Hasan was a student of
engineering in Germany. When Netaji in his efforts to oppose
British rule in India had gone to Germany during the second world
war (and many other countries also to seek support against British
rule in India), Zainul Aabdin was very much impressed with
Netajis struggle for Indias freedom from British rule and was
keen to join his struggle to bring an amend to British rule. For this
he left his engineering studies and joined his team or force.
Subsequenlty Zainul Aabdin became a major in Netajis Indian
National Army. According to Luther (as stated in his book) Netaji
wanted a strong and patriotic message or slogan to warm and
boost the morale of his men. He received many slogans and sug-
gestions from his followers and other people also. Zainul Aabdin
also suggested the slogan hello but Netaji very much disliked it
and reprimanded him for suggesting this slogan. Thereafter he
suggested Jai Hind. Netaji liked it very much and adopted it to
salute each other and also to warm them up to create a national
feeling. Subsequently when India became independent, national
leaders also adopted it as a national slogan to greet people.
Personnel of the Indian army use this slogan to greet and salute
each other.
Gujarat 2002 best example of governments complicity in riots
New Delhi: All India Milli Council, reacting to RSS pracharak
Indresh Kumar giving a clean chit to SIMI and other organisations
in bomb blasts and holding government responsible for these said
that while making this statement Indresh Kumar forgot that the ban
on SIMI and other organisations was imposed when BJP led NDA
government was in power. The Council further said that the best
example of governments complicity in, and sponsorship of, riots
is Gujarats communal riots of 2002. Milli Councils general sec-
retary Dr Manzoor Alam said in his press statement that the
Council feels that a judicial commission should be constituted to
investigate these riots, right from day one to the recent
Muzaffarnagar riots and find out who are the communal minded
people (and organisations) whether in government, in the police
and bureaucracy, officers, parties etc so that it could be helpful in
building the future of India and necessary steps could be taken to
prevent these. He asked Indresh Kuamr if he and his organisaiton
are prepared to include this demand in BJPs election manifesto?,
or is it only among his efforts to woo Muslims in this election sea-
son?
HC notice on issuing coins with religious symbols
New Delhi: Delhi High Court Bench headed by interim Chief
Justice, B. D. Ahmad in response to a PIL petition filed by lawyer
A. Rashid Qureshi on behalf of petitioners Nafis Qazi and Abu
Sayyad of Delhi requesting the court to direct Reserve Banks of
India to withdraw coins issued by it in 2010 and another coin
issued in 2013 containing religious symbols, issued notices to
union finance ministry and Reserve Bank of India to let the Court
know its stand on religious symbols on coins within three weeks.
The Court also said that the government should not be seen adver-
tising or promoting any particular religion and the word secular-
ism should be taken and interpreted in the true sense of the word.
The court expressed these observations and issued the notice to
RBI and finance ministry when it had taken up the PIL for hearing
on 19 March and fixed 23 April as the next date of hearing this
appeal. During the hearing of the case on 19 March, Additional
Solicitor General of India, Rajiv Mehra representing the govern-
ment said that such coins are issued on some special or histori-
cal occasions.
The petitioners in their PIL had also said that the central gov-
ernment should be directed to follow policy under which it should
be prevented from making any religious symbol or identity its
transferable or non-transferable asset or property. The petition fur-
ther said that such religious symbols on coins etc detract from the
governments secular image.
It may be stated in this connection that in 2010 RBI had issued
a 5-rupee coin which contained the image of Tanjavurs
Brahdeshwar Temple, on completion of 1000 years of its con-
struction. Again, last year (2013) the RBI had issued 5-rupee coin
which contained the image of Mata Vaishno Devi. The PIL had
objected to the issue and circulation of these coins.
Condition of Muslims, STs and SCs improving: IAMR report
New Delhi: After about 6/7 years of the submission of the
Sachar Committee Repor t which presented a gloomy picture of
the overall condition of Muslims, the updated India Human
Development Repor t of IAMR (Institute of Applied Manpower
Research) shows an improvement in the condition of Muslims,
SC and ST people with that of the mainstream population in
matters of literacy, unemployment, child immunisation, infant
mor tality and under-5 mor tality rates. According to this repor t,
which is par tly based on latest NSS (National Sample Survey)
data, Muslims are performing better than their SC and ST
counterpar ts mainly because their populations are concentrat-
ed in urban areas. According to IAMR repor t, Muslims have
surpassed their SC and ST counterpar ts in literacy seeing that
their percentage (in literacy) is 67 whereas that of SCs is 64
and of STs it is 63. Regarding pucca houses, 63 percent
Muslims have pucca houses, 38 percent SCs have pucca
houses and 57 percent STs have pucca houses. The index of
electricity consumption for domestic use is: Muslims 75 per-
cent, SCs 61 percent and STs 66 percent.
Muslims in Jammu & Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh are in fact
doing better than Hindus not only in these states (JK and AP) but
also in UP, MP, Bihar and Gujarat in respect of some matters in the
field of health. Similarly, SCs and OBCs in Delhi, Himachal
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are better off than the upper
castes in Bihar, Chhattisgarh and UP in matters of health. The illit-
eracy rate of Muslims however remains concentrated in UP, Bihar
and West Bengal. Their literacy rate in these states is around 53
percent which is lower than that of SCs which is 57 percent in
these states. According to this report, one of the main reasons
why states in central and eastern India with large SC and ST pop-
ulations remain backward is because they are plagued by
Naxalites violence.
Translation of Friday Khutbas in Urdu in Makkah and Madinah
Lahore: Whereas translations of Friday Khutbas in Urdu and other
languages started in Madinahs Masjid-e Nabwi on 14 March
2014, according to the Governor of Madinah, Prince Faisal bin
Sultan, in Makkah Mukarramahs Masjidul Haram these were
started two weeks ago. He said that this was done on the special
instruction of Khadimul Harmain Sharifain i.e. Saudi monarch
Shah Abdullah. Head of Harmain Sharifains administration, Dr
Abdur Rahman Al Sudais said that the objective of the step is to
apprise lakhs of pilgrims and foreigners who do not know Arabic
language, with the meaning of the Khutbas which are always in
Arabic. He said that for this purpose a spacious place has been
selected in Masjidul Harams Fahad Gate where the pilgrims are
given earphones before the delivery of the Khutba, and its transla-
tion is broadcast through internal FM Radio.
India Islamic Studies Centre inaugurated at Allahabad
New Delhi: Muhammad Tashkeel Kaifi, founder and general secre-
tary of Minorities Foundation for Development and Security said in
a press release form Delhi that under the sponsorship of Minorities
Foundation for Development and Security, which has been active-
ly working in the field of education for the past six years, another
of its educational centre, India Islamic Studies Centre was inau-
gurated at Allahabad on 6 March jointly by Dr Syed Farooq,
Director of Himalaya Drugs and Mr Mohsini Fard, Counsellor in the
Iranian embassy in India.
Tashkeel Kaifi fur ther said in the press release that a plan
to set up ten more such centres in different states of the coun-
try is under consideration by the Foundation. He said that the
main objective of opening these centres is to provide profound
understanding of Islam to Muslim students and along with that,
also to equip them with modern technology in order to enable
them cope with the conditions prevailing in modern times so
that they may easily earn their living in a dignified and progres-
sive manner through these ar ts and knowledge. Its objective is
also to remove the financial difficulties in the way of their edu-
cation and knowledge. Towards this end he appealed to well
wishers and affluent people of the community for their sincere
cooperation so that this objective could be attained in other
states also.
Another special guest, Iranian Counsellor Mohsini Fard, while
lauding the efforts of Muhammad Tashkeel Kaifi said that provid-
ing free religious and modern education to Muslim boy and girl
students is a welcome step in building a progressive Muslim soci-
ety.
Patna: Maulana Mazharul Haq Arabic-Persian Universitys Vice
Chancellor, Prof Ejaz Ali Arshad while presiding over the sixth
annual budget meeting of the Universitys Executive Council said
in his presidential address that the University was roaming here
and there with its properties and assets sometimes on its shoul-
ders and sometimes on its head like nomads. Speaking about the
problems being faced by the University he said that he has been
associated with the University as member of its Senate and many
other committees and councils for many years but in spite of its
bad condition he reiterated his firm resolve to bring about all-
round progress of the University. He said that acquisition of land
and building of the campus was his top priority for which active
cooperation of all Senate members and milli and social leaders
was needed. He said that in spite of limited resources new cours-
es including 8 post graduate courses in Arabic, Persian, Urdu,
English, Islamic Studies, management, journalism and along with
these advance certificate course in Arabic-English translation and
interpretation and vice versa would be started from the next aca-
demic year.
Universitys Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Tauqeer Alam while
presenting the annual budget said that till now the university was
getting a very small amount from the government from which
salaries of officers and teaching staff and honorariums of tempo-
rary employees were paid and remaining expenses were met
from University's own internal resources and it is estimated that
in the next financial year i.e. 2014-15 there would be a deficit of
Rs 60,60,000. He said that for the year 2013-14 the House had
unanimously passed the revised budget of Rs 6,03,87,556 and
for the year 2014-15 it has passed the estimated budget of Rs
7,25,67,325. In this budget Rs 50 lakh have been allocated for
the orientation course and refresher course of Alim, Fazil teach-
ers of madrasas and Rs 10 lakh for scholarship for poor and
capable / promising students. He said that the University was try-
ing its best to improve the educational standard of madrasas and
to associate them with important rules and principles of educa-
tion. The House also confirmed the past proceedings and activi-
ties of the Senate, Syndicate, Academic Council and Finance
Committee and the annual report of the year 2013-14.
Commenting on the presidential address the Senate mem-
bers while expressing their concern over the bad condition of the
university said that they were now fed up with Senates crying
over the miserable condition of the university in its different meet-
ings and the university authorities should now think seriously and
take practical steps for improving its condition. Haroon Rashid,
member of the Senate as well as the Council said that it was an
ideal university in view of the fact that minorities and people
belonging to the poor and backward classes of Muslim society of
Bihar had much hope from this University. Some other members
of the Senatelike Prof Ejaz Ahmad and Shri Prem Chand asked
why and how was it that recently opened Chanakya Law
University and many other universities had got their own grand
buildings but this University set up in the name of the great free-
dom fighter Maulana Mazharul Haq was even now confined to
only two rooms? They demanded that the government should
either improve it quickly / soon or close it down.
Among the Senate and Syndicate members and others who
attended this meeting were this universitys former Vice
Chancellor Prof Shamshad Husain, Padma Shri (Capt) Sharf
Alam, Paswan Shastri (former Pro-vice chancellor), Ms Sayeeda
Warsi, Prof Sukhdev Prasad, MLAs, MLCs etc. (N. A. Ansari)
Maulana Mazharul Haq Universitys
budget passed with a deficit of Rs 60 lakh
14 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 COMMUNITY NEWS www.milligazette.com
Nagori acquitted in one case
Ujjain: Rashmi Mishara, JMFC, acquitted Qamaruddin Nagori in a
case registered against him at Kharakua police station in 2000 for
pasting a provocative poster. The prosecution could not establish
the charges. The court had already acquitted 10 persons on the
same charges. Safdar Nagori, Qamaruddin Nagori and
Muhammad Shafi were brought from Gujarat to appear before
various courts. They shall be brought again on 20th March for the
next hearing.
Modi kept scholarship scheme in cold storage for two years
Gandhinagar: Scholarship scheme for meritorious students has
been thrown into cold storage for the last two years despite the
tall claims of development for all. This fact was admitted by the
state minister for education in the state assembly. It has now been
presented once again for the assemblys approval in the budget
meant for 2013-14. This is what vibrant Gujarat has done for its
meritorious students. As far as the minorities are concerned they
can seek a loan from a board meant for minority finance. While it
provides loan to students they find it extremely difficult to encash
the cheque and parents have to move from pillar to post. There
were two dozen such applications which remain pending as the
board functions at snails pace.
Minority scholarship: SC rejects Guj govt plea
Nadiad: The Union govt shall release a sum of Rs 50.45 crores
towards implementation of pre-matric scholarship to minority stu-
dents. Out of 367515 applications only 9033 were rejected hence
the remaining 358486 students have been declared eligible. The
Gujarat govt had objected to pre-matric scholarship scheme while
it did not object to post-matric scheme under the Hindu card
agenda. The matter was brought to the notice of the state High
Court which gave its verdict in favour of the minority students. It
pointed out that the scheme is not an act which discriminates and
cannot be cited at par with reservation. The state government filed
an appeal in the Supreme Court which also upheld the HC verdict.
The govt has reluctantly, agreed to implement the scheme. It is
interesting to note that the Hindu intellectuals of the state never
objected to such schemes and even assisted children in submit-
ting applications.
