I n d i a n M u s l i m s L e a d i n g E n g l i s h N e w s p a p e r , p u b l i s h e d s i n c e J a n u a r y 2 0 0 0

MG THE
Fortnightly
286 Vol. 12 No. 24

MILLI GAZETTE
16-31 December 2011 32 pages
Terrorism RTE U.P Muslims . Babri Popular Front Waqf Torture Media BSP Gujarat J&K Signpost

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Inside

HARYANA WAQF TURNAROUND...8

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE... 17

1,3,9 5,6 6,9 2,4 7 8 11 12 13 10 12,14 14

Analysis 12,14 Special Reports 3 Issues 2,12-13 Books 27 National 3-22 International 23-26 Speaking Out 14 Newsmakers 16 19-22 Community News Our Publications 28 Islamic Perspectives 9,29 Classifieds 30 Letters 31

Beware of the Sarkari Musalmaan

MAHTAB ALAM

n the previous issue of The Milli Gazette (1-15 December), it is reported that on 10 December 2011, former union minister Jagdish Tytler will be awarded with seven others in a function at India Islamic Cultural Centre (IICC), New Delhi, by Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Academy. The other names were those of Dr SY Quraishi, Chief Election Commissioner of India; Sanjiv Bhat, IPS officer (Gujarat); senior journalist Zafar Agha; Mohammad Najeeb Ashraf Chaudhri, chief income tax commissioner; Maulana Mohammad Haseeb Siddiqui, chairman of the Deoband Nagar Palika Parishad; Nusrat Gwaliari, an Urdu poet, and Begum Rehana Andre, a social activist and educationist based in Mumbai. The award has been named after Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, a key figure of the Indian freedom movement, a leader of the Khilafat movement and the founder and first VC of Jamia Millia Islamia, now a prestigious central university in Delhi. The award is given on his birth anniversary every year. Though the reasons for honouring these people were not mentioned in The Milli Gazette report, the Academys general secretary explained that every year, the academy honours individuals in recognition of their extraordinary contributions in the field of journalism, politics, social service and so on. This year they chose Jagdish Tytler for his contribution to politics(!). The name of Jagdish Tytler, one of the prime accused in the anti-Sikh pogrom of 1984, on the list of awardees created a furore among many activists, journalists and academicians. In response, they appealed to the seven others to decline the award. This appeal was subsequently endorsed by more than a hundred important people from across the world. The open letter said: The undersigned appeal to the other seven awardees not to accept the award as a mark of protest against honouring Mr Tytler, whose contribution in the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom has been recorded by
MG/Yusuf

several fact-finding reports, including those by PUCL and PUDR It is regrettable that an award being given by members of a minority community is honouring someone who has played a key role in the victimisation of another religious minority. I called up the general secretary of the academy, M Saleem, asking if he would drop the name of Tytler from the list of awardees since there were quite a few people opposing this decision of his? Mr Saleem arrogantly replied: There is no question of reconsideration of his name, leave alone the idea of dropping it. He added: There is nothing wrong with awarding Mr Tytler as no court of law has found him guilty. When I told him that at least two of the awardees, Zafar Agha and Sanjeev Bhat, had informed some of the signatories of the appeal that they had declined the award, M Saleem said, This is your illusion. You will see with your own eyes that they will come running to take the award! There remains no doubt that he wanted to give an impression that people were dying to receive the award instituted by his academy. After this, at a press conference in Delhi on 5th December, Zafar Agha said, As a young journalist, I saw the anti-Sikh massacre of 1984 of Delhi and behind it was the hand of Mr Tytler amongst others. My conscience doesnt allow me to accept this award and I have informed the organisers that I cant receive it. He also appealed to the coawardees to reconsider their decision to accept the award. Sanjiv Bhatt, in a message said, Told them that I cannot accept an award or share a platform with Mr. Tytler. Some of us also contacted other awardees, requesting them to decline the award. While some of them were in a dilemma, others, like the poet Nusrat Gwaliari, seemed only too happy to get an award in the name of Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, and lamely clarified their getting the award had nothing to do with Jagdish Tytler. They didnt seem to agree with the appeal, which noted: It is sad that the name of Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar is being misused. We

are sure this is not how he would have liked his name to be remembered, and that he would not have approved of being used to white-wash the sins of a politician who was part of communal violence and mayhem in the capital of India. Next morning, an Urdu daily, Inquilab, said that the award refused by Zafar Agha was now to be given to Mr. Santosh Bharatiya, former

MP and chief editor of a Hindi language weekly called Chauthi Duniya! The news was surprising as Mr Bharatiya always claimed to be a defender of the minorities and the marginalised. However, when contacted by a few journalists, asking whether he was accepting the award or not, his answer was both yes and no. To some, it was yes and to others, no.

Continued on page 18

IB demons are out again

After a respite of sorts since the confession of Aseemanand a year ago, IB, in the guise of Delhi Special Police, swooped upon Muslim youth once again. Members of the so-called Indian Mujahidin (which remains an enigma with many believing that its virtual HQ is based in the IB computers in Delhi) have been again arrested in droves since the last week of November, including two from the Okhla area of Delhi itself. A Delhi police statement on 30 November made the startling headlines next day that North Bihar is now becoming another Azamgarh which was re-christened as Atankgarh (terror town) by IB, Police and the ever-obliging Indian mainstream media. So Azamgarh as a hub of terror is now a forgone conclusion though we already have more such terror hubs like Bhatkal on Karnataka's western coast. Malegaon, too, is etched in public memory as a terror hub though Hindutva terrorists have been found responsible for both 2006 and 2008 blasts there. Udupi, yet another South Indian town is now being dubbed as a terror hub by these very Goebbelsian forces The latest entrants defamed as another Azamgarh are Mirganj, Sitamarhi, Araria, Darbhanga and Madhubani where, the IB enlightens us, madrasahs have doubled these past few years. And what is the proof? IB is so sure of its facts that it told its beloved stenos in the media that IM has established seven sleeper cells in the area. So madrasahs too are now decidly schools of terror though no madrasah across India has ever been found teaching terror or involved in terror in any way to date despite the best efforts of the likes of Advani and his equally communal successor. But Goebbelsian lies have their own logic - the more you repeat them the more true they become. More intriguing in this whole saga is that in one stroke Delhi Police has solved three upto now blind blast cases - Jama Masjid firing prior to the Commonwealth Games, German Bakery case and Bangalores Chinnaswamy Stadium blast, while Bihar, U.P. and Maharashtra cops are finding it hard to conceal their rage and disbelief.

IB has found that the arrested people though belonging to other places have fake Bihar addresses on their passports! The blinkered, communal and lazy armchair sleuths are unware that Bihar, in particular, is a source of many fake passports in India. It is an open secret that people who have difficulty in getting passports from other places use agents there who do it for a paltry fee. This sensational disclosure comes in the wake of the bail of Malegaon 2006 accused and first-of-its-kind compensation to the Makkah Masjid accused What could be a better way to keep the myth of Muslim terrorism alive than a new wave of wholesale arrests! A lot of cash awards, medals and promotions are to be won from an eager and thankful State. And more than that, their boss, the Home Minister, is now neckdeep in trouble for daring to touch Hindutva terrorists. At the annual conference of the Directors General and Inspectors General of Police last September a special director of the Intelligence Bureau had said that Hindutva terrorists are being probed in 16 terrorist cases out of which four are proven. What better way to get out of this mess than to revive the Islamic terror myth! After all, this brand was created and kept alive by IB whose boss is the very same Home Minister. We have a long tradition of human sacrifices (bali) in this country, and no sacrifice is too much when political power is at stake.

ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN

2 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

ISSUES / OPINION

Welfare Party: towards value-based politics

ZEESHAN LOHANI
prof_lohani@yahoo.co.in Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has taken a historic step by launching a new political party by the name of Welfare Party of India (WPI) on 18 April 2011 at Delhi. Better late than never. Now the speculation whether the Jamaat takes active part in politics should be laid to rest. While launching the partys flag, the party president Mr Mujtaba Farooq said that the party aims at realising value-based politics and a welfare state governed by the principles of freedom and equality for all. The party shall strive to promote ethical values and high moral standards in the political system and other avenues of public life. Stimulation, advancement and fortification of democracy are its basic objectives. The party has decided to work towards the establishment of a welfare state by recognising the right to livelihood and other fundamental human rights of every citizen. Rights of minorities as recognised by the Constitution and international covenants are its sheet-anchor. It does not ignore women and has decided to develop opportunities ensuring their femininity is properly respected and protected. Empowerment of the weak and oppressed has been awarded a prime position. Protection of cultural diversity and full opportunities to different cultures constitute the party policy. The concept of cultural federalism and the conservation of environment occupy its due position in the order of the partys priorities. Accountability and transparency are supposed to be the life-blood of the party. The Welfare Party of India shall strive for a just global order, bridge the space within the framework of integrity and sovereignty of the nation. Without doubt, it is a herculean task, stupendous, time-consuming and nerve-wrecking. What is significant about this movement is that it is grounded in morality and character-building. None can deny the social activists who have always come forward with meagre funds to help the flood- and riot-affected citizens of the country. The Jamaats social activities like the relief camps at the times of natural and man-made calamities, its yeomen services to the affected people is well-known to all, not only the Muslims but also to the Hindu brothers who contribute and donate in the funds of the Jamaat as we all know that there is a sense of accountability and complete transparency in the accounts of the Jamaat. With such a good moral background and track record, it has decided now to enter politics. The moment the WPI was launched, print and electronic media raised a lot of hue and cry and started criticizing the formation of the party, and claimed that at the present circumstances those who say that the new party will be a success live in fools paradise. But these people should know that once the Jan Sangh, after changing its name to BJP, has emerged as an alternative to the ruling party since Independence, now the BJP has ruled at the Centre for over six years and at present it is ruling in as many as seven states in the country. This example is sufficient to prove that any party with mass following of the minorities, dalits, weaker section, down-trodden, dedicated activists would definitely be a great success. But it requires some time, as has been said by the newly formed political partys president that two years are sufficient to spread the message of the WPI and only then it will be in a position to enter the national stream. The office bearers of the newly formed party are drawn from all sections of the society. We didnt fight for Independence just to get rid of the British, sacrificing hundreds of thousands of our best men and women. The objective was not to replace the white master by brown masters. The objective was rather to change the style of governance. Though we have progressed materially, but morally we have gone down and we are at the lowest ebb today. We are considered to be the most corrupt nation of the world. The corruption has become such an irrepressible menace that the whole system seems to be helpless. Everyone recognises this fatal disorder but no one seems to have any cure for it. Political institutions of all levels are totally in its clutches. Corruptions ruinous impact has paralysed the bureaucracy and media as well as the judiciary and polity. The last few years have witnessed the emergence of the new institutional variety of corruption powered by well-coordinated nexus between the ruling and opposition politicians, corporations and their lobbyists and media tycoons who have the capability to influence the decision-making at the highest levels. This situation has exposed the country to the worst kind of economic chaos. The present bad situation is worsening day by day. Newspapers on their front pages depict how bad our society is with rampant corruption, nepotism, loot, rape, dowry, murder of unborn and new born, wife swapping, dowry deaths, suicide, widow burning, and other social evils have become order of the day. The worlds second most populated country now wants a change in the order. The so-called secular parties have failed to deliver on their promises. The right-thinking people want sincere and honest people to rule the country. Even after sixty years of Independence, we are facing the problem of unemployment and half of the population lives below poverty line. The politicians and businessmen have kept the countrys wealth in foreign, particularly Swiss, banks. Most of them are not ready to declare their assets. By false promises and assurances and distribution of money even after the enforcement of RTI act, they come to power and become ministers and millionaires overnight. Recently many MPs have been sent to jail for vote for cash scams. In this situation, WPI is the right choice. The author is a freelancer based in Bhatkal

Pain of Babri Masjid

HISAM SIDDIQUI / ANDALIB AKHTER
Just 19 years ago the zealots of Hindutva led by L. K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Vijay Raje Scindia and other BJP and VHP leaders demolished the 400 years old historic Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. They not only demolished the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, but also demolished Indias Ganga-Jamuni culture, brotherhood and the law of the land. Every year 6th December reminds crores of people like us that a shred of our cultural and historical heritage was snatched away on that day. An emotion of hatred comes to our mind which we suppressed in order to maintain our legacy of communal harmony and brotherhood. Muslims have moved on during these 19 years but have forgotten nothing and the scars remain fresh as ever. No one in the community has forgotten that it was a local legal issue and that the Central and state governments used government machinery to turn it into a religious and national problem. Even after 19 years, the law of the land could not punish those who were responsible for the demolition of the historical Babri Masjid and those leaders who led them to commit this heinous crime. Even the prima facie crime in the case has not been settled as yet. The special court in Rai Bareily has recorded the statements of only a few witnesses during these two decades since the crime was committed. Common people in India, particularly Muslims, have immense faith in judiciary of the country. When they get the impression that Muslims and deprived sections of society are not getting justice from judiciary, they feel disheartened and even irritated at times. Sometimes the courts gave the impression that they are running the country. The courts have not shown the kind of alertness in tackling the Babri Masjid case which they are demonstrating in cases of public interest litigations, suo moto notices or Telecom scam. We can say with due respect that courts including the Supreme Court must realize that the issue of Babri Masjid is of highest public interest. This issue has given birth to communalism and to some extent terrorism too in the country. The issue has even brought communal-minded people to the seat of power. The first incident of a bomb blast in the country is also related to this issue. This issue has also given an opportunity to people like Narendra Modi to engineer the killing of hundreds of innocent Muslims. That is why this issue should be resolved on a priority basis. Until and unless the issue is resolved completely and the real culprits are punished, the country will keep facing some or other problems. Had the courts taken action in Babri Masjid issue like they did in cases of Telecom scam, Hasan Ali and other issues and forced the government to take action, nation could have been saved from the menace of communalism and terrorism and thousands of lives would have been saved. Though Muslims have full faith in the judiciary of the country, it is difficult to say how long this faith in judiciary will continue because in the past several times their faith has been shaken. The guilty of Mumbai riots in the aftermath of Babri demolition have not been punished. Similarly, despite so many evidences against the Gujarat chief Minister Narendra Modi in the anti-Muslim pogrom of 2002 he continues to rule Gujarat for the last decade. When Pakistani terrorists attacked Mumbai on 26 November 2008, the then chief minister of Maharashtra had to resign, but despite so many proofs, Narendra Modi continues to tease the secular fabric of the country. Is this not enough to shake ones faith in the system? Muslims will not forget Babri Masjid and they will not let the country forget it until and unless the perpetrators of demolition of the historic Mosque are punished. (theindianawaaz.com)
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What Babri Masjid says 19 years after demolition?

Babri two days before demolition in 1992

Listen to me Oh the people of the world!, Razed to the ground, but I shall remain; In the living memories of all the humans, Who have some conscience, and are sane. My physical form may have disappeared, But my history has broadened my domain; I have occupied a place, none can forget, My shameless foes have nothing to gain. My agony will shake heavens and earth, Wait for the time, you will realize my pain; Those who are happy with their misdeeds, Will soon find me as a dangerous terrain. Law and justice will weep over their fate, When my long story will strike their brain; Like a ghost I will chase my tormentors, Through every house, road, street and lane.

MUSTAFA KAMAL SHERWANI

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The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011 3

NATIONAL

Right wing terror a challenge to Indian democracy: activists

Acquitted youth being felicitated by the community

Javed Naqvi speaking New Delhi:: Social activists on 30 November raised apprehensions over the rise of right wing terror organisations and said these groups pose a grave threat to the nations traditional ethos. The activists were speaking at the book launch of The Saffron Condition and Godses Children by Subash Gatade. Senior journalist Javed Naqvi said there is an upsurge of right wing terror in India and it has clear international links. India has always been a place for communal and caste politics and it continues to be so, he said. We are confronting a deep state. The problem is that intelligence agencies are hand in glove with the Hindutva groups, he alleged. Prof Nivedita Menon of Center for Comparative Politics and political theory at JNU warned that popular dissent in the society was being either totally marginalised or outplayed likewise to divide people for partisan politics. There is a dual policy... the motive of these right wing organisations is not just to terrorise and polarise society but also to make sure to marginalise minorities and lower sections of our society, she said. Subhash Gatade said, I have been writing on saffron terror for some time now. However, later I realised that I should write a book on the subject as it is more substantive and has far greater impact. (PTI) The judge ordered that the police party involved in the false frame up should be tried-that an FIR should be filed against them and that a departmental enquiry should be instituted against them. The Judge also ordered the judgement to be treated as a complaint against the police officer by the concerned magistrate. An RTI application filed by JTSA revealed that no FIR had been filed and no enquiry had been launched because the police department appealed against the order in High Court. The Delhi Police filed two writs in the High Court against the trial court order: one to overturn the acquittal, and the other to stay the filing of FIR against the accused police officers. The counsel of the Kahsmiri men acquitted by the lower court asked his clients to be impleaded in the case but was disallowed after several hearings. While the Honble High Court has granted a stay, the Delhi Police has adopted wily means to delay the hearing. Its counsel continuously pleads absence on frivolous grounds on each hearing, thereby stalling the proceedings. These are tactics to avoid trial and punishment for what Judge Bhatt described as for the misuse and abuse of their powers as a police officer. While we think it is the individuals right to appeal against an unfavourable judgement, it needs to be asked why the Police Department is putting its weight behind these tainted officers, whose guilt has been established so meticulously and unequivocally by the lower court.

Delhi Polices delaying

tactics to evade prosecution in false frame ups
Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association (JTSA) issued the following statement on 7th December 2011: n 2005, the Delhi Police claimed that they had arrested 6 Kashmiri terrorists after a fierce encounter on the NH 8 (near the IGI airport). The police claimed that the arrested men were terrorists who were coming to Delhi from the Jaipur side to plant bombs at the Palam airport. They claimed to have recovered a fake army uniform, hand grenades, AK 47s and cash from the men. Earlier this year, a lower court in Dwarka acquitted all of them of every charge and instead noted that the accused were falsely framed. The judge Virendra Bhatt concluded that the encounter had never occurred and was scripted in the office of the Delhi Police. Judge Bhatt tore apart every piece of evidence that the prosecution had produced: the fake army uniform had been made by a tailor in the Delhi Cantt area who was a stock witness of the police; the grenades that were supposedly recovered were not produced before the court.

Online editor gets Sadbhavna Award

Bangalore: Syed Tanveer Ahmed, Chief Editor of www.karnatakamuslims.com news portal and Karnataka Muslims fortnightly newspaper has been conferred with the Sadbhavna Award for Journalism. The award instituted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India under the auspices of Nehru Yuvaka Kendra is given to eminent achievers in different fields such as arts, literature, journalism, sports, film and theatre etc. While presenting the award in the Journalism category to Tanveer, dignitaries acknowledged the "valuable services of Mr. Tanveer under whose leadership the news portal www.karnatakamuslims.com is playing a constructive role in bridging the gap between Muslim and other communities of Karnataka. Within a short span of a year the news portal has done a lot in this positive journalism in building a just society. He called upon the youth to play their role in the nation building. Congratulating Tanveer, Swamiji said he was very happy to see people like Tanveer Sahab and their good work for the society. Tanveer said, A large section of the English media does not give proper space to the community activities, instead, negative aspects are highlighted. We at Karnataka Muslims aim to present the positive image and constructive activities of the Muslim community. We have provided a platform for the community and are striving to be the voice of the voiceless. The readers support to the Karnataka Muslims is growing by the day. Any award is an acknowledgment to the readers.

Hyderabad: Perhaps in the first instance of victims of police torture and entrapment in a terror case being paid compensation in India, Andhra Pradesh state government on 8 December released Rs 70 lakh for the innocent Muslim youth arrested and tortured in the 2007 Makkah Masjid blast case. A day after Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy announced in the state assembly that the compensation would be paid, the minorities welfare department issued an order releasing the amount on 6 December. According to officials, out of 70 victims identified, 20 would be paid Rs 300,000 each while others would get Rs 20,000. The government released the compensation amount on the recommendations of the National Minorities Commission, which also asked the government to consider deducting the amount from the salaries of erring police officials. Though the commission had made several recommendations over a year ago, the government had not acted on them. National Minorities Commission chairman Wajahat Habibullah had also written a letter to the Chief Minister in August, asking him to take action on the recommendations, which also include legal action against the police officers involved in the arrest and torture of innocent youths, rehabilitation of victims by providing employment commensurate with their qualifications and issuing good conduct certificates to all those acquitted in the case. Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and other Muslim groups had been demanding that the government pay compensation. MIM leader in the Assembly Akbaruddin Owaisi raised the issue during the debate on the no-confidence motion on 5 December. The Chief Minister, during his reply to the debate, announced that the orders for payment of compensation would be released. MIM, which has seven members in the 295-member Assembly, opposed the Telugu Desam Partys (TDP) no-confidence motion, helping the Congress government defeat the motion. Nine people were killed in the blast during Friday prayers at the historic Makkah Masjid on May 18, 2007. Five more people were killed in the subsequent police firing on protesters outside the mosque. Following the blast, the police arrested dozens of Muslims youths and filed cases against them, as well as firing at people who came out demonstrating against the blast and police negligence. A fact-finding committee of the State Minorities Commission had said in its report that the police tortured the youths. The arrested youths were acquitted by the courts during the last one year. Last year, following the arrest of activists of right-wing Hindu groups for their involvement in the mosque blast, the Chief Minister offered to tender an apology to all the Muslim youths who were illegally detained but no such apology was actually tendered.

Rs 70L compensation for Muslim youths wrongly held

direction. Freedom fighters, Kannada film actors, litterateurs, and other eminent personalities graced the occasion while Sri Shivrudra Mahaswamy of Shri Bele Mutt Sanstha presented the awards. Swamiji addressing the gathering lavishly quoted from Vedas and Kannada poetry of Dr. Nisar Ahmed to emphasize the role of

Quote, Unquote
I mean this. They should be working for the interest of the people. They are not working for the interest of the people. And sometime they are positively working in an anti-people manner. JUSTICE MARKANDEY KATJU to Karan Thapar (ibnlive)

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4 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

NATIONAL
Kargil war: IB had informed Vajpayee of Pak build up in 1998
Almost a year before the 1999 conflict with Pakistan, Intelligence Bureau (IB) had informed the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee about the logistical build up by the neighbouring country along the LoC in the Kargil region, an army think tank has claimed. On June 2, 1998, the IB dispatched a note to the Prime Minister with details about Pakistani logisticsbuilding efforts along the LoC in the area opposite Kargil, says a study by the Center for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS). It predicted that, having acquired a nuclear umbrella, Pakistan was likely to push mercenaries into Kargil. The note was personally signed by the then-IB chief in protocol terms, a sign that its contents were extraordinarily sensitive and warranted follow-up action, it added. The study titled Perils of Prediction, Indian Intelligence and the Kargil Crisis, said Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) had also warned in its October 1998 assessment that Pakistan Army might launch a limited swift offensive with possible support of alliance partners (reference to mercenaries). The study suggests that RAWs report seen against its otherwise sanguine estimate of the risk of war appeared incongruous and immediately prompted verbal queries from the Army. It added that in its next six-monthly threat assessment, RAW omitted any reference to a limited offensive and depicted the Pakistani threat as consisting only of mercenaries. The study suggests that Indian intelligence agencies accurately assessed Pakistani intentions prior to the Kargil crisis but went wrong in predicting the specific form in which these would be enacted.

March against murder of Hindus in Pakistan

Hundreds march against murders of Hindus in Pakistan Hyderabad (Pakistan): Hundreds of protesters marched in Hyderabad city against the murder of three Hindus in Shikarpur on the call of Joint Action Committee for Peace and Justice. The protest march began from the Besant Hall, a 20th century Theosophical Society icon of Sindh under the slogan of Fill the Besant Hall against Religious Intolerance. The marchers, both Muslims and Hindus, who walked on various roads of the downtown for a few hours culminated into congregations in front of Hyderabad Press Club. A declaration was read out and was unanimously passed by the participants. It said: Sindh holds a peculiar status among the federating units of Pakistan due to its historic nonviolent, mystic, brotherhood and democratic outlook. This peculiarity of Sindh which is called Sindhiyat (Sindhihood) by the indigenous inhabitants is being attacked socially and politically by the non-democratic elements. These warmonger elements have patronized and promoted lawlessness, fiefdom and tribalism in the northern parts of the province. One of the most brutal attempts to destabilize Sindh through the feudal-mulla nexus is to create an environment of fear and harassment which compels the exodus of the Hindu community which forms the larger part of the middle class as well as business fraternity of the Sindh society. The conscious people of Sindh are of the firm opinion that the Chak, Shikarpur carnage in which three innocent Hindus were brutally murdered is part of such an attempt to cause the exodus of Sindh people at gunpoint. This is an attack on the secular Sindhihood of the people of Sindh. The conscious people of Sindh believe in the unity among the diversity of the religions and condemn this coward attempt and term it an attack on the social and national unity as well as the heterogeneous culture of Sindhi people. The people of Sindh demand: 1. Nominated culprits of the Chak carnage should be arrested immediately. 2. Investigation should be carried for the identification of the planners and supporter individuals, religious as well as political organizations and involved tribal leadership so that the families of the victims could be provided with justice. 3. The security of the honour, lives and properties of the minorities should be ensured by the State according to the constitution of Pakistan. 4. An FIR by the state itself should be lodged with the consultation as well as satisfaction of the grieved families. 5. Only the real culprits of the Chak carnage should be arrested. The detention of the innocent persons should absolutely be avoided. 6. The police, administration and elected resentatives must be made accountable for any attempt or act of damage to the lives and properties of the minorities. 7. The heinous crime of forced conversions through forced marriages by some Madrasahs in Sindh should be stopped immediately and a necessary legislation should be made in this regard. 8. The forced and illegal extortion of funds from minorities should be stopped. 9. The kidnapping of Hindus should be checked by ensuring security to the communities. 10. The tribal chiefs and feudal lords should equally be treated as culprits in the eyes of law if they support criminal elements in harassing the minorities. 11. A judicial inquiry should be conducted for the Pano Aqil and Chak carnages. 12. An environment of freedom of holding religious ceremonies and traditions should be ensured to the Hindus as well as other minorities by providing appropriate security to the religious pilgrimages and other sacred places. 13. All discriminating articles and clauses of the Constitution of Pakistan should be repealed.

Complaints against Taslima Nasreen in 48 police stations of Mumbai

Bhendi Bazar (Mumbai): Taslima Nasreen has now become a notorious name all over the country because of her antiMuslim, anti-Islam writings, in fact every statement on Islam and Muslims that she is making on twitter. Complaints against her have been made in as many as 48 police stations in Mumbai and its suburbs and in Navi Mumbai, with a request that her statements and writings which greatly hurt the religious feelings of Muslims should be stopped immediately. They also demanded in these complaints that she should not get any further extension of her visa and she must be deported from India. In this connection a delegation of Muslims including Maulana Ejaz Kashmiri, Maulana Daryabadi and others met Mumbais Joint Police Commissioner (Law and Order), Rajnish Seth in his office on 19 November and apprised him of her mischievous and insulting writings. It may be stated that since she is living in Delhi under strict security, she does not speak to media persons or anyone else and is writing such things from time to time on twitter. After hearing the complaints by the delegation members, Rajnish Seth said that first of all we have to see whether the twitter account / space she uses for writing such things is her own or she does such things from some elses website so that action should be taken accordingly. He, however, told the delegation that their complaints will be communicated to the central government. Before meeting Joint Commissioner Seth, these people had met Ahmad Javed, Police Commissioner of Navi Mumbai, K.P. Raghuvanshi, Police Commissioner of Thane and some other officers also. Fax and email were also sent to these Police Commissioners complaining against Taslima Nasreen. Police Commissioner (P.C.) Ahmad Javed and K.P. Raghuvanshi, advised the delegation members that there is no use of registering complaints in 48 police stations. Instead, they should make the complaints at the Commissioners level so that their complaints could be communicated to the central government because this comes within the power of central government. Moreover, there are some technical problems also in registering such complaints with local police stations. Both these officers in reply to questions told the delegation members that they had not received any written complaints about it but some people did come and met them in this connection. They also said that if at all some written complaints have been made, they have not been received so far. Police Commissioner Raghuvanshi told them that he has also seen her objectionable writings which she is writing from time to time which hurt the feelings of people.

Indians as guinea pigs: clinical trials killed 1,600 in the past two years; only 22 compensated for fatalities
It took five months for the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to reply to Hisar-based RTI activist Ramesh Verma to tell him the gory truth about how multinational pharmaceutical companies play with the lives of Indians during clinical trials and almost never bother to pay compensation. Here are a few shocking facts that will expose the extent of the rot in the Indian pharma industry, and more important, how multinational (MNC) pharma companies play around with the lives of Indians. The number of people killed between the year 2008 and 2010 due to clinical trials of various drugs by multinational companies in India is 1,600. And the meagre compensation paid by pharmaceutical companies including Merck, Wyeth, Bayer, Pfizer, Amgen, Lilly, Sanofi, PPD, Quintiles and Bristol Myers was only to 22 out of these 1,600 who died (as per information, all these 22 people died in 2010). The compensation totals a mere Rs 53.30 lakh (an average of Rs.1.50 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per victim). One company (PPD) paid Rs10 lakh - perhaps for the death of more than one person (and this is only an estimate). According to government records, 288 people lost their lives in 2008, 637 people died in 2009 and 668 died in 2010. Number of registered trials: 11 between July and December 2007; 137 between January and December 2008; 548 between January and December 2009; 806 between January and December 2010 (note the increase in the number of people volunteering for clinical trials over the last three years). This shocking information was revealed by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to Hisar-based RTI (Right to Information) activist Ramesh Verma, who has filed more than 500 RTI applications, most of them pertaining to health issues. It took five months for the DGHS to finally bow down to transparency after the Central Information Commission (CIC) snubbed it for not providing the required information. Besides giving the PIO a show-cause notice for penalty under Section 20 (1) and (2) of the RTI Act, the CIC ordered that information be given to Mr Verma before 25 September 2011. Accordingly, he was provided information on 23 September. However, he has still not received complete information and is now filing his complaint again to CIC Shailesh Gandhi. The shocking fact is that there is no basic figure of financial compensation fixed for these pharma companies despite the fact that they are playing with the lives and health of Indians. Regarding deaths due to clinical trials, the DGHS provided information only of the past three years and not of the last 10 years as asked by Mr Verma, stating: Serious adverse events of deaths may occur during clinical trials due to various reasons. These could be disease-related deaths like cancer etc or administration to critical or terminally-ill patients or side effects or unrelated causes. Such deaths are investigated for causal relationship by investigator and by Medical Monitor of sponsor. The information collated revealed that there were 288 deaths in 2008, 637 in 2009 and 668 in 2010... There were 22 cases of deaths which were related to clinical trials in the year 2010 where compensation has been provided by company. Regarding the norms of clinical trials, DGHS replies: [The] number of clinical trials actually conducted in government hospitals/private hospitals is not available with Central Drugs Standard Control Organisations (CDSCO) as prior to 17 November 2008, registration of clinical trial was voluntary. For all clinical trials, permission of which was granted between 17 November 2008 to 14 May 2009, applicants were advised to get the trials registered at ICMR registry at www.ctri.in. However, for all clinical trials permitted on or after 15 June 2009, applicants are being informed that it is now mandatory to register the trial at the said ICMR site before enrolling first patient in the study. (Vinita Deshmukh foundation.moneylife.in)

SIMI accused charges framed

Indore: A special court here framed charges against Safdar Nagori and Ajmal Parvez, SIMI office bearers, for delivering provocative speeches and taking out a rally without permission in 1999. Imran, the third accused has been already acquitted. Nagori and Ajmal are lodged in the Sabarmati Jail since their arrest in 2008. Both were produced before the court of special magistrate Dr. Shubra Singh under section 153 K and 188. Ex-official demands RAW to be under RTI ambit Former RAW officer, Nisha Priya Bhatia has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking that the intelligence agency be brought under the purview of the Right to Information Act for corruption cases and for any human rights violations. Bhatia has also sought information on corruption and human rights violation cases by the RAW from a bench of Chief Justice AK Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai. She has also asked the bench to interpret section 24 (i) of the RTI Act to bring RAW under the ambit of RTI Act only on such acts of alleged corruption and human rights violation.

BJP launched UP election campaign from Ayodhya with focus on Ram Rajya
Ayodhya: The BJP launched its election campaign in Uttar Pradesh from Ayodhya. Though the party had dropped the Ram Mandir as its main issue as a part of its NDA alliance some elections back, even here at ground zero the focus was Ram Rajya, not Ram Mandir. The BJP now wants votes not in the name of Ram Mandir but Ram Rajya. And this telling indication came in Ayodhya where the party flagged off its campaign for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls. Mandir is not an issue, said BJP President Nitin Gadkari. In familiar settings, the BJP displayed signs of change. Speaker after speaker, dropped subtle mythological and cultural hints but resisted temple talk. The people of this state want freedom from Ravan Rajya, said BJPs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi at the rally. The BJP has lost the caste battle to the Bahujan Samajwadi Party and the Samajwadi Party in the earlier elections. And it seems clear that their mandir card is obsolete now. So to signal the change Advanis yatra stayed away from Ayodhya. He was also missing from the campaign launch in Ayodhya. But to keep Hindutva elements happy a blend of development and emotional appeal is being offered. So for the UP polls the party started from Varanasi - home to the Kashi Temple dispute and from Mathura - home to the Krishna Temple dispute. They ended in Ayodhya - home to the Ram Temple dispute. Those who once voted for the BJP or the mandir card have reclaimed Ram from the politician. But ghosts from the backyard of history continue to haunt the BJP. Real politics tells the BJP: move on. The ghosts, however, say hang on. Hence, the shift to Ram Rajya. This could be a tactical tweak - or maybe democracy defeating the demons.

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

NATIONAL

FDI in retail sector not welcome: JIH

NADIM AHMAD
New Delhi: We oppose foreign direct investment in the country in various sectors. As for the recently proposed foreign investment in the retail sector, we think it will be detrimental to the interests of 45 million small retailers who form about 10% of the total work force of our country. It is also against the interests of the common people as the prices of common commodities in the long-run will go beyond the purchasing capacity of the general populace after a brief downfall at the outset. It is also against the national interest as it will drain our national wealth out of the country. It seems that the government is being guided and influenced by the interests of foreign capitalist forces. We fear that foreign direct investment will enable the multinational companies (MNCs) to monopolise and manipulate the Indian market. They will direct our consumers and producers, mainly farmers and poor people, regarding the choice of production and consumption. It will lead to unemployment and collapse of the agricultural sector which is the mainstay of our economy, said Naib Amir (Vice President) of the Jamat-e Islami Hind, Mohammad Jafar, in a press briefing held on 3 Dec 2011 at the media conference hall at JIH headquarters here. The press meet was addressed by independent media in India. Engineer Mohammad Salim condemned the foreign direct investment in pharmaceutical sector too. He expressed his disappointment at the policy of reducing the subsidies on essential commodities and blindly toeing the IMF and World Bank dictates. We strongly believe that these are the results of interest based uncontrolled economy and we propose that the country should seriously consider the interest-free and controlled economy to save the country from falling into deeper problems, said Engineer Saleem. Commenting on the recent finding of the SIT of Gujarat that the Ishrat Jahan encounter by the Gujarat police was fake, he said it has exposed the true face of Gujarat government and its police and the Gujarat High Court has asked the CBI to investigate this case and register fresh FIRs. Engineer Saleem said, We demand that justice should be done to the families of the victims at the earliest and law should punish all perpetrators and their political bosses. In other parts of the country several such encounters have taken place in the name of countering terrorism such as Batla House encounter. The government should take the responsibility to bring out the truth soon so that the real culprits may be brought to justice and the innocents who are suffering for the crimes committed by others get justice soon.

