by admin | May 25, 2021 | Uncategorized
Dr Afaq Nadeem addressing MESCO ALEEF Bhopal Chapter’s Valedictory function
BHOPAL: “Muslims must learn Arabic language and then recite the Holy Qur’an with understanding. When Muslim Ummah is able to understand what is written in the Holy Qur’an then it would be simple for them to know what Allah’s Commandments are about. Thereafter, it would be very easy for Muslims to practice Almighty Allah’s message in their daily lives”.
The above observation was made by Moulvi Mohammad Umar, Sr. Arabic lecturer in SHZH Govt. Unani Medical College, Bhopal, who was chief guest at the valedictory function of Arabic Teachers’ Training Programme-2020. It was organized here at Crescent Public school the other day by MESCO ALEEF Bhopal Chapter which is affiliated to MESCO of Hyderabad.
Moulvi Umar motivated the entire gathering of Muslims to focus on learning of the Arabic language in order to understand the Holy Qur’an in its original language and not translation in any other language. Howsoever the translation may be good but it can never match the text in its original language, he added.
Presenting a brief report about the training programme Pervez Bari, Honorary secretary of MESCO ALEEF Bhopal Chapter, informed that MESCO ALEEF has been organising this Arabic Teachers’ Training Programme for more that last 12 years. Despite pandemic of Covid-19 MESCO ALEEF Bhopal Chapter was able to successfully conduct the Teachers’ Training this year also though via online classes.
Dr. Afaque Nadeem Khan, Asst. Professor in the College of Teacher Education (CTE), Bhopal affiliated to MANUU, Hyderabad was Guest of Honour on the occasion. He also delivered a very thoughtful message to all Muslims by saying that, today’s Muslim indulge in promotion of their own self and think about their selves only. Circumstances for Muslims will not change until they are not merciful and helpful to others. Muslims have to become a source of giving others by painstakingly striving ways and means to benefit the society at large.
Dr. Adiba binte Ashfaq, Dentist & Teacher of Ayman Quran classes, was also Guest of Honour in the function. Speaking on the occasion she said that today’s man apparently tries to look good and clean and he tries his best, but he never tries his best to purify his heart and soul while it is an important duty.
Miss Rafia Sultan, Dawah Secretary of M. P. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Women’s wing, was another Guest of Honour in the function. While addressing the assemblage she also shed special light at length on recitation of the Holy Quran with understanding.
Mr. Raghib Ahmed Choudhry, an Educationist from Indore, made a PPT presentation on the topic of “System of Dajjal in the Holy Quran” on the occasion which was highly appreciated.
Mrs. Mehnaz Ismail, Principal of Crescent Public School, presided over the programme.
In the function, the results of Arabic Teachers’ Training Programme-2020 was declared by Pervez Bari wherein First position was secured by Miss Asfiya Siddiqui D/o Haneef Siddiqui, Mrs. Naba Khan D/o Riyaz Khan was placed second while Shehnaz Ahmed D/o Syed Aziz Ahmed came third. Certificates & trophies were distributed to the candidates who qualified the examination.
At the outset Mrs. Naba Khan recited Surat-ul-Fatiha while Master Ammar Khan recited Surat-ul-Rehman from the Holt Quran. The programme was anchored by Mrs. Kishwer Basheer and Miss Nida Hasan. At the outset of the function started with Tilawat-e-Quran.
Earlier, Dr. (Maulana) Mohammad Arif Juned Nadvi, vice president of MESCO ALEEF Bhopal Chapter, delivered the welcome address. The function concluded with Dua offered by Moulvi Mohammad Umar.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
Ram Puniyani
By Ram Puniyani
Netaji Subhashchandra Bose’s birth anniversary was marked by various events this year (January 23). His portrait was unveiled by the President in Rashtrapati Bhavan. It was declared that his anniversary will be celebrated as Parakram Divas (Bravery day). Railway Minister announced the renaming of Howrah-Kalka Mail as Netaji Express. Mamta Bannerjee in contrast stated that his anniversary will be celebrated as Dehs Nayak Divas (National Hero Day). Through word of mouth propaganda and the social media BJP and company is spreading the falsehood that Congress did not honor Bose and that Bose supported Hindutva.
In a public meeting in Kolkata to celebrate his anniversary on 23 January when Mamata Bannerjee rose to speak a section of BJP supporters shouted Jai Shri Ram. Bannerjee said it is an insult to her and left the meeting without speaking. As such the slogan dear to Bose was Jai Hind.
