Koppal, (Karnataka) Jan 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) Head priest of the temple at Anjanadri hills, believed to be the birth place of Lord Hanuman near Gangavathi town in Koppa district of Karnataka, on Monday alleged illegal and immoral activities in the pilgrimage centre.

Stating that there was no check on the elements indulging in such activities, Vidyadasa Baba said he would soon approach the court seeking solution to the problems.

"Tehsildar and Revenue Inspector have joined hands to carry out many illegal activities at the pilgrimage centre. Parking fee has been charged illegally at the foot of the hill. The Revenue Inspector has given the contract to one of his relatives," Vidyadas Baba alleged.

"I am rendering services at the temple as per the court orders. The Revenue department had appointed another priest earlier. Now, they are appointing a few more priests unlawfully and trying to take off huge money that is contributed to the temple by devotees," he explained.

There is corruption in the purchase of materials for providing food for pilgrims at the temple. Almost the raw material rates are quoted double. A complaint had already been filed with the Religious and Endowment department.

However, the District Commissioner of Koppal, Assistant Commissioner has not initiated action in this regard. Hence, he is preparing to wage a legal battle, he explained.

Anjanadri Hills or Parvatha is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Hanuman according to myths. The pilgrimage centre is located close to the world heritage site Hampi. Lakhs of devotees from across the country visit the place including Bollywood bigwigs. It is 350 kilometers away from Bengaluru and 21 kilometers away from Hampi.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, April 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) E-commerce major Amazon on Tuesday announced that it has procured 100 ventilators and will import these to India, in its bid to help the country fight the devastating second wave of Covid-19.

Amazon has tied up with Medtronic, an American-Irish medical device company, to deliver the units to India in the next two weeks.

"Amazon has worked with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to ensure the ventilators are of acceptable technical specification and carried out its own compatibility checks to immediately fund 100 units of Medtronic's PB980 model and bring them into India for urgent use," the company shared in a blogpost.

The e-commerce giant is also working closely with the Health Ministry's appointed agencies to finalise the hospitals for end-to-end delivery, installation, maintenance and training of personnel who will use these machines.

"We hugely appreciate the quick response from the MoHWF to help identify the most compatible models, expediting the shipment import into India and for coordination with agencies of MoHFW to allocate these where they are needed most. We are doing more and are committed to support our country in the fight against Covid-19," said Amit Agarwal, Global SVP and Country Head, Amazon India, in the blog post.

The company had, meanwhile on Sunday, announced to donate 10,000 oxygen concentrators and BiPAP machines to hospitals and public institutions to augment their capacity to help Covid-19 infected patients across multiple cities in India.

The first of these consignments was set to land in Mumbai on Sunday and a majority of the shipping is expected to be completed by April 30.

Additionally, Amazon also joined hands with ACT Grants, Temasek Foundation, Pune Platform for Covid-19 Response (PPCR) and other partners to urgently airlift over 8,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 BiPAP machines from Singapore.

Source: IANS

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Lucknow, April 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) As many as 106 doctors, selected by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission, have been given postings and put on Covid treatment duties.

Out of these new doctors, 18 were selected in the orthopaedics, six in TB and Chest, 19 in paediatrics, five in ophthalmology, eight in ENT, 12 in gynaecology, 22 in general medicine, one in forensics, one in skin, three in radiotherapy, five in epidemiology, five as RHTC-cum-assistant teacher and one medical teacher in plastic surgery.

They have all been deployed in Covid duties from Monday.

According to Principal Secretary, Medical Education, Alok Kumar, with this, the resource crunch has been addressed.

He said that along with human resource, the number of beds in the hospitals was being further increased. Orders have also been issued to purchase additional oxygen cylinders to make them available to patients.

Source: IANS

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By Asad Mirza

(Asad Mirza is a political commentator. He can be contacted at asad.mirza.nd@gmail.com. The views expressed are personal)

Source: IANS

The post Indian Muslims: Dilemmas and Panacea appeared first on Social News XYZ.

By Mohammad Suaib

New Delhi, Jan 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) Parents in middle-class Muslim families generally believe that their children would hardly get a government job, hence, they find it better to engage them in some work rather than letting them pursuing studies. But a young woman from a middle-class family has busted such myths by becoming the Deputy Superintendent of Police.

Shabera Ansari, a resident of Indore, is posted as DSP (Women's Cell) at Dewas in Madhya Pradesh and her father is posted as a Sub-Inspector at a police station in Indore.

Shabera said she had a normal childhood and there were never big dreams to pursue. When she went to college, at the age of 19, marriage proposals started coming in but fire in the belly to do something egged her on. Finally, she joined the police forces and became a DSP. Currently, she said, she is preparing for civil services exams.

The young woman said that soon after passing her out of a government school in Indore, she enrolled in a college and started preparing for Union Public Service Commission examinations along with her regular studies.

She was selected as Sub-Inspector in 2013, and in 2018 posted as Trainee DSP in Sidhi.

Shabera's family originally hails from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, but settled down in Indore about 30 years ago due to his father's job in state police.

"I was an average student in school and also failed in mathematics once," she told IANS with a chuckle.

"A marriage proposal came when I was just 19. I was scared and decided to do something. I started my journey and never looked back. I started preparation for the state government services during college and tasted success in the first attempt... I have continued studying ever since," she said with confidence.

Shabera further added: "My mother always supported me. Initially, it was not clear if I will opt to join the police, though there was always an interest since my father is in police service."

Surprisingly, Shabera is the first woman in her family to crack state civil service exam and has now become an inspiration for her community.

Many times, she was honoured as chief guest in various functions, including school programmes where she interact with children who are always curious to know about her journey.

"I always try to encourage children and motivate them to do something in life," Shabera said.

"Little children seem very fond of taking selfies with me," she smiled.

She said: "I often do counselling of children of Muslim families, especially boys. I tell everyone to trust themselves and study seriously; hardwork will definitely change things."

Shabera said she also got to learn a lot from her father. It could be a coincidence that Shabera was incharge of a police station during lockdown where her father was posted.

In fact, her father had gone for some work to Uttar Pradesh when the lockdown was imposed and he got stuck. Shabera tried to somehow bring her father back but to no avail. Eventually, the police authorities issued direction that he could do duty from wherever he was stuck.

She said that she had many times gone out on patrol duty at night with her father. However, once back home, she used to cook for him.

She said that her father respects her as an officer but Shabera has to many times remind him that she is an officer at office not at home.

(Mohammad Suaib can be reached at mohammad.k@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Jan 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) Former Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University and a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Zafar Sareshwala believes that participation in the stock market is important for the growth of the country, however, educated youth and women in India are still hesitant.

Keeping this in mind, the Gujarat-based businessman is raising awareness about education, banking and stock market among the Muslim community and motivating them towards it.

Along with this, Sareshwala wants that there should be a group to raise the issues of the Muslim community as there is hardly anyone from the community who iss genuinely raising their issues.

Family of Sareshwala has never been into politics as they had their ancestral business to manage.

Sareshwala was the first person in his family who had an association with a politician. He has been associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi since the latter was Chief Minister of Gujarat. Sareshwala acted as bridge between the Muslim community and the government.

Currently, Sareshwala is running a campaign named Taalim-o-Tarbiyat with an aim to educate the Muslim community and make them capable of excelling in every field and enhance their status.

Sareshwala told IANS, "No society can progress without education. We have started a movement called 'Taalim-O-Tarbiyat' and have organised programmes under it in 47 cities across the country. The recent program in Ayodhya was well received by the people."

He said, "Not too many Muslims are not into politics. This has reduced in the last 20-25 years. The only way the Muslim community can progress is through education."

"We should be identified through our education. We should educate ourselves in the field we wish to work and do our work honestly. Apart from this, we should also train ourselves for other skills like financial literacy, stock market, investment, etc."

People will be given training for such skills through Taalim-O-Tarbiyat so they can generate self-employment.

"we want people to attain skills through Taalim-O-Tarbiyat. The objective is not only to educate them but also empower them with financial literacy."

He said, "There are very good doctors, engineers or scientists in our society, but still a lot of educated people are not financially illiterate."

"I wish to motivate the children of the Muslim community through this initiative so that they attain confidence that they can also do it. Not only Ambani or Adani, even I can also do it."

Sareshwala believes that there are hundreds of specialties among the Muslim community, but they are not educated enough. This is the reason they are not able to grow. If they are able to strengthen their foundation on the basis of education, they will grow in future.

Sareshwala started this initiative on a very small scale, the results of which are now gradually visible. Sareshwala believes that this initiative will strengthen the Muslim community in the future.

Source: IANS

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By Asad Mirza

Ananya Jahanara Kabir, Professor of English Literature at King's College, London in her comment piece on the song rightly observes that theJerusalema dance challenge is an example of how dance enables convivencia (living together). It enlivens parties through simple choreography that makes people dance together. Routines involve directional movement enabled by switching of feet, with dancers turning 90 degrees to repeat the choreography. Syncopated steps create enjoyable tension, and more and more people can join as the routine repeats itself till the song ends.

To me it does not matter whether the lyrics are gospel-themed, as the song celebrates a city, which is revered by all people of the Book, and it is high time that we realise that tensions amongst them are the root cause of the many problems and conflicts facing us. In addition we can prosper together if we imbibe the spirit of convivencia (living together) literally, particularly in the background of the continuing pandemic, which has forced many unwanted changes in our way of living but perhaps convivencia can give us a new approach of looking at the world and solving its problems, for the better.

(The writer is a political commentator based in Delhi. Sometimes he pours out his inner feelings also instead of commenting on more mundane political issues. He can be reached at asad.mirza.nd@gmail.com)

Source: IANS

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Bengaluru, Dec 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) Seeing devotees struggle to pray to their favourite deity, a Muslim businessman has donated a 1,650 sq feet plot valued around Rs 1 crore to Sri Veeranjaneya Swamy temple in Hosakote, on the outskirts of the Bengaluru.

The temple is situated about 40 kms from Bengaluru, in this once sleepy town which now has become a real estate magnet due to its proximity to IT hub Whitefield. Prior to the IT boom in the 2000s, Hosakote was a dusty town like any other town in Karnataka but now it is a most sought after real estate destination in East Bengaluru and this area largely attracts the IT crowd of the city.

It is also connected to the well established industrial area Oragadam, in Chennai, hence, it has also become a most sought after destination for warehouses and industries. The Hosakote-Whitefield belt is home to over 400 Japanese companies.

After the government ordered that Sri Veeranjaneyaswami Temple in Valagerepura has to make way for the expansion of the national highway (NH-75, Old Madras Road), the temple trust requested H.M.G. Basha, who runs a business in the cargo transport sector, if he could part with some land from his property from his three acre (1,20,000 sq. ft.) land which lies just behind the temple that was built nearly three decades ago.

Sri Veeranjaneyaswami Temple in Valagerepura Trust chairman, M.D. Byregowda Mylapura hailing Basha's act as a classic example of communal harmony told IANS that "we actually needed only a 'gunta' of land (about 1,089 sq feet) but he was generous enough to donate us 1.5 gunta citing that the additional space would help devotees move around the temple more freely."

On his part, Basha said that he believed in the philosophy of living in peace and harmony. "Almighty has blessed us and when villagers sought land for such good cause, I did not want to say no to them. And their demand too wasn't big, hence, my family members happily and readily donated land to them," he said.

He added that it is the political leaders and some on social media who try to "create differences" and distort things for their own selfish interests but common people don't see any distinction between Hindus and Muslims from their heart.

"Whenever I used to pass through, I observed many of devotees who also happen to be my friends, used to struggle as the temple was very small and when the Temple trust decided to move the existing structure, they asked me to part with a gunta of plot, but I decided to offer them 1.5 gunta," he said.

Byregowda said the foundation stone of the temple has been laid and the construction, estimated to cost around Rs 1 crore, is expected to begin in full swing in January 2021. "Basha's generosity does not end at just giving land freely to us he has also assured that he would contribute for construction of temple as well, besides assuring another half gunta of land if the temple requires once the construction as over," he claimed.

Jubilant over Basha's decision, residents of Valagerapura village erected a poster hailing Basha and his family as the "latest example of communal harmony" from Karnataka, and are circulating its photographs widely.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) Suhaib Ahmed Farooqui is a policeman by profession but a poet by heart. For the last 10 years, Farooqui has not only fulfilling his duties responsibly but also following his passion. Currently he is stationed as Station House Office (SHO) at South Avenue police station here.

Despite being an SHO, he attends the various poetic symposia (mushaira) across the country.

His poems are so good that even criminals, after completing their sentence, came to meet him. Suhaib told IANS, "We nabbed some criminals two months ago. They were released on bail after 15-20 days. But instead of going to their homes, they came to meet me first as they liked my habits and language."

