mg322 All

MOHAMMAD SHAHID
Lucknow: At last the UP government awakened

on 4 June to accept the Nimesh Commission
report though not before the precious life of
Khalid Mujahid was lost. The Chief Minister,
Mr. Akhilesh Yadav while announcing the deci-
sion of the state cabinet said that the report
along with the action taken report would be
tabled before the Assembly in the coming mon-
soon session.
But Muslims are not much enthusiastic
about the government decision. They feel the
decision prompted more by political compul-
sions than the governments good intention to
impart justice. They are sceptical about the gov-
ernment intention and think that it will try to
shield the cops responsible for the arrest of the
innocent Tarique and Khalid as it has done in the
case of Maliana and Hashimpura.
Their apprehension is not unfounded. The
Nimesh Commission set up by Mayawati gov-
ernment to probe the truth behind the arrest of
Tarique and Khalid by STF had submitted its
report on 31 August last year when Akhilesh
was already in saddle.
In the report the commission has not only
busted the STF theory of arresting the two
Muslim youths from the Barabanki railway sta-
tion but has also recommended to identify the
policemen involved in the case.
For the sake of justice, it was the duty of the
government to initiate immediate steps to imple-
ment the commissions recommendations
because keeping an innocent person in jail even
for a day is denial of justice. But the SP govern-
ment, for reasons best known to it, sat on the
report for full nine months despite its poll prom-
ise to release all Muslim youths falsely implicat-
ed on charges of terrorism. It was only after
Khalid Mujahid, one of the youths implicated in
the case, died in mysterious circumstances and
Muslims started blaming the Samajwadi Party.
Rihai Manch, joined by several other Muslim and
secular organizations, staged an indefinite dhar-
na and the family of Mujahid refused to accept
the compensation cheque offered by the govern-
ment that the Chief Minister got alarmed. Seeing
the Muslims drifting away from the party some
ulama loyal to Samajwadi Party, tried to broker
peace with the agitators and the partys Mumbai
unit president Abu Asim Azmi visited Lucknow to
pacify Muslims without any success.
With parliamentary elections round the cor-
ner, the UP government was left with no option
but to accept the report to keep its Muslim vote
bank intact.
The delay in accepting the report and taking
action on it has complicated the matters. The
Government application in April this year in the
court of Barabanki to withdraw the cases
against the two accused in the UP court blast
cases was rejected by the court. Now the
Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court,
comprising Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice
Mahendra Dayal, has stayed the government
move made for the withdrawal of the cases
against accused facing trial in terror cases. The
court, while passing an order on a public inter-
est litigation (PIL) by five lawyers, including
Ranjana Agnihotri (a counsel in the Babri Masjid
title suit), has referred the matter to the Chief
Justice for constituting a larger bench to decide
the matter.
While delivering the judgement the court
observed, "It seems to be purely a political deci-
sionIt is evident no permission was taken
from the Centre as the accused were also
booked for offences which were framed by
Central enactments." The court has posted the
matter for further hearing after six weeks.
The delay in accepting the report casts
doubts over the governments intentions on the
issue as the Rihai Manch president Mohammad
Shoaiib Advocate commented, "The govern-
ments move at this juncture will benefit the
Samajwadi Party and BJP."
Refusing to call of the dharna Mr. Shoaib
said, "Accepting the report is not enough. Let
them first identify the guilty policemen and take
action against them as per the commissions
recommendations and accept our other
demands. Only then we will consider withdraw-
ing the dharna."
With the courts throwing spanner in the
release of innocent youths and Muslims not sat-
isfied with its half-hearted efforts, the govern-
ment has no option but to act swiftly on the
report and identify the cops guilty of implicating
innocent youths at least in the UP courts blasts
cases and take stringent action against them
while at the same time contesting for the with-
drawal of the cases against all innocent youths
falsely implicated in terror cases. The guilty
policemen irrespective of their position should
be interrogated, preferably in their own torture
house at Gomtinagar to find out the real culprits
on whose behest they acted to torture and frame
the innocent youths. Unless this is done and the
action taken repor t along with Nimesh
Commission repor t is tabled before the
Assembly in time, which the Chief Minister has
promised while accepting the report, the inten-
tion of the government will remain in doubt.
24 pages ` 15 ISSN 0972-3366 Fortnightly Vol. 14 No. 12 Issue Serial # 322 facebook.com/milligazette www.milligazette.com 16-30 June 2013
Unknowns of Modi 5
Peace In Kashmir 6-7
The Blast near BJP office 9
J&K 10 | Analysis 11 | Special Reports 3,13 | Issues 2,11,13
Books 21 | Speaking Out 11 | Newsmakers 12
Community News 14-15 | Islamic Perspectives 20
Our Publications 19 | Classifieds 22 | Letters 23
Inside
MG
Nimesh report: Punish guilty cops, Mr. CM
THE
MILLI
GAZETTE
INDIAN MUSLIMS LEADING ENGLISH NEWSPAPER SINCE 2000
DEFENDER OF THE WEAK...12 NAPOLEON OF SOUTH INDIA...14
If CBI grills IB officials on
intelligence collection,
only Pakistan and LeT would
have the last laugh.
M
G
/
Y
u
s
u
f
The leadership tussle going on for months
inside the BJP has now been decisively won by
the Modi camp. The message is clear: the fas-
cist camp has triumphed over the communal
camp. There was a secular and inclusive pre-
tence under the old school led by Vajpayee-
Advani and there was an attempt to take all
along. The new leaders of the party do not
believe in a soft and inclusive Hindutva. They
are fascists who welcome anyone coming to
them on their terms but would not care a dime
if others fail to toe their line and lick their boots.
This is the Gujarat model, which some for years
have wanted to implement all over the country.
The Gujarat model is exclusivist. It is ready
to teach Gujarat 2002-like lessons to all who do
not toe the line, especially Muslims and
Christians. In the Gujarat model, only Hindus
form the mainstream, others have to live on
sufferance, on the sidelines. They are first
taught their lessons the crudest way, then the
authorities will step in to protect the criminals
all the way, intimidating, bribing, killing,
expelling. Gujarat 2002 victims are yet to get
justice with some exceptions due to the inter-
vention of the higher judiciary at the behest of
secular activists. The whole justice system in
Gujarat has been corrupted, from bureaucracy
to Police to courts. Tens of thousands uprooted
in 2002 still live as refugees in the state while
Hindus live in their homes and till their lands.
Areas and localities are now effectively segre-
gated. Muslims are being pushed out from
Hindu areas and those wishing to rent/buy in
Hindu areas are discouraged, at times by force.
Muslim businesses are being boycotted. This is
the Gujarat model which Mr Modi wishes to
bring to the rest of India with enough support
from inside his party and its mentor, the RSS.
But it is doubtful if he will get similar sup-
port outside his party. The Indian voter more or
less remains secular. Hence the elevation of
Modi will have little effect outside the cow-belt.
Outside this area, people hardly know Modi.
They are least interested in the hate politics of
the Hindutvites. If the new BJP leadership will
win over some fence-sitters, it will also effec-
tively drive others, especially minorities, to the
Congress Party. Muslims were progressively
distancing themselves from the Congress under
UPA-2 but now BJP has simply pushed
Muslims to the lap of the Congress.
No doubt, many Muslims will now go for
the Congress in the next elections though they
have the option to go for smaller secular and
regional parties which offer a better bet any
day.
History tells us that a strong BJP or
Congress is a danger to democracy and human
rights in this country. Both share fascist traits.
The best for Muslims and all marginalised sec-
tions is to find solace in non-Congress options
which are aplenty in all regions.
ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN
Shabnam Hashmi speaking at the Rihai Manch dharna in Lucknow on 8 June (see p. 4)
Message of Modis triumph
2 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 ISSUES / OPINION
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INDIAN MUSLIMS LEADING ENGLISH NEWSPAPER
THE MILLI GAZETTE
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KALEEM KAWAJA
P
rominent Sunni Cleric Shaikh Yusuf Al-
Qardawi who lives in Qatar and whose
TV programmes are very popular in the
Arab World, threw all pretences of being
neutral in the ongoing Syrian conflict and
appealed to all Sunnis to go all out to frustrate
Shia plans in the region. He asked all able-bod-
ied Sunnis to come together and join in the cur-
rent civil war in Syria with the intent of killing
Shias. Qardawi labelled Hizbollah of Lebanon as
a party of devils whom Sunnis must fight and
kill.
At the same time Nasrollah of Hizbollah,
who has already sent his troops into Syria to kill
the Sunni rebels there, has declared that his
objective in the region is the same as that of the
Alawaite Syrian President Assad, which is to
annihilate Sunnis. Inside Syria it is no more
rebels against the Syrian government. It is an
open civil war between Sunnis and Shias. Thus
on one side are the Sunnis of Syria supported
by the Sunni majority countries of Saudi Arabia,
UAE, and Sunnis in general versus Shias sup-
ported by the Syrian govt, Hizbollah of Lebanon,
the Shias of Syria and Lebanon and the
Alawaites of the region.
This open Sunni-Shia war has come in the
background of the eight year Iraq vs Iran war of
1980s, which too was a Shia-Sunni war. The
Christians of Lebanon and Iraq are supporting
the Shias in the entire region. Both Shias led by
Iran - an oil-rich state and Sunnis led by Saudi
Arabia and UAE - another conglomeration of oil
rich states have vast wealth and resources and
ability to buy arms from US, Russia, China etc.
In such an internecine bloody conflict, the
Sunnis and Shias are trying to inflict maximum
damage on each other, while their common
enemy, Israel and the Jews are laughing away at
their two common enemies killing each other
and building mutual hostile relations that will last
decades even without war. So for the next ten
years Israel is safe in occupying the lands of
Palestinians with no one to make a serious
objection.
This is how the enemies of Muslims easily
divide the Muslims on a global scale while they
exploit their lands and resources. It has hap-
pened so many times and is happening again in
front of our eyes.
Another Karbala in Syria: Open Sunni-Shia War
www.milligazette.com
While talking to a professor of English from North,
who happened to be knowing a smattering of Urdu,
our discussion veered towards Ghalib, Mir Taqi Mir,
Momin Khan Momin, Ibrahim Zauq, Daagh
Dehlawi, Yaas Yagana Changezi, among others. All
were great Urdu poets of the 19th century who
mesmerised the lovers of poetry. When the profes-
sor heard these names, he said all were now irrel-
evant because they were too old and belonged to
the traditional school of Urdu poetry, known as
rawayati shayari. Exasperated, I asked him, if they
were old and defunct, how come his Shakespeare,
Milton, Chaucer, Marlowe and Donne were still rel-
evant? They were even older than Mir and Ghalib.
In fact, much older.
Its what I call a Hindus prejudice against
anything Islamic.
Agreed, art and litera-
ture cannot and
shouldnt be pigeon-
holed into religious
communities and
sects, but when peo-
ple talk through their
hats, one has to say that its a cultural and reli-
gious prejudice. And whats the basis of calling
these great Urdu poets insular and defunct? Was
their poetry just a depiction of love, separation,
jilting and laments? Didnt they write on all
facets of life? Wasnt their poetry objective? If
Shakespeare masterfully revealed all aspects of
human character in his 37 plays and 154 son-
nets, didnt Ghalib
also explain the intri-
cacies of life, human
relations, perceptions
and even meta-
physics despite his
flippant tone and
tenor about religion?
One can even find enigmatic spirituality
(muamma-e tasawwuf) in Ghalibs couplets like
Duboya mujhko honay nay/Na hota meiN toh
kya hota?
The way Ghalib employed witticism in his
poetry, Shakespeare and Milton could never
accomplish that. Look at this couplet from Ghalibs
pen, whichs called the quintessence of profound-
ly witty poetry in the anthology of world poetry: Ya
dikha do mujhay tum paon ka naakhoon apna/ Ya
yeh kah do meray naakhoon say hilaal achchha
(Either you show me the nail of your toe or admit
that the hilaal (dooj ka chaand) is prettier than it.)
Its worthwhile to mention that a nail when its fine-
ly cut, resembles the thin slice of dooj ka chaand).
Ghalibs 235 ghazals can be pitted against the
combined oeuvre of world literature in any lan-
guage. His poetic genius is still not fully explored.
How can his poetry be obsolete? Can pristine
human perceptions change with different eras and
epochs? The same can be said about Mir, Momin,
Zauq and Daagh. Their literary creations are bench-
marks. The anglicised Indians may find these stal-
warts to be old-fashioned because of their lack of
understanding of Urdu and its poetry, scholars out-
side India are very much into the study of the Urdu
greats of yore. SUMIT PAUL
sumitmaclean@hotmail.com
Are Ghalib, Mir, Momin defunct?
This open Sunni-Shia war has come in the background of the eight year Iraq
vs Iran war of 1980s, which too was a Shia-Sunni war. The Christians of
Lebanon and Iraq are supporting the Shias in the entire region. Both Shias
led by Iran - an oil-rich state and Sunnis led by Saudi Arabia and UAE -
another conglomeration of oil rich states have vast wealth and resources...
ALEEM FAIZEE
Performance of Muslim ministers and lawmak-
ers has rarely been under scanner. The commu-
nity always chose to ignore their non-perform-
ance and never tried to hold them accountable
for their failures. However, the conspicuous
silence of the Muslim ministers and lawmakers
in Uttar Pradesh on the death of Khalid Mujahid
in mysterious conditions, and the ignorant atti-
tude of their counterpar ts in Maharashtra
towards the Malegaon to Mumbai paidal-march
demanding reservation, have resulted in an
unexpected, but utterly necessary impact -
something which the analysts are terming a wel-
come change.
Clearly noticeable is the strong wave of
anger and a kind of rage against the Muslim min-
isters and lawmakers of Uttar Pradesh especial-
ly the high profile, Azam Khan, for their failure to
reach out to the community when it needed them
most after the tragic death in custody of Khalid
Mujahid. There can be difference of opinion on
how he died, and nothing can be said for sure till
the ongoing probe is over. But, one cannot disre-
gard the fact that the circumstances under which
he died were highly suspicious. That the Nimesh
Commission had almost exonerated him of all
charges in its report and a process was under-
way by the state government to withdraw the
cases against him, fur ther make Khalid
Mujahids death a serious issue. In fact, the
Nimesh Commission Report puts a big question
mark on the very arrest of the man who died in
such a tragic manner.
Against this backdrop, the protest staged in
different parts of the state and outside, and the
concerns expressed by a large number of people
from all across the country and abroad were
something which should have been taken note of
by the state government immediately. But it did
not happen. Instead, the government behaved in
the same manner for which its earlier tenure and
various other governments post-independence
are notorious for. However, what angered the
community most is the total failure of the Muslim
leaders to lead in a crucial time. They failed to
understand what stopped Azam Khan, and other
ministers and Muslim lawmakers from showing
solidarity with the grief-struck and shaken com-
munity?
Similar is the case in Maharashtra. The
demand for reservation to the Muslims is being
raised through different platforms since
decades. If we talk of political parties and look at
their manifestos, they have won the elections on
this issue. But, it has now become certain that
the political parties, of whichever colour they
are, are not serious on the issue and do not
show the needed commitment and political will.
Asif Shaikh Rasheed is the president of
Congress partys Malegaon unit. The reluctance
to join his movement shown by some leaders in
the beginning is hence understandable. Initially,
there were also questions on his exact motives.
But, as he criss-crossed the state and a strong
campaign built up, there was a positive change
in his approach - the political mileage he must
have expected from the movement notwith-
standing.
And, when he finally started marching from
Malegaon to Mumbai for the historic 300-kms
march, his campaign was already converted into
a popular movement. There was enthusiasm all
through the 300-kms stretch. Supports poured
from all across and people cutting across party
lines greeted the marchers wherever they went.
There were eager elders to join the march, chil-
dren to extend support and women to shower
flowers. Everyone was there except for the
Muslim ministers and lawmakers. They, especial-
ly Arif Naseem Khan who claims to be the undis-
puted leader of Maharashtra Muslims after
Abdur Rahman Antulay, chose to remain con-
fined to their safe havens. Worst, some of them
even tried to sabotage the popular campaign and
indulged in unfounded allegations. This angered
the Muslims in Maharashtra and they felt
betrayed by the Muslim ministers and lawmak-
ers.
But the anger and reactions that followed
were different this time. The vigour and power
that are normally missing when Muslims take
any stand were there in full display. Good, they
were laced with uncompromising tone.
Abu Asim Azmi is normally spared of criti-
cism thanks to his fight against the communal
forces in Maharashtra. But, even he was at the
receiving end when he defended the Uttar
Pradesh government on Khalid Mujahids death.
Sample this: I could only read part of the state-
ment by Abu Asim Azmi. How amazing! He is the
person who claims to be fighting against injus-
tice and discrimination and he comes from
Azamgarh. I mean, I cannot say with authority
how Khalid Mujahid died but certainly the cir-
cumstances are extremely suspicious. The State
Govt. itself has ordered an enquiry and also sus-
pended the policemen who were accompanying
him. So it is certainly not a cut and dried case. It
goes to show that apni sarkar ho to balle balle,
doosray ki ho to zalim! It is shocking...., CPIMs
Subhashini Ali wrote about Azmi.
In Maharashtra, Asif Shaikh went a step
ahead to show his displeasure. He was invited
by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan for a meeting
after he reached Mumbai to finish the 300-km-
long march. But, to the shock of everyone pres-
ent, Asif declined to meet the chief minister
when he saw Arif Naseem Khan sitting next to
him.
Only time will tell what lesson the Congress-
led government in Maharashtra has learnt from
this change in the Muslim community. But, the
acceptance of the Nimesh Commission report
by the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar
Pradesh gives a clear indication that it is feeling
the undercurrents. For the Muslim ministers and
lawmakers too the message is loud and clear:
Perform now or perish. (ummid.com)
The writer is Chief Editor of ummid.com and CEO of
Awaz Multimedia & Publications
From Maharashtra to U.P., Muslim leadership under fire
There was enthusiasm all through the 300-kms stretch. Supports poured from
all across and people cutting across party lines greeted the marchers
wherever they went. There were eager elders to join the march, children to
extend support and women to shower flowers. Everyone was there except for
the Muslim ministers and lawmakers...Worst, some of them even tried to
sabotage the popular campaign and indulged in unfounded allegations.
Jammu: A Sub-Inspector of Jammu and
Kashmir, known as encounter specialist was
arrested on 4 June for allegedly running a militant
module, involved in grenade attacks in Doda dis-
trict.
Identified as Sub-Inspector Shiv Kumar
Sharma alias Sonu, the arrested cop was posted
in Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu
and Kashmir Police since a decade. He is a recip-
ient of Presidents gallantry award. Police has
also arrested his Personal Security Officer (PSO)
Muhammad Ayub. Some more arrests are likely.
The duo have been accused of being behind sev-
eral militancy-related incidents, including the
grenade attack on Thatri police station during the
intervening night of 27-28 April, 2013.
State minister for home Sajad Ahmed
Kichloo confirmed the arrest and said investiga-
tion is in progress. Inspector General of Police
Jammu Zone Rajesh Kumar said: The state
police had arrested five militants in connection
with the grenade blast outside the police station
and during their sustained interrogation the
arrested militants spilled the beans and dragged
the name of Sub-Inspector Shiv Kumar Sharma
in the incident.
Sources claimed that the arrested militants
revealed the name of Sonu during the interroga-
tion at the Joint Interrogation Centre Jammu.
The arrested militants have been identified as
Abdul Rashid (27) code Abdullah s/o
Muhammad Iqbal Hargah of Tanta, Akhtar
Hussain s/o Showkat Ali Magray of Tanta,
Muhammad Rafi s/o Muhammad Ibrahim of
Patnazi Bonjwa, Altaf Hussain s/o Nazir Ahmed
of Joura Gandoh and Muhammad Yaqoob s/o
Fateh Muhammad Gujjar of Bathree Gandoh.
At present we are in the process of gather-
ing information and collecting evidence in the
grenade blast case and once we are through with
the inquiry we can expand the scope of investi-
gation. (Greater Kashmir, 5 June 2013)
NATIONAL The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 3
Respond now if you care about your community
White Paper on Terrorism
The issue of fake terrorism charges and the unjust arrests and defamation of our community, espe-
cially since 2001, is the biggest challenge facing the community ever since. A grand conspiracy
hatched by the powers that be, IB, Police and media, has sullied and defamed our community. This
campaign has affected our lives, peace of mind and has thwarted our efforts to progress and educate
our children to join the national mainstream.
Our efforts so far to present our case, to bring out our innocence and force the national and state
governments to listen to our grievances have mostly failed. All we have received are a few words of
solace which have no real meaning and have not changed the situation on the ground. Our children by
their thousands are still languishing in jails on the basis of fake confessions obtained through torture
and blackmail.
As a long-term solution and a serious response to this problem thrust upon us, AIMMM decided
last year to bring out a white paper on the Muslim-related terrorism in the country. The work is going
on with all seriousness and many researchers, scholars and journalists are busy preparing writeups
on various aspects of this issue, covering the history, genesis, communalism, vested interests in var-
ious related fields, analysis of various laws like TADA, POTA and UAPA, fake encounters, narco tests,
torture, acquittals, IB & Police role, media attitude, case studies, statewise surveys, SIMI, Indian
Mujahidin, Hindutva terror, individual tragedies of victims, Azamgarh, Bhatkal, Malegaon, Darbhanga
modules, some basic documents, etc., etc.
The target is to bring out this white paper during the next seven months and to release it in a big
convention at Delhi as a combined effort of major Muslim and civil rights organisations, and thereafter
present this huge document of over 600 large format pages to politicians, media, human rights organ-
isations, especially outside the country, in order to enlighten public opinion at home and abroad as well
as to build pressure on our blind and deaf government.
The estimated cost of this white paper is Rs 35 lakh divided as follows: Rs 15 lakh cost of prepa-
ration and payments to contributors plus six months salaries to researchers and experts; Rs 15 lakh
for designing and printing the document in a world-class format; while the grand convention at Delhi
will cost at least 5 lakh. Effort will be made to release the White Paper in some state and world capi-
tals also.
You can help this effort in four ways,
1. To buy copies of the White Paper on Terrorism in advance to help defray part of the huge cost
of research, printing, publication and distribution of at least one thousand complimentary copies. The
estimated price of the white paper is Rs 2000 per copy in India. You may place an advance order by
paying Rs 1000 only per copy in India including postal charges). Payments for the copies may be
made to The Milli Gazette, D-84 Abul Fazal Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025. Email:
edit@milligazette.com. Individuals and organisations ordering a minimum of 100 copies in advance
will be included as Sponsors of the White Paper.
2. Contribute to the cost of the grand convention to be held at Delhi towards the end of 2013. This
should be payable to the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, D-250, Abul Fazal Enclave, Jamia
Nagar, New Delhi-110025. Tel.: 011-26946780 Fax: 011-26947346. Email:
mushawarat@mushawarat.com.
3. Donate your time: If you are a scholar, researcher, journalist: join our team for a few months
working in our Delhi office or from your own home to complete this project - write to the Editor,
MG now at edit@milligazette.com.
4. Contact us if you have vital information/documents about this issue.
Shariah-compliant real
estate fund in Kerala
Taqwaa Advisory and Shariah Investment
Solutions (TASIS) is in the process of setting up
a Rs 250 crore real estate fund in Kerala. In the
course of its set-up, the biggest challenge was to
select an appropriate legal format for the pro-
posed entity and the structure scheme for invest-
ments.
Dr Shariq Nisar, director of research and
operations at TASIS explained: The fund is being
engineered in such a manner that whilst meeting
all the Indian regulations, it will also comply with
Shariah norms for investments and fund manage-
ment.
The creation of the fund has been timely, as
new regulations were recently enacted under the
Securities and Exchange Board of India, including
the Alternative Investment Funds Regulations
2012, which cater to the conception of the fund.
Shariq explained that the fund is a real estate
capital venture which is open to be invested by
any person who agrees to its Shariah-compliant
objectives. It will select idle Waqf land for the
development of commercial projects, which will
in turn drastically improve the ability of Waqfs to
meet its charitable and social objectives. The
fund will manage the developed properties on
behalf of the Waqf for a definite period of time,
during which it will recover its investments and
targeted profit, he said.
Commenting on the legal and constitutional
barriers, Shariq said that it is extremely important
for the finance community to display the required
skills in Islamic finance to instill confidence in the
Reserve Bank of India and the government to
move the regulatory changes required to accom-
modate Islamic banking in India. He stressed,
There are a lot of areas where financing on
Islamic principles is possible within the existing
regulations. Those interested in the industry must
make use of the opportunities to establish their
track record and credentials. (Nabilah Annuar)
A Halal source of capital
for Muslim businesses
An increasingly common pain that Muslim busi-
nessmen have is their inability to get finance for
their businesses without compromising on
Islamic principles, especially the prohibition of
interest.
A group of like-minded Muslim professionals
got together to try and solve this problem, result-
ing in the establishment of Rehbar Financial
Consultants (RFC). It strives to guide businesses
and investors to fulfill their financial needs in a
Sharia-compliant manner. It acts as an interme-
diary between investors and businesses and
helps investors invest in Halal and viable busi-
nesses on a profit-loss sharing basis.
RFC is led by a professional team with long
experience in diverse industries like private equi-
ty, asset management, IT, manufacturing and is
supported by a Sharia Board. It adopts the best
practices from the finance industry and lever-
ages resources from across its vast network to
create greater value for its stakeholders.
Their CEO is Mr. Rashid Sherif, who is an
Aalim and an MBA. The Investment Committee,
which studies the businesses and rates them, is
headed by Mr. MH Khatkhatay, a prominent fig-
ure in the Islamic Finance in India. The Chairman
of the Sharia Board is Mufti Khalid Saifullah
Rahmani, one of the leading Shariah scholars in
India. The Sharia Board examines the business
and deal structure for compliance with Sharia
norms.
RFC will be having its annual investors meet
of 2013 on 7 July in Bangalore at the COS Hall,
Queens Road, from 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM. The
dual themes for the meet will be Sharia-
Compliant Investments and Zakat Calculation.
The speakers at the meet will include Mufti
Khalid Saifullah, Dr. Shariq Nisar and Mr. MH
Khatkhatay. (For more about RFC, visit
www.rehbarindia.com)
Encounter specialist cop ran
militant module in Doda
THE MILLI GAZETTE
requires EXECUTIVE EDITOR
JUNIOR JOURNALISTS
write with details in the first instance to the Editor at
edit@milligazette.com
Basic requirements: good command over English, interest in and
knowledge of Muslim community issues, knowledge of Urdu
G.M. Banatwalla Saheb
M.Com., B.Ed., LL.B.
Born: 15 August 1933; Died: 25 June 2008
Former Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha)
Former President, Indian Union Muslim League
with profound reverence and respect from:
Dr. Haji Fahim Ezaz Haji M Yusuf Lala M.S. (Opthal.)
City Eye Hospital, Opp.: New G K General Hospital, Lotus,
Bhuj-370001 Kutch Gujarat Mobile Number +91-9825812060
E-mail: dr_fmlala@yahoo.co.in Visit us: www.cityeyehospitalbhuj.com
Shiv Kumar Sharma
from SPO to SI
Known for his lust for rewards and pro-
motions, Shiv Kumar Sharma alias Sonu
had joined Jammu & Kashmir police as
Special Police Officer (SPO) and
reached the post of Sub-Inspector by
securing out-of-turn promotions.
A local resident of Chenab valley,
the police official arrested for allegedly
running the militant module, was known for his
lust of power and rewards.
Official sources said that as militancy was on
decline in erstwhile Doda district, the police offi-
cer preferred to keep the pot boiling as he has
been receiving heavy funds from different quar-
ters for carrying out anti-militancy operations in
the region.
Described as encounter specialist, Sonu
initially started his career with the state police as
SPO. He was soon absorbed as Constable in the
state police in recognition of his meritorious
services at the peak of militancy.
Working as police constable, Sonu expanded
his activities in the hilly districts of Doda,
Kishtwar and used his network of sources
exhaustively to help security forces carry out
anti-militancy operations involving killing and
arrest of over 100 militants.
Constable Sonu was leading a group of
around a dozen SPOs for carrying out anti-mili-
tancy operations. He was answerable
to none but the senior police officers
and his actions were always protected,
a senior police officer, who has served
in the militancy-infested Doda district
said.
He claimed that the name of the
police officer had surfaced earlier in
some alleged fake encounters in the
district but his high links in state and New Delhi
always helped him to escape the law.
Sources revealed that besides two out-of-
turn promotions, Sonu received several cash
awards and was directly getting the source
funds from police and army for his operations.
He is also said to have accumulated huge
wealth, they added.
Sonu was injured in one of the fierce gun-
battles with LeT militants on September 18, 2007
and was airlifted to Jammu Medical College
Hospital for treatment.
In his long career, Sonu had received gal-
lantry awards and appreciation letters in large
numbers from his senior officers and was also
felicitated by former deputy Prime Minister
LK Advani. (Greater Kashmir, 5 June 2013)
Lucknow/Delhi: Rihai Manch dharna in Lucknow
to press for the release of Muslim youths impli-
cated in fake terror cases completed its 20th
day on 10 June, MGs print deadline. Organisers
of the dharna led by senior adovate Mohammad
Shoaib said it will continue until a result is
achieved in this fight of nerves with the authori-
ties. Celebrities from all over the country contin-
ue to come to the dharna in Lucknow to offer
their support. Among those seen quite often are
Sandeep Pandey and Mohammad Sulaiman.
Shabnam Hashmi of ANHAD, who attended
the dharna on 8 June, said that if the U.P. gov-
ernment was serious, it would not have hid the
Nimesh report all these past nine months. Also,
if it was serious, it should have mentioned
strong bases for the dismissal of the cases in
the courts. But the UP government did neither,
which shows that the Akhilesh government is
only misleading people. She said, UP govern-
ment mentioned public interest and commu-
nal harmony as the basis for its request to dis-
miss the case but is it possible for a serious
case of terrorism to be dismissed on such
grounds, she asked, adding that all this while
the government had the most strong basis for
the dismissal of the case, viz. the Nimesh com-
mission report which has raised very serious
questions about the conduct of the security per-
sonnel. She said, why did the government not
tell the court that our police committed serious
mistakes which have been pinpointed by a gov-
ernment-appointed commission, which is why
the accused should be freed while more investi-
gations are undertaken. She said, the UP gov-
ernment will do nothing until civil society and
human rights activists unite and force the gov-
ernment to act in such cases. She said, it is a
matter of sorrow that every party today is being
used by communal elements. As far as Muslims
are concerned, these parties appease some
Maulvis and thereby give the message that they
have solved all the problems of Muslims.