L/R: Engineer M Saleem, Muhammad Jaafar and Ejaz Aslam

Ejaz Aslam, media secretary, and Engineer Mohammad Salim, secretary for public relations. Mr. Jafar in his address demanded that instead of shirking from its responsibilities, the government should enforce effective anti-corruption laws to ensure that the poorest get the required benefits of welfare schemes. Replying to a question by MG, he disagreed with the idea

of development and improvement of quality of goods and services through foreign investment and condemned it. Mr. Ejaz Aslam said that leaving 50 million poor people, in consequence of this policy, to the whims of the multinationals and market forces would be unwise. Mr. Aslam decried the proposal of FDI in the media sector and said that this will wipe out the small and

Lucknow: Shiksha Sangharsh Sanyukt Morchas state level Shiksha Bachao Conference was held here at Mumtaz P.G. College on 20 November to discuss, explain and to oppose some provisions of the Right to Education Act 2009 which the central government has enforced in all schools including private schools, madrasas, Vedic pathshalas etc from April 2010. It is feared that some provisions of this Act will be harmful to these institutions and may lead to their closure. This conference was attended in large numbers by teachers and responsible officers etc of schools, madrasas, Vedic pathshalas etc. of 20 districts of the state (U.P.) to jointly oppose the black law and to demand that central and state governments make certain amendments in this Act. The Conference was chaired by Prof. Ramesh Dikshit of Lucknow University. Speaking in this Conference Zafaryab Jilani, All India Muslim Personal Law Boards member and a noted lawyer said that this law was got passed in Parliament without giving any proper thought and ignoring ground realities and views of people who run and manage these schools and madrasas. He said that intellectuals, educationists, and people in general will never accept this law. He demanded of the central government an amendment to this Act at the earliest and to exempt minority institutions from this Act. Madrasa Boards chairman Anwar Jalalpuri said that central government officers who are educated in foreign countries want to introduce that system of education in India which is against the common culture and civilization of this country and that educational system is not acceptable to the people of this country. He said that he will try to arrange a high level meeting with

Opposition to some provisions of Right to Education Act

Nasimuddin Siddiqui, Athar Khan and education departments secretary Anil Sant to get the G.O. issued by state governments department of education amended so as to meet their (SSSM) demands. Mrs. Rita Bahuguva Joshi of U.P. Congress assured through her representative Tariq Siddiqi that she will soon meet Rahul Gandhi during his U.P. tour and impress upon him the need to get this Act amended in accordance with the demands of Shiksha Sangharsh Sanyukt Morcha. A letter from Shiv Pal Singh, leader of opposition in U.P. assembly was read out in this conference by Akbar Ali and Deepak Mishra in which he (Shiv Pal Singh) had assured of his full support and cooperation in getting this black Act amended for which the Morcha has been campaigning. He

also said in his letter that he will raise this matter in the state assembly. In this conference, authorities of schools of about 20 districts including Lucknow, Barabanki, Kanpur, Banaras, Gonda, Hapur, Mathura, Agra etc. participated in large numbers. Imam of Lucknow Eidgah Maulana Khalid Rasheed strongly opposed this Act at the conference and demanded the central government to get this Act amended at the earliest and also demanded the state government to review its educational Government Order (G.O.). Prof. Ramesh Dikshit who presided over this meeting strongly criticised this Act and demanded the central government to amend this Act as soon as possible and warned that if this Act is not amended in the winter session, Congress will suffer heavily in the 2012 U.P. assembly election which even Rahul Gandhis pad yatras would not protect. He said that Congresss 60 years history is full of such unjust cases. Resolutions were passed in this meeting that district level committees of the Morcha should submit these resolutions and proposals to the prime minister through district authorities.

MUHAMMAD ZAMEER
Convener, Shiksha Sangharsh Sanyukt Morcha

Is BJPs Ram Rajya of Mahatma Gandhi in words or in deed?

he BJP is desperate to regain the opposition space being highjacked by Team Anna and for that the party is trying to use its trump cards one after another. After having realised that the temple issue is no more a magic wand to win elections the party has claimed to establish Ram Rajya of Mahatma Gandhi instead of Ram Rajya of the Sangh. BJP president Nitin Gadkari while addressing a rally held recently in Faizabad to mark the conclusion of the Jan Swabhiman Yatra of Rajnath Singh and Kalraj Mishra said that the need of the hour is to establish Ram Rajya of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma had envisaged a Ram Rajya which is free from hunger, fear and corruption. Gadkari also said that if the BJP returns to power in Uttar Pradesh it will establish Ram Rajya. Why cant we have Gandhian Ram Rajya which is free from violence and riots, hatred, bigotry, communalism, casteism, religious profiling, religious intolerance and fake encounters? Only this model of Mahatmas Ram Rajya can help us achieve peace, prosperity and a sense of belonging. There cannot be any precious gift the BJP can offer to India and its people if it is really thinking along the line of establishing Ram Rajya of Mahatma Gandhi in letter and spirit. May be Gadkari has forgotten that in order to establish Gandhian Ram Rajya one has to be Gandhian in heart first. In Ayodhya, Uma Bharati and Vinay Katiyar raised the issue of the construction of a Ram Mandir at the disputed site but could

not find support from other leaders. Gadkari too subtly said that although Ram Temple in Ayodhya is an important issue the people should wait for the Supreme Courts final verdict. After two Yatras led by Rajnath Singh and Kalraj Mishra ended in Ayodhya the party has decided to launch UP. Bachao, BJP lao (elect BJP, save UP) campaign in Uttar Pradesh led by Uma Bharati from 1 December to 15 December. On the issue of establishing Ram Rajya, Uma Bharati spoke in a claiming manner by saying that Ram Rajya is not for a particular community it is also for communities like Muslims and Christians where they can afford food, medical and educational facilities at affordable prices. It seems BJP is trying to use all tactics in the Uttar Pradesh elections. The party has decided to go for Bihar-style poll management in Uttar Pradesh. Senior leaders from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are likely to be part of election management team. But surprisingly leaders from BJPs best acclaimed ruled states like Gujarat are not in line to help the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Narendra Modi who is considered one of the tallest leaders in the BJP capable enough to be declared partys prime ministerial candidate is not sought after in the most prestigious election in Uttar Pradesh after Bihar. Some believe that his equation with the party president has gone sour after he inducted Sanjay Joshi as a coordinator for Uttar Pradesh election preparations. And for that matter Narendra Modi will himself choose to remain away from Uttar Pradesh as he did in the recently held BJPs national executive meet in Delhi as a mark of protest at

Gadkaris descion to take back Sanjay Joshi. The other reason held by many in political circles is the intense political rivalry between senior leaders in the BJP to exert political one-upmanship. Gadkari has already been asked by the RSS to cut Narendra Modi down to size. Why LK Advani began his Jan Chetna Yatra from Bihar instead of Gujarat is known to one and all. Modi did attend Advanis Jan Chetna Yatra in Gujarat but at the same time maintained noticeable distance all through the day. It is also believed that Advani may even choose another place out of Gujarat to contest the next general elections. Does it require more to portray the bitter infighting in the BJP? For the BJP, deciding the chief ministerial candidates for states going for polls next year and prime ministerial candidate for the upcoming general election is not an easy task. Even after a strong decree from the RSS to Advani on the issue of prime ministerial post the issue has been tossed up by him or by other leaders from one platform to another. After Jaswant Singh, Shatrughan Sinha, Uma Bharati the next to join the chorus is Rajnath Singh. Singh during a function for the launch of a special edition of Swadesh group of papers in New Delhi on 9 November said that Advani is the natural choice for the prime ministers post. He asked, will a person of his stature ever present his claim for the prime ministership? Gadkari is also nurturing ambitions for the highest post with patronage from the RSS. Now the Big question: where will this lead to and where will it end?

MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN

6 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

NATIONAL

AIMPLB to agitate against RTE and waqf bill

ABDUL BARI MASOUD
New Delhi: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board is to launch a nationwide stir against the proposed Direct Tax Code Bill, Waqf Amendment Bill and certain provisions of the Right to Education Act. The Board said the Congress-led UPA government at Centre did not answer the calls to address genuine apprehensions of the community with regard to these bills and hence the Board has decided to launch campaign against it. Talking to mediapersons after the Working Committee meeting here on November 25, Boards spokesperson and secretary Abdur Rahim Qureshi said the Board has been continuously raising these issues with the government but it did not accept it. He said the Board has formed a 14-member central action committee under the convenership of Maulana Wali Rahmani and Prof Mohammad Saud Alam Qasmi as its joint convener. The Board would also seek cooperation of other religious leaders in its campaign against the proposed Direct Tax Code bill and the Right to Education Act as these laws will affect all religious institutions, he added. It is unfortunate that the government had not addressed genuine apprehensions and objections to certain provisions of the RTE Act and Tax Bill, he said. Further, the Board has also demanded the incorporation of its demands in the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2010. Following objections, the bill was handed over to the select committee of the Rajya Sabha but the committee headed by Prof Saifuddin Soz is not entertaining amendments suggested by the Board. The Board wants that the bill should be amended according to its suggestions as the earlier bill was harmful to the interests of Waqfs. The Board has submitted its memorandum to the Select Committee on the Bill and it must incorporate amendments demanded by the Board before introducing the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Qureshi said. On direct tax bill, he said that the Board had also submitted a note to the Union Finance Minister demanding amendments in the provisions concerning taxation of religious institutions but these demands too were not accepted. Certain provisions of the Direct Tax Code Bill envisaging taxation of charitable institutions were harmful to all religious institutions and religious leaders of all communities have opposed them, therefore, the government should not bring the Bill in a hurry, he added. Similarly, objections to certain provisions of the RTE have also been ignored by the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development insisting that it has already issued guidelines asking the concerned authorities to exempt madrassa and minority institutions from the RTE ambit. Qureshi averred that the Board had demanded exemption of all religious education al institutions including Madarsas, Vedic pathshalas, etc. from the purview of the RTE Act as the definition of elementary education in the RTE Act was faulty, but the Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has not acted upon these demands despite assurances. The Board will seek cooperation in this regard form Hindu, Sikh and Christian leaders as it will hurt institutions of all communities. It is relevant to be mentioned here that the proposed Direct Taxation Code bill, seeking to replace the 50 years old taxation law with a new tax code by 2012, is currently before the Parliamentary Standing Committee. Maulana Syed Mohammad Rabey Hasani Nadwi, president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board presided over the meeting while Maulana Nizamuddin, General Secretary of Board, Maulana Salim Qasmi, Vice President of the Board, Maulana Asrarul Haq Qasmi, Maulana Abdul Wahab Khilji, and other leaders attended.

Inamdar urges Muslims to ignore sectarian bias and work for social, educational development
Addressing the Golden Jubliee celebration of Madrasa Moinul Islam Trust High School at Himmatnagar, P.A. Inamdar, Chairman Maharashtra Cosmopolitan Educational Society and Convenor Islamic Development Bank Jeddah, urged Muslims to work for social and educational development of the community. He asked trustees to take care of all children in the same spirit as the one, one looks after one's own family. Expressing his satisfaction over the growth of educational institutions from 150 to 800 during the past decade he advised the management to employ English proficient teachers in Gujarati medium schools so as to enable children acquire proficiency in English. In addition to English, he asked the management to ensure computer education from std. I-IV so that our students will keep pace with global development. He also emphasised the need of incorporating technical knowledge at an early age. He insisted that we should forget our sectarian leanings and stand united. He inaugurated the primary school building of the trust. Abdul Rauf Sheth, chairman M.M.I. trust, apprised the gathering about the growth of the institution during the last century, which had begun with a nursery school and now has science, arts and commerce faculties in its college in addition to a women's college and a girls hostel. He informed that eteaching has also been incorporated. (AG Khan) and he agreed. He came to Delhi and set up a company named Irene Engineering Contracting Company and started construction projects. Mr. Aamir said Qateel Siddiqi, who was the first to be arrested by the police on November 22, earlier worked as a labour supervisor in his brothers company. He is also from our village in Bihar. He quit the job about a year ago. But about two months ago, we learnt that a West Bengal special task force team had come looking for him in the village, but he went underground. Gauhars brother said had he been involved in terror activities along with Qateel, he would also have gone missing to evade detection. My brother was recently with us in the village and he organised an anti-dowry and anti-tobacco campaign. We also organised a skating event in the remote areas along with a former skating champion and met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Gauhar had left for Delhi by then," said Aamir, showing photographs of the meeting. (Devesh K. Pandey, thehindu.com, Dec 3, 2011)

Police violated Supreme Court guidelines on arrest

Relatives of one terror accused seek intervention by NHRC and National Commission for Minorities New Delhi: Relatives of Gauhar Aziz Khomany, who has been arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell for having alleged links with the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, have approached the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Minorities seeking intervention and accusing the police of not having adhered to the Supreme Court guidelines on making arrests. Not informed of arrest: In a letter to the NHRC, Gauhars brother Hasan Aziz Aamir said that the police had violated the Supreme Court directions by failing to inform his family about his arrest. No official information about the arrest has been made to the family members so far. I fear that my brother is being falsely implicated. The police claim that Gauhar was arrested on November 23, whereas I received a call from his mobile phone number (9891635734) on my phone (08083372902) on the evening of November 26. This clearly contradicts the police claim, said the letter. Akhlaq Ahmad of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights said the police should have followed the rules laid down by the Supreme Court while carrying out arrests. Gauhars brother has also written to Delhi Police Commissioner stating that the Supreme Court directives had been violated and that his family came to know about his arrest only through the media. We were in for a shock when we learnt that he has been arrested. Whoever knows Gauhar can vouch for him, given his commitment towards social work. He would collect money from us (brothers) to financially support the needy and would also organise social awareness programmes in his village, said Aamir, who is a lawyer and a management graduate working with a company in Dubai. Coming from a highly educated family, Gauhar himself is a mechanical engineer. One of his brothers is a senior scientist in the United States and another a civil engineer working in Saudi Arabia. Our father had done engineering from Sindri, earlier in Bihar, and retired from the irrigation department, said Aamir. Well educated: Aamir said after a diploma in engineering, Gauhar graduated in mechanical stream. He then joined him in Dubai where he worked for a multinational firm. However, considering our sisters poor health who had to be frequently brought to Delhi and father's old age, we all decided that Gauhar should go back to India

UP: tug of war over Muslim votes

MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN

olitical tussle over Muslim votes has begun and parties are trying to woo Muslims with newer strategies and sops. Parties are now competing to project their concerns for Muslims in one way or the other. Quota for Muslims has raised the pitch of the campaign many decibels in Uttar Pradesh. Congress and BSP are juggling with the quota issue either to solve it or complicate it further while calculating the gains either way. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati has once again tossed up the Muslim reservation issue by writing a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding quota for Muslims on the lines of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Earlier, she had also written a letter demanding reservation for Jats, Muslims and the weaker and poor among the upper caste. In response to Mayawatis letter the PMO has put the responsibility of providing reservation to Muslims on Myawatis shoulder by saying that reservation on religious grounds was the prerogative of state government and if she is really concerned she could go ahead like other states have done and provide reservation to Muslims. Mayawati has also complained that the Centre has not provided adequate funds meant for the minorities in the state. She has said that her government is yet to receive Rs 381 crore from the Centre under the multi-sectoral development plan. In his reply to Mayawatis charge the prime minister replied that there are 90 minority concentrated district

covered under the Multi-sectoral Development Plan of which 21 such districts are in Uttar Pradesh. The Central government has allocated fund of Rs 1,015.7 crore and asked the chief minister to review the schemes and implement it at the earliest. The Congress at the moment is trying to get an upper hand on the issue and has announced that the party could announce a quota for Muslims within the OBC Quota soon. Union Law Minister Salman Khursheed while talking to reporters recently said that of the total 27 percent OBC quota in government jobs government is trying to fix a quota for backward Muslims but refused to give a fixed time frame. Khursheed further said, We have now reached two and-ahalf years of our term in Parliament. Therefore, whatever we have promised, now we have to start ticking that we have now fulfilled our promises. The decision will now come up before the Cabinet soon. The decision to fix a quota within OBC quota for Muslims is not something that the Congress can claim to be its own creation. For example, the Mandal Commission report has said that minorities constitute 8.4 percent of the total OBC population and a sub quota of 6 percent in equal proportion should be earmarked for minorities. If the Congress wants the praise of the minorities in real terms then it must sincerely implement all existing schemes including Mishra and Sachar Commission recommendations without cutting down any provision under political compulsion. Samajwadi party has its own way of seducing minorities. The party in a statement has said

that the present state government led by Mayawati has turned down all minority welfare schemes initiated by the Samajwadi party earlier while the government at the Centre has failed to implement the recommendations of the Sachar and Mishra Commission. Mulayam Singh while speaking on the occasion at a rally organised by Popular Front of India said that reservation is not the only panacea for Muslims problems. He said that political parties must be true to their conscience on issues pertaining to Muslims and asked the Muslims to come out on the streets if they are not provided reservation at the earliest. Highlighting the achievements of the Samajwadi he said, that during his regime his party recruited 29 percent Muslims in PAC. Smaller parties are also trying to form a joint group in order to win some support of Muslims or the marginalised section or at least to disturb the political arithmetic of the major political parties in the state. Even some seats would be enough for them to exert pressure and to be counted if at all there is a hung assembly. Efforts are on to bring parties like Qaumi Ekta Dal, Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha, Bharatiya Samaj Party, Apna Dal, National Loktantrik Party, Peace Party and Ulema Council to the negotiating table in order to form a joint group before the assembly elections. Afzal Ansari, president of Qaumi Ekta Dal has recently said that in the present political scenario there is need for an alternative political force to take on mainstream political parties because people are fed up and are looking for an alternative at this stage. But other smaller political parties like

Welfare Party and Peace Party considered to be of sizeable importance are weighing all options before accepting the invitation from either the smaller or the bigger parties in the state. Welfare Party of India has strongly opposed the quota within quota policy of the Congress saying that Muslims want their due share from original bag and not from others bowl. Abdul Khaliq has raised his concern by saying that if the quota within quota for Muslims goes through it is most likely to result in enmity in remote areas. Syed Shahabuddin, president of AIMMM, has recently said that Muslim reservation as per recommendation of the Misra Commission has become the litmus test for democracy and secularism. It is not for the first time that the reservation issue is being politicised by political parties. It is an age old demand of the Muslim Community. Their demand got official recognition after Ranganath Mishra and Sachar report on the status of Muslim in India and its states. The report substantiated minorities concern to get elevated and be considered at par with other communities in India in terms of economic, educational and socio-political development in order to join the mainstream. The Sachar committee in its final report highlighted poor development index of Muslims and in order to improve it had recommended an Equal Opportunity Commission and better educational facilities. The Ranganath Misra Commission in its report recommended 10 percent reservation for all Muslims in jobs, educational and welfare schemes and five percent for other minorities in India.

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

NATIONAL

Social Justice Conference of PFI

NA ANSARI
New Delhi: A 2-day Social Justice Conference was held in Delhis Ram Lila Grounds on 26 and 27 November. On the first day Dr. Mufti Mukarram Ahmad, Imam of Shahi Fatehpuri Masjid, while speaking on this occasion said that this conferences demands for justice are not for Muslims only but for all citizens of this country. He said that while framing the Constitution of the country, the founding fathers had made the provision that equal opportunities of freedom, justice and progress will be ensured to every citizen of the country but sadly, conditions today are entirely different. People in power today have no concern for the problems of the common people and they are not working honestly on the assurances and guarantees provided in the Constitution. He said that the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi had stated that we want that social justice which the people during the period of Hazrat Umar Farooq (second Caliph of Islam) enjoyed but sadly, today conditions are entirely different. People in power today are not concerned with the problems of people and their solution, particularly with regard to those of Muslims they are completely indifferent and insensitive, with the result that today they are very backward socially, educationally and economically. Popular Front of India (PFI)s general secretary K.M. Sharif said while speaking on this occasion that during the past six decades all governments of the country ignored Constitutional guarantees and directives. He said that most of the countries of the world are progressing and poverty is declining there but today India is a rich and powerful country full of poor people where average of poverty is 77%, eight states are very poor and the average daily income of 80 percent people is less that Rs. 20. Governments have no suitable economic policies, many factories have been closed down, farmers lands are being given to multinational companies. Discriminatory treatment is being meted out to Muslims every where. Corruption and more than that, growing communalism and fascism is the biggest danger for the country. Hence, for building the country and providing social justice to the people, awakening the people and instilling in them the need to protest against injustice is essential. Another speaker Arshi Khan said that in a democracy ensuring justice and security to all citizens is essential. He said that today the police pick up and arrest innocent Muslim youths without any proof and accuses them of uncommitted crimes but even for obtaining bail it takes them nine years. This is because of bias and discrimination against them. Naved Hamid, member of National Integration Council said that after Independence Muslims enjoyed reservation but two MPs, having faith and trust in government, had stated that we i.e. Muslims need no reservation. Prime Minister Nehru also had assured that no injustice and discrimination will be allowed against Muslims but today the situation is entirely different. All India Muslim Majlis Mushawarat President and former M.P., Syed Shahabuddin said that without proper representation, deprived sections cannot get political power and hence for this, a country-wide movement is needed. He also said that today democracy is not of the common people but for the upper class only. Therefore the need for true democracy is to bring political change like Egypt. Maulana Wali Rahmani, secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board said that the government is enacting laws under which problems instead of being solved will increase further. In support of this statement he gave the examples of compulsory or Right to Education Act, Waqf Amendment Bill and the proposed tax law all of which are in violation of the Constitution. President of PFI E.M. Abdur Rahman said that purpose of this Conference is to draw peoples attention to the burning problems of the country. He said that the basic reason for the demonstrations and protests from Egypts Tahrir Square to Americas Wall Street is denial of social, economic and political justice to a large section of population. He said that this is a warning to all centres of political power in India and they should learn a lesson from the

Mulayam Singh speaking at the PFI conference

these elements had indulged in the same unruly behaviour at the dentify the encroached and neglected wakf land and for- minorities, out of which 10% exclusively, for the Muslim comNew Delhi Railway mulate appropriate scheme. The wakf properties in large munity. The commission reserves 8.4% out of existing OBC Station where for temposcale in various parts of the country were acquired, neg- quota of 27% for minorities, of which 6% exclusively for rary arrangements for lected, encroached and trespassed upon without any Muslim OBC,s the assembly of delerhyme or reason. No concerted or concrete steps were taken The Milli Convention urges the government to initiate to restore the wakf land.The SJC expresses its great con- concerted endeavour to speed up the implementation of gates and other people a cern to the mute and evasive approach of the government in Ranganatha Mishra Commission report. pandal had been set up. this matter. A tribunal has to be constituted to identify and A handful of these elelocate, confiscate and restore the trespassed wakf properties Rebuild Babari Masjid And Punish The Culprits: The SJC ments indulged in suband a scheme has to be formulated to utilize the proceeds for of the popular front of India expresses extreme concern on versive activities and the welfare and uplift of the deprived people of the society. the judgment of the 3 judges bench of Allahabad H.C partithrowing away the bagtioning Babari Masjid precincts and the appurtenant land. gage etc. of the deleImplement Rangnatha Mishra Commission: This National The verdict negates the basic tenets of law, equity and good gates. Police, however, Milli Convention convened as part of Social Justice conscience. The title suit appeal now pending before the took prompt action and Conference calls attention of Central Government to imple- honourable Supreme Court shall be disposed of expeditiousarrested them. ment as expeditiously as possible justice Rangnatha Misra ly with utmost care and caution. According to Vivek Commission recommendations. The destruction of Babari Masjid is the most heinous Kishore, D.C.P. of Delhi The Sachar Committe could submit a report with a treas- event in the history of independent india and the civil society Central Zone district at ure of comprehensive statistical data with inadequate repre- witnessed the involvement of fascists leaders and cadres in least 24 activists of sentation in governmental and non-government organs justi- day light. To restore peoples faith in the rule of law the fying the Muslim demand for positive discrimination. But authority concerned shall resort to all legal recourse to see Bhagat Singh Sena were when we analyze the Sachar Report, the grievances of the leadership and its cadres are punished in the heinous taken into custody and minorities on remedial action the pivotal point of reservation crime booked against them. Also initiate bona fide endeavour F.I.R. registered against adequate representation in education and employment has to restore the Babari land to the Muslims. them in Kamala Market been side lined or ignored. Thana from where they The national commission for linguistic and religious Gopalgarh: As the Elections in UP and other states are were sent to Tihar jail. minorities led by Justice Ranganatha Mishra submitted the approaching communal forces became agile and active. In In addition to the report to the Central Government as early as on 21st may Rajasthan, with the connivance of police, these forces played speakers mentioned 2007. The report contains specific suggestion to effect ade- a sinister game in Gopalgarh in which Muslims were killed above, many other peoquate representation of minorities in employment and educa- and burnt and few are missing till now. The CBI investigation ple and leaders also tion. The recommendation of the Mishra Commission shall is on snails pace. expressed their views in be immediately implemented by the central government in This Milli Convention demands that the investigation this Conference among view of the existing social and educational backwardness of should go swiftly, murder case should be launched against whom were Mahant the religious and linguistic minorities. the culprits, officials and the Home Minister. He should be Acharya Satyendar Das Justice Mishra Commission segregated 15% of jobs in ousted from the present Cabinet as done to Chief Minister in government services and seats in educational institution for the case of Banwari Devi issue. Maharaj of Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir (Ayodhya), Abdul Khaliq (LJP), Syed Sarwar incidents that are taking place internationally. own political party. Under such conditions why On the second day of this Conference on would Muslim leaders of other parties join Chishti, Sajjada Nashin of Ajmer Sharif, Aziz 27 November a public meeting was held which hands with it. He said that for demanding and Burney of Saharas group editor, Bhai Tej Singh was addressed by many political leaders too. getting justice to all, Muslims need to rise above of Ambedkar Party, Dr. Hasina Haashia, Professor of Jamia Millia A.S. Zainab, President Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh said politics and work unitedly. while speaking at this Conference that the A declaration was issued at the end in which of National Womens Front, Harsh Mandar, Congress government simply constitutes com- the Conference demanded that greater repre- Dr. Udit Raj and many others. Women in fairly missions and committees but does not imple- sentation be given to Muslims in Parliament and good number also participated in this conferment their reports and recommendations. state assemblies in addition to granting reserva- ence. The meeting ended with the song of the Strongly criticising the Congress-led U.P.A. tion to Muslims in government and private sector Popular Front of India. Preparations for this Conference were made government he said that its intentions towards jobs too, recommendations of Sachar vigorously many days in advance. An exhibition minorities (Muslims) are not sincere and that is Committee and Mishra Commission should be why it is not implementing the Mishra implemented in toto immediately, innocent also was organised to enlighten the people about Commissions recommendations. He said that Muslims falsely arrested on the pretext of terror- the Fronts efforts to create awareness among he had asked the prime minister in the ism should be freed without any further delay, them. About 200 buses were arranged to bring Parliament about the implementation of the Hindu terrorist organisations should be banned, people from neighbouring states like Haryana, Mishra Commission recommendations but he interests of weaker sections, dalits and tribals Rajasthan, Punjab, Western U.P. etc. People neither replied to the question nor invited him to should be safeguarded, economic and foreign were asked to pay their own fares, though at a discussion on the report. Without naming policy of the country should be reviewed. An considerably reduced rates. According to organSalman Khurshid, minister for minorities affairs appeal was also made to Muslims and other ising committee members, free buses were also he said that he had told the minister that he now downtrodden sections of society to join hands for arranged at some places for the people who wanted to attend the Conference. had the pen and power in his hand and instead fighting against social inequality and injustice. The Delhi-based English daily The Pioneer, of making many declarations and statements in In the beginning of the Conference PFIs meetings outside he should introduce the bill on flag was hoisted by the Fronts President, E.M. which is known for its anti-Muslim slant, claimed reservation for Muslims but he kept quiet. He is Abdur Rahiman. The Conference was however in its issue of 26 Nov. that PFI is linked to the afraid of the High Command and was interest- marred by mischievous elements and goons of banned SIMI and its cadres have been trained ed in saving his position and chair only. Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena when about three in the use of sharp-edged weapons and fabriThere were some dissenting voices also in dozen activists led by the Senas leader cation and deployment of crude bombs and this conference. Samajwadi Partys secretary Tejinder Pal Singh Bagga indulged in slogan IEDs, a classified dossier of the I.B. has Kamal Farooqi putting a question mark on the shouting against people of the minority commu- revealed. The paper regretted that despite Popular Fronts movement said that on the one nity and raised objectionable slogans. Police many pin-pointed apprehensions the security hand this Front talks of unity of all Muslims and posted there, fearing that provocative slogans establishment has turned a blind eye to PFIs asks them to maintain a distance from politics by the mischievous elements may create law plan of organising a two-day social justice conbut on the other hand the Front has formed its and order problem arrested them. Earlier also, ference in Delhi.

Resolutions of the Milli Convention

8 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

NATIONAL

Haryana Waqf Board: a saga of success

ABDUL BARI MASOUD

ew Delhi: At a time when a number of waqf boards have been running on the clutches of official grants, the Haryana Wakf Board (HWB), a relatively tiny organisation, has been setting up an example for other boards in the country as it has earned an all-time record income of Rs 19 crore during the current financial year. The HWB has not only been increasing its income and resources but also expanding its educational and welfare activities with lan. It may be the first board in the country which has set up an engineering college in Muslim- dominated Mewat which is one of the most backward regions of the country despite bordering the National Capital. In an exclusive interview, HWB Administrator Naseem Ahmad, who is also the former vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, said the most ambitious activity of the Board was the establishment of Mewat Engineering College with a cost of Rs 41 crores at Palla in Nuh district of Mewat, which is educationally the most backward area of Haryana, where literacy rate is 20 per cent for men and below 5 per cent for women. He said, with no financial support from any quarters, the Board spent Rs 7.36 crore from its savings on building infrastructure for the MEC.

Naseem Ahmad

He said that in 2003-04, when the HWB was one of the constituent units of the erstwhile Punjab Wakf Board, revenue collection was only Rs 3.92 crore and after the establishment of a separate Wakf Board for Haryana, the income has increased manifold. Now it has jumped from Rs 13.67 crores in 2009-10 to Rs 19 crores in the third quarter of the present financial year. Highlighting the various educational and welfare activities of the board, Ahmad, who heads the IFS training institute based in

Gurgaon, said the board has launched women empowerment scheme and Arabic teaching scheme for non- madrasa students. As a pilot project, the women empowerment scheme was launched in Yamnanagar district of the state where the board is providing monetary help to the self-help-group. Last year, the Board has spent Rs 5.35 crore on welfare schemes. It has earmarked Rs 15.27 crore in the budget for the next year. Besides helping widows, destitute and needy people, the board is also running madrasas, schools, ITIs and other welfare schemes. There are 400 imams on the payroll of the board. There are more than 2,400 waqf properties under the guardianship of the board. Due to certain historical reasons, many properties are still under adverse possession. The board has succeeded in retrieving most of them. It has also won major cases through the Apex court of the country. However, Ahmad admitted, the problem of encroachment on Wakf properties continued to be a serious challenge for the Board. He urged the government to provide all possible assistance to the Board to get Waqf properties vacated. He appreciated that the state government has exempted waqf properties in the urban areas from the Rent Control Act that is one of the major reasons of enhancing the revenue of the board. It is worthwhile to mention here that the a meeting with its Boston-based Israeli architect Moshe Safdie. Calling the museum a culmination of his life tasks, Badal said, I am satisfied that I have managed to fulfill the tasks set for me by the Guru. Sacha padshah mehr karo, asin hor vi sewa kar sakiye (God bless us so we can serve the people even better). The Virasat-e-Khalsa stands at a site that is the birthplace of the Khalsa Panth. The second holiest Sikh shrine, Takht Keshgarh Sahib, is located here. It was here in 1699, on the day of Baisakhi, that 10th Sikh master Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth and baptised the Panj Piaras.

undivided Punjab Waqf board was a sick board in the 1980s but when the present administrator Naseem Ahmad, who is a Haryana cadre IAS officer, was given the charge of the board, he made a turnaround and put the board on a steady track. Thereafter, it never looked back but in 2003-4 when the NDA was in power at the Center, the then Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Menka Gandhi did not like its progress as she ordered the partition of the board into four units. The unified board, which was set up in 1954 to look after the Muslim endowments following the mass exodus of the Muslim population to Pakistan from the Indian part of Punjab during partition, was divided into separate boards for Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and UT Chandigarh. The Haryana Waqf board was also in shambles before Naseem Ahmad took additional charge of it. Now it is marching ahead with a purpose and making itself an example for others how to manage and increase the income from the waqf properties. It is said that huge waqf properties spreading across the country can be utilized for the economic betterment of the Muslim community which would not need any help from the government if waqfs are managed properly. Local independent MLA and Chief Parliamentary Secretary in Haryana assembly, Jaleb Khan praised the HWB for working in the state for the betterment of the community. been built on a 100-acre site to emphasise the eternal message of the Sikh gurus. The Chief Minister said that a never-before miracle in Sikh history would take place in the coming week - the inauguration of three more memorials to commemorate the two genocides that occurred in Sikh history and the victory of Sirhind by Banda Singh Bahadur. Earlier, BJP president Nitin Gadkari said he had been in the construction business for long, but was impressed by the scale of the monument. Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said todays sankriti had been saved by the Khalsa Panth and that the 120-crore people of the country would be indebted to the Sikh Panth for the sacrifices made by its gurus in the cause of humanity. Also present were Swami Madhav Ashram Shankra-charya Bapu Asa Ram, Pakistani dignitaries Imran Masood (former education minister) and Rai Azizullah (former MP), former Canadian MPs Ruby Dhalla and Gurbax Malhi, besides Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and other senior SAD and BJP leaders. The Chief Minister honoured the Israeli architect Moshe Safdie on the occasion. He said Safdie had studied Sikh religion for two years before designing the heritage museum. Safdie said he wanted the museum to look 300 years old and he thought he had succeeded in this objective. Others who were honoured included noted filmmaker Bobby Bedi and designer Amar Behl for creating the exhibits of the heritage museum. (Jangveer Singh, Tribune)

Virasat-e-Khalsa inaugurated
Rs 300-crore monument, built by an Israeli architect, depicts the history, evolution of the Khalsa Panth
The inauguration clearly belonged to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The veteran leader has achieved the unique distinction of being behind the creation of the Rs 300 crore monument destined to take the Sikh religious experience to a new level. Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh set the tone for the function by reminding the congregation that the museum was the result of one mans dream. With elections in mind, he prayed to the lord to give Badal more time to complete all remaining tasks of the Sikh community.

Anandpur Sahib (Punjab): On November 25 Virasat-e-Khalsa was dedicated here to humanity in a ceremony that encompassed all faiths, but was essentially rooted in Sikh culture and tradition. Badal, flanked by Akal Takth Jathedar Gurbachan Singh and Sikh high priests, pressed a button to unveil the museums inaugural plaque as the Virasat-e-Khalsa monument seemingly rose out of the hillocks in the background. Nihangs astride horses and on foot along with gatka troupes dressed in blue with saffron colour turbans dotted the hillocks and enhanced the backdrop. Asha Bhosle started the function with a soulful rendition of the shabad Mera Sahib, Mera Sahib followed by Punjabi singer Jaspinder Narulas Deh Shiva Var Mohe. The programme ended with an ardas by Takth Sri Keshgarh Sahib Jathedar Giani Tarlochan Singh. A glider then showered confetti and flower petals on the assembled congregation that had BJP president Nitin Virasat-e-Khalsa monument at Anandpur Saheb with the Israeli architect in inset Gadkari, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Deputy Chief Conceived as a repository of the rich herThe Chief Minister recollected his chance Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal among others. visit to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem and itage of the Khalsa, showcasing the history and This was followed by a fireworks display. culture of Punjab, the heritage complex has

Minorities have lost faith in Raj. govt

uslim Forum has accused the Rajasthan government of defending communal elements despite dozens of incidents against minorities during its rule. The latest violence took place near Gopalgarh Masjid in Bharatpur district where police firing claimed 10 lives. The Rajasthan Muslim Forum has strongly opposed Shanti Dhariwals presence in the state cabinet retaining portfolios like Urban Development and Housing, Local Self-Government, Law and Legislative Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs despite being stripped of the home portfolio following large scale protests at his failure to control riots and punish the perpetrators of violence. Muslim Forum at a press conference in Rajasthan has demanded the removal of Dhariwal from the sate cabinet and for justifying police firing in Gopalgarh. Dhariwal who was the home minister of Rajasthan had justified the police firing by saying that the police controlled the violence by firing in the air. Qari Moinuddun, convenor of the forum said that nearly two months have passed but there has been no arrest after the Gopalgarh firing incident. Mohammad Hasan, president of the Irada Society said that minorities of Rajasthan especially Muslims have lost faith because of the biased role of the government towards minorities

Gopalgarh mosque: site of police firing

in the state. Engineer M. Saleem, national secretary of Jamaate-Islami Hind said that the present atmosphere is such that communal elements know that they can do anything and get away with it because the administration is on their side. Earlier, the National Commission for Minorities asked the

Rajasthan government to work in a direction that would help to change the perception of minorities in the state. The Commission had also asked the Rajasthan government to advise the police and the administration to be more sensitive in dealing with the minorities and at the same time to increase the representation of Muslim youth in the police department. There is a sense of distress among minorities about the government after the Gopalgarh incident. The impression that the chief of the National Commission for minorities, Wajahat Habibullah gathered from his visit to the state was that despite governments claim that action has been taken, people by and large were not convinced. Habibullah during his two hour long meet with the chief minister of Rajasthan demanded an improvement in the overall condition of the minorities in the state including adequate compensation for and rehabilitation of the victims, appointments to the states Minority Commission, more representation of minorities in police, employment opportunities for minorities, police presence in the troubled areas to be stepped up and effective measures to establish good rapport between police and the local people. Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot assured the Commission about the commitment of its government to protect minorities.

MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

NATIONAL

Congress party: would words match the actions too?

HAIDER ABBAS
Lucknow: The last keg of UP government has now started and with it the political machinations of all parties too have begun. Muslims, who make a sizeable presence in the state, are being courted by all parties across the board. This time this fight has ironically also found a new contestant the BJP. The ruling party (BSP) discovered the issue of Muslim reservation for the sake of lip service only, and that too at the very fag end. Mayawati seems to have forgotten that Muslims have been an active part of Bahujan Samaj, since her party began unlike the upper caste Brahmins who made merry throughout her tenure. No wonder BSP started to be called as Brahmin Samaj Party! Samajwadi Party (SP) is riding on the anti-incumbency wave and its president Mulayam Singh Yadav has promised to implement all the recommendations of Sachar committee and Ranganath Misra commission. His words however carry some weight as in his last tenure (2003-07), Mulayam had inducted 14.5% Muslims in the police constabulary. This could largely happen due to the presence of Muhammed Azam Khan, the general secretary of SP. BJP, it has been learnt, has made up its mind to field as many Muslim contestants as possible this time. Something which has never happened before. Thus, it leaves for Congress, a party

which had an unbreakable rule for decades in UP until 1977, to flex its muscles vis--vis Muslims, and it found a way out for the same, by evoking Maulana Fazle Haq Khairabadi and inviting Muslims over to a seminar on him. Khairabad is in UPs district Sitapur. Congress has been trying hard to project Muslim faces for their role in the war of 1857 and also in the independence sruggle like Abdul Bari Firangimahli, MM Ansari, Maulana Azad, Shibli Nomani, Hasrat Mohani etc, who had been forgotten all these years. The importance accorded to the function, which took place recently in the Scientific Centre in Lucknow, was such that many Congress bigwigs were present at the dais. This included Union Law Minister Salmam Khursheed, Congress party general secretary Digvijay Singh, Rita Bahuguna, Pramod Tiwari, Beni Prasad Yadav and Sri Prakash Jaiswal etc. An impression was created that Muslims were to soon find themselves on the reservation pedestal as Congress party was seriously contemplating the same and a decision is in all likelihood going to arrive before UP goes for polls. The line would allow Muslims to have reservation in proportion to their population. Digvijay Singh, while addressing the function said that reservation cannot be given to any community on the basis of religion, but now, after the Sachar report, it has been proved that Muslims have become even more backward than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, hence, an amendment is the need of the time

in Article 341 of the Constitution which does not allow a nonHindu, a non Sikh and a non-Buddhist to enjoy reservation. Article 341 should be scrapped so that Muslims could be included in the Scheduled Castes list, he said. Salman Khursheed found it opportune to dish out his party deeds as he announced that almost 90 percent recommendations of the Sachar committee have been implemented and that the government was also planning to make an increase in the amount of scholarships disbursed to minority students. It has been made mandatory for banks to give loans to Muslims, Khursheed added. He also mentioned the case of the minority character of Aligarh Muslim University which was the responsibility of the central government and which would be preserved. He tended to forget that the problem was created by the Congress and that such a promise is pending since 2006 and is still to be realised despite UPAs second stint to power. The row over Muslim apprehensions on the implementation of Right To Education Act, an issue which has been spearheaded by All India Muslim Personal Law Board, also came into discussion, as Khursheed assured that all the fears would be allayed and minority-run institutions interests would be strictly guarded by the government. Justice would be done and no appeasement and no discrimination would be tolerated, he added. It may be mentioned here that the emphasis laid on the increase in scholarships for Muslim students was in fact forced to be made by the Centre, as the UP state government had already declared that a scholarship scheme would be extended to girl students studying in registered madrassas in UP. The state government had made a provision of Rs 25 crore for this scheme in its supplementary budget in July this year. Hence, some more teeth had to be shown in order to woo Muslims. But, the Muslim intelligentsia could not be amused as such figures are just too little for the 37 million Muslims in UP. In UP, Muslims are the real wretched of the earth. The high cost of living and the rapid rise in prices have forced Muslim children to enter into their family vocations at a time when their career cannot even tend to make a start, and this has resulted in a massive drop-out of Muslim children from schools. Scholarships would come to those who are in schools, whereas what is needed is free education to poor Muslims on the lines of scheduled caste students, said Zafaryab Jilani at the function. He told the Congress leadership that Muslims have become so abysmally poor that students do not have enough money to seek admission and buy books, and thus they would never be able to meet the scholarship criteria which is heavily marred by redtapism. The people sitting in government offices do not demand; they implement. It is we in opposition who demand. What a great show of political mimicry by Digvijay Singh who says that an amendment is necessary in Article 341, whereas, on the contrary it should have been, by now announced that Congress is ready to bring such an amendment in the next Parliament session, said Muhammed Azam Khan over the phone from Rampur. The function shed light on the life and ideals of Fazle Haq who was imprisoned in the Cellular Jail by the British and he was the first clergy to issue a fatwa for waging a jehad against the British. The programme was also addressed by Tauqir Raza Khan of Bareilly, Khalid Rasheed Firangimahli and Obaidullah Khan Azmi.

Seven brave men fired 70 rounds into 4 dead bodies

Substantiating S.P. Tamangs magisterial report on Isharats fake encounter the SIT told the High Court that the timings of death and encounter do not tally. They had already been killed in cold blood prior to the encounter drama. According to the report Ishrat and Javed were brought from Mumbai on 12 June 2004 and were kept at an undisclosed place. According to the post-mortem report Isharat and Amjad Ali were killed on 14 June between 11 and 12 (night) while Javed was killed on 14 June between 8.30-9.30 p.m. Zeeshan was done to death in the wee hours, at 3.30 a.m. The four, then, were shown to have been killed in an encounter on 15 June (morning). Contrary to police claims the four had been killed one day prior to the encounter. According to Tamang the fake encounter was staged for ensuring a promotion so as to win the chief ministers appreciation. He pointed out that the details of the forensic lab and the time of encounter do not tally. He had submitted a 243 page report of it being a cold blooded murder. The SIT found the report quite convincing. It may be pointed out that Ishrats mother Shamima Kausar met the SIT team on 21 February 2011 and urged them to file an F.I.R. against 22 police officers including K.R. Kaushik Dy. Police Commissioner. This list includes Parikshita Gurjar, the first investigation officer, who had submitted a false report to shield the police team and filed a closure report in the court. She was Dy. S.P. at that time and is presently posted (and promoted) as S.P. Ahmedabad police zone. The seven brave policemen, in order to justify the encounter, fired seventy rounds from their sophisticated weapons. According to the magesterial report, the police did not fire a single round in self defence. However, later on they fired 70 rounds! Here is the list of rounds they fired: Mohanbhai Nanji bhai AK-47 10 rounds Mohanbhai Lala bhai Kalshwa AL-47 32 rounds behind bars in order to project Modi a film hero and themselves as his saviour. He wondered when Modi and Amit Shah accept their responsibility and stop parroting it that the law would take its course leaving the policemen to the mercy of the law! R.R. Verma had an in camera meeting with Satish Verma and others before filing the report in the High Court. They are believed to have some vital clues and evidence and after seeking the court permission will nab a few more policemen after completing legal formalities. Following is list of police officers likely to be included in fresh FIRs: 1. K.R. Kaushik Police Commissioner Ahmedabad 2. P.P. Pande Joint Police Commissioner Ahmedabad 3. D.G. Vanzaare DCP (crime branch) Ahmedabad 4. G.L. Singhal S.P. Crime branch 5. Dr. N.K. Amin A.C.P. crime branch 6. K.M. Waghela P.I. Crime branch 7. J.G. Parmar P.I. crime branch 8. B.D. Wanar P.I. Crime branch 9. S.P. Agrawat P.I. Crime branch 10. D.H. Goswami P.I. Crime branch 11. R.I. Patel P.I. crime branch 12. B.A. Chawda P.S.I. crime branch 13. Tarun Barot P.I. Crime branch 14. K.S. Desai P.S.I. crime branch 15. Ibrahim Kalubhai Chauhan P.S.I. crime branch 16. Mohanlal Klaswa Constable Crime branch 17. Mukesh Natwarlal head const. crime branch 18. Nizamuddin Burhanuddin const. crime branch 19. Anaju Jeeman Chaudhari commando crime branch 20. Malabhai driver crime branch 21. Mohambhai Nanajibhai commando crime branch 22. Parikshita Gurjar A.C.P.

Anaju Jeeman Chaudhari J.J. Parmar Narendra Amin Tarun Barot I.K. Chauhan

Stengun 10 rounds A service 4 rounds Service revolver 5 rounds Service revolver 6 rounds Service revolver 3 rounds

The Gujarat High Court has ordered the filing of fresh FIRs against the police team charging them of murder. The bench comprising Justice Jayant Patel and Justice Abhilasha Kumari expressed satisfaction at the progress made by the SIT under R.R. Verma. Ishrats advovate I.H. Syed requested investigation to be handed over to NIA or CBI SIT. However, Javed Shaikhs advocate, Mukul Sinha, pointed out that CBI had in the past (Sohrabuddin encounter) committed several lapses under political pressure. Hence, he urged that the matter should not be entrusted to the CBI. The state government at the same time pleaded that the matter be handed over to the state government. Arjun Modhawadia, Congress chief, recalled that all encounters during 2002-2004 had a common refrain - the persons had LeT links and were planning to kill Modi; they were ISI agents or belonged to Dauds gang. Thus there are 29 police officers

AG KHAN

10 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

NATIONAL

Gujarat Congress appeases Hindu voters

ABDUL HAFIZ LAKHANI, Ahmedabad
The entire sequence was interesting enough. Gujarat congress in a bid to please Hindu voters, all its state leaders last Tuesday, came to Ahmedabads Shahpur based Adwait Ashram and met Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Dwarka peeth. They all spent about half-an-hour and prominently discussed the Gujarat Public Trust (Amendment) 2011 act besides other issues. The first to meet the Shankaracharya was Gujarat Congress President Arjun Modhwadia. Former Gujarat Congress President Siddharth Patel was with Modhwadia. After the meeting was over, Gujarat Congress President told media persons that Shankaracharya and Gujarat Congress have the same stand on Gujarat governments Gujarat Public Trust (Amendment) act 2011. In the evening, former Gujarat Chief Minister and senior Gujarat Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela arrived at Adwait ashram to meet the Shankaracharya. He too spent about half-anhour and talked about Gujarat governments new trust act besides other issues. As soon as Shri Vaghela finished his meeting and departed, leader of the opposition in Gujarat assembly Shri Shaktisinh Gohil too arrived at the ashram and met Shri Shankaracharya. Shaktisinh told media persons that he discussed the new Trust act and the issue of decreasing area of gauchar(grazing land reserved for cows)land in the state. According to sources, normally Gujarat congress leaders never meet the seer enmass but upcoming election in the state might have forced them to talk to this religious leader. Meanwhile, fed up of corrupt people who make it in politics, some concerned citizens and activists in the state are hoping for a revolution of sorts. Some six to eight activists plan to take out a movement aimed at spreading awareness among voters of the state. Bharatsinh Jhala, an RTI activist, who will be part of the movement said, We aim to spread awareness among voters to ensure that political parties dont get to choose candidates. We want people to choose the candidates who can in turn stand for an election. This is the only way to ensure that criminals and corrupt people do not become part of the government. Gandhian Chinubhai Vaidya said, The Movement aims to ensure that democracy is exercised by and for the people. Kanubhai Kalsariya, who is leading the fight against Nirmas plant in Mahuva, also extended his support to the movement. The movement which will start from Gandhi Ashram on December 12 is expected to travel 7,000 km and cover some1200 villages and 250 talukas across Gujarat. The yatra will culminate with a public meeting at Sardarbaugh in Lal Darwaja on January 25, 2012. Incidentally, that day also happens to be National Voters Day. Team Anna members have also been invited for the same. Mallika Sarabhai, danseuse and activist who is also supporting the event said, It is time we vote for candidates and not for parties.

Gujarat police loses face, prestige plummets

After Sardarpura verdict it seems that Narendra Modi, Gujarats chief minister and self-styled iron man is in as much trouble as his loyal police officers. The scales of justice refuse to tilt in his advantage. First, a trial court sentenced 31 rioters for the massacre of Muslims by electrocution and fire in Sardarpura during the post-Godhra riots of 2002. Then, the Gujarat High Court accepted SITs conclusion that Ishrat Jahan, Pranesh Pillai aka Javed Sheikh and two others (said to be Pakistanis, but whose identities were never established conclusively) were butchered in cold blood by so-called encounter specialists of Modis police. The court has ordered a fresh investigation of the whole affair. Is the sword of justice moving slowly but inexorably to puncture his 56-inch chest, vaunted with arrogance, stained though it is with the blood of innocents? Modis shameful past is at last catching up with him. This time, the wheels of justice have turned differently from the Best Bakery trial of 2003, in which all 21 accused were acquitted as the eye-witnesses turned hostile. In the Sardarpura case, the Supreme Court ensured that witnesses were protected from intimidation, coercion or combinations thereof. It was the first post-Godhra riot case to be prosecuted by a Supreme Court-appointed SIT. The verdict was an indicator that after all, inspite of the myth of Modis invincibility, crafted by an assiduous industry, works with the SIT-of the 31 convicted in the Sardarpura case, the SIT had brought to book only two-the judiciary wont buy it. It had also compromised its credibility by flip-flopping on Zakia Jafris allegation of the complicity of Modi and 61 other powerful people in the murder of her husband Ehsan, a former MP, and other Muslims of Gulberg Society by a riotous mob. This, however, has been challenged by amicus curiae Raju Ramachandrans report to the Supreme Court that suspended police officer Sanjeev Bhatts allegation of Modis complicity in the post-Godhra riots be placed before the trial court and verified by cross-examining the officers present at the chief ministers meeting of February 27, 2002, during which Modi is alleged to have directed police officers to allow mobs to vent their fury. With the Sardarpura and the Ishrat cases going against him, Modi will now be worried about how things pan out in Zakia Jafris case in the trial court. Till now, it was projected that Modis writ ran unimpeded in Gujarat and even the judicial realm would fall under the spell he has orchestrated. The courts havent been swept by that empty wind. However, many in officialdom-especially in the police-lost took lessons on leadership during a day long conference organised by the Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO). Lessons in Leadership, Excellence in Education, Discovering the Purpose of Education & Life and Evils of Imperialism were a few of the many subjects taken up during the conference. Modern education system is only producing corporate slaves and knowledge workers. It is the faulty foundation of the Education System which is being witnessed in the form of Corruption, Waning Social Order, Economic Inequality, Moral Turpitude and Violence. The philosophy of education needs to be revisited in order to deal with the contemporary crisis, was the message of the Conference. Speakers motivated the students community to aim at excellence and utilise their skills for the benefit of the Society. Speakers also tried and presented the values preached in Islam in order to establish a just and peaceful society. Eminent speakers including Dr.Suresh Khairnar (Nagpur based Social Activist), S.Ameenulhasan (Central Advisory Council Member, Jamaat-e-Islami), PM Salih (Secretary General, SIO of India), Saiyed Arif Ali(Secretary, SIO of India),Mufti Rizwan Tarapuri (Ahmedabad based Islamic Educationist), Dr.Shakeel Ahmed (President, Jamaat-e-Islami) Mohd. Kaleem Ansari (President,Students Islamic organisation of India-Gujarat) and Saleha Malek (President, Girls Islamic Organisation - Gujarat) spoke at the conference. their spine, awed perhaps by its hypnotic swell. The SIT investigating the Ishrat case found that as many as 21 police officers conspired to murder her and three others, and to describe them as Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists on a mission to assassinate Modi. As Conrad observed, cops and criminals are cabbages from the same basket, so, to the cynic, theres nothing extraordinary about cops being trigger-happy when the loot is promotions and a bravery award. But the willingness of Gujarats cops to kowtow to Modis bigoted ideology seems widespread. Even some central intelligence officers have been found to have provided fake inputs in the Ishrat case. Two of the 21 officers named in the case, D.G. Vanzara and Narendra Amin, are in custody in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, which has singed Modis political lieutenant Amit Shah. Another worry for the would-be Sardar is that many police officers are now speaking up about his cold-blooded regime. Earlier, it was only R.B. Sreekumar and Rahul Sharma who spoke out. Then came Sanjeev Bhatt. Now its the turn of Mohan Jha and Satish Verma, members of the R.R. Verma-led SIT which submitted a report to the Gujarat High Court in the Ishrat case. At one time, during election meetings, Modi would arch his eyebrows, invoke the name of Miya Musharraf, give out Lyngdohs name as James Michael Lyngdoh in a slow and deliberate manner to turn local communal prejudices into votes. But election victories shouldnt mitigate crimes if the wheels of justice turn on their true axis. Woefully for Modi and thankfully for India, the communal bogey he freely invoked-of late, he has abandoned it and drums the development beat-hasnt affected many, like the police officers who have spoken out or the judges seeking to bring justice to Gujarat. Modi, a practitioner of expedient politics whose contempt for constitutional functioning is ill-disguised, must be having eerie visions of so many pseudo-secularists working against him from key institutional positions. Unfortunately for him, his party has to seek power across India, not just in Gujarat-and within the constitutional framework. So it cannot afford to project as a national leader a demagogue whose image of invincibility the judiciary has dented. For now, Modi might have to content himself with dancing with his uninclusive vision of Garvi Gujarat. (Abdul Hafiz Lakhani)

CM loots the state: Gohil

Courts debunk allegations against Teesta Setalvad

Thousands joined the programme, the Congress, had organized in Bhavnagar to give a call to Chief Minister to undertake genuine public welfare activities. Leader of Opposition Shaktisinh Gohil, who represents Bhavnagar in the State Assembly, said that he made plenty of promises to people of Bhavnagar, but did nothing to fulfill them. He said that people of Bhavnagar were very angry over false promises of the CM and it was reflected in the presence of people at the Congress meeting. Now people have realized that CM was squandering public money for his personal publicity. He is working to promote the interests of a few favourite businessmen only, Gohil said. Resources of Gujarat are being exploited for a few, while nothing is done for the common man. Thus, he said, CM is working against the interests of people of Gujarat.

Muslims protest against: dirty picture

A group of Muslims in Godhra, burnt effigies of actor and producer of recently released film Dirty Picture in Polan bazar area and shouted slogans against allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Muslims. Muslims of this group, opposed lyrics of one of the songs of a new film Dirty Picture, in which according to them, it is said that one should remove Allah and God from his/her heart. The youths who joined the protest demanded that such offending words must be removed from the film and those who made the film must publicly apologize for such a misadventure. The Muslims gathered in Polan Bazaar before Friday namaz, and burnt the effigies of producer and actor of the film. Polan Bazaar is one of the most sensitive areas in Gujarat. Some time back Muslims had broken their TV sets publicly here after someone in a comedy show on TV passed offending remark, unacceptable to conservative Muslims.

SIO Conference calls We The Students, We the Leaders

Hundreds of students assembled at Juhapura in Ahmedabad and

One would have thought that the job of a newspaper is not simply that of a post office but to provide credible information to its readers. Several newspapers have reported that Rais Khan, a former employee of Citizens for Justice and Peace, has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court accusing the organisations secretary, Teesta Setalvad, and lawyer Suhail Tirmizee of doctoring affidavits of victim-witnesses in the Supreme Court supervised trial of five major carnage cases in Gujarat in 2002. That this is newsworthy is not in question. But should not the report also have reminded readers that in two of these five cases the court has given its verdicts -- Best Bakery (March 2006) and Sardaparura (November 2011) -- and in BOTH cases the exoneration of Teesta Setalvad is part of the judicial pronouncements? In the Best Bakery case, Zahira Shaikh was even sent to jail by the Supreme Court when a committee appointed by it concluded that her charges against Teesta Setalvad (similar to those levelled against her by Rais Khan now) were totally baseless. As reported by prominent national dailies, the court order in the Sardaparpura case, too, fully endorses the role of Teesta Setalvad and Citizens for Justice and Peace in the justice process.(Javed Anand)

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011 11

HUMAN RIGHTS/TERRORISM

Torture in India: a report

APCHRs latest report, Torture in India 2011, states that a total of Torture and Deaths in Judicial Custody: Uttar Pradesh tops the 14,231 persons, i. e., more than four persons per day died in police and Chart judicial custody in India from 2001 to 2010. This includes 1,504 deaths in During 2001-2010, 12,727 deaths in judicial custody took place. Uttar police custody and 12,727 deaths in judicial custody from 2001-2002 to Pradesh recorded the highest number of deaths in judicial custody with 2009-2010 as per the cases submitted to the National Human Rights 2171 deaths, followed by Bihar (1512); Maharashtra (1176); Andhra Commission (NHRC). Pradesh (1037); Tamil Nadu (744); Punjab (739); West Bengal (601); A large majority of these deaths are a direct consequence of torture Jharkhand (541); Madhya Pradesh (520); Karnataka (496); Rajasthan in custody. These deaths reflect only a fraction of the problem with tor- (491); Gujarat (458); Haryana (431); Orissa (416); Kerala (402); ture and custodial deaths in India as not all the cases of deaths in police Chhattisgarh (351); Delhi (224); Assam (165); Uttarakhand (91); and prison custody are reported to the NHRC. Further, the NHRC does Himachal Pradesh (29); Tripura (26); Meghalaya (24); Chandigarh (23); not have jurisdiction over the armed forces and the NHRC also does not Goa (18); Arunachal Pradesh (9); Pondicherry (8); Jammu and Kashmir record statistics of torture not resulting into death. and Nagaland (6 each); Mizoram (4); Sikkim and Andaman and Nicober The failure of the Ministry of Home Affairs to introduce the Prevention Island (3 each); and Manipur and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (1 each). of Torture Bill drafted by the Rajya Sabha Select Committee headed by A large number of these deaths are as a result of torture, denial of Shri Ashwani Kumar, the current Minister of State for Planning, in medical facilities and sub-human conditions in Indian jails. December 2010 in the parliament session beginning on 22 November 2011 demonstrates Indias lack of political will to stamp out torture. Custodial deaths in conflict situations not collected: India is yet to realize the cost of not having anti-torture law in com- ACHR stated that the number of deaths in police custody recorded from pliance with UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) that led to rejection Conflict-afflicted states like Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur do not of the extradition of Kim Davy, the prime accused in the Purulia arms reflect the gravity of the situation. The NHRC registered only six deaths drop case by the Danish High Court in June 2011; the direction of a in police custody in Jammu and Kashmir from 2001-02 to 2010-11, while British Court in July 2011 to depute a human rights expert to visit the pris- only two cases of deaths in police custody were recorded from Manipur ons in Gujarat to examine the prison conditions before it grants extradi- during the same period. This is despite the fact that on 31 March 2011 tion of Mohammad Hanif Umerji Patel, alias Tiger Hanif, the alleged mas- Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in a written reply termind of the 1993 bomb blast in Surat; and cancellation of the extradi- before the Legislative Council stated that 341 persons had died in police tion of Abul Salem by the Portuguese High Court in September 2011 on custody in the state since 1990. the ground that he was tortured in custody following Custodial rape of women: The failure of the Ministry of Home Affairs to introduce the extradition. That torture is ACHR stated that custodial Prevention of Torture Bill drafted by the Rajya Sabha Select non-derogable even in war rape remains one of the and a crime against humani- Committee headed by Shri Ashwani Kumar, the current Minister of worst forms of torture perpety is yet to be recognized by trated on women by law State for Planning, in December 2010 in the parliament session India, stated Asian Centre personnel and beginning on 22 November 2011 demonstrates Indias lack of politi- enforcementcustodial rape of for Human Rights while a number of cal will to stamp out torture. releasing the report on the women takes place at reguInternet on 21 November. lar intervals. The NHRC recorded 39 cases of rape from judicial and police custody from 2006 to Torture and Deaths in Police Custody: Maharashtra tops the Chart 28 February 2010. During 2001-2010, Maharashtra recorded the highest number of deaths Citing the case of Maloti Kalandi (http://www.nhrc.nic.in/display.asp? in police custody with 250 deaths; followed by Uttar Pradesh (174); fno=169/3/0/2010-PCR), wife of Badal Kalandi who along with children Gujarat (134); Andhra Pradesh (109); West Bengal (98); Tamil Nadu were rescued from being trafficked, were handed over to the Tamulpur (95); Assam (84); Karnataka (67); Punjab (57); Madhya Pradesh (55); police station, Baksa district of Assam for safe custody. Instead of providHaryana (45); Bihar (44); Kerala (42); Jharkhand (41); Rajasthan (38); ing safety, Sub-Inspector Sahidur Rahman summoned the victim to his Orissa (34); Delhi (30); Chhattisgarh (24); Uttarakhand (20); Meghalaya official quarter and raped her. The accused has since been suspended (17); Arunachal Pradesh (10); Tripura (8); Jammu and Kashmir (6); and is being tried before the Courts. The NHRC awarded interim comHimachal Pradesh (5); Goa; Chandigarh and Pondicherry (3 each); pensation of Rs 100,000 to the victim. Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland (2 each); and Sikkim and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (1 each). Torture by the Armed Opposition Groups: Maoists the Worst About 99.99% of deaths in police custody can be ascribed to torture Violators and occur within 48 hours of the victims being taken into custody. Though Asian Centre for Human Rights stated that the Maoists remain the worst Maharashtra has a total population of 112 million in comparison to 199 violators of human rights including torture and they have been responsimillion in Uttar Pradesh according to 2011 census, the fact that 76 more ble for brutal killing of their hostages after abduction. Often the hostages persons were killed in police custody in Maharashtra shows that torture were killed by slitting their throats or beheading. The suspects were tried is more rampant in police custody in Maharashtra than Uttar Pradesh, and handed over death sentences or subjected to torture through the "asserted Mr Chakma. socalled Jan Adalats (Peoples Courts) in full public view to instill fear Citing the case of Mohd. Umar alias Badkau among the people. On the night of 25 March 2010, Maoists slit the throat of Chhotu (http://www.nhrc.nic.in/display.asp? fno= 10570/24/9/2010-AD), accused of kidnapping and rape, who allegedly committed suicide inside Haldi Manjhi after kidnapping him from Gamahariatard village under Pirtard Police Station in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh by hanging himself police station in Giridih district of Jharkhand. He was taken to a forest with a towel inside his lock-up on 21 March 2010, Asian Centre for where he was killed in the presence of villagers after Jan Adalat found Human Rights stated that the post mortem report found eight contusions him guilty of passing information to the police. on various parts and ligature mark around the neck and indicated that the Recommendations: cause of death was due to asphyxia as a result of ante mortem hanging. Asian Centre for Human Rights called upon the Government of India to The magisterial enquiry report opined that deceased died due to police enact the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010 as drafted by the Parliamentary torture and held In-charge of the Police Station, Brij Kishore Yadav, Head Select Committee without any dilution into a law. ACHR also recomMoherar Sanjay Verma, Lock up Sentry, Constable Ishwardin Shukla and mended to the NHRC to recommend prosecution of the guilty public offiCo-prisoner Vijay Shankar Pandey jointly responsible for this death. The cials in all the cases in which compensation is recommended. Investigating Officer of case S. K. Surya (Sub Inspector) and Constable The full report Torture in India 2011 covering the incidents of torture Dev Baksh Singh were also found responsible or tampering with the doc- in India. It is available at: http://www.achrweb.org/reports/india/toruments. ture2011.pdf

Hyderabad: Hyderabad police has been accused of communal bias, and for encouraging (and shielding) the Saffron brigade. Instead of promoting communal harmony, it is engaged in disrupting peace. Whenever it probes riot incidents its operation begins to target Muslims so as to seek revenge. If the accused is a Muslim, police officers brief media demonising him and describing him as a highly dangerous person with foreign links who is determined to attack non-Muslims. But in case the accused happens to be a nonMuslim, he is described as an old or insane person. Hindu youth arrested during recent late night attacks on Muslims are shielded and were not alleged to belong to communal outfits. Their attacks have been described as revenge-motivated reaction. Remand diaries show such efforts. Several prominent activists, e.g., Unni Krishnan, Shakti Maheshwar, Survyavanshi Mahesh, P. Bhagwat and P. Kalyan are officebearers of several religious organisations who conduct various religious programmes and try to strike deals with the Police for shielding Hindus. In order to justify their attacks on Muslims, cowslaughter has been cited as the pretext for revenge/reaction or that their attack was to take revenge for a Hindu who was attacked while trying to obstruct the transportation of cows. Sadanand, the main accused, had been arrested in the past too and booked by the police.

Hyderabad police shielding Saffron brigade

China secretly spying on CBI domain

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in his video address on the occasion of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit from London on 3 December said that China is sucking out e-mails of Indias premier investigative agency the Central Bureau of Investigation and a German company has provided military surveillance equipment which can also be used to spy on political rivals. Assange also said that interception of the entire nation by Western firms works against transparency for secretive groups. Moving a step further Assange said that Islamic terror was being used as a cover for unlawful interceptions and anti-terror moves misused for economic intelligence by big players in the market. Assange called for laws that can ensure open societies because it is being threatened by state agencies and private firms. Recently, Wikileaks has also released hundreds of documents that provide inputs on the products of the intelligence contractors which has been named as Spy Files. The released document reveals that in the past ten years the process of indiscriminate mass surveillance has spread its tentacles across 25 countries including India. Surprisingly, three Indian companies like Shoghi Communications (Himachal Pradesh), Cleartrail Technologies (Indore) and Shield Security with headquarter in UK are also listed among 287 files in international mass surveillance industry. These companies claim that their surveillance equipment can listen, choose and pick any language out of millions of conversations taking place across the world at the same time. With this equipment governments listen in to telephonic conversations particularly of journalists, politicians, corporate officials and bureaucrats.

NIA to expand its ambit soon

Aseemanand questions bail to Malegaon 7, claims was tortured

Ten days after seven accused in the 2006 Malegaon blast case were released on bail, partly because of his confession that Hindu extremists were behind the attack, Swami Aseemanand has questioned the decision, claiming that he had already retracted that statement made by him under extortion. In a memorandum sent to President Pratibha Patil on 27 November, with copies to the prime minister, home minister and the National Human Rights Commission among others, Aseemanand also alleged that he had been tortured on account of my religion. How can my extorted confession that was retracted be taken... to the aid of the Malegaon accused when no court has pronounced on my retracted confession? How can NIA [National Investigation Agency] support the bail pleas of Muslim accused in the Malegaon case in the face of the confession by these accused and the inputs shared by the government of India with the US and the UNO? Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Aseemanand, who had been arrested in Mecca Masjid blast case in 2007, said in the memorandum. What a travesty of justice! On one hand a Hindu sanyasi like me is being made to suffer unimaginable and unbearable indignities by investigating agencies and state actors so as to extort my confessions, on the other hand, Muslim accused in the Malegaon case are allowed bail on the stand of the Union Home Ministry and the NIA using this extorted (retracted) confession, stated Aseemanand. Aseemand was arrested in November 2010 by CBI officials from Haridwar en route Delhi, said Aseemanand. CBI officials on several occasions stopped the vehicle on the roadside in pitch dark and made me kneel on the ground. After putting pistol on my temple they threatened to kill me if I did not act as per their desire. Upon my refusal, they threatened that they would push me towards on-coming speeding traffic and that my death would be an accident. In this situation I felt ashamed that as a Hindu I have no human rights; I was subjected to torture on account of my religion. In custody, I was isolated. Losing all hope and to save my family members, I succumbed to their pressure and torture, Aseemanad claimed in his letter. (D K Singh - indianexpress.com)

Indias nodal terror probe agency National Investigation Agency established in 2008 in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks is likely to expand its wings soon. In a first-ever expansion after its inception the government has decided to create three more offices in Lucknow, Kochi and Mumbai and at the same time to increase its strength to 900 from existing 400 personnel. Headquarter of NIA is in New Delhi including two branch offices in Guwahati and Hyderabad and a sub office in Mumbai. Presently, the NIAs staff strength is around 400 personnel which include one Director General, one Special Director General, two Inspector Generals, eight Deputy Inspector Generals and 14 SPs. The new posts that are to be created will include IGs, DIGs and SPs. NIA has so far taken up 28 cases. The major cases the NIA is probing include the 7 September blast near the Delhi High Court, the 2006 and 2007 blasts in Malegaon and 2007 blast in Ajmer Sharif Dargah.