Born in 1969 in Etawah (UP), Farooqui could not study at one place as his father was a junior engineer in the irrigation department. He did his schooling from Etah in UP and Dehradun in Uttarakhand. In addition to college education from Hindu College in Moradabad, he also learnt Urdu.

After coming to Delhi in 1993, he became a teacher in the primary school of the Municipal Corporation and in 1995 was appointed as Sub-Inspector with the Delhi Police.

Since, Urdu was the primary language in his house, he was already well-versed in it. He even did Bachelors of Arts (BA) in Urdu from Jamia Urdu Board but couldn't devote time to the language because of his police duties.

Farooqui started writing at the age of 40 and got recognition due to social media.

He said, "The social media brought a significant change in my life. I started from Orkut but Facebook brought a revolution in my life. You can post anything on it without any approval from the editor."

"I was promoted in 2010 as Inspector. In 2015, I was posted as Additional SHO at Jamia Nagar. Being in the vicinity of Jamia Millia Islamia, I learnt a lot from there too. I met a lot of people who were experts in Urdu which helped me in improving my language. I even attended several poetic symposia, where I met late celebrated poet Rahat Indori, from whom I learnt a lot," he said.

Farooqui said that being in the police, it is sometimes difficult to have control on your language as poetry and police duty both are completely different. He said, "A lot of time, I had to remind myself about my role i.e. whether I am on my duty or in a mushaira."

"The use of Hindi at Urdu mushairas and the use of Urdu words in Hindi mushairas is very strange for listeners. Quite a few times, people had to be informed that please forgive him as he is from the police department."

Sometimes people even taunted Farooqui as they felt that being a policeman he was given preference over other poets but after listening to him they applauded his craft. "Among those who appreciated and commented on my poetry were Rahat Indori Saheb."

Several times it has happened that Farooqui got calls from his seniors during the mushaira due to which he forgot his poetry. He believes that no matter how capable a poet you are, if you are not a performer, it is useless.

Farooqui further said, "One of my poems 'Corona se jang' became quite famous during the pandemic. My department also respects me and sees me like a poet. Literature keeps me relaxed."

One of his poems goes:

Nafrat tumhein itni hi ujalon se agar hai
Sooraj ko bhi foonkon se bujha kyon nahi dete (If you hate lights so much, why don't you extinguish the sun as well?)

Sholon ki lapat aa gai kya aapke ghar tak,
Ab kya hua sholon ko hawa kyon nahi dete (The fire of flames has now reached your home, why don't you fan the flames now?)

Ab itni khamoshi bhi Suhaib achchi nahi hai
Ehbab ko aaina dikha kyon nahi dete (Too much silence can't be a good thing, Suhaib, why don't you tell the truth to your beloved?)

Source: IANS

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By Sundeep Pouranik

Bhopal, Nov 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) Mobina, a fifth-grade student hailing from the Pandola village in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh has been sharing life lessons with trainees of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). This may come as a surprise for many people but it is true that Mobina has been working to light up the lives of women from poor and economically weaker sections in her village.

Most of the members of Mobina's family earn their livelihood as daily-wage workers but she, along with her family, started a campaign to transform the lives of the disadvantaged under the Bismillah self-help group in 2005. Through this self-help group, 10 women joined this initiative which brought about a dramatic transformation in the lives of their families.

Mobina says that she, along with 10 women, had collected a small amount to begin with and started helping each other. Gradually, they began getting support at the government level and from banks. As a result, today the lives of these women have changed and each of them is engaged in different businesses.

Mobina says that her husband Mohammad Salim used to work as a daily wager. With a meagre income, she could barely grow one crop. As she started earning more, she bought a pump for irrigation and now has started growing two crops. Along with this the income is increasing steadily. Now she has also started giving employment to other people as well.

Jugal Soni of the National Livelihood Mission says that Mobina along with her fellow colleagues, has carried out many new innovations that have earned accolades. They are also becoming economically independent. This is why Mobina and her fellow women were invited to Mussoorie to share their experience with those training for the Indian Administrative Service.

Mobina says that there were many questions in her mind before going to Mussoorie and she was wondering how she would share her experiences with the people from big cities. She further said that she benefited immensely from this experience.

On reaching there she saw that many girls older than her were still studying and when she returned to her village, they made sure her daughter completed her studies. The women associated with the self-help group are also ensuring an education for their daughters.

Mobina says that she explained to the officials undergoing training in Mussoorie about the genesis of the self-help group, its functioning and the income generated from it in great detail. Here experiences were heard with great enthusiasm by the IAS trainees.

Source: IANS

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The rendering of a Hindu hymn written by Krishan Joo Razdan in parise of Lord Shiva by Mohammad Abdullah Tibet Baqaal is so soulful that both Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits still regard it as an invaluable proof of the centuries old Hindu-Muslim amity of Kashmir.

Today, Aadil is a tormented inheritor of a legacy that would otherwise make any Indian proud of his ancestry.

Shocked, shaking with fear, Aadil narrated his woeful story to IANS in a choked voice.

"We have been living in tension in our locality in the Soura area of Srinagar for many years since the hardening of postures started between the followers of hardline school of thought called the 'Salfai school' and the softline called the 'Sufi school'.

"Our painful story is not essentially a fight between these two established schools of Islamic thought as I believe followers of both must respect each other's viewpoint.

"To give religious legitimacy to their personal malice, some miscreants are trying to convert it into a fight between the Salfis and the Sufis.

"They have branded our family as a family of singers and musicians who these rogues claim have no right to exist.

"On October 22, this year my younger brother, Abid was to get married and it was his 'Mehndi Raat'. These goons entered our house and started beating up everybody, including children and women.

"We had some relatives who had come to attend the ceremony and their womenfolk and children were also ruthlessly beaten.

"We complained to the local police station and they took Aadil along with them saying that he was under threat from these goons and the police would keep him in police station for some time. We had to perform the 'Nikah' ceremony of Aadil and his bride the same day.

"Police did not allow Aadil home. We sent the Molvi Sahib and two witnesses to the police station so that they take consent from the groom for performing the 'Nikah' ceremony as per the Islamic tenets.

"They were not allowed to meet Aadil that evening who was allowed home at 1 a.m. on October 23.

"He had been tortured and beaten. The next day, Aadil had to go to get his bride. These goons camped in the street outside our home saying that they would not allow the groom to come out and get his bride.

"They claimed to be from the local mosque which they control, that they were trying to save the life of the bride who would lose her 'Imaan' (Islamic faith) if she was married into a family of singers and musicians whom they considered as 'Infidels'.

"During the dead of the night, some of Aadil's friends managed to carry him to the bride's home. It was a trauma we can never forget", Aadil said.

His 66-year old father, Mohammad Ashraf Tibet Baqaal and 60-year old mother sounded more frightened than Aadil.

The family alleged that they approached senior police officers who have not helped them get an FIR registered against those who have made their lives miserable.

Aadil believes that even after mass migration of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley, the Tibet Baqaals are trying to keep the tradition of religious tolerance and Sufist music alive in Kashmir.

Source: IANS

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By Asad Mirza

The first institute of Islamic Madrassa education was at the estate of Hazrat Zaid bin Arkam near a hill called Safa in Makkah, where Prophet Muhammad was the teacher and the students were some of his followers. After Hijrah (migration) to Madina the Madrassa of 'Suffah' was established on the east side of the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi. The curriculum included understanding of The Holy Quran, Hadith, faraiz, tajweed, genealogy, treatises of first aid, etc.

Madrassas in India-current challenges

Ever since their emergence, the Madrassas in India have persisted with a curriculum that has seen few changes. The fact that literally, lakhs of Muslim children acquire their primary, and perhaps their only formal education, in these Madrassas where only literature and Islamic studies with a cursory knowledge of social sciences thrown in, are taught, should be a matter of concern not only to their parents but also to anybody concerned with education in any manner. The format of education imparted to the students of Madrassas ought to be modified keeping in view the shifting demands of the job market - a concern that can no longer be under-played. And this is perfectly possible without an erosion of the cultural and religious identity.

Developing suitable answers for today's dilemmas requires an examination of the essentials of education. Education involves transference to others, of knowledge and values accumulated by mankind. Even though schools and teachers have been part of the process of education for hundreds or even thousands of years, it is the spirit of enquiry that has enriched mankind with knowledge. We learn through reading, experience by watching others and by observing the world in general. Inculcating a spirit of scientific enquiry in students will perhaps be the best manner of propelling them on the path of learning.

Even though this may be the general agreement, it is a fact that in this country particularly, whenever an attempt is made to institute any profound change, a resistance begins to act from its very inception. The critics flinch at the vision of a Madrassa system where modern education would jettison religious knowledge and make education "worldly" and "impersonal".

It is a matter of satisfaction to note that of late, some Madrassas, have realised the significance of modern education, and have introduced teaching science, English and Computer skills in their curricula. For example the two largest Madrassas in India, Darul Uloom-Deoband and Nadwa-tul Ulema-Lucknow have braced themselves to be the harbinger of change and have introduced English language teaching and computer skills as part of their curriculum. But both have not been able to bring about any noticeable improvement in the quality of education they impart to their students.

It is often argued that if modern education is so sensational, why hasn't it brought any notable improvement to education in the few Madrassas that have adopted it? In reality, in spite of modern education being imparted, thousands of Madrassas don't have a well-formulated curriculum, and/or couldn't implement it even if they wanted to, as they don't have sufficiently trained and proficient staff.

MILAP Programme

During the last ten years or so, Madrassa Education in India has been a subject of interest, debate and prominence both in the educational and research circles, in media and of course the civil and political discourse. Based on different research studies and the demand for Capacity Building of Madrassa in India, an NGO of Delhi-Minorities Initiative for Learning, Advancement and Partnership (MILAP- www.milapindia.org) started a Capacity Building Programme for Madrassa Teachers and Students, which later became known as MILAP Programme.

The Capacity Building of Madrassas Programme (CBM) was based on inputs from madrassa teachers, administrators, religious scholars and educationists. The two-day consultative workshop held in 2008, deliberated over the needs, requirements and aspirations of madrassa teachers and students, how modern educationists could supplement their inputs and how a better cohesive programme could be tailor-made for the Madrassa audience.

The MILAP programme for Madrassa teachers focused first on identifying the areas which needed intervention from modern educationists and secondly, how to evolve the correct training for the participants. The same set of principles also applied to Madrassa students programme.

Based on the initial consultations with religious scholars and Madrassa administrators, one of the key strategies to improve the quality of education offered in Madrassas was designed to develop new, and strengthen existing tools and skills to equip Madrassa Teachers to enhance the overall quality of the teaching-learning practices within their Madrassas. The CBM programme was designed based on a "professional development/coaching model". This was intended to help address the gaps in teaching-learning practices. The CBM programme was offered to Madrassa Teachers and Students across India, and so far, has been organised in New Delhi, Aligarh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Guwahati.

The training topics for teachers ranged from Indian culture and religions, besides an introduction to constitutional & other legal rights of minorities and human rights. Introduction to different teaching methods. Role and responsibilities of an effective teacher, Lesson planning: Principles and Process. Concept, importance and types of teaching aids for language teaching, particularly English, Sciences, and elementary Mathematics. Besides understanding the socio-economic and educational background of the students, child and educational psychology, understanding the student-teacher communication process and formulating responses based on these inputs. Focus on

spoken and written English, besides an introduction to the use of computers and Internet, was a key component of the training.

Lessons learnt and way forward

To gauge the efficacy of these training programmes, a feedback survey was conducted by an external consultant after every programme and finally collated on an all-India basis. Based on the survey findings and feedback from the organisers of these Training Courses in 11 Indian cities, it could be surmised that there is a huge demand from both Madrassa teachers and students to learn and be acquainted with other subjects (modern subjects) not taught in madrassas.

The Madrassa teachers lack any idea about what modern educational techniques and management are, how lesson plans could help them improve their pedagogy skills, how by learning about the psychological state of their students they could focus more on students individually. The madrassa teachers lack basic skills in subjects like mathematics and science subjects and they are eager to learn these. The introduction of computers was an eye opener for both the students and teachers and they were really anxious to get their hands on the latest technology and for madrassa teachers it was really an eye opener to know how they could use computers in teaching subjects like Hadith and the Holy Quran. Meanwhile, the students groups all across India were eager to improve their personal and communications skills and learn subjects like time management, English speaking and writing skills.

Most of these training programmes were of 15 to 21 days duration, and if during such a short duration, using intensive intervention, outlook of the participants could be changed and skills and topics beneficial to them could be taught to better their skills and personality, then this module could be used to supplement their usual Madrassa teaching and such courses should be organised to help shape their future.