Guj Muslims fear acid attack if they refuse to vote for Modi
New Delhi: In a controversial statement Azam Khan of SP
explained why Muslims in Gujarat vote for Modi, saying that they
fear acid attacks if they dare to defy him. He added that they vote
out of fear and under duress. He reminded his audience that what
Modi did in Gujarat would be repeated in the country if Modi came
to power in Delhi. BJP reacted strongly against Azams statement.
Polices brutalities on minorities in Mathura village
Aligarh: Parcham Party of Indias delegation led by its President,
Saleem Peerzada visited Mathura districts Hathia village regard-
ing police atrocities let lose on the minority population of this vil-
lage on 27 and 28 January 14. After touring different places and
meeting people of Hathia village, the delegation members came to
know that on 30 May (2013) a big police force had visited the vil-
lage to arrest some one but because of peoples resistance police
resorted to firing in which one Shahabuddin, who was the Imam
of a local mosque died. A policeman also was injured who,
allegedly, subsequently died. Hence in order to teach a lesson to
the people of Hathia village police, by invoking sections 82 and 3
of IPC, raided the village. It is alleged that in this police action the
concerned Thana inspector Arvind Pratap Singh, who is biased
against the minority community played the key role. In this raid
police completely razed, with a bulldozer one Zafruddins house.
In addition to this, houses of other people including Shauqeen,
Mohsin, Sultan and many other people were also demolished.
Household goods of many houses were dumped in tractor trollies
and taken away. Goods which could not be taken away were bro-
ken and destroyed at the spot. People of the village showed the
clippings of police atrocities which may rightly be called police
terrorism, caught on mobile phones, to delegation members
which show the brutalities of police. Because of polices high-
handedness, people of the village: men women (old and young)
and children are living in constant fear. Delegation leader Saleem
Peerzada and other members have demanded that investigation of
this cruel act may be conducted by the CBI, and penal action be
taken against guilty police personnel, suitable compensations be
given to persons whose houses and goods have been destroyed
or the destroyed houses should be got rebuilt, people of the vil-
lage should be safeguarded against police brutalities, false cases
against innocent people by the police should be withdrawn.
Parcham Party authorities have also decided to send a memoran-
dum against police atrocities to National Minorities Commission,
stating that if justice is denied to the people of Hathia village by
the government, it will resort to an andolan. Among the members
of this delegation were Farhat Ali Usmani (advocate), president of
Indian Minorites Council, Bhai Tej Singh, president of Ambedkar
Samaj Party; Muhammad Maqsood, social worker from Mathura
etc. General secretary of National League, Ram Singh Advocate
had visited this place and reviewed the situation.
SC-appointed SIT chief blamed for giving clean chit to Modi
Ahmedabad: Retired Additional DGP of Gujarat, R B Sreekumar
said here on 14 March that a set of people are responsible for the
so-called clean chit claimed by Narendra Modi. He said that the
so-called clean chit for Modi and BJP is only from a lower court,
adding that an impartial probe into the communal riots of 2002 in
which more than 1500 people were killed would see Modi in jail.
In reply to a question whether the clean chit to Modi may be due
to any weakness in Indias judicial system, he said in a press con-
ference that it was so because of the weakness of the set of peo-
ple who constituted the Special Investigation Team (SIT) ordered
by the Supreme Court. He said that in fact R. K. Raghavan (for-
mer CBI chief who headed the SIT) has done more damage to the
Indian system than the Bajrang Dal (which led the riots). He said
that India can be saved from disintegration only through the rule
of law and further added that his goal was to uphold the
Constitution. Sreekumar, who has now retired and joined AAP
just a few days before his first press conference, said that he is
opposed to Modis mindset, emphasising that 1500 people were
killed under his administration. Sreekumar had filed 9 affidavits
totalling 600 pages, stressing official machinerys involvement in
the riots during the bandh called by VHP, Bajrang Dal etc follow-
ing the death of 58 people in the Sabarmati Express fire at Godhra
on 27 February 2002. It may be stated that in defiance of Gujarat
governments official stand, Sreekumar had deposed truthfully
before the judicial commission which probed the 2002 riots and
for this defiance he was denied the next promotion by the Gujarat
government. Though the state government denied promotion to
him, he approached Central Administrative Tribunal to wage a
legal battle in which he won and subsequently retired honourably
but even after retirement he continues to receive threats from RSS
activists for his criticism of Modi and Hindutva.
Jamia Coaching Centres 31 students qualified UPSC Mains
New Delhi: Thirty-one students trained under Jamia Millia
Islamias Centre for Coaching & Career Planning have qualified in
the civil services examination (Mains) 2013. They will soon be
called for interview. In order to inculcate self confidence in the
successful students in the interview Jamia will arrange mock
interview for them. Jamias Coaching Academy makes arrange-
ments for free coaching and residential facilities, in financial
cooperation with UGC for SC, ST, ladies and people belonging to
minority communities. For admission in coaching classes stu-
dents or candidates are selected through written examinations on
all India basis after which interviews are held for final selection.
Selected candidates are taught different optional and compulsory
subjects. In addition to Jamia Millias Centre for Coaching and
Career Planning, Zakat Foundation of India also provides coaching
for civil services examinations conducted by UPSC. Among the
students or candidates to whom coaching for civil services exams
was provided by Zakat Foundation, 8 students had qualified in the
Mains examination held in November 2013. They also will now be
called for interview and personality test. The successful students
to whom coaching was provided by ZFI were from Jammu &
Kashmir, Kerala, UP and Andhra Pradesh.
Darul Uloom not to support any political party
Saharanpur: Darul Uloom Deoband, for the first time adopting a
tough and strict attitude towards electoral politics has banned the
entry of all political parties, their representatives and candidates
within the premises of the world famous religious educational insti-
tution. It has also made it clear that now no fatwas or appeal for or
against any party will be issued nor any mass prayers will be
arranged for the success of any party or its leaders or candidates.
Darul Ulooms Rector Mufti Abdul Qasim Nomani has clearly
instructed that no party leader or candidate should come to this
institution with a request for arranging mass prayers for its party
or his / her victory in elections. This is because on such occasions
(elections) political parties, their leaders and individual candidates
etc flock to the institution for obtaining blessings of Ulama or
requesting them to offer prayers for their victory in elections. With
this firm stand of Darul Ulooms Rector political parties and their
leaders will get a shock and will be disappointment because at the
time of elections many political leaders come to this institution to
meet Ulama and request to bless them and issue statements to
support such and such party. Darul Ulooms Public Relations offi-
cer Ashfaq Usmani however said that any one coming here per-
sonally or in groups for educational or pilgrimage purposes is and
will be welcome. Rector of the institution Mufti Abdul Qasim
Nmani had to ban the entry of politicians probably because on
20 March Delhis former education minister and Aam Admi Party
leader Manish Sisodia had come to Darul Uloom without seeking
prior permission. Mufti Abdul Qasim did not meet him but deputy
rector Maulana Abdul Khaliq Sambhali had informally met him. In
accordance with Darul Ulooms old tradition it neither takes part in
electoral politics nor issues any appeal or fatwa in favour of or
against any party, leader or candidate because it is purely a reli-
gious institution and remains aloof from electoral or party politics,
though it is a different thing that some of its Ulama are associated
with politics in their individual capacity. However, many people
have welcomed this strict stand of Darul Uloom and its Rector.
AMUs website inaugurated
Aligarh: Chairman of Abu Dhabis famous trading company Lulu
Group International, Yusuf Ali, inaugurated Aligarh Muslim
University's website at VC Lodge on 29 March after the
Universitys 61 Convocation and also laid the foundation stone of
a Sports Complex worth Rs 5 crores. His wife and other relatives
were also present on this occasion. He declared that he would
give another gift of Rs 5 crores for the proposed sports complex
to be built for girl students of the University in the name of his
mother whose foundation stone will be laid by AMU VCs wife Mrs
Sabiha Simi Shah. Those present on this occasion were VC (Retd)
Lt Gen Zamiruddin Shah, Pro VC Brig (Retd) S. Ahmad Ali, Saudi
Arabias businessman and an alumni of AMU, Nadeem Tarin and
members of AMU Alumni Association.
AMUs Convocation
Aligarh: Sixty-first Convocation of Aligarh Muslim University was
held on 29 March. Vice President of India Hamid Ansari (who had
earlier served as VC of the University) in his Convocation address
said that the countrys Constitution guarantees equality to all sec-
tions of population and does not allow any kind of discrimination
on the basis of gender but in spite of this it is quite common in
our society to deprive Muslims, and particularly Muslim women,
of the opportunities of education and progress. The burden of
customs and traditions, poverty, communal politics have disabled
Muslim women. Congratulating the degree holders he said that
they should know that the process of acquisition of education and
knowledge is not confined to Universitys fourwalls. Rather, it is
the beginning of the real journey of life. Whether these youngmen
go out in search of jobs or for further education, they should know
that education and knowledge have no limits. He said that we
have to face the challenges of 21st century. It is therefore neces-
sary for Muslim society, particularly for the Muslim University that
these challenges be faced without any delay. He said that a time
comes in a mans life when outmoded logic and intellectual pes-
simism should be discarded and dependence on optimistic think-
ing and action becomes necessary. Reminding the students of
Maulana Azads dictum he said that a fundamental change within
oneself should be brought about. One aspect of this change is
womens educational and economic empowerment.
New Delhi: Vice President of India Hamid Ansari, in a meeting
with students of Urdu journalism at Indian Institutes of Mass
Communication (IIMC) in the presence of this Institutes Director
General Sumit Tandon, OSD Jaideep Bhatnagar, Prof K. M.
Shrivastav and Coordinator Rajendra Prasad expressed his con-
cern over the fact that though the number of Urdu newspapers is
increasing by the day, the number of Urdu newspaper readers is
decreasing day by day. Pleading to remove this paradox he asked
them what in their views could be the steps for solving this prob-
lem and what factors could be helpful in promoting Urdu journal-
ism. One student said that there are of course many readers of
Urdu newspapers but the standard of Urdu newspapers is not
what readers expect from their morning newspapers. He said
that those working for Urdu newspapers are not paid salaries at
par with good journalists so that they could adopt journalism as
a profession. Because of this those associated with this profes-
sion have no professional education of journalism.
One student said that the reason for the poor condition of Urdu
newspapers is that they have no news agency except UNI to sup-
ply standard news in Urdu. Under such circumstances they need
good translators but in their newspapers, people are rare who
can translate news from other standard newspapers and also the
news from other world languages. Yet another student while
pointing out the problems of Urdu newspapers spoke about Urdu
software. He said that today English and Hindi newspaper by
working in a single software can bring out their complete news-
papers but for Urdu newspapers they have to take the help of
other software.
The Vice President said that in any case today Urdu has
become a world language. New Urdu habitations or colonies are
growing in countries like America, Canada, UK, Germany and
other countries where Urdu newspapers and magazines are
being published and asked how they have progressed there from
the technical point of view? In reply to this question one student
said that exactly the same problem is present there also with the
only difference that newspapers and magazines being brought
out there are of literary and not of journalistic nature and because
of this they dont have problems which a newspaper office has
to face here. One student invited Hamid Ansaris attention
towards shortage of journalistic schools and institutions, point-
ing out that they did not have journalistic institutions or schools
which are imparting journalistic education and training, adding
that IIMC has taken this step after so many years of independ-
ence.
In reply to Ansaris question to DG Sumit Tandon about future
careers of students of Urdu journalism, he said that they were in
touch with many newspapers and TV sponsors. At present these
students are at the internship stage after which examinations will
be held and we hope that they will get good placements. Prof
Shrivastav hoped that some of these students, after completing
internship will be selected here itself because of their good per-
formance. Earlier, Director General Sumit Tandon apprised Hamid
Ansari about Urdu journalism course and presented a copy of
students Lab Journal to him. (N. A. Ansari)
Hamid Ansaris appeal to promote Urdu journalism
COMMUNITY NEWS The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 15 www.milligazette.com
Corrigendum
Bogus SI Parvin arrested
Indore/Ujjain: Shabnam Parvin who duped people as SI was
arrested following investigations. A BA pass-out, she tried to
become SI/constable but could not pass the competitive exami-
nation. She made a false claim that she was selected in the IB
and the news was published in the local papers (and also repro-
duced in MG). A police officer, R N Sharma, suspected her claim
when she, instead of saluting him, said pranam with folded
hands. When he looked at her uniform, he felt foul play and began
investigating her claim. She confessed her crime before the SP
OP Tripathi. Her family too believed her bluff and did not suspect
foul play. Her arrest led to the arrest of one more person Imran
Qureshi. Another person, Afzal Khan, is likely to be arrested soon.
This correspondent offers his apology for sending her false story
to the MG on the strength of news reports published in local
papers.(A. G. Khan)
NOAM CHOMSKY
A previous article I wrote explored how securi-
ty is a high priority for government planners:
security, that is, for state power and its primary
constituency, concentrated private power - all
of which entails that official policy must be pro-
tected from public scrutiny.