MG NEWS DESK

12 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

ISSUES

Info can be bought and sold

SEEMA MUSTAFA
Big media empires are set up with covert state support, and the payback is through the manipulation of news that is difficult to detect. This has happened in the US, it is happening in India The Internet is buzzing with news of peoples protests, opposition to various legislations slated for Parliament, petitions against government oppression, an entirely different world from that reflected in the so-called mainstream media through the long, and often very tedious, 24 hours coverage. The VIP media of editors and proprietors with farm houses and five-star book launches covers only VIP politicians, mega scams, corporate honcho successions, sensational rapes, leaving the protesting people of India to fend for themselves. So while television channels are engaged in sensationalizing non-events, and generating debates on inconsequential political happenings, the people of India have moved on to the Internet, flooding it with petitions, videos, photographs of a reality that has been squeezed out of the so-called national media altogether. For instance, there was coverage of the peoples protests against the Koodankulam nuclear power project so long as the anchors could dress up the story in sexy garb by pitching the Centre against Chief Minister Jayalalitha. It was almost projected as a protest organized by the AIADMK leader in a major distortion of the facts. But there has not been a word in the media about the fact that 3015 persons, including leading activists like Dr S P Udayakumar, have been charged now for waging war against the country and sedition by the Tamil Nadu police controlled by Jayalalitha. The media has disappeared from view, leaving it to activists to launch petition campaigns and seek justice on their own. Similarly, there has not been a word in the media criticizing former Home Secretary G K Pillai for virtually justifying the encounter murder of young Ishrat Jehan by the Gujarat police by suggesting that by checking into different hotels with another man was definite ground for suspicion. This at a time when the SIT report has established her death as an encounter, in the first glimmerings of justice for the victims of the Gujarat violence. It is the Pillai kind of mindset that justifies state brutality, as clearly his case is

The story of a country cannot be without its people. The governments decision to bring in a Food Security Bill cannot be divorced in the coverage of what impact it will have on the ground. It is the job of the media to explore not the legalities of the legislation but whether it will bring relief to the people, and to what extent. These stories are not being covered any more with the media getting away with a couple of quotes from the VIP politicians, and a this party is against the other party kind of superficial approach. What has happened to the Women's Reservation Bill? What does 51 per cent FDI in the retail sector mean for the people? And by people, the yardstick should be the poor people at the receiving end, and not just the consumers who determine the advertisements and the TRP ratings. People do not like to come out on the streets to protest. Not even those who belong to political parties. They do so because they genuinely believe that there is no other course, and the issue is important enough to merit their full participation. But when thousands of workers march on the streets of Delhi for justice and rights, the entire media with not a single exception blocks them out as they are the conscience-check for unbridled capitalism keeping the corporates in business. All that is reported are traffic jams as a result of peoples protests. Of course, if the protests turn violent the media is in full attendance to damn the protestors and their supporters.
that an independent woman taking control of her own life is suspect. This mentality is reflected in the police station where rape victims are placed on trial by the cops - the woman is of loose character, she was not dressed soberly, etc before they even register the complaint. It has been left to civil society to move a petition for signatures against the former Home Secretary demanding an immediate apology. The Gujarat High Court has fortunately expressed serious displeasure at the comments made by Pillai to the media. Tired and disillusioned, the young people are moving to the Internet not just in India but all across the world. The real pictures of Libya and now possibly Syria are not found in the world media, controlled as it is by the big powers, but on the Internet where local journalists and photographers have been posting videos about the cold-blooded murders of sovereign state leaders like Gaddafi (after Saddam Hussein), the repression of the people by Israel in Palestine on a daily basis, and the contrast between the rebels and the people who are supporting the regime in Syria as they do not want their country to be destroyed by US/Nato bombers. The story on the Internet is often totally different to what is projected by the big media that has either not understood what is happening inside a nation, or has understood but does not care, or more sinister, is playing along with a larger international conspiracy. The story of a country cannot be without its people. The governments decision to bring in a Food Security Bill cannot be divorced in the coverage of what impact it will have on the ground. It is the job of the media to explore not the legalities of the legislation but whether it will bring relief to the people, and to what extent. These stories are not being covered any more with the media getting away with a couple of quotes from the VIP politicians, and a this party is against the other party kind of superficial approach. What has happened to the Women's Reservation Bill? What does 51 per cent FDI in the retail sector mean for the people? And by people, the yardstick should be the poor people at the receiving end, and not just the consumers

who determine the advertisements and the TRP ratings. People do not like to come out on the streets to protest. Not even those who belong to political parties. They do so because they genuinely believe that there is no other course, and the issue is important enough to merit their full participation. But when thousands of workers march on the streets of Delhi for justice and rights, the entire media with not a single exception blocks them out as they are the conscience-check for unbridled capitalism keeping the corporates in business. All that is reported are traffic jams as a result of peoples protests. Of course, if the protests turn violent the media is in full attendance to damn the protestors and their supporters. John Pilgers film while very important is not mainstream media. It can never be as it is too honest, very courageous and brutal in projecting the truth. It will be seen by a handful of persons as compared to the millions who are bombarded with contrived images and manipulated news about the Arab world day after day. The media motto is: convert the lie into a truth by repeating it over and over again. It works as international, and of course national, stereotypes have been created on this basis, completely suffocating the tiny voices of truth. Right and wrong is established through this manipulation, with the definition being determined by the powerful few and not the impoverished many. The state has realised the importance of controlling the media across the world, particularly in democracies. It has also realised that it does not need to do this through draconian laws (like censorship) and has opted for outright seduction. Big media empires are set up with covert state support, and the payback is through the manipulation of news that is difficult to detect. This has happened in the US, it is happening in India. Multi-media chains are being established by industrial houses, they get full support through the way by the government that even bails them out at later stages through closed door multicrore deals, so that eventually they can control the news. The distance between the journalist and the politician has been bridged, and both go to bed with each other to ensure smooth functioning of the new media industry that first creates the news and then disseminates it with admirable ease. The voter cannot be controlled, but the information can. And as the Iraq war and its embedded journalists have shown so successfully to the world, information can be bought and sold. (freepressjournal.in)

Shahabuddins remarks at the National Integration Council

Following are Syed Shahabuddins remarks at the National Integration Council meeting on 10 September, 2011: I would like to basically emphasize that the Communal Violence Bill, which is not yet before the Parliament, has become a victim of feticide. It is being attacked from all sides by many people and facing a number of objectives particularly from those political elements who look upon any Government measures which may particularly benefit the Muslims and Christian as appeasement. The Indian society is not only multi-dimensional, but its demography varies from one level to another. It is the duty of the State to protect any social group irrespective of religion, caste or language, which forms a weaker section or a minority at any local level and which is targeted by a dominant group. However, violence is not the monopoly of any particular group. I have seen, Mr. Chairman, in my own experience, in the same town, in one part of the town, one group is acting as the targeter and the other is targeted and in another part of the same town, the role is reversed. Therefore, when the word majority or minority in the sense of targeter is being used, it is not being used in any religious sense or in any total or universal sense. It is my view that the administration cannot control the outbreak of violence, but it can certainly normalize the situation within 24 hours, within 48 hours if it so likes. If it does not or cannot, there is certainly an element of institutional weakness or bias. There is also a feeling, particularly, if violence not only persists, but extends to other areas, other districts, other places, in a sense, in that situation, the Government is not being carried out in that State, in that area, in accordance with the Constitution to use the language of Article 355. I am afraid, the Central government is then dutybound to assist the state government, first through advisories and directions and offer of support, if necessary, and then if after seven days, there is no respite, then by effective intervention. I fully appreciate the feelings and sentiments of those who uphold the federal principle. Still I feel that this intervention becomes a duty when the Government in the affected area is not being carried out in accordance with the Constitution. The Central Government must do its bit. However, this is subject to conditions, first it must immediately, urgently, consult the National Commission of Human Rights, National Commission for Minorities and the National Commission for Schedule Castes, and National Commission for Schedule Tribes after gauging the persistence of violence in terms of causalities and areas and establishing the facts objectively, and then after consultations, do nothing more, not take over the districts, not take over the entire state, but simply post a senior officer of the rank of Commissioner to supervise the district administration. This will not amount to intervention, it will not amount to takeover, but it will give confidence to the people who are being targeted. It will give a new spirit to the administration and I think it will work. The Bill also provides, in my opinion unfortunately, for an over-powering national authority backed by state authorities. It is too heavy a burden. It will become a parallel structure and I do not think that is necessary, but I feel that since the resources for relief and rehabilitation are normalized, the Central Government may maintain a presence there in the affected districts in order to see that the work of relief, rehabilitation and reparation is carried out well. I know in Gujarat, the Central Government sent 200 crore rupees, but most of it was returned, it was not used and, therefore, if there is Central supervision there, the officer will see to it that it is done. I come to one more topic - that is discrimination. I have read Article 15 (1). It says that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on the basis of religion, caste etc, but it does not say that it is the States duty to protect anyone who is subjected to discrimination. I think Article 15 needs to be amended in order to add to it a provision that the State shall protect anyone who is being discriminated. I personally feel that in all uplift programmes, aggregated stats are being given. This leaves everybody dissatisfied. The people, for whom something is being done, do not know what has been done, and, therefore, I feel that for avoiding discrimination and to establish that the authorities are not guilty of discrimination, collation and release of dis-aggregated data must become the norm and the implementation must be monitored at the operational level in every district by representative local committee. I would like to have felicitated the Chief Minister of Kashmir for having stopped the regular exchange of the stones and bullets. I remember, in 1955 when I as a student leader and Patna faced police firing, the press headline was brick bats were replied by bullets. Here stones were replied by bullets, thankfully that has stopped and the police has been trained properly. But, all governments have to deal with all civil disturbances in a humane manner. They should never forget that the demonstrators are our own people, they are our own children and they cannot be shot at recklessly and the government must provide immediate, uniform and adequate reparation to the victims. The governments must also compensate people who are put in prison for the time being as suspects in acts of terrorism suspicions, who are arrested or detained and prosecuted, but, who are finally acquitted by he courts. Their life has been ruined, their valuable time has been lost. Why should not the state compensate them? Finally, on the question of radicalization in a country where 80 percent of the people are living on an expenditure of 20 rupees per day, where 40 percent of the people are sleeping every night on empty stomach, where people are begging for jobs, where jobs are shrinking both in the public and the private sectors, how do you expect the youth not to take to extremist radicalism? We should guide them. They are to be guided politically. But we have to do something more, we have to economically and socially help them. Today our youths are in the electronic age, they are receiving continuous exposures from all over the world and they know what is happening. We have to give them quality education universally, everywhere, not the mockery of education, give them technical training to acquire skills. Establish avenues of mutual cooperation and compassion. Various sections of the society need politicization so that they develop a sense of trust in the state and the administration. I am sure that otherwise the youth shall be radicalized and they should be. Unless youth is radicalized society will become stagnant, dormant. But it should be radicalized in the right direction, in the right manner to achieve better goals and higher objectives.

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011 13

ISSUES

Behenji: the pragmatist politician, power games & Dalit aspirations

RAM PUNIYANI
ram.puniyani@gmail.com With elections looming over the Uttar Pradesh horizon, recently (Nov 2011) UP Chief Minister Mayawati declared that her cabinet has approved the proposal to divide the state of UP into four smaller states. She declared that only a dalitOBC Chief Minister would be able to solve the problems of dalit-OBCs. There is also talk of giving reservation to Muslims in UP. All this has created a huge turmoil in political circles. Amongst the politicians who have risen at a fast pace during the last couple of decades, Mayawati, the associate of late Kanshiram may be the foremost. While she inherited the movement built by Kanshiram, she also showed her mettle in capturing the seat of power in the challenging arena of politics. Her Prime Ministerial ambitions at the moment are not very manifest, though immediately after her getting an absolute majority in the previous UP assembly elections she projected the same as a dalit ki betias Prime Minster (Daughter of a dalit). Many a times she has been in the news for the wrong reasons, Taj Corridor case, her lavish spending on Ambedkar park and getting numerous statues not only of the past dalit icons like Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar, and Kanshiram but her own-too during the last few years, have hogged media attention. The major issue she uses self promotion is that all this expenditure has been incurred, for the sake of dalits. What do dalits need at this point of time and in what proportion is an issue to be debated in a serious manner. Of late she has been also talking of reservation on the economic criterion rather than the caste one, and from the point of view of electoral arithmetic she has been wooing the Brahmins, through Brahmin Bhaichara Sammelans (Gatherings for brotherhood with Brahmins). Her major advisor has been Satish Mishra, who not only has succeeded in getting many plum posts for his close relatives, but also a University has been named after his mothers name. From her earlier slogan of Bahujan Samaj, she has moved to the slogan of Sarvjan Samaj and from the shooing away of Brahmins and upper castes she has been aggressively campaigning to get them on her side. While she has undoubtedly given a sense of empowerment to dalits, identity assertions have really helped dalits live with more self respect and social dignity. While the atrocities against them have shown a downward trend in UP, what is debatable is the equity issues, economic empowerment of dalits which have New York: Harvard University has decided to remove courses taught by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy at its annual summer school session, terming his views as reprehensible in a controversial piece he wrote on Islamic terrorism in India. At a meeting of Harvards Faculty of Arts and Sciences, faculty members voted with an overwhelming majority to remove two economics courses - Quantitative Methods in Economics and Business and Economic Development in India and East Asia that Dr. Swamy teaches at the three-month Harvard Summer School session. The faculty meeting, convened to approve the 2012 Summer School course catalogue, resulted in a heated debate when Comparative Religion Professor Diana Eck proposed an amendment to exclude Dr. Swamys courses from the catalogue, the Harvard Crimson reported. In a July Op-Ed piece for Mumbai-based DNA, Dr. Swamy had recommended demolishing hundreds of mosques and suggested that only Muslims in India who acknowledge that their ancestors were Hindus should be allowed to vote. Ms. Eck said Dr. Swamys Op-Ed clearly crosses the line by demonising an entire religious community and calling for violence against their sacred places, adding that Harvard has a moral responsibility not to affiliate itself with anyone who expresses hatred towards a minority group. There is a distinction between unpopular and unwelcome political views, Ms. Eck said. Earlier, more than 400 students had signed a petition calling for Dr. Swamys removal after Harvard had decided to stand by him, affirming its commitment to free speech principles. Dean of Summer School Donald Pfister said courses included in the catalogue are chosen by individual departments. I find (Swamys) position reprehensible, but on the other hand, it is our duty to support departments and their offerings, he said. Philosophy Department Chair Sean Kelly had initially defended the unanimous decision of Harvards Faculty Council to keep Dr. Swamy on the teaching roster as an effort to preserve free speech at the school. Mr. Kelly ultimately voted for the amendment to remove Dr. Swamys courses. I was persuaded ... that the views expressed in Dr. Swamys Op-Ed piece amounted to incitement of violence instead of protected political speech, he said. Harvard had chosen to stand by Dr. Swamy in August in line with its declared commitment to free speech. However at Tuesdays meeting, faculty members agreed to remove his two courses, effectively removing him from Harvards teaching roster. Faculty members said Dr. Swamys article was not a product of free speech - but of hate speech. remained in the limbo despite her regime in the state. How should a dalit leader handle power, what sort of equations are needed to balance between equity issues and identity issues is again a matter of delicate balance. Dalits in India have gone through a long and painful struggle for equality and dignity. The most profound contribution of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, coming in the backdrop of Jotiba Phule laid the foundation of the movement of and for the down trodden. Ambedkar, the profound scholar contributed to all aspects of dalits social and political life. He led the struggles for the rights of dalits, who till that time were deprived of fundamental rights, were mostly landed slaves and were under the grip of clergy and kept on the margins of society. Ambedkar led movements, Chavdar Talab, Kalaram Mandir and Manusmriti burning were the major rallying points for dalits. His formation of independent Labor Party, Schedule caste Federation and later the concept of Republican Party were milestones in the organizing of dalits. The opportunity to concretize Ambedkars values were actualized when he became the chairman of drafting committee of the Indian Constitution. He tactfully handled many vexed issues related to overall efforts towards social transformation, with regards to caste in particular. His major slogan was: educate, organize and agitate for the rights of dalits. The later period was marked by a few agitations and more of political activity. The remarkable ones amongst these were the land reform movement of Dada Saheb Gaikwad and later the formation of Dalit Panthers by dalit youths, on the lines of Black panthers of US. Most of these movements later got fragmented and the plight of dalit politics became abysmal with the ruling parties trying their best and succeeding in wooing one or the other dalit politician. The electoral confusions were another dimension of their alliances, some of them tilted towards Congress, while others had no compunctions in allying with avowed Hindutva parties hailing Hindu Rashtra openly, allying with the forces eulogizing Manusmiriti and a Hindu nation. Mayawati at one time not only allied with the BJP in UP to come to power but also went on to campaign for Narendra Modi in elections in the aftermath of Godhra-Gujarat carnage. Around the time when Dalit Panthers were agitating on the streets, Kanshiram began his political journey in a different way. His methods also ensured that the bane of dalit politics, fragmentation into pieces of his movement will not take place. The dissenters were thrown out, and the dictates of the supreme leader, Kanshiram and later Mayawati prevailed. Kanshiram first started BAMCEF, which was an association of educated dalits, who believed in pay back to the community. Their understanding was that they have prospered due to the provision of reservations for dalits. They got jobs due to these provisions. From here the nonelectoral DS4 (Dalit Shoshit Sangharsh Samiti) was formed. The focus for Kanshiram during all this period was cadre training and outlining the threat of Manuvaad, Brahmanvad was considered the central threat to the interests of the downtrodden. Later Kanshiram went in to form Bahujan Samaj Party and in due course Maywati became his closest associate and she later succeeded him as Supreme leader once Kanshiram fell sick. The second major thrust of Kanshiram and later Mayawati was to come to power with whatever means and to try to implement their agenda. The focus on capturing political power, the forming of trained cadres was the hallmark of Kanshiram, BSP. During the course of political journey of BSP, Mayawati kept on rising up on the electoral ladders in UP. She struck an alliance with RSS progeny BJP. Here two contrasting forces stood face to face, Mayawati for the rights of dalits and BJP for the long term goal of Hindu Rashtra, based on Brahmanism. This alliance was like Mayawati reversing, Ambedkars burning of Manusmriti and openly associating with the followers of Manu. Later with coming to political power on her own, she openly changed track. IN the initial days in BSP meetings, the slogan was Tilak Tarazu aur Talwar, Ehko Maro Jute Char (Beat the upper caste) now it has been substituted by Brahman Shankh Bajyega Hathi Badhta Jayega (Brahmin will lead: Followers of BSP will progress). The Elephant, electoral slogan of BSP got recast, Hathi Nahi Ganesh hai: Brahma Vishnu Mahesh hai (It is not elephant-Its Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh: Hindu Gods). The political ambition of power has a strange logic of its own. Mayawatis spending millions on elephant statues, and the statues of her own self smacks of identity politics taken to absurd limits. One concedes that dalits do need space in the social sphere, these statues must be giving them a sense of dignity and belonging. The question is how much public spending can be allowed to the statues and how much should be spent for social welfare of dalits has to be rethought. The dalit politics has come to new crossroads. The core issues of dalits remains far from being solved in any substantive way. The problems of poverty, health, employment need serious struggle, in case they are to be addressed. Can power, coming to power in this fashion, be the panacea for dalit issues? What happens to Ambedkars teachings of educate, unite and struggle, this is what needs to be taken up by those leading the dalit movement at various levels. Can just coming to power be a goal in itself, is the question. (Issues in Secular Politics)

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14 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

ANALYSIS
Speaking Out
N I L O FA R S U H R AWA R D Y

Sibals Censorship Agenda

here is something amiss in the hype raised on Communications and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibals intention to censor social networking sites. He favours blocking of material he views as dangerous, which can incite communal violence across the country. Now, if Sibals comments, which are viewed as controversial and have incited a heated debate across the country, are considered seriously, several questions need to be answered. Would the kind of censorship he has in mind really contribute to checking the communal violence he fears? Secondly, would such an agenda prove to be effective, that is really censor dangerous material? Thirdly, would censoring social networking sites prevent other means of communication to provoke violence? Fourthly, has Sibal made these comments seriously with intention of blocking material that can provoke communal violence? It is fairly well-known that social networking is not the only means of communication available to be used by those interested in provoking communal violence in the country. Paradoxically, Sibals comments have also given these elements sufficient publicity and made practically the entire country as well as rest of the world aware of their intentions. Had Sibal not made the controversial comments, the reach of the dangerous material would probably have been confined to those already involved in these social networking sites. If Sibal is really serious about his intentions, it is surprising that no action has

been taken against those responsible for the material which he views as dangerous. Many of these live in India and are known. Understandably, Sibal has made the point of India being unable to take action against elements responsible for using websites to promote their dangerous and communal designs, as some of them may be placed overseas and thus be beyond the reach of Indian legal reach. Herein is the catch. While pronouncing his intentions, Sibal indirectly also explained Indias inability to check elements bent on provoking communal violence in the country, if they are based outside India. This also implies that even if Sibals censorship moves are implemented and also prove effective in blocking dangerous material from certain networking sites, they cannot reach, even touch elements based overseas which aim to provoke communal violence in India. In other words, they would retain the option of using other means of communication to provoke communal violence in India. The telephone, mobile, fax, the e-mail and other networks as well as means of communication would remain there to be used by elements interested in inciting communal violence in India. It is practically impossible to presume that the censorship-agenda being considered by Sibal would check elements from pursuing their agenda of trying to provoke communal violence in the country. It is also worth considering that notwithstanding the fact, as noted by Sibal, that networking sites are being used to promote dangerous material that can provoke communal violence across the nation, have they really succeeded in their mission? Certainly, the recent years have been marked by a new importance gained by these websites. The same period, however, has not been witness to any one or more incidents of major communal violence being provoked and/or spreading across the country. In fact, even before these networking sites had gained importance in India, the major incidents of communal violence had been provoked by elements based in

the country and their using other means of communication. This point is supported by Gujarat-carnage as well as the nation-wide riots provoked during 1990s over Ayodhya-issue and demolition of Babri Masjid. Also, whether elements are based in the country or outside, the government cannot escape its responsibility of checking communal violence, if it is incited, from assuming dangerous proportions and spreading across the nation. In fact, certain extremist elements remain communally prejudiced and eager to incite violence targeting the minorities in India. In recent years, however, the same elements appear to have lost the command they once had in exciting mob frenzy to the stage of indulging in communal violence. This also implies that howsoever serious these elements may be in provoking communal tension in the country, their success or failure depends on whether the Indian public may be actually provoked by their agenda. The same point may be made about Sibals censorship-agenda from a different angle. His success at blocking dangerous material from networking sites does not guarantee the prevention or promotion of communal violence in the country. Besides, it would be more pertinent if the government gave serious importance to taking legal action against those promoting the dangerous material and also those being influenced by same. The government can quote from the websites and elaborate on why it views the material as dangerous as well as pursue legal measures against those promoting the same. It may be noted the government has reportedly drawn a list of dangerous material, which it wants to be removed from websites. A substantial percentage of this material is criticism of the government. And this raises speculations about Sibals intentions: is his censorshipagenda directed towards preventing criticism of the government or is it really primarily motivated to check provocation of communal violence in the country?

SIGNPOST

Divided We Stand
Of late the divisions among Muslims have grown exponentially, writes MOHAMMAD ZEYAUL HAQUE
A friend, who has sufi leanings and a PhD in Urdu literature, wrote a 200-page book on the 13th century sufi poet Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi last year. That friend, whose scholarship I have every reason to trust, told me recently the following anecdote from Rumis life. One day a visitor came to Rumi and asked him: I have heard that you deem all the 72 firqahs (sects) of Muslim as being in the right. Is that true? Yes, of course, I do, replied the sufi poet. That straight-faced answer to a heavily contentious question sent the visitor flying into a rage. He hurled a few of the choicest abuses at Rumi. Rumi looked up coolly at the fuming and frothing visitor, and told him in an even, calm voice: And I also consider this 73rd firqah of yours as being in the right. Now, to put a disclaimer here, I have not learnt about this through my own studies. However, I have no reason not to believe a friend who is so well-versed in these things. The talk between Rumi and his visitor was set in the background of a hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) in which he reportedly said (there would come a time that) there would be 72 sects among Muslims. Only one of them would be true to Islam, and that sect would follow the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions in their life. That point in time has not come so far, and few people can count more than 20 sects. However, mainstream ulama think that most sects of today are following the Prophet and his companions and agree on the basic principles of Islam. Television preacher Maulana Tarique Abdullah has this stance on the issue. That means most of them are not heretical, and follow the Prophet (pbuh). That somehow vindicates the liberal stance of Rumi (as reflected in the contemporary ulama like Tarique Abdullah and others) is that diversity could be a source of strength, not heresy. Most of todays sects are not heresies, says Maulana Abdullah, and the hadith refers to heretical sects, not diversity of interpretation. Despite respect for diversity of opinion, one does feel apprehensive about the widening division among Muslims in India. Today there is such a cacophony of conflicting claims and mutually exclusive positions that one finds it difficult to grasp what could be the actual position of Indian Muslim community on contemporary religious, political and economic issues. This looks bewildering even after we accommodate the Islamic position in the reckoning that diversity of opinion in Islam is a blessing. For instance, look at the pre-poll scenario in UP, particularly eastern UP. There seem to be more Muslim parties than is good for Muslims. So, where are they going? In all four directions, of course. By the way, this is no plea for voting en bloc, and Muslims have not voted en bloc in the past any more than other groups. However, there has to be some sense of direction or some idea about at least such basics as does our vote strengthen secular politics rather than

The English media in Delhi are calling the Barelvis Sufi Sunnis, which to a Sunni sounds rather hilarious. The fact is that from the founders of Darul Uloom to contemporary Deobandi luminaries virtually everyone is Chishti-Sabri sufi. The Sufi Sunni tag put on Barelvis is meant to mark them out from the Deobandis who are supposed to be non-sufis. This erroneous description is an indication of the medias own lack of understanding of these issues rather than a realistic grasp of things. How come the media chooses to call only one of them Sufi Sunnis in the face of facts? Simpletons also brand all khanqahs and dargahs as Barelvi, even though all of them are not Barelvi. The same holds true for the saffron robe and headgear of Chishti sufis. This discourse seems to ignore the fact that the founder of Barelvi movement himself was an alumnus of Deoband. This also shows that like amoeba, Muslim groups flourish on continuous division. There is another way of looking at it: the Barelvis, or the Sufi Sunnis, had been nursing a grudge for quite some time that somehow their Deobandi counterparts had a greater share of political space, connections and influence right from 1947 till date. Most Sunni groups wielding some political influence had been Deobandis. The Barelvis needed their share of the political space and nobody would give it to them on a platter unless they kicked up a row and presented themselves as a distinct brand of Hanafi Sunnis (which the Deobandis too, are).
an avowedly anti-Muslim party? This clarity is not visible. It is invisible virtually in every area of Indian Muslim life. The latest evidence of a widening division is between two branches of a sub-sect of Sunnis, that is, between Hanafis of two different persuasions. Reading English newspapers published from the national capital these days one gets the impression that the Deobandis are from the Moon and the Barelvis from the Mars. If one is not familiar with these things one would get the impression that they are unrelated to each other. The fact is that both are Muslim, both are Sunni and Hanafi. The Deobandi-Barelvi division among Hanafis and the contrived distinction between them is not readily apparent to Muslims from outside the Subcontent. The English media in Delhi are calling the Barelvis Sufi Sunnis, which to a Sunni sounds rather hilarious. The fact is that from the founders of Darul Uloom to contemporary Deobandi luminaries virtually everyone is Chishti-Sabri sufi. The Sufi Sunni tag put on Barelvis is meant to mark them out from the Deobandis who are supposed to be non-sufis. This erroneous description is an indication of the medias own lack of understanding of these issues rather than a realistic grasp of things. How come the media chooses to call only one of them Sufi Sunnis in the face of facts? Simpletons also brand all khanqahs

and dargahs as Barelvi, even though all of them are not Barelvi. The same holds true for the saffron robe and headgear of Chishti sufis. This discourse seems to ignore the fact that the founder of Barelvi movement himself was an alumnus of Deoband. This also shows that like amoeba, Muslim groups flourish on continuous division. There is another way of looking at it: the Barelvis, or the Sufi Sunnis, had been nursing a grudge for quite some time that somehow their Deobandi counterparts had a greater share of political space, connections and influence right from 1947 till date. Most Sunni groups wielding some political influence had been Deobandis. The Barelvis needed their share of the political space and nobody would give it to them on a platter unless they kicked up a row and presented themselves as a distinct brand of Hanafi Sunnis (which the Deobandis too, are). The Deobandis and Barelvis have clashed violently in the past. This time round, however, the division seems particularly ominous. The Sufi Sunni-non-Sufi Sunni divide is only a reflection of myriad divisions in the putatively undifferentiated, monolithic Muslim community of India, which was already deeply riven by the ShiaSunni schism. Anywhere you care to look the amoeba-like division seems to be working. First there was the division of India into India and Pakistan, then of Pakistan into Pakistan and Bangladesh. Now there is every effort being made to divide Pakistan into Sindhi and Balochi independent states and, possibly another state in the tribal areas, besides Pakistan. We began with a single Darul Uloom Deoband, which broke into two. People have been busy trying to do the same with Mazahirul Uloom nearby, an institution that is as old and prestigious as the Darul Uloom. At every gathering some Muslim group organises, one is sure to be subjected to a harangue on Muslim unity. Such talk is mandatory, but unity is the last thing on their minds. They would pay lip service to unity without meaning it. Noises on unity would be made even if such consolidation is unnecessary. Possibly, like all unattainable things, Muslims talk about it merely because it is unattainable. Coming back to Uttar Pradesh, the most unedifying spectacle is there for everyone to see as that state is warming up for the coming elections. A lot of unpleasant developments are taking place there just because elections are due. Even the fervour round the Sufi Sunni versus non-Sufi Sunni controversy can be placed in this context. Reporters visiting eastern Uttar Pradesh to see the pre-election scene come back with the impression that a couple of new Muslim parties are working hard, not to ensure victory for their own candidates, but to ensure that the rabidly anti-Muslim BJP, especially Mahant Adityanaths men, win their seats by default in the melee created by these people. Adityanath and many BJP leaders publicly abuse and menace Muslims. People have made audio-visual records of their sickening anti-Muslim posturings. It is difficult to see what good the Muslim parties see in making such men winners by default. A community divided against itself is not fit for survival.

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011 15

JAMMU & KASHMIR

DATELINE SRINAGAR: AFSANA RASHID

Militancy-related laws should go: Omar

Peace dividends should reach the people and laws enacted due to militancy should go, said chief minister Omar Abdullah, November 21. I will be taking all stakeholders on board over partial revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) but cant set any deadline, said the chief minister after inaugurating the power grid-station at Nipora-Mirbazar, adding that the Centres Cabinet Committee on Security has mandated the state government to look into its phased revocation. He added the army never opposed a partial revocation of the Act, but expressed its apprehensions. Army has apprehensions that SHO or Havaldars would arrest their men and theyll get entangled in unnecessary cases, he said in an informal chat with the media at Jammu, November 24, adding, Security forces have pointed out that in other states they enjoy protection under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that isnt applicable here under Ranbir Panel Code (RPC). Omar further said that the government is ready to amend RPC and take it at par with CrPC. Senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baigh, reacting, said, Lifting AFSPA which is a temporary affair and arming security forces with permanent enactment was fraught with dangerous consequences. If CrPC is amended, the army will become part of the states law and order machinery. Kashmir High Court Bar Association warned that any such move would be resisted. AFSPA is a transitory arrangement that is applied for a specific period as per need and situation. Once the need is over, it can be withdrawn, said G N Shaheen, its general secretary, adding by bringing them under CrPC they would be given statutory powers of a permanent nature. It would mean its inclusion in CPC. Work in all courts across the valley remained suspended December 1 in protest against the governments policy on withdrawal of AFSPA and proposal for amendment in Jammu and Kashmir CrPC and RPC for incorporation of provisions of army act. He is only serving the interests of India by planning to make AFSPA a permanent one. In doing so, he has exposed a drama he and his party have been playing over the revocation of the Act, said Bashir Ahmad Bhat, acting JKLF chairman. Er Rashid, independent MLA from Langate described it as disastrous for human rights as it will give perpetual immunity to security forces. He added the Act along with other black laws has neither succeeded in subjugating Kashmiris freedom struggle in the past nor will in the future. Senior congress leader and minister for PHE, Taj Mohi-u-din, while inaugurating water supply scheme at Dialagam-Anantnag, November 26 said, Several laws have been amended. If the time has come that the CrPC should be amended, it should be. National Conference president and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah November 27 said Army isnt the master of the people of the state. It should guard borders and police and CRPF are ready to handle other matters. Following criticism from different quarters, government put the move in cold storage. The chief minister has been reported as saying it will be irresponsible on our part not to consider all suggestions. There was no move by the government to replace temporary legislation with a permanent one. Government hasnt prepared any papers regarding amendments to be made in CrPC. Any decision in this regard will be taken only after wider consultation with all concerned. The state cabinet that met here November 24 discussed partial revocation of the Act and reportedly decided to support chief ministers move and to keep apprehensions of the Army into consideration as well. Pertinently, Omar on October 21 announced that AFSPA would be revoked from some parts of the state within days.

Steps to check Christian moves

Terming poverty as the major reason for people indulging in un-Islamic and immoral activities, the valleys head priest and chairman of Hurriyat (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq November 25 urged local welfare committees to help out poor people. the crime graph here is rising, but unfortunately we are in a state of slumber, he said, adding efforts are on to formulate a strategy to counter all these issues. Mutahida Majlis Ulema, a body of Islamic scholars and clerics called for scrutinizing the syllabus taught in Christain missionary schools. A core-committee, Majlis-Tahafuz Iman was formed to check the menace of apostasy on November 29. The body has stated that theyll provide full support to the Grand Mufti, Mufti Bashiruddin in collecting evidence in conversion cases presently being heard before the Sharia Court. The accused pastor, C M Khanna, in-charge of All Saints Church in Srinagar was released on December 1. He spent about 10 days in police custody after he was arrested following allegations of having converted several Muslim youth to Christianity. Vice chairman national minority commission Dr H T Sangliana led a high-level delegation which met Mirwaiz, December 1, who assured full security to minorities. Normal life was disrupted here November 25 due to a strike call by Hurriyat (G) led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani in protest against alleged detention of political prisoners and a spree of arrests of minors. Scores of youth took to the streets and clashed with security forces in the old city. Abdul Gani Mir, DIG Srinagar said that minors were arrested on grounds of rape, sodomy, theft, outraging the modesty of women, eve teasing, drug peddling, murder, kidnapping and other heinous social crimes. Out of 51 cases, only 38 belong to valley. Ghulam Mohammad Sofi and Abdul Khaliq Bhat were injured in a mysterious blast inside a cement shop at PattanBaramulla, November 23. Tawseef Ahmed Magray, a fourth grader at Government Primary School, Chanduna in Ganderbal died on-the spot when remains of a dilapidated school wall fell on him, November 24 and other sustained injuries. An Army officer, Captain Deepak Sharma and three militants were killed in a 30-hour long fierce gunbattle in Pulwama, November 25. Police November 28 claimed to have arrested two local militants. At least 24 persons were injured when a train on the way to Srinagar from Qazigund derailed in Anantnag district, November 23. Railways confirmed that the mishap occurred due to technical fault and nominated chief area manager to carry out a detailed probe into it. CRPF on December 1 vacated Firdous Cinema located in the old city after occupying it for over two decades. Forty security pickets were removed from the valley, last year. case. Justice Bedi was appointed after the High Court rejected a request by the state government to appoint a sitting judge to probe Yousufs death, October 29. It is expected to submit its report within six weeks. National Panthers Party headed by Bhim Singh has moved a petition in the Supreme Court for a CBI probe. Yousuf had died under mysterious circumstances after he was handed over to the crime branch of the police allegedly by the chief minister at his residence, September 29 following complaint by two NC activists; Mohammad Yousuf Bhat and Abdul Salam Reshi that Yousuf had taken Rs 1.18 crore from them in lieu of ministerial berth and berth in legislative council. Post-mortem examination and forensic-reports have identified cardiac arrest as the cause of his death. His family however, has demanded a CBI probe. Two people including Muhammad Yousuf Bhat and a mimicry artist, Aizaz Bhat, have already recorded their confessional statements against Yousuf. Opposition PDP November 21 charged the government of manufacturing evidence before appointing a commission. They manufactured evidence and would place it before the Commission, said senior PDP leader, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, while addressing a rally that marched from party headquarters at Residency Road to Regal Chowk in the city-centre.

These elections are related only to running administrative affairs at the local level, he said in an interview with local news agency, KNS, adding Kashmiris have their own viewpoint about these polls. For them, it isnt necessary to take an oath of allegiance to the Indian Constitution. This is neither a matter of concern for us nor do we pay any attention to it. On being asked if he will take over the leadership of Hurriyat (G) after Syed Ali Shah Geelani, he replied, Majlis-e-Shoora has its own constitution and way for electing its leadership. If there is any vacuum, then there is Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai the right hand man of Geelani. Expressing concern over the current policy of Pakistan on Kashmir, he said, India hasnt accepted Kashmir as a dispute. If Pakistan is facing difficulties in advocating the cause of Kashmiris, they should disassociate from it. We can plead our own case. He added granting of Most Favoured Nation status to India by Pakistan raises doubts on its Kashmir policy. The status will give economic and political supremacy to India that can cause a hindrance in the resolution of the Kashmir issue which is also against Pakistans national integrity. About partial revocation of AFSPA, he said Omar is in no position to revoke it which was imposed on the recommendations of security forces. Ayaz Akbar, spokesperson of Hurriyat (G) said that their policy on elections is clear and remains unchanged. Weve always maintained that elections have nothing to do with the resolution of the Kashmir issue. Welcoming Salahuddins statement, chairman of Peoples Conference Sajad Gani Lone said, It is realism and acceptance of ground realities which will encourage people to come out and vote. Nayeem Akther, PDP spokesperson said the statement will have a positive impact on people and theyll come out to vote without any threat.

Attacks on journalists decried

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for an investigation into the alleged attack on four journalists reporting on a protest in the old city here, November 25. The journalists; AP Television News cameraman Umar Meraj, Al-Jazeera English online contributor Showkat Shafi, Getty Images photojournalist Yawar Kabli and photojournalist Dainik Bhaskar, Shahid Tantray were covering a protest when they were reportedly assaulted by police and security forces. They were thrashed to pulp by a joint team of CRPF and police and their professional cameras were reportedly broken. The journalists were covering stone pelting protests in the old citys Saraf Kadal against alleged detention of dozens of protesting minors in custody. Officials kicked and beat up journalists using their rifle butts, batons and fists, witnesses said according to news reports, said CPJs press release, November 30. Bob Dietz, CPJs Asia program coordinator added the security forces in Kashmir consistently operate with an overly aggressive approach toward media covering this important, long-running story. If local police will not conduct an investigation into the incident, the state government must do it. Police version however was after Friday prayers some miscreants resorted to stone-pelting at Saraf Kadal. Police exercised maximum restraint in spite of grave provocations and to quell the mob chased miscreants. In the ensuing melee, some photojournalists, who had intermingled with the crowd to cover this subversive activity; got trampled upon by fleeing miscreants. Justice (retd) Markandey Katju, chairman of Press Council of India November 27 wrote to Chief Minister Omar Adbullah enquiring about steps being taken to ensure that media works effectively. The Chief Minister, inturn, December 3 asked Press Council to frame suitable code of conduct to ensure that journalists covering protests and demonstrations dont find themselves at the receiving end of police-action against unruly crowds. He added police has never had an intention of targeting media personnel. Exchange of letters was triggered when journalists approached Katju. Police, in its report, said that journalists couldnt be distinguished from the rest of the mob. Katju in his letter had rebutted the police argument and said that he had been informed that journalists had video cameras and other equipments that clearly distinguished them from the rest of the crowd. Press Council had on December 1 said that it will launch criminal proceedings against police and security forces if they assaulted journalists discharging their duties when covering of demonstrations and other incidents.