In addition, if the madrassas administration is ready to adapt this module along with the essential religious content, they could take the wind out of sails of the madrassa critics, that madrassas are not ready to change with times. Further, we should understand that Islam is not static but a dynamic religion and we can change the various inputs needed for its dissemination, keeping intact the fundamental principles. This strategy would not only be beneficial but also could be a game changer for the community.

Confidence building measures by the government

The MILAP Programme was designed to resemble the key elements from the CBM-sessions and focussed on training the teachers on secular curriculum and pedagogical issues. The objective of the MILAP module was to develop Madrassa/Maktab teachers' understanding of new educational and pedagogical techniques and assimilate them in Madrassa environment. And to a certain extent it attained its objective very well.

Central bodies like the Ministry of Minority Affairs and Maulana Azad National Foundation could be entrusted to carry forward such successful programmes, whose results have been quantified and documented well.

(The writer is a political commentator, who writes on Muslims, educational, international affairs, interfaith and current affairs. He can be contacted at asad.mirza.nd@gmail.com. The views expressed are personal)

Source: IANS

The post Indian Madrassas: A Need for Reorientation appeared first on Social News XYZ.

By Mohammed Shafeeq

Hyderabad, Nov 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) Seventh Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last ruler of erstwhile Hyderabad State and the architect of modern city of Hyderabad, was a visionary who never discriminated against people on the basis of religion, says his grandson Nawab Mir Najaf Ali Khan.

He rues that immense contributions of his grandfather were forgotten while some elements are even attempting to tarnish his secular image.

"My grandfather was someone who never discriminated between people of any religion, caste or financial status. He was an excellent and just person who kept all the people under his reign at the same mounting," Najaf Ali Khan told IANS.

He believes that present divisive political atmosphere in the country has given rise to things like 'Hindu India'. "If such a thing exists it is solely due to the divisive political atmosphere of our country right now. As children and young adults we never knew what the difference between being a Muslim or a Hindu was. We never discriminated between people of any religion," he said.

"I am as much an Indian as any other person of his country whose family has been here for more than 10 generations," he added.

He is of the view that Muslims need to come together and align their goals for the betterment of the community.

For Najaf Ali Khan, his grandfather is a role model and his father Prince Hasham Jah Bahadur was the biggest influence on his personality. "My grandfather is a role model for me. I have been immensely inspired by him and tried my best to be a reflection of what he would expect from me. My father is also one of the biggest influences on my personality."

Prince Hasham Jah Bahadur was one of the 16 sons of Mir Osman Ali Khan. The Nizam also had 18 daughters.

"An anecdote about my father is that an extraordinary gazette was issued on his birth in 1912 and holiday was announced state wide to commemorate his birthday," said Najaf Ali Khan.

Ten of Nizam's sons and daughters were issueless. He had 104 grandchildren, some of whom have passed away.

About 400 family members of the Nizam clan, mostly 5th and 6th generation, are settled in Hyderabad, other parts of India and abroad.

Mir Osman Ali Khan, who ruled Hyderabad State from 1911 to 1948, was considered the richest man in the world with a fortune of $2 billion.

"As the Nizam had 16 sons and 18 daughters our family is quite large. All are well educated and the young generation is paving the way in terms of new opportunities," said Najaf Ali Khan, one of over 100 legal heirs to Nizam VII.

According to him, the late Nizam did outstanding philanthropic work for all religions and one of the very few rulers who lived solely for the welfare of his subjects. "This was evident from the fact that his funeral was the largest. A sea of over one million people attended his funeral irrespective of caste and religion and the Government issued an extraordinary gazette and declared it a State holiday," he said.

After Hyderabad State acceded to India, Mir Osman Ali Khan was appointed Rajpramukh and he held the administrative post till 1956 when the title was abolished.

"One of the late Nizam's countless contributions is the donation of 5000 kgs of gold for National Defense Fund in 1965 which he donated without any reservations for the welfare of the country and advancement of its defense. This donation is unmatched in the history of India," said 56-year-old Najaf Ali Khan.

Seventh Nizam also built the Nizam Orthopedic Hospital for the poor people who didn't have the means to travel for their treatment. He also founded the Nizam Charitable Trust for the poor irrespective of any religion. "He led a Spartan life with very few comforts and luxuries and felt that he had a fiduciary duty towards the people."

The historic city is dotted with several landmarks built by Nizam. Osmania University, Osmania Hospital, Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS). In recent years there have been demands by some parties to change these names.

"It can be only viewed as an attempt to erase his heritage and take erroneous credit for the enormous philanthropic work that he did. It is nothing but trying to erode history as we know it."

He pointed out that successive governments ignored their requests to include a lesson on Nizam in history textbooks or to organize the birth anniversary of the late Nizam as an official event every year in recognition of his umpteen contributions to transform Hyderabad into a modern city.

According to Najaf Ali Khan, Mir Osman Ali Khan was a great ruler who made far-reaching contributions to the development of the region, served humanity and loved his subjects that make him stand out.

He recalled that on the last Nizam's demise, the then Andhra Pradesh government remembered him by issuing an extraordinary gazette.

The government declared state mourning on February 25, 1967, the day when he was buried. State government offices remained closed as a mark of respect while the national flag was flown at half-mast on all government buildings throughout the state.

On his death, the gazette described the Nizam as "deeply solicitous of the welfare of the depressed classes and through the unremitting labour of his Government many new schemes for promoting their welfare were enunciated".

It said that he kept up the tradition "to observe absolute impartiality in matters pertaining to religions of different communities in the Dominions" and was well known for his philanthropic activities. He made "substantial contributions to a variety of institutions belonging to all creeds and communities such as the Banaras Hindu University, Bhandarkar Institute, Santiniketan, Aligarh Muslim University, etc.," the gazette said.

The gazette also noted that he established the Osmania University in 1918, the first of its kind in India to have an Indian language as the medium of instruction. He took personal interest in the construction of the buildings of the University, which possess elements of Hindu and Muslim architecture blended with beauty, and Buddhist, Jain, Chalukyan, Bahamani and Qutub Shahi styles of architecture harmonised into one.

A business consultant to Indian and foreign companies, Najaf Ali Khan is also working for the welfare of the Nizam family as president of Nizam Family Welfare Association.

He has been in the forefront to fight for the legal rights of the family members and is currently waging a legal battle to get their share in 35 million British Pounds.

The UK High Court had ruled last year that cash pot be divided between Indian government and Nawab Mir Barkat Ali Khan alias Prince Mukarram Jah, the titular Nizam and his brother Prince Muffakham Jah. Najaf Ali Khan, however, approached Hyderabad police seeking action against the princes for using 'invalid' certificate in the case relating to 70-year-old dispute about the money transferred by Nizam to Pakistan high commissioner in London at the time of Hyderabad State's accession to India in 1948.

Najaf Ali Khan argues that the certificate of succession issued by the Government of India recognizing Mukarram Jah as sole successor to his grandfather Nizam VII became invalid after the 26th Amendment Act, 1971 in Constitution of India by the insertion of Article 363A.

According to him the Nizam's descendants have been suffering at the hands of two princes and the trustees of the Nizam's Trust.

Source: IANS

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Hyderabad, Nov 19 (SocialNews.XYZ) Hip hop and Urdu don't go together so also hip hop and Sufism but an Urdu hip-hop band has come out with an album with strange fusion of rap music with the Sufi message and in mostly Urdu lyrics.

As Hyderabad's Thug Unit is all set to release its album 'Resurrection 040', the duo behind it shared with IANS their experiences and the motivation behind the unique experiment.

Comprising 12 tracks and representing a variety of elements, the album is set to be released on Friday on Apple Music. Mostly in Urdu, the tracks also have English and West Indian flavor with Jamaican lingo.

Mudassir Ahmed and Syed Irshad, who go with stage names 'Mo Boucher' and 'Irish Boi' respectively, told IANS that for the first time message of sufism has been conveyed to people through the medium of hip hop.

People so far used to listen to qawwalis to known something about the message of Sufism but the Hyderabadi rappers with this album are adding a totally different medium.

"This is not philosophical Sufism like reading of books but it is actual practical journey. This has come out of our own experience," said Mudassir, who stopped writing poetry and composing music in 2012 for his spiritual journey and is making a comeback to the world of hip hop with his old friend.

"In 2014, I started to have spiritual yearning. I stopped writing and making music asking questions what is purpose of life. I started reflecting what I want to do with my life," said Mudassir, who read books include Bhagavad Gita and Vedas.

"I realised Sufism suits me on a personal level. I connected with the Sufi message. I spent 5-6 years with a Sufi master and learnt the Sufi traditions."

They said the main purpose of the album is to give good content to hip hop listeners. "What they mostly get is rubbish stuff like, sex, drugs and partying. Hip hop is not just that. It is reflection of ourselves," he said

Mudassir and Irrshad are confident that they will be able to change to hip hop scene in the country. "Hip hop is about poetry on any subject chosen and what we are seeing. We have put our own personal experience in the form of poetry," said Irrshad.

The musicians say that their fourth album, the first commercial one, has given them satisfaction. "Hip hop is a representation of yourself. You have to use it with responsibility because young people are listening to it. What they listen at this age is going to stay with them. We have a huge responsibility as to what content we are giving," said Mudassir, who started writing poetry when was 14.

He pointed out that one of the tracks in the album is on the current political atmosphere in India and the political shift that has happened in last 5-6 years, especially the last two years.

"As Indians while we were growing up it was different but now you have a completely different situation. There is more hate now and that is what motivated us to write a song about it," he said.

The album features pertinently named tracks Rubaroo (face to face), Raahe Rast (straight path), Suroor e Ishq, (exhilaration of love), Pardafash (unmasked), Azmaish (test), Atishbazi (fireworks), Bossman, Bus'em (Bust Them), Hate Monger, Intro, Kun (Be) featuring Rebel of Khan Artists and Original Rajah (Original Ruler).

The musical ensemble portrays Sufism-inspired self-reflection, community evils and voice against power establishments. Music for the album is produced by seasoned Grammy-nominated and multi-platinum producers including Buck Wild, making the duo the first from Telangana and perhaps from India to work with US-based Grammy nominated producers.

Thugs Unit inked a deal with Apple Music earlier this month. "We are happy that Bobin James Editor and Artists Relations Lead at Apple Music personally listened to our music tracks and liked them enough to honour us by featuring on a platform so robust like Apple Music", they said.

Source: IANS

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By Sukant Deepak

New Delhi, Nov 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) She remembers going to the Nizamuddin Dargah when it opened after Covid struck. There was something amiss. The place was just not the same without the qawwals. The silence was brutal.

"Honestly, I did not know how I could help. Offering money to the artists might have seemed disrespectful. Also, they must be craving for an audience. And that is how the idea of 'Artists for Artists' was conceived," says documentary filmmaker Yasmin Kidwai, also the Councillor (INC) from Daryaganj, Delhi's largest MCD constituency.

In face of the little assistance offered by the government and state akademis flushed with funds to artists when the pandemic struck, Kidwai was convinced that structural changes were indispensable to ascertain that the artist community did not get hit so severely when such disasters strike in the future. The result was 'Artists for Artists', a fundraising platform with an aim to spread the new reality faced by artists across the country and help develop avenues to support them. "Now, we all know that all artists are not tech savvy, hence there was a need to create a platform for these musicians that not only celebrates their craft but also provides much needed resources to support them and their families. We started with folk artists as they have suffered the most. Musician Amit Kilam and Neeta Raheja also came onboard," Kidwai tells IANS.

With a line up boasting of Nizami Brothers from Delhi, Raju Das Baul from Bengal, Prabha Yadav from Chhattisgarh, Kaluram Bamaniya from Madhya Pradesh and drummer Nathu Lal Solanki from Rajasthan, the folk artists have been performing live every Friday (from October 23 - November 20). The concerts can be viewed on the BookMyShow portal.

For someone who has made close to 50 documentaries focussing on social issues and the same number of informational videos for MGNREGA, it is the belief that everyone has a story to her that keeps her fascinated towards the medium. "Believe me, real stories are way more intriguing than any fiction that can be created. I wanted to tell such tales without the politics," says Kidwai, known for films like 'Her Own Sky', 'No Problem! Six Months with Barefoot Grandmas', 'Filmistaan', ' Borders and Beyond' and 'Purdah Hai Purdah'.

Getting into documentaries at a time when there were not many platforms and a niche audience pushed her to make one of the first public funded documentaries in India on Polo, called 'Chukker'. "I raised small contributions to complete it. The idea was to introduce a new audience to documentary films and a subject like Polo let me do that."