Addressing the dharna on 1 June, President
of the All India Muslim Majlis-e Muashawarat
and editor of The Milli Gazzette, said that the
questions being raised now about terrorism all
over the country have left the central and the
state governments speechless and have
brought shame to the worlds largest democra-
cy. He said that if the SP government really
intended to release innocents imprisoned in the
name of terrorism, why it had not acted on the
11 demands even after 11
days of the indefinite dharna.
He added that the Nimesh
commission was a public
inquiry, paid for by the public,
hence the masses are fully
entitled to see its findings. By
hiding the report, the UP gov-
ernment is protecting the guilty
police officers. He said such
protests must continue in various places and in
various ways in order to force the ruling class
that they can no longer use the handle of terror-
ism to marginalise the Muslims and the disad-
vantaged sections of our society like dalits and
adivasis.
Dr Tasleem Rahmani, national secretary of
Welfare Party, said IBs national anti-Muslim
agenda and the protection these IB officers get
from the government shows how these powers
are hand in glove in discriminating against
Muslims.
Earlier Khalid Mujahids uncle and mother
had refused to accept the cheque of six lakh
rupees sent by the UP government saying that
they will accept any payment from the killers of
Khalid Mujahid. They demanded the release of
Nimesh Commission report and release of inno-
cents in the name terrorism.
Talking about the CRPF camp attack that
occurred 5 years ago, where CRPF men drank
and shot at each other and three men were
falsely implicated in the attack, namely,
Jangbahadurs son, Sher Khan, from
Moradabad, Sharifs brother Shahin, from
Rampur, Kunda, Pratapgarhs Kausar Faruqis
brother said that governments spokesman
Rajendra Chaudhary said in November that the
case against Rampur would be recalled but
nothing has been done uptil now. They said
theyd been demanding a CBI enquiry into the
case but the government isnt ready to take up
the matter.
Abu Amir, brother of Mohammad Habib
from Azamgarh, who is imprisoned in
Samabarti Jail in Ahmadabad, said that the gov-
ernment had been indecisive in its statements
and dozens of Muslims, including seven from
Azamgarh had been accused of trying to make
a tunnel from the jail using pens, plates and
spoons. The claimed length has been varying
from 20 to 220 metres in various official state-
ments which is ridiculous.
Meanwhile the Revolutionary Cultural Front
of JNU presented a play on the fake Batla House
encounter, at the Rihai Manch dharna at
Lucknow on 8 June.
Rihai Manch agitation continues
4 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 NATIONAL www.milligazette.com
Kerala temples spend
Rs 10,408.42 cr p.a
for rituals: Study
The amount spent on payasam, sadya and
prasadam is enough to construct 5 medical col-
leges or 12 engineering colleges or 500 hospitals
or 300 CBSE schools or a bank like Catholic Syrian
Bank or 5 TV channels. [In the old days, temples
used to be place of knowledge, distributing-books,
wisdom, history, food to the needy, poor, pilgrims
& Sadhus alike.]
Hyper-indulgence in rituals and edible items is
costing the Hindu community dear. The expendi-
ture incurred to run an average temple for 12 days
is enough to run a church for a year and a mosque
for a year and a half.
The study is claimed to be the first-ever on the
economics of Hindu temples in the state. It was
carried out by a Hindu religious speaker, with the
backing of the Sanathana Dharma Parishad, a con-
glomerate of 48 major Hindu organisations.
The study says that all the 36,400 temples in
the state together spend a minimum of Rs
10,408.42 crore annually (nearly matching the
states annual plan) on a range of items from oil
and coconuts and food items to fireworks and ele-
phants. The figure is highly conservative, arrived
at by calculating the usage of such items in small
rural temples, said advocate S. Jayasooryan, a
religious speaker who did the study.
Though extravagant in matters of faith, the
Hindus seem to possess negligible social con-
cerns, the study notes. For instance, the money
spent by all the temples annually (Rs 580 crore) on
payasam, sadya and prasadam is enough to con-
struct 5 medical colleges or 12 engineering col-
leges or 500 hospitals or 300 CBSE schools or a
bank like Catholic Syrian Bank or 5 TV channels.
The study says it is no wonder the Hindu com-
munity, which forms 56 per cent of the states
population, owns only 2 per cent of the total
schools, 17 per cent of the arts and science col-
leges, 21 per cent of B.Ed colleges and 8 per cent
of engineering colleges. (deccanchronicle.com)
About 48 percent of children in
India are stunted - UNICEF
London: Some 165 million children worldwide are
stunted by malnutrition as babies and face a future
of ill health, poor education, low earnings and
poverty, the head of the United Nations childrens
fund said on 7 June.
Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF,
told Reuters the problem of malnutrition is vastly
under-appreciated, largely because poor nutrition
is often mistaken for a lack of food.
In reality, he said, malnutrition and its irre-
versible health consequences also affect relatively
well-off countries, such as India where there is
plenty of food, but access to it is unequal and
nutritional content can be low.
Undernutrition, and especially stunting, is one
of the least recognised crises for children in the
world, Lake said. Its a horrible thing. These chil-
dren are condemned.
Stunting is the consequence of undernutrition
in the first 1,000 or so days of a babys life, includ-
ing during gestation.
Stunted children learn less in school and are
more likely themselves to live in poverty and go on
to have children also stunted by poor nutrition.
These in turn increase poverty in affected coun-
tries and regions, and drive greater gaps between
the rich and the poor, Lake said.
The numbers are phenomenal. In India, for
example, about 48 percent of children are stunt-
ed, and in Yemen its almost 60 percent. Just
think of the drag on development, Lake said.
And the key point is that it is absolutely irre-
versible. You can feed up an underweight child, but
with a stunted child, because of the effects on the
brain, it has a permanently reduced cognitive
capacity by the age of around two years old.
Lake spoke to Reuters in London ahead of a
Nutrition for Growth summit co-hosted by the
British and Brazilian governments and the
Childrens Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), at
which donor countries are expected to pledge
more funding to tackle the problem.
The summit coincides with the publication in
The Lancet medical journal of a series of studies
on the issue, which found that as well as the 165
million children stunted by poor nutrition, nearly
half of all deaths among under fives 3.1 million
deaths a year are caused by malnutrition.
UNICEF says it wants to focus global efforts
for now on 20 countries mostly in Africa and
Asia which are home to 70 percent of the
worlds stunted children. The cost of tackling poor
nutrition in these countries is estimated to be about
$7 billion a year, Lake said. (Reuters)
New Delhi: A 600-page volume on
the Issues of Indian Muslims was
released here during a colloquium
at the India Islamic Cultural Centre
on 7 June. Speakers said that the
problems of Indian Muslims will
be solved only when both the
community and the government
are serious about them. Union
Minister for Minority Affairs
K Rahman Khan said while speak-
ing at the function that before crit-
icising the government, Muslims
should realise their own responsi-
bilities. He said there are many
people who have not heard about
the Sachar report or its recom-
mendations. He said the Muslim leadership should study the situation of
the Muslims and where they stand in the countrys progress. Is it not
their responsibility to come forward and play their role, he said. He said
Muslims themselves are not doing justice to Urdu. He mentioned that he
receives letters from Madrasas in Hindi. Rahman Khan said 66 recom-
mendations of Sachar Committee have been implemented. he asked the
Muslim leadership to study what more is to be done. He announced that
the Waqf Bill be passed during the next session of Parliament. He said
under this proposed law, waqf properties have been designated as pub-
lic property and the encroachers on waqfs could be prosecuted under
the criminal laws. Rahman Khan conceded that due to faulty monitoring
system, plans are not being implemented properly. Principal of Darul
Uloom Nadwatul Ulama Maulana Saeedur Rahman Azmi said that
Muslims should understand the requirements of our time. He said the
government is responsible for our problems but we should keep an eye
on our conditions to see if we ourselves are not responsible for them. He
said, as the best people, we were supposed to think about others and
play our role for the humanity. Darul Uloom Deoband Waqfs Rector
Maulana Salim Qasmi said that we should concentrate on paying other
peoples dues.
Volume on Muslim issues released
NATIONAL The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 5 www.milligazette.com
MUSTAFA KHAN
C
onducting a genocide in the 21st century
in full glare of the TV cameras can have
staggered perception. The whole truth
cannot be known at once or in a year or
even a decade. Jews meticulously maintained
their records of the Holocaust. They made further
studies, conducted research and used all the
best that science would help them to find out
traces or the remains of their dear ones who
perished in the concentration camps.
India saw such a holocaust of the Muslims in
2002. The present Chief Minister of Gujarat
Narendra Modi was a leader of the ultra-national-
ist Hindu militant group Rashtra Swayamsevak
Sangh. He was moulded in the ideology of the
Nazi and the Italian fascists of the thirties of the
twentieth century. He was most active and secre-
tive in 1981 and 1985 as an irrepressible group
leader of the RSS. The new century saw him as
the Chief Minister of his state. Within days of
winning the by-election, he became chief minis-
ter and at the earliest opportunity he unleashed a
reign of terror by calling a strike on 28 February,
2002 and gave three days to the Hindus to wreak
revenge upon the Muslims of his state and
instructed his police not to take action against the
marauding Hindus. This is how the first Hindutva
genocide of Muslims was wrought by its archi-
tect who occupied the office of the chief minister.
To undertake such a huge task was well-
planned and was an organized work involving
years of thinking and planning.
As the burning of the German parliament
came handy to Hitler, so did the Godhra
Sabarmati Express train compartment S6 fire in
the morning of 27 February, 2002. The collector
of Godhra Jayanthi Ravi was the first to reach the
site of the burning coach. She called the incident
as an accident and maintained it till the evening
of that day. In between, the Chief Minister
reached the place and had a closed door meeting
with the VHP leader Jaideep Patel and some min-
isters and planned a strike the following day. He
changed the facts by announcing that the fire
was a terrorist attack by Lashkar-e-Toiba. He
handed over the bodies of the victims of the fire
to Jaideep Patel and allowed the procession car-
rying the dead bodies to go to Ahmadabad.
These are known facts, or what Donald Rumsfeld
called known knowns. The defence secretary
of President George Bush was a tongue twister
and wryly parried questions of whereabouts of
Osama bin Laden and the war on terror. It was in
such a context that he made a statement of sig-
nificance: There are known knowns. These are
things we know that we know. There are known
unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we
know we dont know. But there are also unknown
unknowns. There are things we dont know we
dont know.
More than a decade of focus on the genocide
of Muslims has revealed known knowns
known unknown and unknown unknowns.
(1) Known knowns
It was found out as a known truth that the train
was burnt from within. The forensic reports, the
collectors observation and the UC Banerjee
Commission of inquiry by the Union Railway
Ministry confirmed this.
(2) Known unknowns
The meeting at the residence of Modi was
officially made out to be secret but IPS officer
Sanjiv Bhatt and intelligence chief of the state RB
Sreekumar, and the Home Minister Haren Pandya
revealed in substance what transpired in it.
(3) Unknown unknowns
The actual dialogue between Ahsan Jafri and
Modi on the phone, Modis role in 1981 and
1985 are unknown unknowns.
This third category -- the unknown
unknowns --includes what the courts have not
bothered to take seriously into consideration.
Even the Special Investigation Team is suspect in
this matter. The minister of state for home under
Modi was Gordhan Jhadafia who had told Babu
Bajrangi to go underground or abscond from the
law. Another example: Tehelka in its issue of
3 November, 2007 shows how Modi was direct-
ly involved in crimes against humanity which any
Holocaust believer in the West can understand to
be of credible evidentiary value. Sample:
Narendra bhai told me [says Babu Bajrangi]
there was a lot of pressure on him.. The
media, TV, so much coverageBabu Bajrangi is
a goonda - Laloo complained in parliament about
my not being caught-So asked me to surren-
derI said, alright sahib, if you tell me to, I will
give myself upI surrendered near
Gandhinagerit was all a big dramaall a
dramathe police, the Crime Branch, had been
told I would be passing through that area PP
Pandy sahib, who was [Joint] Commissioner in
the Crime Branch, he was there too and some 12
to 13 cars came... These people waited on the
road from Biloda to Gandhinagerthey checked
a few carsI had to land up... it was part of the
act If Id gone straight to the Crime Branch, the
media and the NGOs would have ripped me
apartit was all a drama they caught me, tied
me up with rope.. all drama. They told me they
were tying me up just for show.
That is what Babu Bajrangi had told Tehelka
in the sting operation in 2007. He was sentenced
to life imprisonment for his crimes against
humanity. But the issue is that he committed all
the heinous crimes at the instance of the Chief
Minister who told him to surrender to law and
bailed him out. So which court in India has the
power to try the Chief Minister Modi under the
law? If he is above law and has all these crimes
against humanity piled up at his door, there
should be international intervention that is judi-
cially binding for sovereign India to comply with.
Pakistan has been bombed for giving sanctuary
to Osama bin Laden. This Chief Minister also
gave sanctuary to Bajrangi. Why one terrorist
should be hunted and killed and another housed
in a government guest house and also given bail!
The murder and mayhem at Naroda Patia
and Naroda Gaon was unparalleled in Indias
modern history. Babu Bajrangi had collected 23
revolvers from Hindus to kill Muslims. But such
was the large number of Muslims cornered,
hounded and made to march to the third dry well
near the State Transport Depot that the scared
Muslims resigned to their fate. They embraced
each other and said their prayers. The mobs of
RSS and Bajrang Dal took diesel from the STD
booth and poured over them and burnt them
alive. During this period, Bajrangi made eleven
calls to the chief of VHP Jaideep Patel.
Describing the scene Bajrangi remarked that
Thats where we killed them all At 7 oclock I
called the home minister [Gordhan Zadaphia] and
also Jaideep Bhai Patel, VHP general secretary,
and told them how many people had been killed
and said that things were now in their hands.
According to Bajrangi he and his accomplices
had killed 700 to 800 Muslims on the first day.
Later in the night, Police Commissioner PC
Pandey visited the site of mass atrocities and told
them that there were so many bodies. He ordered
them to scatter the bodies all over the city to
reduce the enormity of the crime at one single
place. Modi also visited the killers and exhorted
them not to stop the atrocities but continue the
next day. These are the most macabre unknown
unknowns which, let alone the courts, even
people have not bothered to worry about.
It is a graphic description of the work done
on the first day by the evening. Seven hours later,
the police commissioner issued a shoot at sight
order against Bajrangi. He elaborates: I spoke to
Gordhan Zadaphia. I told him everything that had
happenedHe told me to leave Gujarat and go
into hiding. I asked what he meant, but he told
me to run away and to not ever say anywhere
that we had talked Bajrangi also said that he
did all these so that Muslims should not breed
more children. Our politics should be limited to
killing Muslims, he said.
Bajrangi comes out with the direct involve-
ment of the chief minister. Bajrangi said: I did
speak to him twice or thrice.
Tehelka: Had he not been there, then Naroda
Patiya, Gulbarg, etc
Bajrangi: Wouldnt have happened.
Wouldve been very difficult.
The involvement of the chief minister in the
whole pogrom and afterward was unmistakably
an act of crime against humanity for which the
courts have not arraigned him and hence there is
need for neutral inquiry and for an international
court to try him for crimes against humanity.
Modis care for Bajrangi continued while he was
on the run: Narendra bhai kept me atthe
Gujarat Bhavan at Mount Abu for four and a half
months. After that, I did whatever Narendrabhai
told me to (do)Narendrabhai got me out of
jailHe kept on changing judges He set it up
so as to ensure my release, otherwise I would
have never been out yet the first judge was
one Dholakia He said Babu Bajrangi should be
hanged-not once but four -five times, and he
flung the file aside After some more judges
refused to acquit him or give him bail, Modi
brought Judge Akshay Mehta. He never looked
at the file or anything. He just said [bail] granted.
So completely had Modi as the Chief Minister
subverted the process of justice. It clearly
demonstrates that he has absolutely no regard
for public opinion at home or abroad. He appoint-
ed Judge Akshay Mehta on the inquiry commis-
sion known as Justice Nanaravati Commission.
Thus crimes against humanity that Modi
committed need an international commission of
inquiry and an international court of justice to try
the criminals. This is imperative because even
today more than a decade later no court in India
can even entertain to see Modi in the dock let
alone force him to stand trial for such gruesome
crimes against a large section of the subjects of
Gujarat state.
Mainstream newspapers and electronic
media shun this coverage because they tacitly
know that the unknown unknowns must
remain unknowns.
The cases of Naroda Patia, Naroda Gaon and
the fake encounter killing of Ishrat Jahan and oth-
ers are interconnected and the link goes right to
the office of Modi.
The office of the Chief Minister is the impreg-
nable bastion of a Hindu pracharak or Hindu
leader of the RSS or else how could anyone
explain the obstinate refusal to restore and repair
the Muslim mosques and shrines destroyed in
2002. He has refused to do so well into the mid-
dle of the 2013 when the HC has also ruled that
they should be restored and repaired.
Another sticking point is the refusal of Modi
to release the central government grants to
Muslims under the recommendation of the
Sachar Committee. The first naturally requires
the attention of the United States Commission on
International Freedom of Religion whose chair-
person Katrina Lantos Swett has put Modi on the
watch out list.
In most cases, the RSS and Bajrang Dal
cadres made Muslims shout in praise of the
Hindu god, Ram. In the case of the mosque in
Naroda Patia, a whole diesel tanker rammed it
and then it was set on fire. Many other mosques
and shrines were vandalized and then turned into
Hindu temples. Till today Muslims have been
denied the right to take such mosques and
shrines back to their control.
The Indian laws and the Constitution too, like
the courts, failed to do justice to the right of free-
dom to pray. Right from the Babri mosque to the
Noorani mosque of Naroda Patiya, this is invari-
ably the case.
The case of Modis Gujarat is nuanced. He
allowed his state forces to help Hindus to dam-
age the mosques and shrines when he gave
them three days period to wreak havoc on
Muslims in 2002 and since then he cocked a
snook at the laws, Constitution and the world
opinion in denying Muslims their right to worship
in their own mosques and shrines.
The new report of the USCIRF mentions the
case of Modi: this provision has been invoked
only once -- in March 2005. It was used to
exclude Modi due to his complicity in the 2002
riots that resulted in the deaths of an estimated
1,000 to 2,000 Muslims. USCIRF has urged such
an action.
However, now that Swett has recommended
that Modi be placed on the watchout list, it is
necessary that the USCIRF should know how
there are numerous other cases where Modi as
an elected chief continues to violate international
norms of justice. This is on account of the failure
of the national courts and judicial processes to
have him even booked for the crimes against
humanity which he has without doubt commit-
ted.
The top priority is to check the furies Modi
unleashed leading to the ethnic cleansing and
extermination of Muslims. A case is that of
Navrangpura: This is Navrangpura, we have no
Muslims here. We have cleared the area of
Muslims. This area is clean. Scores of villages
and areas within cities have been thus purged of
Muslims. After successful purging, Hindu
extremists have put such banners and sign-
boards such as Hindu Rashtras Gomtipur
Village welcomes you, You are now entering
Saraspure Village of Hindu Rashtra. Erstwhile
residents or native Muslims dare not enter these
areas and claim their houses or pray in their
mosques and take care of their shrines.
Refrences
-Quotes of Babu Bajrangi are from Tehelka,
November 3, 2007.
- E Simpson and A Kapadia (eds), The Idea of
Gujarat, History, Ethnography and text,
Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan, 2010. p.153.
- Laurent Gayer & Christopher Jaffrelot (eds),
Muslims in Indian Cities, Tajectories of
Marginalisation, Delhi: Harper and Collins,
2012.
Narendra Modis Unknown Unknowns
Nero Narendra Modi, of the Gujarat 2002
fame, who has totally polarised Gujarat,
virtually putting Muslims on the sidelines, has
now bee elevated to the position of the virtual
leader or the first among the equals of the
BJP leaders despite Advani groups
endeavours and the en masse Namonitis of LK
and his supporters. Dark days are ahead not
only for the BJP but for the whole country...
Dr. Imran Shabbirhusen Iproliya (B.A., M.S.)
Avkar Clinic, Opposite Sonavala Gate, Mandvi
Dist. Kutchh - 370465 Gujarat
Mob. +91-9898991220 E-mail dr.imraniproliya@ymail.com
RAM PUNIYANI
ram.puniyani@gmail.com
Mahatma Gandhi, who laid
down his life for communal
harmony, who was mur-
dered because he was
espousing the cause of
building bridges of amity
between different religious
communities, had a stat-
uette with three monkeys. One of the monkeys in
this puts his hand on his mouth, signifying that
we should not speak evil.
Those following the path of peace and amity
talk of uniting the different religious communi-
ties, those who trade in politics in the name of
religion, base their politics on hatred for others
and regularly spew venom against other com-
munities. This hate speech of theirs incites vio-
lence and widens the gulf between diverse com-
munities. One concedes that political parties and
political groups need to be criticized for their
policies. This is different from talking evil about
other religious communities.
Hate speech is the cannon fodder of the
practitioners of communal politics. They know
that their short term hate other campaigns can
pay rich dividends on the electoral arena.
The most recent case of Varun Gandhi, no
blood relation of the great Mahatma, but great
grandson of another die-hard messiah of com-
munal peace, Jawaharlal Nehru, is very disturb-
ing for many a reason.
Varun Gandhi indulged in hate speech in a
public meeting in 2009. While speaking in
Pilibhit, he talked of cutting the hands of others,
and many such abominable things. He was
caught on camera and cases were filed against
him.
Despite all the evidence in place, he has now
been exonerated in the court as all the 88 wit-
nesses in the case turned hostile and changed
their versions. One is reminded of Gujarats Best
Bakery case where also most witnesses, lured
by money or frightened by threats, had turned
hostile. Tehelka sting operation later revealed as
to how the BJP workers had managed to fright-
en or lure away the witnesses.
India does not have a witness protection act
which is one of the demands of social activists
working for justice to the victims of violence. In
Zahira Sheikh case again the culprits were
released by the lower court due to witnesses
going hostile.
The Varun Gandhi case draws our attention
to the witnesses turning hostile under threat or
for lucre. This time too, Tehelka has exposed
how the witnesses were managed in Varuns
case.
At another level such an exoneration of the
guilty will pave the path of such people spread-
ing hatred in the society.
There is another aspect also which is con-
nected to the issue. Recently Akabaruddin
Owaisi of All India Majlis-e Ittihadul Muslimin
was arrested and is facing a court case for his
anti-Hindu speech. Which is as it should be. The
guilty must be punished to ensure that such acts
are not repeated. At the same time Praveen
Togadia also delivered a tit-for-tat hate speech
in Hyderabad. Only a meek FIR has been filed --
no arrests or further action was taken. On one
hand, some action is taken and that too is not
fully followed up. Just to recall: Togadia is an old
player of this game but only once he was put
behind bars, so he continues to spew venom
most of the time.
Indian Constitution is very clear about the
matters of hate speech. India prohibits hate
speech as per several sections of the Indian
Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and
by other laws which put limitats on the freedom
of expression. Section 95 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure gives the government the
right to declare certain publications forfeited if
the publication... appears to the State
Government to contain any matter the publica-
tion of which is punishable under Section 124A
or Section 153A or Section 153B or Section 292
or Section 293 or Section 295A of the Indian
Penal Code. India is also a signatory to the The
International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR) which states that any advocacy
of national, racial or religious hatred that consti-
tutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or
violence shall be prohibited by law.
We must remember all communities have a
diverse section of individuals. The hate speech
presents the other community as a uniform
one, which is not true.
When J.B. Desouza, a retired civil servant
and ardent follower of the values of Indian
Constitution, filed a case against Bal Thackeray
for his inflammatory speeches in the wake of
post-Babri demolition Mumbai violence, he had
to draw a blank, as the implementation of the law
is mired with many a weakness.
As such while the predominant culture of
India has been that of amity and peace, the
hate-the-other speeches, portraying religious
communities as uniform monoliths, began more
with British rule, who in pursuance of the policy
of divide and rule introduced communal histo-
riography and encouraged communal elements
to speak and propagate against other communi-
ties. They had chosen Hindu and Muslim as the
major communities for their divisive politics.
Some core points were picked about the practice
of others religion and they were picked up to
spread the divisive politics. Eating pork, eating
beef, music in front of mosques, spread of Islam
by the sword, destruction of temples by
Muslims etc were those themes around which
hate speech was built up.
With Advanis Rath Yatra (chariot proces-
sion, a political move with religious imagery),
these points came to life once again in a big
way; the temples destruction issue was taken
up to maddening heights and during rath yatra
the symbolic use of these issues spread hatred,
hatred led to violence and as the rath yatra pro-
ceeded a series of acts of violence followed the
trail.
Today, there are many who are subtly using
this divisive tool. Many a web site and email
groups, which circulate and have a long chain,
are doing the same damage to amity of the soci-
ety.
Subramaniam Swamy is another politician
who has been indulging in this hate speech on
regular basis, but no action has been taken so
far against him in India. In response to one of his
hate articles which was full of venom for
Muslims, while in India no action was taken his
visiting professorship was withdrawn by
Harvard University in US. Even now many of his
videos are circulating on youtube which instigate
hatred. Such things have by now become part of
the accepted social common sense and we tend
to ignore it at best.
Surely, these videos, writings and speeches
are a big blow to our national integration. The
Varun Gandhi case shows the vulnerability of our
legal system, where the guilty are getting away,
after having reaped the political benefits of their
vile speech.
At the global level, propaganda by the US
media in the wake of 9/11 WTC attack and man-
ufactured hatred for Islam and Muslims fol-
lowed. Many instances are picked up to subtly
jack up hate the other propaganda leading to
hate crimes.
In recent times, UK has been witnessing rise
in hate crimes, the latest pretext being the mur-
der of drummer Lee Righby in Woolwich, south
London. These are harrowing times where the
values of amity are being attacked and divisive
notions are increasing in intensity.
Javed Akhtar in one of his lively poems
writes: Bhool kay nafrat, pyaar ki koi baat kareiN
(Lets Forget hate and talk of love). One wishes
we take this vision seriously. While on one hand
these negative things, the hate speech by Varun
Gandhis, Owaisis and Togadias are there, there
are also many a friend in society who have been
taking out peace marches and singing the songs
of peace and spreading the message of harmo-
ny in different parts of the country. Friends like
these lay the foundation of national integration
overcoming hate and hate speech. It is time we
as a society reject those who are harping on
hatred for the other community.
(pluralindia.com)
Hate Speech and Communal Politics
Despite all the evidence in place, Varun has now been exonerated in
the court as all the 88 witnesses in the case turned hostile and
changed their versions. One is reminded of Gujarats Best Bakery case
where also most witnesses, lured by money or frightened by threats,
had turned hostile. Tehelka sting operation later revealed as to how the
BJP workers had managed to frighten or lure away the witnesses.
India does not have a witness protection act which is one of the
demands of social activists working for justice to the victims of vio-
lence. In Zahira Sheikh case again the culprits were released by the
lower court due to witnesses going hostile.
MUSHTAQ UL HAQ AHMAD SIKANDER
The absence of peace in Kashmir is a legacy of the partition of
the Indo-Pak sub-continent. India and Pakistan both put forward
claims and counter claims regarding Kashmir. India proclaims it
to be an Atoot Ang (Integral part), crown of its topographical and
geographical unity, and a litmus test of its secular character.
Pakistan claims it to be its Shahrag (jugular vein), constituent of
K in its entirety Pakistan (land of pure) and affirmation and van-
guard of its ideological roots. Kashmir and its inhabitants till
recently were not even a party to the dispute. Kashmir was debat-
ed as a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan, which is to be
solved bilaterally without any external intervention. The sacrifices
offered by the masses coerced both to accept the inhabitants of
Kashmir as a party to the dispute and inevitable for a concrete
Peace Process in Kashmir.
Peace has different connotations for various stake holders in
Kashmir. For mainstream political parties, autonomy, self-rule,
internal freedom remain the destined goals and catch words, and
they wish to attain the same while remaining in the Indian Union
and under the ambit of Indian Constitution. These demands if
granted by the Centre will usher peace in Kashmir, according to
them.
The peace for the separatists has meant resolution of
Kashmir outside the ambit of the Indian Constitution. They have
tried and displayed their willingness many a time to enter into a
dialogue with India, but the Indian State doesnt pay heed to them
when they are in control of the affairs of Kashmir. India has
engaged with them, sometimes openly and at other times clan-
destinely but India hasnt budged or shown any flexibility in its
attitude towards Kashmir.
Witnessing the futility of the Peace Process rounds and dia-
logues, no separatist leader dares to enter into dialogue with India
now, for the ire they have to face from the people and other sep-
aratists. The rigidity of the Indian State has brought the Peace
Process to a dead end. Till date, more than a hundred and fifty
rounds of talks have been held between India, Pakistan and
Kashmiris, with no concrete results, and now the word dialogue
and Peace Process have become most hated words in the
Kashmiri lexicon.
Why Peace keeps Evading Kashmir?
Scores of diverse, different and divergent social, political, eco-
nomic and cultural reasons, contrasting ideologies, world views
and goals are responsible for the failure of the Peace Process and
enduring peace in Kashmir. A few can be recounted here as:
1. Incommensurable Parts: The State of Jammu & Kashmir con-
sists of three parts, and if the pre-1948 status is taken into
account, it also consists of the parts administered by Pakistan
along with Aksai Chin and Shaksgam Valley occupied by China
thanks to Pakistan. All these parts are at loggerheads with one
another, and they have different political aspirations. Neither the
Buddhists of Ladakh nor the Hindus of Jammu share the objec-
tives of the Muslim Kashmiris of the valley. Their main concern
has been to press for autonomy against the dominance from the
more populous valley. Both feel the fruits of development have not
reached them; most of the money has been spent on the valley,
said Ram Mohan Rao, adviser to the Government of Jammu and
Kashmir in 1995. A problem in our country is that we have a blan-
ket which is too short. If it covers the head, then it is not able to
cover the feet.
Indian officials point out that there are eight linguistic and cul-
tural districts in the Indian administered state of J&K, and
Kashmiri is only one of them. The implication is that although in
the valley, Kashmiris may be numerically superior, their objectives
cannot determine the future of the entire State
1
These different aspirations and goals have been expressed
time and again by the different regions. Each feels that they have
been sidelined at the cost of appeasing the others. Jammu region
wants full integration with India; hence they launched the cam-
paign of ek desh mey dou vidhan dou pardhan dou nishan nahi
chalengey, nahi chalengey (In one country two Constitutions, Two
Prime Ministers, and Two Flags are not acceptable).