In these terms, government actions fall in
place as quite rational, including the rationality of collective sui-
cide. Even instant destruction by nuclear weapons has never
ranked high among the concerns of state authorities.
To cite an example from the late Cold War: In November 1983
the U. S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization launched a mili-
tary exercise designed to probe Russian air defenses, simulating
air and naval attacks and even a nuclear alert. These actions were
undertaken at a very tense moment. Pershing II strategic missiles
were being deployed in Europe. President Reagan, fresh from the
Evil Empire speech, had announced the Strategic Defense
Initiative, dubbed Star Wars, which the Russians understood to
be effectively a first-strike weapon - a standard interpretation of
missile defense on all sides.
Naturally these actions caused great alarm in Russia, which,
unlike the U. S., was quite vulnerable and had repeatedly been
invaded. Newly released archives reveal that the danger was even
more severe than historians had previously assumed. The NATO
exercise almost became a prelude to a preventative (Russian)
nuclear strike, according to an account last year by Dmitry
Adamsky in the Journal of Strategic Studies.
Nor was this the only close call. In September 1983, Russias
early-warning systems registered an incoming missile strike from
the United States and sent the highest-level alert. The Soviet mil-
itary protocol was to retaliate with a nuclear attack of its own. The
Soviet officer on duty, Stanislav Petrov, intuiting a false alarm,
decided not to report the warnings to his superiors. Thanks to his
dereliction of duty, were alive to talk about the incident.
Security of the population was no more a high priority for
Reagan planners than for their predecessors. Such heedlessness
continues to the present, even putting aside the numerous near-
catastrophic accidents, reviewed in a chilling new book,
Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus
Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, by Eric Schlosser.
Its hard to contest the conclusion of the last commander of
the Strategic Air Command, Gen . Lee Butler, that humanity has
so far survived the nuclear age by some combination of skill,
luck and divine intervention, and I suspect the latter in greatest
proportion. The governments regular, easy acceptance of
threats to survival is almost too extraordinary to capture in words.
In 1995, well after the Soviet Union had collapsed, the U. S.
Strategic Command, or Stratcom, which is in charge of nuclear
weapons, published a study, Essentials of Post-Cold War
Deterrence. A central conclusion is that the U. S. must maintain
the right of a nuclear first strike, even against non-nuclear states.
Fur thermore, nuclear weapons must always be available,
because they cast a shadow over any crisis or conflict.
Thus nuclear weapons are always used, just as you use a
gun if you aim it but dont fire when robbing a store - a point that
Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers, has repeatedly
stressed. Stratcom goes on to advise that planners should not be
too rational about determining ... what an adversary values, all of
which must be targeted. [I]t hurts to portray ourselves as too
fully rational and cool-headed. . That the U. S. may become irra-
tional and vindictive if its vital interests are attacked should be a
part of the national persona we project to all adversaries.
It is beneficial [for ... our strategic posture] that some ele-
ments may appear to be potentiallyout of control - and thus
posing a constant threat of nuclear attack. Not much in this doc-
ument pertains to the obligation under the Non-Proliferation Treaty
to make good faith efforts to eliminate the nuclear-weapon
scourge from the earth. What resounds, rather, is an adaptation of
Hilaire Bellocs famous 1898 couplet about the Maxim gun:
Whatever happens we have got, The Atom Bomb and they
have not. Plans for the future are hardly promising. In December
the Congressional Budget Office reported that the U. S. nuclear
arsenal will cost $355 billion over the next decade. In January the
James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies estimated that
the U. S. would spend $1 trillion on the nuclear arsenal in the next
30 years.And of course the United States is not alone in the arms
race. As Butler observed, it is a near miracle that we have
escaped destruction so far. The longer we tempt fate, the less
likely it is that we can hope for divine intervention to perpetuate
the miracle. In the case of nuclear weapons, at least we know in
principle how to overcome the threat of apocalypse: Eliminate
them.
But another dire peril casts its shadow over any contempla-
tion of the future - environmental disaster. Its not clear that there
even is an escape, though the longer we delay, the more severe
the threat becomes - and not in the distant future. The commit-
ment of governments to the security of their populations is there-
fore clearly exhibited by how they address this issue. Today the
United States is crowing about 100 years of energy independ-
ence as the country becomes the Saudi Arabia of the next cen-
tury - very likely the final century of human civilization if current
policies persist. One might even take a speech of President
Obamas two years ago in the oil town of Cushing, Okla., to be an
eloquent death-knell for the species.
He proclaimed with pride, to ample applause, that Now,
under my administration, America is producing more oil today
than at any time in the last eight years. Thats important to know.
Over the last three years, Ive directed my administration to open
up millions of acres for gas and oil exploration across 23 differ-
ent states. Were opening up more than 75 percent of our poten-
tial oil resources offshore. Weve quadrupled the number of oper-
ating rigs to a record high. Weve added enough new oil and gas
pipeline to encircle the Earth and then some.
The applause also reveals something about government com-
mitment to security. Industry profits are sure to be secured as
producing more oil and gas here at home will continue to be a
critical part of energy strategy, as the president promised. The
corporate sector is carrying out major propaganda campaigns to
convince the public that climate change, if happening at all, does
not result from human activity. These efforts are aimed at over-
coming the excessive rationality of the public, which continues to
be concerned about the threats that scientists overwhelmingly
regard as near-certain and ominous. To put it bluntly, in the moral
calculus of todays capitalism, a bigger bonus tomorrow out-
weighs the fate of ones grandchildren.
What are the prospects for survival then? They are not bright.
But the achievements of those who have struggled for centuries
for greater freedom and justice leave a legacy that can be taken
up and carried forward - and must be, and soon, if hopes for
decent survival are to be sustained. And nothing can tell us more
eloquently what kind of creatures we are.
This is Part II of an article adapted from a lecture by Noam
Chomsky on Feb. 28, sponsored by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
in Santa Barbara, Calif 2014 Noam Chomsky
16 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 INTERNATIONAL www.milligazette.com
The Dimming Prospects for Human Survival
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Its hard to contest the conclusion of the last commander of the Strategic Air
Command, Gen . Lee Butler, that humanity has so far survived the nuclear age by
some combination of skill, luck and divine intervention, and I suspect the latter in great-
est proportion. The governments regular, easy acceptance of threats to survival is
almost too extraordinary to capture in words.
Britains Brotherhood
inquiry: Another blow to
democracy?
A week after over 500 anti-coup protesters were sentenced to
death by Field Marshall Abdul Fattah Al Sisis regime in Egypt, the
British Prime Minister David Cameron has launched an inquiry.
But, its not the inquiry one might expect, an inquiry into human
rights abuses in Egypt by the military regime; it is in fact an
inquiry into the Muslim Brotherhoods activities in the UK.
Since the coup last July, the military regime in Egypt has pur-
sued a repressive policy against the Muslim Brotherhood.
Although the Brotherhood won five elections and became the first
democratically elected civilian government of Egypt, they were
ousted from power by a military coup after just a year. The mili-
tary regime, keen to hold on to their power, have set out to dis-
mantle the Muslim Brotherhood and remove them from the pub-
lic sphere in Egypt.
Over 1,000 people have been killed since the coup, thou-
sands have been arrested and imprisoned. Many of their mem-
bers and supporters were among the 529 Egyptians who were
sentenced to death last week. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood
have been now been outlawed and designated a terrorist organi-
sation, facing persecution worse than that which they faced dur-
ing Hosni Mubaraks presidency.
And its not just in Egypt that the Brotherhood are facing per-
secution; autocratic regimes across the Middle East have lent
their support to Al Sisi and his military regime. Two key players in
the MENA region, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have
taken steps to ban the Brotherhood in their countries and desig-
nate the group a terrorist organisation. When the Arab Spring led
to the overthrow of some old autocratic regimes in the Middle
East, others who were still in power became increasingly nerv-
ous. As the democratisation process appeared to go from
strength to strength concerns about the new political order
became ever apparent. Last years coup was then a convenient
turn of events for those regimes that worried democracy could
spread and take hold in other countries...
Since the coup, the British-Egyptian relationship has contin-
ued to develop undisturbed by the human rights catastrophes tak-
ing place in the country. Yet despite this there have been a num-
ber of pro-democracy campaigns and protests in London, with
Egyptians based in the UKs capital calling for a return of the legit-
imate democratic government to Egypt. It seems now, that some
months after the coup, the government have been handed evi-
dence relating to the Muslim Brotherhoods activities in London.
A spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
said The review will assess the MBs impact on and influence
over UK national interests, at home and abroad; its wider influ-
ence on UK society, culture and educational institutions; and key
allies approaches and policies... Given the importance of the
Middle East to British interests, the Prime Minister believes that
the Government needs a thorough understanding of the organisa-
tion and its impact - both on our national security and on our
interest in stability and prosperity in the Middle East.
The Gulfs association of the Brotherhood with terrorism
seems to be catching. Although the British government has not
accused the group of terrorism the announcement of the inquiry
has been based around alleged links with extremism, citing the
attacks on tourists in the Sinai. It should be noted though that
those very attacks were carried out by a Salafist organisation
active in the Sinai, Ansar Bait al Maqdis, who took responsibility
for the attack. The Muslim Brotherhood in fact condemned the
attack, describing it as cowardly and offering their condolences
to victims families, hardly the actions of a group responsible for
alleged links with extremism.
A slightly more surprising element of the inquiry are the indi-
viduals who have been chosen to lead it. The Foreign Office con-
firmed that the inquiry would be led by the UKs ambassador to
Saudi Arabia, Sir John Jenkins, but did not explain how or why
that decision was reached. The ambassador to Saudi Arabia is an
interesting choice, given that Saudi was the country first in line to
support Al Sisi and his new regime and the first to designate the
group a terrorist entity outside of Egypt. The Saudi - Britain rela-
tionship has always been close, but it has been no secret that the
two countries have been getting much closer. As Louisa Loveluck
pointed out in the Daily Telegraph Last month, BAE systems, the
British defence firm, finalised a deal on the price of 72 Eurofighter
Typhoon jets it is selling to Saudi Arabia. It seems inevitable that
the British inquiry will be taking their cues from their colleagues
in Saudi - how independent an inquiry it can be when Saudi have
already made up their minds seems not to be a real question.
Its not just Sir John Jenkins who seems to be anomalous,
another key figure expected to play a role in the inquiry is Sir John
Sawers. Sir John Sawers the current head of MI6 was an ambas-
sador to Egypt between 2001 and 2003, during the era of Tony
Blairs close relationship with Hosni Mubarak. The former ambas-
sador had close links to the Mubarak regime and was a foreign
policy adviser to Tony Blair. Tony Blair has yet to give his thoughts
on the inquiry, yet it is undoubtable that he will hold back. Tony
Blair has always had close ties with autocratic regimes; the Sisi
regime is no different and he has already waded into Egyptian
affairs putting his weight firmly behind the coup regime. His lack
of support for democracy and the parties that are democratically
elected in the Middle East is well documented. Hence his support
for the anti- Muslim Brotherhood campaign is inevitable. What
influence, if any, Tony Blair will have on the inquiry is as yet
unknown.
Although this is the first inquiry into the MB in the UK, it has
clearly not emerged out of nowhere. Britains burgeoning relation-
ship with the Gulf has had an obvious influence on this and it is
likely that some of Camerons cabinet would fully support a ban
of the MB. With support for Al Sisi coming from a number of dis-
parate elements (from the Gulf through to Israel) it is unsurpris-
ing that those countries friends in the Cabinet would push the
Sisi agenda. This inquiry seems, therefore, to be part of the wider
Al Sisi strategy to dismantle the MB, not just in Egypt but wher-
ever they might be. Although sources have said it is possible but
unlikely that the Brotherhood will be banned in the UK, the tim-
ing of the announcement does indeed suggest that there has been
some pressure on the UK from outside sources...
With David Cameron pushing for the inquiry to be completed
by the summer, there will undoubtedly be further pressure on
those leading it to come to their conclusions as quickly possible.
What those conclusions will be are hard to foresee. It is hoped
that the inquiry will be an independent inquiry and will tackle the
issues fairly, without undue influence from outside sources. But
the nature of the inquiry itself is indeed a concern...
In turning their attention to the Muslim Brotherhood, the
British government are putting their weight firmly behind the
undemocratic coup regime of Al Sisi and his generals and ignor-
ing the democratic will of the Egyptian people that brought the
Muslim Brotherhood to power in the first place. Were they still a
party of government there would not be an inquiry into their activ-
ities, yet the coup has rearranged the chess board and left Britain
unsure of its own commitment to democracy. (Excerpted from mid-
dleeastmonitor.com)
CHARITY ALLIANCE, with the active support of MG and like-minded people, is helping the victims of starvation in Murshidabad since
April 2005. More tasks are being undertaken in some of the most deserving areas and most backward sections of our community. This
charitable trust is channelising this long-felt effort. Almost every paisa is reaching the deserving people as MG is providing office and
administrative facilities free of cost as well as free advertising space, and the trustees are barred by the trust deed from receiving any
remuneration for their work and time.