Believing that it is always the subject that chooses the filmmaker and not the other way round, Kidwai feels all her films have coincided with different times her life and resulted in friendships which have lasted beyond the last day of the shoot. "'Purdah and Purdah' was very complex and layered - the topic still is. 'No Problem' gave me hope and changed me in many ways. Though 'Borders and Beyond' was not something I enjoyed -- it was on the Gujarat riots and I had to live through it many times over while working on it," she says, adding that she has never felt discriminated against as a filmmaker on account of her gender or religion.

Kidwai, who has a fashion label 'House of Qidwa', which led her to working with women from Nizamuddin basti says that it all started with her trying to organise work for her mother and sister- in- law who were in the clothes business. "I ended up putting together a small collection for my friends inspired by who were -- a sense of freedom, a sense of history, the Sufi vibe and being unconstrained."

Talk to her about how politics has been treating her, and she smiles, "Well, I really do not know if I qualify as a politician, considering I am not a professional one. I have entered this field just to be able to serve, and amplify some voices which need to be heard. There are several challenges in my role as a Municipal Councillor considering the fact that Delhi and the corporation are such complex places to work in."

Source: IANS

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By QUAID NAJMI

Mumbai, Nov 16 (SocialNews.XYZ) Muslims in the country are deeply concerned for the country's security and secularism despite an onslaught from certain powerful forces questioning their nationalistic credential, said renowned intellectual and Islamic scholar Maulana Mohammad Burhanuddin Qasmi.

There is a tendency to keep shifting the terminologies for Muslims -- from being orthodox, traditionalists, extremists and now Islamists, said Qasmi, 49, Director of Markazul Ma'arif Education and Research Centre (MMERC), Mumbai.

"That has been the global norm since the dawn of human civilization with the stronger portraying themselves as 'heroes' and their weaker counterparts labeled as 'villains' always....The new terminologies we are witnessing today are simply marketing of the old poisons in a new wrapper only," Qasmi told IANS in a freewheeling chat.

However, the world is witnessing a communication era and thanks to social media, "the complete monopoly of anyone over dissemination of information to others" has been broken.

"There are millions of good souls in the world who wish to take the right messages to the people and shun the 'hate-campaign' against Muslims...This positivity will definitely show the desired results," Qasmi pointed out.

At the same time, it also helps the mainstream Muslims scholars to engage in their academic and literary works deploying the new means of communication technologies.

As far as the status of Indian Muslims is concerned, Qasmi feels it remains 'largely unchanged at the ground-level', with disappointment, helplessness, impatience and shades of dismay owing to the oft-biased and negative media onslaught both on the community and their religion.

"Many have failed to grasp that the Muslims here are deeply concerned about their own and the country's security and the democratic, secular image it enjoys, which is sought to be diluted," Qasmi said.

He finds solace in the face that the majority of Indians don't seem to be too happy about this ongoing violation of the nation's socio-political scenario, but are keeping silent, barring a few bold voices.

"The goings-on are merely a political narrative and part of attempts to 'polarise communities'. I am worried that if extremism takes over the mainstream system of India, then not only the minorities, but also the democratic majority, and the very 'idea of India' will be at stake," Qasmi cautioned.

The MMERC head chides the Muslim political, social and religious leadership for not being serious or adequately realising and rising to the tough challenges confronted by the community.

"They must first sit together, diagnose the malaise proactively, offer positive solutions to problems and help the community integrate strongly with the national mainstream, both academically and economically. They must place themselves as 'givers' rather than as 'receivers' only," Qasmi urged.

In this context, he finds "irritable" the attitude of vast sections of contemporary Indian media vis-?-vis the community, "which has potential to ruin India's global reputation and severely damage the social equilibrium".

"This needs to be checked with a genuine checks-and-balance mechanism in which the minority communities should have a say, the Muslim leaders must not hesitate to reach out to the media and explain their point of view....for mutual and national gains," said Qasmi.

Qasmi acquired his Fazilat (Masters in Islamic Theology) from the famed Darul Uloom Deoband, Uttar Pradesh and an MA (English) from the Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad.

Describing MMERC as a unique institution that blends contemporary and traditional religious education by educating Madrassa graduates in modern subjects, Qasmi has penned two books, lectured at national international seminars in the US, Europe, Gulf, South Asia and other countries on academics and human rights.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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By Zafar Abbas

New Delhi, Nov 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) When Nasir Hussain, a Head Constable in Delhi Police, puts on his uniform and heads for duty, his eight-year-old daughter Riza looks at him as he reaches the door and has a word of caution for him: "Papa, come early and be safe."

Posted in Badarpur police station in southeast Delhi, Hussain has recently achieved the target of arresting more than 80 proclaimed offenders within one year, including 40 involved in heinous cases to qualify for out-of-turn promotion as per the standing order. He would soon be promoted to Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI).

Coming from a humble background in Sikrawa villagein Haryana's Mewat, he joined the Delhi Police in 2001 as a constable. Since then, he has been a part of various investigations and raids in Delhi along with the senior police officers.

"I learned a lot from my seniors and that is what is helping me to arrest the proclaimed offenders who have been evading arrest since long. It is basically a team work and I am glad that I have got a good team which never hesitates to take risk while going after dangerous criminals," Hussain told IANS.

He recalls how he faced resistance when he, along with the police team, went to arrest Jitender alias Jeetu, a proclaimed offender of Vasant Kunj area, with at least 56 cases including robbery, burglary and even dacoity against his name.

"Not just Jeetu, we also faced resistance when we went Uttar Pradesh's Etah to arrest Mukesh, who was wanted in a POCSO case of Jamia Nagar. Also, Shaukat from Mewat region who had several cases registered against his name in UP, Haryana and Rajasthan. I am glad I could accomplish the job with my team," he said.

Hussain, 42, has done his graduation from Jamia Millia Islamia in 2000 and has been posted in Badarpur police station for more than a year now. Previously, he was posted in Jamia Nagar police station as well.

His father Aas Mohammad is a farmer and mother Hajra is a housewife. Eldest among his four sisters and two brothers, Hussain got married in 1997 and has four children - two daughters and two sons. His eldest son is doing B.Tech.

"On November 10, HC Nasir Husain achieved the target with the arrest of 42 POs of heinous crime and 41 POs of other crime, a total of 83 proclaimed offenders. His proposal for out of turn promotion to the post of ASI is being sent to police headquarters," DCP, South East Delhi, R.P. Meena said.

Asked if he feels satisfied by the goal he has achieved, Hussain replies: "I will keep on performing my duty with the same dedication and sincere efforts till the day I retire. Have miles to go still..."

(Zafar Abbas can be reached at zafar.a@ians.in )

Source: IANS

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By Natalia Ningthoujam

New Delhi, Nov 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) Delhi-based Nazia Nasim is the first crorepati of Amitabh Bachchan-hosted show Kaun Banega Crorepati 12. She is grateful to her progressive Muslim family who brought her up with strong values and showed how a husband and wife should collaborate to run a successful family.

KBC has been her mother's dream, says Nazia.

"She has been the force behind and encouraging me to do greater things in life. I almost attempted eight to 10 times (to participate in KBC). The year 2020 has been lucky and this was my year for sure," Nazia told IANS after winning a crore on the quiz show.

Her mother Bushra runs a boutique in Ranchi, where she was raised.

"She (mom) has been successfully running it for the last 28 years, when it was not in fashion for women to sit in a shop. She has been breaking taboos much before we could have ever imagined. She runs a boutique even now in Ranchi," said the proud daughter.

It's not just her mom but also her dad, Mohammed Shakeel, who raised her and her sister and brother as equals.

"We were not raised by people constantly telling us, 'you are a girl, you need to behave in a particular way'. That barrier was broken for us early on. We were given the freedom to study, make friends and make our own decisions. That really helped us," she said.

"Certain rules were set in the house in terms of equality. Even though my father was an early bread winner, my mother was no less important. They took collective decisions for the family. I think that really helped us to set a strong image of how a family should be and how husband and wife should collaborate to run a successful family," she added.

Her mother got married when she was only 15 or 16.

"She did most of her education after getting married, while raising three children. All that has really inspired me. Nothing is a barrier, it's just a mental block you think you can't overcome," said Nazia.

Even though she and her siblings were given the same treatment by their parents, the same can't be said about her neighbours.

"I used to live in a very conservative mohalla in Ranchi. It is a locality called Doranda. It is a typical concentrated Muslim mohalla. I had seen men who used to behave as if they were a superior lot. So, women like my mother were outcasts.

"Early on, my sister and I used to wear western clothes. It wouldn't go down well with these people. Even riding a cycle was a taboo. My mom was taunted a number of times for letting us ride cycles. It was ridiculous," recalled Nazia.

But she believes that male patriarchy is more than about the religion one follows. "This happens across religions. I want to give more courage to women across religions because I believe that my community is the woman community. I don't believe that my community is the Muslim community. I am a woman first, and I will champion their rights irrespective of religion and caste," said the 39-year-old, who did a PR and Advertising course from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi.

As of now, she wants to use the winning amount for her son's future and parents' health.

"I am planning to use some amount for charity too. I haven't decided yet. I will pick up something that's close to my heart like girls education or sanitation," she said.

Source: IANS

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By Sukant Deepak

New Delhi, Nov 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) While the last few years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the activities organised by the Ghalib Institute to acquaint the younger generation with the great poet -- papers, lectures, the Urdu Drama Festival and inviting students from schools, colleges and universities; the pandemic seems to have increased the reach of the poet Mirza Ghalib -- all thanks to specially structured programming for the web and social media by the institute.

"Our physical programmes would generally witness an attendance of 200-300 people, now the audience members have increased to more than 15,000 from across the world for our specially curated web-based programming conceived during the lockdown. In fact, we plan to carry on digital activities including lectures, dramas and storytelling sessions through social media platforms and our own YouTube channel and website even after Covid-19 becomes a thing of the past," says Dr. Syed Raza Haider, Director of the Ghalib Institute in New Delhi.

Credited for metamorphosing the institute by making it more 'accessible' and bringing it closer to people, and not just research scholars and experts in Urdu, Dr. Haider, who for the past several years has been reaching out to educational institutes and artists to ascertain that the institute does not function in isolation says, "Culture is always a great unifier, precisely why we pay a lot of attention to that wing which also encompasses the Humsab Drama Group. Thanks to the plays that have been happening here, we have also become part of Delhi's huge theatre community. Not to mention the many 'kavi sammelans' and 'mushairas' we have been hosting at regular intervals. "

The institute, which enjoyed much popularity among poets like Majrooh Sultanpuri and Amrita Pritam among others came into being in 1969, on the eve of Ghalib's 100th death anniversary and boasts of more than 500 rare manuscripts including original letters by the poet at its historic Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Library.

Stressing that Ghalib holds a very special place in the literary ecosystem and his popularity is not limited to a particular class but cuts across all barriers, the director adds, "In the past few years, we have been witnessing youngsters not just reading him, but also debating and trying to understand the different layers of his verse. I have noticed that during the Delhi Book Fair and International Book Fair, there has been an increase in the number of people wanting to read him in different languages including Hindi, Urdu and English."

Adding that while he has been missing organising physical programmes, Dr. Haider says that this time is being utilized to compose several new books on the poet besides pushing research. "Besides web-based activity, our printing division has been exceptionally active during this period. We aim to come out with many new offerings soon."

Source: IANS

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By Soudhriti Bhabani

Kolkata, Nov 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) The royal descendant of Awadh, who got settled in Kolkata, recounts the patriotic lineage and participation of his family in the First War of Indias Independence in an attempt to take on the rhetoric of debate over his family's contribution in the fight against the imperialists.

"My ancestors fought for the First War of India's Independence in 1857. They sacrificed everything, took refuge but never buckled down before the British rule. Now people say it is debatable.

"Do we really need to prove that we belong to this soil, as much as they do? Do we really need to reaffirm that we are Indians and we live on our motherland too?" said Kamran Ali Mirza, great great grandson of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah -- the eleventh and last of the Awadh dynasty who was exiled in Kolkata.

For 47-years-old Mirza, who is a computer hardware engineer by profession, it is not a very pleasing memory when his school friends doubted his family's contribution in the war of 1857 to wrestle back veery inch of soil from the clutches of the intruders.

"Their questions hurt me a lot. Their minds have changed a lot, especially in the current years. They say we Muslims are not patriotic and they expect us to prove it every time," he told IANS in an exclusive interview, calling the pattern as "an unfortunate affair".

A resident of 'House of Awadh' near Ripon Street, Mirza did his schooling from Kolkata's Saifee Hall School and after that went to Aligarh Muslim University. Later he also studied English literature at Maulana Azad College in Kolkata. He is a Red-Hat certified computer hardware engineer and runs his own computer business in Kolkata.