Ladakh wants to be granted Union Territory Status and be
ruled directly from Delhi.
No single unifying force runs throughout the State, hence dis-
unity and opposition among the various parts is a norm. The need
is to narrow down the grievances and intra alienation among
these parts.
2. Different People: All the three parts of the Indian Kashmir con-
sist of different linguistic groups, varied ethnicities and faiths.
Kashmir is Muslim majority; Jammu is Hindu majority and
Ladakh a Buddhist majority
2
. All the people of these regions have
different aspirations, hence their interests clash frequently, as can
be witnessed in the 2008 Land Row Agitation between Jammu &
Kashmir and Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) agitation which
were both highly communal and polarizing agitations.
3
It must be
remembered that despite suffering immensely, Kashmiri Muslims
havent attained communal overtures, mindset and outlook. The
absence of a single common uniting thread and force among the
people is the reason for intra-state resentment and violence.
3. Suspicious Relationship: The seeds of suspicion were sown
soon after the illegal and unconstitutional deposition of popular
leader of Kashmir Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in 1953, by India.
This suspicion grew stronger with each passing day. Now is the
time to narrow down the same, for a permanent peace.
4. Democracy cant be Afforded: India and even Nehru many a
time claimed
4
and upheld that democracy cant be afforded in
Kashmir. Hence all the elections which were held in Kashmir were
a Centre-managed affair and after the armed insurgency, these
became an army-managed affair, in which only those would get
elected whom Centre desired and who could use power to woo
voters and intimidate opposition5. The trust in free and fair elec-
tions among masses needs to be restored.
5. Sidelining Real Issues: Indian politicians have always side-
lined the real issue of Self-Determination, and addressed issues
of governance and local concern at the cost of the right of Self-
Determination.
Next Steps to Peace In Kashmir
Witnessing the futility of the Peace Process
rounds and dialogues, no separatist leader dares
to enter into dialogue with India now, for the ire
they have to face from the people and other sepa-
ratists. The rigidity of the Indian State has brought
the Peace Process to a dead end. Till date, more
than a hundred and fifty rounds of talks have been
held between India, Pakistan and Kashmiris, with
no concrete results...
Continued on the next page
New Delhi: In a landmark judgment on
28 May , the National Commission for
Minorities Educational Institutions
(NCMEI) granted minority institution
status to the Mohammad Ali Jauhar
University of Rampur. The judgment
will allow the university to reserve up to
50 per cent seats for Muslims.
Justice M.S.A. Siddiqui, Chairman
of the National Commission for
Minorities Educational Institutions (NCMEI) while
granting the university the minority institution status
said, The Mohammad Ali Jauhar University,
Rampur is a minorities educational Institution within
the meaning of Section 2(g) of the National
Commission for Minority Educational Institutions
Act. A certificate be issued accordingly.
Brainchild of Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan,
the university has been established as a private
institution and is governed by Mohammad Ali
Jauhar Trust. It is spread over 200 acres and hous-
es several buildings. It was inaugurated on
September 18, 2012 by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Akhilesh Singh in the presence of Samajwadi Party
(SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and several other
ministers at Rampur, a former princely state with
highest Muslim concentration in U.P. Samjawadi
Party Supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is the visitor
of the university.
Justice Siddiqui said before granti-
ng the university minority status he had
written to the state government and the
governor who said they did not have any
objection on the matter.
He also said, The Muslim commu-
nity provided lands, buildings, colleges
and endowments for the University and
without these, the University as a body
incorporate would be an unreal abstraction.
He also said, The beneficiary of such a funda-
mental right should be allowed to enjoy it in the
fullest measure. Therefore, the educational institu-
tions of their choice will necessarily cater to the
needs of the minority community which had estab-
lished the institution.
Earlier, on 18 September last year the
Mohammad Ali Jauhar University was Tuesday
inaugurated by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav after
many years of delay. The chief minister assured
everyone that his government would do all that was
possible for the university. Mulayam Singh formally
declared the university open and said it was a very
important day in his life as six years ago he had laid
the foundation stone of the university. Akhilesh
Yadav inaugurated the Aryabhatt planetarium built at
a cost of Rs.28.50 crore.
Jauhar University gets
minority status
Maheboob Hala
Near Bharat pan, Jay prakashnagar, Bhagavatipara Main Road,
Rajkot - 360003 Gujarat
Mob.09824371990, 09099929173 maheboob_hala2000@yahoo.com
6. Callous Attitude: The Indian State has never depicted serious
attitude towards the peace process and resolution of the Kashmir
issue. The peace process is initiated by India only in the aftermath
of crises, agitations or protest movements in Kashmir. The efforts
for establishing peace must not be reactive.
7. Corrupt Political Power: Indian politicians have always
encouraged and patronized those Kashmiri politicians who would
toe their official line on Kashmir, turning a blind eye on their evil
deeds and patronizing them at the cost of popular genuine lead-
ers. It has a severe impact on peace.
8. Lack of Political Will: The fragility of political will in both India
and Pakistan for resolution of the Kashmir issue too has con-
tributed to the failure of enduring peace.
9. Rigid Nature of Indian policy: Indian leaders and State dont
want to budge an inch from status quo, which leads to a deadlock
in the peace process, resulting in scattered peace.
10. Presence of two separate tussles: The current difficulty in
resolving the conflict is the presence of two separate tussles with
a large dysfunctional interface. One is the power-political, territo-
rial and ideological competition between India and Pakistan. The
other is the one of the relationship between Delhi & J&K centred
on the extent of autonomy that the state should enjoy. India, by far
the strongest party has adopted a hardline in both disputes
6
.
11. Frankenstein Fear: Pakistan fears that negotiations with
India can only lead down a blind alley resulting in the erosion of
its leverage. India fears that a peace dialogue could get out of con-
trol if Pakistan and the Kashmiri discontented join hands
7
.
12. Military Response: The military response to every political
problem, issue, agitation and protest is adding insult to injury,
hence aggravating the situation instead of dousing the fire.
13. Clash of Identities: The Indian and Kashmiri identities have
never been reconciled, hence they clash frequently. In this clash,
peace becomes a casualty.
14. Non-State actors: The Non-State actors have many a time
hampered the peace process be it in the aftermath of Lahore
Summit, Indian Parliament attacks or 26/11 attack on Mumbai.
Some invisible but potent non-State actors dont want peace to
prevail between the two countries and Kashmir issue be solved
amicably.
15. Fractured Civil Society: The Civil Society in Kashmir is divid-
ed into Pro-Freedom and Anti-Freedom blocs; hence they fail to
play a substantial role in establishing peace.
16. Justice Delayed: The impunity with which security forces
keep killing innocents and civilians and go scot free is having an
adverse effect on the peace process. Till culprits are brought to
book and victims administered justice, peace will remain an illu-
sion.
17. Draconian Acts: The existence of three Draconian laws,
Disturbed Areas Act (DAA), Armed Forces Special Powers Act
(AFSPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA), is resulting in gross human
rights violations of civilians and the guilty arent being punished.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act offers certain special pow-
ers to be conferred upon members of the armed forces in the dis-
turbed areas of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Any officer in the
armed forces may, in a disturbed area, as he may consider nec-
essary, fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the extent of
causing death, against any person who is acting in contravention
of any law or order; prohibit the assembly of five or more persons;
prohibit carrying of weapons; arrest without warrant. PSA grants
the right to security agencies to arrest and incarcerate anybody
without a judicial trial for two years
8
.
18. Unmarked Graves: Numerous unmarked and unknown
graves have been discovered in different parts of Kashmir
9
. It has
yet to be determined who the victims are, most of whom were
handed over by security personnel to local people for burial. With
more than ten thousand alleged disappearances in Kashmir, it
needs a fact-finding commission which can divulge the details of
the victims. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has promised a Truth
and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on the pattern of South
African TRC, but the victims are demanding arrest of the security
and army personnel who took away their sons and husbands and
caused their disappearance while in custody. Also TRC is a post-
conflict phenomenon, while the conflict in Kashmir is still raging.
19. Women Unrepresented: The women now are regaining their
public space back once again, and are even on the forefront of the
protests that have rocked Kashmir Valley for the last three consec-
utive years since 2008. Women are also active in the Peace and
Reconciliation efforts, though these initiatives are still an elite ven-
ture
10
. In the Peace Process dialogues, no women representative
of Kashmir has been included. It is still a mens affair. This
impacts peace in Kashmir.
20. Unrealistic Demands: Many times the Indian State has put
forward unrealistic demands before the separatists and tried to
dwarf their stature by challenging them to prove their worth in
elections, which they believe are State-managed shows in which
participation would dilute their political stance. It must be remem-
bered that in Kashmir, separatist leaders are still revered and fol-
lowed by the masses, which can be witnessed in the honour their
strike calls evoke from masses.
21. Militant Voices: Though militancy has declined in Kashmir,
but there still remain some militants who have the power to strike,
hence they must not be neglected in any peace process.
22. Dilemma with State: There are scores of separatist leaders
with dozens of organizations, hence the State faces the challenge
of whom to talk and whom to neglect. It is a tough decision of
choosing between devil and deep sea. This hampers peace,
because if state establishes peace with one party, the other will
resist, resent and oppose it.
23. Boycott by Separatists: The boycott of peace efforts offered
by State to separatists has also hampered the chances of a fruit-
ful peace.
24. Adverse Effect of Bilateral Peace Process: The Kashmiris
are deeply hurt and resentful when they are not included in peace
talks and dialogues. This has led to fractured peace efforts.
Kashmiris have been struggling for their inalienable and
immutable right to self-determination since 1947, the year when
India invaded Kashmir at the behest of Maharaja Hari Singh, the
autocrat who had already victimized Kashmiris in perfect dictato-
rial way. India -while using all the fascistic, chauvinistic, imperial-
istic and procrustean modes of repression and oppression - tried
to break the will of Kashmiris to resist. Six lakh freedom activists
were put to the sword; thousands of freedom zealots including the
senior ailing leaders like Ashraf Sehrai and Aasiya Andrabi have
been languishing in Indian concentration camps for years on end.
And now India wants to fob off crumbs (autonomy and onions of
Pakistan procured through LoC bar ter) on to Kashmiris.
Pleasantries of the foreign ministers meeting held in Delhi on July
27, 2011 could not anoint and salve the wounds of Kashmiris; and
hackneyed and platitudinous diplomatic jargon could not alleviate,
palliate and mitigate the sufferings of Kashmiris brutalized, van-
dalized, mortified and terrorized by stratocracy of India
11
25. Crises of Implementation: The non-implementation of the
recommendations of the peace process dialogue outcomes, have
led them face a severe crisis, where none wants to engage in the
peace process, as it has become a hated word in the lexicon of
Kashmiris.
The bottlenecks and issues pointed above need to be over-
come and delved with strong political acumen; only then enduring
peace can be established in Kashmir.
Conclusion: The peace process in Kashmir has to be sustained if
any peaceful resolution of the Kashmir problem is to be sorted
out. It needs to be remembered that Kashmir is a political problem
and not an internal problem of India, which it can solve on its own
terms. Its more than six decades of engagement with the Kashmir
problem has depicted the shortcomings of this approach. The
Kashmir issue is the problem of an identity which has not integrat-
ed with the mainstream Indian Identity. The identity ruckus is cre-
ating the havoc, and the broken promises add fuel to the fire and
the dream of an Independent Nationhood drives the resistance in
Kashmir. The previous attempts of assimilating and integrating the
Kashmiri identity with the Indian one have failed, and in future too
they are bound to fail.
Any permanent solution to this issue will include a compro-
mise by all the parties of the dispute. The unrelenting posture
depicted by all the parties has given birth to a vicious circle of vio-
lence. Till compromise on certain points and fields isnt made,
Kashmir will continue to burn time and again. A Negative Peace
can obviously be maintained, which can be well termed as Peace
of Graveyard but Positive and Permanent Peace will continue to
evade Kashmir.
The youth who are humiliated daily at the hands of army and
Police feel disgusted with the state of affairs and being driven to
the wall where they find no direction to give vent to their resent-
ment and anger which could be sublimated in something positive;
resort to violence and fall like ripe fruit in the lap of religious fanat-
ics or politicians who use them as cannon fodder. The intolerance
of State and government towards dissent is further adding fuel to
the fury.
The Resolution of Kashmir is essential for peace in whole
South Asia. No permanent peace will ever prevail in South Asia till
Kashmir issue is resolved. The present Indian State repression is
driving the youth to the wall and chances are that armed insur-
gency may once again take Kashmir in its grip, whose bitter
results are still being redeemed in the form of widows, half-wid-
ows, orphans, injured, physically challenged, molested and
bruised souls.
Hence for any substantial peace, dialogue must be initiated,
welcomed and the outcome implemented, while taking the mass-
es in confidence too. Any solution which will be inimical to the
majority of Kashmiris can never be a successful solution to the
vexed problem of Kashmir.
Overall, it is essential to facilitate dialogue at the grassroots
levels among different communities so that they can understand
each other, which will ultimately pave way for peace and reconcil-
iation. This dialogue must be inter and intra people.
I would like to end on a Positive note as observed by Mahatma
Gandhi on December 29, 1947 which still remains to be realized
and fulfilled. He said, Will not India and Pakistan come together
and settle the issue with the help of impartial Indians? Is there no
one here who is impartial? I am sure that we have not become
bankrupt to that extent. Today Hindusim and Islam are being test-
ed in Kashmir. If the right thing is done and right direction given to
the process, the chief actors will win fame. It is my prayer that in
the present darkness in the country, Kashmir may become the star
that provides light.
12
Kashmir as a star has yet to illuminate and when it will only
time will tell.
Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander is Writer-Activist based in
Srinagar, Kashmir and can be contacted at
sikandarmushtaq@gmail.com
(Due to paucity of space, references have been omitted
in the print edition - editor)
Continued from the previous page
MUSTAFA KHAN
A 19-year-old college girl was sacrificed at the
altar of Moloch Modi. Among the innocent
Muslims who have been accused of terrorism
and then murdered, the case of Ishrat Jahan is
the most foul. It should have attracted the
Americans most because it followed their pat-
tern of the three extraordinary renditions. It
should have attracted the feminists all over the
world because none other than the then central
government home secretary GK Pillai questioned
her chastity. It should also have aroused the ire
of the majority of the Hindus who value their
sanskriti or culture and have a special place for
women and their fidelity. Even President Barack
Obamas Atrocity Prevention Board, established
in 2012, should be concerned because Ishrat
Jahans case is part of legitimate mass atrocities
suffered by a group.
Ishrat along with three others was killed in
2004 by the police in Gujarat who claimed that
she was a terrorist on her way to kill important
Hindu leaders including the state Chief Minister
Narendra Modi. The police under DCP
PP Pandey claimed reward for the murder in the
form of medals and promotions. The govern-
ment of Modi was quick to provide both. Since
then Pandey has risen in promotion and now he
is the Additional Director General of Police of
Gujarat, the highest rank of a police officer in
India. He proved himself to be guilty of murder-
ing an innocent girl by going underground in the
third week of April 2013. When the Central
Bureau of Investigation wanted to interrogate
him, he was nowhere to be located. The Gujarat
government said that he was on sick leave.
When CBI failed to trace him, it asked a
lower court to issue an arrest warrant. But the
lower court refused to do so. The CBI court then
submitted a review petition. The Special CBI
court decided in favour of CBI and the court
issued a warrant for his arrest on 2 May, 2013.
He went underground. Since then he is abscond-
ing. P P Pandey had ducked the court orders two
times, once on 22 April, 2013 and then on
24 April.
Behind the above rigmarole there is the
twist and turns of two courts that confirm how
the courts in Gujarat had malfunctioned under
Modi. The CBI sessions court had on 2 May,
2013 asked the additional chief judicial magis-
trate (ACJM), to issue a warrant against
PP Pandey. The ACJM H S Khutwad, while
rejecting the CBIs application, said that the
investigative officer has the power to arrest if he
wishes as the offence is cognizable one. Further
in support of the application I dont find any jus-
tified circumstances or record to allow the pres-
ent application and issue warrant as projected.
But the Special Judge Gita Gopi set aside
the order of the ACJM. She observed: The order
passed by learned ACJM is found illegal and
incorrect. It is against the provision of law, thus,
required to be set aside. She continued: The
judicial discretion which has been exercised is
arbitrary and perverse and thus, the revisionist
(CBI) has succeeded to bring to notice of this
court that the interference is necessary in the
interest of justice... The ACJM is directed to
issue warrant of arrest.
That was the drama that police officer
Narendra Amin also had played in the case of
Sohrabuddin, another fake encounter in the
state. The Gujarat government had shielded him
in the same way.
If the interference is necessary in the inter-
est of justice as it arises between two courts
within India and kills so much of time, there are
hundreds of such cases relating to Gujarat 2002
genocide which cannot see the light of the day.
This context necessitates collaboration with
international agencies that can help India
through the quagmire of legal wranglings which
make it what Justice Gita Gopi calls interfer-
ence necessary in the interest of justice.
Where the courts of India failed to nail what
happened in the genocide of Muslims in Gujarat,
Noam Chomsky succeeded in pointing his finger
so straightforwardly in the case of the Boston
marathon bombing: inducement to violence.
Chief Minister Narendra Modi did just that
in the night meeting of 27 February, 2002. He
allowed the Hindus three days to vent their anger
at the Muslims and take revenge for Godhra
train coach burning and the police were told to
abide by that. What happened is history.
Chomsky lived in Boston and wrote of it:
There was no direct way to prevent the Boston
murders. There are some easy ways to prevent
likely future ones: by not inciting them. Thats
also true of another case of a suspect murdered,
his body disposed of without autopsy, when he
could easily have been apprehended and
brought to trial: Osama bin Laden.
From this what is inferable is that if Ishrat
Jehan were a terrorist, she should have been
caught alive and tried in a court of law. The
Gujarat government was already neck deep in
the terror of the slaughters of more than 2000
Muslims in year 2002 and the ensuing fake
encounters following the same line of accusation
that the Muslims were terrorists.
A year before her, Sadik Mohammad
Mehtar was also murdered like Ishrat. A year
after Ishrat, Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausarbi
were also killed in cold blood.
In the meantime, Modi had justified the
murders and went on asking his proud five crore
Gujratis to tell him what would they have done in
such cases like that of Sohrabuddin, the crowd
yelled in unison that they would kill such people.
A year after Sohrabuddin, the police killed
his friend Tulsiram Prajapati. So inducement to
violence never stopped in Gujarat. The Muslim
victims multiplied.
Like the CIA which launched a polio vacci-
nation programme in Pakistan to find out Laden,
Modi did the same in determining the status of
proper ty and commercial establishment of
Muslims before the 2002 genocide. All such sur-
veyed and marked Muslim houses and commer-
cial establishments were not only looted,
torched and destroyed but the Muslims were fur-
ther subjected to boycott.
The fake encounters were an extension of
the same policy. What was most neglectful was,
in the words of Chomsky again, The right reac-
tion is not passive acquiescence.
Modi has acquiesced in all the crimes of
2002 and those committed since then including
the murder of his home minister and framing of
Muslim terrorists who his police alleged had
killed Haren Pandiya. If he could thunder Mian
Musharraf across the border, why is he acqui-
escent over PP Pandey? If he opens his mouth
on Pandey, a Pandoras box is waiting for him to
handle. There are such issues as the murder of
Haren Pandiya, his visit to the Charra backward
people in the evening of 28 February, 2002 and
blessing their mothers to have given them birth
(for what?), his harbouring Babu Bajrangi (now
sentenced to life imprisonment) in the Gujarat
government guest house in Mount Abu while
Bajrangi was absconding from law, the police
had issued shoot-at-sight order against him, his
notorious speech at Mehsana when he won the
election in December 2002 [see the quote
below], the phone records of the visit he paid to
Godhra and subsequently the meetings he held,
of the period when the pogroms were in full
swing and his signing the transfer of DG Vanzara
prior to the killing of Prajapati, etc.
Even the judicial system at all levels has
failed to question him of what exactly he told and
why he went after IB officer Sanjiv Bhatt. Even
the amicus curiae Raju Ramchandran had rec-
ommended that the truth should be found out
through actual trial of the case. But all the courts
and cour t-appointed STF shielded him.
Therefore, an independent jury of international
repute should be entrusted this task.
Modis role as RSS pracharak in charge of
Gujarat 1985 onwards is even murkier because
he it was who turned the anti-reservation stir into
full-blown riots against the Muslims. The quan-
tum of blame against him is enormous and an
international committee of experts alone can
sort out the matter in reasonable time frame. For
Indian courts it would be another decade to hear
and settle even one such case.
It is opportune of Katrina Lantos Swett,
chair of the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom, to have inter-
vened in time to recommend a lookout notice for
Modi. As the daughter of a survivor of the
Holocaust, she knows very well how the worst
perpetrators seek refuge in extreme nationalism
to hide their murky record. Modi did it in the case
of the fake encounters which his police carried
out with impunity for years because they were
doing a great patriotic duty of finishing off
Muslims whom they cavalierly blamed as agents
of the Lashkar-e-Toiba. This was singularly the
case of Ishrat Jahan, Sohrabuddin and many
others.
Never before had any Union home secre-
tary blamed a woman as did GK Pillai when he
said: Ishrat used to live with another man in dif-
ferent hotels, which definitely was suspicious.
He went further and repeated that the SIT had
said that the encounter was fake but it did not
say whether Ishrat and the others killed were ter-
rorists or not. By that, Pillai wanted to pass off
the opinion the Intelligence Bureau had planted
that she was a member of Lashkar-e-Toiba.
The accused in the murder of Ishrat had
committed multiple crimes including crimes
against humanity and terrorism. Joint
Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) PP
Pandey, suspended Deputy Inspector General
DG Vanzara, then Assistant Commissioner of
Police GL Singhal, and Assistant Commissioner
of Police NK Amin who were on an illegal mis-
sion of killing Muslims in the name of protecting
Modi and other Hindu leaders. Vanzara had
offered sumptuous dinner from the state larder at
the government guest house in Ahmadabad to
those who were arrested in Naroda Patia
manslaughter and then they were set free to go
home. Amin had taken an active part in kidnap-
ping and killing Sohrabuddin and others. He was
also in Hyderabad where he had killed a Muslim
youth whose relatives and neighbours had gone
to protest against illegal detention. Singhal was
also involved in killing Prajapati. It is also alleged
that the police party which kidnapped Ishrat
from Mumbra in Mumbai raped her and then
killed her.
It is also now clear that the four (Ishrat, a
19-year-old college girl, along with Javed Sheikh
alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan
Johar) were killed by Ahmedabad Crime Branch
on 15 June, 2004 separately and the bodies
dumped together. But in September 2009,
Ahmedabad metropolitan magistrate SP Tamang
submitted his report in which he concluded that
they were victims of fake encounter. He found
that the rice they had eaten was in an advanced
stage of digestion when they were killed belying
the police claim that they had finished their meal
and then attacked the police.
In August 2010, Gujarat HC asked Supreme
Court-appointed SIT headed by former CBI
director RK Raghavan (investigating the Gujarat
riots) to take up the case. Next month Raghavan
said his new team was unable to investigate. In
November 2010 the Supreme Court rejected
state governments filibustering regarding its
objection to form a new team of investigators.
On 28 January, 2011, Satish Verma, an honest
police officer of the new team, filed an affidavit
that it was a fake encounter.
The Modi government tried continually to
prevent investigations. So much so that on
8 April, 2011 the HC told the state government
that it would have to ask NIA or CBI to investigate
if the Modi government continued obstructing
investigation.
Fur thermore, Tamang also found that
Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana were Indians
and not Pakistanis as claimed. The police had
prepared a bogus ID of Johar when he was in
detention. This Pakistani angle is a dangerous
ploy in the hands of the Indian police which only
an international court can judge and come to the
truth in a host of other cases where Pakistanis
are blamed for crimes of terror (like Samjhauta
Express) which were actually the works of
Hindutva terrorists. This also includes the terror-
ist attack in Ahmadabad of 2008. On the back of
the photo of Rana the police had written SALIM
-- how could Rana write his own name in the
photo taken in detention and help the police to
identify that he was a terrorist?
More unknown unknowns came out and
the list of the accused later included former
police commissioner K R Kaushik, joint police
commissioner P P Pandey, then crime branch
head D G Vanzara, G L Singhal, N K Amin, P
G Waghela, K M Waghela, J G Parmar, V D
Vanar, C J Goswami, S P Agrawat, D H
Goshwami, R I Patel, B A Chavda, Tarun Barot, K
S Desai, Ibrahim Chauhan, Mukesh Vyas,
Nizamuddin Burhanmiya, M L Kalaswa and A J
Chaudhary. The new names added were of those
who were already tainted in the pogrom of
Muslim in 2002 or fake encounters since then.
This gave credence to the belief that the fake
encounters were an extension of the genocide.
Indian courts do not care for defining geno-
cide and are trying Gujarat holocaust as a mere
communal riot. Hence there is no hope that jus-
tice would ever be done. This is poignantly true
as India having signed the UNO treaty against
genocide continues to reject that 2002 Gujarat
was a genocide. A more competent and broad-
based commission of international repute alone
can adjudge this matter.
Mass atrocities include not only rape and
murder but also stigmatization and social boy-
cott which continues to this day. The UN rappor-
teur Rashida Manjoo discovered this in the case
of Ishrat Jahan. Ishrats mother, Shamima of
Kausa in Mumbai, told her on April 9, 2013:
Mostly men have fallen prey to encounter
killings. My daughter was the first woman to
have been killed in the name of an encounter. It
has been a long fight. My family has faced social
boycott and no one is ready to marry my other
daughters. My son has been struggling to get a
regular job.
Ishrat Jahan: murder most foul
Mostly men have fallen
prey to encounter killings.
My daughter was the first
woman to have been killed
in the name of an
encounter. It has been a
long fight. My family has
faced social boycott and
no one is ready to marry
my other daughters. My
son has been struggling to
get a regular job.
SHAMIMA, Ishrats mother
Kausa, Mumbai
Ishrat along with three others was killed in 2004 by the police in
Gujarat who claimed that she was a terrorist on her way to kill
important Hindu leaders including the state Chief Minister Narendra
Modi. The police under DCP PP Pandey claimed reward for the murder
in the form of medals and promotions. The government of Modi was
quick to provide both. Since then Pandey has risen in promotion and
now he is the Additional Director General of Police of Gujarat, the
highest rank of a police officer in India.
He proved himself to be guilty of murdering an innocent girl by going
underground in the third week of April 2013. When the Central Bureau
of Investigation wanted to interrogate him, he was nowhere to be
located. The Gujarat government said that he was on sick leave.
When CBI failed to trace him, it asked a lower court to issue an arrest
warrant. But the lower court refused to do so. The CBI court then
submitted a review petition. The Special CBI court decided in favour of
CBI and the court issued a warrant for his arrest on 2 May, 2013. He
went underground. Since then he is absconding.
The following is the report of the Fact-Finding Committee on
the Malleswaram Blast near BJP office in Bangalore on
17 April 2013. It was released at the Press Club Bangalore on
25 May 2013:
T
he fact-finding team consisted of advocates from Tamil
Nadu, Bhavani B. Mohan, President of the Tamil Nadu
chapter of NCHRO, Prof. Ramesh, President of the
Karnataka chapter of NHCRO -
Karnataka, Advocate SMA Jinnah, State Secretary of NCHRO
Tamil Nadu, S. Rajnikanth, Advocate, Madras High Court and
Human Rights activist, M.Mohamed Abbas, A.Nowfal and
S.A.S.Alaudeen, advocates and human rights activists.
The committee visited the place of blast, namely
Malleswaram near the BJP office where the alleged blast took
place injuring 17 people including 11 policemen.
The blast took place on 17 April 2013 using a two-wheeler
TVS Suzuki bike, bearing Registration No.TN 22R3769, which was
fitted with a pipe bomb. The complaint was lodged by the traffic
police Sub-Inspector Nanjappa who was physically present near
the blast site. In his complaint, he did not mention any eye-wit-
ness witnessing the parking of the vehicle that got exploded. But
in his complaint, he resorted to stereotyping by mentioning that
the explosion was caused by some anti-national terrorist organi-
zation members with intention of waging war against the nation,
disturbing internal peace and harmony, damaging public proper-
ty and killing innocents by the explosion and running away after
committing it. The very sentences used in the complaint exposed
the pre-designed motive of the police to fix the accused without
any investigation according to law.
Subsequent to the alleged investigating by CCB, Peer
Mohaiden and Basheer were allegedly arrested on 23 April, 2013,
followed by one Kitchan Buhari alias Buhari on 23 April 2013 at
Madurai. The arrest of Kitchan Buhari alias Buhari was a stage-
managed drama of the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Police to fix the
accused as per their pre-designed plan
throwing the slant upon a banned outfit, the erstwhile Al-
Umma and other absconding accused.
Newspaper reports revealed that so far the police mentioned
14 names as accused in the blast, among whom 11 were
arrested and three are absconding. The police have taken the
arrested accused into police custody for the maximum period and
at present seven accused are in police custody. The newspaper
reports revealed that pipe bombs improvised explosive device
manufactured in Kerala is said to have been handed over to
Kitchan Buhari alias Buhari and Police Fakrudeen alias Fakrudeen,
who along with the other accused by using the two-wheeler bike
was finally brought the same to Bangalore by the absconding
accused namely one Police Fakrudeen alias Fakrudeen with Banna
Ismail and Bilal Malik to explode the same during the IPL cricket
match on 16 April, 2013.
Due to heavy bandobast of the police, they were unable to
carry out their design as scheduled. Therefore, on 17 April, 2013,
under the monitoring of Police Fakrudeen alias Fakrudeen, Banna
Ismail and Bilal Malik parked the two-wheeler TVS Suzuki bike fit-
ted with the pipe bomb near the BJP office at Malleswaram. That
bomb exploded on 17 April, 2013 at 10:30 am injuring 17 per-
sons.
The fact-finding committee, constituted to find the truth of
the explosion, found a lot of material contradictions in the reports.
Our committee visited the place of occurrence, enquired with the
people nearby, interviewed the lawyers appearing for some of the
remanded prisoners namely Mr. S. Balan & Associates. perused
the materials and documents connected to the case and visited
Parapana Agrahara Central Prison, Bangalore, where Kitchan
Buhari alias Buhari, Basheer, Sadam Hussain and Peer Mohaideen
are lodged. They were interviewed by the fact-finding committee
on 24 May 2013. Thereafter the committee interviewed the inves-
tigation officer of this case on 25 May 2013.