Enquiry into death of NC worker

One-man Commission of Inquiry probing alleged custodial death of ruling National Conference worker, Syed Mohammad Yousuf has said further proceedings relating to it will be taken in the background of final order of the Apex court on December 15. Some related matter is pending in the Supreme Court and is now fixed for 15-12-2011. Further proceedings relating to the Commission will be taken immediately after that date in the background of the final order by Apex court. Adjourned to a date to be fixed later, said Justice (retd) H S Bedi, heading the commission, November 30. In a public notice issued here, it said a request has been made to the state government to provide necessary staff and infrastructure so that the commission can start functioning. According to an official communiqu, Justice Bedi assumed charge, November 29 and established office at Hari Niwas. It also summoned CCTV footage and mobile details with regard to the

Militants not concerned with lower level polls

Militants have nothing to do with municipal or panchayat elections in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, said United Jihad Council (UJC) chief Syed Salahuddin, November 23.

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THE MILLI GAZETTE

16 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

NEWSMAKERS
MEN & WOMEN IN NEWS
AZMAT HUSSAIN, a 10-year lad of Jaipur who could not attend any school because of the poverty of his father Zafar Hussain but he (father) taught his son the music, won sa, re, ga, ma, pa Little Champs singing competition Award. The singing competition Award function was held at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur and attended by states chief minister and many ministers in addition to a large audience. Chief minister Ashok Gehlot showing great benevolence, gifted Azmats family a middle-income group flat, Rs. 11 lakh in his (Azmats) fixed deposit account and an offer to bear full expenses of his education. That was not all. In his largeheartedness the chief minister also gave another Rs. 51,000 to Azmats father-ustad Zafar Hussain and also gave Rs. 5000 each to all little lads who had performed with Azmat on the stage. HABIBUR RAHMAN NIAZI has been appointed Chairman of Rajasthan Urdu Academy by the state government for a period of three years. Prof. AKHTARUL WASEY, Director of Jamia Millia Islamias Zakir Husain Institute of Islamic Studies, who is also Vice President of Delhi Urdu Academy, was invited to participate and speak in the International Conference of religious scholars of the world pertaining to HIV/AIDS held in Toronto (Canada) during 2930 November. He was one of the two scholars representing Islam to participate and speak in this Conference. The other person to represent Islam in this Conference was Dr. HESAMUDDIN AASHNA of Irans Imam Sadiq University. Prof. Akhtarul Wasey is general secretary of South Asia Inter-Religious Council for HIV/AIDS and his views on HIV/AIDS from Islamic point of view have been well appreciated all over the world. Prof. AZAR MIDAKHT SAFVI of AMU and Director of the Institute of Persian Research has been honoured with Emeritus Fellowship by University Grants Commission, Delhi. Under this Fellowship she will do research work in Persian language and literature. She has earlier been honoured with Presidents Award and also with many awards by the government of Iran. Prof. SALEEM AKHTAR of AMU has been appointed new Dean of the Universitys Faculty of Law in place of Prof. Muhammad Shabbir for a period of two years. MAHIR AZAD, a former MLA of Rajasthan has been appointed Chairman of Rajasthan States Madrasa Board. Film actor AAMIR KHAN who made some films on children has been appointed by UNICEF as its Brand Ambassador for Nutrition and Child Rights. Many other organisations also have made him their brand ambassador for the promotion of their work such as Brand Ambassador (B.A.) of Women and Child Development ministry of Indian government, B.A. of (Indias) Incredible India Campaign, BA of Times of Indias Teach India Campaign etc. NILOFAR ZOHRA of Amroha is among six girls who secured maximum marks in their classes in secondary and senior secondary school examinations and honoured with a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 40,000 by Rajasthan government. Nilofar Zohra was given cash prize of Rs. 50,000 and brought credit to her school. Dr. MUHAMMAD SHAHID, former secretary of AMU Teachers Association and vice president of Millat Bedaari Muhim (Campaign for creating awakening among Muslims) has been elected a Member of AMUs Executive Council. His election was greatly welcomed by all sections of the University and he was described as a bold, fearless, selfless, true sympathiser of Muslims and the University and promoter of Sir Sayyads mission. Ms. MALALA YUSUFZAI, a 13-year old, class VIII student in the Swat Valley of Pakistan has been honoured with Pakistans newly instituted National Peace Prize which carries an award of Rs. 5 lakh. She had been carrying on a campaign in the troubled Valley for the education of girls and peace at a time when the Taliban were creating havoc there against girls education and girls schools. She was also among the shortlisted five children out of the 98 from 42 countries who were nominated for International Peace Prize for Children because of her campaign for education and peace which, however, was awarded to a South African girl. She says she is determined to campaign for girls education and childrens rights inspite of Talibans diktat against the education of girls. In reply to a question she said that she wants to stop rest of the world from describing the people of Swat as terrorists as they are peaceful and loving people. At the early age of 11 years only she had written about her bitter experience, pain and anguish during the tumultuous days in the Swat Valley in her diary for B.B.C. Urdu programme. Yusufzai is one of the many tribes of Pakistans Frontier Province. Prof. ABDUR RAHIM KIDWAI, Director of AMUs U.G.C. Academic Staff College and professor in the Universitys Department of English has been granted Visiting Fellowship for 5 years by Leicester Universitys The School of English. An author of many books on literary orientalism and British romantic poets, he was also Commonwealth Fellow in England. Recently his book on three British romantic poetesses was published in London. Nematodes hidden underground. The Award, consisting of commendation certificate, memento and a cheque for Rs. 50,000, was given to him by UPs minister for science and technology, Abdul Mannan and minister of state Thakur Yashpal Singh at a function held in Lucknow on 2 December. Sanskriti Awards 2011 were given to young talents between 25 and 35 years of age to five young persons at a function held at Delhi. Among those honoured were (Ms.) SHAHIDA SHABNAM, Kashmiri poetess for Literature, Murad Ali (Ms.) RANA AYYUB for journalism, MURAD ALI, a sarangi player for music. The other two award winners are ABHISHEK HAZRA in the field of Art and VINAYAK LOHANI in the field of Social Achievements. The Awards were given by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former Rana Ayub President. Messrs MUHAMMAD KAMAL RAHI, MUHAMMAD AZAZ NATHANI, J. SIDDIQI, S. ANSARI and Y.B. SHAIKH are among the Shahida 117 persons working in different companies Shabnam and undertakings who were honoured with Ministry of Labour & Employments Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar and National Safety Award for the performance year 2009. The Awards were given away to the awardees by Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, union minister for Labour & Employment at a function held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 29 November. These awards are given by the said ministry in recognition of workers and managements performance in promoting higher productivity, efficiency and safety. ABDUL RAFIQ PASHA of Hyderabad and REYAZ JAISEELAN active member of the Indian comm u n i s t party. The name of the book is Ek Aur Bara Adami-Syed Motalbi Faridabadi. It has very beautiful title designed by Saeed Ibrahim. The price of the book is very genuine: 300 rupees and it has 186 pages full with the information about the life and the revolutionary work of comrade Motalbi. This book is dedicated to the Marxist intellectual and the leader of the world communist movement V.I.Lenin.

OBITUARIES
Ustad SULTAN KHAN, famous sarangi player and singer passed away on 27 November at Mumbai because of kidney failure. He died as he was being taken to hospital. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2010 as well as Sangeet Natak Academy Award twice, Gold Medallist Award of Maharashtra and American Academy of Artists Award. In 1997 he was invited to London to perform his art on the occasion of Prince Charles 50th birthday. He was 71 and leaves behind his wife, one son and two daughters. Maulana FAROOQ ASHRAF, who was the Imam of Sambhals Eidgah for 14 years died on 9 November after a brief illness. A great religious scholar, he was also closely associated with many madrasas and educational institutions outside Sambhal. On his death there was such a huge number of mourners that long bamboos had to be tied to his bier so as enable many people to simultaneously carry the bier on their shoulders. He was 80 and is survived by three sons and four daughters. MUHAMMAD ABDUL HAFEEZ, senior journalist, died in Lucknow on 3 December at the age of 70 after a brief illness. He was associated with the monthly Northern India and the daily Hindustan Times for a long time. Chief minister Mayawati and former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, among others expressed their deep sorrow on his death. SAYEED FARIDI, noted poet and fiction writer died of heart attack in Varanasi on 5 November. Born in Ghazipur, he had been living in Varanasi since long. His book Saansain Gulab ki, a collection of short stories has been published and another collection titled Kharaashain (injuries) was ready for publication but could not be got published because of his death, which will now be done. MUHAMMAD HUSAIN ZAIDI, a popular social and political worker of east Delhi, general secretary of Shahdra (Delhi) Eidgahs management committee, general secretary of Jharkhandi Graveyards management committee, member of All India Milli Council and also of Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isayee Ekta Committee and a senior member of Congress died suddenly on 2 December. of Chennai are the two persons among many physically, mentally and visually handicapped / retarted persons who were honoured with National Handicapped Persons Empowerment Award 2011 by Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Whereas Abdul Rafiq Pasha is a mentally retarted person who was honoured with National Award, the other one i.e. Reyaz Jaiseelan was honoured with National Award for being considered a Role Model for others. Mrs. ANISA SAYYED, who won two gold medals earlier in shooting including one in Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010 held in Delhi last year won yet another laurel when she won the 25th Sports Pistol for Women, thus winning the third National Title in a row at the 55th National Championship on 21 November. She now looks forward to retaining her hold in pistol shooting in Asian Shooting championship 2012 in Qatar. Dr. KAWAL DHIR, prominent Urdu litterateur was honoured by Punjab Urdu Academy, Malerkotla with Award which consisted of a Scroll of Honour, a memento and a shawl. Muhammad Izhar Aleem, I.P.S. (Retd.) who is chairman of Punjab Waqf Board and who is also associated with Punjab Urdu Academy said that Punjab government will do everything to activate and popularise this Urdu Academy. On this occasion Adeeb, an international magazine was also released. By reading this book one can easily understand how Syed Sahib was engaged with the ordinary mans problems. He was struggling throughout his life to educate and to organize the workers and the peasants of united India and Pakistan. He sacrificed everything for his people. Motalbi Faridabadis life teaches us how we should work in the masses. Here are the names of a few who wrote their views About Syed Sahib in this book: Syed Sajjad Zaheer, C R Aslam, Afzal Banghish, Abid Hasan Minto, Chaudry Fateh Mohd, Dr Shah Mohd Marri, Habib Jalib, Rauf Malik, Hamid Akhtar, I A Rehman, Syed Naseer Shah, Aslam Malik, Raja Wallayat, Qamar Youresh, Anis Hashmi, Sharif Mateen, Abdul Waheed and many others. This book is compiled and edited by Mian Mohd Akram, a close friend and a comrade to Syed Sahib. The address and telephone number of Naya Zamana Publications: Incharge: Mr Shoaib Adil. Tel: 042-5065015 Email: niazamana@yahoo.com. (Masood Punjabi masoodpunjabi@hotmail.com)

AWARDS
AMJAD ALI KHAN, famous sarod player, Girija Devi, famous thumri singer and Ruskin Bond, famous British-Indian author have been selected for being honoured by Delhi government with Lifetime Achievement Award. The decision to this effect was taken by Delhi government in its meeting chaired by chief minister Shiela Dikshit. (Ms.) PARVEEN SULTANA, a noted singer and ZARIN SHARMA, sarod player were honoured with Sangeet Award for this year i.e. 2011. In addition to these musicians, GHULAM NABI BULBUL, a senior musician of Jammu & Kashmir was honoured with Sher-e Kashmir Sheikh Muhammad Award for promoting Kashmiri Lok Sangeet. The Awards consisting of a shawl, an insignia and a cheque of Rs. 25,000 each were given to those people by union minister Kumari Shelja at a function held at Kamani Auditorium Delhi on 21 Novemmber. Prof. SHAN MUHAMMAD, Director of AMUs Sir Sayyad Academy has been honoured with Sir Sayyad National Award 2011 by Maqbool Social Health & Education Society in recognition of his research services on the life and services of Sir Sayyad. Earlier also he was honoured with Awards by Aligarh Movement Magazine. He is an author of 34 books on different national and international topics. Prof. NASEEM AHMAD of AMUs Department of Zoology was honoured by UPs Council of Science & Technology with its prestigious Vigyan Ratn Puraskar in recognition of his scientific achievements in the field of Biodiversity, ecology etc. and

Ek Aur Bara Aadmi

Pakistani booksellers are now selling a very important book these days. It is published by the Naya Zamana Publications of Lahore. It is about the life and struggle of Syed Motalbi Faridabadi who was an important poet, journalist, fighter for peace and a very active member of the progressive writers union in united India. It was Syed sahib who organized the first Kisan conference in Pakistan. He was the editor of many political newspapers such as Afaq (Mehnet edtion, Lahore), Nighar-Lahore, Paras-Lyallpur, Awami Jamhoriat-Lahore. Syed Sahib was also a member of the editorial board of a literary magazine Kaleem of Delhi whose editor was Josh Maliahabadi. Syed Sahib translated many works from Russian to Urdu. His commitment to Socialism sent him many times to the different jails first in India and then in Pakistan. Syed Sahib was a very

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011 17

SPECIAL REPORTS

Sitaron Se Aagey released in Kolhapur

Kolhapur: The book Sitaron Se Aagey by Naseema Hurzuk and translated into Urdu by Dr Anees Ahmad Khan, was released here at the 52nd International Day of Disabilities programme on 4 December 2011. It is an annual programme about the achievements of physically disabled persons and the book too is about the struggle and triumph of such a person who not only overcame her disability but also worked tirelessly to make thousands others like her to lead a normal and useful life in society. The author, Naseema Hurzuk, was also present during this release. The book is her autobiography and how she, with the help of many others created facilities where disabled people are taught, trained and rehabilitated. It is a very moving and motivating story which was first serialised in the Marathi newspaper Skal, later published as Chakachi Khurchi (Mahtab Publishing House, Pune) in Marathi. It has also been translated into Hindi as Pahiyonwali Kursi (Raj Kamal Prakashan, Delhi) and into English as Naseema-The Incredible Story (Viveka Foundation, Delhi). The book was released by eminent Marathi thinker, writer, poet and eminent speaker Pravin Davane. The function was also attended by Shriniwas Patil (former Member of Parliament from Satara), Rahul Deshmukh (a blind young man who is Founder-President

Book release of Sitaron Se Aage at Kolhapur

Dr Aneed Ahmad Khan, translator of the book, speaking during the book release

of National Association for the Welfare of Physically Challenged and Snehankit - Association for non-seeing friends, Pune), Dr. Mukund Pathak (social worker from Miraj near Kolhapur), Mohan Ghatge (Chairman of Ghatge group of Industries), Ms Naseema Hurzuk (the author and President, Helpers of the Handicapped, Kolhapur), Ms. Nilima Mishra (social worker who has won the Magsaysay Award for the year 2011), Pravin Davane, Udaydada Lad (Marathi film maker, writer and social worker and FounderPresident of URL Foundation, Mumbai), Dr. Anis Khan (translator of the book) and many others. (Ayaz Sangrar and Dr. Anees Khan)

TMMK demonstrates on Babri demolition day Chennai: Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) conducted demonstrations at Chennai as well as in all state headquarters in Tamilnadu on December 6, the 19th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid. Thousands of men and women participated in these demonstrations held throughout the state. Speaking on the occasion at Chennai, Prof. M.H. Jawahirullah, MLA and President of TMMK, said Demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6 1992 is a shame to the secular fabric of this nation and a heinous crime against humanity by national and universal standards. It is highly distressing to note that certain Members of Parliament and later central ministers and Chief Ministers who are supposed to safeguard the Constitution were involved in this heinous crime and thereby putting the people believing in the values emerging from Indias freedom struggle to hang their heads in shame. Demolition of Babri Masjid in full public view is the greatest terrorist action in Independent India. Prof. Jawahirullah added that Justice Liberhan Commission appointed to probe the demolition has submitted its report after 17 long years taking 48 extensions and has implicated 68 persons including former Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, former Chief Minister and former Union Human Resource Development Minister and other communal-minded politicians of RSS, BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal. Just as the Sri Krishna Commission report on the Mumbai carnage in the aftermath of Babri Masjid demolition has not been acted upon the Liberhan commission report is also facing precarious situation of premature death due to the inertia of the Congress led government at Centre. Prof. Jawahirullah added in his speech that the judgment
MG/Yusuf

delivered by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court in the Babri Masjid title suit case shocked not only the Muslims but also all fair-minded and justice-loving people of this country. The Judgment exceeds its authority as it goes beyond the 1994 directive of the Supreme Court for determining the title to the disputed site. Indeed, it does what the Honourable Supreme Court had itself refused to do. The Judgment also goes beyond the pleadings of the parties because no party asked for a division of the disputed site. In dividing it, the Judgment does not take into account that fact that the Babri Masjid existed on the spot from 1528 to 1992 and was built by Mir Baqui, the Governor of Babar, and that until 22 December 1949 Muslims prayed there for a continuous 420 years. The TNMMK put forward the following demands: (i) Speedy hearing and judgement of the case relating to the title suit of Babri Masjid taking in to account the blatant violations of Fundamental Rights of the Muslims deprived by the Allahabad High Court Judgement; (ii) The Immediate proceeding of action against the 68 accused implicated by Liberhan Commission. A memorandum was also submitted in this regard to the Chief Justice of India.

Award for medical researcher

Global Accolades for Shiraz in medical studies Bangalore: Dr. Shiraz Ahamed Sharief, a postgraduate Student in Surgery at Georgia was the only Indian among over 2000 doctors to have been selected to attend the International Medical Students Congress (IMESCON) at Samsun, Turkey in May 2011. Dr. Shiraz has been invited to deliver oral case study and research presentations on: 1) A Case on long-term Complication of Hashimotos Thyroiditis into Papillary Carcinoma of Thyroid; 2) A Research on Component Separation Method and Triple Mesh Method in the Treatment of Complex Giant Incisional Hernias. Dr. Shiraz has conducted this research work under the guidance of Prof. Giorgi Giorgobiani, who is the Board Member and former President (2009) of European Society of Surgery, Board Member of American Hernia Society, Author of world renowned Surgery book Bailey & LoveShort Practice of Surgery, 25th Edition and various other journals. Dr. Shiraz is also involved in research on Bacteriophages and has published a paper titled Role of Bacteriophages in Post Hernioplasty Mesh Infection in Batumi International Medical Summit. Georgia in July 2011. He had participated in the Symposium on Emergency Surgery with Ben Gurion University of Negev, Israel during April 2011. He had been selected to get trained under world famous P a n c r e a t i c o Hepatobiliary Surgeon, Prof. A. N. Kingsnorth. Prestigious Gold Scalpel Awardee, Prof. Kingsnorth is the author of more than 30 Surgery Text Books, published over 300 journals, was Examiner of Royal College of Surgeons, London, and Professor of Surgery at Peninsula Medical School, University of Plymouth. England. Shiraz Ahamed Sharief was awarded the Certificate and Diploma for active participation in International Medical Student Congress. Dr. Shiraz is proceeding to his surgical training during November 2011February 2012. Hailing from Tumkur in Karnataka, he is the son of Alhaj K. Nayaz Ahamed. Dr. Shiraz did his MBBS from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences with First Class. Recently his sister secured a top rank with distinction in first year MBBS from Sri Siddhartha University, Tumkur.

Communal mindset

It is that old ailment

o M & H eeru f Mus ash t, M lims imp ura aliana Murder of Muslims in encounters fake

of er urd s in M lim Mus lgarh a Gop Mur d Mus er of lims For bes in gan Mur j der in

18 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

COMMUNITY NEWS
AMU professor honoured with Vigyan Ratna Award of the U.P. govt.
Aligarh: Prof. Wasim Ahmad of the Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University has been awarded with the prestigious Vigyan Ratan award of the Council of Science & Technology, Government of Uttar Pradesh. Prof. Ahmad received the award from the Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Abdul Mannan at a glaring function organized by the Council of Science and Technology at Sir C. V. Raman Auditorium, Lucknow. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 50,000, a memento and a citation. Prof. Ahmad received this award for his outstanding contribution in the field of biodiversity, taxonomy, ecology and phylogenomics of soil inhabiting nematodes. Dr. Ahmad is an internationally acclaimed nematode taxonomist and has published several books and a large number of research papers in international journals of repute. He has also the distinction of working on soil nematode fauna of over twenty different countries of the world. Dr. Ahmad earlier received several national and International awards and fellowships in addition to the prestigious E. K. Janaki Ammal National Award on Animal Taxonomy from the Government of India, which he received this year. (Zeeshan Ahmad) Makers of blasphemous movie Whos There arrested The Mumbai police arrested three persons related with the movie Whos There, namely Ejaz Ahmed (Director), Wasim Sheikh (Producer) and KA Jauhar (publicist) on charges ranging from hurting religious sentiments (295A), malicious common intention (34) to insulting religious beliefs and similar provisions, besides violations under the Cinematograph Act, which are all non-bailable offences. The three were produced before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Bandra Mr. VA Patil, who remanded them to judicial custody at Arthur Road Jail and their bail application will come up on 5 December for hearing. Christian groups like

AMU centre at Malappuram: dream come true

]The Malappuram Special Centre campus will be inaugurated on December 24. The classes will soon be shifted to new campus. Full-fledged institution: A view of the Nizam Museum on the Aligarh Muslim University campus at Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. The university plans to set up an engineering college, a polytechnic college, a medical college, an arts college, and a science college at its Chelamala centre in Malappuram. .The Malappuram Special Centre campus of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) will be dedicated to the nation at a mega function to be held at Chelamala, near Perinthalmanna, on December 24. Although December 17 was earlier considered for the function, the availability of Union and State ministers has made the university authorities postpone the date by a week. Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal will dedicate the campus to the nation. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will preside over the function. Union Minister of State for Human Resource E. Ahamed, who is the Malappuram MP, and several State Ministers, MPs, MLAs, top academics, and dignitaries will attend the function. It will be a historic moment not only for AMU but also for the entire nation, P. Mohammed, Director of AMU Malappuram Centre, said. Malappuram is the first centre of the AMU being opened outside Aligarh in the 136-year-old history of the Central institution. Along with four other centres in the country, AMU chose Malappuram district to open a special centre considering its backwardness in higher education in Kerala. Malappuram, according to the University Grants Commission, currently enjoys the lowest higher education gross enrolment ratio (GER) in Kerala. Malappurams GER is 8.4 vis--vis the national average of 12.4. Work on the campus on the 343-acre newly acquired land has been going on in a war-footing. A meeting of the Public Works Department held at Perinthalmanna the other day decided to put in extra effort to complete the work of the temporary structures by the third week of December. A meeting of AMU officials and peoples representatives to be held at Perinthalmanna Town Hall on December 3 will give shape to the details of the programme. Everyone wants to make it a festive and memorable occasion, Dr. Mohammed said. Classes are currently going on in a rented building in Perinthalmanna town. Dr. Mohammed said the classes would be shifted to the new campus after winter vacation - that is midJanuary. Apart from two academic blocks and an administrative building, eight hostels are being constructed on the campus at Chelamala, a tabletop hilly destination about three km from Cherukara. The temporary structures are being constructed at a cost of Rs.13 crore. The work on the nine-kilometre-long boundary wall is on, and water and power connections are soon to be installed. The road to Chelamala is ready. The PWD is expected to submit the design of the permanent structures soon. The AMU Malappuram Centre is offering MBA and BA LL.B. programmes. B.Tech. programmes in marine engineering and shipbuilding and biomedical engineering are likely to be launched in a year or two. AMU Vice-Chancellor P.K. Abdul Azis said those streams were in great demand. AMU is planning to set up an engineering college, a polytechnic college, a medical college, an arts college, a science college, a hospitality management college, a pharmacy college, a law college, a Unani college, a nursing college, a management institute, and several other institutions as on the Aligarh campus. Apart from Malappuram and Murshidabad, AMU had chosen Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Pune (Maharashtra), and Kishanganj (Bihar). But Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar are yet to provide land for the proposed centres.

tisements of stabbing Jesus Christ on the Cross, were unauthorised and sections 6A and 7 of the Cinematograph Act were violated. Advocate Archie Sodder of the AOCC, on whose complaint the Mahim police station filed an FIR said that the AOCC were contemplating asking for a departmental enquiry against assistant police inspector Sawant and officers responsible in Mahim police station for diluting the case on the basis of which the accused got bail in one case. Joseph Dias informed that The CSF would pursue the other cases where FIRs were filed ie Mahim, Tardeo, Bandra and complaints at Vakola, Santacruz, etc. The Christian groups had earlier given the police until this weekend to arrest the culprits, since they released material/advertisements and also put up posters, with the caption This Time Evil will Win accompanying the blasphemous picture of Jesus and another one with the Cross of Jesus upside down, with daggers falling above it. Another advertisement says, Expect the Unexpected Truth, the Truth, we believe is Jesus Christ Not mentioning the category of certification (U/A/UA) in the publicity material is in violation of Rule 38 of Cinematograph (Certification) Rules 1983, non-compliance of this rule is also a non-bailable offence. Joseph Dias concluded. Free IAS coaching and guidance at Haj Committee The Haj Committee of India provides free coaching and guidance for young Muslim graduates. This year the committee is working in close coordination with a well-known professional coaching class of Pune hoping it will enhance the results. There are still quite a few vacant seats, therefore an Entrance Test and Personal Interview will be held at 9.30 am on Monday 19 December 2011. Muslim graduates from any faculty may apply. Details are given on the committees website: www.hajcommittee.com. Contact details are as follows: Haj Committee of India, Haj House, 7-A, M.R.A. Marg, Mumbai-400001. Phone No:-022-22612969 Fax No:-022-22620920. (Issued by Prof. Hashmi, Director, C&GC On the other hand, if one looks deeper into the Jauhar Academy, one finds that one of its patrons, also a guest of honour at the award ceremony, Mr. Sirajuddin Qureshi is wellknown for his BJP links. He was one of the key members of the Vajpayee Himayat Committee, formed by a few opportunist Muslims to support the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government in 2004, and to help it return to power. It was reported that Mr Qureshis name was being considered for the Chandni Chowk seat by the BJP in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Two years ago there were reports at the time of the elections of India Islamic Cultural Centre that he used his BJP links to get re-elected as the president of the centre. Mr. Saleem and his ilk are part of a clan called the Sarkari Musalaman. They would support whosoever is in power, no matter what their policies and actions are. They are only concerned about their own benefits. Unfortunately, there is no dearth of such people amongst the Muslim community. Hence, we should not be surprised if tomorrow, the BJP comes to power and Naredra Modi becomes the home or prime minister, and they give him too this award, with a grand reception, and brush away peoples objections by saying he has not been held guilty by any court of law. As far as the India Islamic Cultural Centre is concerned, over a period of time it has become an adda of the Sarkari Musalman. Just go to its coffee house in the evening and see the people who gather there. At an institu-

hajiascgc@yahoo.com) Iran-Israel conflict visible during Goa fest Tahmineh Milani, Iranian director who had come to Goa to participate in the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) cut short her visit after knowing that Israeli film maker Dan Wolman was among the five member jury of IFFI. In a letter to Iranian news agency Milani justified his decision by saying that any individual will disapprove Israels oppression on Palestinian. Dan Wolman in his reaction said knowing her situation I respect her decision to return from Goa fest. This is a complex issue and I dont want to comment on it to aggravate it further. I love my country and Israel has the right to a legitimate nation and love for the nation does not say it should end on the border. There are some conflicting reports as IFFI organisers said that Milani left for her country not because of Dan Wolmans inclusion in the jury but she left because her father was not well and they are not at all aware of any such controversies. Iranian media has reported that Milani left because she was miffed by the presence of jury member from Israel. Adam Tankarvi felicitated in U.K. Laster (U.K.): Renowned ghazal poet and winner of awards Adam Tankarvi was felicitated in England by several organisations on 13 November. Prominent social worker Abdul Karim Gheewala organised a programme in which about a dozen speakers spoke about his skill as a poet. Muhammad Munshi from Charley mesmerised the audience by reciting Sanskrit shlokas to the delight of the Hindu audience. He apprised people about Munshi Educational Complex developed at Bharuch. Lord Navneet Dholakia, Dr. Balwant Jaani, Vipul Kalyani, Mahesh Tankarvi, local editor of Gujarat Samachar C.B. Patel, etc. spoke at length about his craftsmanship for a period extending over five hours. He was presented a memento and a beautiful watch. The gathering was an excellent demonstration of cultural amity among Indians residing in U.K. (AG Khan) tional level too, it leaves no stones unturned to please the powers that be. This year for instance, on 20 February 2011, it invited Delhis Lt. Governor Tejendra Khanna as chief guest at a Sufi Darbar. It should be noted that it was in the wake of the Governors Religious Committee that the Noor Masjid at the nearby Jangpura was demolished. It was this Lt Governor who vetoed a mandatory magisterial probe under NHRC guidelines) into the Batla House fake encounter. At that time also, several people made an appeal to the IICC president to cancel the programme of Lt. Governor but it fell to deaf ears. Coming back to Jagdish Tytler and M Saleem, M Saleem sent another email in the evening of 8 December attaching a scanned copy of a letter by Jagdish Tytler saying that he will not attend the award ceremony to avoid embarrassment to the organisers and other awardees. To translate this, Mr Tytler means to say that now that an attempt to rehabilitate him has backfired, he might as well avoid bad publicity. However, that does not imply that M Saleem has withdrawn his decision to give the award to Tytler, just as he is willing to find replacement for Zafar Agha. M Saleem is not saying he has withdrawn the award to Tytler. This is a good example of what the key characteristic needed to be a Sarkari Musalmaan. (kafila.org) Mahtab Alam is a civil rights activist and independent journalist. He can be contacted at activist.journalist@gmail.com

The Catholic Secular Forum (CSF), Association of Concerned Catholics (AOCC) and CROSS have opposed the bail and demanded severest punishment for the accused. The CSF general secretary, Joseph Dias speaking to the media outside the court, said that conviction should not be difficult as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Film Makers Combine and the Indian Motion Pictures Association (IMPPA) had all in their statements to the police said that the offensive adver-

Continued from page 1

Inquilab also quoted that the general secretary of the Jauhar Academy, M Saleem, had accused that those who were opposing the award were doing so to gain political mileage! Only he knows what benefits we were going to get from this, and from whom. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that it is the other way round. This reminds us of a song from an old Hindi film, Choron ko saare nazar aate hain chor A thief sees everyone else as a thief. Mr M Saleem would like us to believe there is no politics in his award whose distribution ceremony would see a Congressman, Balram Jhakhar, as the chief guest, and whose guests of honour would include the president of the India Islamic Cultural Centre, a staunch BJP supporter. Not having found any valid argument against us, M Saleem issued a press release, accusing those opposing the award to Jagdish Tytler of being backed by the BJP, and claiming that Zafar Aghas press conference was held at a BJP MPs residence at 3 Canning Lane! This was a blatant lie, as the press conference was held at the office of Shabnam Hashmi-led ANHAD at 21 Canning Lane, and not at 3 Canning Lane. But what are a few lies to help rehabilitate Jagdish Tytler in politics? For this purpose, M Saleem does not mind labelling one of Indias leading anti-communalism activists, Shabnam Hashmi, as a BJP stooge!

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011 19

COMMUNITY NEWS
AMU prof. gets two awards
Aligarh: Prof. Shan Mohammad, Director of Sir Syed Academy at the Aligarh Muslim University has been awarded the prestigious Sir Syed National Award for the year 2011 for his devotion, dedication, endless meritorious work on Sir Syed Ahamd Khan by the Maqbool Social Health and Educational Society, Aligarh at a Seminar on Sir Syed Ahmad and Aligarh Tahreek. Prof. Shan Mohammad has won another award by the Aligarh Movement and the Millat Bedari Muhim Committee (MBMC) in appreciation of his services rendered to the nation, humanity and minorities in various fields. Prof. Shan Mohammad has authored and edited 34 books and written more than 5 papers on Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Aligarh Movement and Muslim politics in India from 19011947. NC Commander lauds the role of Rashtriya Rifles in J&K Lt Gen KT Parnaik, army commander of the Northern Command has praised the role of specialised counter-terrorist force Rashtriya Rifles for keeping the Militants at bay with successful operations in the state and for its role in winning the confidence of the people of Kashmir. Lt Gen Parnaik while speaking on the occasion of the 8th biennial conference of Rashtriys Rifles (RR) at Nagrota said that the RR commanders have played an important role in restoring normalcy in the state and also by winning the confidence of the people through civic activities in association with the civil administration. The army official is believed to have made this point to falsify the propaganda that the army should provide space to democratically elected bodies so that they can implement programmes such as Operation Sadbhawana. Recently, MM Ansari, one of the Centres interlocutors on Kashmir has suggested that the armed forces should provide enough space for democratically elected civic bodies to undertake civic action programmes. Lt Gen Rameshwar Yadav, DG of Rashtriya Rifles applauded the role of the RR in civic action programmes in the remotest parts of the state. Rise in religious land disputes a burden: HC The High Court while dismissing the petition filed by South Delhi based trust, SRI Doodh Nath Mahadeo Mandir Sabha, seeking eviction of encroachers from within the boundaries of the temple said that such cases come into the picture when another trustee supersedes the religious committee and tries to get hold of the space allotted by the previous trustees to the shopkeepers. The court also observed that the recent increase in the number of religious land disputes has become a burden on the court. The petitioner has also claimed that despite so many reminders to the MCD and Land and Development officers nothing has been done so far. The court has termed the encroachment dispute to be a private one which needs to be settled by filing a civil suit. It is not the job of municipal authorities to decide whether a person is a trespasser into a private property or has been inducted officially by the owner thereof. This is a private dispute which needs to be settled by filing a civil suit, court said. Group of Pakistani Hindus wants to stay in India A group of 140 Pakistani Hindus from Sindh province, who had come to India on a tourist visa have expressed their desire to stay back in India. These people from Pakistan do not wish to return to their birth place because they are afraid that their future would be at stake. These families have come from a village in Matiari district near Hyderabad and are of the opinion that they will be safe in India. To these people living life in abject poverty, there is some hope for these families after an organisation in Majnu Ka Tilla has put up tents for them. These families have appealed to the government here to extend their visas and provide them accommodation as life in tents would be very difficult in the colder days ahead. Ganga Ram who is looking after them in India has said they have written to the prime minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to do the needful but so far received no response from their side. First training centre for Muslim women in Nand Nagri, Delhi New Delhi: Delhis chief minister Shiela Dikshit laid the foundation stone of a training centre for Muslim women and girls in the campus of I.T.I. in Nand Nagri locality in north-eastern part or district of Delhi on 15 November. Speaking on this occasion she said that the chairman of Delhis Minorities Commission Safdar Khan brought to our notice the fact that a technical training centre for Muslim women and girls is badly needed so that Muslim girls after getting training here could engage in self employment and improve the economic and financial condition of their households. With this aim, this wing is being opened in this ITI. She said that her government is not short of money and hence camps will be set up at different places in this north-eastern district of Delhi to see where welfare projects are needed and then set up such training centres accordingly for the benefit of the people. She further said that the amounts of loans to minorities will also be increased from Rs. one lakh to Rs. 5 lakhs so as to enable them, to start their own industries or business on a small scale. She said that training will be helpful to them to run their industry or business in a better and more profitable way. Safdar Khan speaking on this occasion said that the need for a technical centre for Muslim women and girls was being felt since long so that after training they could set up their own small scale businesses. He said that the original plan was to start a single storeyed womens wing for Muslim girls in this ITI at a cost of Rs. 2.18 lakh but when Delhis chief minister was apprised of this need for Muslim girls, she herself suggested that instead of onestoreyed, a two-storeyed training centre should be opened so

Is the government committed to the communal violence bill?