"I always write Calcutta, instead of the changed name Kolkata. I love it's old name as I believe I belong to this place. I am a direct descendant of the exiled Nawab," he said.

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah's kingdom, long protected by the British under treaty, was eventually annexed bloodlessly on February 11, 1856, -- two days before the ninth anniversary of his coronation.

The king was exiled to Garden Reach near Metiabruz, then a suburb of Kolkata, where he lived the rest of his life on a generous pension. He was a poet, playwright, dancer and great patron of the arts. He is widely credited with the revival of Kathak as a major form of classical Indian dance.

"We belong to a royal family of freedom fighters. When people talk about patriotism and indulge in anti-Muslim rhetoric, I tell them about Begum Hazrat Mahal who had preferred to stay on in Lucknow and waged war against the British in 1857. Later she took refuge in Nepal in political asylum and tried to regroup as she wanted to die in a free land rather than dying in golden shackles.

"Our family sacrificed everything," the royal descendant said, adding that they do not need to prove that they are Indians.

Source: IANS

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By Anindya Banerjee

New Delhi, Nov 6 (SocialNews.XYZ) In the male-dominated shayari circuit of India, Seema Iqbal has broken the glass ceiling, using the Urdu language and its vast nuances that made people take note of her creativity.

"Virasat me mujhe shayari mili hai (I have inherited shayari)," says Seema Iqbal. She insists, her father Syed Wahid Ali's keen interest in poetry introduced her to this world. She says, her brother Majid Ali also writes ghazals and so does another sibling, Dr Mujahid Faraz, who, too, is a shayar.

But Seema Iqbal always wanted to come out of their influence and carve a separate identity of her own. Be it 'Naye Purani Chirag' by the Urdu Academy or 'Karvane-sher-o-adab-al-hind' by the Ghalib Academy, Iqbal has been a prominent presence in all these recitation events.

But she accepts it has been a significant step for a woman to make a name in the discipline.

"Of course it will encourage a lot of women to take this up. If one has interest and talent, women too can pursue it. In fact, there are few who have made their mark in this field," Iqbal tells IANS.

She adds that one day, she hopes to bring out a book of her own. "Shauq hai ki kitab likhungi zaroor, main apna kalaam laoongi in the public domain, insha-allah," she quips.

She has also introduced many women to this 'language of melody' in the past, on behalf of the Urdu Academy. But this year, she claims, the pandemic has disturbed everything.

While her love for Urdu remains unchanged, she complains that this alone is not enough to financially sustain one self. "I will keep enlightening the world with the sheer brilliance of Urdu, but the unpredictability of income is real," she says. No wonder, she has taken up a job at a popular insurance company.

However, it is shayari that keep her creative side alive. She says, "Ab to chup ho ja tu khuda ke liye, khud ko khamosh kar rahi hun main, jaane kya ho gaya hai mujhko ada, ab to khud se bhi dar rahi hun main."

( Anindya Banerjee can be contacted at anindya.b@ians.in )

Source: IANS

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By Maulana Arshad Madani

In France, the Muslim population is approximately 5.7 million (about 9 per cent), while the figures are 5 million (about 6 pet cent) in Germany, 4.1 million (about 6.3 per cent) in the UK, .8 million (about 8.1 per cent) in Sweden, .7 million (approximately 8 per cent) in Austria, 2.9 million (about 5 per cent) in Italy, .8 million in (about 5.1 per cent) in the Netherlands (source: Wikipedia, Islam by Country).

Now think again, if few angry Muslims break the law, and the sectarian forces there gain strength and get the patronage of the governments from behind the scenes, what will be the future of the scores Muslims spread all over Europe?

I am not saying that you should not protest against the hateful ideology of a teacher or a company, but breaking the law, causing unrest or killing people do not represent a true picture of Islam in these countries, nor does it make the future of the millions of Muslims living there peacefully secure.

I am saying this because we have been suffering from similar politics in our country for 50 years. In India, Hindus worship cows. But Muslims have been killed after people took law into their own hands alleging cow slaughtering.

If we oppose taking the law into one's own hands here, why will we not oppose it in France? I think that the way Muslims all over the world are protesting against France today, it would have been great had they stood up against unlimited freedom of speech before.

I believe that today, as a result of the international protests, when the President of France is also moving towards taking a U-turn, the Indian government and those in power should also step back from the stand of France, and avoid hurting the sentiments of billions of Muslims.

(The writer is the President of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, New Delhi)

Source: IANS

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By Arun Lakshman

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 4 (SocialNews.XYZ) Popular award winning Malayalam film director Kamaludeen, popularly known as Kamal, opined that education has uplifted the Muslim community, which has largely led to the tolerance and patience of the community even in the extremely adverse conditions in which they are moving ahead.

Kamal who turns 63 later this month in a career that began in 1986, has by now directed over 40 films and has bagged four national and numerous state awards.

Presently, the chairman of the state run Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, Kamal said he is a Muslim and a proud Indian. They have been living in this country for generations and don't have any contact with Pakistan or Afghanistan.

"After Independence, the policies of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in promoting educational institutions like Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia University has led to educating Muslims in large numbers leading to a revolution in the community," said Kamal.

Kamal said that education is the tool for liberation and added that Muslim youngsters are doing extremely well in education. He gave the examples of even Muslim girls cracking major competitive examinations in the country including the civil services, IIT, NEET and other such exams.

Another feature of his community, according to him, is the manner in which Muslim youths from here toiled hard in West Asia and added that the first thing these Muslims youths have done was educating their children in the best way. He said that the results are there for everyone to see.

He however pointed out that after the ascendency of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, the Muslims in the country are a worried lot but are tolerant enough not to be drawn into communal strife.

Turning critical, the noted director said that there was a period when the Muslim clergy had prevented members of the community from learning English.

"Such a foolish attitude of the clergy had led to the backwardness of the community," said Kamal.

He pointed out that the Muslim community can take credit for major contributions in the fields of music, art and films and cited the examples of Mohammed Rafi, Dilip Kumar and the present dominance of the three Khans in Bollywood.

"Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Allah Rakha Khan and Ustad Zakir Hussain and other prominent members of the North Indian Gharanas had created waves in the musical sphere of the country," said Kamal.

The veteran film director however said that Hindu zealots were trying to usurp the rich contributions of the Muslim community to the society.

Placing faith in the youth, Kamal said that in all societies it was the youth who are the harbingers of change and lamented that in present day India under Modi several youths who agitated against the CAA and the NRC had criminal charges foisted on them.

He claimed that even the courts seem to have been forced into submission and said that setting free leaders like LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi in the Babri Masjid demolition case is a clear indicator in this regard.

"The Indian Constitution is very powerful and Muslims and Dalits are looking at the Constitution to safeguard their rights," said Kamal.

Source: IANS

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By Mohammad Suaib

New Delhi, Nov 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) More than 100 people stranded overseas have returned to their homeland thanks to the efforts of Syed Abid Hussain, 36, popularly known as Bajrangi Bhaijaan in real life.

The citizens that Hussain, an interior designer by profession, has helped return to their homeland through the help of running social media campaigns include those from countries other than India.

Not only that, about 10 bodies were sent to their respective homelands and handed over to their loved ones. In fact, Hussain was very motivated after watching the biopic Sarabjit.

Inspired by the real life story of Sarabjit's sister who makes untiring efforts to get her brother home from Pakistan, he began to help people who were stranded abroad. He believes that in case Sarabjit's sister knew a knowledgeable person, she would have received good assistance.

Even before watching the film, he had helped a couple of people return to their homeland.

Hussain, a native of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, lives with his wife and 11-year-old son in Bhopal, these days.

By running a campaign in countries like South Africa, USA, Kuwait, Nepal, Bahrain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai, Oman and Malaysia, Hussain has helped hundreds of Indians and people from other nationalities return to their homeland.

He has been running these charitable campaigns since 2016. The great thing about his efforts is that he doesn't charge anybody any money to help them. In fact, people contact him through Twitter and over the phone and ask him for help after which Hussain contacts the embassy associated with that country and helps the aggrieved family.

Thanks to his efforts, mountaineer Gautam Rajbhar, a resident of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, returned to India. Rajbhar had gone to Saudi Arabia to earn a living but he was duped by the recruiting agent and held in captivity. He could not even call his family back home for several days. Then one day he could make a video call in which he sought help to return to India. Hussain helped Rajbhar to return to India as well.

"I came to Bhopal in 2006 and did not do any social work till 2015," Syed Abid Hussain told IANS. "My venture into social work began when a nine-year-old child from Pakistan came to Bhopal via Bangladesh. I got information about the matter. Then I made a lot of efforts to send the child back to Pakistan."

In fact, Abid connects people through Twitter and social media platforms and seeks the help of authorities. Then he approaches the government and the concerned embassy on that issue.

In 2018, he also helped Pakistani resident Imran Warsi who had allegedly been imprisoned for 10 years in a case of mistaken identity to return home.

Hussain began to help the people in West Asia after this case. After which he found a number of cases in which people were stranded in other countries because of being misled by fake agents.

"Some agents take a group of labourers abroad and then snatch away their passports. Helpless in a foreign country, they are left to their devices. The information about such victims began to come to me. We started looking into these matters. From 2018 to 2020, we also helped hundreds of such people."

"After watching 'Sarabjit', I started helping people stranded abroad and received a good response. People started contacting me through Twitter, e-mail and over ther phone. We have also begun to guide people on which embassy to contact," says Hussain.

After helping so many people, Hussain has been honoured with more than 25 awards by various institutions. These include the Excellence Award, National Inspiration Award, Vivekananda Leadership Award etc. He has also been honoured on behalf of the Madhya Pradesh Wakf Board.

"Since the beginning I have been working alone. Some people who joined me in the beginning left the initiative later," Hussain told IANS.

"We help those who approach us without looking at their community or religion," he explains. "We get calls from people who are suffering. Most of the callers are Indians and human beings in the ultimate analysis. We send their information to the concerned embassy. After which they receive assistance," adds Hussain.

"The security of the country is important to me. If a government takes a person into custody or interrogates him, we examine the allegations. If a person is innocent, he won't get punished."

Does he feel the Muslim community is targeted more than other communities?
"In this country, I have never felt this. There should be peace all over the world. People should respect the laws of the country they live in. I am also associated with social media. We love people of all religions and communities. Most of my friends are from another community and respond with great affection to my social media posts. If you do a good job, people will appreciate it."

Why does he keep doing this selfless work, without getting too much in return?
"If people are not able to defend themselves, I help them. They can even help themselves without me. Doing good deeds bring us blessings and help us do do better in our business. We do not need any financial help, nor do we ask anyone for it."

(Mohammad Suaib can be contacted at mohammad.k@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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By Venkatachari Jagannathan

Chennai, Oct 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) In hockey, the defenders win the championship while the attackers win the individual matches, said one of India's reputed mid field player N. Mohammed Riaz having played about 280 international matches.

An Arjuna awardee, the 49-year old Riaz had played for India for a decade between 1990s and 2000 and is working with Air India as a Deputy General Manager.

Agreeing that the strikers/attackers are the cynosure of the crowd as they score the goal, Riaz pointed out that it is the mid field players who develop the chances for the strikers to score while preventing the opposition from scoring.

"The defenders win the championship while the forwards win the match," he remarked.

A former Indian team captain, Riaz had played for India in Olympics (1996 and 2000), World Cups (1994, 1998) and two Asian Games (1994, 1998-India won Gold after a gap of 32 years).

Later he had played in the professional league in Belgium and Germany in 2002 and 2004 respectively.

"Hockey runs in his blood. His father Mohammed Abdul Nabi was a good player and also an international referee. His family members too were good hockey players," former Indian Hockey team Captain and Olympian V. Baskaran told IANS.

Riaz's elder brother played hockey for Tamil Nadu while younger brother was a national player.

Many of his uncles were also hockey players and it was natural that Riaz took to hockey like a fish takes to the water.

Riaz said he had his schooling at the Government Madrasa-I-Azam Higher Secondary School here which has the reputation of sending about eight international hockey players.

Making it to the school and the state juniors' team, Riaz said the turning point of his career was the 1989 national junior championship.

"I played well there. Even when the team was trailing, playing at the centre half position, I scored goals and took the team to victory. The newspaper headline used to be Riaz vs the name of the rival state team," he mused.

After that there was no looking back for Riaz and his sports career went up like the curve in the hockey stick.

"I had watched Riaz as a junior player. He had played in a hockey tournament held for the wards of Railway employees in Varanasi. His father was in the Railways. The Southern Railway team reached finals. At that time itself, I had the feeling that this boy would turn into a big player and that happened," Baskaran who had captained the Indian team that won gold at the Moscow Olympics.