Our fact-finding committee came across shocking facts
about the suppression of the illegal custody taken by the Tamil
Nadu police as far as Kitchan Buhari alias Buhari, Bahseer and
Sadam Hussain are concerned.
Kitchan Buhari alias Buhari narrated that on 21 April 2013, he
went to Tirunelveli from Coimbatore at about 10:30 pm by bus
with Thenkasi Sulaiman to attend the J.M. No. 1 court in
Tirunelveli. When he reached the Tirunelveli bus stand on 22 April
2013 early morning at about 04:30 am Tamil Nadu I.S. Inspector
Bandarinathan with his police team arrested him and Sulaiman.
Then they arrested Mohamed Sali in Tirunelveli and the three of
them were taken to Madurai and on 22 April 2013 at about 10:30
pm, they were handed over to the Karnataka Police near Pepsi
Company at Vilankudi, Madurai. Then the Karnataka Police took
them and produced them before the Judicial Magistrate concerned
and got police custody till 6 May 2013. During the police custody,
Kitchan Buhari alias Buhari and other accused were harassed and
tortured by the Karnataka Police. Kitchan Buhari alias Buhari, in
particular, was given electric shocks in several parts of his body
including his penis. Further, he was roped and hanged by using
pulleys. During the time of torture, he was dictated to implicate
Abdul Nazer Madani (the Kerala PDF leader undergoing yet anoth-
er incarceration in the Bangalore Jail in connection with the 2008
blast) as the kingpin of the explosion at the BJP office and that he
[Madani] only instructed to do so. Even though Kitchan Buhari
represented this before the doctor and also before the court, but
he was prevented openly by police.
The method of torture is somewhat invisible and he sustained
inner injuries in his body which requires immediate medical treat-
ment and also requires probe of the same.
Peer Mohaideen, a native of Melapalayam, Tirunelveli district
in Tamil Nadu, has been doing retail tea business for the past
seven years, engaging and helping more than 1000 people from
Melapalayam. He is doing business without any link with any
organization. He was tortured to tell them that Police Fakrudeen
alias Fakrudeen, Banna Ismail and Bilal Malik came to his resi-
dence, stayed there and left prior to the explosion. Since he had
not even known their faces, he refused to say that, therefore he
was implicated as an accused in the case. He also told us that the
photos of absconding accused, namely Police Fakrudeen alias
Fakrudeen, Banna Ismail and Bilal Malik were shown to him and
he was told to admit that he had known them already.
The said Peer Mohaideen and Basheer were taken into cus-
tody near Pothys cloth centre in Chennai and they were tortured
right from the place where they were taken into illegal custody on
their way to Bangalore by tying their hands together tightly and
also blindfolding them and also tightly holding their heads with a
rope throughout the journey in the vehicle. During the police cus-
tody also they were tortured physically and mentally.
Sadam Hussain, being brother-in-law of Kitchan Buhari, had
conversed with him on the cell phone; therefore, he too was
spinned in this case.
From the factual scenario and enquires, the fact-finding com-
mittee has come to the conclusion that it is crystal clear that the
erstwhile ruling party, the BJP, tried through this explosion to have
political gain in the election as stated by an eminent Congress
leader during a TV interview. That is why the FIR straightaway
fixed the accusation on terrorist anti-national organisations, with-
out any iota of truth. The erstwhile government and the police
machinery, hand-in-glove with the Tamil Nadu police, spinned a
banned outfit organisation whose erstwhile members are actively
fighting for justice in the appeal before the Apex Court pertaining
to the bomb blast which occurred in 1998 at Coimbatore, Tamil
Nadu. The police also conveniently fixed the absconding accused
Muslims in Tamil Nadu to be perpetrators of the crime. The arrest-
ed persons are totally innocent and they have been falsely impli-
cated and incarcerated in this case by invoking the UAPA dracon-
ian act.
What had happened in Malegaon blast, Mumbai, Samjhauta
Express, Ajmer Dargah blast triggered by Hindutva fundamentalist
outfits, has been repeated here in the BJP office blast case, just
two weeks prior to the Karnataka Assembly elections as BJP was
facing the elections as a broken party in disarray. This has to be
investigated impartially through a credible investigation of the
Central government, namely by CBI, so that the real truth is
brought out and justice done.
The SIM cards said to have been seized in this case also offer
a tell-tale story created to connect the arrested persons in the
crime. There are contradictions in respect of the missing of cell
phone belonging to a prominent RSS leader. The said person was
not at all examined contrary to the case of the remanded accused
Muslims.
Therefore, on the basis of careful analysis of records and
direct interviews we had with concerned accused and police offi-
cers, it is imperative to transfer the investigation from Bangalore
CCB Police, Karnataka, to CBI for an independent and impartial
investigation.
(Released by Bhavani B. Mohan Advocate, State President,
NCHRO - Tamil Nadu).
The Blast near BJP office in Bangalore
What had happened in Malegaon blast, Mumbai, Samjhauta Express, Ajmer Dargah blast triggered by Hindutva fundamentalist
outfits, has been repeated here in the BJP office blast case, just two weeks prior to the Karnataka Assembly elections as BJP
was facing the elections as a broken party in disarray. This has to be investigated impartially through a credible investigation of
the Central government, namely by CBI, so that the real truth is brought out and justice done.
Bhubaneswar: Scholars, activists, churches
and others working to defend Indias secular
credentials met in New Delhi on 30 May to chalk
out plans to mark the fifth anniversary of the
2008 violence in Orissas Kandhamal district.
Suggestions were made to stage a rally in
Bhubaneswar, a seminar in Delhi, a national
roaming exhibition and the launch of a website
to explain the events of the anti-Christian ram-
page.
It was months before the smoke finally lift-
ed from the hills and valleys of Kandhamal in
2008. When it did, over 400 villages had been
purged of all Christians; more than 5,600 hous-
es and 296 churches had been burnt to a cinder
and perhaps as many as a 100 killed (the gov-
ernment admits to only 56 deaths).
Thousands were injured, women raped,
including a nun, and 56,000 men, women and
children rendered homeless.
Sikhs and Muslims have faced similar
ordeals in 1984 (Delhi), 1992 and 2002
(Mumbai and Gujarat). They are still looking for
justice, with an occasional triumph in the
Supreme Court. Christians of Kandhamal take
some hope from them in their pursuit of justice.
Investigations have been tardy and superfi-
cial - one junior officer and two inspectors head
the small team trying to probe the vast number
of cases with primitive forensic equipment and
almost no training in probing cases of mass vio-
lence.
There has been no attempt by the
Directorate of Prosecutions or by the police to
upgrade cases where victims died of their
injuries, not on the spot, but in hospital, refugee
camps or other places.
Cutting through the fog created around the
legal data, the following is the current situation
of the criminal investigation into cases of arson
and murder, abduction and violence.
Present Legal Status: Victims filed 3,232
criminal complaints when the dust settled on the
Second Phase violence that began on
24 August, 2008 and after peaking by about
30 August, continued sporadically through most
of September and October that year.
But the Kandhamal district police acknowl-
edge less than half of them or only 1,541 com-
plaints. They did not file them as First
Information Reports (FIRs) which are required
under Indian Criminal law.
Of those, only 828 complaints were actual-
ly converted to FIRs, which mark the beginning
of further investigation and the case being
brought before a court for trial after a charge-
sheet is filed.
Finally, only 327 cases have actually seen
the completion of the investigation process with
the cases committed to the two Fast Track
Courts headed by two ad hoc Additional District
Judges for day-to-day hearings.
Of the finalized cases, in 169 cases, all the
accused have been acquitted, 86 cases have
ended with convictions -- not for the heinous
crimes mentioned in the FIRs, but for compara-
tively minor offenses meriting only prison terms
of two or three years.
Some 90 cases are still in the process of
being tried.
In all, 1,597 suspects have been acquitted.
This does not include the thousands who could
not be arrested, and therefore could not be
brought to trial.
These statistics do not reflect the justice that
Kandhamal survivors and victims deserve. It is
time that Indian polity revisited and re-looked at the
facts to secure justice for Kandhamal.
Ajay Kumar Singh is Catholic priest and
social activist based in Orissa capital
Bhubaneswar and works to bring justice and
help the victims since the days of violence in
2008. (ucanews.com)
AJAY KUMAR SINGH
[Press Meet: 1. Adv Nowfal (Coimbatore), Adv Rajinikanth (Madras High Court), Adv Bavani B. Mohan (State
President - NCHRO) Adv Abbas (Treasurer, NCHRO - TN), Adv Alaudeen, Madurai Bench of Madras High Court]
5 years on, no justice to Orissa victims
AFSANA RASHID, SRINAGAR
The High Court here has directed Union and state government to
file a compliance report and statement of facts regarding
Surankote massacre in Poonch district of Jammu.
The Court had, November 21 last year, directed Central
Bureau of Investigation to probe the killing of 19 members of three
families at Surankote in 1998. Three victim families had filed a
petition seeking direction of the government to reinvestigate the
case by Special Investigation Team or Central Bureau of
Investigation or any other to bring the accused to book. They also
sought directions for implementing recommendations of State
Human Rights Commission, in the matter. The families contended
that during the intervening night of 3/4 August in 1998, 19 mem-
bers comprising six males and 13 females of three families were
allegedly killed. The petitioners stated, the massacre of 19 mem-
bers, with ages ranging from 4 to 70 years including a pregnant
woman, was reported widely in the media and police station
Surankote had registered an FIR 122 of 98 on August 4. The peti-
tion further stated, the Commission after taking suo-moto cog-
nizance of the matter, investigated it and presented an investiga-
tion report before government.
Week of the Disappeared observed
Organizing seminars, delivering speeches and issuing statements
marked the International Week of Disappeared, here that is
observed world over in the last week of May, ever year.
Urging United Nations Security Council to conduct an impar-
tial probe into disappearances here through International Court of
Justice, Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, addressing
Friday congregation here at historic Jamia Masjid, May 31, said,
Over 9000 enforced disappearances and nearly 4000 unmarked
graves in Kashmir stand testimony to it.
He said families of people who were subjected to disappear-
ance are living a miserable life. He added, on the occasion of the
International Week of Disappeared, it is the responsibility of glob-
al human rights organizations like Asia Watch and Amnesty
International to take note of human rights abuses including disap-
pearances.
The day is observed to take measures for alleviating the
problems of victim families and to demand the return of thou-
sands of people who have been subjected to disappearance, said
Mirwaiz, in a statement here May 29. Stating that families of dis-
appeared persons have lost hope and are living in distress and
despair, Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani, May 30, said it
is sad that the identity of those buried in unmarked graves is still
a question, yet to be answered.
Geelani stated 10,000 people were arrested and subjected to
enforced disappearance during the last 23 years. Authorities have
maintained a criminal silence over the disappearances. He urged
the international community to impress upon India to explore a
mechanism so that disappeared persons are traced.
A seminar 23 years of struggle against enforced disappear-
ances in Jammu and Kashmir was organized here by Association
of Parents of Disappeared Persons, a constituent of Jammu and
Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), May 28 to commem-
orate the week.
Noted journalist and human right activist, Zahir-ud-Din, sug-
gested the formation of a committee to streamline financial help
for these families. If every Kashmiri donates a rupee per month,
the amount would at least suffice to satisfy the basic requirement
of such families. He added over 8,000 went missing in the cus-
tody of security agencies. The figure excludes over 12,000
Kashmiris who went missing while crossing the Line of Control.
Kashmiri diaspora and intellectuals have failed to highlight the
sufferings of Kashmiris internationally to build pressure on India,
said Pervez Imroz, patron JKCCS.
Neelofar and Asiya remembered
A complete shutdown was observed in south Kashmirs Shopian,
May 30, in memory of Neelofar Jan and her teenage sister-in-law
Asiya Jan, who were allegedly raped and murdered by police and
security forces on the intervening night of May 29 and 30 in 2009.
Streets in the town wore a deserted look and few incidents of
stone-pelting were reported. Accusing state institutions of shield-
ing perpetrators, Shakeel Ahmad Ahangar, husband of Neelofar
and brother of Asiya, told media May 30 India was carrying out
the worst kind of repression on Kashmiris through its military
might. Rape is being used as a tool to subdue their just cause.
He reiterated that he would take the fight to its logical conclusion.
Four years ago, the incident triggered wide-spread rage, with
people demanding stern punishment to guilty.
Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who had called
for a shutdown, May 30 said, Unless and until the culprits are
punished, resistance and protests would continue, adding it was
a grave crime against joint conscience of people of the state.
Majlis-e-Mashawarat Shopian, who spearheaded the agitation
following the incident, May 29, organized a seminar, Struggle for
Justice: A tribute to Asiya and Neelofar wherein speakers
described it as a war-crime and feared that such incidents would
continue to happen.
Duktaran-e-Milat chief Asiya Andarbi, on the occasion, said
India has been using rape as tool to suppress the genuine voic-
es in Kashmir. Mashawarat and Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of
Civil Society (JKCCS), a local human rights group, have accused
the state government of shielding the accused. To date, no action
has been taken against perpetrators of the crime. Justice Muzaffar
Jan (Retd) in his July 2009 report, based on scientific and testi-
monial evidence, confirms rape and murder. The report and evi-
dence points strongly towards involvement of armed forces in
crime more particularly, police and CRPF, says Abdur Rasheed
Dalal, president Mashawarat and Parvez Imroz, patron JKCCS, in
a joint statement here, May 29.
The statement added Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
has, predictably, shielded the guilty, hidden the truth and charge-
sheeted persons for fabrication of evidence. Arguments raised in
the one-man commission headed by Justice Muzaffar Jans find-
ings remain still unanswered and unless evidence produced in
Justice Jans report are taken on board, justice remains evasive.
Pertinently, CBI termed it a case of drowning. Hurriyat (M) chair-
man Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, addressing Friday congregation here,
May 31, said, Continued denial of justice cannot deter people
from fighting against discrimination and achieving the inalienable
right to self-determination.
Cleric arrested for molesting girls
Gulzar Ahmad Bhat of Shamasabad village in Khan Sahib tehsil of
Budgam district, was arrested by police after four minor girls
charged him of sexual exploitation at a seminary run by him. The
girls deposed before a local magistrate that he had been sexually
exploiting them. More arrests followed. A self-styled faith-healer,
Bhat allegedly ran an institution to impart religious education to
girls. Soon after his arrest, May 21, police constituted Special
Investigating Team to investigate the matter.
Protests were held demanding stern action against him and
closure of his fake institute. Various statements condemning the
act and demanding stringent action against Bhat have been pour-
ing in. Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Aasiya Andrabi, May 26, asked
from where Bhat received such huge amount of money. It is a big
network involving band of notorious persons.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, May 24, said such people are a
serious threat to society. Chairperson State Commission for Women,
Shamim Firdous, May 23, said disclosures by the girls victims point
towards involvement of an organized gang. Police should probe
whether the accused is involved in women-trafficking.
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THE MILLI GAZETTE
First English Newspaper of Indian Muslims. Telling the Muslim side of the story fortnight after fortnight since January 2000
File report on Surankote massacre: J&K HC to govt
N
ew Delhi: The inhuman, barbaric killing
of Khalid Mujahid in custody by the Uttar
Pradesh Police has once again exposed
the dubious terror probes and custodial
tortures of the accused. Since the very first day,
leading Muslim organizations and NGOs have
protested against the arrest of deceased Khalid
Mujahid and Tariq Qasmi. In its enquiry report,
RD Nimesh Commission has cast doubt over the
role of police. Notwithstanding, Khalid Mujahid
died in mysterious circumstances while in the
custody of the UP state government. His death
has exposed the cruel face of the police, on one
hand, and has put a question mark on the election
manifesto of the ruling Samajwadi Party wherein
it had promised to release innocent Muslim
youths arrested in terror cases, said the national
secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Engineer
Mohammad Saleem while addressing a press
conference here on 1 June at JIH headquarters in
the capital.
Engineer Saleem further said, Even though
the Nimesh Commission report on the arrest of
Khalid Mujahid and Tariq Qasmi looks satisfactory though the
very long time the Commission took in preparation of the report
was in itself against the demands of justice. And the fragile hope
of justice was shattered by the indifference and ignorance of the
government. While the report was leaked in the media long ago,
the UP state government neither tabled it in the Assembly nor did
take any clear and effective measure for the release of the inno-
cent Khalid Mujahid and Tariq Qasmi.
He went on to say, It is not just the brutal death of an inno-
cent, oppressed noble youth, it is also the murder of human rights
and outrage of justice, law and constitution. We strongly demand
the Uttar Pradesh Government to award reasonable compensa-
tion to the family of Khalid Mujahid because he was in the cus-
tody and protection of the government but it failed to ensure him
justice and protect his life. The government should arrest and
prosecute the police officers who falsely arrested and implicated
him in terror case, and the jail officials who pushed him to death.
The JIH leader declared Mujahid as shaheed (martyr).
Citing pre-autopsy photographs and video, Mohammad Salim
Engineer said Khalid Mujahid did not die a natural death nor of
heat stroke or heart attack as the government had claimed. The
photos and video, he said, clearly show Mujahid was brutally tor-
tured to death. He demanded the immediate arrest of the police
officers made accused in the FIR filed by Maulana Zaheer Alam
Falahi, Mujahids uncle.
The JIH leader further strongly condemned the terror attack
at a caravan of Congress party in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.
Engineer Saleem termed the attack as inhuman and undemocrat-
ic. Expressing sorrow at the deaths caused by the attack, he
demanded the government to initiate such positive and construc-
tive steps that could help in eliminating these crimes. He demand-
ed the government to order a high-level probe into the
Chhattisgarh attack so that the real culprits could be exposed and
brought to book.
Engineer Saleem said, JIH wants to draw the attention of the
government to honestly analyze its schemes and plans for the
tribal areas and to ensure the local inhabitants their just rights.
The government should create such an atmosphere that tribal
population would seek the resolution of its problems through
peaceful and constructive means. He further said, JIH wants to
tell the tribal people that violence and destruction cannot solve
their problems, rather this only complicates them. The tribal peo-
ple, therefore, must keep away from illegal activities and always
use peaceful, legal and constitutional means for their struggle.
Stop custodial killings, jail guilty police officers: JIH
Islamic banking inconsistent
with existing Indian laws: RBI
Srinagar: Reserve Bank of Indias Governor D. Subbarao said
here after RBI Boards meeting on 9 May that Islamic Banking
which does not allow charging or taking of interest is inconsis-
tent with the system and hence it (Islamic banking) is not con-
sistent with current banking laws. He said that charging interest
is necessary to conduct banking operations in India because
banks have to borrow money on which they have to pay inter-
est, adding that banks have to deposit excess cash with RBI on
which they get interest. So, it is the government which has to
determine whether it wants to permit Islamic banking and if so,
it has to enact a law that is consistent with Islamic banking.
He also said that if an institution or bank is under Islamic
banking, it will have to come under the purview of Shariah regu-
lation. He said that RBI being the banking regulator and Shariah
court being the regulator for Islamic banking, it is not clear or
comprehensible if there can be two regulatory agencies over the
same institution.
What can be said about the intra-party
disturbances within BJP regarding differ-
ences over elevation of Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi? Certainly, if the
entire party entertained the same approach
regarding Modis elevation, there would not
have prevailed differences within BJP on
this issue. Nor would several prominent BJP
leaders have mentioned a few more names, together with that
of Modi, particularly that of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chauhan in addition to Advani, the perennial
prime ministerial candidate.
The party appears divided on whether putting forward
Modis name as BJPs prime ministerial nominee would help it
in the coming parliamentary polls or not. Interestingly, despite
there being no certainty over whether BJP would win the com-
ing national elections or not, party members have begun delib-
erating extensively and intensively on who should be their key
campaigner, in other words, their prime ministerial nominee?
BJP is apparently not giving much importance to the hard
fact that the Indian political scenario is not a two-party affair.
In fact, this country has hardly ever witnessed a political battle
at the national level only between two main parties.
Undeniably, there was a phase when the countrys politics was
dominated by only one party, that is the Congress. But that is
history now. The dominance of the Congress at central and
state levels declined as numerous regional and ethnic parties
emerged. In the present phase, no party, whether the Congress,
BJP or any other has the strength to form the central govern-
ment on the basis of its own strength in Parliament. The era of
coalition governments is not likely to end soon.
Against this backdrop, what can be said about some dubi-
ous opinion polls and surveys predicting a victory for BJP with
Modi in the lead? It may be noted, keeping Modis name in the
lead is also equivalent to reminding the entire nation of the dark
phase in Indias secularism, that is the Gujarat carnage o 2002.
Besides, to what extent Indian opinion polls can really be
believed? Within less than a year, there is no knowing as to the
number of political twists and turns various political leaders,
parties and above all the voters may take. The Indian voter may
be expected to change his/her decision just before casting
his/her vote. In addition, most opinion polls do not represent
even a fraction of the countrys electorate.
Equally significant is the fact that Indian politics is not
based exclusively on religious differences prevalent within the
country. Rather, despite there being several parties giving
importance to their respective religious identities, statistically
and politically, their significance is limited. In fact, politicking
based on caste and regional differences carries greater politi-
cal significance than religious. In this context, it may be
recalled that the BJP had to put its Hindutva-agenda on the
backburner to be able to head the coalition government (BJP-
led National Democratic Alliance).
By making noise about giving political lead to Modi, should
it be assumed that certain BJP members are over-optimistic
about the impact that this can have? They are apparently bank-
ing on the communal polarisation that this may lead to and
help them gain votes of the Hindu majority community. They
have apparently ignored a major feature of Indian politics. No
party, particularly at the national level, can claim to have the
support of only a particular religious community. It would be
more appropriate to accept that caste differences, particularly
those prevailing within the Hindu community, are given greater
importance in Indian politics than religious differences. There
is a possibility that Modis own low caste background may be
responsible for differences within BJP over his being in the
lead. He belongs to Other Backward Classes (OBC). Ironically,
the name put forward by LK Advani, that of Chauhan is also list-
ed in the OBC category. Perhaps, BJP is trying its hand at a
caste-based political game.
BJP may be hoping that by putting names of leaders like
Modi and Chauhan, it can gain caste-based votes in the cow
belt. This also implies that BJP is banking on cutting votes of
other caste-based leaders from these states.
The manner in which Modi has visited UP in recent past
suggests making him a familiar face for voters there, including
the OBC-vote bank. By presenting Modi as a prime ministerial
nominee, BJP may be hopeful of winning over this vote-bank.
But, how can it be ignored that Samajwadi Party (SP) leader
Mulayam Singh and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) head
Mayawati have strong political bases here and they also enter-
tain visions of heading the central government as leaders of a
third front. Besides, this is an extremely complicated political
strategy bearing no guarantee of any success for BJP. Even
backward and scheduled castes have numerous social as well
as regional divisions.
Equally significant is the political reality that in Gujarat,
Modi and his party have faced rivalry primarily from Congress.
This is not true of UP and rest of India. Even if BJP tries bank-
ing on the communal strategy and/or caste politics, by putting
forward Modis name, the party will have to face different
regional and ethnic leaders in practically every state. This is
Indian politics, not confined to Gujarati limits!
Speaki ng Out
BJPs Game-
plan & Modis
Elevation
NI LOFAR SUHRAWARDY
KALEEM KAWAJA
Six months ago the year 2013 dawned with
much hope for the Muslim Umma. There
was hope that the Arab Spring will continue
to blossom in the Arab-Muslim countries,
bringing more democracy, pluralism,
removal of pover ty for the common
Muslims. There was hope that the conflicts
between Sunni jamaats and Shia firqas in
Muslim countries could be reduced. There
was hope that killing of Muslims by fellow
Muslims in Syria will be reduced and a
peaceful solution to the discord found.
Back in India, there was hope that with
record number of Muslims elected to state
assemblies in UP, Bihar, Assam, Bengal,
Kerala, and quite a few Muslim ministers in
those states, justice will be done to the
large number of Muslim youth in jails on
trumped up terrorism charges and that
police brutality will stop.
However, as we move to the mid-point
of 2013, the hopes and aspirations of the
Muslim Umma are fast evaporating.
Conditions are going from bad to worse.
In the Middle East, the conflict in Syria
that has already claimed 80,000 Muslim
lives has escalated from being between the
Syian government and rebel forces to
becoming a Shia-Sunni sectarian war.
Fighters from both sides and their support-
ers in the region are demonstrating extreme
brutality towards each other. Top religious
leaders like Shaikh Yusuf Al-Qardawi of
Sunnis and Hassan Nasrallah of the
(Lebanese Shia) Hizbollah are openly
exhorting their respective followers to kill,
annihilate, destroy Muslims who are in
opposition to them.
Is this what our Holy Prophet (pbuh)
prophesized when he told of a time when
the number of Muslims will be huge but
when they will be at each others throats?
Back in India, the brutality of the police
foces towards innocent Muslims, under
state governments run by political parties
supposedly friendly to Muslims, have
steadily increased. And to cap it all the
many Muslim ministers, MLAs, senior
political appointees and Muslim leaders
from whom the Qaum expects so much,
have failed to utter a single word of protest
and are keeping their collective mouths
shut.
The holy month of Ramadan is barely
one month away - the month of accounta-
bility for the Umma, the month of Allahs
mercy and our supplications to the Creator
seeking His Mercy for the relief of our afflic-
tions. Aside from personal afflictions, the
most serious appears to be the indifference
of Muslims to each others miseries; and
indeed their seeking bloody revenge against
fellow Muslims.
What will our prayers to our Creator be
in just one month? How will we collective-
ly answer the anguish of Allahs angels at
seeing the Umma not only in bad shape but
with extreme instances of mutual hatred
and indifference towards our fellow
Muslims? For our achievemnts will we
point to the Burj Khalifa, the most expensive
hotel in the world, in Dubai, or the newly
built horse racing stadium in Qatar, or
what? While teeming masses of Muslims
live in petrid slums trying to survive. How
will the Umma seek forgiveness for our
extreme collective infractions and violations
of the lessons that our holy prophet taught
us? Where is the Ummas dignity this
Ramadan?
ANALYSIS The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 11 www.milligazette.com
With Muslim Ummah at a
Low Point, Are Muslims
Ready for Ramadan?
What will our prayers to our Creator be in just one
month? How will we collectively answer the anguish of
Allahs angels at seeing the Umma not only in bad shape
but with extreme instances of mutual hatred and indiffer-
ence towards our fellow Muslims? For our achievemnts will
we point to the Burj Khalifa, the most expensive hotel in
the world, in Dubai, or the newly built horse racing stadium
in Qatar, or what? While teeming masses of Muslims live in
petrid slums trying to survive...
Im groping for suitable words to condemn the news
that the Madurai police have booked the son of a
priest for making an 11-year-old Dalit boy carry
footwear on his head after the latter passed through
a non-Dalit street (Pune Mirror, June 8).
If theres a religion that treats human beings worse
than animals, its Hinduism. The social hierarchy in
Hinduism is palpably prevalent and the discrimination
is still in vogue.
That this reprehensible mentality persists even in the
21st century, imagine how awful it was in the olden
times? No wonder, so many Dalits and untouchables
embraced Islam and Christianity just to be treated as
human beings and not as animals.
Historian Ramesh Chandra Majumdar of Dacca
University wrote that, The history of Bangladeshi
Muslims is an account of Hindu upper castes ill-
treatment of marginalised classes which later con-
verted to Islam to bypass the abject humiliation being
heaped upon them.
Why did Dalits accept Buddhism en masse under Dr
B R Ambedkar in 1954 at Nagpur? Why did Dalits in
many parts of the country accept Christianity? Most
of the conver ted Christians at Ahmednagar in
Maharashtra, Jagdalpur and Bastar in (MP),
Jharsuguda, Kyonjhargadh and Balangir in Orissa had
Dalit ancestors who were ostracised and pushed to
the outskirts of the cities and villages by the upper
caste Hindus. Christianity and Islam gave them at
least a semblance of respectability as human beings.
Jiah (Nafisa) Khans
suicide: Underlying
Bollywoods uncertainty
The suicide of 25-year-old ebullient actress Jiah
(Nafisa) Khan once again reveals the dark side to
Bollywood. A string of heartbreaks can be ostensibly
attributed to this extreme step, but the reality is that
showbiz is an uncertain world where the dreams of
many break like goblets in a cheap tavern. Theres a
saying in Bollywood: Youre unwise, if you cant
compromise. Just look at the frustrated faces of most
of the young actresses and actors as well. Most of
them have to compromise to be in this rat race. Its a
matter of survival for them. Bold females like
Sherlyn Chopra and Poonam Pandey may appear to
be very liberal but their so-called liberalism is a mask.
Its a device to survive. The likes of Sherlyn and
Poonam live in constant fear of getting sidelined.
Their careers are forever on the tenterhooks and they
walk on the razors edge. Jiah couldnt compromise
so she hardly got any meaty role after Ramgopal
Vermas Nishabd with Amitabh. Despite rave
reviews, her career could never really take off. Those
scribes and film critics, whore shedding crocodile
tears over her suicide and calling her a great actress
whose life was truncated by this reckless step,
should ask themselves: what did they do for her
when she struggled and even tried to commit suicide
some 10 months ago and why didnt she get good
roles in movies? She was rescued in time but suc-
ceeded in her second attempt.
Bollywood is actually a make-believe and heartless
world where everyone adores the rising sun and no
one cares for those whore marginalised.
Jiahs suicide underlines the helplessness of a strug-
gling, young girl in Bombay, whom success eluded
for so long that she was left with no other option but
to end her life. Here, Im not getting into the existen-
tial right and justification of an individual to end
his/her life. What Im trying to state that therere over-
whelming circumstances which drive a person to
take the extreme step. And Jiah took that.
SUMIT PAUL
sumitmaclean@hotmail.com
Musings
Naked Social
Discrimination in Hinduism
Dalit woman burnt by upper caste neighbours
Dr FATEMA SHUJAATULLAH, a teacher in AMUs
Department of Microbiology died in Delhis Sir Ganga
Ram Hospital on 5 June at the young age of 38 years. An
MBBS and MD Degree holder in Microbiology from AMUs
J N Medical College, she had become a teacher there. Her
body was taken to Aligarh and buried in Universitys
graveyard.
MAULANA HAKEEM MUHAMMAD AKHTAR, great reli-
gious scholar and founder of Jamia Ashraful Madaris of
Karachi died there on 3 June after a prolonged illness.