All this is happening in the backdrop of forthcoming West Bengal elections where BJP is making all the attempts to win the Assembly elections. In tune with the attempt to pick up the icons by BJP; Subhash Bose is the latest on the line. He is a tall National figure and is greatly revered in WB. So far BJP never talked of putting Netaji in such a way as it is doing currently. The truth that Netaji’s ideology was totally in opposition to the one being pursued by BJP is being hidden under the carpet and strong attempt is underway to show that Netaji had ideology similar to the present ruling dispensation. Netaji was for socialism, democracy and communal amity and the present ruling party is for Hindu nation, is practicing the divisive politics and is undermining democracy through all its action.
As far as his differences with Congress party (INC) are concerned they related more to means to be employed for getting Independence. He was twice President of INC. The difference came up mainly in the wake of Second World War when Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi planned a nationwide agitation; ‘Quit India Movement’. Bose at this point of time wanted to make the British quit by allying with Germany and Japan who were Britain’s enemy countries. The majority of Congress Central committee was with Gandhi’s proposal and leaders like Patel and Nehru totally opposed the strategy proposed by Bose.
Still it was a tactical difference; Congress and Bose both were for getting freedom, while Hindu Mahasabha and RSS supported the British war efforts. Savarkar of Hindu Mahasabha was in the lead to make the British army strong by helping them to recruit Indians into British army. Bose on the contrary formed ‘Azad Hind Fauz’ (Indian National Army, INA) in Singapore with the aim of countering British army. He continued to be admirer of INC, Gandhi and Nehru; as is evident from the fact that he wrote to Mahatma Gandhi addressing him as Rashtrapita (Father of the nation). He sought Gandhi’s blessings while forming INA and two of INA Brigades were named after Gandhi and Nehru.
While Hindu Mahasabha and RSS have been totally against the state sponsored welfare programs and the concept of Socialism, Bose was a firm socialist. Within Congress he was with Nehru and other socialists for incorporation of socialist ideals in the national movement. Bose was strongly advocating for planning commission for the planned development of the country. Incidentally the planning commission which was set up after Independence was scrapped by BJP-NDA Government and replaced by Niti Ayog. When he left Congress he formed Forward Block, a socialist outfit, which had been part of the Left Alliance which ruled WB for decades.
Congress also looked at INA in a positive light and when after the end of World War II, the soldiers and officers of INA were tried in the Courts; lawyers like Bhulabhai Desai and Congress leader Jawaharlal Nehru among others fought the case for the INA. Interestingly Nehru adorned the lawyer’s gown precisely to fight the cases for the brave soldiers of INA.
One should note that Hindu Mahasabha’s Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was part of the Government of Bengal in alliance with Muslim League. When British Government was suppressing the Quit India Movement, Mukherjee promised British not to bother about the Quit India Movement in Bengal as he will deal with them properly. Parallel to this Hindu Mahasabha’s Savarkar wanted British army to be strong and chief of RSS, Golwalkar put out a circular to its branches to stick to their regular activities and not to do anything which will annoy the British.
Hindu Rashtra (Nation) has been the main plank of Hindu Mahasabha-RSS. Bose was totally opposed to the politics of communalists, Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha. It was under his President-ship of Congress that that dual membership of communalists was barred. They no longer could be on the elective committees of Congress. Also in one of his broadcasts from Berlin he criticized these formations for their siding with British. As per him the politics of communal organizations was totally against the interests of peasants and workers. His opposition to Shyama Prasad Mukherjee joining Hindu Mahasabha’s Bengal unit was very strong.
It is not much projected as to what were the ideas of Bose on the issue of nature of Nationalism and Hindu Muslim unity. To quote Bose from his writings, “With the advent of the Mohammedans, a new synthesis was gradually worked out. Though they did not accept the religion of the Hindus, they made India their home and shared in the common social life of the people – their joys and their sorrows. Through mutual co-operation, a new art and a new culture were (sic) evolved ….” And also that, “Indian Mohammedans” have continued to work for national freedom.” In order to uphold rights of minorities, he conceptualized a new State where “religious and cultural freedom for individuals and group” should be guaranteed and no “state-religion” would be adopted [‘Free India and her Problems’].
While sticking to ‘first comers’, RSS ideologues say that Aryans were the original inhabitants in India and from here they emigrated to parts of West Asia and Europe. In contrast Bose points out “, “The latest archeological excavations … prove unmistakably that India had reached a high level of civilization as early as 3000 B.C. … before the Aryan conquest of India.” His praise for Mohenjo-daro and Harappa is certainly a rational counter-argument based on ‘scientific findings’ against the imagination of a Hindu-Aryan origin of Indian culture. Bose was forward looking and did not subscribe to ‘golden ancient period’ thesis propounded by communalists.