He went to the national junior's camp and got selected to the junior Indian team and into to the senior's camp as an outstanding junior player.

"As a lean and only player from Tamil Nadu, I had resolved to train hard and play well to prove myself as a player worthy to be in the national squad," Riaz recalled.

Riaz was the junior most player in the Indian team and the seniors who helped him with their tips and suggestions.

"They also cheered and guided me so that I got the confidence to play along with them and also against the seniors in the rival teams," Riaz said.

He made his debut in the International Hockey arena playing for India in the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia.

Riaz was part of the Indian squad that toured Australia in 1993.

"I was a substitute and during the third match got a chance to play for 10 minutes and from the next match onwards I was in the team. I was declared as the 'Best Find of the Tournament'," he recalled.

Speaking about his style play the Olympian Riaz said he is good at the drag part.

"As a mid-field player, I can see the whole field even as my head will be down tackling the ball," Riaz said.

"Riaz was a complete hockey player with lots of vision and a good team player. A gentleman player, Riaz has hockey brain. He had employed many of the modern day tactics like creating space for team mates, one-on-one skill and others. There won't be any major misses in his passes," Baskaran said.

"More than that, Riaz was a graceful player. There may be players who are talented but lack grace. But Riaz had both and was a delight to watch him play," Baskaran added.

Continuing further, Baskaran said Riaz can play both at the left and right wings which not many players can do.

The hockey game got him a job at Air India and in 2004 Riaz got married.

"At the time of marriage my wife knew about hockey," he said.

The couple begot two children - daughter 14-year old Shameena Riaz, 14, Tamil Nadu squash player and son eight year old Mohammed Rayhan who likes football.

"I had asked my son to play hockey or cricket to which he said the family has lot of hockey players while cricket players will be popular only in the countries where the game is played. On the other hand, football is played world over and the players become world famous," Riaz said.

As regards his daughter's love for squash Riaz said he had taken her to a club where squash was being played. She got a chance to play and hit two good shots and got hooked to the game.

Riaz declined to answer any non-sports related questions politely and gracefully.

Agreeing that cricket is popular and gets more space in the media, Riaz adds that hockey too is well covered by the newspapers.

Though the national game hockey is really fast paced needing huge amount of stamina, most star players do not get a chance to become a brand ambassadors for relevant products unlike cricket players, Riaz said.

Riaz also had a successful stint as a coach for Indian seniors and juniors team that had won gold and silver medals at prestigious tournaments like Asian Champions Trophy held in China in 2011 (Gold), Champions Challenge Hockey Championships held South Africa, in 2011 (Silver), the Gold winning Junior Indian Hockey Team at the Junior European Championships, Poland.

Today Riaz spends his free time going to the grounds and giving tips to juniors on playing techniques.

"I do free coaching for the students of my old school every year. I also coach the players of Kovilpatti Academy. I would like to share my skill sets with the juniors," he added.

Looking at the current Indian hockey scene, he said the Indian team is in the top five in the world and medal prospects are not far away.

"Earlier countries like Germany, Spain and Holland used to figure in the semi-finals of most tournaments. The world hockey scene has changed with low ranked teams doing well and winning championships," he said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) Women's rights activist and granddaughter of freedom fighter late Nazim Ali, Naish Hasan, who hails from Lucknow, has become the voice of Muslim women today. For the past two decades she has been fighting for women's rights which include complete freedom for Muslim women.

She is the first woman in the country having a Ph.D in the study of Muslim women who are victims of practices like Nikah-Halala. She had approached the Supreme Court against practices in the Muslim community such as Nikah-Halala, Nikah-Mut'ah, Misyar marriage, polygamy and the current Sharia law of 1937.

Naish Hasan hails from Teri village in Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. In 1916, her grandfather Nazim Ali at the age of 20 dedicated his life to the freedom struggle and continued to fight till 1947. After Independence, he was elected the first MLA from Jaisinghpur assembly constituency.

Naish Hasan, an M.Phil in Sociology from Lucknow university and a Ph.D from Shakuntala Mishra university, told IANS that her grandfather faced taunts from the society when he encouraged his daughters to study. But her grandfather was a progressive thinker who always swam against the tide and kept motivating all young Muslim women to study. He was among those Muslim leaders who vociferously opposed the Muslim League.

Pursuing her higher studies, Naish Hasan came across many cases where Muslim men had given 'triple-talaq' to their wives and thrown them out of the house over small issues. Hearing the painful stories of such women, Hasan decided to become the voice of Muslim women.

Since 2005, she has been raising her voice against 'triple talaq'. She became the most vociferous voice in the Shah Bano case for which she faced widespread criticism and opposition within the Muslim community.

However, carrying forward the legacy of her grandfather Nazim Ali, Naish stayed firm on her mission. 'Triple-talaq' became a topic of discussion in the country due to her raising the issue repeatedly. Following this, the women who were victims of triple-talaq also started coming forward to fight for their rights.

Naish Hasan told IANS that she started researching extensively to know more about 'Triple-talaq, Nikah- halala, Nikah- Mut'ah and Sharia. For this she made several trips from Mumbai to Hyderabad. Now she can debate on them with any lawyer. Through logic and facts, she is gradually succeeding in changing the mindset of the people in the society.

Hasan told IANS, "Many things were spread in the society. When I started investigating the prevalent practices in the society, I came to know that the Quran does not mention any such practices. These are all Muslim clergy's interpretations. To oppose such evils, I started raising my voice against them."

Hasan said the women waiting for justice were shattered in 1986 when the verdict in the Shah Bano case was overturned. After a long time when another woman Shayara Bano approached the court, Muslim women's demand for justice received a fillip. After the abolition of triple-talaq, Muslim women are now waiting for the eradication of Nikah-Halala and Nikah- Mut'ah. A speedy verdict is expected soon on the petition pending in the Supreme Court on these two issues.

On the issues relating to the country and religion, Naish Hasan said the patriotism of the Muslims in India is as intense as ever. It is shameful for some people to doubt their patriotism or emphasize more on their religious identity.

She said, "I believe that a person has many identities, it is wrong to link it only with his/her religious identity. Being a Muslim is one of many identities, but yet it is regarded the primary identity. There are both good and bad people in the society."

She added, "It is dangerous to target a specific community. My grandfather Nazim Ali is an example of patriotism and mutual harmony who sacrificed his life for the country. Those with extremist ideology used to be jealous of him. He loved his country which was not acceptable to some small-minded people that is why after his death the prayers during his funeral were not read by the people with radical views. Muslims are as patriotic as everyone else."

Do you feel discriminated against as a Muslim? Naish Hasan said it is shocking that religious identity matters more in big cities than in small ones. On some occasions she felt discriminated against especially when looking for a house on rent.

Source: IANS

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By Sukant Deepak

New Delhi, Oct 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) It was six years back, during Begum Akhtar's centenary celebrations in Lucknow that lawyer Askari Naqvi discussed the idea of a production involving Soz Khwani, Marsiya Khwani and other forms witnessed during Muharram with his family members including veteran journalist Saeed Naqvi and cousin Farah Naqvi. "We produced a performance called 'Expressions of Moharram'. That was when the ideas developed a face in November 2016, with the first performance happening at IIC in New Delhi."

Post the production, he realised that one need not do a full presentation but focus on a particular form to tell the tragedy of Karbala. That is when he recontextualised the battle between Husain and Yazid in raga Des in a solo one-hour Soz Khwani performance. Talking about the tragedy for a diverse audience cutting across religions and ideologies, Naqvi has now performed across the country and at venues including those in France and Germany.

"When I was re-contextualizing it, the only thing that came to my mind was that the reach of these forms should be wider than their traditional religious settings. Now, the moment we talk about Ramayana and Mahabharata, there are several tales that instantly come to mind. However, when you mention 'Muharram', it's only about people lashing themselves. But there is so much more. Also, what I am trying to do is go deep into the Awadhi heartland through it."

Naqvi, who grew up listening to the recitation of 'marsiyas' during Muharram smiles that he was not really apprehensive of a backlash when he conceived his performances for the general public. "Sometimes it is a good thing to be naive. When one starts thinking too much, things don't really materialise. I have always looked at it as something cultural and not religious. Frankly, my first understanding of Urdu poetry and music happened through that, that's how my training started."

However, he did have his share of problems when some members of the Shia community objected against the ticketed shows. "By the way, I had already done 10 such shows when troubles started. I was trolled badly, there were threat calls and lots of negative stuff written on social media platforms. Frankly, this has been the biggest problem that I have felt, and it came from the members of my own community."

Stressing that the reason that the rendition of battle of Karbala cuts across religious and other divides is owing to the fact that he looks at it as an art form without any religious baggage. Adding that different art forms like the Ramleela, Qawwali, Dhrupad and Shastri came from a religious context, slowly getting accepted in a cultural domain. "The tragedy which I talk about is a structural story, and its widening when it comes to India. It's also about how India retells that story -- through its languages, symbols and metaphors."

Askari also feels that the power of the story also lies in the fact that it is still relevant in contemporary times. "Over the past few decades, with the information overload and confusion added by connectivity, we have somewhere lost the basic ability of intimately understanding loss. We no longer know how to react to tragedy."

An atheist, who does not follow fundamentals of any religion, the artist does acknowledge the immense contribution of different faiths to rich cultural and artistic traditions. "If I leave the cultural part of religion, then I really don't know who I am. This is what has shaped my personality, that's what I am. During Muharram, I still go to my village in UP where my family gathers and takes part in different ceremonies and rituals."

Adding that he has been privileged enough to let the lockdown do some good to him, he talks about his recently conceived 'Mehfil-e-Tarannum' conceived during this period. "It is a small repertoire of songs, folk music and compositions that come from the Awadh region. I have composed some and started singing the ones that already exist. In fact, two shows have already been done online, a world which I recently discovered. In terms of Soz, I am thinking of including instruments which have always been traditionally used."

Source: IANS

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By Quaid Najmi

Mumbai, Oct 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) India has always evoked images and ideas of a thriving pluralism and peaceful co-existence, in which people of all communities have unitedly built this country over the centuries, according to prominent Islamic scholar Prof. Zeenat Shaukat Ali.

"This country is not about a single language or ethnicity or religions, but is united by a shared history, traditions, cultures all of which are sustained by a plural, secular and a vibrant modern democracy," said Ali, who is Professor of Islamic Studies at Mumbai's famed St. Xaviers College.

"Study our glorious history... Can any single religious or ethnic group claim the monopoly of building it to become the modern global power that it is? People of all communities have contributed to its progress and all are proud of it," she pointed out.

Ali said India as we see it today is the positive outcome of the confluence of a rich Hindu civilization and Muslim aesthetics, flavoured by many other religions which came and flourished here peacefully, "something that is not seen anywhere in the world".

That 'idea' was carried forward by the great founding fathers of the Indian Republic who bequeathed us with a Constitution that ensures Justice, Equality and Fraternity to all Citizens, and that cannot be just withdrawn by a particular political group or ideological entity, these are not sustainable in the long run, said Ali.

On the current challenges before the Indian Muslims, she said the community needs to "correct the misconceptions against insidious accusations of 'Islamophobia' that is used as a tactical method of warfare against them globally".

"When outrage against violence needs unequivocal condemnation, silence against the malaise spells disaster... See how Muslims are treated in many non-Muslim nations, even in some advanced countries," said Ali, who is Director-General, World Institute of Islamic Studies for Dialogue, Gender Justice, Peace and Non-violence, known as WISDOM Foundation.

Hailing from a progressive Khoja Muslim family, she emphatically said that Islam is 'a religion based on reason and compassion', the inclusive values need reinstating without indulging in petty arguments.

"Muslim religious and political leaders must campaign for these with inter-religious and intra-religious dialogues, help rid the impressions of being obdurate or outdated, impress upon the need for a modern education for the community..." Ali declared.

On the current rise of a 'brand of religious-political identity', she says its extremely disconcerting, but fringe elements don't survive long when confronted with truth. India is our beloved home and home it will remain.

"The time has come for Muslims to rise and shine, all over the world... and they will win the respect they deserve," Ali said optimistically.

Ali penned two pioneering books - "Marriage and Divorce in Islam: An Appraisal" in which the foreword was written by former Vice-President Justice M. Hidayatullah, and "The Empowerment of Women in Islam" with an introduction by former Chief Justice of India A. M. Ahmadi.

Another book, "Winning The Peace: A Quest" had a foreword by former Union Minister Salman Khurshid who released it along with another former Union Minister Farooq Abdullah. Her book "Healing Memories - A Dialogue among Civilizations" has a foreword by the international scholar HRH Prince El Hassan Bin Talal, among many others.