Born in Pratapgarh district of U P in 1924, after migrating
to Pakistan he founded Jamia Ashraful Madaris in Karachi
in which today about 5000 students are receiving educa-
tion. There are as many as 10 branches of this madrasa
in Karachi alone. Author of more than 150 books, many
of his books have been translated into 8 / 10 different lan-
guages. Condolence meetings were held in many places
in India also including Delhi, Deoband, Kairana etc.
Prof (Hakeem) MUHAMMAD TAIYYAB, a prominent
unani physician and former Dean of AMUs Faculty of
Unani Medicine, a brilliant orator and great researcher
died in Aligarh on 6 June at the age of 82 years. He was
also a former Principal of Ajmal Khan Tibbia College,
Aligarh and after retirement he devoted himself for treat-
ment according to unani system.
Dr (Mrs) RAUFAH IQBAL, a former President of AMUs
Department of Theology and herself a learned lady and an
expert on Islamic Sciences died in Moonger on 24 May.
She belonged to a very respectable, religious and educat-
ed family of Rahmanis of Moonger, including Maulana
Muhammad Wali Rahmani of Khanqah Rahmani,
Moonger. Maulana Wali Rahmani described her death as
his personal loss.
USTAD ZIA FARIDUDDIN DAGAR, Dhrupad maestro, died
in Mumbai on 9 May at the age of 80 years. It was he who
in fact revived this genre of classical music which was
losing popularity because of light music of film world.
Dr MUHAMMAD IQBAL, Professor of Botany
at Delhis Jamia Hamdard, was invited by the
Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences to
deliver a lecture in a workshop on
Environmental Changes and Conservation of
Plant Diversity. He delivered a talk on the
"Active ingredients of medicinal plants in
changing environment" and chaired a techni-
cal session at the Institute of Botany in Baku,
Azerbaijan. The Science Development
Foundation patronized by the President of the
Azerbaijan Republic sponsored this visit.
Dr Iqbal was also elected as Vice-President
of International Society of Environmental
Botanists for a period of three years (2013-
2016).
MAULANA TAUQEER
RAZA KHAN, President of
Ittehad-e Millat Council,
(IMC) Bareilli has been
appointed by Akhilesh
Yadav as adviser in the
handloom and textiles
department and given him
the rank of a state minister. In a press confer-
ence at his residence he made it clear that
his organisation (IMC) has not merged with
Samajwadi Party but has entered into an
alliance with Samajwadi Party in order to
preven the division of Muslim votes (in the
next years general elections) and to put up
strong and influential Muslim candidates in
place of weak and lesser known Muslim can-
didates.
Prof IRAQ RAZA ZAIDI, noted poet and
author was appointed President of Jamia
Millia Islamia Universitys Department of
Persian. He was President
of this Department earlier
from 1999 to 2001. He is
also well-known for his
poetry, criticism and high
quality researches in Urdu
as well as Persian lan-
guages and literature
RAZIA AABDI of
Navgavan Sadaat, a stu-
dent of class 12 in
Qatars Middle East
Education Society Indian
School by securing
97.5% marks has
topped not only in her
school but in the whole of Qatar. Daughter of
Syed Shamshad Haidar Aabdi of Navgavan
Sadaat who is senior Project Manager in
Qatars Petroleum company, she secured a
total of 485 marks out of 500.
MAHMOOD PARACHA, a noted lawyer of
Delhi and MUFTI EJAZ ARSHAD QASMI, a
member of Delhi Waqf Board have been
appointed, in recognition of their milli servic-
es, members of All India Muslim Personal
Law Board. There are a total of about 150
memebrs of AIMPL Board out of which some
seats fell vacant. These two persons were
unanimously appointed to fill up the vacant
seats. Mahmood Pracha has fought legal
cases of many innocent Muslims who were
falsely jailed in Delhi and Mumbai without
charging any fee. Similarly, Mufti Ejaz
Arshad, who is a young religious scholar, has
been helping the Personal Law Board in
many ways from different platforms.
Dr RAWEDA SALAM, 27-year old girl from
Kupwara district of Kashmir Valley who
passed IAS examination, results of which
were declared last month (May) will be the
Valleys first Muslim woman IPS officer. She
is among J&Ks three girls who were includ-
ed in the merit list of civil services.
(Ms) IQBAL MAHMOODUL ASAD, a 20-
year Palestinian girl has become the
youngest qualified doctor of the world whose
name is entered in the Guinness Book of
World Record. When she was only 13, her
name was entered in the Guinness Book for
some other feat. According to her mother
she had passed inter exam at the age of 12,
after which she joined Qatars Medical
College from where she got medical Degree.
She says that in return for the love and
encouragement she received from her family
members and her compatriots in Lebanon
she wants to render her services to them,
particularly to children and Palestinian broth-
ers and sisters as a doctor.
MAULANA ABDUL HAMEED REHMANI has
been unanmously re-elected President of
Abul Kalam Azad Islamic Awakening Centre
for 5 years in view of his dynamic and useful
services to this Centre. Hakeem Ajmal Khan
and Maulana Aashiq Ali Asari have been
appointed Vice President and Secretary
respectively of this Centre.
MUHAMMAD IRFAN AHMAD, a former BJP
assembly candidtate from Jamia Nagar
Okhla assembly constituency and Shakir
Husain of Delhi have been appointed Vice
President and General Secretary respectively
of BJPs minority cell.
MEN & WOMEN IN NEWS
OBITUARIES
12 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 NEWSMAKERS www.milligazette.com
ERD FOUNDATION, a well-known NGO of
Northeast India for development of education,
recently awarded 30 persons belonging to
minority communities for their active role in
education.The programme was held in USTM
(University of Science & Technology, Meghalaya
on 30 April and 1 May this year. The event was
named "Conclave on Minority Educational
Institutions". A group of educationists spoke on
the occasion. Among them was Dr. Fazal Gafur,
chairman M.E.S. Kerala, Dr. N.K.Choudhury, for-
mer Vice Chanchalor of Guwahati University, Dr
S. Bharadwaj, Director of NIOS, Prof. PK Abdul
Azis, former VC of Aligarh Muslim University
and the current VC of USTM. Mr Mahbubul
Haque, Chairman of ERDF and others. Among
the 30 persons, Mehraj Uddin Choudhury,
founder-teacher of M.A.C.Memorial Academy of
Silchar, was awarded. He has been serving in
that school since 2000. He is also a writer of
articles in Bengali which are published in a local
daily newspaper of Silchar. Earlier, he received
an award from Nehru Yuba Kendra Silchar as
best youth in 1996 for his social activities.
Prof USLOOB AHMAD ANSARI, a retired profes-
sor, of AMUs Department of English who is also
noted research scholar of Urdu language and lit-
erature was selected by Delhi Urdu Academy for
being honoured with its prestigious Bahadur
Shah Zafar Award in recognition of his academ-
ic and literary services to Urdu literature. An
author of 33 books in Urdu as well as in English,
the 88-year old Prof Usloob Ansari is also a
scholar on Ghalib and Iqbal and his books writ-
ten in English are widely studied and appreciat-
ed in the West. Prof Hakeem Syed Zillur Rahman
said that soon a book in English containing his
services to English and Urdu literature as well as
the views of English, American and French
scholars about him and his writings will be pub-
lished. In addition to Urdu and English he is also
well versed in Arabic and Persian languages.
The Award-giving function was held in AMUs
Academic Staff College on 26 May. He was hon-
oured with many other awards including
Pakistans Presidential Award for his works on
Iqbal.
KHWAJA JAVED AKHTAR, a young and budding
poet who belongs to an educated family of West
Bengal has been honoured by Bihar Urdu
Academy with Ijtiba Rizvi Award for his antholo-
gy of poems titled Neend shart naheen
(Slumber is no condition). He has also been a
football champion. He has also been honoured
by U P and West Bengal Urdu Academies with
their awards.
Dr SIRAJUDDIN Siraj, noted Urdu poet was
honoured with Bahadur Shah Zafar Award at a
function held in Aiwan-e Ghalib by Congress
Partys spokesman M. Afzal. Dr. Sirajs two
anthologies of poems entitled Aabshaar-e khay-
al and Sukhan-e Samundar have been got pub-
lished by U P Urdu Academy, Lucknow. His third
anthology of poems is in the process of being
published. He was earlier honoured by Urdu
Academy, Lucknow in 2011 and also by some
other literary organisations.
AWARDS
Tauqueer Raza Khan
Lucknow: Prominent Barelvi cleric and chairman
of Ittehad-e-Millat Council, Maulana Tauqueer
Raza Khan has been appointed as an advisor in
the handloom department with the status of a
minister of state. Khan, however, said he
accepted the offer with some conditions. "I want
a thorough probe into all communal riots that
have taken place in the state since the SP gov-
ernment assumed power. The guilty should be
punished but innocent people should be let off,"
he said. Khan is considered influential among
the Barelvi sect of Muslims. Sources close to
Khan said he had also demanded five Lok Sabha
seats for his outfit.
Samajwadi Party sources said the party did
not have the backing of any prominent Barelvi
cleric in the region, and Khans appointment will
go a long way in strengthening its position in the
belt in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
BJP and BSP slammed Khans appointment
saying it was nothing but an attempt to garner
support of the Muslim community. BJP leaders
asked Governor B L Joshi on 29 May to cancel
the appointment.
Manisha Sethi
New Delhi: The Indian Express, one of the most
reputed English dailies in India, published a list
of Indias top 10 personalities in 10 fields each.
In the category of Top 10 Activists, the daily
enlisted Manisha Sethi of Jamia Millia, New
Delhi, recognizing her vigorous fight against the
indiscriminate arrests of Muslim youths in terror
cases. Manisha shares the list with renowned
figures including Aruna Roy, Teesta Setalvad,
Medha Patkar, Arvind Kejriwal and Anna Hazare.
In ranking, in fact, the paper has put Manisha
ahead of Anna Hazare.
Other categories in which 10 different per-
sonalities have been enlisted are: Central
Bureaucrats, Talking Heads, Sport, Economists,
Ad gurus, Headline Hunters, Fund Managers,
State Bureaucrats and Legal.
In the wake of Batla House encounter of
September 2008, fear had gripped the Muslim
community in Jamia Nagar area, in particular,
and Delhi, in general. Hardly did community
leaders come out to protest against the series of
illegal arrests unleashed by the Special Cell of
Delhi Police soon after the 19th September
encounter which claimed the lives of two
Azamgarh youths and a Delhi Police officer. The
Okhla area of over 0.5 million Muslim population
was under a tight grip of fear - no family was
certain about the safety of its sons. That was
the time when Manisha Sethi, a lecturer in JMI,
came out of her academic comforts and led
dozens of street protests, dharnas, seminars
and press conferences against the indiscrimi-
nate arrests of Muslim youths. She led protests
even at the Delhi Police headquarters. Manisha
has not looked back since though she was
harassed by the police.
Lovingly called Iron Lady by some of her
friends, Manisha has emerged as a strong face
against the biased terror probes and the police
system. It is her rigorous fight for the Muslim
youths that has now given her recognition in a
reputed list of influential personalities of the
country.
In a brief introduction of Manisha Sethi, The
Indian Express said: "The Jamia professor has
protested against the police picking up Muslim
men on terror charges indiscriminately."
Last year Manisha, who is an assistant pro-
fessor in the Centre for the Study of
Comparative Religions and Civilizations, Jamia
Millia Islamia, brought out Framed, Damned,
Acquitted: Dossiers of a Very Special Cell - a
damning documentary book on false implica-
tions and prosecution of Muslim youths by Delhi
Police. It exposed 16 cases where the Special
Cell had framed Muslim youths who were later
acquitted honourably by courts after spending
years behind bars.
During the last four years, Manisha has
been invited at various civil and human rights
programmes in India and abroad. Last month
she was invited to a Bangalore programme
where a group of civil rights organizations
released a report on victimisation of Muslim
youths in the name of terror probes in
Karnataka.
Besides this list, The Indian Express has
published a list of 100 most powerful Indians in
2013. At No. 1 is predictable - Rahul Gandhi
while his likely rival in the upcoming Lok Sabha
poll is at No. 2 - Narendra Modi. Congress pres-
ident Sonia Gandhi is at No. 3. Seven others of
top 10 in the sequence are: Manmohan Singh, P
Chidambaram, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitely,
Pranab Mukherjee, Nitish Kumar and Mulayam
Singh.
"In essence, The Indian Express Power List
is a reflection of the power struggle that has
been in evidence over the past 12 months. On
the positive side, there is a flowering of the cre-
ative arts, with the number of individuals con-
nected to cinema and music showing an
increase over last year, along with sportsper-
sons, while the supercrats, those who occupy
positions of power in the establishment, or "the
system," also moving up the ladder," says the
daily in the intro of the list published on 28th
April 2013. (Mumtaz Alam, muslimmirror.com)
Manisha Sethi (extreme right/inset) leading a protest demonstration
Iqbal Ahmed: Islamic artist par excellence
SPECIAL REPORT The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 13 www.milligazette.com
MUSHTAQUE MADNI
Editor, Usool, Pune
Art washes away from
the soul the dust of
everyday life, said the
world renowned
Spanish wizard of
brush Pablo Picasso in
one of his famous
quotes. For Pune-based
artist Iqbal Ahmed, 68,
any mor tal being by
meditating deep into the genesis of the universe,
its functioning and glorifying the Creator through
his exalted names (Al-Asma al-husna) from the
hearts depth, could attain a lasting sense of
purification, for the entire universe is nothing but
a perfect and fine manifestation of its Creator
which constantly invites human intellect, wis-
dom and vision to explore the subtle, the sub-
lime, the deep meanings of each creation.
Like Picasso, by delving deep, Iqbal Ahmed
believes in cracking, exploring and unearthing
the artistic and finest side of his object with a
touch of spirituality. This could make the world
believe what may not have been fathomed earli-
er. To quote the English poet William Blake,
Universe manifests itself greater/ through mans
untiring endeavour.
Unfortunately though, till the first decade of
the twenty-first century, Muslims of Pune and
even those who boasted of having a fine taste for
fine arts, had no or little idea of a gem of an artist
living amongst them as an ordinary human
being. The learned men of Pune took pride in
being indifferent, rather oblivious to his artistic
work and began noticing him only when after he
spent nearly thirty five years in Dubai and
returned to his city after winning the recognition
by the world of fine arts.
Born in 1945 in a family where artist Iqbals
grandfather was a diehard art lover who loved to
act in dramas and play sitar and harmonium.
Iqbal was inherently drawn to the artistic expres-
sion of his self. He lost his father Ahmed bhai
when he was barely two-year-old. Iqbal Ahmed
treasures what he heard in his childhood about
his father that he was an extremely kind-hearted
and genial person with a strong urge to work the
communitys welfare. Ahmed bhai never failed
whenever the community needed him in an hour
of crisis. He took pains in providing relief to the
victims of riots, fought against discrimination or
injustice however unfavourable the situation may
have been.
After his fathers untimely death, Iqbal
Ahmeds mother had to take the responsibility of
the orphaned children. Though money had never
been a problem in this family, the vision to edu-
cate orphans in the late forties was an extraordi-
nary decision for a not-so-educated Muslim
widow whose world was the four walls of her
house.
Iqbal Ahmed was admitted to St Annes
School, by a kind-hearted lady called Gulnar
Apa, the wife of the owner of Punes famous
Satttar Khan Chawl at Nanapeth. Here Iqbal
studied till Std. four. Later. he was admitted to
Punes prominent Dastur High School. But,
owing to lack of strict supervision, Iqbal was
sucked into bad company and started proving to
be a nuisance. I must have been fourteen
something when one self-styled guardian of the
locality called me and star ted lecturing.
Suddenly he slapped me so hard in front of all
those gathered there that I could see the stars
dancing before my eyes. I sat on the ground hid-
ing my face with both my arms and could not
raise my head fearing another slap. But when I
stood up, with me or even before me, my entire
inner conscious also stood. That slap changed
me inside out and today whatever little Ive been
able to achieve is because of that slap, recalls
Iqbal humbly.
For the next two-three months, Iqbal sat
locked in his room thinking about the next
course of action. Though the unpleasant inci-
dent affected his studies, the fire in him
refused to die down. Soon with the help of his
friend Francis, he found himself enrolled at
Ornellas with Sanskrit as his second lan-
guage. It was at Ornellas that his academic
brilliance and ar tistic talent came to be recog-
nised by the dynamic principal of the school,
Father Fonesca.
Father Fonseca had a unique eye when it
came to art and painting. Though himself not a
painter, he was capable of pointing out the mis-
takes of a painting. I was excellent at sketching
and had a penchant for sketching anyone in my
free hours or even during boring lectures. Once it
so happened that during one of the lectures, father
Fonesca caught me fully engrossed in sketching.
He quietly came and stood behind me.
Unaware of his presence, I kept myself busy
until I got a heavy punch from behind. He looked
into the sketch and called me to his room and
said, How long will you take to draw my
sketch? I said, five minutes, Sir. OK, then draw
it. It took me only three minutes to complete the
work. He was impressed and promised to carry
my work on the cover of the school magazine.
That instantaneously made me the hero of the
students and darling of the entire school staff,
recalls Iqbal.
G
iven his artistic versatility, Father Fonseca
proved to be his Art Guru. He taught him
modern art and the philosophy of cubism,
Picassos favourite theme. In one of the subjects
on art, says Iqbal, Father Fonesca put me in
deep puzzle by emphasising on drawing a pic-
ture of human soul that is aspiring to ascend, but
without human form and yet human. This was
Iqbals first chance to learn abstract art. In fact,
that was the theme that transformed me from a
cartoonist or a caricaturist to a creative artist
with spirituality as an integral part and that sub-
tle line is still found in all my work, says Iqbal.
After passing SCC with flying colours and
making a career as an artist, he took admission
to Abhinav Kala Vidyalaya, one of the most emi-
nent art colleges of Pune. After the infamous
riots that occurred on the occasion of Ganesh
Chaturthi in 1962, Iqbal felt that the overall
atmosphere of the college couldnt remain con-
ducive for a Muslim student and thus he, going
by the age-old saying, artists are born and not
made, left the college without getting the degree
and that ultimately proved to be a great blessing
in disguise.
After saying good bye to the college, Iqbal
did freelancing art work at Pune Camps Print Art
Press that was owned by his friend. At the same
time he also was actively involved with Maulana
Ishaque Jalees Nadvis Falah-e Millat Mission.
He was one of the founder-members of this
social association and had dedicated himself to
the day-to-day working of its mouth piece Millat
Times. It was a reformist movement.
This was the period when Middle East, par-
ticularly Gulf, was fast becoming a promising
destination for talents from all over the world.
Iqbal found himself in Dubai Islamic Bank
Printing Press where he worked for 13 years.
This was 1980-81 and computer had just start-
ed making its presence felt in the modern world.
Iqbal was trained in the traditional style using
crockill, nib, drawing serif alphabets, brush,
Indian ink, broad sheets, et. al. For him learning
computer and its cobwebs and labyrinths proved
to be a passionate affair. He started with an
Apple Macintosh since Windows was still in its
initial stages of development. Working day in and
day out, he soon achieved considerable mastery
over its softwares. A self-taught graphic design-
er was now ready to execute complicated art
work for publication.
But artwork with a touch of spirituality was
my passion and my real love that ultimately wit-
nessed its zenith when I was offered the job of
the art director in Dubais Al-Islah magazine, a
reformist monthly where I got the opportunity to
work with the finest scholars and memorisers of
the Quran, says Iqbal. It was here that his
impeccable versatility in traditional, modern,
gothic and Islamic arts earned him the title of
Golden Finger.
Being an integral part of UAEs artistic, cul-
tural and civilisational society, Iqbal was associ-
ated with the prestigious Dubai International Holy
Quran Award for twelve years as the in-charge
of all its publicity material, stage designing and
outdoor publicity.
Having a strong urge and fascination
towards glorification of the Quranic verses in
the context of the universe, I was fortunate to
witness giant gatherings with world renowned
figures like Sheikh Qaradawi and Maulana Abul
Hasan Ali Nadwi as recipients of the Islamic
Personality of the Year awards and as chief
guests of the functions sponsored by Shaikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Makhtoum of Dubai. It
was here that I saw Ali Miyan Nadwi disinterest-
edly decline to accept one hundred thousand
dirhams offered by the award committee and
making a request to distribute the money among
the poor instead. I saw the shawl he was wear-
ing on his shoulders had a hole and it appeared
to be quite old, recalls Iqbal with affection, he
says.
His deep desire to create fusion of the
Arabic alphabet and abstract forms stemmed
from the thought what could I possibly offer to
my Creator who blessed me and bestowed upon
me the skill and art that is recognized and
respected by the elites and intellectuals of Arab
society. It stemmed from a profound sense of
indebtedness towards the Almighty. But then
there have been world class khushnawees (cal-
ligraphers) who have calligraphed Allahs ninety
nine names in all beautiful forms and did won-
ders with their masterpieces and left lasting
impressions. So I thought of doing something
unique and outstanding to contribute to the rich
heritage of Arabic calligraphy meeting the expec-
tations of the modern era. To me, this fusion of
Arabic and abstract was a perfect answer, says
Iqbal.
Taking a cue from the world famous
Pakistani artist Sadiqain, he created his own
idiom adorning each Arabic letter never allowing
them to break at any stage. Thus he crafted a
sublime abstract art. While working on the series
of the Asma al-Husna (the 99 names or attrib-
utes of Allah) utmost care was taken not to
repeat the form, pattern, theme, style, colour
schemes and filter techniques in other frames. It
took months to come out of the frames already
rendered. The composition needed different
backgrounds, mountain, river, ocean, date tree
or even clouds and sky. Iqbal did not copy-paste.
Instead, he created them in Photoshop afresh as
his own benchmark which is the hallmark of all
great artists. It took him a whopping nine years
of consistent working to complete the series of
99 names of Allah.
Cubism was Iqbals next passion. It was
actually conceptualised, created and expertised
by Picasso who used this form for his mortal
visions and objects whereas Iqbals vision was
to invite and stir deep human awareness by glo-
rifying divinity and its marvelous manifestations.
During his stay in UAE, Iqbals ar t
received tremendous recognition in the form
of exhibitions held at Dubai, Sharjah, Qatar
and other places. These were sponsored by
the Ar t Society and individuals of these
states. The worl d renowned ar tist
M.F.Husain visited one of these exhibitions
and congratulated Iqbal on his ar t and the
themes he adopted.
D
uring his stay in Pune, Iqbal held many exhi-
bitions which were appreciated by art-lovers
who purchased his framed. To meet the ever-
increasing demand and enquiries, Iqbal
launched his websites www.art-islam.com and
www.iqbalspixels.com which are getting good
response from all over the world.
A multi-talented artist, Iqbal has a deep incli-
nation and penchant for Urdu ghazals of great
masters. His passion for Urdu poetry pushed
him to learn Urdu on his own and to pen few
lyrics of Nat as well.
So here is a man, almost rusticated from the
art college, who has done more than justice to
his name and art.
MG/Yusuf
Iqbals deep desire to create fusion of the Arabic alphabet and abstract
forms stemmed from the thought what could I possibly offer to my
Creator who blessed me and bestowed upon me the skill and art that is
recognized and respected by the elites and intellectuals of Arab
society. It stemmed from a profound sense of indebtedness towards
the Almighty. But then there have been world class khushnawees
(calligraphers) who have calligraphed Allahs ninety nine names in all
beautiful forms and did wonders with their masterpieces and left
lasting impressions. So I thught of doing something unique and
outstanding to contribute to the rich heritage of Arabic calligraphy
meeting the expectations of the modern era. To me, this fusion of
Arabic and abstract was a perfect answer, says Iqbal.
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Cant you link
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case, as well?
Memorial for Hyder Ali
Tamil Nadu Govt. has decided
to construct a memorial in the
honour of Tiger of Mysore
Tipu Sultan and his father, the
Nepolean of South India
Hyder Ali. This was announced
on 16 May in the state assem-
bly. Telegu writer and historian
Syed Naseer Ahamed has
demanded that a similar
memorial should be erected in
the honour of Hyder Ali in
Narasingrayunipet village of
Chittoor Dist of Andhra Pradesh
where he breathed his last on 7 December, 1782, while fighting
against the East India Company. He said Karnataka Govt is going
to establish a university in the name of Tipu Sultan so why AP
Govt. should lag behind, he said.
Students of Kashmir Polytechnic College build UAV
Srinagar: Three students of Government Polytechnic College,
Srinagar, Shoaib Shafi, Shah Nawaz Kaloo and Basit Riaz, all around
20 years of age have designed and built an unnamed aerial vehicle
(UAV) and gave a demonstration of their product at the Press
Enclave in Srinagar on 4 June. The UAV however could not fly more
than 4 ft above the surface of the earth because of the limited space
at the Press Enclave but after some modification it could fly as high
as one wants. According to them, this is the first ever UAV designed
and built by any J&K student. Before the demonstration of their
product the students, however, were questioned by a CID team in
the presence of media persons. They were asked to disclose their
names, addresses, details about the UAV, motive behind building the
UAV etc. This makes it clear that Kashmiris are suspects in the eyes
of Indian police and security agencies. According to these students,
they spent about Rs 18000 of their pocket money in purchasing
necessary equipment etc needed for building the U A V and worked
on it for about a month. They named it SBS - 659.
An exemplary act of bravery
Aligarh: Abdur Razzaq Ahmad, a CRPF jawan, was travelling in a U
P Roadways bus along with his wife and son. Unfortunately the bus
met with an accident and fell into a canal near Aligarh. This hap-
pened on 28 May. He was sitting behind the bus drivers seat. The
canal was very deep and the life of all passengers was in danger
as it was difficult to open exit doors of the bus which had fallen in
the canal. Amidst the SOS cries of the trapped passengers and
great confusion, uproar and unsuccessful struggle for survival by
trapped passengers, Razzaq somehow, from the small opening of
the jammed windows of the bus, succeeded in coming out of the
bus and climbed its roof from where he pulled out 4 passengers
who were drowning and succeeded in saving them. By the time the
rescue team and other people came to their rescue, most of the
passengers had drowned. It was his great misfortune that though
he saved the lives of four people, he could not save his own wife
and son. He also suffered injuries in many parts of his body.
Muslim Business ethics highlighted in cloth merchants meet
Ahmedabad: There is immense barkah if one follows the business
traditions of Islam. Reminding that during Farouq Azams tenure
merchants used to pinpoint the defect (if any) of the commodity
while transacting a business deal. Such ideas were highlighted by
Mufti Suleman Saheb while addressing the office bearers of cloth
merchant association at Dhalgarwad. The association had
remained defunct for quite some time. It has now been revived
with elections of new office bearers. He narrated the practices that
the Prophet (pbuh) preached to fruit merchants during the rainy
season. Mukesh bhai Shah proudly claimed that people of all
faiths come to Dhalgarwad market for shopping yet there has not
been a single instance of eve teasing nor has any one become vic-
tim of scam or unfair trade practices. This cut piece cloth market
has a long history of honest dealings. (A.G. Khan)
New Central Haj Committee constituted
New Delhi: The term of the previous Haj Committee of India head-
ed by Mrs. Mohsina Qidwai came to an end on 11 January 2013.
After a delay of 4 months because of some internal problems, offi-
cial notification was issued by the ministry of external affairs on
11 May and consequently, out of the total 23 members, 22 mem-
bers have been included in the new Haj Committee of India. It may
be stated that for the purpose of selection of Haj Committee of
Indias members, the country is divided into 6 zones. The num-
ber of members selected from each zone is not uniform but it
depends on the number of Hajis from the different zones.
According to Haj Committees Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Dr Shakir Husain, those selected by the ministry of external affairs
are Lok Sabha MPs Abdul Mannan Husain (from Murshidabad),
Syed Shah Nawaz Husain, BJP MP from Bhagalpur (Bihar),
ET Muhammad Basheer (MP from Kerala), Salim Ansari (Rajya
Sabha MP), Chaudhari Muhammad Saleem (Rajya Sabha MP),
Salimuddin Kaghazi (Rajasthan), Mrs. Syeda Bilgrami,
Mrs. Musarrat Shahid etc.
According to Haj Act, in addition to MPs, out of the 7 other
members 2 should be social workers of whom one should be
Sunni and one Shia, out of 2 women one should be Shia and one
Sunni, 3 religious leaders / scholars of whom 2 should be Sunnis
and one Shia etc. There should be 4 government officials who are
AR Ghanshyam Das, Joint Secretary (Gulf and Haj affairs in the
ministry of external affairs), Jt. Secretary Prabhat Kumar, Lokesh
Dutt Jha, Jt. Secretary (ministry of home affairs). There is no gov-
ernment official from ministry of civil aviation and also no region-
al member from Maharashtra. These members will be selected
shortly.
Seven AMU students pass the Bhabha exam
Aligarh: Seven students of AMUs Department of Geology were
successful in Bhabha Atomic Research Centres examination
conducted under Atomic Minerals Directorate. In addition to
them, 12 students of the same University achieved success in IIT-
JAM (Joint Admission Test). Head of the Geology Department Dr
Liaqat Ali Khan Rao said that the success of Geology students
was because of positive guidance by the teachers of this
Department together with students own hard work and the
Department will render all possible assistance for making their
future bright.
Vanzaara is afraid in jail
Ahmedabad: In three separate petitions to CBI court D G Vanzaara
demanded security, pleading that the prevailing security arrange-
ments are inadequate and pose a threat to his life. He also com-
plained about poor medical treatment. Lodged in Talaj jail he has
to encounter Abu Salem and Arun Gawli. He feels that company
of such convicts poses a threat to his life.
Former Bollywood film actress embraces Islam
New Delhi: Ms. Mamta Kulkarni, a Bollywood film actress of the
1990s embraced Islam and married her friend Vicky Goswamy
who too became a Muslim. Vicky Goswamy was running a real
estate business and also a hotel in Dubai. In 1997 he was arrest-
ed for smuggling about 11 tones of intoxicants (mandrex) and
sentenced for life. In Dubai and other Middle East countries pun-
ishment for possessing or trading in drugs etc is stricter than
many other countries and life sentence is normally for 25 years
but on certain grounds like good behaviour, embracing Islam and
observing Islamic practices etc the sentence can be commuted if
a prisoner wants or requests for this. While he was in jail his friend
Mamta Kulkarni was looking after and managing his real estate
and hotel business. It is said that Goswamy also had embraced
Islam and was following Islamic rituals and practices in jail. He
was released from Dubai jail in November 2012 after which both
of them got married according to Islamic rites. The judge while
releasing him had directed that he should be sent back to India but
according to available news, both of them went to Nairobi and are
living there. According to another news, after embracing Islam she
has decided not to act in any film or on stage.