Except a few strong words from Veerappa Moily on the intention of the government on the communal violence bill there has been a conspicuous silence on a broader perspective within the government when it comes to tabling it or to get it through no matter who is opposed to it and why. Veerappa Moily, Corporate Affairs Minister while talking to reporters at a press programme organised by DK Working Journalists Union on 20 November at Mangalore in Karnataka said that the government is not going to withdraw the Prevention of Communal and Targetted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2011. On the question of saffron outfits opposition to the bill he said that even the hardcore element within the Sangh Parivar want communal amity. Moily further said that we are an argumentative society and there is no going back on communal violence bill and the government will neither panic nor backtrack. Organisations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal, Sri Rama Sene, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti or the likes have opposed the bill on the ground that the present format of the bill is anti Hindu and the Hindus would have no protection under the law. National Advisory Council member and social activist Aruna Roy while delivering the first S.R Sankaran Memorial Lecture recently in Hyderabad said that except one or two clauses where some would have reservations otherwise there was no controversy on the bill. She further stressed that one has to read the law before drawing any conclusion. Former Karnataka high court judge MF Saldanha has said he does not see any communal angle in the legislation. The legislation is against violence and anybody responsible for communal riot will be punished. Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi while talking to a reporter at Bhubaneswar said that his party would that more girls could be trained. The double storeyed training centre will cost at Rs. 3.5 lakh. He said that in one-storeyed centre only 75 girls could be trained but in the double storey centre, when completed, 125 girls would be imparted training. He further said that with our efforts, foundation stone for another ITI in Jafarabad in this very district (north-eastern) will soon be laid. Rs. 35 crores for modernization of madrasas in U.P. Lucknow: UPs chief minister Mayawati has sanctioned and released an amount of Rs. 45 crores for modernization of Islamic madrasas in U.P. According to official sources, chief minister said in the meeting of chief secretaries, secretaries and incharges of different departments convened by cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar and Chief secretary of the state Anup Mishra to review the progress of different ministries and departments, that an amount of Rs. 45 crores has been released for modernization of madrasas. She issued the instruction that this amount should be used properly for the purpose it was sanctioned for. She said it, will be beneficial to the students studying in these madrasas. At this time when the assembly elections in the state are round the corner, every party including the ruling party, is trying to woo Muslims for securing their votes. This gesture on the part of the government too is being seen as an attempt to woo Muslims to garner their votes in favour of her party i.e. B.S.P. Dawat Centre in Rampur Rampur: Maulana Jalaluddin Umri, Ameer of Jamat-e Islami Hind, said while speaking at a function held on the occasion of laying the foundation stone of Dawat Centre at Rampur on 15 November that in todays prosperous world many systems have been set up and experienced but all these systems have failed. He said that once again the world is looking eagerly towards Islam and the message of Prophet (pbuh) and wants to revert to Islam. He said that Islam is a question mark before the world. People of the world want to know about Islam and Jamat-e Islami is the answer to their questions. He further said that Islam is a complete way of life and we got this religion through the Prophet of Islam. He said that even today if the world adopts Islams message of peace and security, it can again become the cradle of peace. He said that Jamat-e Islami has been actively working to spread the message of Islam for the part 63 years because it wants that Allahs slaves should lead their lives in accordance with the wishes of their Creator and spread the message of Allah and His Prophet throughout the world. Maulana Yusuf Islahi said in his speech that after the partition of the country when Jamat-e Islami was constituted in 1947, its responsible authorities selected Rampur for its central office for this great movement and Jamat-e Islamis office remained in Rampur from 1947 till 1960 which is a matter of pride for the people of Rampur. He said that after shifting its central office to Delhi, Jamat set up Markazi Darsgah Islami for the education and training of the millat boys and Jamiatus Saalehat in Rampur for the education and training of girls which still functions in Rampur. He said that all well wishers of humanity and followers of Islam will have to do this work unitedly and devotedly. Speaking about Dawat Centre which will cost about Rs. 35 lakh he said that Jamat-e Islami had been wanting since long to set up this Centre. NCM chief to meet Modi New Delhi: Wajahat Habibullah, chairman of the National Commission for the Minorities, has sought an appointment with chief minister Narendra Modi to discuss several pending issues oppose the bill if it is introduced in the ongoing winter session of parliament on the ground that the proposed violence bill is draconian, undemocratic and anti-Hindu. National Advisory Council (NAC) member Harsh Mander has recently said that when the Constitution was framed the obvious expectation was that the state and the police will provide justice to the victims without any discrimination on any ground. If we go by his statement it becomes clear that there was no need for the communal violence bill if the state and police had lived up to the expectations of the Constitution. Another NAC member Farah Naqvi said that in most of the riots police does not act promptly and because of that they are unable to control it soon. Irfan Ali Engineer, of the All India Secular Forum has said that the proposed draft of the bill is better because it does hold the police and executive accountable if they fail to control violence. The draft is also noteworthy because it will ensure that the victims are not only compensated but also rehabilitated. Instead of FDI, pitching for communal violence bill at this point of time could have helped the Congress to keep many political parties on their side at a time when all parties in one way or the other are trying to woo Muslim voters ahead of assembly election in Uttar Pradesh. And luckily if the bill gets through then for sure the Congress will have something to count on and point out to the minorities that look we have done something for you. On a general note it is believed that based on the fact that riots harm minorities the most but at the same time these also affect the majority to some extent, a riot free India or even minimum riots is in the interest not only of the minority but also of the majority. (Mohammad Naushad Khan) related to minorities welfare. Sayeda Imam, a member of the commission, said that in a letter, the commission had expressed concern over the plights of people residing in camps following the 2002 riots. In addition, scholarships for students belonging to the minority groups have not been disbursed because of the indifference of the state government which refuses to contribute its 25% share to the union governments 75% share. Thus 77,051 students are awaiting the release of their scholarships. The Commission is facing such indifference only in Gujarat and no where else in the country, not even in other BJP ruled states. Fakir Bhai Waghela, chief of the Social Justice and Empowerment body of the state government, on the contrary, asserted that the state has been extending support to the students of the minority community under various state and union schemes. He denied having received any such communication from the NCM. He promised to reply when such communication is received. It may be recalled that both, Habibullah and Syeda Imam, have visited the state twice. According to Syeda Imam the matter was also raised during the Planning Commission meeting in June and July and as an exception the union government released its 75% contribution without waiting for prior release of 25% contribution by the state government. The NCM chief had expressed his intention of meeting Modi while addressing the Gujarat Today convention recently. Narendra Modis plea in such matters is that he does not recognise any distinction between the majority and minority. (AG Khan) Quality wise India remains poor in education: World Bank Elizabeth M King, World Bank Director, Education, speaking on the sidelines of World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) on 8 November in Doha said that there has been a substantial increase in the enrolment of students in schools and other institutions but the quality of education remains poor. King also said that in India institutions like IITs and IIMs are good but not at par when compared to other institutions of international repute in terms of quality. World Bank official praised Indias capabilities and its capability to formulate an efficient education policy but at the same time raised concern over the inequitable distribution of resources. She also lauded the education policy for the girl child in Haryana and said that it is similar to Brazil in terms of implementation. Presently, the World Bank is helping India in basic education to augment and implement the Right to Education Act. SIT overlooked call records of Sanjiv Bhat New Delhi: A national newspaper has said that it has in its possession telephone records supporting an affidavit filed by a journalist which substantiate Sanjiv Bhatts claim about Narendra Modis instructions at his residence on 27 February 2002. These records show that BBCs former correspondent Shubhanshu Chaudhari and Sanjiv Bhatt had been at one place and were in a discussion when the message of the specially convened meeting at the residence of the chief minister on 27 February 2002 was received. In his affidavit filed in the Supreme court Sanjiv Bhatt claimed that he had attended the aforesaid meeting and had heard Modis briefings about Hindu revenge on Muslims. The SIT rejected Sanjiv Bhatts claim as unreliable and pointed out that everyone who was present there did not substantiate his claim of having attended that meeting. The SIT did not question S. Chaudhari about this vital fact. Chaudhari, in his affidavit, claimed that Bhatt had to leave the place in order to reach Modis residence leaving the interview incomplete.

20 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

COMMUNITY NEWS
AMU Urdu Academy bldg inaugurated

Demand for a Shia university

Amroha: Maulana Zille Mujtaba Aabdi, manager of Jamia Aalia Jafarya in Naugavan Sadaat town of J.P. Nagar district (U.P.) has demanded the setting up of a Shia university in this district. In letters to the President of India, prime minister, minister of higher education in U.P. and Union minister for minorities affairs he has made a demand that a Shia university must be set up in his institution or, alternatively, his educational institution may be upgraded and made a Shia University. He wrote in his letters that this institution, of which he is the manager, was set up in 1939 with the joint efforts of Maulana Syed Muhammad Mujtaba, a religious scholar of world fame and Maulana Syed Ammar Haider and ever since it has been meeting the religious and modern educational requirements of the people of western U.P. as well as of the whole world and products and Ulama of this Jamia are promoting education and knowledge the world over. He wrote that today this institution is western UPs biggest centre of religious and modern education of Shia community. He wrote that the Shia community is a minority within a minority for whose education central or state government has not set up any educational institution in western Uttar Pradesh. There is only one Shia P.G. in Lucknow and hence the establishprove his (Gangwalis) guilt, had presented seven witnesses against him. Petlad witnesses riot on petty issue, huge damage Petlad (Anand): A riot sparked in the Sardar chowk area of Petlad following the collision of a bike with an autorickshaw. It soon took a communal turn, resulting in arson and loot in which members of both the communities indulged in stone pelting and setting ablaze property. The police had to resort to firing eight rounds to control the mob and exploded 15 teargas shells. While two police vehicles suffered damage in the stone pelting, five policemen received injuries. The situation was brought under control the following day by rushing in additional force. The minority community suffered damages in the form of loss of business and property. The damage is estimated to be to the tune of several lakhs in twelve shops set ablaze. The situation, though under control, is still tense and highly inflammable. The police, later on, cleared the debris from the roads and got traffic moving. Municipal Corporations encroachment on shrine land Ahmedabad: The Deputy Commissioner of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (West Zone) has stopped the movement of vehicles towards the shrine of Hazrat Shame-e-Burhani (Usman Mashhadi) on the plea that it causes inconvenience to people coming to the corporation. Interestingly, the west zone office itself is built on the shrines land and such encroachment of the shrine property was overlooked while constructing the office and a further extension of that building was made. The locality, Usmanpura, is named after the saint and is visited by hundreds of people belonging to all faiths. Badruddin Shaikh, leader of opposition in the corporation, accused the corporation of malafide intention of usurping the shrine property. He warned that an agitation would be launched within a few days if the officers did not respond to protests. It may be pointed out that not only did the Corporation encroach on the shrine land but also kept its eyes closed when a multi-storeyed hotel was built on shrine land. (Photograph shows the barriers at the entrance of the shrine. The restriction causes inconvenience to old and crippled people who visit the shrine) ment of a Shia University in western U.P. is very essential in order to meet the educational needs of the Shia community because in this region the population of Shias is about 2 crores. He said that presently in this institution (Jamia Aalia Jafarya) education of Arabic-Persian Board, Lucknows Munshi, Molvi, Aalim and Fazil education is being imparted and in addition to these, IGNOUs centre has also been set up. Other activities of this institution are going on in rural areas also. People of this region wish that this institution should be of world standard. Maulana Zille Mujtaba Aabdi requested that this institution should be upgraded to a Shia University so that the children and youth of Shia community could acquire higher education. He wrote that the states chief minister has named many districts and parks etc. after important personalities of the country but no institution or scheme etc. has been named after any Shia or Sunni scholar and if a Shia University is set up in Nau Gavan after Maulana Muhammad Mujtba and Maulana Ammar Haider it will be a true tribute to these Ulama. He also wrote in these letters that this madrasa has the requisite land and spacious buildings for setting up the university. (NA Ansari)

Aligarh December 8: The Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Prof. P. K. Abdul Azis today inaugurated the building of the Urdu Academy constructed with a grant of Rs. 325 Lakhs by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Addressing the programme, Prof. Azis said that it was a happy moment that the project was completed by the CPWD within the given timeframe. He said that Urdu is one of the most neglected languages of this region while Kerala Government has established several schools for learning Urdu language. The Vice Chancellor said that the UGC has given to the Urdu Department the status of Advanced Study Centre and for the first time in the history of Urdu Department nineteen students have qualified JRF and eleven passed the NET. This is a shining example. Prof. Qazi Afzal Husain, Director of the Urdu Academy said that the MHRD approved the proposal of establishing a Centre for Professional Training of Urdu Teachers and granted 325 Lakhs for a building of the Centre during the Vice Chancellorship of Mr. Naseem Ahmad. He said that the Centre has organized a number of Refresher Courses and Workshops for Urdu teachers and the Urdu Academy is planning to prepare animated model lesson plans for Urdu teachers. Prof. A. R. Kidwai, Director, UGC Academic Staff College said that Aligarh and Urdu are synonymous. All important academies like Persian, Urdu, Sir Syed Academy and Qur'an Academy were established on the same road. Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof. Anwar Jahan Zuberi said that quality education depends on quality of teachers. She said that the Diploma in Teaching was recognized by the UP government after Supreme Court orders. Gujarat low in human development: Jairam Rural Development minister Jairam Ramesh on the occasion of the release of the UN Development Programmes Human Development Report 2011 in the national capital said that economic development does not always result in human development. Citing an example for this he said that Narendra Modis Gujarat is high in economic growth but ranks low in terms of human development in the state. And what is even more surprising is that on the malnutrition and hunger index Gujarat is placed even below some north eastern states. In Gujarat 44.6 percent children below the age of five suffer from malnutrition and 70 percent of children suffer from anaemia. This figure itself contradicts reports by the US Congressional Research Service in September this year which praised Narendra Modi for his governance. US Congressional report has identified Gujarat as the best example of effective governance and lauded Chief Minister Narendra Modi for making the state a key engine of national economic growth. Notably, Kerala which stands pretty low in terms of economic growth is placed on the top in terms of human development as compared to all other states.

cials say that they have not been able to reach a conclusion yet and the Friday reports are not the final reports, we are awaiting CFSL and AIIMS reports for the third reconstruction and on other aspects of the investigations too have to be completed. Sanjiv Bhatts plea dismissed New Delhi: The Supreme Court declined to entertain Sanjiv Bhatts plea seeking quashing of a state government probe order in an alleged case of custodial death in November 1990. A bench comprising Justice B.S. Chauhan and Justice T.S. Thakur permitted him to withdraw his petition with liberty to pursue an independent revision petition before the Gujarat High Court. Declining to entertain Bhatts plea the court said that if the High Court had erred in recording facts he could move it for revision. 133 people were arrested in the wake of a communal flare up on 10 October 1990 at Jamjodhpur and were kept in police custody for a month. Vaishnavi was admitted to a hospital after his release on 8 November 1990. He died after 10 days in the hospital. A CID investigation had given Sanjiv Bhatt a clean chit then. Sanjiv Bhatt determined to continue New Delhi: Inspite of threats to his life Sanjiv Bhatt declared, it is not going to stop me. while addressing a press conference on the sidelines of a human rights meet. Explaining Modis return to power with a thumping majority he said People get the government they deserve. Gujarat has been the laboratory of hate politics. Defending the police force he emphatically said, No it (Gujarat police) is not communalised we really have a good force. He expressed hope that the proposed communal violence bill would be of great help in tackling such cases because a man needs constitutional backing. A civil servant need not do anything against the law. He may, however, have to pay a price for it by refusing to succumb to pressure. Bhuj Muslims appeal to district authorities against VHP Bhuj: Residents of Gadhsheesha village are under VHP campaign following the elopement of a couple belonging to two different communities. This has prompted VHP to spew venom against the Muslims. Muslims marched in a rally to apprise district authorities of Bhuj district demanding action against the hate mongers. The elopement of the couple has given extremists a pretext to observe Gadhsheesha bandh call to which Muslims also responded by keeping their shops closed. Inspite of this a meeting was convened on 2 November conspiratorially without obtaining official permission in which VHP activists were invited. Several speakers made fiery speeches against Muslims and Islam. It is worthwhile to mention that several important officers from the administration were present at the meeting who did not dissuade speakers from making objectionable comments nor did they take any action against the extremists. Following this a meeting of (Muslim) locals was convened on 5 November inviting prominent Muslim leaders of the district who demanded legal action against hate mongers. A C.D. of objectionable speech has also been recorded and a written complaint at the police station has been made. Sadiq Jamal encounter: three cops under CBI scanner Ahmedabad: CBI investigating the Sadiq Jamal encounter case has collected substantial evidence to tighten the noose around three policemen. The 2003 encounter was alleged by a Mumbai journalist, Kitan Tirodkar as fake. Having accepted Sadiqs fathers plea the High Court had assigned the task to the CBI. The CBI began investigations under S.P. Rathis SIT by enquiring facts from the family members. - Sadiqs brother Shabbir and others. Enquiry is now at its final stage. The policemen involved in the encounter have also been thoroughly grilled. Three police officers appear to be involved in the conspiracy. By promising several police men to become witness of the crown of the CBI plans to interrogate the three individually and later on collectively.

Ishrat case: SIT report inconclusive Ahmedabad: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) members probing the Ishrat Jahan Sentenced to 5 years R.I. for keeping fake currency notes encounter case of 2004 was expected to subPune: Maulana Husain Shabbir Mehruddin Gangwali of Bhatkal mit its report (ATR) to the Gujarat High Court (Karnataka), who is a suspect in Bangalores serial bomb blasts on Friday, 18 November 2011. and who was in possession of 250 fake currency notes of Rs. 100 Sources indicate that all the three memdenomination, was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonbers have arrived at a consensus largely ment under section 489 on 23 November by Additional Session because of statements by witnesses that the Judge S.D. Darni. In addition to the sentence he was also fined four persons killed in the encounter were in police custody before Rs. 5000 and in case of default, he will have to remain in jail for the encounter took place. The ATR report will contain reports on another six months. Additional prosecution Subhash Kalbhar the reconstruction of the crime scene carried out by the central clarifying the sentence said that since he was involved in a seri- Forensic Science Laboratory and AIIMS, Delhi. ous crime and as a Maulana he was in a good position, he has Asserted a SIT official: we have video recordings of statebeen given maximum punishment. The prosecution, in order to ments where witnesses revealed that they had seen Isharat and the three others alive in Gujarat police custody before the encounter took place. There is little room for doubt on the subject. SIT officials say The pieces of evidence that we have collected till date are not enough to prove that the encounter T HE M ILLI G AZETTE was stage managed. Gujarat High Court D-84, Abul Fazl Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar, had said in its last hearNew Delhi-110025 India Tel.: (+91-11) 2694 ing that the SIT should 7483 Email: mg@milligazette.com consider these as the final reports. But SIT offi-

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The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011 21

COMMUNITY NEWS
NCMs single-faith delegation to the Valley
New Delhi: The usually lame, lethargic, deaf, dumb and blind National Commission for Minorities suddenly sprang to action and sent its (Christian) member Dr H T Sangliana to investigate the issue of conversion of Muslim youth in Srinagar using monetary inducements. The honble member, according to a report issued by the delegation after its return, invited [Secretary General, All India Christian Council] Dr John Dayal and [General Secretary, Evangelical Fellowship of India and secretary, National Untied Christian Forum] Dr Richard Howell to accompany him. Somehow Adv. Rev. P J Marcose, Rev Vijayesh Lal, secretary, Relgious Freedom Commission, EFI, New Delhi, too joined this all-Christian delegation which on its return has presented a one-sided biased report reflecting the noise created by Christians since the scandal was exposed following a video loaded on youtube [http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=REq2mZjRN6c] which showed a Srinagar-based pastor CM Khanna baptising Muslim youth in Srinagar amid great fanfare and sloganeering. It is not clear how the NCM can send a delegation consisting only people of a certain faith to investigate the alleged crime of people belonging to the same faith and how people who have nothing to do with the NCM joined this delegation?... Meanwhile, Pastor Khanna, who was arrested briefly for investigations, was released on bail on 30 November and has since left the Valley. Kalsangras property to be attached Indore: Property of Ramji Kalsangra, accused in Malegaon, Ajmer, Hyderabad bomb blast cases, shall be attached by the court. Hyderabad Metropolitan Magistrate has sought details of the property from the Indore collector. An order to this effect has been received by the district administration. The order sought details of the two properties. One house is located in the Shanti Vihar Colony at the Bengali Chauraha while the other is situated in Rajeev Vihar locality. The three probes are being conducted by the NIA and a reward of Rs. 10 lakh has been declared for his arrest. Muslim youth commits suicide while Hindu sister rushes Ahmedabad: Irfan Mansuri (30), an unemployed young man belonging to Meerut committed suicide by jumping from the Jamalpur Sardar bridge while his neighbour Pushpa Behn Rathod (whom he gave the esteem of a sister) rushed towards him. Irfan asked Pushpa Behn to come before he committed suicide. As soon as he saw her alighting from a rickshaw alongwith her husband he jumped into the river. Fire brigade recovered his body from Ambedkar bridge area and sent it for post-mortem. He was a kitchen assistant and used to live alone. Facebook post by miscreant makes Muslims angry Indore: A delegation of Muslim community leaders sought the arrest of the person who uploaded a manipulated photograph of a religious place on the social networking site, Facebook. The photograph was uploaded on a website and later attached to separate user accounts by a person under an assumed identity. This is the second incident in the region to disturb social harmony. Senior Suprintendent police A. Sai Manohar handed the case to the crime branch. Idris Khatry, a theatre artist, said, The miscreant smartly masked his identity, but made sure that the objectionable photograph was uploaded on the facebook accounts of Muslims of the city. The police removed the objectionable photograph after receiving a complaint from the community. Last month, a similar incident had led to the arrest of an Itarsi-based resident Urdu Academy dedicates Azads day to education Jeddah: The Urdu Academy, Jeddah, released the Azad Souvenir - 2011 at a function held at the Consulate General of

Supreme Court counters alleged bias

New Delhi: Countering the charge of alleged bias while passing order on 12 January 2010 the Supreme Court said that the court had seen a pattern in Gujarats response - first deny the fake encounter and then arrest only foot soldiers. There was genuine apprehension that the Gujarat police was shielding the real culprits while handing over the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case to the CBI on 12 January. Ram Jethmalani, counsel for Amit Shah, alleged that bias was writ large on the 12 January order as the presiding judge of the bench was under the CBI scanner. A bench comprising justice Aftab Alam and Ranjana P. Desai held, when it became impossible for the Gujarat government to deny the fake encounter, they got hold of the foot soldiers so that investigations do not go beyond them. This was one of the reasons why the court ordered CBI probe. It may be recalled that Justice Alam was part of the bench headed by Justice Tarun Chatterjee. India late last month. The event was organized to mark Maulana Azads birthday as National Education Day. The chief guest of the event was Indian Consul General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai and the guest of honor was Dr. M. S. Karimuddin, recipient of Pravasi Bharat Samman award for 2010. Kidwai, while lauding the efforts and activities of Urdu Academy, revealed the successful representation by the academy to the government of India on proclaiming the birthday of Maulana Azad as National Education Day. The diplomat also asked the audience to inform him about the locality and house in Makkah where Azad was born, as he has received a letter from India in this regard. He said Maulana Azads clean personality could be understood by the fact that despite being the education minister for 11 years, he left no assets when he died. Only a Fiat car used by him was his legacy and that too was bought by him on a bank loan. The bank wanted to repossess it after his death, but a Maulana Azad-admirer paid the required amount and settled the bank loan, Kidwai said in his speech. In his welcome address, Academy President Jamal Qadri elaborated on the groups efforts from 2001 in trying to celebrate Maulana Azads birthday as National Education Day. Since 2001, the Academy has been conducting the Education Day every year and a resolution was passed and sent to the government requesting this dedication, he said. The English speech contest was won by Kiran Rana Prakash of DPS with a cash award of SR1,000 with shield and certificate, followed by Saad Naseem of DPS (shield and certificate) and Najla Alavi of IISJ (shield and certificate). The Urdu speech contest was won by Syeda Asima Yumna of IISJ (cash award of SR1,000 with shield and certificate), followed by Nada Mir Ali of DPS (shield and certificate) and Mirza Abdullah Baig of IISJ (shield and certificate). A quiz on Azad, designed by Qutubuddin Qadri, was the hit of the event. This interactive quiz was based on the Who Wants to be a Millionaire format. There were four rounds and each team consisting of two students was asked two questions in each round. DPS School (girls) team won the Quiz contest and received a cash award of SR1,000 with shield and certificate. IISJ Boys were second and DPS Boys third In divide-&-rule game, Raj. sidelines some Muslim groups Taking a cue from the UPA government at the Centre, the ruling Congress in Rajasthan has initiated steps to sideline Muslim groups it believes subscribe to hardline ideologies, making it clear that it would not entertain noisy demands for justice in a series of communal incidents from individuals whose credentials are doubtful. In a hard-hitting message to the Muslim community, the state recently appointed persons subscribing to the Barelvi school of thought, largely representing the adherents of Sufi ideology among Sunni Muslims to the institutions serving the minority communities. Muslims owing allegiance to Darul Uloom Deoband have been completely ignored. Political observers here perceive it as calculated strategy in the wake of an atmosphere being built up all over the country against the Wahabi extremism. The newly floated All-India Ulama and Mashaikh Board, claiming to represent 80 per cent of the countrys Sunni Muslims, has of late emerged as a favourite group of the Union government. Board general secretary Maulana Mohammed Ashraf Kachochavi has claimed in a series of meetings held in northern states since September that Deobandis and Wahabis have captured Muslim institutions and called for rescuing Islam and Muslims from their clutches. In the appointments made to the Madrasa Board, Urdu Akademi and Rajasthan Public Service Commission, the Congress-led Government has preferred the Barelvi faction to others. Waqf Board Chairman Liaqat Ali appointed earlier is attached to a dargah in Jhunjhunu district, while new State Minorities Commission chairman M. Mahir Azad is also considered inclined towards the Sufi doctrine. New Madrasa Board chairman Maulana Fazl-e-Haq is a known Barelvi leader attached to the Madrasa Ishaqiya of Jodhpur and a disciple of octogenarian Chaman Quadri of Bundi. Urdu Akademi chairman Habib-ur-Rehman Niyazi belongs to the prominent Barelvi family of Meerji Ka Bagh here. Indian Police Service officer Habib Khan, appointed a member of the State Public Service Commission, is also a self-confessed Barelvi. The ruling party has held out a signal through the long-overdue appointments that it would ignore elements,like Rajasthan Muslim Forum, which have spearheaded the demand Jethmalani said that the CBI investigations had not revealed anything new other than what was found by the Gujarat police SIT headed by Geetha Johri except for fabricating evidence against former minister Amit Shah to show him in bad light He said that of 200 alleged charges of extortion not a single pertained to the BJP leaders involvement in any crime. The bench told additional solicitor general Vivek Tankha who appeared for the CBI, the complaints appear to be absolute trash. The insinuations (against Shah) were wholly unwarranted and totally unfair. However it wanted Jethmalani to explain the 24 calls made by Shah as deputy home secretary to a deputy superintendent of police which coincided with the abduction and killing of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausar Bi. The court was not convinced with Jethmalanis reply. The argument will be resumed on Tuesday 22 November. (AG Khan) for justice in the communal incidents during its rule, especially Gopalgarh where police killed 10 defenceless Muslims in cold blood on 14 September this year. Forum convenor Qari Moinuddin said that the ruling Congress move was aimed at causing sectarian discord among Muslims in order to escape from its own responsibility for over 30 incidents of communal violence witnessed during the past three years. Irada Society president Mohammed Hasan said the ruling party was resorting to a dangerous game plan by trying to pit one section of the community against the other. The State should not ignore hostile external environment rampant in policies, programmes and prejudices militating against Muslims, said Prof. Hasan, a member of the State Governments Rajiv Gandhi Social Security Mission. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind national secretary M. Salim Engineer said even a simple fact that majority of Madrasas in the State follow the Deoband curriculum was overlooked while making appointment to the Madrasa Board. A cross-section of Muslim leaders feel that the ruling Congress wants to cover up the presence of communal elements in its rank and file by fomenting a non-existent Deobandi-Barelvi divide in the community. The State Government, they affirm, should instead pay attention to the protection of lives and properties of all minorities. HRD champions the case of AMU girl students New Delhi: Union Ministry of HRD has written to the administration of AMU to allow late night access to students of Womens College to the Maulana Azad University Library. The advisory comes in the wake of the ongoing struggle for equal rights at AMU. After raising this issue in the media, a delegation from Womens College met HRD minister Kapil Sibal recently. The 100-year-old Womens College is not an affiliated institution but a constitutive part of AMU. Though the college has its own library, it pales in comparison to the material available at the Maulana Azad Library, which is probably among the best libraries in Asia. Though the final decision still lies with the university, we have pointed out that not providing membership (to female students) to the main university library is like denying access to knowledge and that is discrimination. Constitutionally too, this is not acceptable, a ministry official who did not wish to be named, said. 27 Ayodhya temples claim that Ram was born there New Delhi: Swami Agnivesh speech at a protest rally organised by Muslims near Jama Masjid in old Delhi on 6 December demanding rebuilding of the mosque at the original site has put a question mark on all those who claim that Ram was born where the Babri mosque once stood and was razed on 6 December, 1992. Agnivesh while echoing the sentiments of protestors to rebuild the Masjid also demanded the arrest of all BJP leaders involved, including LK Advani who he alleged to have provoked the mob into demolishing the mosque. About the birth of Lord Ram Agnivesh said that in Ayodhya there are priests of 27 diffently located temples who claim that Ram was born in their temple. He also said that leaders like Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi claim that Ram was born within the premises where the Babri Masjid stood. On their claim he asked whether they had seen it or do they have any proof that Ram was born there? Agnivesh demanded prosecution of leaders like Advani, Uma Bharati, and Murli Manohar Joshi and also demanded a ban on RSS and Bajrang Dal. Shoaib Iqbal of the Lok Janshakti Party said that both the Congress and the BJP have played with the sentiments of Muslims and 19 years have elapsed but none involved in its demolition has been arrested or jailed till date. Yet another separate protest march was organised by the CPI (M-L) to mark the 19th anniversary of the Babri masjid demolition from Mandi house to Jantar Mantar to promote brotherhood and reject communal forces in the country. Participants who joined the March Against Communalism, For Secularism and Democracy also demanded action against those involved in communal violence and fake encounters. Activists of AISA also protested against the demolition of Babri Masjid and the encounter of Ishrat Jahan too, in the national capital. Protest was also organised in various parts of the country.

22 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

COMMUNITY NEWS
AMU symposium on status of women

Pushing Saffron agenda under secular garb

Bhopal: Being allergic to Christians, the BJP has played the secular card in order to drop BC/AD from the calendar. Since BC/AD smacks of a communal overtone, a committee of two experts has recommended to drop these expressions by using expressions Before Common Era and Common Era i.e. partially retaining it and at the same time dropping it too. One wonders why the committee of two educationists, K.M. Jain and Anand Singh, overlooked the fact that it would invite several complications not only in dating historical facts but also in future trade transactions. In these days of globalisation when BJP itself is rushing to foreign lands for investment Isreal and China to name two, how would the MoU be signed if these countries also insist on switching on to their own cultural calendars. Laxmikant Sharma, the minister for technical education and public relations informed the Vidhan Sabha that a new committee would give suggestion as to what can be done. The forgone conclusion would be to adopt the Vikram samvat calendar. Since BC/AD have communal as well as imperialistic overtones, according to the party, one would ask whether Vikram samvat is secular (if not reviving the feudal glory). Had it been so the Government of India would have retained it instead of following the Shaka calendar. M.P. has suffered during the past few decades because of the folly of dropping English from the syllabus and now, after recognising the monstrosity of its folly, is compelled to allow it a come back in one form or the other. Students desirous of appearing in various competitive exams have to spend a huge amount towards fees at various coaching institutes which teach on 2 December directed the state to place before it all CDs in that regard on 7 December. It was hearing a CBI plea challenging Gujarat High Courts order granting bail to former state home minister Amit Shah, facing trial for his alleged involvement in the 2005 fake killing. A bench of justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai took strong exception to the state government withholding the CDs containing call details from the CBI which is probing the case. On Wednesday, you (Gujarat government) must have the CDs with you, the bench said. It is a very disappointing and a serious matter that in 9-10 days of the hearing in the apex court, this information has been withheld, it said. Gujarats Additional Advocate General Tushar Mehta assured the bench that if there is any such CD in the custody of the state, it would be placed before it on the next date of hearing. During the proceedings, the bench also asked senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae, to point out the CBI lapses in its probe. After Gujarat, the Andhra Pradesh government on 1 December came under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court for protecting its police officials who were allegedly present at the site where Sohrabuddin Sheikh was killed in a fake encounter. A bench of justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai said that there is a deliberate attempt on the part of Andhra Pradesh not to provide information to the CBI which is investigating the case. It pointed out that the register which records the movement of police officials was not supplied to the probe agency. HC asks CBI to probe Ishrat encounter Ahmedabad: A division bench of the Gujarat high court on 2 December handed over investigation in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case to the CBI. This is the fourth such encounter orchestrated by the Gujarat police to go to the central agency. The bench of justices Jayant Patel and Abhilasha Kumari said it was handing over the probe to the CBI because it could not trust either the special investigation team (SIT) or the state police to do a credible job. The judges said in the 148-page order that the court will not monitor the investigation any further and asked SIT chairman RR Verma to file a fresh FIR within two weeks and submit a report. Mumbai girl Ishrat, 19, was killed along with three others Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar - on June 15, 2004 by city crime branch cops. They were later dubbed as Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives out to kill chief minister Narendra Modi to avenge the 2002 riots. Interestingly, the judges asked IPS officer Satish Verma to help CBI in the investigation. During a hearing last month, the state had agreed to a CBI probe, but had objected to any Verma role in the investigation, saying he was involved in another suspicious encounter. The brother of a man, who died in police custody in Porbandar in 1996 when Verma was SP there, approached the high court alleging police inaction against the cop despite orders by HC in 1998. On Thursday too the state government objected to Vermas name, but the court disregarded the objections. The bench observed that the case has now acquired national, if not international ramifications. It added that circumstances have now emerged that put the case in the exceptional category and that CBI should probe it to instil confidence in the probe. The judges came down on the state government for opposing an independent inquiry when its officers had botched up the probe. It also criticized the Centre for not being able to command its officers. Six top cops have shown reluctance to investigate the case. As many as 21 policemen, including IPS officers, are involved in the encounter. Among the IPS officers are the then Ahmedabad joint police commissioner (crime branch) P P spoken English and commutation skills under the garb of personality development. Students even ask to teach English with Hindi explanations. This exercise (in futility) will provide jobs to historians and mathematicians who will have to update all the events in corresponding calendars e.g. Alexander invasion of India. Books shall have to insert these dates thus further burdening their capacity to remember. If they do not cram dates of both the calendars they shall not be in a position to compete in national level examinations e.g. UPSC exams which will retain BC/AD referential terms. There are questions on world history as well. Examples have been cited of China, Japan and Korea who are already calculating years using terms equivalent to Common Era and Before Common Era. Though Laxmikant Sharma wants to retain these terms in the school text books he wants to undertake the exercise for the administration department. But the administration department, if it needs, can switch on to the shaka calendar, already in practice, failing which, state and union government correspondence would become further complicated. Though Muslims have their own calendar but they use it for their religious transactions only. So far as other matters pertain, specially for international events they retain the Gregorian calendar alongwith the Islamic calendar. Students of Muslim history (in India) shall have to wrestle with three sets of dates: Gregorian/Vikram/Islamic. So Babars invasion or Shivajis coronation shall have to be computed twice leading to academic chaos and confusion. History teaches get ready to buy aspirins! (AG Khan) Pande, then assistant commissioners of police G L Singhal and N K Amin besides DG Vanzara, who is already in jail in the Sohrabuddin case. Advocate I H Syed, who represented Ishrats mother Shamima Kauser, said, This is the perfect order and does complete justice to us. This is what we had sought in the original petition. The court giving liberty to CBI to take help from Satish Verma is amazing. Farooq favours re-opening of cinemas, liquor shops

Aligarh: Member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Uzma Naheed said here that people are embracing Islam after studying it and a large number of women also have embraced Islam around the world. She called upon Muslims to translate Islamic teachings into their lives so that other people take inspiration from them. She was speaking as the chief guest at the National Symposium organized on Status of Women in Contemporary Society by the Club for Short Evening Courses, General Education Centre, Aligarh Muslim University on December 7. Ms. Naheed called upon Muslims to undertake social work to provide services to society. She urged people to learn lessons from the life of Prophet Muhammads (pbuh) wife Khadijah as she exhibited the business talents of women. She said that young female students should come forward to eliminate backwardness and ignorance among the women. Coordinator of AMUs General Education Centre, Dr. Shakeel Samdani said that whatever condition of women is today, it is a result of general apathy of the society towards them. He said that people have confined themselves to their families and have forgotten sacrifices and services made by women. Dr. Samdani said that the rights bestowed upon women were given in Europe only in the twentieth century while Islam gave these rights 15 centuries ago. He said that if the message of Islam could have been understood with true spirit, the condition of women would have been much better today. He said that nobody could deny the contribution of Islam in the uplift of womens condition. Dr. Mohibul Haque of the Department of Political Science pointed out that a prejudiced and wrong interpretation of womens role in religious books is one of the main reasons behind the poor condition of women in the society. He said that 32 percent reservation only would not be enough to empower them. Dr. Fatma Shujatullah said that women can empower themselves only by acquiring education and knowledge.