An Islamic authority, Ali pens articles and opinions for Indian and international publications, besides attending and addressing conferences and seminars around the world on a variety of subjects.

Her parents, Gulam Ali Khairaz and Sheereen, both Ulemas and intellectual secularists, imbibed Islamic values in her at an early age, while her late husband Shaukat Ali encouraged her to complete her major education post-marriage in the 1980s.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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By Sheikh Qayoom

Srinagar, Oct 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) Finding mention in Prime Minister, Narendra Modis 'Mann Ki Baat has brought the 45-year-old Manzoor Ahmad Allie into limelight whose humble beginning will inspire scores of locals in future.

Speaking exclusively to IANS, Manzoor went down the memory lane to recall the hardships his family has faced to realise the dream to own a Rs one crore enterprise that employs over 100 people today.

"I only realised after the Prime Minister mentioned my work in the 'Mann Ki Baat' that I had finally been recognised as an achiever.

"I was born in Oukhoo village of Pulwama district in 1976. My father, Abdul Aziz Allie worked as a timber loader at a local depot where he earned Rs 100 to 150 per day.

"The daily earnings of my father were too meagre to support the family that included my parents, my younger brother and sister besides me.

"I passed my 10th class exam in 1996 and decided to join my father as a timber loader to augment the family income.

"In 1997, we sold a piece of ancestral land which fetched us Rs 75,000. I persuaded by father to start a bandsaw where we initially made fruit boxes out of soft Poplar wood".

Manzoor said the turning point in his life came in 2012 when he went to Jammu where he met the owners of a pencil manufacturing company.

"They showed interest in buying pencil making blocks from our village which is known for its soft, moist wood Poplar trees.

"I started making pencil blocks along with my father and brother, Abdul Qayoom Allie.

"The pencil company owners said our blocks were of excellent quality and they wanted us to supply the same in large numbers", he recalled.

This was the time when Manzoor engaged 15 locals to help meet the demand of his buyers.

"The owners of the pencil company told me I should buy some modern machines those would help meet the growing demand.

"There was heavy curtailment of electricity in our area. Electric supply would start at 10 p.m. and last till 5 a.m. the next day.

"This was the reason that our entire family ate dinner at 6 p.m. to prepare for our nocturnal working hours.

"In the meantime, I approached the local J&K bank branch in Kakapora town from where I got a loan of Rs 3 lakh for the generator and Rs 6 lakh as the working capital.

"This was the turning point. We grew by leaps and bonds. Today I own a Rs one crore enterprise that provides employment to over 100 locals.

"Despite all this success, my father, me and my brother continue to work manually with our employees.

"I have decided to groom my two sons for the same business which has promising future potential", he said.

Today, pencils made of the Poplar wood supplied by Manzoor are available in 77 countries where they are sold under different Indian brand names.

Manzoor is fondly known as 'Manzoor Pencil' in his home district today, but for the family the journey has not be a cakewalk.

(The writer can be contacted at sheikhqayoom@gmail.com)

Source: IANS

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By QUAID NAJMI

Mumbai, Oct 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Muslims and minorities in India have been "let down" by all political parties since Independence which has heightened the feelings of insecurity among them, according to prominent Muslim womens activist Noorjehan Safia Niaz.

"There were anti-Muslim sentiments since the past over 70 years, there was alienation, riots and other discrimination... In the past six years, it has increased due to organisations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other fringe groups," Niaz said.

That is because, now they have got "political space" that has made them bolder, brazen and so the intensity of the anti-Muslims or anti-minorities sentiments has drastically increased, said Dr. Niaz, a graduate of TISS Mumbai with a doctorate in Sociology, founder of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA).

"The Muslims and minorities leaders apparently failed their communities by reposing faith in certain political parties... Let's admit... We were very na?ve and stupid, permitted ourselves to be led up the garden path and then abandoned, at the mercy of the forces that are now gaining prominence," she rued, in a free-wheeling chat with IANS.

The 50-year old Mumbai-born rights crusader questioned the role of "the secular movements" which didn't do enough to counter the RSS-led agenda or right-wing narrative, where only Hindus would dominate and matter.

"Now, it's time for serious introspection within the community, the secularists and liberals... A trickle in this direction has begun... The recent movements like anti-CAA-NRC when minorities and the majority community united all over India and joined hands for peaceful nationwide protests against the government... This was something unprecedented, and I am confident that it should achieve the desired results," Niaz pointed out.

To a question, Niaz feels that willy-nilly, under the current dispensation, certain sections of the Indian polity are already under the impression that they are living in an undeclared 'Hindu State' and this needs to be countered politically and intellectually, and bring Secularism to the fore again.

Justifying her contentions, she explained: "Look at the kind of brutal attacks on Muslims, minorities, Dalits or the other marginalized sections of society, how major laws affecting the entire populace and the nation's future, are being hastily enacted/pushed through without debates in parliament or public discussions, etc."

"Liberals and minorities are under pressure, all over the world... but here, we have to counter the so-called 'Agenda' politically... So, let's Stand Up and Speak. We are not merely Muslims but Citizens under India's secular Constitution... We can't afford any more hypocrisy or complacency," Dr. Niaz asserted.

Nevertheless, she said the situation has not degenerated to a level where Muslims are completely isolated or 'ghettoized'... and cautioned that since "similar problems may affect" even the larger Hindu community which is heavily caste-ridden.

Echoing the sentiments of many other leading Muslim intellectuals and thinkers, Niaz said the worrisome aspect is how the feelings of "hatred and animosity" are being sowed in the young minds, the youth and even children".

"We never experienced such behavior in our childhood or youth... Now, Muslim, minority or Dalit kids are shunned... These forces are so much steeped in hatred that they will not spare even the innocent young minds. Secular values must be initiated from childhood - or there is no hope," warns Niaz.

Engaged in working for Muslim women since nearly three decades, Niaz played a key role in ensuring the historic legislation banning 'Triple Talaq' which impacted the lives of 80 million in the community.

She also shot into limelight by compelling the famed Haji Ali Dargah, Mumbai to reverse its 'anti-women' decision and enabling equal access to women in the sea-mausoleum, off Worli, and other sacred places, paved the way for women to be formally trained as 'Qazis', thereby demolishing a long-held male bastion, among other agitations.

"My ulitimate dream is to see a 'gender-just world' order, and in my country, work towards codifying the Muslim Family laws in India, universal modern education for all Muslims to ensure their integration into the social-economic mainstream and overall development," Niaz said optimistically.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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By Sukant Deepak

New Delhi, Oct 25 (SocialNews.XYZ) The year was 2006, and Srinagar was set to have its own Big FM Channel. A 21-year-old young woman, armed with a degree in Business Administration appeared to audition for the position of a Radio Jockey (RJ). One of the valleys first female radio jockeys, Wafa Vakil, who is also the co-founder of 'Cafe Liberty which has two branches in Srinagar now, looks back with content.

"It was in fact my parents who encouraged me to give it a shot. My father, who was alive then, would always be pleased seeing young women break the glass ceiling in the media and many other professions which at one time were dominated by men."

Part of the station's launch team, Vakil, who had thought of enrolling in a MBA programme before joining the station, remembers that though the job had little to do with what she had studied academically, the whole experience was unforgettable.

"After all, as a RJ, one is expected to talk about music, Bollywood, actors, and make content around it. All that was new, but I enjoyed it thoroughly."

Stressing on the fact that the connect with an infinite number of people through the medium can itself be empowering, Vakil says that the feeling that one can be an example for giving hope to many is unparalled. "If one has managed to encouraged even a small number of women to have the courage to turn their dreams into reality, it just can't really get better."

Adding that contrary to popular perception, Kashmiris have always been very open to witnessing women in diverse professional roles, she says, "After all, so many Kashmiri women have actively been part of the media, judiciary and bureaucracy for a very long time now."

Stressing that she has never felt discriminated against for her gender or religion as a RJ or a cafe owner, Vakil adds, "But of course, that does not mean that discrimination does not exist. In fact, we all know that when it comes to gender, at several places, it is done in such a way that you cannot even point a finger."

Vakil who left her job last year to co-found 'Cafe Liberty' in Srinagar with her husband Khawar Jamsheed, recalls how it was conceived. "I remember telling him once that if there was anything I could see myself doing besides being a RJ, it was to run a cafe where people were not just served food, but could also be assured of a relaxed ambience, books and a great place to have a conversation. And he said that he already had a space."

Deciding to move on from her career at the radio station last year after putting in 13 years there, Vakil says that she took the step in order to give all her attention to the new venture, which now has two branches. "I would not have been able to do justice to either otherwise. Of course, I still use the learnings that I absorbed during my years at the station, but now my life is much relaxed and I can choose my own timings."

Lamenting that frequent 'hartals' and 'lockdowns' can be be brutal on a business which started just two years back, not to mention the recent pandemic, Vakil adds, "A business has several recurring costs, and though one doesn't expect to start earning profits from day one, but closure for such long periods hit hard. Also, let us not forget that the number of walk-ins fall in winters in a place like Kashmir."

Source: IANS

The post Once ruling Srinagar’s bandwidth, now serving cafe culture appeared first on Social News XYZ.

New Delhi, Oct 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) It is said that art, culture, literature, sports, etc., know no boundaries, division and difference. A Muslim poet has proven this notion true by translating Mirabai's works dedicated to Lord Krishna into Urdu, even as he faced criticism.

Hashim Raza Jalalpuri, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, has translated 209 verses of Mirabai into 1,510 couplets.

Raza spent five years translating the verses written in Braj language into Urdu, a task which he says was "not that simple".

"I have loved reading and listening to Mirabai's verses since childhood and that is why I never looked back when I decided to translate them into Urdu," he told IANS.

He said people have been reading the verses mostly in Braj language and wanted to make them available in Urdu as well since it is one of the most spoken as well as popular languages.

Besides, he is also trying to translate Kabir's couplets into Urdu.

According to Hashim Raza, Mirabai is the greatest poet in the world and "there are only two poets in the world of poetry which can be given the status of sun and moon".

"The first is Sappho, the poetess of ancient Greece, the second is Meera, the poetess of our own country, India. The 'shayari (poetry)' of both is is 'Ishqiya Shayari (romantic poetry'. Shayari of both is a poetry of feelings while the poetry of both is the shayeri of a woman's feelings," he said.

Jalalpur -- the town to which Hashim Raza Jalalpuri belongs, is considered as the land of poets, writers and dancers.

Hashim Raza, who is awarded with the Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb honours and Urdu Ratna, is a well-known name in 'mushaira' circles and 'Kavi Sammelan'.

However, his effort of translating Mirabai's 209 verses into 1,510 'shair' (couplets) sets him apart from the other poets of his era.

"When I launched the poster of my book on social media, I was criticised... and was told how a Muslim can do this. However, I ignored all those comments. I have completed the task and today, I am very happy," a delighted Hashim Raza told IANS.

Source: IANS

The post Meet the poet who translated Mirabai’s works into Urdu appeared first on Social News XYZ.

By Archana Sharma

Jaipur, Oct 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) Salauddin Ahmed, the former Chief Secretary of Rajasthan feels that social media and TV channels are trying to create a rift in the society.

Ahmed, a retired IAS Officer, recently made news for being among a group of 91 former civil servants demanding action against Sudarshan News for running a promo ad on the 'UPSC jihad'.

"Yes, we did pen a letter to authorities concerned and this group of 91 civil servants did not represent Hindus or Muslims... they were Indian civil servants who wanted to ensure that UPSC, as a top institute, should never feel demotivated," he said.

"Also, TV channels have an added face value and hence they should air their content with responsibility as it is being watched in many households," said the former officer.

Ahmed, who was the first Muslim Chief Secretary in the desert state, further rejects any such claim of Hindutva gaining grounds in India, but says that TV channels and social media are spreading such claims which is not a good practice for any democratic nation.

"The players on social media spewing venom have no identity and still have so many followers. They post gory comments on social media and influence others. But as an educated society, we should stand up and avoid giving our attention to such posts and TV channels.

The former Chief Secretary, after retirement, is spending his life in a plush villa spread on a widespread land, miles away from city life. The shade of thousands of tall trees makes his study area and these trees, he says, were grown up with drip irrigation.

The former Chief Secretary is a fan of old style of living and his bungalow reflects architecture of the bygone era.

"This old way of living has its own charm", he says while sitting in his natural study area under trees. However, despite residing far off from the city life, this retired officer remains worried with the increasing influence of social media on the Indian masses.

He opines that a few TV channels are also spreading venom in the society.

Speaking to IANS, Ahmed says: "Indians are living with harmony, love and unity, but social media and a few TV channels are trying to create a rift in the society which should not be accepted. Many of our friends from different cadres have been together to raise voice against such moves."