Vande Mataram not compulsory: court
Lucknow: A Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court consisting
of chief justice S K Singh and justice V. K. Arora in their verdict
regarding the song Vande Mataram rejected a PIL petition and said
that this matter does not come in the category of PIL (Public
Interest Litigation). The PIL filed by one Saurabh Sharma stated
that BSP Lok Sabha MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq had boycotted the
national song Vande Mataram and while it was being sung in the
Lok Sabha, he had staged a walk out, thereby insulting this nation-
al song. Lok Sabha speaker Mrs. Meera Kumar also had
expressed her displeasure over Barqs walk-out from the Lok
Sabha and had reportedly warned him not to repeat it in future.
Barq, in defence of his action had stated that the song hurts his
religious sentiments because it is in contradiction of his religious
belief according to which Muslims should worship only Allah and
no one else; but this song means that I worship my mother land.
Central government, through its spokesman had stated that legal-
ly Indias national anthem is jan, gan, man. which every Indian
should respect but no such thing is said about this song (Vande
Mataram) nor can any body be compelled to sing it. Saurabh
Sharma in his petition had also stated that by staging a walk-out
on this occasion Barqs action promotes communalism and also
proves his disloyalty to country. However, after hearing the gov-
ernments arguments, the learned judges, while rejecting the PIL
also ruled that singing of this song is ones personal matter and
choice and not singing it cannot be termed anti-national nor does
it come in the category of public interest.
It may be stated about this song that it was written by Bankim
Chandra Chatterjee in Bengali the very first line of which means o
motherland I worship thee, or I worship my motherland. This
song is in fact a part of Bankim Chandras novel Anand math
which is largely anti-Muslim. Poet Rabindranath Tagore had
expressed his disapproval about this novel in so far as it depicts
Muslims in a bad light. Another Bengali intellectual, (late) M N Roy
also had expressed his strong disapproval of this novel.
American student wins scholarship to learn Urdu in Lucknow
Washington: An American student, Ugbaad Keynan from the
department of International affairs at Eastern Michigan University
who is curious about the political history of India and Pakistan,
both countries are nuclear powers and have not signed the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, has been awarded a Critical Language
Scholarship to study Urdu in India (Lucknow). He is scheduled to
arrive in India next month i.e. June to study Urdu language for 8
weeks. A family in Lucknow has offered to play host to him dur-
ing the period of his study. In addition to him there are some other
scholarship holders also in other fields or subjects who too are
graduates or PhD students. Keynan said that he chose Urdu
because he is interested in this region (India & Pakistan) and
hopes to meet other students and interact with them.
Restriction on cow slaughter will be removed in Karnataka
Bangalore: The new Congress government of Karnataka will
remove the ban on cow slaughter in the state. Chief minister
Siddharamaiya said on 13 May that his government will enforce
the 1964 law regarding cow slaughter. It may be stated that the
previous BJP government, by amending 1964 law regarding cow
slaughter passed in 2012, had imposed a ban on cow slaughter.
The chief minister said that the amendment bill of 2012 passed by
the BJP government will be withdrawn. He said that when the
amendment bill of 2010 was passed, congress had opposed it
and had sent an application to the governor against it. He said that
while opposing the amendment of the BJP government, Congress
(in opposition then) had argued that because of this amendment
people who consume meat will be affected and also people
engaged in the leather industry and transport business etc will
also be affected. He said that BJP government, by amending 1964
law, had banned not only cow slaughter but other animals of its
family also like calf, buffalo and its calf etc and laid down their age
also. He said that this amended bill is now with the President of
India for approval. He said that under the amended bill animals of
15 years of age or above are allowed to be slaughtered but even
for this, permission of the administration will be needed.
He said that under 1964 law, cow slaughter was banned but
slaughter of buffalo and its calf was allowed provided they were of
12 years or more. Former law minister, S. Suresh Kumar, reacting
to Sidharamaiyas announcement said that we (former BJP gov-
ernment) had amended 1964 law because it was a weak law as in
spite of ban on cow slaughter under this law, cow slaughter was
going on and to prevent it, they had amended this law (of 1964).
Earlier, Sidharamaiya was sworne in as the 28th chief minis-
ter of Karnataka. State governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj had adminis-
tered the oath of office and secrecy. After being sworn in as the
chief minister, in his first press conference Sidharamaiya said that
he will enforce the promises made in the election manifesto with
immediate effect.
60-year old shot dead in Mathura mosque
Lucknow: In a shocking incident which occured late in the night on
29 May, a 60-year-old man died after he was shot at while inside
a mosque allegedly by some policemen at Hatiya village of
Barsana Tehsil in Mathura district. Shahabuddin, 60, was inside
Masjid Shareefa Khanum when he was allegedly shot at by police-
men who were returning after a raid in the village to arrest an arms
smuggler. The incident occurred on 29 May at around 3:00 am.
The police party was in the village to arrest Tasleem, an alleged
arms smuggler. After the police arrested him, they were allegedly
fired at by criminals belonging to Tasleems gang. Two policemen,
Satish and Premveer were reportedly injured in the firing. Sateesh
succumbed to his injuries while he was being shifted to hospital.
ADG Arunkumar said that Shahabuddin was injured in cross firing
and was hit by bullets in a field, not in the mosque.
New Delhi / Ahmedabad: After the Supreme Courts refusal to
stay the Gujarat High Courts verdict that grant of pre-matric
scholarships to students belonging to minorities communities is
not in violation of Constitutional provisions, against the stand
taken by Narendra Modi government, the Gujarat government
perforce decided to implement this scheme. The state govern-
ment did not make any formal announcement or issue any offi-
cial order for implementation of this scheme but its (state govern-
ments) Social Welfare Department published an advertisement
in a Gujarati newspaper which made it clear that the state govern-
ment would implement this scheme, though after Supreme
Courts indirect rejection of the Modi governments stand that this
(pre-matric scholarship scheme for minority students) scheme is
discriminatory from the religious point of view and in violation of
the Constitution.
It may be stated briefly that this scheme of granting pre-
matric scholarships to students belonging to 5 religious minority
communities i.e. Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs and
Parsis was introduced by the Congres led UPA government in
2008 under the Prime Ministers 15-point programme for the wel-
fare of minorities. Under this scheme minority students, the annu-
al income of whose parents was Rs one lakh or less, were to be
given pre-matric scholarships and 75 percent of the total expens-
es on this account were to be borne by the central government
and the remaining 25 percent was to be borne by the state gov-
ernments. All the state governments had agreed and implement-
ed this scheme but the Modi government of Gujarat had refused
to implement it on the ground that it was discriminatory from reli-
gious point of view and hence unconstitutional. An appeal against
this stand of the Modi government was filed in the Gujarat High
Court by a Congress member and social worker Adam Chanki. A
5-judge Bench of this High Court in its verdict on 15 February
2013 had ruled in its verdict that this scheme is in no way uncon-
stitutional and had directed the Gujarat government to implement
it. Modis government however challenged this verdict in the
Supreme Court and requested the Supreme Court to stay the
Gujarat High Courts verdict. Supreme Court in its interim verdict
of 6 May refused to stay the High Courts verdict, directing the
Gujarat government to follow the High courts verdict. This Court
(Supreme Court) fixed 6 August for the next hearing of this case
when probably it may give its final verdict on this (scholarship)
scheme. (N. A. Ansari)
Finally, Gujarat govt to implement pre-
matric scholarship scheme for minorities
14 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 COMMUNITY NEWS www.milligazette.com
Charity Hospital inaugurated in Guj
Vadodara: Baroda Muslim Sewa Samaj Trust established a chari-
ty hospital for the needy and poor in the Nawabwada locality of
the city. It was inaugurated by police commissioner Satish
Sharma. Among the prominent guests were Jyoti Pandya, Mayor,
Mufti Muhammad Imran Saheb and Mahmood Khan father of
renowned cricketers Irfan and Yusuf Pathan The police commis-
sioner apprised about blood donation camps. Mufti Saheb
expressed happiness and reminded that such humanitarian deeds
please Allah. The Mayor also expressed happiness on launching
the project in the heart of the city.
Conditions changed for admission to Quranic courses
Aligarh May 13: The Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University,
Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Zameer Uddin Shah has approved modification in
five courses run by Prof. K.A. Nizami Centre for Quranic Studies,
Aligarh Muslim University.
According to an office memo issue by the Controller of
Examinations and Admissions, any male candidate is eligible to
apply for admission in the Certificate Courses in Recitation of
Quran (Tajwid), Recitation of Quran (Qirat), Learning Quran
(Language Lab), Quranic Arabic and Introduction to Quranic
Sciences. Previously only male employees and full time bonafide
students of this University were eligible to apply for admission to
these courses. (Zeeshan Ahmad, Assistant Public Relations
Officer, AMU)
SDPI march against UAPA
New Delhi: The north-east Delhi unit of the Social Democratic
Party of India organised a march on 7 June against UAPA and
other draconian laws and demanded the release of the
innocent.The march covered two kms distance from Janta Colony
to Eidgah Jafarabad. Mr Ashraf, unit president, said mere dis-
missal of the police officers framing Muslim youth in terror cases
is not enough; they must be tried for their crimes. He said no one
should be arrested on mere suspicion,
Best Bakery accused to be tried in Mumbai
Vadodara: A Mumbai sessions court ordered producing the Best
Bakery case accused of 2002 carnage before it. Jayanti Gohil,
arrested recently, had been absconding so far. He is also an
accused in Ajmer blast along with his son. They were arrested in
a joint operation by the NIA and city police on May 3. The order
follows a request by the crime branch for producing him for re-
trial as per order of the Apex court.
Shivraj to field Muslim candidates on party ticket
New Delhi: Narendra Modi disappointed his Muslim supporters
despite the much-hyped Sadbhavna rallies. However, Shivraj
Singh Chauhan is keen on fielding a few Muslim candidates on the
party ticket. Some sources hope that there may be as many as six
such beneficiaries. Meeting between Shahnawaz Husain with the
C M is being regarded very crucial in this regard. Tanvir Ahmad,
former national president of the minority cell, reminded that
Chouhan had never considered Muslims untouchables. There had
been a programme in Ujjain recently organised by the Muslim
supporters of BJP attended by top party executives (A. G. Khan)
Salman rushes drought relief
Mumbai: Bollywood star Salman Khan and his NGO Being
Human provided relief to drought affected-persons of
Maharashtra (Marathwada region). A fleet of 2500 water tankers
each with 2000 litres was pressed into service upto 31 May.
Marathwada region is in the grip of drought which has forced peo-
ple to flee to different regions. Being Human has been at the
forefront for action of humanitarian causes. Recently, it pledged to
help the poor and needy at the Fortis Hospital, New Delhi for pro-
viding heart cure.
Ban on cow meat in Goa violation of religious rights: Church
Panjim: Catholic Church of Goa, unhappy over Mumbai High
Courts interim order on import of animals into Goa for slaughter
has demanded Goas BJP government to make suitable arrange-
ments for beef (cow meat) for Christians and Muslims. Describing
the Courts strict ban on cow meat as violation of minorities reli-
gious rights, the Catholic Church has also questioned the govern-
ments secular image because of its silence on this ban imposed
by the High Court. Executive Secretary of Roman Catholic
Churchs social branch Social Justice and Peace Council, Father
S. Fernandes said that because of the courts order, import of ani-
mals into Goa for slaughter has stopped and at the same time a
ban has been imposed on slaughtering cows or oxen below 12
years of age.
It may be stated that the High Courts order is in response to
a petition by an NGO saying that in the Goa Meat Complex of the
state, animals of lesser age i.e. less than 12 years are being
slaughtered. He (S. Fernandes), has requested the state govern-
ment to immediately intervene in this matter and try to find an
agreable solution so that justice could be meted to out meat
traders as well as meat consumers. The Church has made a
demand that the chief minister should convene a meeting of the
affected groups and find out a mutually agreed solution immedi-
ately so as to prove that he treats all religious groups and organ-
isations equally. It may be stated in this connection that in Goa
whose total population is 14 lakh, Christians form about 26 per-
cent of the population and the Catholic Church is an influential
institution there.
11 Muslim candidates won in Karnataka assembly elections
New Delhi: BJP, the ruling par ty in the previous Karnataka gov-
ernment, faced a humiliating defeat in the state assembly elec-
tions that were held on 5 May. It won only 40 seats in the 224-
seat assembly. No election was held in one assembly con-
stituency because of the death of a BJP candidate. Of the 223
assembly constituencies elections for which were held,
Congress won 121 seats, Janta Dal (Secular) 40, BJP 40,
independents 16 and rebel Yeduirappa, former chief ministers
Karnataka Janta Paksh won 6 seats. Muslim candidates were
from two par ties only i.e. Congress and Janta Dal (Secular)
and won 9 and 2 seats respectively. Senior Muslim leader C M
Ibrahim who previously belonged to Janta Dal (S) but had sub-
sequently joined Congress Par ty was defeated in this election.
Successful Muslim candidates of the Congress Par ty are
Messrs Firoz Nooruddin Seth, Qamrul Islam, Dr Rafiq Ahmad,
R. Roshan Baig, N. A. Haris, U. T. Qadir, Tanveer Seth,
Maqbool S. Successful Muslim candidates of Janta Dal (S) are
B. Z. Zameer Ahmad Khan and Iqbal Ansari. In Karnataka state
Muslims form 13/14 percent of the states total population.
Deobands Nawaz Girls Public School is now CBSE
recognised
Deoband: Deobands Nawaz Girls Public School, founded by well-
known poet Nawaz Deobandi has been recognised by the Central
Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). On this occasion a meet-
ing chaired by Deobands former chairman, Maulana Haseeb
Siddiqi was held. Speaking in this meeting Maulana Nadeemul
Wajidi, editor of the monthly magazine, Tarjuman-e Deoband said
that the Quran begins with the word Iqra which means read,
and this message of the Quran is applicable to men and women
equally. He said that the need for such a school, was being felt
since long, where in addition to providing religious education and
training to girl students in the Islamic way of life, modern educa-
tion could also be imparted to them. He said that with the estab-
lishment of this school this objective also will be achieved.
Shaikhul Hadees of Darul Uloom (Waqf) Maulana Syed Ahmad
Khizr Shah Masoodi said while speaking on this occasion that
there is great need of creating awareness about education
because unless there is complete awareness about education in
society, our community and nation will not progress. Hence there
is a great need of many more of such educational institutions.
Deobands SDM Rajesh Kumar Singh who was the special guest
on this occasion said that along with modern and higher educa-
tion it is also very essential to inculcate high values in girls in
modern times.
Maulana Haseeb Siddiqi in his presidential address said that
Nawaz Girls Public School will certainly prove a torch bearer for
people keen on acquiring modern education along with following
the fundamentals of Islam. He said that with the establishment of
this school and teaching of Ensligh, Hindi and Urdu etc along with
religious education, all requirements, old and modern have been
fulfilled.
Founder of this School Nawaz Deobandi while speaking about
the objectives of this school said that in addition to fulfilling reli-
gious requirements and imparting modern education to girls like
boys we should strengthen their relation with homes as well as
schools. Our objective is also to develop high moral, ethical and
other values and also to familiarise them with Namaz, Roza and
other religious and moral duties which are not taught in other
schools.
Minorities ministrys plan to set up 5 minority universities
New Delhi: Union minister for minorities affairs, K. Rahman
Khans plan to set up 5 minority universities (for Muslims) in dif-
ferent parts of the country is facing legal and constitutional hur-
dles. For this purpose the minister last year had appointed a 7-
member committee headed by the chairman of Indian Council of
Social Science Research, Sukhdeo Thorat (who was formerly
chairman of University Grants Commission) to prepare a feasili-
bility report after studying and removing legal and other difficul-
ties in the way of setting up such universities so that his (minis-
ters) plan to set up minority universities (where 50% seats could
be reserved for admission of minority (Muslim) students). This
Committee, in addition to chairman S. Thorat, also included Vice
Chancellors of AMU, Jamia Millia Islamia (Delhi), Central
University of Himachal Pradesh, former Chief Secretary of
Karnataka, former minister J. Alexander etc. The minister / his
ministry had justified this plan in view of Article 30 (1) of the
Constitution which guarantees all linguistic and religious minori-
ties the right to set up, administer and manage educational insti-
tutions of their choice. But the Thorat Committees, briefly stating,
said that such a plan (setting up minority universities) is uncon-
stitutional and that Parliament cannot pass an Act to set up minor-
ity universities, and cited the examples of AMU and Jamia Millia
Islamia University which are facing litigations in courts on this
account.
The Thorat Committee, instead, suggested that rather than
minority universities, central universities can be set up with
special arrangements and concessions to minorities
(Muslims) by relaxing rules for their admission and giving
them grace marks in entrance tests. It also suggested that in
place of 5 such universities for Muslims, three universities can
be set up in states having large populations of Muslims, four th
university can be set up in an area with large population of
Buddists (say Vidarbha region in Maharashtra) and the fifth in
a Christian majority state like Kerala. The ministry, in suppor t
of 5 minority universities, had argued that this idea or propos-
al was to empower them (Muslims) because they are being
marginalised because of being a religious minority and by giv-
ing these universities a minority status 50 percent seats
would be ensured which will not happen if these are made cen-
tral universities and will mainly cater to the majority communi-
ty. The committee however argued that Parliament cannot
establish these universities exclusively for minorities with tax
payers money. The Committee, in suppor t of central universi-
ties instead of minority universities, gave the example of
Jawaharlal Nehru University which, though a central universi-
ty, gives preference to women candidates and those from
backward areas of the country by awarding extra or grace
marks in entrance examinations. Some similar facilities and
concessions can be extended to Muslim candidates also in
central universities, it suggested.
24 films made to teach Urdu to students of western countries
Aligarh: A delegation of teachers and students of USAs
Carolina University recently visited AMUs Depar tment of Urdu
and after studying educational activities and method of teach-
ing exchanged views with their counterpar ts in the Urdu
Depar tment on local culture, history etc. Prof Afroz Taj of
Carolina Universitys Urdu depar tment said that his delegation
came to AMU under Study Abroad scheme and that in his
university 24 films have been made at a cost one million
Dollars (about Rs. 5 crores) to teach Urdu to the students of
western countries which are proving helpful in this task.
Assistant Professor John Coldwell recited some couplets of
Ghalib and also their translations in English and enlightened
the audience about Urdu education in USA. Some research
scholars of the Urdu Depar tment like Furqan Sambhali, Abdur
Rahman, Hamid Raza etc raised questions which were
answered by Prof Afroz Taj and John Coldwell.
Aligarh: Government of India (HRD ministry) has constituted a
committee headed by M. A. Pathan, former Vice Chancellor of
Bangalore University and Maulana Azad Urdu University to pre-
pare a draft document, for a bill to lay down a uniform set of
rules to administrate all central universities of the country. Other
members of this committee will be V. K. Bhasin, former secretary
of union ministry of law and justice and Y. C. Sehardi, former
Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University.
A Muslim organisation Forum for Muslim Studies & Analysis
(FMSA), Aligarh, in a letter to the prime minister sent through the
District Magistrates of Aligarh has requested that Aligarh
Muslims University be kept out of the purview of this committee.
Not only this, the Forum has demanded the dissolution of the that
Pathan Committee itself. FMSA has stated in its letter or memo-
randum to the prime minister that AMU has its own historical,
cultural and minority character and there are many such clauses
in the AMU Act which are not found in other central universities.
It is further stated in this letter to the PM that under the AMU Act
1980, sections 2 5 the University has been given the respon-
sibility of the educational and cultural development promotion of
Indian Muslims. Similarly, the representation of former (AMU)
students, Waqf Board, Muslim educational and cultural and other
institutions has been ensured in AMU Court.
FMSA holds the view that on the pretext of uniformity of
administration and management of central universities the
central government wants to gradually put and en to the
Universitys autonomy. The letter also reminds that the UPAs
chairperson Mrs Sonia Gandhi in the Universitys Convocation
on 16 February 2013 had promised to restore the Universitys
minority character but instead of fulfilling this promise, the
Pathan Committee has been constituted silently for an alto-
gether different purpose. Declaring its plan to oppose the con-
stitution of this Committee, the Forum also said that the for-
mer NDA government also had tried to make this kind of
arrangement through legislation but all central universities at
that time had opposed this plan of the NDA government.
Demanding that AMU be kept outside the purview of this com-
mittee and if it is not possible for the central government to
exempt AMU from the purview of this committee, Pathan
Committee itself should be immediately dissolved because
every university has its own special character and it should
be run and managed accordingly.
Among the signatories to this letter are Prof Razaullah Khan,
Prof Humayun Murad, Dr Muhammad Shahid, Jaseem
Muhammad, Dr Fatema Zohra, Nikhat Parveen, Johnny Foster
and N. Jamal Ansari. (N. A. Ansari)
Muslim forum demands AMU be kept outside
the purview of Pathan Committee
COMMUNITY NEWS The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 15 www.milligazette.com
KHALID AMAYREH
Occupied Jerusalem: The seizure of Palestine can be considered
one of the greatest acts of theft in the history of mankind. Israel
itself is a war crime and a crime against humanity.
Thanks to the infamous Balfour Declaration of 1917,
Palestine, an Arab country since the 7th century, was given by
another country (Britain) to a third people (the Jews) without even
consulting the native population of the land.
According to the British philosopher Bertrand Russell, The
tragedy of the people of Palestine is that their country was given
by a foreign power to another people for the creation of a new
state.
In fact, it can be safely argued that the West, particularly
Britain, committed the original sin by envisaging, planning and
implanting Israel in the heart of the Arab world in order to protect
its colonial and imperialistic interests.
In 1905, Britains prime minister, Sir Henry Campbell-
Bannerman, invited Western imperial powers to a conference that
continued until 1907. The conference recommended the estab-
lishment of a state on the lands of Palestine, to serve as an
advanced base for the covetous colonialists, and protect their
interests, implement their plans and schemes and ensure the out-
flow of natural resources from the region, as well as the import of
their goods and products into the markets of the region.
The American Jewish writer Noam Chomsky described this
act committed by European powers, especially Britain, as follows:
When a man brings a snake and puts it in the bed of a child and
it stings the child, the man is responsible for the childs death, not
the snake.
This person cannot claim innocence and say I did not know
that the snake was poisonous!
The famous British historian Arnold Toynbee, in his book A
Study of History, said that while the direct responsibility for the
calamity that overtook the Palestinian Arabs in AD 1948 was on
the heads of the Zionist Jews who seized a lebensraum for them-
selves in Palestine by force of arms in that year, a heavy load of
indirect, yet irrefutable, responsibility was on the heads of the
people of the United Kingdom.
But the snake (Israel) has acquired a life of its own, and it
no longer depends on its erstwhile Western benefactors for its
survival and continuity.
Nonetheless, there is no guarantee -historical, moral or reli-
gious - that the snake will last for ever.
In the final analysis, Israel is an illegal being that will have to
go. Yes, Israel is a regional superpower, has a prosperous econ-
omy, is technologically advanced and tightly controls the govern-
ment, Congress and media of the United States. But nations dont
live by modern fighter jets and nuclear bombs alone. The Soviet
Union had plenty of these.
In order to have a sustained existence, nations must possess
a moral justification. Justice, not military might, is what guaran-
tees the longevity and continuity of states.
In 1948, Zionist leaders such as David Ben Gurion thought
that the Palestinian people would disappear into oblivion, slowly
but surely. Indeed, just as the genocidal invaders from Eastern
Europe and elsewhere bulldozed and obliterated more than 500
Palestinian towns and villages, Zionist elders thought that old
Palestinians would die and the young will forget.
But to the Zionists chagrin, the Palestinian cause is still as
vivid and relevant in the minds and hearts of the Palestinian peo-
ple today as it was in 1948. Thousands of Palestinians still retain
the keys to their homes from which they were expelled at gun-
point when Israel was created 65 years ago. The trust is
bequeathed by the older to younger generations.
Today, even the least patriotic Palestinians who would rather
reach a peace deal with Israel by hook or by crook wouldnt
dare suggest that they would sell out the right of return, even in
lieu of a state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
To be sure, Palestinians and Muslims in general have no
problem living with Jews. Jews lived side-by-side with Arabs and
Muslims for close to 1400 years. Jews had never revolted against
their Muslim rulers or demanded a state of their own.
Indeed, the call for the return of Jews to Palestine did not
come from Middle Eastern or Palestine Jews; it rather came from
Western Jews.
When the Hungarian Jewish leader Theodor Herzl convened
the first Zionist Congress in Basle in 1897, which was attended by
196 delegates, only four of the 196 delegates were Jews from
Palestine.
As Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims, our problem is not with
Jews who believe in live and let live, but rather with
the diabolical, fanatical and genocidal Zionism that has
drenched this part of the world with blood, hatred and
inequity.
Israel claims to be Jewish and following ancient
Jewish ideals of justice. But this is a hollow claim, bor-
dering on wishful thinking.
The truth of the matter is that Israel represents the
antithesis of the prophetic ideals of the ancient Israeli
prophets. What happened to Thou shall not murder,
thou shall not steal, and thou shall not lie?
Even Abraham, the purported common forefather
of the ancient Israelites and northern Arabs, wouldnt
accept to obtain a burial place for his dead wife Sara
free of charge in Hebron.
Today, one is affronted by these fanatical Jewish
settlers who terrorise and savage peaceful Palestinian
villagers, poison and kill their livestock, burn down
their fields and orchards.
And when the unprotected and helpless
Palestinians seek redress in Israeli courts, they are
told by the Jewish judges that the settlers have a point
because your homes and land once belonged to the
settlers ancestors some 3000 years ago.
Such a state where inequity and oppression are
rampant cant and will not live long, even if it pos-
sessed all the modern warplanes in the world.
They killed the two-state solution
Israel has already decapitated the two-state solution.
The intensive expansion of Jewish settlements in the
West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has really left no
room for a viable and territorially contiguous
Palestinian state.
The US, EU and the helpless Palestinian Authority
(PA) pretend that there is still a chance for reviving the
two-state solution. But we who live here in the West
Bank know better. We just cant betray our own eyes.
We also know well two other facts that further
enforce our conviction that the chances for establish-
ing a true Palestinian state have vanished irreversibly.
The first fact is that Israeli society is moving steadily
towards Talmudic Jewish fascism, which makes it
extremely unlikely that Israel would agree anytime
soon to give up the spoils of the 1967 war, which
would imply the inevitable dismantlement of hundreds
of illegal Jewish colonies built on occupied Palestinian
territory.
The second fact is that the United States, Israels guardian-
ally, is utterly unable, and even unwilling, to exert any meaningful
pressure on Israel, which would force or convince it to end its
occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. The
reason for this is the tight Jewish stranglehold on the American
decision-making process. Thus, Israeli control of the White
House, Congress and other American political institutions is too
overwhelming to allow for any US manoeuvre outside the Jewish
dragnet.
The demographic situation in Israel/Palestine
Apart from the historical rights and moral high-ground, the
Palestinians also have a strategic advantage over Zionism, name-
ly the demographic asset. According to the prominent Israeli
demographer Della Pergula, there are already more non-Jews
than Jews between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean.
We have already reached the demographic critical mass.
The establishment of a Palestinian state now is therefore more of
an urgent Israeli need than a Palestinian need, Pergula says. But
the possibility for establishing a viable Palestinian state no longer
exists in light of the phenomenal expansion of Jewish settlements
already mentioned. More to the point, the concept of a bi-nation-
al state is anathema for most Israelis as it would mean the end of
Israel as a Jewish state. Hence, the problem.
There are millions of Israelis who would think the unthinkable,
including expelling large numbers of Palestinians. But expulsion
cant be carried out without some sort of open genocide. In addi-
tion, the Palestinians have thoroughly learned and imbibed the
lessons of 1948 and would never leave their country. They would
rather die in their homes, towns and villages than give Zionists the
joy of watching them repeat the Nakba scenario.
The Israeli Zionists have already committed huge and numer-
ous crimes against the Palestinian people. Needless to say, com-
mitting still more crimes would be suicidal and fraught with grave
consequences for Israel and Jews.
In the final analysis, the repetition of what happened in 1948
could speed up the process of Israels demise and extinction.
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16 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 INTERNATIONAL www.milligazette.com
The Nakba Revisited
Israel is one of worlds most
unpopular countries and its
getting worse: BBC survey
Israel is not only one of the worlds most negatively viewed
countries, but its reputation is deteriorating, according to the
BBC World Services latest global survey.
The US is now the only Western country that holds favorable
views of Israel and in some European countries, including
Germany, positive views of Israel are in the single digits.
The 2013 Country Ratings Poll, conducted by GlobeScan/PIPA
for the BBC among 26,299 people around the world between
December 2012 and April 2013 found that:
Iran is once again the most negatively viewed country, with neg-
ative ratings climbing four points to 59%. Most people also give
negative ratings to Pakistan (56%, up five points), North Korea
(55%, up three points) and Israel (52%, up one point).
The persistent association of Israel with the worlds most nega-
tively viewed countries will come as a disappointment to Israeli
government and other hasbara officials who have invested mil-
lions of dollars in recent years to greenwash and pinkwash Israel
as an enlightened, democratic and technological Western
country.
US is only western country with favorable views of Israel
And the news only gets worse. Here are some of the highlights
from the BBC poll:
* On average, in the 22 tracking countries surveyed both in 2012
and 2013, 52 percent of respondents had negative views of
Israels influence in the world, an increase of two points from
last year.
* Out of the 25 countries polled in 2013, 20 lean negative, three
lean positive, and two are divided.
* The United States is the only Western country surveyed hold-
ing favorable views of Israel, and the only country in the survey
with a majority of positive ratings (51 percent, stable).
* Views of Israel in Canada and in Australia remain entrenched
in negative territory with respectively 57 and 69 percent of
unfavourable views.
* In the EU countries surveyed, views of Israeli influence are all
strongly negative and have either hardened further or remained
stable.
* The United Kingdom is the most unfavorable country towards
Israel in the EU with 72 percent of Britons holding negative rat-
ings.
* The UK is followed by Spain (70% negative) where views have
deteriorated due to a loss of positive ratings, now at just 4 per-
cent (down from 12 perent).