CHARITY ALLIANCE
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INTERNATIONAL The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 17 www.milligazette.com
RAKIBUL HASAN
Myanmars authoritative illegality continues in the garb of legal
procedures violating all UN standards regarding citizens rights.
United Nations said all Burmese should be allowed an option to
self-identify their ethnicity. But most recently, the country
declares it wont count Rohingya as Muslims but as Bengalis to
be registered first-ever in the Presidents Census since 1983.
Burmese border forces (NaSaKa) and soldiers (Lone Htain),
immigration officials and Rakhine Nationalities Development Party
(RNDP) perform as main actors in the controversial registration
process, checking personal details from house-to-house. NaSaKa
for several years is trying to continue a process of bengalising the
repressed Rohingya citizens. A four-page survey form includes
name details, age, village, occupation, education, marital status,
race and possessed documents in the first page. The second
page constitutes ancestral details, grandparents, and immigration
information. And then, criminal convictions or proceedings. The
final page holds space for only signature and fingerprint.
The 1982 citizenship law, enacted by the former dictator Gen
Ne Win, include 135 official ethnic groups but excludes the
Rohingyas. The law imposes restrictions on their travel, marriage
and even reproduction.
Dictatorial and semi-military authority wearing so-called
democratic uniform claims that its citizens, ethnic Rohingya
Muslims, are illegal immigrants intruding from neighboring
Bangladesh. Primarily Myanmar pursues two calculated goals.
Firstly Bengalizing this ethnic entity, and by doing so Burma would
certainly gain an upper hand to push Rohingyas into Bangladesh,
may be over several stages and years later. On the other hand, the
country would appease the growing Buddhist fundamentalism in
Rakhaine state in a sense that Myanmar has been able to segre-
gate the Rohingyas by identifying them as Bangladeshi immi-
grants abolishing their Rohingya status.
The sequel of current affairs unfurled in a different way.
Rakhine states Buddhist organizations boycotted the census sus-
pecting that the recognition can possibly persuade Rohingyas to
seek legal movements to establish their citizens rights.
Seemingly, possible Rohingya movement wont be able to grow
now in the authoritarian state which shows no interest in control-
ling ethnic riots against Rohingya minorities. Ethnic Rohingyas
too refused the census fearing that Bengali identity will be used
to deport them to Bangladesh and abolishing their Rohingya
identity. Another reason is that they dont have any option but to
use Bengali language because their old Rohingya language does
not exist anymore outside their homes. Its use is not allowed in
schools or other places. Through the census process, the ethnic
Rohingyas will loose control over their culture, identity and citi-
zenship rights.
United Nations views Rohingya, nearly 6 million (about 5% of
the country), as the world most persecuted minority living in a
country ruled for a half-century by the military. This ethnic group
is continuously experiencing torture, negligence, and repression
since the countrys independence in 1948. The country blatantly
fails to offer security to human rights workers. At present, human
rights workers have started deserting their offices as Buddhists
mobs attack them in Rakhine region. Rohingyas pass their horri-
ble days in apartheid-like conditions in crowded camps with no
access to jobs, education or even medical care.
In May, 2013 a brutal riot erupted causing hundreds of deaths
and countless casualties while the country was celebrating tran-
sition to democracy. About 73,000 Rohingya living in camps have
have now decreased to some 5,000 in camps surrounded by the
forces. The UN estimates approximately 140,000 Rohingya were
displaced in the aftermath of the 2013 riots. Majority of Rohingya
people for generations are denied citizenship under 1982 law ren-
dering them stateless. UNHCR says that more than 25,000
Rohingyas live in two official camps in Coxs Bazaar, Bangladesh.
From linguistic perspective, ethnic Rohingyas have a com-
pletely distinct identity. They are neither Bangladeshis (Bengalis)
nor Indian or tribals settled in the state. For example, Rohingyas
have their Rohingya script and speak with a distinct accent and
phonology which is not connected any way with any Bengali or
Bangladeshi dialect. If agreeing for the debate only, the Rohingya
language is little closer to the Chittagonian Language which is not
a Bengali dialect. Chittagonian language is a member of the
Bengali-Assamease sub-branch of the Eastern group of Indo-
Aryan languages, a branch of Indo-European languages family
which is spoken by the original inhabitants of the Rakhine state of
Myanmar. Originating from the Indo-Aryan sub-branch of the
greater Indo-European languages family, Rohingya language is
the modern written language of the ethnic Rohingyas. Rohingya
linguistic specialists have successfully selected various scripts
including Arabic, Hanifi, Urdu, Roman, and Burmese. Hanifi is
newly developed alphabets derived from Arabic and two charac-
teristics from Latin and Burmese. Latin letters (for retroflex R)
and (for nasal sound) are widely used to properly represent
Rohingya phonology. It represents five accented vowels ().
Significantly this distinct language has been acknowledged by ISO
with ISO 639-3 rhg code.
In 1650, Shah Alwal, the great poet of then Arakan Kingdom,
wrote Rohingya language for the first time in Arabic script. Later
in 1973, Master Sultan revived increasing its acceptability where
Rohingya scholars appreciated him to a great extent. The most
exclusive linguistic change happened in 2000 when Eng.
Mohammed Siddique Basu brainstormed and applied an intuitive
idea to write Rohingya language in 28 Latin letters only creating a
new system called Rohingyalish, recognized by ISO. A certain
number of Rohingyas, being illegally intruded into Bangladesh
from Myanmar are constantly crossing into West Bengal, Indian
Bengali speaking state. But, these illegal migrants neither speak
nor understand Hindi, Bengali or English. On the other hand,
Rohingyas also cant speak Urdu or any other Indian languages.
Myanmar authority has classified Rohingyas as illegal immi-
grants from Bangladesh and Bangladesh identifies them as
undocumented foreigners.
The history shows that the direct descendants of Arab set-
tlers started residing in Arakan (Rakhine) state during the 8th cen-
tury. After 24 years of exile in Bengal, King Narameikhla (1430-
1434) of the Kingdom of Mrauk U regained his lost throne in 1430
where Sultanate of Bengal collaborated with him providing him
military assistance. Then, some Bengali settlers under his
endorsement started settling there. Even after acquiring inde-
pendence, the Arakanese Buddhist kings continued Sultanate title.
The kings employed Muslims descendants in prestigious posi-
tions. From religious perspective, ethnic Rohingyas practice
Sunni Islam combined with Sufi ideology. A majority of elderly
Rohingyas have beards while women wear hijab. Basically,
madrasahs, religious schools, appeared in almost every village in
Rohingya areas. On the other hand, the Bengali Muslims practice
moderate Islam wearing Bengali costumes.
The present policy of abolishing an ethnicity may boomerang
on Myanmar. Because history proves no nation and identity can
be abolished like Hutu-Tutsi, Palestinians-Israelis or Bengalis-
Pakistanis. A growing complex situation regarding Rohingyas will
welcome different outside actors to intervene in the region.
Moreover, the deprived Rohingyas can choose the way of terror-
ism and separatism if persecution continues. If this happens,
modern world will hear the scream of the repressed Rohingyas,
pushed at the edge of persecution!
The writer is a Bangladeshi journalist associated with The Bangladesh
Today. He may be reachable at rakib_pacs@yahoo.com
Bengalization of ethnic Rohingya Muslims
Persecution of Muslim
Brotherhood is illegal and
undemocratic: Mushawarat
New Delhi: Persecution of Muslim Brotherhood (MB) leaders and
members in Egypt and some other Arab countries is illegal and
undemocratic, said the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, the
umbrella body of Indian Muslim organisations, in a statement
here on 28 March. The statement issued by the AIMMM President
Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan said that banning a mass organisation,
which only two years back won presidential, Parliament and
Shura Council elections in Egypt and whose draft constitution
was voted by a majority of the Egyptian voters, cannot be out-
lawed and banned as terrorist by the whims of a military dicta-
tor only to knock out a popular movement and to make space for
political forces which did extremely badly in the 2012 elections.
Dr Khan said there is no independently verifiable proof that
MB indulges in terrorism while it has set a world record by stag-
ing continuous popular demonstrations against the usurper mili-
tary government for the last nine months. People in large num-
bers keep flouting an illegal law which requires prior police per-
mission to stage a demonstration. Egyptian university and school
students are continuously demonstrating in various parts of
Egypt against the military coup for the last three weeks.
Dr Khan said the military government has killed some 8,000
and arrested around 22,000 Muslim Brotherhood leaders, work-
ers and supporters. A kangaroo court on 25 March sentenced
528 persons to death for the alleged killing of one police officer.
The court proceedings merely lasted half an hour over two days.
There are some more similar sentences in line in order to silence
the popular opposition and pave the way for the election as
President of the putschist general Al-Sisi who has set a world
record of army murdering own unarmed people in peace time.
Dr Khan added that the banning of MB in Egypt and some Gulf
countries aims at protecting the medieval dictatorships in these
countries which overlord their countrymen under American pro-
tection. They return this favour by allowing US government and
companies to plunder their resources and control their markets.
Dr Khan said MB is too large a popular force to be crushed
by the heavy boots of the generals. He said people who are try-
ing to crush MB are only playing with fire and will harm their
respective countries. Dr Khan appealed to all democracy-loving
nations and people to raise their voice against this historic injus-
tice.
United Nations views Rohingya, nearly 6 million
(about 5% of the country), as the world most per-
secuted minority living in a country ruled for a
half-century by the military. This ethnic group is
continuously experiencing torture, negligence, and
repression since the countrys independence in
1948. The country blatantly fails to offer security
to human rights workers. At present, human rights
workers have started deserting their offices as
Buddhists mobs attack them in Rakhine region.
KARAMATULLAH K. GHORI
k_k_ghori@yahoo.com
The bane of Pakistani polity, for
decades, has been the subversion of
political authority at the hands of sol-
diers of fortune who have lorded over
half of its history. It seems, however,
that the balance of power-which had
traditionally been weighted in favour of
the army-is close to equilibrium of a
kind not perceived before.
Ironically, this equilibrium is being restored because of the
last Bonaparte of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharrafs indict-
ment for treason and subversion of Pakistans constitution.
The special tribunal-comprising three judges chosen from
among the four provincial high courts of the country-to try
Musharraf for treason and subversion of the Pakistan constitu-
tion was formed in November, last year. However, from day one,
Musharraf and his team of some of Pakistans notorious
lawyers adopted the tactic of evasion of the court. The ploy was
to not let Musharraf come before the court; he couldnt be
indicted unless he physically appeared in the court.
And then, when Musharrafs defence team ran out of its
tricks to evade the court, their client ran for cover in the arms of
his former military colleagues. Since January 2, of this year, he
had been holed up in the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology
(AFIC) in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, next door to
Islamabad. The refrain of his defence team was that Musharraf
was suffering from cardiac problems and couldnt take the risk
of travelling a few miles to the court from his medical refuge.
Yet, they insisted that he be allowed to fly out to U.S.-a destina-
tion of choice-for medical treatment of his choosing.
The military doctors of AFIC only dutifully dittoed the
defence teams strategy. But the irony of ironies was that during
his three months of rest-and-recreation in the highly-rated AFIC
Musharraf was not given any treatment for his heart problems.
The combined effort of his defence team and corroborating
medical staff of the military facility was focused on getting him
out of Pakistan, ASAP.
The Special Court charged to try Musharraf put up with all
this foot-dragging of Musharraf with remarkable aplomb but
finally ran out of patience. Enough was enough, and the court
issued his non-bail-able warrants in the middle of March
decreeing his arrest if he still persisted in avoiding his presence
in the court. Run out of options, Musharraf willy-nilly made his
long-delayed physical appearance before the court on March
31 and was promptly indicted for flouting the constitution, in
November 2007, when he not only suspended the constitution
but also disbanded the countrys top judiciary and put its hon-
ourable judges under house arrest, along with their families.
Musharrafs indictment for treason and subversion of the con-
stitution under its Article 6, is, verily, a first in the tortuous his-
tory of Pakistan on more accounts than one.
Its the first time that Article 6 of the constitution-with death
as maximum penalty-has been invoked to try a former head of
state in Pakistan.
But more earth-shattering and history-making, in the
Pakistani context, is the fact that that ex-head of state happens
to be a former chief of army staff which, in Pakistan, has been
traditionally equated at par with the highest keeper of political
power in the country. It has been a popular concept in Pakistan
that the military command was the bastion of real power and
authority and that the military chief was a being that was sup-
posedly above the law and, virtually, untouchable.