Ahmed was also among the 101 civil servants who wrote a letter to Chief Ministers of states and the Lieutenant Governors of all the Union Territories on the harassment of Muslims as India dealt with the Covid-19 spread during the Tablighi Jamaat controversy.

When asked if he really feels that there is any kind of bias against Muslims: "India is a country represented by many religions and caste-related issues still stand strong in our society. I have seen people complaining that they were not promoted because they came from Brahmin, ST, SC or other caste/creed. So such biased attitudes are being discussed in general for all castes but they are not against one particular community."

The former Chief Secretary says that he worked with equal ease with both the BJP as well as the Congress governments.

"In fact, I got the best positions under the tenure of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and did not feel anything odd under the working of the saffron party."

But maybe, it will have been difficult to work with Yogi as CM as things seem changed, he adds.

Meanwhile, the officer strongly feels the need of reforms for the Muslim brethren.

"They need to get educated to stand up with confidence. The socio-economic plights of Muslims can change if they learn to stand on their own and get educated."

The retired officer quotes Kerala and says he is proud of Kerala Muslims who are literate, progressive in their thinking and have never looked back. Most of them are doing good business in the Middle East and other parts of the world.

Even the Bohra community should be their inspiration as they have never sought help from anyone and still remain the most prosperous and educated class.

The former Chief Secretary is also proud of the way 'Julahe' community (who weave sarees) have come out.

"These are the people who were exploited by their own community members. There is a strong casteism factor being followed in Muslims too and the top class has not allowed the lower strata to grow. And now they have fought those challenges to emerge stronger and successful which is a good factor," says Ahmed.

Also, the Kayamkhani (found in Fatehpur and Jhunjhunu region), the Rajputs who were converted from Hinduism to Islam in the 14th century are doing quite well. Their generations are well educated and hold top positions. So if Muslims are well educated, they will represent the educated class and shall bring in confidence in other members of the community, he says.

This Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1975 batch coming from IAS background further says that his father enrolled him at the Allahabad University which was considered as an IAS factory in those days.

"Environment was quite competitive there and, hence, I cleared my UPSC in my first attempt. Today's coaching classes for the UPSC give a similar environ like that of a university's hostel in those days where the competitive spirit of students remained high and hence they studied round the clock."

He further says that his mother wanted to see him as the chief secretary of the state, that dream of her was accomplished, he says, recollecting past days when he and his father used to go camping in Uttar Pradesh and spend over a month there.

The same camping look could be seen reflecting from his present residence where there are trees seen all across and birds chirping and the concrete jungle is far off.

"That is what I have wanted to have a 'Sukun ki Zindagi'", says Ahmed.

Source: IANS

The post Social media trying to divide Indian society: Ex-Raj chief secy appeared first on Social News XYZ.

By Sujit Chakraborty

Guwahati, Oct 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) Mahbubul Hoque, who has set up eight mega educational institutions and a university in 19 years, has turned out to be a guiding light for scores of people in northeast India.

With only one computer, four students, and just Rs 85 in his pocket in February 2001, Hoque has now emerged as one of the most influential edupreneurs of India. He is the founding Chancellor of the University of Science & Technology, Meghalaya (USTM), the first private university on science and technology in the entire northeast.

The university with a student strength of over 5,000 from all the eight northeastern states is empowered by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to award degrees as specified by the UGC.

Besides the USTM, Hoque, being the founding Chairman of the Education Research and Development Foundation (ERDF), has set up nine other educational institutions in the region with a total student strength of 7,500.

These institutions include two CBSE affiliated schools, one AICTE approved engineering college, one law school, one B.Ed. college, one AICTE approved business school, one women's college, two PCI approved pharmacy colleges in addition to one centre for coaching and guidance centre, and one educational rehabilitation centre.

Speaking to IANS, Hoque said: "My institutions provide quality education from KG to PG to Ph.D levels. Out of the total number of students, more than 20 per cent belong to underprivileged backward classes who avail free education in each of the institutions where around 750 people work under the ERDF in different positions."

"After securing the second rank in Master of Computer Applications (MCA) from the Aligarh Muslim University in 2000, I got lucrative job offers from multinational companies, both within the country and abroad. But I returned to my region and started my career as an educational entrepreneur with a strong determination to change the educational scenario of northeast India," the 47-year-old edupreneur told IANS.

"The key focus of my vision is to provide apt teaching to poor and meritorious students of the northeast region. Of the over 5,000 students currently enrolled in USTM, over 1,200 students are availing free education. Nearly 90 per cent of USTM's students belong to rural areas, over 38 per cent are tribals and 57 per cent are girls. The university and the other eight institutions run only on the contributions of the students," Hoque added.

He said that more than 15 vice chancellors from different universities across the country are directly associated with the USTM, while many top personalities, including former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi, former ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar and former UGC Chairman Ved Prakash had visited the varsity and gave speeches in a number of events and convocations.

Terming the USTM as a people's university, Hoque said it has hundreds of collaborative projects with a large number of reputed educational institutions and universities in India and abroad, including the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, IIT Guwahati, National Institute Rural Development, North East Space Application Centre, University Grant Commission in Bangladesh, Dhaka University and several institutions in Turkey.

Over the years, the USTM has turned into a higher education hub of northeast India.

The annual three-day flagship programme -- North-East Graduate Congress -- sees the participation of more than 10,000 students from over 300 colleges in eight states. More than 30 ethnic communities and languages across the region come together to gain knowledge about the various new career options, enhance their inherent skills.

"This amalgamation of cultural diversity not only creates awareness, but also a sense of inclusiveness and brotherhood thereby paving the way of nation building," he said.

For his contributions to the field of education, Hoque has received many awards, including the prestigious Shikshacharya Award 2019 bestowed by the Asom Sahitya Sabha.

He said that the USTM, located along the Assam-Meghalaya border in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya, has a strong determination to continue its mission of spreading education to every nook and corner of the region.

"The USTM has charted out a roadmap for its way ahead, 'Mission Bronze' - to make it a top university in the east by 2020, 'Mission Silver' - to become one of the top universities in the country by 2025, and 'Mission Gold' - to become a world class university by 2030," he said.

Hoque said that ERDF has a plan of establishing a number of institutions for the betterment of education, especially in the rural areas.

He said that some of the upcoming projects include 10 more CBSE affiliated schools in rural and backward places of the northeast region, five B.Ed colleges, a medical college and hospital with allied healthcare institutions, one educational TV channel, and one newspaper each in English and Bangla emphasising on education.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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By Mohammed Shafeeq

Hyderabad, Oct 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) From an ad filmmaker to a theatre actor, director and playwright and now a film actor, Mohammad Ali Baig has donned many hats in his career and with equal ease.

After making 450 ad films and documentaries, this Hyderabadi accomplished the task of reviving theatre and playing challenging roles in South Indian films.

A Padma Shri awardee in 2014 and a recipient of various international honours, Baig says he is into theatre by accident and he is an actor by default.

Grandson of a polo champion Mehmood Ali Baig and son of theatre legend Qadir Ali Baig, he initially stayed away from both as he did not want to dilute their achievements.

Coming from a noble family with a privileged childhood, he had no academic pressure. "I had no ambition. Even if you ask me today what your ambition is, I don't know. I am a very staunch believer in destiny. As a Muslims we believe everything is preordained," he told IANS.

Impressed by his designing work, an ad agency offered him a job after he graduated from Osmania University. The agency was then handling print media campaigns for former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. "I started designing and writing and one thing led to another. I also worked with 4-5 chief ministers and had a huge exposure."

Moving images attracted him and he was soon into making the ad films. He realized that he still had to introduce himself as an ad filmmaker while with two feature films, neither the director nor the actor had to introduce themselves.

Baig had a feeling that he lost his illustrious father because of theatre and hence he never took interest in the field. "Theatre was stark and intense for me. Frankly it was too boring for me then."

When the government of undivided Andhra Pradesh was commemorating 20th death anniversary of his father in 2004, he realized that can pay the best tribute to him by reviving the theatre. The state government formed Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation and he was chosen to head it. People asked him why he was flogging a dead horse.

Fifteen years later, he says, people realized the sincerity of his approach. "They realized when you do something with conviction and the right approach it does succeed and it gets you reward."

It used to hurt him when people used to call 'becharey theatre waley', how they survive and what they earn. "Today you should be proud that the country's highest paid theatre actor outside Bollywood is from Hyderabad."

Baig feels that his biggest accomplishment was bringing dignity to theatres and to take Hyderabad theatre to the highest echelons of theatre worldwide. He is the only Indian playwright, actor and director to be invited by Oxford University to present his work.

Qadir Ali Baig Foundation, the biggest professional theatre repertoire in the country today, conducts a theatre festival for 10 days every year. It gets entries from around the world. According to him, no other privately run theatre festival in the country draws as much crowd as this festival in Hyderabad

Baig says the revival of theatre is what has given him a sense of fulfillment. "My ad films, millions of bucks, millions of viewers around the world did not give me that sense of fulfillment that these 10 productions of mine would have given me. I am not only paying tribute to my father but I am doing something beyond selling shampoo and coke."

He is proud that he is taking Hyderabad's 'Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb' and India's cosmopolitan culture worldwide. "We have also taken Hyderabad heroes worldwide be it Quli Qutub Shah, Turrebaz Khan, Hayat Bakshi Begum or Osman Ali Pasha. They are the unsung heroes."

"Quli: Dilon-ka-Shehzada', a play on the founder of Hyderabad Quli Qutub Shah was performed at Oxford. '1857: Turrebaz Khan' had the world premiere at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

According to him, the unprecedented honour was the Government of India releasing postal cover in memory of his father on his 33rd anniversary and foundation's 10th year of theatre revival.

Having worked in advertising and having run away from theatre, he knows what turns people off in theatre. "I put myself in the audience seat and think if a person has to watch one hour of drama what would he like. There has to be a mix of everything. I present my theatre in a way which touches people's hearts and connects with people. Theatre is for the audience and not for self indulgence."

Baig's audience spans 4-5 generations. "Theatre should be a mix of intellectual stimulation as well as meaningful entertainment. You can't give sermons on stage," said Baig who had directed on stage actors like Anupam Kher, Farooque Shaikh, Kabir Bedi and Shabana Azmi.

Baig believes that theatre will remain as it has its own audience. He recalled that when films came people said theatre will die and the same was said when television came.

He wants to see professionalism in theatre. "It is ironic that India which gave Natya Shastra to the world 2,000 years ago, lacks professionalism in theatre today."

Baig also recently made debut into films with Tamil blockbuster 'Aruvi' (2017) in which he played the role of a police officer. "It was a cult film and all of us were first timers. It had a brilliant screenplay. I played a different role and enjoyed it."

He is also working in another big-budget Tamil film 'Cobra' in which he plays the role of hero Vikram's guru. He is also working in Telugu movie 'Kalinga' and along with Rahul Bose in Netflix's 'Baahubali' (Hindi).

He feels that the current situation in the country is volatile. "It is a passing phase. One hopes and wishes it is a passing phase."

He believes that Hyderabad with its cosmopolitan culture and 'Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb' is a blessed city and role model for the rest of the country.

"I never grew up thinking that I am Indian Muslim. I grew up thinking I am an Indian. We have old family friends who would not eat three meals during Ramzan because we are fasting, who would get new clothes for them and their children because Eid is approaching, who would visit our house on Eid days. I have my staff who would not fix meetings during certain time on Friday because they know I have my commitments. Similarly we have respect for Diwali, Dasara, Holi and Sankranti. We never grew up in Hyderabad thinking I am a Muslim, you are my Hindu friend or Christian friend. You being a Muslim or non-Muslim is a coincidence."

"Not so far, thank God," he quipped with a smile when asked if he ever felt oppressed or overwhelmed.

Baig said he was never asked such questions and this itself shows that this situation is unfortunate.

He is of the opinion that art and culture, religion, politics should stay away from each other. "When religion enters into politics and politics enters into religion you see a different face of democracy. Maybe for a section of society it is right and for a section of society it is not. The victimized section will always say this is not right, the beneficiary section would say that is the way to be. There is no end to this debate. It is a very unhealthy debate, unfortunate debate."

He believes that Muslims are already mainstream. "They had been in mainstream and will remain in mainstream. Indian Muslims should not feel threatened. You need to hold the ground and say listen I am who I am. I don't need to be apologetic or feel threatened. They have been living in the mainstream in 72 countries around the world, why can't they be in a mainstream in a country, in a subcontinent where they had been in mainstream for centuries. Five to 10 years of subjugation should not make you feel threatened," he added.

Source: IANS

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