Time and over again the Hindu nationalists have been trying to gain legitimacy by appropriating the national icons like Vivekanad, Sardar Patel and the like. BJP is on the lokout for those nationals icons who differed with Congress, with Gandhi or Nehru. Now with WB elections forthcoming ‘no holds barred’ efforts is on to appropriate a tall leader of freedom movement, whose ideology is totally in opposition the one of Hindu nationalists. He was a true socialist wedded to the concept of Hindu Muslim unity. He fought against British while Hindu nationalists supported them. He called Gandhi as rashtrapita, while one of the Hindu nationalist murdered him!
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News
By Pervez Bari
BHOPAL: It seemed as if to up the ante to earn the title of “Cleanest City” of India for the fifth time, the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), employees besides disposing off garbage laid their hands on homeless and disabled destitute dotting the footpaths of the city begging alms lifted them bodily to pack up in a truck and dump them outside the municipal limits.
This was the inhuman scene in Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, on Friday as passersby looked in bewilderment when they were being dropped like stray cattle at Kishpra locality, which is outside the municipal limits of the city. When some Good Samaritan seeing the plight of the aged who were being left alone in the biting cold to fend themselves in alien environment clicked videos and made it viral on the social media.
Thereafter, hue and cry ensued which alerted the district administration and thereby it swung into action taking up damage control exercise. Heads started rolling with Deputy municipal commissioner Pratap Solanki was suspended while two more contractual employees were sacked after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan twitted expressing his annoyance over the entire episode and ordered for action against the responsible officials.
Videos went viral
Three videos went viral over social media on Friday, two of which featuring an IMC anti-encroachment squad abandoning elderly destitute at Kishpra, which is outside the municipal limits.
The videos showed the IMC employees dropping homeless elderly destitute, many of them weak and old with just rags and torn bags as possession, on the highway and throwing their belongings from a truck on the same road.
The third video showed local residents opposing the move of IMC employees even as one person was heard narrating how the aged homeless persons were abandoned on the highway and their belongings were being thrown on the road. One employee was seen trying to explain their position. The video shows elderly men and women, barely able to sit properly, being pulled out of the truck and dumped on the roadside by IMC employees – one of the workers was wielding a stick issuing directions to others.
The same video later showed the IMC employees lugging the elderly destitute back on the truck even as local residents threatening to share the clips of the incident on CM Helpline. After protest from Kshipra residents, they picked up the elderly men and women – believed to be brought from one of the IMC-run shelter home — and moved away amidst angry remarks from people witnessing the inhumane act. The video was apparently shot by one of the locals protesting the IMC action, led to sharp reactions from different quarters.
‘Orders from Govt.’
Meanwhile, a shopkeeper of Kishpra, Rajesh Joshi told reporters that the IMC vehicle had abandoned the elderly destitute and left but they stopped it. “When we asked IMC employees why they abandoned elderly homeless in Kishpra, pat came the reply that the orders for the same were from the government. The employees said that the destitute make Indore city dirty so they have been driven out of the city,” Joshi said adding that they forced the employees to take the aged people back.
As the videos went viral, IMC initially tried to trivialize the matter saying that IMC team was picking up destitute from a place in municipal limits to transport them to “Rainbasera” (night shelter). Solanki, who was supervising the work of transporting destitute to “Rainbasera”, gave a clean chit to the IMC team saying they did nothing wrong. “They were just picking up destitute from roadside to take them to night shelter,” he said.
IMC commissioner Pratibha Pal reportedly told reporters, “Deputy commissioner Pratap Solanki has been suspended and services of Rain Basera (shelter home) supervisor Brajesh Lashkari and a worker Vishwas Vajpayee have been terminated after the carelessness that came to fore on Friday.” IMC is carrying out a drive to move the destitute, elderly and orphaned people to the “Rainbaseras” on a regular basis. A preliminary probe shows carelessness on part of these employees in transporting them in the vehicle and dumping them outside the municipal limits of the city,” she said.
However, talking to news persons Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhay Rajangaonkar said that he had seen the videos but did not find any inhumane act from the IMC employees. They mishandled the destitute while putting them in vehicle. Two employees have been sacked for it. An inquiry has been ordered to find out why they were taken out of the city,” he said.
IMC in an official release later said “The elderly have been taken to shelter home and are being given proper care. Steps are being taken to prevent reoccurrence of the incident.”
Meanwhile, Collector Manish Singh termed the act inhumane and unfortunate. He stated that the government has suspended Solanki and two contractual employees were sacked.
It may be mentioned here that Indore was adjudged India’s cleanest city for a fourth straight year while Surat and Navi Mumbai grabbed the second and third positions respectively, as the Centre announced the results of its latest annual cleanliness survey in August 2020.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
Frank F. Islam
By Frank F Islam
The Senate trial is just the first of many landmines Trump will have to navigate going forward. He is also likely to face an array of civil and criminal lawsuits at the federal and state levels, on issues ranging from financial illegalities, to abuse of power, and insurrection-related charges.