A liquor shop on the Boulevard in Srinagar

Ms. Teesta Setalvad at a Lecture in the Cultural Hall of Maulana Azad Library

Prejudices against Muslims an issue of great concern: Teesta Aligarh: Institutionalized prejudices and negative attitude of the security forces against Muslims is an issue of great concern, said the eminent social worker and human right activist, Teesta Setalvad. She said that all justice-loving people and secular elements of the society should stand up and break silence to oppose the fascist forces. She was delivering a lecture on Violence and Minorities organized here by the Club for Short Evening Courses run by AMUs General Education Centre on 30 November. Setelvad said that from Gujarat to Karnataka, Gopalganj and Bharatpur, all the incidents of riot proved that the police stance remains against Muslims. She observed that in all these riots, Muslims were first provoked then firing was resorted upon them and their properties were looted and put on fire. She said that proofs of such incidents were hurriedly wiped out so that they might not be used to get an FIR lodged or presented in courts. She said that the negative attitude of the administration has put a big question mark over its impartiality and emits a dangerous signal for the times to come. Recalling fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan, Setalvad said that such encounters are taking place in UP and Bihar also and those who raise their voices in favour of Muslims are implicated in false criminal cases. Quoting Sachar Committee recommendations, she said that a large number of Muslims are kept in jails in Maharashtra and Gujarat. She emphasized that the planned and organized violence is the biggest challenge before Indian society. She said that we have to stop violence against Muslims in a concerted way. Sohrab killing: SC seeks Guj cops call detail CDs New Delhi: Pulling up Gujarat government for its failure in handing over telephone call details of senior police officials pertaining to the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter, the Supreme Court

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmirs National Conference (NC) president and Union New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah on 5 December said the cinema halls and liquor shops should re-open in the Valley to give a fillip to tourism industry in the state. He was speaking at a function to mark the birth anniversary of the NC founder and former chief minister, Sheikh Abdullah, here. What is wrong with cinemas when we watch movies on the television at home? Farooq Abdullah said. He said the re-opening of cinema halls and liquor shops would give a boost to the tourism industry which is the backbone of the local economy...Where will the tourists go in the evening? They cannot remain confined to their hotel rooms. They need recreation, the NC president said. Cinema halls and liquor shops were closed in the Kashmir valley in 1990 when militancy reared its head in the state. E. Ahamed seeks more fund for Urdu New Delhi: The National President of Indian Union Muslim League and Union minister of state for external affairs and HRD E. Ahamed claimed that he had initiated a number of steps to improve education of minorities and to promote Urdu language in a big way. It was only 100 crores rupees allocated for Urdu in the 11th Five Year Plan. But, now we are pressing hard to increase it in the 12th Five Year Plan by five times, i.e., 500 crores. Likewise, many areas are being scrutinised for further improving minority education. said E Ahmad at a meeting of IUML here recently. He said that IUML was not the old Muslim League, it is now a partner in the coalition government at the Centre. We have been trying to get as much development for the community as possible. We will continue to pressurise in democratic way for the implementation of other recommendations also. We have been advocating for reservation for the Muslims in the service he said adding that IUML has been facing challenges and opposition at various stages from different quarters and many people have tried to destabilise the party. Even after the party has been working to rejuvenate, some people want to weaken the party. This will not work. We are one, we are united and we will march forward to achieve our goal he said.

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011 23

INTERNATIONAL

WikiLeaks exposes global surveillance

Washington: In an apparently serious setback for U. S. intelligence against a key adversary, Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shi'ite militia, has succeeded in identifying and arresting informants within its ranks who were working for the CIA, current and former U. S. officials said. Separately, counterintelligence officers in Iran also succeeded in uncovering the identities of at least a handful of alleged CIA informants, the officials said. Some former U. S. officials said that the CIA informants, believed to be local recruits rather than U. S. citizens, were uncovered, at least in part, due to sloppy procedures - known in the espionage world as "tradecraft" - used by the agency. But Bob Baer, a former CIA operations officer whose books inspired the Hollywood movie Syriana, said that Hezbollah's counterintelligence capabilities are formidable and should not be underestimated. "Hezbollah's security is as good as any in the world's. It's the best. It's better than that of the KGB," the former Soviet spy agency, Baer said. Hezbollah, founded with Iranian help during Lebanon's 1975These systems are used to hunt people down and to murder." Experts who worked on the release warned that at present 1990 civil war, has grown from a militia that fought Israeli forces in the industry was completely unregulated, and urged govern- south Lebanon into the most powerful political and military force in ments worldwide to introduce new laws governing the export of the country. Hezbollah and its allies dominate the Lebanese government formed in June. such technology. (heraldsun.com.au) Baer said one reason Hezbollah has been successful in rootIceland recognises Palestinian state ing out spies is that it is so powerful it has forced Lebanese govIcelandic parliament passes resolution making country the first ernment security forces to hand over sensitive communications in western Europe to accept Palestine as an independent state and spy gear supplied by the U. S. government. Hezbollah then Iceland's foreign minister, Ossur Skarphedinsson, said he used this U. S. equipment to identify and track down CIA informwould discuss the outcome of the vote with other Nordic coun- ants. U. S. officials were coy about the extent and seriousness of tries before making a formal declaration on Palestinian stateCIA losses. But they said damage to U. S. intelligence was serihood. Iceland has become the first western european country to ous enough for extensive briefings and discussions to have been recognise Palestine as an independent state. The Icelandic parliament said in a statement on its website held with congressional oversight committees. A congressional that it had passed a motion with 38 of 63 votes in favour of a source said any discussions remain classified. Hezbollah, which resolution to recognse Palestine "as an independent and sover- the U. S. government labels a terrorist group, and Iran, which it eign state" based on borders predating the six-day war of 1967. accuses of developing a nuclear weapon and sponsoring attacks "Iceland is the first country in western europe to take this on U. S. troops in Iraq, are major targets of interest for U. S. spy step," Ossur Skarphedinsson, the minister for foreign affairs, agencies and the White House. There was no word about the told RUV, the Icelandic national broadcasting service. He said unmasked operatives' fate. The CIA declined to comment on the latest developments. the vote had given him the authority to make a formal declaration on the government's behalf, but before doing so he would Agency spokesman Preston Golson said the CIA "does not, as a rule discuss allegations of operational activities." However, U. S. discuss the move with other Nordic countries. The resolution, which coincided with the UN's annual day of officials explicitly denied a claim, reported by the Los Angeles solidarity with the Palestinian people, recognised the Palestine Times on Monday, that CIA operations in Lebanon have effectiveLiberation Organisation as the legal authority for a Palestinian ly been crippled due to Hezbollah's actions. Nonetheless, U. S. officials confirmed to Reuters that some state and urged Israel and Palestine to reach a peace agreeCIA informants assigned to gather information on Hezbollah and ment. The vote comes shortly after the Palestinians successfully gained admission to the UN's cultural agency, Unesco. Iceland the government of Iran had been compromised, and that any such was among 11 European Unesco members to support the move. losses are considered damaging to U. S. intelligence collection However, the suspected failure to win the required support efforts. of nine of the security council's 15 members, and a promise from the US that it would veto any council resolution endorsing 'EXTREMELY COMPLICATED ENEMY' membership, threatens to stall the move for full UN member- "Espionage has always been a perilous business. Collecting sensitive information on adversaries who are aggressively trying to ship. uncover spies in their midst will always be fraught with risk," said one U. S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official acknowledged: "Hezbollah is an extremely complicated enemy. ... It's a determined terrorist group, a power political I will settle my player, a mighty military, and an accomplished intelligence organaccount with both ization formidable and ruthless. No one underestimates its capabilities." During the past year, leaders of both Hezbollah and Iran of you! have publicly touted what they said were successes by their security and counterintelligence forces in uncovering CIA informants. In June, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said two of the group's members had been arrested on suspicion of being affiliated with the CIA, and a third was held for working either for the CIA or for European or Israeli intelligence agencies. In May, Iran's intelligence minister said more than two dozen spies for the United States and Israel had been uncovered. ABC News reported that Iranian TV had broadcast what the U. S. network described as accurate video of websites used by the CIA. A former U. S. intelligence official who worked in the region said U. S. operatives have been "battling for most of the last decade" in a shadow war with what he described as Hezbollah's extremely effective counterintelligence operatives. Over the years, Hezbollah has proven persistent, and sometimes successful, both in spotting CIA informants within its ranks and in trying to plant its own double agents on the CIA, the former official said. One frequent tactic used by the group, the former official said, is to send "walk-in" operatives into U. S. embassies in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries claiming to have information about attacks being planned against U. S. targets. Instead of having information about real attack planning, however, the "walk-ins" use their visits to U. S. embassy buildings to gather information about embassy security measures and procedures which could then be used to plan possible attacks, according to the former official. (Mark Hosenball - Reuters)

Hezbollah, Iran uncover CIA informants

Terrorism is now a fast-expanding global industry

WikiLeaks' spy files reveal how governments are able to track and monitor their citizens via their mobile phones, email accounts and internet browsing histories. WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange has launched the website's new project - the publication of hundreds of files detailing a global industry that gives governments tools to spy on their citizens. They reveal the activities of about 160 companies in 25 countries that develop technologies to allow the tracking and monitoring of individuals by their mobile phones, email accounts and internet browsing histories. "Today we release over 287 files documenting the reality of the international mass surveillance industry - an industry which now sells equipment to dictators and democracies alike in order to intercept entire populations," Mr Assange said today. He said that in the past 10 years it had grown from a covert industry that primarily supplied government intelligence agencies such as the NSA in the United States and Britain's GCHQ, to a huge transnational business. Mr Assange has been in Britain for the past year fighting extradition to Sweden for questioning on allegations of rape and sexual assault, living under tight bail conditions. His case is due to come up again on December 5. The documents on the website, http://wikileaks.org/the-spyfiles.html, include manuals for surveillance products sold to repressive Arab regimes. They have come to light in part from offices ransacked during rebellions in countries such as Egypt and Libya earlier this year, as well as investigative work by WikiLeaks and its media and campaigning partners. "These systems that are revealed in these documents show exactly the kind of systems that the Stasi wished they could have built," said Jacob Appelbaum, a former WikiLeaks spokesman and computer expert at the University of Washington. "These systems have been sold by Western companies to places for example like Syria and Libya and Tunisia and Egypt.

Yusuf/MG

24 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

INTERNATIONAL

Neocons Preoccupied With Islamic Conspiracy Theories

Islamophobia is not exactly new, but it attained a greater popularity in the wake of 9/11. Everyone needs someone to blame when terrible events take place, and Islam, which is culturally alien to most Americans, is a convenient scapegoat, leading to campaigns vilifying Shariah law and raising suspicions about Muslims in general. It is perhaps no coincidence that the woman who is possibly the most vocal anti-Muslim in the United States, Pamela Geller, has been leading the charge linking anti-Semitism to the OWS movement. One Geller headline screams Muslim Groups Back Occupy Wall Street...
The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, for all its flaws, is a genuine expression of the growing recognition in the United States that the government no longer serves the interests of the people. It has been described as an American version of the "Arab Spring," driven by a sense of popular alienation from the elites who dominate the politics and economies of so many countries. Whatever its antecedents, the idea that the people must again have a voice in their own destinies clearly has a broad appeal, as the movement has sparked similar protests in Europe and Asia. In the United States, because many of the activists describe themselves as progressive or liberal, the movement is increasingly reviled by conservative pundits as "un-American," even though its objectives are frequently identical to those of the tea parties on the political right. There was, indeed, initially some confusion on how exactly to describe the developing threat. Leading neoconservative Charles Krauthammer of The Washington Post initially saw a radical chic rebellion as the "Starbucks-sipping,? Levi's-clad, iPhone- clutching protesters denounce corporate America." He castigated the "indignant indolents saddled with their $50,000 student loans and English degrees [who] have decided that their lack of gainful employment is rooted in the malice of the millionaires." But then the perception changed when the protesters did not go away and grew in number, joined by a handful of labor unions, challenging the status quo more directly. The demonstrators were described as "attacking" the police, and media accounts were replete with the familiar slogans of the Vietnam War, that the protesters are dirty, libidinous, and Communistinspired. Conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh called them "lousy hippies, thieves, rapists, purse snatchers, and muggers." Glenn Beck, until recently a fixture on Fox television, described them as "lice-infested" misfits spreading disease, committing murders and rapes, and engaging in public defecation and fornication. But a new formulation has been creeping into the invective. Because the attacks were on Wall Street, the movement was initially framed by some critics as anti-Semitic because of the large number of Jews who work in the financial services industry. Beck sees something even more insidious: Islamic radicalism that is aiming to overthrow the government of the United States. In his odd mixture of ostentatious religiosity and gutter politics, he describes how God speaks to us, noting, however, that the God who advises going around blowing things up is likely the "God of the Arab Spring." In other words, for some so-called conservative commentators, an essential element that can be used to marginalize the protest movement is to label it Islamic. Islamophobia is not exactly new, but it attained a greater popularity in the wake of 9/11. Everyone needs someone to blame when terrible events take place, and Islam, which is culturally alien to most Americans, is a convenient scapegoat, leading to campaigns vilifying Shariah law and raising suspicions about Muslims in general. It is perhaps no coincidence that the woman who is possibly the most vocal anti-Muslim in the United States, Pamela Geller, has been leading the charge linking antiSemitism to the OWS movement. One Geller headline screams "Muslim Groups Back Occupy Wall Street Protesters." Geller is successful in finding anti-Semitism and insidious Islamic influence in many places, enabled in her task by her conflation of anti-Israel with anti-Semitic. In her mind and those of her supporters, the two are essentially the same. To be sure, some of the attempt to label the Occupy movement as anti-Semitic is purely political, an attempt to tie the protesters with President Barack Obama, who was once a community organizer and who has failed to strongly condemn the movement. But there is also a clear attempt being made to marginalize any and all criticism of Israel, which has recently been the focus of an increasingly open debate related to the more than $3 billion in foreign aid that it receives at a time when the United States economy is suffering. Since it is a movement born from widespread frustration with the status quo and derived from many perspectives, the Occupy Wall Street crowd does not have any standardized or uniform message. To be sure, some protesters who have been linked to the movement are also highly critical of United States foreign policy, their message being that the constant wars have eroded the nation's ability to deal with more serious problems at home. And some have connected Israel with those wars, not without reason. And there are indeed some that blame America's Jews for the country's ills, but they are a tiny minority, even if the media has done its best to find them and interview them. In fact, some American groups that are normally highly sensitive to the issue of anti-Semitism, including the AntiDefamation League and the American Jewish Committee, conducted their own investigations and determined that the movement is not anti-Semitic. So why do the attempts to link the movement to hatred of Jews continue? For some in the media and the foreign policy punditry, any criticism of Israel, directly or implicitly, is unacceptable. Blogger Jennifer Rubin noted a sign held by an Arab American that said "Gaza Supports the Occupation of Wall Street," which she described as a "vile scene." That is precisely what has triggered the neoconservative response in places like The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, and the New York Post. In addition to Geller and the talk radio pantheon, the list of leading Republicans and selfstyled conservatives who have attacked the Occupy movement is virtually a who's who of the most passionate supporters of Israel and promoters of Islamophobia, many brought together by an organization called the Emergency Committee for Israel, which is headed by William Kristol of The Weekly Standard. ECI advocates the creation of a "pro-Israel presidency" for the United States. Your browser may not support display of this image. Frank Gaffney, another leading herald of the Islamic threat to the United States, heads the Center for Security Policy. He has been described as "unhinged" partly for his extremist comments regarding Muslims, including saying recently, "They are trying to impose what are known as Shariah blasphemy laws, whereby anyone who says anything critical about Islam, no matter how true, is to be silenced. It is actually a capital offense." In January 2011, Gaffney claimed that the American Conservative Union, a venerable right- wing Republican organization, had been infiltrated by the "Muslim Brotherhood." He has also insisted that the purpose of building mosques is "to destroy Western civilization from within." Gaffney has called for the creation of a new House Un-American Activities Committee to look into the activities of Muslims living in the United States, and he now links the Occupy crowd to communism and Nazism. David Horowitz, founder of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, whose stated mission is to "combat the efforts of the radical left and its Islamist allies to destroy American values in a time of terror," calls the Occupy supporters "morons" and "idiots." Robert Spencer, who runs the website Jihad Watch, objected recently to a reality show depicting Muslim families in America by demanding that it include terrorists. He writes that "The Leftist/jihadist alliance has been on abundant display during the Occupy protests." So the unanimity on the part of many pundits and politicians in condemning the Occupy Wall Street movement can be explained in terms of their other interests. Damaging President Obama is a high priority, but Occupiers' explicit or implicit criticism of U. S. foreign policy also challenges the Israel-centric view of American national security, and the demands that foreign aid be eliminated or cut pose a rather more direct challenge, as Israel is a major recipient of such assistance. And the merest hint that American Muslims might be joining in the protests or sympathetic to them provides the necessary ammunition to discredit the rest of the message. As is so often the case in American politics, the punditry's hostile response to Occupy Wall Street is really largely about Israel. (original.antiwar.com)

On 1 December, the shameful dinosaurs of the Senate - hopelessly out of touch with reality, for the most part, and haunted by specters of their own making - approved, by 93 votes to 7, the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (PDF), which contains a number of astonishingly alarming provisions - Sections 1031 and 1032, designed to make mandatory the indefinite military detention of terror suspects until the end of hostilities in a "war on terror" that seems to have no end (if they are identified as a member of al- Qaeda or an alleged affiliate, or have planned or carried out an attack on the United States), ending a long and entirely appropriate tradition of trying terror suspects in federal court for their alleged crimes, and Sections 1033 and 1034, which seek to prevent the closure of Guantnamo by imposing onerous restrictions on the release of prisoners, and banning the use of funds to purchase an alternative prison anywhere else. I have previously remarked on these depressing developments in articles in July and October, as they have had a horribly long period of gestation, in which no one with a grip on reality - and admiration for the law - has been able to wipe them out. The four sections are connected, as cheerleaders for the mandatory military detention of terror suspects want them to be sent to Guantnamo, and have done, if I recall correctly, at least since Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the failed Christmas plane bomber in 2009, was arrested, read his Miranda rights, and interrogated by the FBI. Recently, Abdulmutallab, who told his interrogators all they wanted to know without being held in military custody - and, for that matter, without being tortured, which is what the hardcore cheerleaders for military detention also want was tried and convicted in a federal court. Hundreds of other terror suspects have been successfully prosecuted in federal court, throughout the Bush years, and under Obama, but supporters of military custody like to forget this, as it conflicts with their notions, held since the aftermath of 9/11 and the Bush administration's horrendous flight from the law, that terrorists are warriors. Underpinning it all is the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), the founding document of the "war on terror," passed the week after the 9/11 attacks. This authorizes the President to pursue anyone, anywhere who he thinks was involved in the 9/11 attacks, and it is a dreadfully open-ended excuse for endless war whose repeal I have long encouraged, but which some lawmakers have been itching to renew, even after the death of Osama bin Laden, and the obvious incentives for the winding-down of the ruinous, decade-long "war on terror." (Excerpted from Andy Worthington commondreams.org)

Deranged Senate Votes for Military Detention of All Terror Suspects and a Permanent Guantnamo

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The Orniss building in Bucharest identified as a CIA secret prison in a German media investigation (8 December 2011). Former CIA operatives said the building was used to interrogate terrorism suspects, including Khaled Sheikh Mohammed. The CIA operated a secret prison in the Romanian capital Bucharest where terrorism suspects were interrogated, an investigation by the Associated Press and German media has found. Former CIA operatives identified the building where, they said, detainees were held and tortured. The building belongs to a Romanian agency, Orniss, which stores classified information from the EU and Nato. Orniss has denied hosting a CIA prison and the CIA has refused to comment. The investigation, by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and the German TV network ARD, said those held in the secret prison included Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, who has admitted organising the 9/11 attacks. He was seized in Pakistan in March 2003 under the US programme known as "extraordinary rendition" - the extra-judicial detention and transfer of terrorism suspects. He has been in the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay since 2006, where he is awaiting trial. The building identified in the German investigation houses the Office of the National Register for Secret State Information, or Orniss. Orniss has denied all claims that its premises were used as a CIA prison. Asked whether the building was ever used to hold Islamist terrorism suspects, Orniss deputy head Adrian Camarasan told the Sueddeutsche: "Here? No!" The building, at 4 Mures Street, was codenamed "Bright Light", the Sueddeutsche reported. The controversy over secret prisons is one of the most controversial legacies of the "war on terror." Not just the location but the very existence of the so-called CIA "black sites" was kept secret for many years after 9/11. Top al-Qaeda figures such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Zubaydah simply disappeared. Intelligence reports began to seep back to some of America's allies from their interrogation but no-one was sure where they were being held - or how they were being treated.

CIA secret prison found in Romania - media reports

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011 25

INTERNATIONAL

Israels Grand Hypocrisy

JONATHAN COOK

s protests raged again across the Middle East, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, offered his assessment of the Arab Spring last week. It was, he said, an "Islamic, anti-western, anti-liberal, anti- Israeli, undemocratic wave", adding that Israel's Arab neighbours were "moving not forwards, but backwards". It takes some chutzpah - or, at least, epic self-delusion - for Israel's prime minister to be lecturing the Arab world on liberalism and democracy at this moment. In recent weeks, a spate of anti-democratic measures have won support from Netanyahu's rightwing government, justified by a new security doctrine: see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil of Israel. If the legislative proposals pass, the Israeli courts, Israel's human rights groups and media, and the international community will be transformed into the proverbial three monkeys. Israel's vigilant human rights community has been the chief target of this assault. Yesterday Netanyahu's Likud faction and the Yisrael Beiteinu party of his far-right foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, proposed a new law that would snuff out much of the human rights community in Israel. The bill effectively divides non-governmental organisations (NGOs) into two kinds: those defined by the right as pro-Israel and those seen as "political", or anti-Israel. The favoured ones, such as ambulance services and universities, will continue to be lavishly funded from foreign sources, chiefly wealthy private Jewish donors from the United States and Europe. The "political" ones - meaning those that criticise government policies, especially relating to the occupation - will be banned from receiving funds from foreign governments, their main source of income. Donations from private sources, whether Israeli or foreign, will be subject to a crippling 45 per cent tax. The grounds for being defined as a "political" NGO are suitably vague: denying Israel's right to exist or its Jewish and democratic character; inciting racism; supporting violence against Israel; supporting politicians or soldiers being put on trial in international courts; or backing boycotts of the state. One human rights group warned that all groups assisting the UN's 2009 report report by Judge Richard Goldstone into war crimes committed during Israel's attack on Gaza in winter 2008 would be vulnerable to such a law. Other organisations like Breaking the Silence, which publishes the testimonies of Israeli soldiers who have committed or witnessed war crimes, will be silenced themselves. And an Israeli Arab NGO said it feared that its work demanding equality for all Israeli citizens, including the fifth who are Palestinian, and an end to Jewish privilege would count as denying Israel's Jewish character. At the same time Netanyahu wants the Israeli media emasculated. Last week his government threw its weight behind a new defamation law that will leave few but milionaires in a position to criticise politicians and officials. Mr Netanyahu observed: "It may be called the Defamation Law, but I call it the 'publication of truth law'." The media and human rights groups fear the worst. This monkey must speak no evil. Another bill, backed by the justice minister, Yaacov Neeman, is designed to skew the make-up of a panel selecting judges for Israel's supreme court. Several judicial posts are about to fall vacant, and the government hopes to stuff the court with apppointees who share its ideological worldview and will not rescind its anti-democratic legislation, including its latest attack on the human

rights community. Neeman's favoured candidate is a settler who has a history of ruling against human rights organisations. Senior legislators from Mr Netanyahu's party are pushing another bill that would make it nigh impossible for human rights organisations to petition the supreme court against government actions. The judicial monkey should see no evil. At one level, these and a host of other measures - including increasing government intimidation of the Israeli media and academia, a crackdown on whistleblowers and the recently passed boycott law, which exposes critics of the settlements to expensive court actions for damages - are designed to strengthen the occupation by disarming its critics inside Israel. But there is another, even more valued goal: making sure that in future the plentiful horror stories from the Palestinian territories - monitored by human rights organisations, reported by the media and heard in the courts - never reach the ears of the international community. The third monkey is supposed to hear no evil. The crackdown is justified in the Israeli right's view on the grounds that criticism of the occupation represents not domestic concerns but unwelcome foreign interference in Israel's affairs. The promotion of human rights - whether in Israel, the occupied territories or the Arab world - is considered by Netanyahu and his allies as inherently un-Israeli and anti-Israeli. The hypocrisy is hard to stomach. Israel has long claimed special dispensation to interfere in the affairs of both the EU and the United States. Jewish Agency staff proselytise among European and American Jews to persuade them to emigrate to Israel. Uniquely, Israel's security agencies are given free rein at airports around the world to harass and invade the privacy of non-Jews flying to Tel Aviv. And Israel's political proxies abroad sophisticated lobby groups like AIPAC in the US - act as foreign agents while not registering as such. Of course, Israel's qualms against foreign meddling are selective. No restrictions are planned for rightwing Jews from abroad, such as US casino magnate Irving Moskowitz, who have pumped enormous sums into propping up illegal Jewish settlements built on Palestinian land. There is a faulty logic too to Israel's argument. As human rights activists point out, the areas where they do most of their work are located not in Israel but in the Palestinian territories, which Israel is occupying in violation of international law. Privately, European embassies have been trying to drive home this point. The EU gives Israel preferential trading status, worth billions of dollars annually to the Israeli economy, on condition that it respects human rights in the occupied territories. Europe argues it is, therefore, entitled to fund the monitoring of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. More's the pity that Europe fails to act on the information it receives. Given the right's strengthening hand, it can be expected to devise ever more creative ways to silence the human rights community and Israeli media and emasculate the courts as way to end the bad press. Israelis are obssessed with their country's image abroad and what they regard as a "delegitimisation" campaign that threatens not only the occupation's continuation but also Israel's long-term survival as an ethnic state. The leadership has been incensed by regular surveys of global opinion showing Israel ranked among the most unpopular countries in the world. The Palestinians' recent decision to turn to the international

community for recognition of statehood has only amplified such grievances. Israel has no intention of altering its policies, or of pursuing peace. Rather, Netanyahu's government has been oscillating between a desperate desire to pass yet more antidemocratic legislation to stifle criticism and a modicum of restraint motivated by fear of the international backlash. A cabinet debate last month on legislation against human rights groups focused barely at all on the proposal's merits. Instead the head of the National Security Council, Yaakov Amidror, was called before ministers to explain whether Israel stood to lose more from passing such bills or from allowing human rights groups to carry on monitoring the occupation. Deluded as it may seem, Netanyahu's ultimate goal is to turn the clock back 40 years, to a "golden age" when foreign correspondents and western governments could refer, without blushing, to the occupation of the Palestinians as "benign". Donald Neff, Jerusalem correspondent for Time magazine in the 1970s, admitted years later that his and his colleagues' performance was so feeble at the time in large part because there was little critical information available on the occupation. When he witnessed first-hand what was taking place, his editors in the US refused to believe him and he was eventually moved on. Now, however, the genie is out the bottle. The international community understands full well - thanks to human rights activists - both that the occupation is brutal and that Israel has been peace-making in bad faith. If Israel continues on its current course, another myth long accepted by western countries - that Israel is "the only democracy in the Middle East" - may finally be shattered. (Countercurrents.org) Jonathan Cook won the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His latest books are "Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East" (Pluto Press) and "Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair" (Zed Books). His website is www.jkcook.net

Muslim Brotherhood to re-examine Camp David Accords

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood chief: Much time has passed since accord was signed, Israel does not abide by it.
The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt denies a report in Israeli newspaper Yediot Acharonot, according to which the movement has reached understandings with the United States and Israel, according to which the Muslim Brotherhood "understands the importance of safeguarding the peace treaty with Israel.' Yediot Acharonot reported an alleged statement by Jeffrey Feltman, Assistant US Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Dr. Mahmoud Saad Alkatani, Director of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party, told Al Sharq al -Awsat Friday: "The report in the newspaper is completely unfounded. There have been no contacts or understandings with the American or Israeli side about the peace treaty that President Anwar Sadat signed in 1979." He remarked that his party "adheres to respecting the international agreements, as long as they fulfill the purpose that they were meant to, and believes that Parliament has the right to reevaluate any agreement. "A long time has passed since the Camp David accord was signed and like the other agreements it needs reevaluation and this is in the hands of the Parliament Generally, Israel does not honor the agreement," he added. (israelnationalnews.com)

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26 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

INTERNATIONAL
KARAMATULLAH K. GHORI
The official Iranian news agency (IRNA) reported on December 4 that Irans air defences had shot down an un-manned U.S. drone that had intruded into the Iranian territory from the east. The exact provenance of the spy aircraft wasnt given but the hint of its coming from the east clearly suggested itd intruded into Iran from Pakistan. While the Iranians should have ample reason to feel elated on this feat-achieved at a time when the Americans have been trying to close in on Iran through aggressive anti-Iranian diplomacy aimed at isolating it-the people of Pakistan, next door, wish they couldve meted out this treatment to persistent American piracy from the air against their territory. Nothing has enraged the Pakistanis more than the regular visitations by American drones against Pakistans tribal areas, supposedly in hunt of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban terrorists. However, a predominant number of victims of these deadly stealth raids have been civiliansmen, women and children. In fact, children, in particular, seem to be paying an inordinately high price for Americas blind rage against supposed terrorists. The intensity of drone attacks has been raised, exponentially, under Obama in the White House. An exact figure of the horrendous toll that Pakistani citizens have paid, to date, for Americas besotted imperialist thrust is hard to come by. However, its conservatively estimated that in the past 4 to 5 years, at least 5,000 Pakistani civilians have been killed in drone attacks; the number of actual terrorists killed is only a fraction of it. The people of Pakistan have been up in arms against these illegal bombing raidsand have regularly voiced their anger against this blatant violation of international law-but to no avail. Their own governments apathy in the matter and its dismal failure to hold U.S. accountable for its arrogance has only added to the angst of the Pakistanis. The hubris and lust of U.S. dictating its imperialist agenda in the region around Pakistan hit a new low last November 26 when a Pakistani military post in the Mohmand area of the tribal belt running parallel to the border with Afghanistan was raided by U.S. and NATO aircraft, in the dead of night, without provocation. 24 Pakistani soldiers and officers were killed in the raid. So provocative and heinous in nature was this crime that even a supine Pakistani government-otherwise seemingly impervious to pleas from its people to stand up to the American raiders-decided to call a spade a spade. But once the die was cast to hold U.S. and their NATO appendage to account for this outrageous murder of Pakistans defence personnel the riposte was swift and decisive. Going beyond mere verbal protestations over gross violations of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Pakistan took immediate and concrete steps to show action where its mouth was. Pakistan bared its knuckles by putting an immediate and complete halt to the movement through its territory of American and NATO trucks carrying essential supplies and stores for the occupation forces in Afghanistan. The move is bound to seriously hurt the western military juggernaut in Afghanistan because Pakistan is the key conduit to bring in defence supplies as well as logistics needed to keep U.S. and NATO forces well-equipped. Washington may have been putting on a brave face over the Pakistani freeze but the Americans are keenly aware of how seriously it could affect, if not cripple, their imperialist presence on the Afghan soil. Secondly, Pakistan decided to boycott the Bonn conference, which opened in Germany on December 5 to decide the contours of post-2014 Afghanistan. Dubbed as Bonn-2 (alluding to the first Bonn conference held in 2002, on the heels of the U.S. military invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, that had spawned Hamid Karzai as

Neo-Imperialisms ugly designs against Pakistan and Iran

Afghanistans puppet ruler) with 90 countries of the world attending. Pakistan is a key player, if not the pivot, in the Afghan context, and its absence from the conference would bite into its agenda a great deal. However, the Pakistan government refused to reconsider its boycott of the conference despite fervent pleas from Washington and other western capitals. To the delight of the people of Pakistan, their government, after so much dithering and foot-dragging has succeeded in showing some back-bone, after all. The third decision, asking the Americans to pack up their bags and get out of the Shamsi Air Base in Pakistans heartland, within 15 days is not only apocalyptic in its symbolism but is going to stifle the Americans most in real terms, too. The Shamsi base, located not too far from Pakistans border with Iran, has been used by the Americans with impunity to launch its drone strikes within Pakistan, to the utter dismay of the Pakistanis. But it has also been used, quite regularly, too, to send out reconnaissance sorties against Iran. Its a centuries-old ploy of imperialists to seek to kill as many birds with one stone as possible. Theres every reason to believe that the U.S. drone the Iranians brought down over their land had the Shamsi base as its provenance. The Americans, desperate to make the best use engaged in diverting enriched uranium for military purposes. Like some of its previous reports dropping knife-edge hints and nuanced suggestions about Iran trying to go nuclear, the latest IAEA report, too, is based, overwhelmingly, on material culled from a lap-top of uncertain provenance. The Americans and the Israelis, for whom even a tiny scrap of suspicious news about Irans fabled nuclear ambitions are like Manna from Heaven, have seized on this scrap of flimsy evidence-allegedly picked up from the lap-top of an Iranian nuclear scientist-to drumbeat a Tsunami of suspicions against Irans putative and dangerous designs. U.S., in this case, is obviously back, with vengeance, to its old game of running with the hare and hunting with the hound. Its a game it has perfected against targeted states in the Muslim world, not since 9/11, as some naively believe, but since the First Gulf War of 1990-91. Then, as now, it had used a UN agency to build up a case-entirely fabricated and concocted with unabashed duplicity to suit its agenda of aggression. Against Saddam Husseins Iraq, U.S. had shamelessly manipulated and hijacked the then active UN-appointed UNSCOM to spin an intriguing tale of Saddam determined to build dooms-day weapons of mass destruction, allegedly behind the back of UN. That, eventualtheir fabrication-have been lining up behind Washington to turn the screws ever more tightly on Iran. Their goal is to make a horrible example of Iran for its temerity to stand up to the western worlds bullies and not giving in to their ludicrous arm-twisting to accept Israel as the only power in the region sanctified to have any number of lethal nuclear weapons. Provocations from the west, which seems to be blindly toeing an imperialist agenda, has already unleashed a sickening season of sanctions against Iran., The west is apparently ganging up on Iran; the design is none other than crippling the Iranian economy and forcing its people to demand a regime-change, just the way the west has structured in Libya, or earlier in Iraq. Britain, the old and seasoned imperialist, is in the lead to force Iran to blink. The decision to blacklist the Iranian Central Bank is a brain-child of Britain, which had earlier-two decades ago, to be precise, used the same tactics against Pakistans privately-owned but rapidly fledgling Bank of Credit and Commerce International, or BCCI. Britains blatant bluff was quickly called by Tehran when protesters in Tehran stormed the British Embassy, just as they had the American, twenty years ago. The rupture of diplomatic ties between Tehran and London is not a sign to cheer up peace-loving people in the region. The pointers are serious, if not alarming. Israel, the principal U.S. surroAn exact figure of the horren- gate in the region, has long been baying for Irans blood and deploying dous toll that Pakistani citievery trick of its vicious trade to conzens have paid, to date, for vince Washington that its time to unleash the same kind of terror that Americas besotted imperialist thrust is hard to come by. vanquished Saddams Iraq against Iran, too. Obama hardly needs any However, its conservatively convincing; his record of picking up Muslim states in military confrontation estimated that in the past 4 is no better than George W. Bushs. to 5 years, at least 5,000 But Obama is stymied by two conPakistani civilians have been cerns: the U.S. economic fortunes have already hit a rock-bottom, largekilled in drone attacks; the ly because of the two wars, of Iraq number of actual terrorists and Afghanistan; and a military killed is only a fraction of it. adventure against Iran may drag not just U.S. but the whole western world The people of Pakistan have into a tsunami of economic been up in arms against upheavals. these illegal bombing raidsBut the track record of U.S. since WWII is hopelessly marred by total and have regularly voiced disregard of economic fallout of impetheir anger against this blarialistic military adventures. Obama tant violation of international himself hasnt pulled back from digging U.S. ever deeper into the quaglaw-but to no avail. mire of Afghanistan despite a wobbling U.S. economy in doldrums. So, ly, turned out to be a ruse. Nevertheless, the one shouldnt bank too much on Obamas disexcuse of Saddams weapons-of-mass-destruc- cretion being the better part of his valour. He tion was blatantly deployed to unleash a war of could just be biding his time in anticipation of an American terror against Iraq, in 2003, which has opportune time to bite the bullet and team up killed, at the very least, about one million Iraqis. with Israel and other minions in Europe to venU.S. is now using IAEA to similar purpose. ture against Iran. The election year, next year, The UN nuclear watch-dog was first purged of may just be the most opportune time slot for him the presence of Mohammad El Baradei, the to bare his knuckles. upright Egyptian at the head of IAEA, because The people of Pakistan, well versed in the he was inconvenient for U.S. agenda. His history of U.S. stabbing Pakistan in the back, vacant shoes were filled by a little-known flunky repeatedly, have, for this reason, never been from Japan who has, since, been doing victims of naivete of the kind that has perennialAmerican bidding without demur. Thats what ly afflicted their leaders. Poll after poll in Washington wanted and thats what it has Pakistan-done by both indigenous and external gained from a pliable IAEA chief. survey groups and agencies-have found the Sanctions were used to devastating effect people of Pakistan declaring U.S. as their moragainst Iraq under Saddam. Bill Clintons then tal enemy and the biggest threat to Pakistans national security chief, Sandy Berger, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The common unabashedly hailed those inhuman sanctions as mans fear that U.S. is after Pakistans nuclear historys most stringent and biting; they took a assets and is trying to tighten the noose against toll of at least 1.5 million Iraqis, one-third of them this target has hit the ceiling of alarm following children. some recent violations of Pakistans sovereignThe imperialists, old and new, are eager to ty, including the raid against Osama bin Ladens administer the same punishment to the Iranians hideout on May 2 and the latest massacre of because they have concocted a scary scenario Pakistani soldiers, on November 26. The people of an Iran on the rampage and threatening the of Iran as well as those of Pakistan have a security of Israel. Faithful western allies-mis- nexus of fear meeting at one and the same leadingly referred to as the international com- source. munity in order to add more zest and spice to

of the time left to them before theyre forced to vacate the base in Pakistan, may have thought it quite opportune to unleash a few last salvos against targets in Iran. Otherwise, too, Iran has been in the crosshairs of western-particularly Anglo-Americanimperialism for quite some time; since the Islamic revolution of Iran, to be precise. In the latest provocation from old and new imperialists, Iran is being threatened with evermore stringent and biting sanctions by the western powers, led, of course, by U.S. and its sidekick, U.K. The ostensible reason behind this latest flare-up in the already tense relations between Iran and the western cabal of nations largely taking their cue from a neo-imperialist U.S. is the same old allegation: that Iran is poised to go nuclear. This cleverly constructed ploy doesnt take, or want to, into account Irans insistence that its nuclear programme is peaceful and that it hasnt done anything in violation of its adherence to N.P.T, of which it is a signatory. The trigger to ignite this latest round of confrontation has come from the latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that doesnt categorically accuse Iran of violating its NPT obligations but is still larded with innuendoes and loaded suggestions that it may, yet, be