Musharrafs indictment for treason trashes this myth. The
message that it conveys, loud and clear, is that the people of
Pakistan are no longer prepared to pawn their collective wisdom
and intelligence to the whims of a soldier of fortune and give
him a free hand to do with the law of the land whatever fancies
his whims. What this game-changing development basically
and fundamentally boils down to is that Pakistan has now trav-
elled to the point where the nation is ready to face squarely the
question it has long been evading-or forced to. The question is,
whats supreme in the land, the writ of its law or the whims of
a military dictator?
The journey that Pakistan has traversed to this point hasnt
been easy at all. It went through many ups and downs. What
suffered most was the concept of civilian upper hand in the gov-
ernance of the country, something taken for granted in any
mature democracy. The Pakistanis never had to look far in
search of a credible answer to the question. Next door India was
a perfect example of a country where the writ of civilian author-
ity over that of military was fully operational. Even the most die-
hard of critics of India in Pakistan couldnt contemplate, ever,
that a military chief-or any other soldier of fortune-could sub-
vert its democratic order and topple a popularly elected govern-
ment-something that routinely and periodically happened in
Pakistan.
Ironically, the passage to the supremacy of the law in
Pakistan was hastened by Musharraf himself when he-at the
peak of his arrogance-promulgated an Emergency in the coun-
try, on November 3, 2007, and not only put the constitution on
hold but out of sheer spite for the Supreme Court of Pakistan
sent all its judges packing. He heaped insult over injury by den-
igrating the courts exalted judges to the point where the chief
justice was dragged on the streets of Islamabad by his hair and
incarcerated in his house along with his wife and children.
The ensuing peoples backlash against his hectoring was
led and galvanised by the lawyers of Pakistan who took it upon
themselves to assert the independence of the judiciary, vis--
vis the hubris of a military dictator who regarded himself above
the law of the land and deemed it nothing extra-ordinary or out-
rageous to trash the highest law of the land. That popular move-
ment was given an immense boost by Pakistans increasingly
assertive and vocal news media. The road to Musharrafs polit-
ical demise was paved by a concerted backlash. His mindless
minions thought he had dug his own grave.
Musharrafs indictment raises two questions of primordial
significance in the context of Pakistan. The first is where the
power of the state resides in Pakistan: does the buck stop at the
desk of the elected prime minister or at the threshold of the mil-
itary which has so often and so annoyingly subverted political
authority to grab power for itself. The second question, organic
to it, is whether Pakistan is going to be governed under the writ
of one law, applied to all without distinction or discrimination, or
will there be two sets of law: one for the powerless and the other
for the powerful and the privileged.
The vicissitudes that Musharrafs trial has gone through in
the past 5 months in Pakistan have telescoped this debate to a
point where the nation expects clear and categorical answers
now that the Quixotic commando has finally been indicted for
flouting the writ of the law of Pakistan.
When Musharraf dashed for the safety net of the military
establishment, last January 2, and sheltered himself in the lap
of a military clinic where he was provided sanctuary apparently
with open arms, he was known to be appealing to his former
bastion in the army to save him from the reach of the law of
Pakistan. The medical reports that periodically kept coming out
of AFIC were specifically tailored to suit his convenience. Every
time that the Special Court trying him asked him to make an
appearance so he may be charged and indicted, came forth a
report that he was too ill to come to the court. And yet the
reports kept harping on the theme that he be allowed to fly out
to a destination of his choice for expert medical treatment.
It was ironic that the armys prime medical institute was,
inadvertently, admitting its own lack of facility to treat a minor
heart condition of their former chief-a risible thing , come to
think of it. It was obvious that rogue elements within the military
command were in collusion with Musharraf and his lawyers and
their services were available to him whenever needed.
Pakistans notorious spy agency, ISI, was into the game; it
came up with tailor-made reports, specific to Musharrafs
requirements, regarding alleged terrorist threats to his life.
However, the top military brass of GHQ was apparently not
in cahoots with these rogue shenanigans of some agencies of
the army. There was evidence to this effect that the military
command looked at Musharrafs defence antics with suspicion
and found them embarrassing. Musharraf was responsible for
lowering the armys once-vaulted public image at the height of
the dictators desperate attempts to hang on to power through
subterfuge and subversion of the law. Musharraf, in exile,
brought further shame to the army when he formed his own
political party, the so-called All Pakistan Muslim League, which
never took off among the people and remained a largely draw-
ing-room outfit of a handful of Musharraf cronies and syco-
phants.
The bottom line in this sordid episode was that Musharraf
was seen, increasingly, by his former colleagues as an embar-
rassment and a liability. Moreover, it wasnt lost on the brass
that Pakistan had moved on to a different plateau in national
awareness from the days when Musharraf had first seized
power in October 1999. On top of it, a pro-active judiciary under
the inspiring leadership of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry-who
retired last November-had left no doubt in the military and other
minds that the days when military subversion of political author-
ity were promptly given the cachet of legal approbation were
gone for good. The elbow room for military takeovers in
Pakistan had virtually exhausted itself.
Musharrafs return to his farm-house outside Islamabad-
after three months of isolation in the lap of military medical
care-is powerful evidence that his option to use that refuge as
take-off point, out of Pakistan and beyond the reach of its law,
hasnt worked. But bad habits die hard. So, Musharraf and his
cabal of notorious and unprincipled lawyers are still tilting at all
possible windmills to seek an exit out of Pakistan for him.
Their latest card of convenience-which is being bandied
about with a lot of help from some obliging denizens of a free-
for-all- news media of Pakistan-has a humanitarian hue about it.
Musharrafs ailing, 95 year-old mother is the ace up the sleeves
of the Musharraf cabal to force the hand of Nawaz government
to bail him out of the corner where the ex-commando has been
painted. His name is on Pakistans exit-control list. So he cant
leave the country unless his name disappears on that list, which
is a hard nut to crack at the moment.
Since his indictment for treason against Pakistan-under
Article 6 of its constitution-Musharrafs clique of supporters
has been baying and bewailing that he be allowed to leave
Pakistan for Dubai to be with his mother aid to be on her death
bed. Surprisingly, his other brother in U.S. and his son, also in
America, havent rushed to be with her in Dubai, which puts a
question mark on why Musharrafs presence by her bed-side is
alone needed?
The plea for Musharrafs exit from Pakistan on humanitari-
an grounds prompts the question whether humanitarian issue
should be given precedence over the far more important issue
of the writ of the lands law and its application to all of its citi-
zens. Musharraf is accused of having subverted the Pakistan
Constitution and trashing its dignity. Shouldnt he be tried for
such a capital crime? Or should an ailing mother be placed on
a higher pedestal than the highest law of Pakistan? It may also
do good to jog the memory of Musharraf aficionados to the day
when the boot was on the other foot; Nawaz Sharif, banished to
Saudi Arabia by Musharraf, wasnt allowed to return to Pakistan
even for the funeral of his father, Mian Mohammad Sharif.
Musharrafs impending trial-now that the primary threshold of
his indictment has been crossed-is going to engage the atten-
tion of everyone in Pakistan concerned on deciding, once and
for all, the question that this nation of 190 million, has been
evading for long. The time for getting a final answer to the ques-
tion, who rules Pakistan and under what law, is at the centre of
the unfolding trial of the century, as far as the Pakistanis are
concerned. They would need the good wishes of all their well-
wishers and friends.
But those who wish to see Pakistan coming out from under
the long shadows of cyclic military rule will have all their
prayers and support for an outcome that will bury the ghost of
military dictatorship in the country for good. Pakistan has paid
a colossal price for the appetite of power of its Bonapartes. It
has only emaciated the nation and left it with a plethora of prob-
lems and maladies for which it can seek cure only if the spec-
tre of military adventurism revisiting periodically is smothered
and vanquished for good.
The Battle for Civilian Supremacy is on in Pakistan
18 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 INTERNATIONAL www.milligazette.com
Musharrafs indictment raises two questions of primordial significance in the context
of Pakistan. The first is where the power of the state resides in Pakistan: does the buck
stop at the desk of the elected prime minister or at the threshold of the military which
has so often and so annoyingly subverted political authority to grab power for itself.
The second question, organic to it, is whether Pakistan is going to be governed under
the writ of one law, applied to all without distinction or discrimination, or will there be
two sets of law: one for the powerless and the other for the powerful and the privileged.
Al Jazeera Journalists
Remain In Jail Despite Lack
Of Evidence In Court
Doha - 10, April: The three Al Jazeera English channel journalists
will remain behind bars until the next hearing on April 22nd despite
the lack of evidence shown in court in Cairo. The fifth hearing in
the trial was halted after the prosecution screened video which it
says supports its case against the Al Jazeera team. But the reports
showed Peter Greste reporting in Kenya and extracts of his award-
winning BBC documentary on Somalia. The court also saw a
report from Sky News Arabia on tourism in Luxor. Defense lawyers
argued none of the video had any connection to the case and
called for the journalists to be released. However, the judge
refused to drop the charges and announced the next hearing would
be on April 22nd. Al Anstey, managing director of Al Jazeera
English, said: Every time the case comes back to court, the world
sees just how absurd the allegations against our team really are.
Mohammed, Baher, and Peter are first class journalists. They were
just doing their job covering and challenging all sides of the story
in Egypt. They should be released immediately. Over 45,000 peo-
ple have been actively involved in the worldwide campaign for the
release of our three, and Al Jazeera Arabics Abdullah El Shamy,
which has resulted in over one billion impressions on social
media.
Al Jazeera has also had the support of media organisations
worldwide including the BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, Sky New, Channel
Seven and ABC in Australia, Reuters, and the Associated Press,
among many other broadcasters and news outlets in all corners of
the globe. Media freedom groups including the Committee to
Protect Journalists, the International Press Institute, and the
International News Safety Group have shown solidarity in calling
for the release of Al Jazeeras staff. Al Jazeera has also had state-
ments of support from the UN, the White House, the British Foreign
Office, and the European Union.Al Jazeera is also deeply con-
cerned about the health of Abdullah Elshamy who has been on
hunger strike for 80 days. Abdullah is a reporter for Al Jazeera
Arabic, and has without charge since 14th August 2013, while
Baher Mohamed, Mohammed Fahmy, and Peter Greste have been
detained since 29th December 2013.
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20 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES www.milligazette.com
MUSTAFA DAVIS
Today, while out with my family at the Ashby Flea Market in Berkeley
California, I ran into a man who changed the entire course of my life fif-
teen years ago. And he did it with a smile and one simple question. I
have no doubt in my mind that had I not met this man on that cold day
in February, I would either be dead or in prison.
Fifteen years ago while on my way to a college class, I ran into a
familiar looking guy who pointed at my shirt and said good looking out
and stood up and shook my hand. I was sporting dread locks, wearing
a Haile Selassie shirt, baggy jeans, suede Pumas, sunglasses and a
Sessions snowboarder jacket. I was the quintessential hard to label
California Bay Area pseudo hip hop hippie skater.
Happy because of my rasta shirt the guy said to me Hey I think I
know you dude, we met at such and such a place. My name is Whitney
Canon (who we now know as Usama Canon).
I answered in the affirmative and we struck up a conversation and
realized we had several mutual friends. This chance meeting would
prove to be one of two of the most important random occurrences in
my life. Strangely, it ended up that we had the same Spanish class
together and ended up sitting next to one another. Over the course of
a few days we learned that we were both musicians / artists. Usama
had the code to the piano room in the music hall so wed sneak into the
room and sit and play music for hours and talk about spirituality. We did
this just about every day for an entire semester.
One day while eating sushi at a popular Japanese restaurant near
campus, I confided in Usama and told him I was burnt out and tired of
my life and that I had decided to get things back on track. I was living
by myself in downtown San Jose, working nights waiting tables and
going to school during the day. There were many things about my
lifestyle (that I wont go into detail about here) that were preventing me
from success. I also had the burden of past demons that would sneak
up to torment me from time to time. So, the only real solution I knew of
to deal with problems of this magnitude was to get religious and go
back to church.
I told Usama that I was considering going back to the Catholicism
to get my life in order. He asked me if Id ever thought about Islam. I
told him that I hadnt thought of it for myself because I felt it was either
an Arab religion or a separatist black movement (which I couldnt join
because my mother is white) and that I felt the only Muslims I had ever
met were hypocrites and that Id never seen a good practicing Muslim.
He told me about his older brother (Anas Canon) converting to
orthodox Islam after a short time in the Nation Of Islam and that this
faith wasnt just for Arabs but that from what he knew it was a pretty
universal religion. (Usama wasnt Muslim yet when he was telling me
this). He asked me if I knew about Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) and I told him that I just knew of Elijah Muhammad but that
even Malcolm X said he wasnt a real prophet. He then explained to me
that there was a different man named Muhammad that was a real
Prophet from Arabia and that I should look into him. At this point I start-
ed to get turned off as I usually did whenever anybody spoke to me
overtly about religion. Plus once he said Arab Prophet, I knew that
Islam wasnt for me. We ended the conversation and I headed to work.