In the first three days of his new administration, United States (US) President Joe Biden signed a total of 30 executive actions aimed at stopping or reversing Donald Trump’s policies. They include executive orders to terminate the construction of a nearly 2,000-mile long wall on the US-Mexican border; end the Muslim ban that restricted entry of citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries; return the US to the World Health Organization; rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change; and, halt the crackdown on immigration to the US.
Biden has moved fast to unveil a stimulus package to kickstart the US economy. The damage done by the former president, who came to power promising to “put Americans back to work” is reflected in a simple data point — more Americans were in the workforce when he entered the Oval Office on January 20, 2017, than when he left on January 20. But the immediate priority for Biden is tackling Covid-19 on a war-footing. Under Trump’s watch, more than 400,000 Americans lost their lives to a virus that he constantly downplayed.
Before the failed insurrection he inspired on January 6, few had expected Trump to fade away quietly. The conventional wisdom was that he was going to travel across the country addressing tens of thousands of adoring supporters, getting his loyalists elected to various local, state and federal races, and remaining relevant in national politics to make another potential presidential run in 2024.
In addition to these political activities, which would freeze the 2024 GOP primary field, there was another equally pressing matter — rescuing his business, which has been losing money every year since his presidential bid in 2015. January 6 changed all of those calculations, and turned much of the country, except for Trump loyalists and committed Republican supporters, against him.
Trump ran the country for four years without being held accountable by anyone. The defeat on November 3 and Trump’s subsequent incendiary actions, culminating in the insurrection of January 6, has changed all that. Because of those failures, Trump has entered the accountability zone.
After being impeached by the House of Representatives for the second time, the first president to suffer that fate twice, he could be convicted by the US Senate in a trial to begin in the week of February 8.
To some extent, the likelihood of conviction will depend on the quality of the case made during the trial. To a greater extent, it will depend on what direction former Senate Majority Leader and now Minority Leader Mitch McConnell decides to take the Republican Senate establishment.
If the Republican establishment senators conclude that Trump is guilty and that it is in the country and the party’s best interest to convict him, they will vote to do so. They understand that if Trump is not convicted, he will be a major disruptive and destructive force and the Republican Party will remain a Trump party. On the other hand, if he is gone, the Republican leadership will have a chance to refocus the party away from Trumpism. The Senate trial is just the first of many landmines Trump will have to navigate going forward. He is also likely to face an array of civil and criminal lawsuits at the federal and state levels, on issues ranging from financial illegalities, to abuse of power, and insurrection-related charges.
Even before the Capitol riots, several of Trump’s businesses were under water. He needs to come up with more than $400 million in the next few years to pay back various lenders. His ability to raise that kind of money seems unlikely due to the fact that Trump’s businesses have been built around the Trump brand. The value of that brand had diminished significantly for many in the US before the January 6 insurrection. That event made the brand almost toxic.
What a difference an election can make. In 2016, Hillary Clinton and the Democrats learned the hard way that votes indeed have consequences. Now it’s Trump’s and the GOP’s turn to learn that.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News
No one had been arrested but an FIR had been lodged against ‘unknown’ persons for the incident, said the local police
Mahesh Trivedi | Clarion India
SONGADH – Miscreants on late Wednesday night broke open the lock of a large meeting hall used by local Muslims for prayers and small religious gatherings in the historical town of Songadh in southern Tapi district of Gujarat, and burnt down several copies of Quran, the sacred scripture of Islam, and scores of other religious books.
The raiders ransacked the cupboards in the 15 feet-by-30-feet room, dumped the countless holy books regarded as the finest work in classical Arabic literature, on the ground, made bonfire of the rare collection and fled the scene.
Police inspector H C Gohil told Clarion India that no one had been arrested but an FIR had been lodged against ‘unknown’ persons for the “first such incident” in the tribal-dominated, peaceful town known for its 16th century fort built during the Maratha empire.
On Thursday, even as police investigations were on, Mujahid Nafees, convener of the Minority Coordination Committee, Gujarat, on Thursday dashed off a letter to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, demanding “strictest legal action against such anti-social elements trying to shatter peace in the state”.
“Such incidents which trigger panic and tension are an insult to our Constitution which guarantees freedom of religion to all Indians,” Nafees said in the letter.
Vaseef Hussain, secretary of Gujarat Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s department of national affairs and community development, condemned the incident and said the culprits should be collared immediately, adding that such disturbances were purposely created to spark communal tension.
Only 10 days ago, the sudden outbreak of communal violence in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Gujarat’s quietest district of Kutch had exploded the myth that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state had remained peaceful after the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom under his watch.
One person was killed, several others, including three policemen, were injured and three vehicles were set ablaze during Hindu-Muslim clashes that erupted in two villages during a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession taken out to collect funds for the Rs 1,100-crore Ram temple being built in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