The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011 27

BOOKS

Games India plays with neighbours

Book: The India Doctrine (1947-2007) Author: MBI Munshi Publisher: The Bookworm, Twin Peaks Complex, Old Airport, Tejgaon, Dhaka Bangladesh. Tel: 9120387. Fax: 880-28828595. E-Mail - vietbhai@gmail.com Year: 2009 Price: Tk. 1200/US$17 Pages: 636

A. K. ZAMAN
It is almost two years since the first edition of The India Doctrine appeared on Bangladesh bookshelves to wide acclaim and appreciation. The newly revised edition now titled The India Doctrine (1947-2007) is an astonishing work of exceptional depth and analysis and is probably the first book of its kind not only in Bangladesh but also in South Asia as a whole. It is indeed a stupendous effort by Barrister MBI Munshi. While I had a few words of criticism for the original version of the book which appeared to me to be fragmentary and a little disjointed, this revised edition is an exceptional work and its various parts have been finely consolidated and is also far better written and organized. As the author reminds us, he spent almost two years to write this revised edition and it was certainly time well-spent as the language and style are now much easier to follow and effortless to comprehend. The Bangladesh Defence Journal (BDJ) has published this 636 page book at a price of Tk. 1200 or roughly $17. Of those pages one third consists of end notes and references which number in their thousands demonstrating the strong evidentiary grounds on which Barrister Munshis thesis is based. The book also contains a useful foreword by the editor of BDJ, Mr. Abu Rushd, who earlier wrote the ground-breaking RAW in Bangladesh. Mr. Rushd in his foreword contrasts the original version of The India Doctrine and the present edition stating that, The first edition was a turning point in political and historical writing in Bangladesh. The second edition continues this trend with further elaboration of issues covered in the earlier book but on very recent events such as the causes behind the cancellation of elections in 2007 and new material on the 1971 liberation war and Indias motivations in assisting [an] emergent Bangladesh. Mr. Rushd further elaborates on the importance of the book in the context of South Asias geo-strategic realities, The book is certainly a must read for those interested in South Asian affairs, geo-strategy, intelligence, and the political, diplomatic and economic influences of an increasingly important region of the world which contains almost a sixth of the world[s] population, two nuclear powers and several more in the near vicinity. The book will hopefully inspire others to explore the subject of Indian hegemony and expansionism and also allow policy-makers in the West to better comprehend the risks of permitting an unrestrained India to dominate the region. The last remark seems particularly relevant in light of the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 and the increasingly hostile attitude taken by India towards its neighbour Pakistan who it accuses of having direct involvement in the incident although only a few weeks earlier a Col. Srikant Purohit had been apprehended for supplying explosives to Hindu fanatics to carry out similar outrages. Mr. Rushd concludes that the book should hopefully, educate the policy-makers and military planners in Bangladesh about possible threats emanating from our neighbour and the consequences of New Delhis influence in our internal affairs as well as the principal cause of instability. This is probably even more pertinent after the overwhelming victory of the Awami League (AL) party in the 2008 national elections. The AL has often aligned itself with the interests of New Delhi in both foreign and internal matters and this has aggravated tensions within the country. It would be wise for the AL leaders to take some lessons from this book and adopt a more cautious attitude to New Delhi since our own history shows that a two-thirds majority in parliament is no guarantee of longevity or permanence in power especially when deeply held views about our national interest are constantly and arrogantly offended. The obvious reason for publishing this new edition is that the original book had many gaps and overlooked many significant issues principally due to the time limitations placed on the author. Barrister Munshi states in his opening remarks in the preface that, By all accounts the first edition of The India Doctrine was a book incomplete. While it covered the essentials of the periods 1947 and 1971 fairly well it managed to convey only a fraction of the notable events and incidents that were to take place during 2006 and which were to reach a climax in 2007. The years 20062007 had much less of the cruelty, violence and bloodshed associated with 1947 and 1971 but nevertheless represent a significant period of transition that witnessed a revival of great power politics in South Asia that was to significantly affect the terms of the India Doctrine. This short period indeed witnessed immense and often tragic and horrendous events that will undoubtedly have lasting effects on the South Asian perspective and psyche. The author next deals quite comprehensively with the internal struggles within India and its new alliance with the United States built upon the tenuous foundations of the nuclear agreement passed amidst intense opposition, particularly in India. The author explores how this new strategic relationship affects the regional

From a Bangladesh perspective, the most controversial sections of the book will probably be Chapters 9 and 10 that deal with Indias project to have Bangladesh declared a failed state. The chosen method to achieve this objective has been through propaganda with the labeling of Bangladesh as a hotbed of Islamist terrorism. The media campaign orchestrated by India has been so successful that many voters in the 2008 elections actually believed this nonsense not realizing that such malicious canards were being propagated by Indian intelligence (i. e. RAW) via local media in Bangladesh. Another method favoured by India to have Bangladesh rendered a failed state is through economic sabotage and as Barrister Munshi explains, For India to secure its political and military supremacy and control over the South Asian region it has become necessary for it to continuously maintain and protect her lead over other economies even by unfair means such as sabotage, fomenting and encouraging political instability in neighbouring countries and most obviously through propaganda.
balance and includes reference to China and Russia and the wider geo-strategic imperatives of the United States and India. The author then surveys the influence of the India doctrine and Forward Policy on the South Asian neighbourhood and the internal conflicts this incited in many countries of the region (i. e., Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Bangladesh). The next few chapters on the liberation war and Indian propaganda have been completely redone and large segments rearranged to fit more logically the shape, context and logic of the book. New material and information is incorporated into chapters 4-8 and recent developments on the CHT insurgency and peace agreement is rendered in the last of these chapters. From a Bangladesh perspective, the most controversial sections of the book will probably be Chapters 9 and 10 that deal with Indias project to have Bangladesh declared a failed state. The chosen method to achieve this objective has been through propaganda with the labelling of Bangladesh as a hotbed of Islamist terrorism. The media campaign orchestrated by India has been so successful that many voters in the 2008 elections actually believed this nonsense not realizing that such malicious canards were being propagated by Indian intelligence (i. e. RAW) via local media in Bangladesh. Another method favoured by India to have Bangladesh rendered a failed state is through economic sabotage and as Barrister Munshi explains, For India to secure its political and military supremacy and control over the South Asian region it has become necessary for it to continuously maintain and protect her lead over other economies even by unfair means such as sabotage, fomenting and encouraging political instability in neighbouring countries and most obviously through propaganda. However, it is interference in the political sphere that India has been most successful in undermining Bangladeshs democratic institutions and Barrister Munshi traces the chaotic events surrounding the transfer of power to a caretaker government in 2006 to the release of Sheikh Hasina from custody in June 2008 with each event being heavily influenced by external actors and in particular India. Barrister Munshi provides a convincing argument and analysis on all the above issues and his contribution to

the book stands as an extraordinary achievement that will set the standard for such works in Bangladesh and probably elsewhere in South Asia. The 557 pages written by Barrister Munshi will hopefully gain widespread readership in Bangladesh and behond since the issues raised in the book are incredibly important to the continued independence and integrity of the country against the hegemonic and domineering tendencies of India. The chapters written by the author will likely stand out as the most important to be written on South Asian affairs for the last 60 years at least. It presents a completely new perspective on South Asia rarely seen in writing from this region and hardly discussed in western literature on the subject. The final two chapters of the book are authored by two Pakistanis and this is a major development on the first edition which had no chapters on Pakistan and this is probably the only collaboration between writers of both countries on this type of subject matter. Chapter 11 of the book is titled The Peace Charade and is written by Mr. Ahmed Quraishi who is a prominent media personality in Pakistan and his background as an investigative journalist, columnist, roving reporter and head of a private, independent think tank are all very impressive and raise his credentials as a highly respected and informed writer. According to Mr. Quraishi, India had by early 2008 been conducting a massive intelligence operation with Pakistan as its target. Afghanistan was being used by New Delhi as a springboard and the Islamists were the tools of this operation. Israel is said to have provided help and the US position as Pakistans ally is described as somewhat ambiguous. This brief summary sets the tone for a very interesting and well researched chapter with its premise based on the discovery of a document that reveals a conspiracy to break the stranglehold of the intelligence agencies, the bureaucracy and the military in Pakistan as these are believed by India to be responsible for keeping the Kashmir issue alive. Chapter 12 of the book is written by Dr. Prevaiz Iqbal Cheema who has an outstanding academic career. He obtained a MLitt in Strategic Studies from Aberdeen University and a PhD from Quaid-i-Azam University in Pakistan. He has been a teacher for almost 28 years with posts held in Pakistan, Australia, Singapore and the United States. His excellent and lucidly argued chapter discusses the Kashmir dispute and Pakistan-India relations. His chapter initially discusses the origin and nature of the Kashmir dispute highlighting the policies of both India and Pakistan followed by a discussion on the internationalization of the dispute. Finally the paper focuses on the new developments that have impacted upon the dispute and the current status of Indo-Pak relations. Dr. Cheema concludes his survey of the issues by commenting that, Without the resolution of [the] Kashmir dispute, not only India and Pakistan would never enjoy proper fruits of peace and cooperation but South Asia would also be deprived of much desired peaceful environment. It is, therefore, unfortunate that India has not shown the requisite sincerity in negotiations for this sensible and desired outcome for regional peace and security. Overall, this book, The India Doctrine (1947-2007), is an extraordinary and astounding effort requiring not only immense dedication but also a significant amount of courage, boldness and resolution. Writing in the hostile and threatening atmosphere created by India in Bangladesh and Pakistan the writers have shown admirable willpower and fortitude. The book not only deserves success but also our respect.
A K Zaman did his masters at Dhaka University. A freelance writer and contributor to print and online magazines. akz5153@gmail.com

JUST PUBLISHED

Sitaaron se Aagey
By Naseema Hurzuk
The incredible story of Naseema who, at age 16, became wheelchair-bound and spent days crying and thinking of suicide, but Alhamdulillah, today she runs one of the countrys largest organisations for the physically challenged and has helped thousands of handicapped stand on their feet.
Pages: 272 / Price: Rs 150 Language: Urdu Binding: PB ISBN: 817221054X Publishers: Pharos Media & Publishing Pvt Ltd Ordering details on page 28

28 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011

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The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2011 29

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE

Five suggestions for the Islamic World - ii

ASGHAR ALI ENGINEER
csss@mtnl.net.in

oday we hardly find religious freedom in Islamic world and it is one of the causes of our stagnation. The moment one exercises such freedom one attracts Fatwa of kufr. Our great institutions of Islamic learning like Al-Azhar of which one can just be proud suffer from the same problem. When one of its great scholars Abu Zaid Nasr tried to understand tanzil and tawil (revelation and understanding the revelation by human beings) he was immediately declared kafir and even his marriage was declared invalid and he had to flee from Egypt. Earlier Prof. Fazlur Rahman from Pakistan who also was a great scholar of Islam had to leave Pakistan and go to Chicago and teach there. This is how we treat our great scholars who try to develop new theological outlook and contribute richly to our Islamic heritage. Islamic world would never develop until we break the stranglehold of traditional ulama who have powerful vested interests in perpetuating what is past.

Womens status Another problem with Islamic world is the status of women which is also a result of our stagnant theology. In case of women Muslims are very strong in rhetoric but very weak in practice. Muslims never tire of asserting that Islam gives women equal rights and high status but record of Islamic world in empowering women is very poor. In fact Islamic worlds record in respect of womens status is one of the poorest in the world. For years modern education was a taboo for them. Now after great struggle they have won some rights including going to schools and colleges. Even this is not free of problems in many Muslim countries. In Afghanistan even today Taliban burn their schools and throw acid if they do not cover themselves from head to foot. In tribal areas of Pakistan in North-West same fate is in store for women. In Saudi Arabia too they have won some rights after a great deal of struggle and still their problems are enormous. Though the present king is more enlightened and is encouraging modern education for women but situation is far from satisfactory. Women cannot drive car, cannot go alone from home, cannot do their own business and representation of women in work force is just 17 per cent. They have to cover themselves from head to foot while going out. They cannot vote in municipal elections. In many Muslim countries also the above situation is not very different. Hijab is purely cultural and has not even been mentioned in Quran, let alone been made obligatory. Yet hijab is being enforced more and more in all Muslim countries. It is not a healthy sign. Muslim societies are highly patriarchal. There are very few women who can make independent decisions and can assert rights over their own bodies and affairs. Quran again is the first scripture which gave them not only equal rights but also liberated them from mans authority and made her absolutely independent a legal and individual entity fully autonomous in every respect. But in entire Muslim world women have failed to achieve such a status. On the contrary women are utterly dependent on mans authority and they can hardly exercise any independent authority. There is, therefore, a great need for liberation of women in the Muslim world and giving them freedom, individuality and dig-

Quran again is the first scripture which gave women not only equal rights but also liberated them from mans authority and made her absolutely independent a legal and individual entity fully autonomous in every respect. But in entire Muslim world women have failed to achieve such a status. On the contrary women are utterly dependent on mans authority and they can hardly exercise any independent authority. There is, therefore, a great need for liberation of women in the Muslim world and giving them freedom, individuality and dignity granted to them by the Quran and our rhetoric should match our practice. If our women do not progress our community cannot. We must realize that women are half the population and by keeping half the population backward how can the entire community progress. Many Muslim women have shown they are great achievers and when given opportunities they do not lag behind. Thus if we give them their rights and full freedom, a great potential of energy pent up so far will be released and Muslim ummah will be in for great achievements.
nity granted to them by the Quran and our rhetoric should match our practice. If our women do not progress our community cannot. We must realize that women are half the population and by keeping half the population backward how can the entire community progress. Many Muslim women have shown they are great achievers and when given opportunities they do not lag behind. Thus if we give them their rights and full freedom, a great potential of energy pent up so far will be released and Muslim ummah will be in for great achievements. Democracy and human rights Like our record on womens status the record on democracy and human rights is equally woeful. There is lack of democracy in Muslim countries except a few countries. It is because of such lack of democracy that ignorant scholars maintain that there is no place for democracy in Islam or that Islam and democracy are antagonistic. Far from it. There is nothing in Islamic teachings which can go against democracy. Islam is as democratic as any religion can or cannot be. In fact it is feudal culture and feudal authority inherited by Islamic world that keeps democracy out of Islamic world. And western imperialism and its interests are more responsible for this than Islam. The western countries have kept feudal rulers in

power in most of the Muslim countries to serve their own oil interest. Regimes are highly oppressive and violate elementary human and democratic rights of their citizens. When this happens in regimes supported by America they conveniently overlook and launch propaganda offensive if the regime happens to be defiant of the western interests. The best examples are from Iraq and Iran. Both countries have defied US interests and authority in the region and America sent its troops to Iraq on the false pretext of possessing weapons of mass destruction and destroyed the whole country killing more than half a million of its innocent citizens. US is also sworn enemy of Iran though it can hardly do to Iran what it could to Iraq for a number of reasons. Apart from serving American interests the Muslim world has to see that authoritarianism does not thrive in Muslim world and democracy and human rights are ensured to its citizens and they can live with full dignity. It is high time Muslim world overthrew all authoritative regimes or that kings and sheikhs become only nominal heads and power goes into the hands of people. All that has been suggested above is possible to achieve only when there are democratic regimes responsible and accountable to their people. Today in many Middle Eastern countries any protest is still put down ruthlessly. This is highly undesirable. America forgets all its obligations to human rights and democracy where and when this suits it. Intra-religious unity There are very sharp sectarian divisions among Muslims throughout the world though again here also there is empty rhetoric of unity of ummah. We would like to suggest that Muslims must put pressure on their leaders to sit down and talk to followers of other sects in the spirit of dialogue and promote unity at one level while adhering to ones belief with full freedom, on the other. It is minimum requirement to cease the violent and physical attacks as it is happening in the Muslim world today especially in Pakistan. Pakistan, unfortunately has become a battle ground for such sectarian fights due to powerful interests involved. Even mutual polemics must stop forthwith denouncing each other as kafirs. In India, as a democratic and secular country, all Muslim sects coexist: peacefully, though occasional denunciations do take place. Thus if democratic and human rights culture develops in the Muslim world, intra-religious differences can also be minimized and peaceful coexistence can become possible. This can be further ensured with modern education and rational outlook. As suggested above the whole madrasa culture also has to change and moderation and tolerance of mutual differences should be made integral part of madrasa education. Conclusion One can say what has been suggested above is a dream. Yes, apparently it is but one has to begin in the right earnest to achieve all this over a fixed period of time. Otherwise we will always remain lackeys of some or the other power in the world and moreover would never be able to fulfill our commitment to Quran and Islam. We will never become achievers but tools for others achievements.

Concluded

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Likes to emphasize technical progress but ignores moral degradation. Likes to parrot population explosion but ignores the balance caused by floods, earth-quakes and cyclones Boasts that his enjoyment has become very big, but ignores that his shamelessness has exceeded that of a pig. An 80 year old reader and well-wisher of MG, Khanpur, Gujarat AMU Centre in Mallapuram With reference to Mr. Sameer Qaiyums letter in your latest issue of MG on AMU Centre in Mallapuram, he has raised an interesting point which leads me to think about the basic motivation behind establishing AMU Centres in various parts of the country by the present AMU administration. Mallapuram is a very special case which in fact does not need any AMU Centre at all, because it is the most literate district in the country, with high rate of graduation and many colleges. AMU could have fulfill its statutory of objective by amending the Act in order to affiliate all Muslim Colleges throughout the country which face difficulties in affiliation to the local universities, and by providing them academic guidance to grow into Universities, so that the local Muslim, who are educationally backward as in Murshidabad (West Bengal) and Kishanganj (Bihar) may get due benefits. Presently the selection for the courses set up in the AMU Centres hardly provide any admission space for the local Muslims because admission is done centrally in Aligarh. We should emphasize that in all districts with Muslim concentration the local Muslim intelligentsia must come forward & establish Minority Colleges. In places like Azamgarh and Mumbai, where already many Muslim Colleges exist they should grow into universities. Syed Shahabuddin syedshahabuddinexmp@gmail.com Muslim images in Media Recently, I have attended a panel discussion on Muslim images in Media which was held at Urdu Bhawan, N. Delhi. by National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language. What attaches due importance to it is that it was presided over by the new chairman of the Press Council of India, justice Katju. No wonder if we did not get its report in our national media except some Urdu dailies.In fact, this was the highlight of the discussion that our national media specially English newspapers and T.V. channels turn a blind eye to Muslims issues and news, but when it comes to defaming or denouncing them as terrorists, extremists, fanatics or conservatives, they take the front side. It was the unanimous statement of the most prominent Muslim journalists, social activists and Urdu Scholars who participated in the discussion. I closely witnessed Mr. Katju feeling extremely unhappy and morose and expressing deep sorrow over the plight of our national media. He traced back to 1857 saying that there was strong communal harmony in India before it, but later on it was shattered by the poisonous conspiracy of the Britishers who had chalked out a plan to divide and rule. My sincere appeal is to both Urdu and English journalists and media persons that they sit together, understand each other and put an end to the traces of British conspiracy. I strongly believe that The Milli Gazette will play a vital role to make it happen as I find it the only national English newspaper telling the real story of Muslims. Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, Janakpuri, N.Delhi.110045 rasoolghulam@yahoo.in Pakistani Hindus in India Today (3 Dec. 2011) Home Ministry officials went to Majnu ka Tila, Delhi, and warned the Hindu Refugees from Pakistan that they would have to leave the country and return to Pakistan. This follows a statement from Union minister called Narayanswamy. The RSS and the International Vishwa Hindu Parishad have refused to help. They can open Hindu Mandirs and other institutions and help keep these people in walled compounds, but they have abandoned them in the open land of the Dera without any protection, saying this is not their headache. It is expected that police may remove the refugees any night now. These organisations have for so many decades grabbed all the leadership positions of Hindu society, grabbed all the resources of Hindu society, and now they are missing when real action is needed. In the police action at Ramlila Maidan also, the RSS instigated Baba Ramdev [who has no ability in this respect] to challenge the State, and then ditched him to face the police action alone. They remained out of sight for 15 days and then Ram Madhav gave a statement claiming to have done massive relief for the poor beaten up bhaktas. Hindus must realise that they are on their own, that these organisations and sanyasis who do not come forward in time of real danger are not leaders at all. Sandhya arunshrivastava.1951@gmail.com Ishrat encounter So now it has been conclusively proved that Ishrat Jahan who was hitherto believed to have been killed in an encounter was in fact murdered by cops, who later fabricated the story of encounter. The report submitted by SIT has nailed the lie of the police department. While the repercussions of the report are yet to be fully gauged, this report indicates that the damning report may pave the way for some policemen to be behind bars. It has been established that Ishrat Jahan was one among the four alleged terrorists who were killed in what has now been proved to be a fake encounter. It looks the Gujarat police is jinxed as it gets embroiled in one crisis after another. In fact this has turned out to be third such fake encounter, which has brought the name of the state police department into disrepute. It appears that it will be some time before the controversy related to the case dies down. Gujarat CM Modi must be held responsible for such blunders. Abdul hafiz Lakhani, Ahmedabad lakhani63@yahoo.com Spirit of Moharram Now the the month of Muharram has begun. A new year of Islamic calendar begins. Muharram is declared as sacred and dignified month in the Quran. Muharram has witnessed many great events pertaining to the different messengers of Allah. Ashura being the significant day in that sense. One of the remarkable events the month has witnessed is the great sacrifice rendered by Imam Hussain (a.s.) the grandson of the messenger of Allah Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). In the cotemporary times deliberate attempts have been made to misinterpret the happenings in the Karbala and the mission of the Imam. Imam Hussain had no greed for power. He had been brought up in the house of nabuwah. He had fully mastered the religious sciences. He was quite aware about the mechanism and policies of governance adopted by the khulafa-i-rashidin. He had also seen the

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turbulent periods of his father Hazrat Ali(a.s.). Thus having a broader and comprehensive view on Islamic polity he openly voiced against the nomination of Yazid as khaleefatul muslimeen. Yazid lacked all the necessary abilities requisite for such a responsible position. Yazid was an irritant and lacked the mass support. He was not liked by the people then. Historians like Ibn Kathir, Ibn Khaldun etc do not reckon Yazid as a good Muslim, the same has been viewed in the contemporary times by some noted scholars like Muwdudi, Ali Miyan, Syed Qutb and others. In fact, it requires a long article to deal with the subject. As such Imam rose to the occasion and tried his level best to restore the Islamic governance by defying Yazid. Imam lacked all the material support to muster an uprising against tyrannical rule. He even took an arduous journey towards Karbala to gather the support and asses the mode of people who had vowed Imam for support, but the tyrannical policies of Yazid and his men sabotaged every attempt of Imam and finally war was foisted upon Imam in which he got martyred. Thus lesson of Karbala incident simply instigates us to firmly resist tyranny, uphold unity and adhere to Islamic principles even if we are to sacrifice our own selves. Nasir Hussain Peerzadah , Mallabagh Srinagar nhpzd07@yahoo.com Lopsided View of Hinduism Apropos Mr K P Prakasams reply (Lopsided View of Hinduism, Oct. 16-31)) to my article on Hinduism in The Milli Gazette, which he found to be derogatory to his religion. At the outset, let me categorically make it clear that I dont belong to any faith or belief-system whatsoever. I condemn Hinduism as much as I condemn and castigate any other faith. Nowadays, anything written against Hinduisms bound to be umbrageous to its apologists like Mr Prakasam. When a religion (read Hinduism) requires to explain and interpret its numerous myths and legends (dantkathaein in Hindi and Sanskrit) to convince the ignorants, can it be credible and convincing? The apologists of all religions resort to abstruse, convoluted and seemingly exalted interpretations to explain their myths away. Whore they deceiving? Therere innumerable interpretations of Ganesh having an elephants head. Why do you need so many interpretations? Shouldnt truth be plain and unvarnished? Mr Prakasm condescendingly advised me to read Aldous Huxley. I hope, he has come across Huxleys statement from his speech at Cambridge: Myths and legends could be integral to a faith but their surfeit may degenerate it (faith) into a mere mythical tradition. Many believe that it was an allusion to Hinduism, which initially appealed to his heart and mind. And why should I read Radhkrishnan, Aurobindo Ghosh, Vivekananda et al, who I found to be partial to the religion (read Hinduism) they were born into? After having read all these great exponents of Hinduism, what I gathered that all were disguised, and at times blatant, Hindus. Jeered at by the Christian teachers in a missionary school, Dr S Radhakrishnan pledged to glorify his Hinduism and theres no getting away from the fact that he succeeded to a great extent in dispelling many a misconception that plagued Hinduism. He undoubtedly changed western scholars perceptions of Hinduism, Huxley and Christopher Isherwood being the greatest admirers in the West. But all said and done, he was a Hindu. He somewhere had on his mind the erroneous perception that his faith was the best of all. So were Aurobindo and Vivekanand. They praised Islam and Christianity but with respect to their Hindu faith. Mr Prakasam, to be really enlightened, liberal and all encompassing, one has to rise above ones respective faith. So long you adhere to a particular faith, ideology, belief-system or a specialised prejudice, you remain a Hindu, Muslim, Christian or a Buddhist. Unpeel the veneers of all faiths and beliefs and try to live like a human being sans any label. And please dont try to admonish others. Dr Sumit S Paul, Pune sumitmaclean@hotmail.com Award This has reference to the report captioned Mohammad Anas (MG 16-30) November 2011. It is a matter of profound pleasure that Muhammad Anas, a student of Milli Model School Delhi secured first position in the 21st Seeratun Nabi competition held at Anglo Arabic Primary School at Turkman Gate, Delhi on 2 November. More than 40 students from 19 schools took part in this competition. I am really very glad to know that he was given an award consisting of Rs. 250 in cash, a set of religious books, a medal, and a commendation certificate. Congratulations to him. I pray to God for his long, happy and peaceful life. I wish that he should put the teachings of Prophet Muhammad into practice. Shakeel Ahmad Frank, Gorakhpur U.P. Waqf properties in UP I want to draw the kind attention of the U.P. Govt. towards the Sunni and Shia Waqf properties situated in Lucknow and other districts of U.P. through your esteemed journal MG. I was watching ETV U.P. on 29 Nov. 2011 about the Zoo of Lucknow. I came to know that the Zoo was founded by the then Prince of Wales in his name as Prince of Wales Trust on the 29 Nov. 1921. After the completion of 90 years it was being highlighted by that ETV channel. After Independent India that Zoo was named as Lucknow Zoo which is situated at the house of Nawab of Awadh. I also want to draw the kind attention of Miss Mayawati the C.M. of U.P. that about 9000 Shia & Sunni Waqf Properties are grabbed by her ministry like Raaj Bhavan, Comissioners, Collector, DIG of Police, DGP,AIG, SPs Rly Colonies, CMs residences, U.P. assemblies, Ministers and MLA flats and govt. colonies. May I hope that these may be ejected and be handed over to Muslim managed NGOs and their legal heirs of Sunni or Shia Waqfs (Trustees). If she uses her good office to concede the long pending genuine grievances of U.P. Muslims, I hope that minority will support her in UP elections in 2012. CM Zafarullah, AFE, New Delhi Maharashtra Govt.is biased Maharashtra government is looking sympathetic towards Hindu terrorists. On 30th May 2011, 11 Shiv Sainiks and 10 other Hindu hooligans are set free from the legal clutches who are the culprits of 1993 horrible communal riots. Everybody knows Shiv Sena always remains forward in the terror activities, gundaism, and mass murder gang rapes especially when it is related to the Muslims, Maharashtra government did not appealed in the higher court. Almost in every case Maharashtra Home Minister under the leadership of R.R. Patil appealed against the acquittal in which Muslims were acquitted by the lower court. 1993 Bombay Bomb Blast case, Ghulam Yahya case Imam of Haj House. Sayeed Sabauddin and in many other cases in which Muslims were acquitted by the lower court but Maharashtra government moved to higher court. Right to

Information Report in Maharashtra out of 11120 just 61 cases has been challenged and I am sure in these 61 at least 80 percent cases related to the Muslims. Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmad have been acquitted by the lower court the home ministry moved to high court Bombay. Against the acquittal of High Court Maharashtra government filed the appeal in Supreme Court. In which Supreme Court termed the state government case is a weak case, however Supreme Court issued noticed to the duo. Thane, Vashi, Panvel blasts verdict came on 29th Aug. 2011. Out of six, four Hindu terrorists are acquitted and merely two terrorists convicted by the Thane session court. In fact, the Special Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian of the case had recommended for the appeal to the home ministry against the acquittal of four, and life term to the convicted. Zuber Ahmed Khan, Contact.z@rediffmail.com A sane advice In a multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-lingual society of ours, we can live happily only where all members of the society practice tolerance and when neither the executive nor judiciary interferes in religious matters and the govt. does not follow any such policy which is detrimental to the religion and culture of any particular community or minority. Unfortunately, these days fire brand leaders of BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal the outfits of Sangh Parivar the great champion of Hindutva are carrying endless campaign of hatred against Muslims and Christians throughout the country. Hate speeches of leaders of these communal organisations also reflect their colossal ignorance of Islam and its teachings. The best course is to put an end to this campaign of hatred against minorities especially against Muslims and follow the advice of the Father of the nation which is sure to strengthen tolerance which is the most distinctive feature of our national culture. Say, It is only through a reverential approach to faiths other than mine that I can realise the principle of equality of all religions. It is both my duty and right to point out defects in Hinduism in order to purify it and keep it pure but when non-Hindu critics set about criticising Hinduism and cataloguing its faults, they only blazen their own ignorance of Hinduism and their in capacity to record it. Thus, my own experience of non-Hindu critics of Hinduism brings home to me my limitations and makes me wary of launching on a criticism of Islam of Christianity and their followers (collected works of Mahatma Gandhi volume 6 page-332) M. Hashim Kidwai,Ex-MP, Mayur Vihar-1, Delhi-91 Hindus in Pakistan You have quoted Pakistani human rights activist regarding atrocities committed on Hindus in that country. She advises Indian Muslims not to complain too much as the condition of the Hindus there is far worse. I believe the whole problem of minority persecution has its root in the original sin of dividing the country on the basis of misguided two nation theory. If Hindus are being persecuted in Pakistan, the Muslims in India should come out with protests and bring their weight to bear on the Pakistani authorities so that justice is done to the minorities. Sometime back 7 Hindu doctors were brutally killed by Muslims in Sind and it s seems the government there has not been able to apprehend real culprits and punish them. When minorities are systematically hounded and decimated, it does not remain an internal matter of a country. Indian government should express its concern for the wellbeing of Hindus in Pakistan. Yunus Chitalwala Dhoraji, Gujarat adilchital@yahoo.in Afzal Guru and Constitution of India In response to a query home minister Mr. P Chidambaram has stated that there is no guidance in constitution of India to hang the parliament attack accused Afzal Guru in a stipulated time. With this flaw in the constitution the government can make delay in imparting the punishment of gallows to Afzal Guru. Afzal has appealed to the government to hang him early. As the punishment of solitary confinement in jail is intolerable to him. This punishment is severe than gallows. He wants to achieve the honor of martyrdom. If Mr. Afzal had been the kin like Kanni Mozi the application of law would be deferent. To keep guilty for years together is also a crime. If there is some flaw in constitution why Afzal guru should bear the brunt? What for the office of president is meant? If the man accused had been the husband of president was he allowed to languish so many years in Jail? Afzal wanted that he should have been shifted to Srinagar so that his wife and children can meet him in the jail as Delhi is far off they cannot bear the travelling expenses. Dr Maqdoomi, Hyderabad drmaqdoomi@yahoo.com Fire at 15 places, boy blinded by crackers 15 incidents were reported at Nagpur on Dipawali causing extensive damage to property and goods worth Rs. 20 lakh. Bursting crackers proved costly to two youths in Nagpur, when one of them lost his eyesight and the other boy suffered grievous eye injury. Head of the department of ophthalmology G.M.C. and Hospital, Dr. Ashok Madan said that the presence of harmful substances like sulphur and manganese in fire crackers are extremely damaging for eyes. He said the condition of both the boys is serious. 11 burn patients were also admitted in hospitals of Nagpur. Fire crackers also cause air and noise pollution which is dangerous for health. The city registered drastic hike in pollution level. Imagine such incidents of thousands of villages, towns and cities of India. Religious preachers, social reformers etc. should come forward to stop and eradicate this most harmful practice of bursting fire crackers in Diwali and other occasions, which is a grave threat to health, lives and properties. In Islam fire crackers are strictly prohibited. G. Hasnain Kaif, Bhandara, Maharashtra FDI in retail There were times, when the capitalist countries had to invent sea routes, colonise the nations, and setup armies there to protect their merchandise. Thanks to neo-liberalism, the purpose of capturing market in the gullible countries is being achieved now, by a simple precept called free trade policy. It is unfortunate that a great democracy like India should debate on the issue of allowing FDI in retail in the Parliament for days together, when other crucial issues like health and education were perpetually placed on the back burner. What purpose the FDI in retail would serve other than feeding global retail giants like Walmart? Shouldnt we recall as how our agriculture was paralysed after QRs were removed in the sector? Those we do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Syed Sultan Mohiddin, Kadapa. sultan_awaz@yahoo.co.in

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