* Positive views have dropped eight points in Germany over the
past year, down to 8 percent in 2013 while negative inclinations
have remained stable at 67 percent.
* In France, the picture is stable with 21 percent giving positive
views (vs 63 percent negative) France is the EU country with the
highest proportion of favorable ratings.
* Newly asked countries Poland and Greece have negative plu-
ralities of 44 and 46 percent respectively, while just 15 percent
lean positively towards Israel in both countries.
Also see from last year: Israels popularity sinks even lower in
2012, new BBC global survey confirms.
ALI ABUNIMAH
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INTERNATIONAL The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 17 www.milligazette.com
JONATHAN COOK
Under heavy pressure from the US, the Israeli prime minister,
Benjamin Netanyahu, has paid grudging lip service over the past
four years to the goal of Palestinian statehood. But his real agenda
was always transparent: not statehood, but what he termed eco-
nomic peace.
Ordinary Palestinians, in Mr Netanyahus view, can be pacified
with crumbs from the masters table: fewer checkpoints, extra jobs
and trading opportunities, and a gradual, if limited, improvement in
living standards. All of this buys time for Israel to expand the set-
tlements, cementing its hold over the West Bank and East
Jerusalem.
After 20 years of pursuing Palestinian statehood implied in the
Oslo Accords, the US indicated last week it was switching horses.
It appeared to adopt Mr Netanyahus model of economic peace.
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, flanked by the Israeli
president, Shimon Peres, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) chair-
man, Mahmoud Abbas, at the World Economic Forum in Jordan,
revealed an economic programme for getting peace talks on track.
Some 300 Israeli and Palestinian business people were on board,
he said, and would invest heavily in the Palestinian economy in a
venture that was bigger, bolder and more ambitious than anything
since the Oslo accords.
No more details were forthcoming, except that it will be over-
seen by Tony Blair, Britains former prime minister who has been
the Quartet representative, the international communitys man in
Jerusalem, since 2007.
He is a strange choice indeed, given that the Palestinian lead-
ership has publicly dismissed him as Israels defence attorney
and privately argued - as revealed in the Palestine Papers leaked in
2011 - that he advocates an apartheid-like approach to dealing
with the occupied West Bank.
Mr Kerrys claims for his programme were grand yet vague.
Some $4 billion (Dh14.6 billion) in private investment over three
years would boost the Palestinian economy by 50 per cent; agri-
cultural production and tourism would triple; unemployment fall by
two-thirds; wages rise by 40 per cent; and 100,000 homes would
be built. But the proposal left few impressed, and for good reason.
Mr Kerry is simply repackaging the task Mr Blair was entrust-
ed with six years ago. His job has been to develop the Palestinian
economy and build up Palestinian institutions in preparation for
eventual statehood, so far to little effect. As David Horovitz, editor
of the right wing Times of Israel newspaper, scoffed: If there was
$4 billion to be had in private investment in the Palestinian econo-
my, you can rest assured that Tony Blair would have found it.
Or seen another way, the Palestinian economys problem is
not a lack of investment; it is a lack of viable opportunities for
investment. Palestinians have no control over their borders, air-
space, radio frequencies, water and other natural resources, not
even over the currency or internal movement of goods and people.
Everything depends on Israels good will. And few investors
will be prepared to bet on that. Israel has repeatedly shown itself
willing to crush the PAs finances by, for example, withholding tax
revenues it is mandated to pass on.
Mr Blairs role has been heavily criticised because his narrow
focus on economic development has not only failed to foster a cli-
mate conducive to talks but has served as cover for Israel and
Washingtons inaction on Palestinian statehood. Instead of rethink-
ing Mr Blairs failed mandate, Mr Kerry appears set on perpetuat-
ing it.
Abdallah Abdallah, a senior Fatah official, summed up the
Palestinian response: We are not animals that only want food. We
are a people struggling for freedom. Israel, meanwhile, is only too
ready to push Mr Kerry down this hopeless path.
From Israels perspective, the US plan usefully distracts atten-
tion from the Arab Peace Initiative; the Arab states renewed offer
last month of full diplomatic relations with Israel in return for its
withdrawal from most of the occupied territories.
Mr Netanyahu, worried the offer might corner him into serious
talks, has responded with stony
silence. At the same time, Yair
Lapid, the centrist financial minis-
ter expected to push hardest for
diplomatic engagement, has
squashed the idea of a peace deal as unrealistic. He told the New
York Times last month that he supported expanding the settle-
ments.
Israel, it seems, hopes that the Palestinian Authority, now per-
manently mired in financial crisis, can be arm- twisted with prom-
ises of billions of dollars in sweeteners. According to Palestinian
sources, Mr Kerrys plan is intended to leverage Mr Abbas into
dropping his condition that Israeli must freeze settlement growth
before negotiations can restart.
Israel is keen to win that concession. Despite reports that Mr
Netanyahu has quietly promised the Americans he will avoid
embarrassing them for the next few weeks with announcements of
settlement building, a rash of projects is in the pipeline.
At the weekend, media reports disclosed a plan for 300 new
homes in East Jerusalem, while nearly 800 more are to be released
for sale. Several unauthorised settlement outposts are expected to
be made legal retrospectively, including hundreds of homes in Eli,
near Ramallah.
Yesterday, Reuters reported that Mr Kerry expects a decision
on restarting peace talks within two weeks, or, his officials say, he
will walk away from the peace process.
So far the PA has been quietly dismissive, stating it will not
make political concessions in exchange for economic benefits -
a diplomatic way of saying it would not be bribed to sell out on
statehood.
But the real danger for the Palestinians, as they remember only
too well from the 2000 Camp David talks, is that they are being set
up as the fall guy. Should they refuse to sign up to the latest ver-
sion of economic peace, Israel and the US will be only too ready
to blame them for their intransigence.
This is win-win for Mr Netanyahu and another moment of dis-
astrous slippage in the diplomatic process for the Palestinians.
Jonathan Cook is a Nazareth- based journalist and winner of
the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism
Kerrys New Peace Plan made to fail
An indicator to the false flag operation in Delhi?
Bulgaria: No proof of
Hezbollah bomb role
Sofia/Brussels: Bulgaria backed down on Wednesday
from charges it made a few months ago that Hezbollah
was behind a deadly bus bombing on its territory, compli-
cating a British push for the EU to blacklist the militant
Shiite Muslim group.
The countrys new Socialist-led government said it
only had an indication that the Lebanese group might
have carried the attack that killed five Israeli tourists and
their driver in the Black Sea resort of Burgas last year.
This alone, Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin said, did not
justify any European Union move to list it as a terrorist
group.
It is important that the (EU) decision be based not
only on the bombing in Burgas because I think the evi-
dence we have is not explicit, Vigenin, whose govern-
ment took office last week, told national state radio BNR.
There is an indication that it is possible (that
Hezbollah was behind it) but we cannot take decisions
with important consequences for the EU based on indirect
data.
Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the Burgas
bombing. Britain has argued that evidence from Bulgaria -
and a jail sentence handed down by a Cypriot court in
March to a Hezbollah member accused of plotting to
attack Israeli interests - meant the EU should blacklist the
groups armed wing.
Several other EU governments are reluctant, saying
the EU needs watertight evidence to impose sanctions
that could complicate the EUs contacts with Lebanon
and add to instability in the Middle East. Hezbollah is part
of a coalition government in Lebanon, and some senior
European diplomats warn targeting it could increase tur-
moil in a country already suffering a spillover of civil war
from Syria.
At a meeting to discuss the issue in Brussels on 4
June, some governments said they were not ready to
back Britain and wanted more proof of Hezbollahs
involvement in the Burgas attack. On 5 June, a British
diplomat defended Londons push, saying existing evi-
dence from Sofia was sufficient for the EU to act. We
believe it is appropriate for the EU to designate the military
wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation, the diplo-
mat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In February, the last Bulgarian cabinet, a staunch ally
of Washington, urged European governments to take a
harder stance towards Hezbollah, after blaming it for the
Burgas attack.
The Socialists, then in opposition, accused the cen-
tre-right government of rushing to implicate Hezbollah
without proof and exposing the Balkan country to possi-
ble new terrorist attacks.
Blacklisting Hezbollah would mark a major policy
reversal for the EU, but the idea has gained some traction
in recent weeks because of Hezbollahs growing involve-
ment in the Syrian conflict.(Reuters)
Mushawarat condemns the
escalation of the strife in Syria
into a Shia-Sunni war
New Delhi: The All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, the umbrella body of Indian
Muslim organisations and eminent personalities, expressed its deep concern on 3
June over the sudden escalation of the conflict in Syria and warned the Indian
Muslim community to beware of its repercussions.
The AIMMM President, Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan, in a statement here condemned
the unprecedented and uncalled for, sudden escalation of the conflict in Syria by
the induction of Hezbollah fighters into the conflict zone on the side of the Syrian
government and the eminent Sunni scholar Shaikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawis call for a
Jihad in Syria to frustrate the Shii designs in the region. Both these moves have
clear sectarian undertones which threaten to change the contours of the conflict
in and over Syria into a Shia-Sunni conflict.
Dr. Khan said if the political, democratic and popular struggle in Syria to top-
ple an unpopular, sectarian and family dictatorship is turned into a larger Shia-
Sunni conflict, we will see a major Shia-Sunni schism which will not heal in hun-
dreds of years.
Dr. Khan said the participation of foreign powers and fighters in the Syrian
conflict will create a chaotic situation close to what now prevails in Iraq and Libya.
The induction of the Shia-Sunni angle will lead to a sectarian strife in a vast area
extending from Pakistanto Lebanon which will only benefit foreign powers eager to
destabilise and exploit Muslim countries.
Dr. Khan cautioned the leaders of the Indian Muslim community, both Shia and
Sunni, to be vigilant and not allow this menace to affect our country and destroy
our community. Utmost care is needed to save ourselves from this plague, he said.
KARAMATULLAH K. GHORI
Mian Nawaz Sharif has already made his-
tory in Pakistan by ascending to the cov-
eted office of its Prime Minister for a
record third time. He isnt third-time
lucky, as some pundits have erroneous-
ly pontificated. Hes three times lucky,
and thats something that friends and
foes, alike, find truly astounding.
June 5 was the day when Nawaz
fortunes reaching the apex as he was
sworn in for his third stint at the pinnacle
of Pakistans political power as its new PM.
The subtle irony in his principal nemesis, President Asif Ali
Zardari swearing him in to the august office couldnt be lost on the
well-informed. Zardari had employed every trick in his armoury
the whole past five years to keep Nawaz away from the centre of
power. However, the people of Pakistan denounced Zardari for his
Machiavellian tactics when they overwhelmingly cast their votes
in favour of Nawaz and paved the way for him to land back at the
epicentre of power.
The old adage which said victory has a hundred fathers,
defeat has none describes Nawaz rise to glory from the ashes of
ignominy in its fullest dimensions. Today, he is being hailed as
Pakistans man of destiny, its man of the hour, man of the
moment.
Indeed, who in their right mind could deny that Nawaz Sharif
is a very lucky man?
Without fear of sounding trite or pedestrian, one could quote
the title of a famous Bollywood film-Muqadar ka Sikandar, and say
thats exactly how the fickle finger of fate seems to have written
Nawaz life-script. Hes today the man with the golden arm, or the
Midas touch: whatever he touches turns into gold.
Pakistanis arent known for being very charitable, or forgiving,
to their political leaders, especially those fallen from the pedestal
of power. They dont, often, give a second chance to those who
failed to live up to their expectations.
However, Nawaz has already proved an exception to the rule
-of-elimination from public grace.
Hounded out of office, in October 1999, by Pakistans last sol-
dier -of-fortune (hopefully, the last for ever and for good) General
Pervez Musharraf and forced into exile in Saudi Arabia, Nawaz had
virtually been written off from Pakistans macabre political script.
Pundits, then and later, too, were at one that the Nawaz saga was
over and done with. Most expected him to vegetate in the Holy
Land like, for instance, the idiosyncratic Idi Amin-ex-Ugandan dic-
tator-and die a slow political demise.
But Nawaz has proved all such mealy-mouthed pundits
wrong. Or, it would rather be more appropriate to say the people
of Pakistan have caught them off balance by catapulting Nawaz
back at the centre of power with the power of their vote. Nawaz is
the man of the moment and the man of destiny, while his neme-
sis, Musharraf, is dying a slow death as a prisoner in his plush
farm house outside Islamabad.
The jubilation of Nawaz Pakistani acolytes and fans is easy to
understand: their fallen hero has risen, phoenix-like, from the
ashes and is poised to take off in glory.
But eager as this born-again hero of Punjab-if not of all of
Pakistan-or the rejuvenated proverbial phoenix of the folklore may
be to soar to greater heights, the challenges ahead are not only too
many but extremely sensitive and pressing too.
What Nawaz will not have is the luxury of time. His honey-
moon with the people, if at all, is going to be the briefest in the
chequered history of love-hate that blithely informs the collective
genius of the people of Pakistan.
Pakistanis have this-or used to have as many would be quick
to argue-inexplicable instinct of hero-worship. However, their
patience with their heroes wears thin within no time. So Nawaz will
have to watch his back as far as public approval or rating is con-
cerned. People have high expectations of him. His task has
become all the more taxing because the peoples reserve of
patience was taxed to the limit under Zardari & Co.
Thats where the danger of derailment of peoples trust in
Nawaz is likely to become acute. Those aware of the enormity of
Pakistans socio-economic malaise-a bequest of five years of no-
governance under Zardaris kleptocracy-know that even a
Hercules would balk at meeting the load of work thats awaiting
Nawaz in office.
Its, without exaggeration, a Himalayas of challenges lying in
wait for Nawaz and his team in office. They will need not only
unstinted hard work but also tons of prayers-and benevolence
from Nature-to come to grips with daunting issues, such as elec-
tricity, gas, water, unemployment, runaway inflation and rampant
corruption at all levels of a bleeding and hobbled economy-to
name just a few.
Yet, the people of Pakistan may be ready to give the new team
time to find workable solutions to these challenges if only Nawaz
succeeds-in, say about three to four months-providing relief to the
people on the electricity front. That relief, if he can manage to pull
it, will allow him a lot of breathing space and peace of mind to
focus on other major issues.
Putting a new face, and new accent, on Pakistans tedious
relations with US will, without doubt, be Nawaz number one for-
eign policy challenge as PM.
Pakistanis have had a love-hate relationship with US for a very
long time. However, in the past five years, the quantum of hate has
increased manifold largely because of Americas undeclared war
on Pakistan in which the drones are its principal weapon.
Drones are a weapon of provocation and torture as far as a
common Pakistani is concerned. He doesnt have the luxury of
reading nuances or meanings into why America should go on
unleashing this terror from the skies on unsuspecting people of
Pakistans tribal areas. All that he knows is that it makes a mock-
ery of Pakistans sovereignty and its sense of national dignity.
Nawaz Sharif will be under tremendous pressure from the
people, from an energised news media and, closest to democrat-
ic dispensation, from a vocal opposition in the parliament-spear-
headed by Imrans PTI-to come up with credible answers to lay-
mans and intelligentsias searching questions on this subject.
President Obamas latest policy on drones-articulated by him with
his usual sophistry--is unlikely to make Nawaz task any easier.
Relations with India fall in the same category of top priority
issues in foreign policy.
The Indian government, of PM Manmohan Singh, has shown
uncharacteristic alacrity and exuberance in welcoming Nawaz re-
emergence to the top of Pakistani hierarchy. It was quite a pleas-
ant surprise to political pundits to find the Indians so full of beans
on the prospects of a new phase of relations with Pakistan on
Nawaz watch.
Manmohan Singh was the first leader outside Pakistan to con-
gratulate Nawaz on his sweeping victory at the polls. He didnt
even wait for the official results to come in and greeted Nawaz as
soon as the story broke of his astounding success. And then he
sent his confidant, M.S. Lamba, to Lahore to convey his greetings
to Nawaz and invite him to pay an early visit to India. Nawaz recip-
rocated in kind by inviting Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan, at
the earliest.
Nawaz Sharif reciprocated in kind. Granting his first post-vic-
tory television interview to an Indian channel, he spoke of his
determination to seek good neighbourly relations with India and
pick up the thread of his peace initiative, of 1999, from where it
was snatched from his hands by Musharrafs abrasive interven-
tion.
Foreign Minister Salman Khursheed chipped in a day or two
later to welcome Nawaz renewed affirmation of good ties with
India as a top foreign policy priority of his and hoped that the
incoming Pakistani leader would deliver on his commitments.
What were the commitments Khursheed was alluding to?
The first commitment Nawaz undertook was to set up an
independent and thorough enquiry into General Musharrafs Kargil
misadventure, which had brought the two neighbours so very
close to a full-scale shooting war.
But the episode had greater tragedy woven into it for Nawaz.
Kargil undermined the initiative he had begun with his then Indian
counterpart, Vajpayee, and which had brought the latter on a bus
to Lahore to jump-start a moribund relationship. Even more trag-
ic and melodramatic was a Bonaparte Musharraf using his revers-
es on the Kargil front to topple Nawaz from power and thrust him-
self on to Pakistans governance.
Nawaz second undertaking related to the November 2008
Mumbai mayhem and its Pakistani perpetrators. Nawaz let the
Indians know that he intended to share with them the findings of
an ongoing probe into the alleged involvement of elements of the
Pakistani state in Mumbais tragic events.
Skeptics and Jeremiahs in Pakistan (I dont know much about
their Indian opposite numbers, if any) are already casting doubts
on how far, and how much, Nawaz would be able to deliver on
what they see as a tough agenda in his renewed undertaking to
patch things up with India and infuse a new dynamism into a rela-
tionship which was, at best, a roller-coaster ride in the past five
years.
No serious student or observer of India-Pakistan relations
would be so irresponsible, or cavalier, as to ignore or minimise the
obstacles and land mines of deep distrust of each other that litters
the way with abandon. Cobwebs of mental reservations about
each others intents and purposes abound aplenty and pose a
daunting challenge to any peacenik on either side of the Divide.
The latest survey, by the US-based Foreign Policy Institute has
come up with the startling finding of 94 % of Indians seeing
Pakistan as a security threat over the next ten years. Their opinion
anchored, no doubt, in their perception of Pakistan as a bastion of
terrorism.
And, yet, with all these trepidations and reservations-I would
pass calling them mental fixations-Nawaz Sharif remains the best
bet to pull this chestnut out of the fire and square the India-
Pakistan circle.
As Punjabs undisputed leader-and 65 % of Pakistanis live in
Punjab-Nawaz carries the bulk of Pakistan behind him.
Interestingly, conventional wisdom in Pakistan says that Punjab
has been the traditional hotbed of enmity to India. But Punjab has
changed and its most famous son is now eager to stand in the
vanguard of a mind-set transformation of ties with India.
Not to forget that the military brass of Pakistan is predomi-
nantly Punjabi and cant be impervious to the peoples changing
mood for better neighbourly ties with India.
As the scion of a merchant family, Nawaz understands better
than other, run-of-the-mill, politicians tethered to their feudal roots
that the 21st century world is a global market place where suc-
cessful transactions can only be made on the age-old maxim of
give-and-take.
Now, more than ever before, when he has inherited a bleeding
Pakistani economy which, in his own words, is bankrupt and up
against a mountain of demands from the people, from creditors
and international financial institutions, Nawaz needs no genius to
remind him of the paramount need for Pakistan to close the book
on bad relations with India and turn the leaf for a new chapter of
close co-operation.
Will the powerful Pakistan army-which has been the king
maker for so long and addicted to pulling political strings, from up
front or from behind the curtain-allow him a free hand to forge
ahead with India is a question agitating pundits and crystal ball-
gazers right across the intellectual spectrum. Will Nawaz not be
looking over his shoulders, all the time, to make sure that he does-
nt ruffle feathers at GHQ, or dare cross the red lines the brass and
boots have long drawn for any civilian government in Pakistan?
Hasnt Nawaz suffered enough at the hands of the army in his
previous two terms, the pundits argue with passion, to dare not
take the powerful generals on their turf in his god-send third com-
ing?
Pundits are already reading a lot into the meeting between
Nawaz and Chief of Army Staff, General Kayani in Lahore, shortly
after Nawaz election triumph. What did the two have to discuss?
Why was Kayani in such a haste to buttonhole Nawaz while he
was still basking in the flush of triumph at the polls? What was so
urgent to bring the General to Lahore to confab with the PM-in-
waiting?
In the context of relations with India, the question agitating the
informed minds most is whether General Kayani lent his and the
military brass blessings to Nawaz affirmation to pick up the
pieces with India from where his initiative was robbed by
Musharraf, in 1999? Or was it just the opposite of it, i.e. Kayani
warning Nawaz not to rush into mending the torn fences with India
unless the core issues-Kashmir, Siachen et al---were first out of
the way.
Its too early to say if Nawaz would be as triumphant with the
denizens of GHQ on ties with India as he has been on the domes-
tic front with the Pakistani voters. But he has the right intentions
and his track record on India speaks for itself; it has few blemish-
es and fewer missteps.
However, as per another old saying, it takes two to tango.
India will be expected by Nawaz to match his enthusiasm and
craving for good relations. Early gestures from Manmohan Singh
have been good, redeeming and encouraging. But he would be
called upon to add substances to these gestures. An early
exchange of visits between the two leaders could lighten Nawaz
burden, enormously, and lend credence to his initiative.
The pundits, on both sides of the Great Divide should be keep-
ing their fingers crossed.
Is Nawaz the Man of Destiny?
India will be expected by Nawaz to match his enthusiasm and craving for good relations.
Early gestures from Manmohan Singh have been good, redeeming and encouraging. But he
would be called upon to add substances to these gestures. An early exchange of visits between
the two leaders could lighten Nawaz burden, enormously, and lend credence to his initiative.
18 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 INTERNATIONAL www.milligazette.com
Up to 140000 people still
displaced one year after
communal clashes in Myanmar
Up to 140,000 people remain displaced a year after inter-com-
munal violence erupted in Myanmar's Rakhine state, the United
Nations refugee agency said today. The UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) says that it stands ready to support the
Government in registering all internally displaced persons (IDPs)
and to promote reconciliation for safe and sustainable voluntary
returns.
UNHCR has been working with the authorities and partners
to provide water, sanitation and healthcare services to those
uprooted by the violence between Buddhists and Muslims.
Some 75,000 people were uprooted in the first wave of riots
in northern Rakhine state last June. Another 36,000 were dis-
placed by a second wave of unrest in October.
"Many others who were not directly affected by the violence
have lost their livelihoods as a result of restricted movements
due to the security situation. Some have been forced to leave
their homes in search of assistance," UNHCR spokesperson
Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva. There are an estimat-
ed 13,000 people living in makeshift sites around the state cap-
ital Sittwe and some 2,800 people in Maungdaw who are not for-
mally considered IDPs by the authorities and who have therefore
not received aid systematically.
In the last year, UNHCR has distributed relief supplies such
as plastic sheets, sleeping mats and kitchen sets for 75,000
IDPs. Supplementing the Government's shelter programme, it
has provided tents, temporary or permanent shelters to 45,000
people. Additional shelters are being built by UNHCR for 25,000
IDPs in Pauktaw and Myebon townships who are vulnerable to
flooding during the rainy season.
"UNHCR has been working with the authorities and partner
agencies to make sure that the IDPs receive adequate water,
sanitation and health care services," said Mr. Edwards, adding
that this has been difficult in some areas, with aid workers being
harassed or threatened and displaced people unable to move
freely to access basic services.
UNHCR has highlighted the urgent need to register all IDPs
in order to improve aid delivery and better respond to the needs
of the most vulnerable among them.
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20 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES www.milligazette.com
Here is the text of the full keynote address delivered by
Sheikh Rashid Ghannoushi of Tunisia at the 14th Annual
Conference of the Center for The Study of Islam And
Democracy in Washington DC on 29 May, 2013. Shaikh
Ghannoushi is the founder and president of the Harkat al-
Ittijah al-Islami (Islamic Tendendency Movement) in the
1970s which is now renamed as Al-Nahda Party. He is the
most important living Islamic ideologue today. He and his
colleagues were persecuted, jailed and hanged under the
Ben Ali regime. He himself escaped a death sentence under
Ben Ali by spending around three decades in exile and
returned only after the success of the revolution in Tunisia.
His party won majority seats in the elections but he allowed
the leader of another party to be elected as president and
formed a coalition government although his party could
have ruled on its own. Here also he did not accept the post
of the prime minister. He is leading from behind, taking all
along. This offers an example of how Islamic movements
should behave when in power. (Zafarul-Islam Khan)
RASHID GHANNOUSHI
Founder and President of the Nahdha Party in Tunisia
In the name of God. Prayers and
peace be upon all His Messengers.
Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and
sisters, may Gods peace and bless-
ings be upon you.
I thank the Centre for the Study of
Islam and Democracy for giving me
the opportunity to speak to this distin-
guished elite group of American
scholars, experts and policy-makers,
as well as those coming from other
countries to participate in this impor-
tant conference.
I would like to briefly address the issue of the democratic tran-
sition in Tunisia and the challenges that we are facing. The success
of the democratic transition in Tunisia is not important for Tunisia
only but for the whole region because it will establish the first coun-
try in the region which is both democratic and Muslim. That is why
in Tunisia we feel the burden of this responsibility and try our best to
make it succeed. Our revolution is not for export, but we hope that
a successful model can influence the rest of the region.
Since before the elections, we announced that we will choose
to govern through a coalition with other secular parties. We could
have formed our government by getting the support of independents
but we chose to form a coalition that had the widest degree of sup-
port across the political spectrum. We believe that in transitional
periods simple majority government isnt enough. Instead, we need
a wide coalition to send a message that the country is for all and not
just the majority. We believe that moderate Islamists and moderate
secularists can and should work together and that they both should
find compromises to build consensus across the spectrum. We
have tried hard to avoid ideological polarization because this is
recipe for chaos and failure, that is why we have made many con-
cessions whether in government or in the constitution so as to avoid
this danger.
We believe in the need for coexistence between secularists and
Islamists, in the framework of the Troika with the Congress for the
Republic and the Democratic Forum for Work and Liberties
(Attakattul) on the basis of a number of convictions including: First:
There is no contradiction between Democracy and Islam.
Democracy does not mean that governance should be particularly
granted to secularists while considering the Islamists as enemies of
the State who should be either imprisoned or exiled. It does not also
mean excluding secularists from power and marginalizing their role
in authority and in drafting the Constitution simply because they did
not get a majority in the elections.
Second: Islamists ascent to power does not mean that they will
dominate the State, the society, and the revolution because they are
the most popular party, as practiced by tyrannical systems. The
States role is not to impose a certain way of life on the people but
its role is to provide security and services to its people then let them
make their own choices with regards to their way of life.
Third: The conflict between secularists and Islamists, which has
continued for decades, wasted enormous energies and helped dic-
tatorships in their control of our countries. Therefore, the alliance
between Islamists and secularists is important for the establishment
of a democratic and free society able to handle its differences
through deep and sincere dialogue.
On the Question of the Constitution: The Constitution is an
important document as it limits the governments and the rulers
authorities and forces them to abide by law. We have a precedent in
Islamic history in the form of what is known as al-Sahifa which
came at the time of the establishment of the first Islamic state by the
Prophet (peace be upon him) in Madinah. This constitution estab-
lished a pluralistic state that brought together different ethnicities and
religions and established citizenship as the basis of rights and
responsibilities.
We are happy that over the last few days in Tunisia, the commit-
tees of the constituent assembly have finally managed to finish
working on the final draft of the constitution. This will hopefully be
presented to the assembly over the next few weeks. The guiding
principle for us in this constitution is that it should not just be the
constitution of the simple majority but that it should be the constitu-
tion of all Tunisians, that all Tunisians can see themselves in this
constitution and that they feel that it represents them all, whether in
the majority or in the minority. In order to achieve this, we have
organized wide consultations with the different political players and
with civil society organizations. Through this process, we try to
develop a wide consensus around the constitution. However, when
we faced serious differences around issues like Sharia, the political
system whether presidential or parliamentary, around the freedom of
conscience, the universality of human rights, we had to organize a
national dialogue between the main parties to reach a consensus,
and this lasted for nearly five weeks and ended up in reaching com-
promises around these different issues, hence we accepted to leave
any mention of Shariah in the constitution because this notion was-
nt clear to the Tunisian people. With regards to the political system,
although we chose the parliamentary system initially, we ended up
in a compromise where we have a mixed system where the execu-
tive power is divided between the President and the Prime Minister,
We also made compromises by accepting the universality of human
rights and the freedom of conscience. Some people within our party
accuse the leadership that we have become the party of compro-
mise, but we say that as the largest party we have a greater respon-
sibility to make the necessary compromises to help our country
move forward.
We believe that we have now a draft constitution that brings
together the values of Islam and combines them with the values of
modernity and democracy. This had been the dream of the great
reformers since the 19th century and we hope that through ratifying
the constitution that we would have realized this dream. The new
constitution incorporates all the values of equality, the different free-
doms and rights, and the separation of powers.
We hope that once the constitution is approved, the whole coun-
try will start preparing for its second elections which we hope will
be free and fair and we hope that many of our friends across the
world will come to observe and monitor the elections to vouch for
its veracity. We hope that all the different parties will be participat-
ing. One flower does not make a spring -- that is why this election
is very important to prove that the democratic process cannot be
reversed.
Now I would like to speak quickly about the challenges that we
face. The first challenge is the economic/social one. We all know
that this factor was one of the main elements behind the revolution.
We are faced with many problems, the first is that peoples
expectations are very high and their patience is very low. Also the
economic situation in our main trading partners in Europe is affect-
ing our exports and affecting tourism. Despite these problems the
government has managed to reduce unemployment by 2% from 18
to 16%. Also growth went up from -2% when we took over to 3.5%
for 2012. The number of tourists had also gone up and we received
six million tourists last year.
However, the young people who made the revolution in Sidi
Bouzid and Kasserine have not seen any improvement in their lives
and this is a challenge that will need many years to tackle.
The second challenge is the security challenge. The revolution
has weakened the State and its authority. This has given an oppor-
tunity to different groups to try to push the boundaries and cross the
law. Extremists on both sides, whether on the religious right or on
the extreme left, have tried to impose their views with no respect to
the law. We tell these groups: do not think for one moment that
democracies are weak. Slowly, we are rebuilding the States author-
ity but not on the basis of fear as it used to be under the dictator-
ship, but it will be based on the rule of law.