This was a Wednesday.
That night after work I went to the bookstore to buy a Bible and I
walked past the Eastern Philosophy section and looked up and saw
a green book that had the name Muhammad written down the entire
spine in gold letters. I stopped and thought for a moment and then
reached up and grabbed the book. The cover said Muhammad - His
Life Based On The Earliest Sources by Martin Lings. This phrase ear-
liest sources intrigued me because although I was there to purchase
a bible, I was aware of the theological debate about the number of mis-
takes found in the Bible and it was something that troubled me great-
ly. So, I opened up the book and tried to read it but the Arabic names
were really difficult for me to pronounce and so I was struggling to get
through even a couple of sentences. The four or five sentences I did
read mentioned the Quran several times. The Arabic names solidi-
fied the reality that this was an Arab religion and not something I would
want to be a part of so I put the book back up on the shelf.
As I began to walk away the gold letters Muhammad caught my
eye again and looked back up at the book. This time, I noticed anoth-
er book titled The Quran. I was going to keep walking but I remem-
bered that I saw that word a few times in the Martin Lings book so I
reached up and pulled it off the shelf. I opened it to a random page
which just happened to be the very first page of Chapter Maryam. I
read it from beginning to end and remember getting chills in my body
as it explained in great detail the miraculous birth of Prophet Jesus
(peace be upon him). I had no idea that Muslims also believed in the
miraculous birth of Jesus nor that they did not believe He was Gods
son. As a Christian it never made sense to me that God would have a
son.
Without understanding why, I found myself weeping in the book-
store holding onto a copy of a translation of the Quran. I decided to
buy it so I could read more about what Muslims believed. In my emo-
tional state I completely forgot to buy a bible and left the bookstore.
The next morning (Thursday) I went to school and on my way to
class I passed by a stall where a Senegalese man was selling some
crafts, wallets, and african dolls. He was busy with a customer when I
walked up so I just picked up a wallet and was looking at it. The cus-
tomer left and the man turned to me and smiled. His smile was some-
thing I had never experienced before. The only way I describe it is that
it was filled with light and love. I remember exactly the words he spoke
to me. I remember them because these words would change my life.
He said. Hello brother, how are you? I said, Im fine, thanks. Then
he looked at me very closely while smiling at me and asked. Brother,
are you a Muslim? you look like a Muslim. I was shocked at his
question and assumption because nobody had every made that
assumption before ever and I had just bought a Quran and read some
of it the previous night. Before that I didnt know anything about ortho-
dox Islam at all. I told him I wasnt a Muslim but that I bought a Quran
last night and read some of it. Then, the man smiled very big, came
from around his stall and gave me a hug and kept saying over and over
Oh my brother, this is so beautiful. This is so great brother. Im so
happy for you my brother. This is a good sign from Allah brother. You
have made me very happy brother. I had never met anybody so gen-
uine and was so shocked that he was calling me brother, smiling at me,
hugging me and saying he was so happy for me. His name was
Khadim.
Khadim walked back around his stall and then asked me if I could
do him a big favour. I told him I could. He told me that as a Muslim he
has to pray five times a day at specific times and that one of the times
had come and so he needed to go wash for prayer. He asked me if I
could stay with his stall and watch his things as he went to pray. I told
him I would and he showed me the cash box and asked if I could sell
the items while he was away so he wouldnt miss a sale. He gave me
the prices and walked off.
I sat there for 30 minutes waiting for this man. You cannot imagine
the thoughts that ran through my mind. I was thinking who is this guy?
He left me with this cash. I could just take it and leave and hed never
catch me. Then I started thinking about why he wasnt worried about
his money. What is it that was so important that he left his money to a
stranger? I thought about the prayer he mentioned and how important
it must be if he left his worldly possessions behind. I remember think-
ing at that moment that I wanted something that was that important to
me that it would make me forget my problems.
He came back 30 minutes later and his face was full of light. He
hugged me again and kept saying thank you brother, thank you so
much. I was blown away. I missed two classes just so I could stay with
this man. I was afraid if I left him, that I would never find the peace and
happiness that he carried with him.
A Pakistani student walked up and greeted him with Salams and
then turned to me and asked are you a Muslim? I said, No, Im not,
you are the second person to ask me that today. What made you ask
me that? He said, I dont know, you look like a Muslim. I was blown
away again. I told him I was reading a Quran and he was also very
happy and asked me if I had ever been to a mosque before. I told him
that I hadnt and he asked me if I would like to go see one tomorrow. I
told him yes (as I was now far too curious to let this go) and we
exchanged numbers.
The next afternoon (Friday) he came and picked me up and we
went to his house. His mother had prepared lunch for us and we sat on
the floor and ate. I had never sat on the floor to eat in a house before
but it didnt feel strange to me at all. After the meal we drove to the
mosque in Santa Clara, California.
When we walked into the mosque there were about 40 men stand-
ing in a row waiting to greet me all of them smiling at me and shak-
ing my hand as I walked down the line. They motioned for me to sit and
they gathered around me kept asking me how I was doing. One man
asked me if I knew anything about Islam so I proceeded to tell him how
I bought the Quran and had read some of it, etc. Then he asked me if
I believed in the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and without
hesitation I said YES. He asked if I believed that Jesus was God or son
of God and I told him NO, that I believed he was a prophet. He then
explained to me about angels, the different scriptures sent down, the
day of judgment, the divine decree, etc. After he explained all this to me
he asked if I believed in all that he said and I told him YES. He said,
this is what a Muslim believes so you believe the same thing. Would
you then like to become a Muslim? I answered YES without hesitation.
He helped me struggle through pronouncing the Shahada and I
became a Muslim on that 17th day (Battle of Badr) of Ramadan in 1416
H / 1996.
I first heard about orthodox Islam on a Wednesday afternoon,
bought a Quran Wednesday night, met Khadim (the Senegalese man)
on Thursday who showed me the true essence of Islam by his actions
and character, went to the mosque on Friday and became a Muslim.
Six months after I converted, Usama Canon called me and asked
me to tell him about Islam. We went to dinner and talked about the reli-
gion. The next day I took him to the mosque and he took his Shahada
and officially became a Muslim. He was the person who first told me
about Islam and then I had the honour of bringing him to the mosque
so that he could become Muslim.
It was not theology or religious debate that brought me to Islam. It
was music, culture, a friend I trusted, and a stranger who smiled at me.
Ironically, it was Arab culture that first prevented me from seeking to
know about Islam. Then, after I converted I spent a decade trying to
leave behind my own culture (the very culture that led me to Islam) and
attempted to adopt Arab culture as my own. It wasnt until many years
later that I was able to return to my roots as an American and reconcile
that with being Muslim in a way that is a natural reflection of my own
culture and symbiotic with my faith as a Muslim. (muslimvillage.com)
Five words that changed my life
It was not theology or
religious debate that
brought me to Islam.
It was music, culture,
a friend I trusted, and
a stranger who
smiled at me.
Ironically, it was
Arab culture that first
prevented me from
seeking to know
about Islam. The author with Khadim (right)
BOOKS The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 21 www.milligazette.com
Book: INDIA: Political Villainy, UPAs Fall, AAPs Surge
Author: P. Radhakrishnan
Publisher: Y S Books International, New Delhi
ysbooks.international@gmail.com,
Year: 2014
Pages: 202
Price: Rs. 495
ISBN-13: 9789383793150
India has entered the new millennium without the aura of the
much-touted millennium. Indian democracy is shallower and hol-
lower now than a decade ago. If India has to develop into a full-
blown democracy, instead of merely gloating over sustaining
democracy as its greatest achievement, India ought to strengthen
its democratic structures and institutions and work overtime to
offer, among other things, clean, efficient, secular, transparent and
corruption-free governance; rapid expansion of civil space for
rapid secularisation and democratisation of state and society with
secular public institutions mediating between both; equip and
energise the judiciary for expeditious justice delivery, especially
for the masses who cannot afford to spend and cannot afford to
wait; and protect and uplift the weaker sections from poverty, illit-
eracy, unemployment, and social oppression.
As the nation has been caught between the two evils,
Congress and the BJP, making the hapless masses forlorn, team-
Annas anti-corruption surge, launching of the Aam Aadmi Party
led by Arvind Kejriwal who played a major role in team-Anna, and
the AAPs stunning performance in the Delhi Assembly elections
held last December, all happened in quick succession. The AAP
model politics tried out in Delhi, and soon to be tried out in
Parliament will decide the nature of the future of Indian democra-
cy. There is much to be said in favour of and expected from the
AAPs alternative politics. For this, understanding the perception
of reality is as important as understanding the elusive reality itself.
That is best done by identifying the fault lines in governance, the
perfidies of the governors, and the pitfalls of the governed,
through critiquing the system, seeing it through the common
mans looking glass.
The author, P. Radhakrishnan, was a professor of sociology at
the Madras Institute of Development Studies. His research experi-
ence spans more than three decades. His publications include
Religion, Caste and State, The Perfidies of Power: India in the New
Millennium, Peasant Struggles, Land Reforms, and Social
Change: Malabar 1836-1982, and Progress Towards Education
for All: The Case of Tamil Nadu (with R. Akila). He has to his cred-
it several other publications, which include articles in edited books
and leading journals, research notes, working papers, and
reviews. In the opening paragraph of one of the essays in this
book, the author says that the anti-corruption movement led by
Anna Hazare is the best thing to happen to India since its inde-
pendence in 1947. He goes on to say that the surge in Delhi of the
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launched by the Arvind Kejriwal team
barely a year ago, doing virtually the impossible in the Assembly
polls and the unthinkable thence is the best of the best things to
happen to India since its independence.
Aam Aadmi Partys arrival: With a band of dedicated persons,
mostly young, thrown up by the Anna Hazare movement, in which
Kejriwal played a major role; with no funds, experience, and mus-
cle power, through hard, sincere, well-thought-out and well-coor-
dinated work, the AAP has shown the possibility of extricating the
nation from the morass into which successive governments have
pushed it, with Kejriwal proving to be a historic game changer or
change maker. Since the Anna Hazare movement politicians,
Delhis bumbledom and crony capitalists across the country have
been a worried lot because of the fear of Kejriwal exposing their
corruption, money-laundering, and other crimes.
It is impossible to take on the might of a byzantine state which
has surrendered national interests to crony capitalism, and is per-
vasive in corruption, undemocratic, unscrupulous, disdainful and
insensate to constitutional morality and people-centric gover-
nance, and frighteningly turning more and more autocratic and
fascist with every passing day. It is in this calamitous context the
work of Arvind Kejriwal and team has to be understood. It is idio-
cy to dismiss it as expression of political ambition. Even if it is
political ambition instead of speculating it may become power
hungry it ought to be encouraged; for India is badly in need of
young, well-informed, upright, upfront and no-nonsense politi-
cians committed to cleansing its political Augean stables.
The youthful AAP and the young: Though half of Indias popula-
tion is young and by 2020 India is set to become the worlds
youngest country, as The Economist of June 15, 2013 reported,
yet it is the young who should really moan: about the elderly who
clog Indian politics, and a stultifying culture of deference to the
old. Manmohan Singh, at 80, is one of the worlds oldest leaders
and his cabinet creaks with pensioners. Pranab Mukherjee, the
president, is 77.
As sections of the media reported, the AAP Cabinet was not
just the youngest ever The AAP has begun to create the much-
needed political space for the youth across the country, beginning
with Delhi. The significance of this can be understood only if we
bear in mind that, going by estimates reported in the press, of
Indias 833 million voters in 2014 about 47 per cent are in the age
group of 18-35 years. So any political party that can capture the
imagination of the voters in this group will have an edge in elec-
tions. And there is none other than the AAP to do so.
That apart, as politically important and meaningful gestures
can do a lot to strengthen democracy and youth power, with aus-
terity as watchword, demonstrating the ordinariness of the Aam
Aadmi Party (literally, the commoners party) as a first step to put
an end to Delhis VIP culture the Kejriwal team taking Delhi
Metro to reach the Ramlila Maidan on December 28, 2013...with-
out any fanfare and VIPs, in the heart of the capital that was
thronged by over a lakh of people hoping to see a new alternative
political system, with Kejriwals impassioned speech after the
swearing-in in which he spelt out the rules by which he would
govern Delhi, promising an end to corruption. Capping his speech
with a Manna Dey song (from an old Bollywood film Paigham):
Insaan se insaan ka ho bhaichara, yehi hai paigam hamara (peo-
ple should have brotherly relations, this is our message), sang to
loud cheers, Kejriwal struck an instant chord with the masses,
especially the youth.
In keeping with the AAPs promise to end Delhis VIP culture
as a second step, Kejriwal declined the offer of official bungalows
to the AAP ministers, official security, lal battis (red beacons) that
signal VIPs cars and confer right of way, and escort vehicles, to
ministers and officials.
The AAPs contribution in too short a time is too big even to
imagine. That is, the new political space and the new political cul-
ture it tried to create devoid of the VIP syndrome, with aam aadmi
or common man or commoner at the centre of governance. Delhi
Secretariat was thrown open to public on the AAPs maiden day
in power - an unprecedented act. Within a few days, the AAP
began delivering on its big ticket promises on which it had wrest-
ed power from the Grand Old Party of India - the Congress - which
has ruled the country for over five decades.
Contrary to the expectations of its critics and political oppo-
nents, who had termed its promises impractical, the AAP deliv-
ered on cheap water and power. The government worked on
weekends, giving a tough but exciting time to journalists who were
never short of stories. Even a single line statement by the Chief
Minister was a story for journalists. It seemed like a carnival.
Obviously by his stormy exit from as by his stormy entry to
power in Delhi Kejriwal cast a long shadow on which the hide-
bound and opportunistic would fear to tread. That explains the
criticism by sections of the media, politicians and some individu-
als of Kejriwal going by Delhi Metro for the swearing-in; swearing-
in at Ramlila Maidan; Kejriwal as Chief Minister of Delhi leading a
group of some 150 cadre from his AAP on January 20, to launch
an unprecedented protest outside Parliament House, demanding
executive control of the Delhi Police and transfer of the police per-
sonnel who defied his governments orders; filing FIRs against
Mukhesh Ambani and cabinet ministers for flouting the contract,
increasing the gas purchase price and hence causing loss to
exchequer; Kejriwals resignation when the Jan Lokpal Bill was
stalled in the assembly by the Congress-BJP combine; and so on.
It is not that the Kejriwal team was in perfect harmony in run-
ning the Delhi government, for which the Centre has to be square-
ly blamed as the Delhi assembly is still an appendage of the
Centre. As beginners in the theatre of the absurd, the team might
have had introspection, and having realised when and where they
were blunderbuss they are expected to be better politicians in the
making.
By resigning, Arvind Kejriwal had clearly made Corruption,
Clean governance and Crony capitalism (three Cs) as the main
issues for the 2014 parliamentary elections. It will clearly resonate
well with larger sections of the electorate who are honest.
End of the road for UPA and Congress: Indian democracy has
over time shown a resilience that has been marvelled at the world
over. Yet, 67 years after its birth, the worlds largest democracy is
faced with a crisis of faith too scarily large to be ignored. As the
15th Lok Sabha comes to an ignominious end, it is no longer pos-
sible to put off the question: are we a democracy only in name?
Without a proactive course correction, Indias robust record in
conducting elections could end up being just that - a ritualistic,
five-yearly obeisance to democracy that hides the appalling state
of the countrys institutions, in particular Parliament which today
resembles a wrestling arena....
By the time the 15th Lok Sabha completed its last day, the
UPA government had virtually surrendered the nations sovereign-
ty to the US through its instrumentalities like the World Bank (as
evident from the essay The World Bank as Imperialist
Instrument), and crony capitalists; and continued with its venali-
ty by playing its age-old caste, communal, and other cards of
political opportunism, such as the surreptitious illegal hanging of
Afzal Guru; putting its weight behind caste quota by its announce-
ment on January 30 of approval to the amendment of the Central
list of Other Backwards Classes to ensure reservation benefits to
around 60 more castes/communities; UPA President Sonia
Gandhis reiteration on February 5 that the caste quota, intro-
duced and strengthened by her party, would continue to be
championed by it; UPAs decision on March 2, to give reserva-
tion to Jats in nine northern states; and Parliaments last minute
passing of the AP Reorganisation Bill for the creation of the
Telangana state, all apparently with an eye on the 16th Lok Sabha
elections.
AAPs alternative politics: Going by the trends the AAP leaders
have reason for optimism that the party could contest 330 seats
or more in the general election if they get the right candidates. As
in the case of the Delhi election donations have been pouring in for
the general election also; and in the election the AAP may turn out
to be not only a giant killer, but more importantly, a giant game-
changer - as it has stunningly done in Delhi as a debutant; for it
has a clear vision, clarity of thought, great ingenuity, uncanny abil-
ity to mobilize the masses, especially the commoners, and the
techno-savvy youth solidly on its side. Its straight and sincere
message to the electorate across the country of the importance of
returning to power a clean, corruption-free, people-centric and
youthful party is bound to make AAP the rallying point for the elec-
torate, especially the youth. A new kind of political churning to that
effect is already taking place. Even if the AAP does not make it to
the seat of power at the Centre as a strong and well-meaning
opposition it would ensure genuine secular democratic gover-
nance at the Centre.
As Fali Nariman would have it, power has overtaken ability; we
have fallen on evil days; there is a crisis of competence, along
with a conspicuous lack of integrity, in almost all fields of activity
- more markedly in the political; and the entire country is sub-
merged in a tidal wave of corruption; the public is fed up with
politicians as a class.
Political Villainy, UPAs Fall, AAPs Surge
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It is impossible
to take on the might
of a byzantine state
which has
s u r r e n d e r e d
national interests to
crony capitalism,
and is pervasive in
c o r r u p t i o n ,
undemocr at i c,
uns c r upul o us ,
disdainful and
insensate to
c o n s t i t u t i o n a l
morality and
peopl e- cent r i c
governance, and
frighteningly turning
more and more autocratic and fascist with every passing
day. It is in this calamitous context the work of Arvind
Kejriwal and team has to be understood. It is idiocy to
dismiss it as expression of political ambition.
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Why Modi Is Projected by Bhagwa Grouping
Modi is projected in the name of vikas purush although he is a vinash
purush by the Bhagwa extremists because they are united on one point
that only Modi is capable of repeating Gujrat Genocide experiment on all
India basis and then claim whole country as RIOT FREE. The Product Modi
is being projected taller than the Brand BJP. Although it may be late but still
there is a time that all secularists specially Muslims should made tactical
voting to defeat Modi candidate with AAP as first option , Congress as sec-
ond followed by others depending on local conditions. Modi can not keep
the country united but shall destroy the country. Till now he governed only
one state but governing the country is different. Muslim is a divided house
and is not serious to analyse the danger of Modi occupying PM chair.
VOTE FOR AAP or Congress if AAP candidate is very very weak.
Prof. Shamim Ahmad, AMU profshamim@gmail.com
Demonizing Indian Muslims
The main goal of chauvinistic Hindu communal organizations that is R. S.
S, Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Shiv Sena, Ram Sena, Abhinav
Bharat Sansthan, Sanatan Sansthan and BJP- the standard bearer of
Hindutav is to demonize Indian Muslim community by lumping all Muslims
as terrorists and equating them with violence prone Muslims lunatic fridge
with all Indian Muslims They are thus creating among non-Muslims whol-
ly irrational and entirely baseless fear from Muslims and consequently
hostility towards all Muslims. It is most unfortunate that a large section of
the press and most of the TVs offer platform to Muslim haters who spread
malicious canards and lies against Muslims. Several activists of Abhinav
Bharta Sansthan and Sanatan have been arrested for bomb blasts and
other terrorist activities yet only Muslims are called as terrorists. This is
rising concern across the country on the large number of arrests and
harassment of Muslim youths by security forces. They are punched up,
taken into custody and are subjected to inhuman third degree tortures and
eventually thrown into jails and awaiting trial for years. This amounts to
state terror. On this account Muslim community no longer feels safe.
Dr. M. Hashim Kidwai, ex-MP, New Delhi - 91
Jihad against dowry - Ulama must start
Muslim society of India is badly infected with the desease of dowry. Our
country brothers have dharmic sanskar of "kanya-daan" and Hindustani
sanskirti has modified and made it costly. This is very vital reason for
female foeticide which is opted in every part of India. Islam strictly banned
dowry; instead Muslim boy has to pay "Dain-Mehar" to the girl for mar-
riage. The girl would keep this Mahar amount for use in future as she wish-
es. But Muslim society is also bitten by the dowry virus and Muslim girls
are reeling under dowry demands. Here and there some news appears that
Ulama are ready to ashun such nikahs in which dowry is demanded.
Ulama have to take this issue as Jihad because dowry virus has badly
bruised Muslim society of India. S. Haque, Patna
Et tu, Akbar?
Like the rats in the tale of the Piper several have deserted the sinking ship
of Congress and have joined the BJP bandwagon. The list is still unending
What perplexes is the "policy" statement of MJ Akbar. Under what policy
he has sought the BJP favours is best known to him - may be a governor's
or ambassador's or a chairman's post where he shall be accommodated.
He has sent "legitimacy" to 2002 clean chit showing his intellectual / eth-
ical bankruptcy. A. G. Khan, Ujjain
II
A Tiniest Pen Is Much Mightier Than A Mighty Sword Mr. M. J. Akbar's
joining the BJP on the eve of the Parliamentary Elections bears eloquent
testimony to the fact that he is an A-1 opportunist. The Urdu adage "na
khuda hee milla na wisaal-e-sanam; na idhar kay rahay na udhar kay
rahay" is apt in his case.
S. M. Pasha, Convener, Forum Of Muslim Journalists, Chennai 600003
valimuhammad777@gmail.com
Lalu's stand commendable
May Yadav Lalu's lantern shine
Whose leadership appears fine
Who does not shed a crocodile's tear
Even Advani had felt his fear
May Lalu Yadav's tribe increase
May all communalist combines freeze.
S. Akhtar, Khanpur Deh - 392150
Say No To Bottled Water
Do you have a habit of buying and drinking fanciful Bottled Water? Please
read how bottled water is 2000 times costlier? Also read why the bottled
water is against the environment? It is worth considering to show this PPT
(editable) to various groups including school/college students, NGOs and
Church groups, housing society members and even for the congregation
gathered for the Mass on Sundays as protecting Gods creation is a deeply
spiritual act. Fr Felix Rebello, gemenews@rediffmail.com
Muslims and secularism
Thanks to Modi phobia, for every so-called secular party, Muslims are the
only secular community, and it is only their ' undivided secular vote' that
can be relied upon as the last resort to salvage its singking ship. It is only
Muslims who are supposed to safeguard the country's secularism, while
others are struggling with each other to strengthen their respective
prospects, either to become a king, or at least king makers. As usual,
Muslims will be voting to defeat B. J. P. However, the candidate, other than
the B. J. P.'s, who wins, will never acknowledge, either publicly or private-
ly, that in his victory, the 'secular vote' of Muslims had any contribution,
but all those who lose will certainly shout, "ne dhokha de diyaa". i.e.,
"Dhobhee ka kutta, ghar kaa, naa ghat kaa"
Dr. Mustafa Kamal Sherwani Lucknow
sherwanimk@yahoo.com
About shaking hands of two hypocrite groups
This is reference to the article 'Islamic Scholars shares dais with Indresh'
published in Milli Gazette (01/15-3/2014). We are distressed and agitated
to have learnt so called scholars like Hashim Miyan and others have
become toy in hands of hypocrites like Indresh Kumar. Indresh Kumar and
the likes pose themselves as well wishers of Muslims whereas their hid-
den agenda is something else. On the other hand so called Muslim schol-
ars are just touting for their vested interests sharing dais with pagans and
hypocrites giving false impression of communal harmony. Aim of Indresh
Kumar is totally politically and electoral on the behest of their organisation
(RSS). Muslims and their so called Muslim scholars must be aware of
their game plan which will have very adverse impact on Muslim's interest
in future. Ajmal, Lucknow (via email)
After BJP Manifesto, India faces grave communal threats
Whatever people may think and talk about economic and development
issues during on-going Parliamentary election in India, but India will vote
for or against mainly on one issue (that is Hindutva) which is mentioned
in BJP Manifesto as Ram Mandir, Article 370, common civil code, cow
protection, India being natural home for persecuted Hindus etc: First and
foremost people should understand that religious communalism (which
partitioned India in 1947) still remains politically the most potent issue in
India. There is a huge Hindu constituency all over Hindu majority India
which is ready to become communal if favourable political environment is
there in India (like Modi as PM with this communal agenda of BJP). It is
not a coincidence that BJP (which had only two members in Loksabha in
1984) gained political ascendancy and power at centre and in various
States on the issue of Hindutva from the days of Ayodhya dispute and con-
sequent riots and massacres in which thousands of innocent Indians lost
their lives. People should also understand that every element of Indian
State (including its judiciary / Supreme Court) is prejudiced in favour of
Hindus in this matter. Any body who knows any thing about law knows
that Supreme Court of India (SCI) is under legal obligation to restore the
status-quo-ante of Babri Masjid which was demolished on December 6,
1992 in the presence of SCI Observer, but communal SCI has not done it
till date. In 2002 Gujarat massacre cases which SCI is monitoring closely,
again Communal SCI never asked to book the then Prime Minister
Vajpayee, Home Minister Advani, Defence Minister Fernandez and Military
officers despite Section 130 & 131 CrPC, with the result BJP is moving
round the country boasting that the judiciary has given clean chit to the
Gujarat government functionaries including Modi. With this background of
communal India and communal Indian State, especially two Hindutva
issues of BJP manifesto (Ram Temple and Article 370) are to be consid-
ered. The mention of "within the frame work of the constitution" for con-
structing Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, should fool no one. If after giving affi-
davit in SCI by BJP government to protect Babri Mosque, if it could be
demolished by BJP without any effective and legally expected action from
communal SCI then what thus emboldened BJP would do again to rake-
up Ram Temple issue in order to drag India in the bloodbath of riots and
massacre of innocent Muslims is any body's guess.