With regards to the Salafi issue, I would like to stress that this
phenomenon is, first, the fruit of the Ben Ali regime and not the fruit
of democracy. Secondly, the phenomenon is a complex one, there-
fore, it needs a complex solution. We see, for example, that this phe-
nomenon exists in the poor areas. Therefore, development needs to
be part of the solution. Also we need to know that this phenomenon
is diverse and that its not all violent. Therefore, we need to push as
many of the Salafis away from violence in order to isolate the violent
ones and make them a minority. This can be achieved through dia-
logue and through convincing them that their understanding of Islam
is wrong and that they need to work within the law if they want their
full rights as citizens.
The third element in the solution is security. Those who want or
try to break the law or to impose their views on others using violence
have to be dealt with severely. This is what the government has done
over the last year by imprisoning hundreds of those who tried to
break the law and regrettably in some instances also killing some of
them in violent confrontations.
This security solution, however, needs to be governed with
respect for human rights and rule of law and not as in the times of
the dictatorship when all rights were disregarded.
The fall of the dictatorial regime in Tunisia was the spark that
launched the Arab Spring. There is no doubt that the success of the
Tunisian experience will lead to the promotion of this peaceful and
democratic path. Tunisia has shown that the Arab Spring is not turn-
ing into a Fundamentalist Winter. Today, we can assure you that it
will not turn into a fundamentalist religious or secular winter but
into a democratic spring where all have a place.
Islam & Democracy Can Support Each Other
We believe in the need for coexistence between secularists and Islamists, in the
framework of the Troika with the Congress for the Republic and the Democratic Forum
for Work and Liberties (Attakattul) on the basis of a number of convictions including:
First: There is no contradiction between Democracy and Islam. Democracy does not
mean that governance should be particularly granted to secularists while considering
the Islamists as enemies of the State who should be either imprisoned or exiled...
BOOKS The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013 21 www.milligazette.com
Book: The Way Of The Knife
Author: Mark Mazzetti
Publisher: The Penguin Press, New York
Year: 2013
Pages: 378
HAMID HUSSAIN
coeusconsultant@optonline.net
Pulitzer prize winner Mark Mazzettis book The Way of the Knife is
a welcome addition to the increasing amount of work on ongoing
conflicts. Mazzettis work is based on extensive research and
interviews with key players in a secret war that is going on for the
last decade.
The book provides details of the debates within political, mili-
tary and intelligence circles of Washington about controversial
policies. He explains how CIA finally emerged as the killing arm
for the U.S. President. He provides details of debates within CIA
about the benefits and risks of the kill them all policy.
Career case officers and analysts were either ambiguous or
against the programme while the counter-terrorist division advo-
cated and won the debate within the organization.
The book also gives details of the transformation of the
Pentagon and CIA where the former acquired many traits and tools
of an intelligence organization while the latter entered battlefields
flying paramilitary colours.
Mazzettis main sources are American; therefore it gives an
American perspective of events. However, he provides some
information about Pakistani actions too. He provides some inter-
esting details about U.S.-Pakistan relations and its ups and downs
in the last decade.
In the immediate aftermath of September 11, relations
between CIA and ISI were very cordial while the focus was on al
Qaeda. ISI provided the local support network while CIA opened
its files on Arab militants to Pakistanis and set up sophisticated
listening posts. The arrest of large numbers of al-Qaeda opera-
tives was the result of this close cooperation.
Mazzeti provides details of one of the most controversial poli-
cies of killing enemies of the State using drones. There are
strategic, tactical, legal and ethical dimensions of this debate and
proponents and opponents of the policy give their view from their
own vantage point.
Contrary to the popular belief, several factors contributed to
the increased reliance on drones with the end result that at times
it seems that it is the only tool in the toolbox to fight extremism.
Mazzeti explains how drone strikes to kill militants became
the centerpiece of the American counter-terrorism policy. The
President wanted quick results with least amount of interference
from other branches of government. Thus the CIA ended up using
a useful tool too often and at times too broadly thus negating its
benefits. In the immediate aftermath of September 11, the CIA
was rounding up suspects and interrogating them in secret bases
all over the world or outsourcing torture to other allies.
As expected, very soon the CIA looked like a correction
department running jails. In the summer of 2004, an internal
report by CIAs inspector general severely criticized the agencys
policies with dire warning that these tactics could result in crimi-
nal prosecution of CIA officers. In 2005, the US Congress passed
Detainee Treatment Act banning many techniques that CIA was
using. Panic gripped the CIA and its director Porter Goss sent a
letter to White House stating that he was shutting down all inves-
tigations until Justice Department gave judgment to make sure
that CIAs techniques were not breaching the law. Cumulative
effect of all these measures resulted in the shift of CIA from act-
ing as the long term jailers of Americas enemies to a military
organization that could erase them.
Once, some senior leaders were taken out by drone strikes,
CIA got mesmerized by this new toy. Some argue that this exten-
sive focus on hunting and killing diverted attention from the pri-
mary task of intelligence collection and analysis.
Giving kill authority to an intelligence agency is a serious
business and needs very careful evaluation as well as periodic
assessment from outside to make sure that it stays in a very small
box and the organization does not lose its intelligence collection
and analysis capacity.
Israel normally does not acknowledge such subjects publicly
but it is generally agreed that they went through a tortuous
process long time ago. Intelligence agencies and the judicial
branch present their case about the deeds and potential risks of an
intended target to a special committee headed by the Prime
Minister. He is the final authority and the decision is political and
this violent instrument of State policy is used like other instru-
ments at the disposal of the government. This ensures that the
ultimate responsibility rests with representatives of the people and
those who pull the trigger are not acting in a rogue fashion but fol-
lowing strict set of rules.
Discussions and debates in society about the ethical and
moral aspects of the policy should ultimately guide their represen-
tatives.
Pakistans views about drones changed over time. Mazzetis
work, Wikileaks cables and Bob Woodwards books on wars pro-
vide details of Pakistans views about drones (some of them are
corroborated by my own work about Pakistan armys operations).
Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani asked
Americans for a 24-hour surveillance of South Waziristan at a time
when Americans didnt have enough drones for expanding opera-
tions. When humbled by militant leader Nek Muhammad Wazir,
Pakistanis went to the Americans and told them, If you guys can
find him, go get him.
Pakistanis asked for taking out their bad guys and in return
CIA asked for taking out their own bad guys roaming in Pakistans
tribal areas. Militant leaders Nek Muhammad and Baitullah
Mahsud were killed in drone strikes at Pakistans request and were
called goodwill strikes.
Initially, Pakistans conditions included restriction of drone
flights to specific flight boxes over FATA, final approval of
Pakistan for every strike and that drone fleet should be operated
under covert authority of CIA so that either Pakistan could claim
the kill or remain silent.
When CIA rapidly escalated drone strikes going after even foot
soldiers in Pakistan, general public outrage made the position of
Pakistan army untenable. If strikes were with their permission,
they were complicit in a policy deeply resented by society in gen-
eral. But if the strikes were without their consent, they were
viewed as unable to either convince Americans or worse impotent
to put a stop to the strikes.
As relations between U.S. and Pakistan deteriorated in 2011,
Pakistan saw continued drone strikes as a serious problem and
asked for their cessation.
The fact that Washington could not keep a secret came as a
rude shock for the Pakistanis. They were probably not aware of
the dictum that Washington is the only ship that leaks from the
top. Leaks from top all the way to the bottom emanating from the
policy making circles in Washington is the single most important
factor that many allies are now very reluctant to confide with their
American counterparts.
The drone is a tool of warfare like tanks, artillery and jet
planes and like any instrument of war has its benefits and side
effects. It is easy to be mesmerized by a new war toy and loose
the bigger picture. On the other hand, it is also easy to denounce
the tool because of its side effects or misuse. There is enough
proof that, compared to all other options, drones had the major
impact on disrupting militant activities in Pakistans tribal areas.
However, rather than restricting to only high value targets and
using the weapon sparingly, when strikes became widespread tar-
geting foot soldiers, Pakistans position became untenable and
they asked to stop it. General public outrage against drone strikes
on Pakistani territory put severe restraint on cooperation in many
areas of even mutual benefit.
The journey had started when Pakistan asked for widespread
surveillance by drones, provided bases for drones, asked for elim-
ination of specific targets and claimed some of the strikes as its
own. But when the U.S.-Pakistan relations deteriorated,
Pakistanis first asked for a slowdown and finally cessation of
drone strikes. The journey ended by Pakistanis asking Americans
to pack up drone bases on its soil.
The debate in Washington about drones intensified during the
last year and finally President Obama recently announced the
transfer of all drone operations from CIA to Pentagon. Now, its
use will be very restricted and this tool will be used sparingly.
Many criticized the drone programme for lack of oversight but its
transfer to the Pentagon does not answer this question. CIA oper-
ated it under covert operations but was required to brief House
and Senate intelligence committees. Pentagon will be operating it
through Special Operations Command (SOCOM). President Bush
had signed an executive order authorizing SOCOM to pursue ter-
rorists wherever they were in the world. SOCOM will likely be
using drones under this executive order and will not be required to
report to the intelligence committees of the Congress. Practically,
there will be less oversight under the new arrangement from other
branches of government.
In the past, deliberate efforts were made to shield the
President from the negative political fallout of covert operations
conducted by CIA on Presidents orders. In complete reversal, the
President now personally approves each target and the specific
strike that is quite unprecedented. There is no push back from
Congress or judicial branch and general public opinion is not very
averse to this policy. Therefore, the only restraint on the President
will be the diplomatic fallout from the operation. Only diplomats
from Islamabad are strongly opposing the policy as it makes their
job almost impossible.
A tactical weapon has an impact on strategy and just like
introduction of artillery, tanks and fighter jets had an impact on the
larger strategic canvass of the art of war, drones will also have a
similar impact. Like tactical nuclear weapons, the production and
deployment of drones are going at a fast pace before its role in
strategy is figured out.
We dont have exact numbers but according to Lev Grossman
of Time magazine, a decade ago, Pentagon had fifty Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles (UAV) but now they have an inventory of over
7500. More than one third of U.S. force now consists of UAV.
This clearly points that UAVs are here to stay.
The conversation about their use has just started and there
will be vigorous debate about the ethical, legal, tactical and strate-
gic questions involving this new weapon.
United States has set a very dangerous precedent and there
will be far-reaching consequences when other countries start to
incorporate drones in their national security paradigm. In the
absence of agreed international rules of war as applied to other
weapons, if other countries start to use drones following the
precedent set by the U.S. doctrine, a chaotic mess will be the log-
ical outcome.
In the past, one had to wait twenty years for declassification
of government files to understand the decision making process.
However, in this age of good investigative journalism, whistle
blowers and Wikileaks, we are learning about the art of covert war
in real time.
The book is a must read for anyone interested in the dynam-
ics of a secret campaigns spanning all over the globe with far
reaching consequences for the world.
We supply any
book published
from Delhi.*
*Contact details on page 19
Drones as arm of State policy
A tactical weapon has an impact on
strategy and just like introduction of
artillery, tanks and fighter jets had an
impact on the larger strategic canvass of
the art of war, drones will also have a
similar impact. Like tactical nuclear
weapons, the production and deployment
of drones are going at a fast pace before
its role in strategy is figured out.
We dont have exact numbers but
according to Lev Grossman of Time
magazine, a decade ago, Pentagon had
fifty Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) but
now they have an inventory of over 7500.
More than one third of U.S. force now
consists of UAV. This clearly points that
UAVs are here to stay.
The conversation about their use has
just started and there will be vigorous
debate about the ethical, legal, tactical and
strategic questions involving this new
weapon.
United States has set a very dangerous
precedent and there will be far-reaching
consequences when other countries start
to incorporate drones in their national
security paradigm. In the absence of
agreed international rules of war as
applied to other weapons, if other
countries start to use drones following the
precedent set by the U.S. doctrine, a
chaotic mess will be the logical outcome.
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AMU rejoinder
Kindly refer to your personal comments on the press release regard-
ing the appointment of Maj. Gen. G. G. Dwivedi as Professor in West
Asian Studies Department of the University, published in the online
issue of Milli Gazette of May 20, 2013. Your comments lack truth as
the facts are otherwise. The new Proctor, Dr. Jamshed Siddiqui is not
a former military officer. Please give the names of military officers in
the Medical College as reported by you to be "teaming with former
military officer running the show". The General earned the rank of Lt.
General after serving the country for 40 years and has the right and
honour to retain the prefix of Lt. General. The President of the
Students' Union was expelled primarily for financial irregularities. The
Vice Chancellor was elected by the Muslim community represented
by the AMU Court and Executive Council and it is his prerogative to
choose the team he can implicitly trust. We would request you to give
us the name of any academician who is better qualified in Chinese
language that Maj. Gen. Dwivedi. He will be selected for AMU. You are
also requested to visit Aligarh Muslim University as a Guest of the
University and meet the Vice Chancellor.
Dr. Rahat Abrar, Public Relations Officer
rahatabrar@gmail.com
AMU: Aligarh Sherwani: Sartorial Excellence
The Vice Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University Lt. General
(Retd.) Zameer Uddin Shah is making all possible efforts to revive cul-
ture and traditions of the University. Recently, he has asked students
to wear sherwani when coming to meet him. Sherwani has been
closely associated with founders of Aligarh Movement. Following Sir
Syed Ahmed Khan, teachers and students wore sherwani. Inspired by
the popularity of the design at Aligarh Muslim University, the name
Aligarh Sherwani was derived. At the AMU, sherwani is still consid-
ered as the University's traditional dress. University provides cloth for
sherwani to each student and charges a nominal amount for it at the
time of admission. Even tailors are fixed who stitch sherwanis for stu-
dents. VC Shah has said to the students, "I intend to give more oppor-
tunity for interaction. Students who wish to meet me in the office will
be dressed in Sherwani". He said that he would be delighted if he sees
students dressed in Sherwani on Fridays and during University func-
tions. Kudos to Lt. General Shah, who inspite of spending his entire
life in army uniform, has a great respect for traditional dress of the
University. One should not forget, last year when retired army officer
joined as the Vice Chancellor of AMU, he was wearing black sher-
wani.
M. Yunus Khan, AMU, Aligarh.
khan_yunus123@rediffmail.com
Ambani mansion: rejoinder
This is with reference to an article "Part of Mukesh Ambani's mansion
demolished in your esteemed publication "The Milli Gazette" Published
Online: May 29, 2013 (http://www.milligazette.com/news/6972-part-
of-mukesh- ambanis-mansion-demolished-waqf-wakf). The article
states facts which are incorrect. No such demolition has taken place
and the land is neither encroached nor illegally occupied to build this
mansion. The public is misguided with such incorrect facts. Please
connect with us officially for any such facts and figures regarding the
same. Request you to look into the same and get the article rectified.
Bhuvaneshwari Joshi, Corporate Communications
Bhuvaneshwari.Joshi@ril.com
Tipu Sultan - the great freedom fighter
On the 214th death anniversary of Indias great freedom fighter Tipu
Sultan who sacrificed his life fighting the British Imperialists, we pay
homage to him. Muslim haters have been tarnishing the image of Tipu
Sultan by calling him fanatic, cruel, temple breaker etc. On the con-
trary eminent Hindu historians and scholars like Dr. B. N. Pande,
Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagwan S. Gidwani etc. have paid glowing tributes
to the religious tolerance, patriotism and political foresight of Tipu
Sultan. Mahatma Gandhi in his Young India has called Tipu Sultan
one of the greatest heroes of India. Gandhiji has refuted the false and
baseless allegations that Tipu Sultan had inflicted atrocities on
Hindus. Gandhiji had written that Tipu Sultan had donated lands and
sanctioned huge yearly grants to Hindu temples. Dr. B. N. Pande and
Bhagwan S. Gidwani had also written in their books similar historical
facts. History bears testimony to it that had the Nizam of Hyderabad
and the Marathas not joined the British army in the war against Tipu
Sultan, He would have driven out the British imperialists from India.
G. Hasnain Kaif, Bhandara (M. S.) - 441904
Plant trees instead of statues
Many Political parties are installing the idols of their leaders at the
main junctions of the cities spending huge amounts causing problems
to the public . If 'Tree Plantation' is done instead we can save the envi-
ronment with 'Clean and Green concept', as each tree sucks 28% of
pollution and generates oxygen , and saves us from heat and dis-
eases. Mohammad Azam, Karimnager
deomohdazam70@gmail.com
Hindutva: Treason & Terrorism
Hindutva: Treason & Terrorism is a perfect book written by I. K. Shukla
to understand the NDA government's Bloodbath of minorities between
1998-2004. This book is a tight slap to Hindutva Communal parties
of India and their fake development agenda. There record of pyramids
of crimes and corruption in the NDA rule. They even didn't spare Kargil
martyr's Coffin in looting money. How the Suppression of Freedom of
Expression was a widespread and common phenomenon in NDA rule
like banning documentaries on Gujarat riots which has won presti-
gious awards abroad . Handing of National resources to foreign coor-
porations. There are some interesting facts which are known by very
few like Vajpayee as a british informer, The Baren Ray episode,
Vajpayee was silent for 8 months Inspite of knowing that infiltration is
going on in Kargil etc. How the Bhagwa warlords in New Delhi sys-
tematically trashed the Non-Aligned Movement and aligned with
Imperialist forces like Israel and USA and many more interesting facts
are produced in this book Mohammad Zaki Naeem
zakistar555@gmail.com
Clerics promoting education
With reference to Mr. Kaleem Kawaja's article on the role of the the-
ologians in promoting higher education in the Muslim community, I
am afraid neither the Crescent Civil Service Academy, New Delhi nor
the Rahmani Coaching Centre in Patna have ever published the num-
ber of candidates coached by them, course-wise, every year and the
number who have finally got into the intended lists. It is not enough to
clear a test but to get into the services and institution as well. As for
as incharge Dargah is concerned indeed through the Khaja Education
Society. It has done a marvelous job in establishing regular colleges
for Medicines and Engineering. I hope this example is followed by
other Dargahs in the country which have the resources.
Syed Shahabuddin, ex-MP, New Delhi
syedshahabuddinexmp@gmail.com
Muslim liberals
Our national press has been lionising "progressive Muslims" as "liber-
al Muslims". But liberalism by no means advocates abandonment of
one's religion. Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Dr Ansarii Rafi
Ahmad Kidwai, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Fakhruddin All Ahmad and
Syed Mahmood were all great Muslim leaders and were also staunch
nationalists. They neither abjured Islam nor did their being Muslims
opposed in any way their "Indianness". They were true liberals as they
were free from communalism. They cannot be compared with the
present liberals who oppose Islam.
Dr. M. Hashim Kidwai, Ex-M. P., Rajya Sabha, Delhi
No Tobacco day
On the eve of World No Tobacco Day (observed every year in 31st
May), if you check the amount of people losing their lives due to this
menace the figure seems to be alarming. As per the WHO more than
6 million people die all across the world consuming tobacco in vari-
ous ways, with India the maximum number of victims of this menace
with around 1 million people losing their lives. If you look at the num-
ber of side effects being caused by the tobacco products like ciga-
rettes, bidis, water pipes and bidis than more than 6 lakhs people die
due to the smoking habits. As per research there are more than 4000
chemicals in tobacco smoke, of which at least 250 are known to be
harmful and more than 50 are known to cause cancer. While, one
study revealed that chewing tobacco poses a bigger threat than smok-
ing, another study has revealed that an estimated 10 percent of tobac-
co-related deaths are caused by passive smoking. As per the WHO
every year 6 lakh out of 60 lakh deaths due to tobacco are because
of second-hand smoke. Banning tobacco advertising, promotion and
sponsorship is one of the key ways to protect young people from
starting smoking as well as reducing tobacco consumption across
the entire population. Mohd Ziyaullah Khan, Nagpur- 440013
writeziya@gmail.com
National Advisory Council
Aruna Roy's decision to quit the National Advisory Council is the
unfortunate corollary to the UPA government's denial to pay minimum
wages to MGNREGA workers. The Prime Minister's defiance to pay
heed to his party chief Sonia Gandhi's letter asking him to honour the
promise made to the aam admi before elections, and his audacity to
disregard the interjection over the issue by two High Courts, speak
volumes about his penchant to the capitalist policies. The neoliberal
economic reforms have indeed transformed the rich into super-rich
and also helped many a techno-savvy middle class people. But his
promise that the benefits would 'trickle-down' to the poor had been a
complete disaster. At least at the eleventh hour of his tenure, Dr. Singh
must try to bring a cheer to the faces of millions of the poor in the
country by giving their due minimum wage.
Syed Sultan Mohiddin, Kapada (A. P)
sultan_awaz@yahoo.co.in
Mulayam Singh politics
It should not be surprising to anybody to understand the reason of
Mulayam Singh replacing its three Non muslim MP candidates by
Muslim candidates. SAPA consider congress a big threat as the
Muslims is the common vote bank of both the parties. As a result
SAPA prefers victory of BJP candidates as compared to Congress. So
Mulayam Singh shall play all games to ensure the defeat of as many
Congress candidates as possible. SAPA talk of keeping Communal
forces away from Power is a just a farce. Mulayam Singh thinks that
if BJP is in Power then Muslims will be the main sufferer and by
speaking few words of sympathy for Muslims they will return to him.
Secondly he is having in mind that in case congress do not get suffi-
cient seats after 2014 elections he could manage to get support of
BJP to form the candidate. If one goes through the developments dur-
ing last one year of SAPA UP rule, it is not difficult to understand the
secret understanding between BJP and SAPA. Mulayam Singh is
wrong if he thinks that by replacing three non Muslim MP candidates
by Muslims he will win the confidence of Muslim Community. Already
60% of Muslims who voted for him in 2012 Assembly elections have
deserted him. Prof. Shamim Ahmad, AMU
profshamim@gmail.com
How to solve Telagana problem.?
The best solution for Telangana problem is to form a development
committee of each district comprising MP and MLAs under the pres-
idential order at least one thousand crore rupees be allocated to each
committee. Let the District collector monitor the schemes .This devel-
opment work should continue for five years .The leaders should sup-
port the presidents orders .Those leaders who oppose the presiden-
tial order must arrested and sent to jail for six months . The sepa-
ratists leaders have poisoned the minds of people. They are unable to
bring extra funds for development. So far the central government was
lenient on the demand of separate state .In Europe the states are
merging to form lager states but Indians wants to separate ourselves.
Are we reverting or going ahead? Dr AH Maqdoomi, Hyderabad
drmaqdoomi@yahoo.com
Saffron terrorism in India
The learned judges, blind judiciary, and coward judgements totally tar-
nishing the minority people in the country. The judges knows to pun-
ish only the innocent Muslims! Are the judges acting according to the
tune of the saffaronists? Who demolished mosques, bombed in
mosques and public places leaving the real culprits and national crim-
inals the learned judges showed their efficiency to establish farce and
fallacious crimes on Muslim youths and jeopardise them for years
together, as per the direction of saffaronists as well as cruel jews. The
judiciary has not pointed out so far their fingers on the cruel criminals
like L. K. Advani, Narendra Modi, Varun Gandhi etc who created and
now creating national disasters in Ayodhya, Gujarat, Malegaon etc,
now in Assam and else here. When will these criminals will be hung
as Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru were hung. The learned judges have
discovered that demolition of Babari Mosque is just an incident and
nothing famous about it. What kind of law and justice in India. If power
and majority in the hands, any kind of ghoondaism can be implement-
ed and can will any number of Muslims. The supreme judiciary will
say (ho) it is just an incident, nothing to worry. The rulers, politi-
cians, judiciary and medias promoting corruption in India. They are
digging grave of India. The Muslims are not expected to have any feel-
ings or sentiments. They are being abused, killed, burnt, raped and
their little properties destroyed. Such criminal atrocities are being car-
ried out in India by a group of people against minority people. Justice
is denied to this weaker section and providing injustice to them.
Muslim kings ruled across the country nearly thousand years. But
there are no palaces, or their dynasties, their belongings remaining in
India. All the belongings, valuables diamonds, crowns, thrones etc
tetc were smuggled to England and they are being sold in public auc-
tion bit by bit.
M. A. Khan, Kamaleswaram, Trivandrum
Why this discrimination between China and Pakistan
It is ridiculous that BSF Kill the Intruders on the line of controls on Pak
border but the same BSF neglect the same crime done by Chinese
forces. Has India love with China. Recently China intruded 19 KM into
our territory and established there camps and now It has built 5 KM
road inside our land and our soldiers were made runaway from the
scene. This action will encourage China to make more intrusions. It
seems our foreign policy is based on Muslim hostility. This is very
harmful. China is taking undue advantage of our policy. Why our army
success on Pak border and fail on chinas border.
AH Maqdoomi, Hyderabad
A Controversial Issue of Pasmanda and Ashraf
Mr Khalid Anis Ansari has posted a video clipping of interview of a
School teacher Eijaz Jogi which is full of venom and hatred against a
particular section of muslim community. There are lots of comments
in support and against the interview. It is better that we dont further
create any division in the community. We are already a divided house,
between Shias and Sunnis, Deobandis and Barreilvies. In Islam
there is no castism while there is a concept of high and low cast in
Hinduism. The 99% muslims in India are converts even so called
Ashraf, not only Pasmandas as claimed. So there is a social influence
of Hinduism on Muslims. To put all blames for their backwardness on
upper casts by Pasmandas is not justified. If one goes through the
share of these so called Pasmandas among the muslims representa-
tion in Assemblies, Parliament, Ministers in States and Central
Governments, government services and even in business, that is, dis-
tribution of wealth it could be observed that Pasmandas have the
major share. Ansaris, Qureshies and Saifies are some of the commu-
nities out of Pasmandas who are doing excellently and are ahead in
every field. As a matter of fact there is no class except that of rich and
poor. Now it is more than sixty five years of independence, who is
stopping so called Pasmandas not to get education, jobs etc.
Secondly so called Ashrafs have no power under their control to harm
the interest and progress of Pasmandas. Is there no upper cast and
lower caste in Hindus? Brahmins are not more than 5% but their share
in every field is more than 20%, it is because of their hard work. I feel
people like Ansari and Jogi are a frustrated lot, certainly what else
could be expected from a School teacher. No Muslim is opposing 9%
out of 27% OBC quota for Muslim OBC. Still if people like Jogi feel
uncomfortable as part of Muslim community they are free to adopt
Hinduism where they could find classless society and no discrimina-
tion.
Prof. Shamim Ahmad, National President IFSDSD
New Zealand
profshamim@gmail.com
Hinduism is not a religion
I am an ardent fan and subscriber of M G since its inception. I thank
Mohd. Abdus Samad of Gouripur who elaborated the true meaning of
HINDUISM , of my letter published in M G 16-31 , which I read with
interest along with my friends.Rejoinders ,Letters , Opinions is the
Gist and the Cream of M G liked by many .for its authenticity . Islam
is the Religion of the entire universe. but most of the Muslims are not
following Islam , But one can witness the Hindu Congregations blind-
ly following the Dummy Gods made by them day by day though it is
not a Religion. I Congratulate the Editor -in -Chief for publishing the
opinions of the readers and encouraging them time to time .
Muhammad Azam, Karimnager TELANGANA.
deomohdazam70@gmail.com
Muslims are deceived by secular Tamasha
15 colleges of Bihar are selected for professional courses by the
department of education where important courses like software dev,
food processing, mobile com., computer appl, info tech, I T, retail etc
will start after approval from MHRD and AICTE. In this of 15 colleges
not a single minority college is included and from Darbhanga CMSC
college of Darbhanga is selected. Darbhanga is the district where
Nitish Kumar camped on 17 May for his yatra and addressed Muslim
gathering from Millat College stage. But CM Science College of
Darbhanga is selected for community college where professional
course would start.
S. Haque, Patna
Syria
In Syria, Sunnis form 74% of the population, Shias 13%, while
Christians are 10%. Syrias population is about 21 million. The rulers
are minority Alawites, a Shia offshoot. Shia villages are distributed in
the middle of Sunni majority villages and towns all over Syria. Due to
both sides increasingly exploiting the draw of religion - Shia or Sunni,
the population is getting radicalized along the fault line of Shia or
Sunni. A large number of Shia fighters from Lebanon mobilized by
Hizbollah and from Iraq are flocking to Syria to fight Sunnis. Also there
are rumours that some Afghan and Arab Sunni fighters are being
mobilized to go to Syria to fight Shias. Iran buying weapons from
Russia is the major supplier of weapons for Shias. SA and UAE buy-
ing weapons from US, UK, etc are the major supplier of weapons to
Sunnis. If the Shia-Sunni hostility and hatred spreads widely with sec-
tarian actions like those of Hasan Nasrollah and Imam Qardawi, soon
the many Shia villages in the midst of Sunni majority Syria may face
annihilation, or the minority Sunnis in Shia villages may face annihila-
tion. This could become like the 1947 Hindu-Muslim killing where
about 1 million people (Hindu and Muslim) were killed in a religious
frenzy and settling of historical complaints. Except here it is a blood-
bath between two halves of the Muslim Ummah! Do we still have a
Muslim Ummah? Kaleem Kawaja, Washington DC
Saffron conspiracy against licensed slaughter house
Karnataka BJP government had banned slaughter of cows when it
came in power. In Bihar, BJP is partner of JD (U) and clandestinely
pushes RSS agenda. Waqf properties encroachment, Qabristan
encroachment are common and the major saffron agenda to ban
slaughtering, local VHP / Bajrang dal leaders with officials beating per-
sons (Muslims) carrying mutton and playing mischief against slaugh-
ter house. It is Hajipur sub division Mahua where earlier a Qabristan
was transferred to some person and higher officials saved the C O.
S. Haque, Patna
REJOINDERS/OPINION/LETTERS The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 23 www.milligazette.com
The Milli Gazette, P.O. Box 9701, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025 Email: letters@milligazette.com Read more letters on MG website
RNI No. DELENG/2000/930 REGISTERED DL(S)-01/3215/2012-14
LICENCED TO POST WITHOUT PREPAYMENT U (SE)-57/2012-14
PUBLISHED ON 11 JUNE 2013 POSTED ON 11-12 JUNE 2013
ADV. FORTNIGHTLY AT NDPSO-110002
Charity Alliance is looking for desktop computers (old/second hand) and general children books for
Alliance School, Murshidabad (West Bengal). Books may be in English/Urdu/Hindi/Bengali.
Let us know if anyone will like to donate their desktops/books.
The Milli Gazette
New Delhi 110025 India Tel.: 011-26947483 Email: edit@milligazette.com
24 The Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2013
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LETS FIGHT TERRORISM
TURN TO PAGE 3 INSIDE
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