Hem Raj Jain, USA jainhemraj59@gmail.com
Awareness about banned medicines
Union government banned 'Pioglitazone' because of some medical-
research having determined it harmful for developing dangerous diseases
like cancer. But under influence of drug- manufacturers, government
removed the ban even though most medical-practitioners stopped pre-
scribing this medicine also in accordance with continued ban on it in other
countries. There may be more such cases where Union government
removed ban on medicines after first imposing. Union government should
issue white paper on medicines where ban was removed after first impos-
ing it clearly mentioning status of ban in other countries. Medicines like
'Pioglitazone' are taken continuously without requiring repeated prescrip-
tion. Union and state governments should make people aware about
banned medicines through wide- spread media-advertisements because
normally patients go on taking course of regular medicines till some new
complication is developed. It is unfortunate that while governments spend
hard-earned tax-payers' money on costly multi-page advertisements for
their photo- publicity, such aspects needing media-publicity in larger pub-
lic-interest are grossly ignored. Madhu Agrawal, Delhi 110006
subhashmadhu@sify.com
Mushawarat and elections
While I appreciate the effort of Mushawarat in at least presenting some
strategy for voting in 2914 election, the name of Salman Khurshid in their
list could have been avoided. Mukhtar Ahmad
mukhtarahmad2000@yahoo.co.uk
MG: Mr Salman Khurshid is a member of AIMMM's central committee.
II
I thank AIMMM for a very balanced statement that highlights the need for
Muslims to support secular parties & candidates, and that asks Muslims
to conduct tactical voting, wherever candidates of more than one secular
parties are in the fray, to ensure that the community's votes do not get
divided leading to the fascist party candidates' win. Kaleem Kawaja
kaleemkawaja@gmail.com (email to MG website)
Muslims like bonded labourers
If ever you visit the area where hundreds of labourers, working under dif-
ferent contractors ( thekedaars) stay, you will find that in the morning, the
trucks come, give a horn, and the labourers immediately get loaded, taken
away, and dropped at different sites. The same is the position of Muslims
these days. They are scattered under the command of different political
masters, each giving directions to his band ; " Do not split the secular vote.
To stop Modi is your primary responsibility, because you will be the only
target if he comes to power. Have no doubt that it is only my party which
can stop the fascist forces " However one direction is common , which is
inevitably issued by each leader to his or her stooges: " Be careful! If you
find any Muslim candidate other than our slaves, immediately be sure that
he is B. J. P. agent, fielded by communal forces to divide secular vote, and
spread this message amongst your herds so that he may be discarded "
Dr. Mustafa Kamal Sherwani, LL. D. Lucknow
sherwanimk@yahoo.com
Shahi Imams appeal
One is at a loss to understand why there is hue and cry about the Shahi
Imam of Jamia Masjid Delhi, extending support to The Congress and TMC.
It is usual for all the political parties to seek support of all the possible seg-
ments to win the elections. If Ms. Sonia Gandhi seeks support of Muslims,
it is not against any legal or moral or political norms. Is not the BJP, nour-
ishing its party base on the support of religious seers, prominent them
being Ramdev. On the other hand, Moulana Ahmed Bukhari, is the only
Muslim religious leader, who negotiates with different political parties, puts
up demands for the Muslim community, which is the biggest need in the
present political atmosphere facing the country and support a political
party in each election. His father Moulana Abdullah Bukhari started this
campaign in 1977 and played a major role in overthrowing the then Indira
Gandhi govt. and backing her again in 1980, after the betrayal of Morarji
Desai govt. displayed his political acumen. Does the BJP expect the
Muslim leadership should be a mute spectator, while the communal forces
are out to grab power at the Centre, by hook or crook?
K. Malikul Azeez, 42, Perambur High Road, Chennai-12
kmalikulazeez@yahoo.com
TV or Radio? TB or BB?
TV shows what Satan wants to be seen. Radio can protect both morality
and Deen. Society should throw away TV to keep every Miyan tied only
with his BV
S. A. U. Patel, Khanpur Deh - 392150
Truth and Falsehood
The root cause of battle amongst men in known/unknown history is the
fight for Truth and against Falsehood. Civilizations clashed and millions
died simply because people believed to be on the side of Truth. GOD out
of his infinite mercy send his messengers in different era to guide mankind
to Truth but men out of his lust of this world, sometimes denied and some-
times changed the way of the messengers. And as a result we see chaos
in this world we are living. Now if we talk about the Nation of ISLAM we
have out last Nabi(Muhammed/SAW) but in the last 1400+ years many
sects have emerged each have some difference with the other. This sec-
tarianism have weakened the Nation of ISLAM and the followers of the
same Nabi are busy fighting each other each thinking that they are the real
followers of Truth and others are somewhat lesser. Notably ISLAM itself
denounces Sectarianism and asks it followers to be united under one flag.
Dr. N Rahman, Dibrugarh, Assam
nabibrahman@gmail.com
Muslim Brotherhood
I read your editorial in M G of 1-15 April 2014 under the heading Muslim
Brotherhood is not terrorist. I congratulate you for having called a spade
a spade. We the Muslims give too much respect to Saudi Arabia and other
Gulf countries. But, these so called Muslim countries followers of Islam
have never raised their voice against the persecution of Muslims anywhere
in the world. One example is sufficient in this regard. In 2002 , thousands
of Muslims were killed and properties worth crores of rupees were
destroyed. Certain non Muslim countries have raised their voice for the
gross violation of human rights and severe persecution of Muslims of
Gujarat. But, so called custodians of Islam have kept mum. Now, it is up
to the Muslim intellectuals to decide how far we can take pride over these
Islamic countries? Farooq Abdul Gaffar Bawani Rajkot Gujarat
bawanifarooq@gmail.com
II
We expect the Custodian of the Holy Haramains to set a good example to
the Muslim world. By extension Jama e Islam of Pakistan and Bangladesh,
and through out the world fall into this category. Fear Allah and HIS wrath
will befall very soon. When one Pharaoh fell Kingdom thought of propping
up another Pharaoh. Many Pharaohs have fallen before and Allah will not
change HIS Plan. Jawed Anwar
seerahwest@gmail.com
Demands of JCMOE
The Joint Committee of Muslim Organisations for Empowerment
(JCMOE), in its guidelines for General Elections, has correctly urged
Muslim voters not to divide secular votes. However the nine demands that
it has listed to test various candidates, such as reservations in jobs and
passage of the Communal Violence bill, are pies in the sky at a time when
the most urgent objective for us is to keep Modi out of 7 Race Course
Road. We should have only two criteria in mind when we go to vote:
(1)The candidate is secular and anti-Modi, and (2) Among the secular
candidates he/she is most likely to win.
Ghulam Mohiyuddin, New York 12804 (via email)
RSS ruling the country in absentia
It is noticed that maximum number of retired military and police officials
belonging to high ranking categories enthusiastically joining politics under
the banner of BJP which evidently shows their mind-set and full time irrev-
ocable association with RSS and allied Hindutva forces during their stay in
defence and police throughout the country. Under the circumstances it is
absurd and unwise to except that either peace on Western Border would
be prevalent any time or atrocities, unjustified actions against Muslims
within the Indian Union Terrotory stopped any time as both the agencies
are under the full control of RSS alongwith congressmen.
Faheemuddin, Nagpur - 440013
Islamic scholars and Indresh Kumar (RSS)
There can't be two opinions that the very foundation of RSS is laid on
Islam hatred, Muslim enemity, distortion and distraction of Islamic history
by and large with fake and frivolous stories. RSS and its siblings disfavour
Muslim relationship. This is the reason Hindutva ever since the existence
never appreciate or advocated relationship of India with Islamic countries
keeping aside Pakistan. For all purposes Hindutva force is untouchable and
will remain the same for ever. RSS favours to extend friendly hands and
hugs only those wicked in the Muslim guise who are ready to accept its
ideology on one hand whereas ready to disfigure Islam on the other under
the drawn line of the anti Muslim groups are always welcome there as a
right Muslim so no need to get surprised if Indresh Kumar happened to
address the Islamic scholars majority of whom coached and trained in the
institutions run and managed by RSS which are located in different parts
of the country. Faheemuddn, Nagpur - 13
Media's diversionary tactics against Muslims
SBI donated computers and water filters to girls schools. Such news reg-
ularly appears in media. Other benevolence news "wives of senior execu-
tives of corporation bank donated school bags to students of blind school.
Army welfare wives association distributed books/copies/school dress etc
among students of schools. Simultaneously media publishes Iqbal Khan
film and TV actor from Kashmir how he struggled to reach film and TV
world and who helped him to reach prominence etc. To distract Muslims
from "Taleemi, Tanzeemi and Tameeri" agenda, media presents TV and film
actors as real heros as if media is using all tactics to hijack Muslims real
agenda. In the same issue of the daily newspaper we will find Indian
American teens among top science talents. Muslims beware of media's
diversionary tactics which are media's hidden agenda.
S. Haque, Patna
Modi - BJP's prime ministerial candidate's colossal ignorance
Narendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, has earned notori-
ety for his colossal ignorance of Indian history and important facts.
According to him Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee's the founder of Jan
Sangh the predecessor of BJP ashes had been brought to India in 2003
although he had died in Kashmir while leading an agitation. At a rally in
Rajasthan he came out with the incorrect name of Mahatma Gandhi,
whose correct name is Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi and not Mohan
Lal Karamchand Gandhi as stated by Mr. Modi. Bhagat Singh, the great
revolutionary leader with his two colleagues had been hanged in Lahore in
1931 and not in Andamans as stated by Mr. Modi. At Patna rally he con-
tended that Chander Gupt Maurya belonged to Gupta dynasty and Biharies
had defeated Alexander the Great's forces although the fact is that
Alexender forces did not cross the river Ganga. One wished that the Prime
Ministerial candidate of BJP not ignorant of Indian history and important
facts. Dr. M. Hashim Kidwai, ex-MP, Delhi 110091
AAP
Mr. Arvind Kejriwal's daring decision to contest against Modi in Benaras
must be appreciated by all secular parties. Since, even the Congress is yet
to finalise a credible candidate who can take Modi head on, it is the duty
of all secular parties including Congress to back Mr. Kajrewal. But there is
still a fear that Samajwadi party may a field a candidate with the solitary
aim of tacitly supporting Modi, though in the name of fighting communal-
ism. On the other hand Mr. Modi's fighting from Baroda as well only dis-
plays his sense of insecurity in Benaras. Otherwise, why a person who
claims about a wave in his favour in the whole country, should contest
from two seats. And moreover, why is Mr. Modi running away from the
challenge of facing Kajrewal for a debate on a TV channel. At least now,
will the anti- Modi parties put an unified candidate against Modi or will they
play there own game. After all money is the biggest attraction.
K. Malikul Azeez, Chennai-12
vmk1234@yahoo.com
REJOINDERS/OPINION/LETTERS The Milli Gazette, 16-30 April 2014 23 www.milligazette.com
The Milli Gazette, P.O. Box 9701, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025 Email: letters@milligazette.com Read more letters on MG website
RNI No. DELENG/2000/930 REGISTERED DL(S)-01/3215/2012-14
LICENCED TO POST WITHOUT PREPAYMENT U (SE)-57/2012-14
PUBLISHED ON 11 APR 2014 POSTED ON 11,12 APR 2014
ADV. FORTNIGHTLY AT NDPSO-110002
The Milli Gazette
D-84 Abul Fazl Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar,
New Delhi 110025 India Tel.: 011-26947483, 0-9818120669 Email: edit@milligazette.com
24 The Milli Gazette,16-30 April 2014
Printed, published and owned by Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan and printed at Vibha Publication Pvt Ltd., D-160B, Sector-7, Noida, U.P. and published at D-84 Abul Fazal Enclave-I, New Delhi 110025.
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With best compliments from Kaleem Kawaja , Washington DC
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