by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Summit, Events, Muslim World, Social Round-up
Indian-American businessman Frank F. Islam (R) conferred Sir Syed Global Excellence and Leadership Award 2018 in Dubai on Dec 22, 2018.
By Mumtaz Alam,
Dubai/New Delhi: India’s former Vice President Hamid Ansari and renowned Indian-American businessman and philanthropist Frank Islam were conferred with the first Sir Syed Global Excellence & Leadership Awards here on Saturday. Both are alumni of India’s prestigious Aligarh Muslim University.
While Hamid Ansari, who was Vice President of India for 10 years after serving as Vice Chancellor of AMU and chairperson of National Minorities Commission, received the award in the category of administration excellence, Frank Islam got the Sir Syed Global Philanthropist Excellence Award. Frank had recently donated $2 million to his alma mater AMU for a new complex for business and management studies.
Besides the two, 15 other eminent alumni of AMU were also honoured with the award in different categories. They include Tariq Chauhan, Group CEO of EFS Facilities Services Group, filmmaker Anubhav Sinha and journalist Rifat Jawaid. Ten of the 17 winners reside in UAE. All the winners are AMU alumni. The award was named after the university’s founder Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. The lifetime achievement award went to AMU chancellor Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin.
Speaking on the occasion, Frank Islam recognized the role of AMU in making him what he is.
“It is an honor because I come before you as a son of Aligarh and a brother to each of you. Like you I am part of the Aligarh family tree. I am here this evening because I have stood on the shoulders of giants. These giants have been the faculty, students, and the alumni of Aligarh Muslim University,” he said.
He described Sir Syed as his hero.
“I am honored to receive the Sir Syed Global Philanthropist Excellence Award for 2018. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan is my hero. He was one of the greatest leaders in the history of AMU. We have been enriched and empowered by Sir Syed’s educational initiatives. I accept this award with humility, not for me, but in recognition of all those Aligarh giants, who have made a difference in society through their leadership, education, and public service.”
“To be given any award named after Sir Syed is special. To be given an award that relates to philanthropy is even more so because it relates directly to the vision that Sir Syed had when he founded Aligarh Muslim University in 1875,” he added.
Early in his speech, Frank praised Hamid Ansari for his strong belief in “building the most diverse, inclusive, and fair vision of India.”
“I want to thank him (Hamid Ansari) for being the guiding light and for helping and advocating to create a unified and just environment where people of different creeds and different faiths can all work together to help shape a better future for India and the world. I admire and respect his strong belief in embracing hope over fears and in building the most diverse, inclusive, and fair vision of India. His firm belief that we cannot be pulled apart and we need to stand together and we need to build bridges and to promote dialogue of understanding and a shared sense of community because we are Indian, bonds that binds us together,” said Frank.
He also highlighted the significance of purposeful philanthropy.
“Philanthropy takes many forms. The philanthropy that is of pivotal importance, in my opinion, is purposeful philanthropy. Purposeful philanthropy is making investments directed at creating a difference in pivot point areas that matter to the future of society. The returns on those investments are changes to problematic conditions and/or the creation of individuals who will become change agents to address those conditions,” said Frank.
About the idea behind the awards, Pushkin Agha, managing director of Vertex Events, which organized the awards, was quoted as saying by Gulf News: “This is the first event held to recognise AMU alumni who have excelled in their field. Leading establishments such as Forbes and Harvard University have awards for their alumni. AMU is a prestigious institution that is almost 100 years old, our alumni are spread around the world. So this event will bring them together and recognise their achievements on an international platform.”
At the Dubai event, special guests included AMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Tariq Mansoor and former AMU vice chancellor Zameeruddin Shah.
(Source: India Tomorrow)
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
By Mohd Asim Khan,
New Delhi : There has been a rise of vigilantism in the country and if “gau rakshaks” (cow vigilantes) are not listening to even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then it is a matter of concern, says former Vice President Hamid Ansari.
“Modi is a strong leader. He is the unquestioned leader of his party. If his words are not being listened to, that’s a matter of serious concern. No need to say that there are people in his party who are defying him. I am not drawing that conclusion,” Ansari said in an interview with IANS ahead of the release of his latest book “Dare I Question”.
This book is a compilation of speeches that Ansari made on different occasions on different themes. He said he has explored various issues in the book such as what is it to be an Indian, what is Indian nationalism or why do we call ourselves plural, secular, democratic.
The former Vice President created a flutter recently when he said in the foreword to the book that the remarks of Modi at the farewell function for Ansari last year that his views were conditioned by his long career as a diplomat in Muslim countries and as a person who has dealt with minoities (as a member of the National Minorities Commission) were a deviation from tradition on such occasions.
While asserting that intolerance is indeed rising in society, he underlined that it cannot be said that the communal divide emerged only after the Modi government came to power as it has been there for very long.
“Intolerance has been there in our society for a long, long period. But I think if the level of water rises you don’t notice it at first and it begins to rise higher and higher. Then you notice it. That’s what is happening,” he said.
“Yes, there has been a rise of vigilantism. It has been written (about) nationally as well as internationally. International newspapers have reported that there has been a rise in it. I can’t put a precise date (as to when it was noticed first)… different occasions, different places. It has been going on for many, many years,” he told IANS.
There have been incidents of attacks and lynchings of people belonging to the minority community suspected of cow smuggling or in the name of eating beef in some states.
Has it risen after Modi government came to power?
“No, no. Every government has been guilty of failures. Every time there has been a communal riot anywhere, it is a manifestation firstly of intolerance and secondly of failure of administration.
“You see two people can always have a disagreement. Two bicycles can collide on the road and there will be exchange of hot words. But what takes a small disagreement into a communal riot requires thinking and planning. And wherever there is such planning, there is failure of law and order,” Ansari said.
Asked if he is particularly indicting the state governments headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for rising vigilantism, the former Vice President said: “Look, I am indicting the government of the day wherever it is. Whether it happens in Assam, Kerala or Punjab. It doesn’t matter. I am not targeting political parties, I am targeting administrations.”
Commenting on critics and trolls on social media tagging him as an “ungrateful Muslim” post his remarks in a TV interview just a day before his demitting office that there has been a rising sense of insecurity among the Muslims, Ansari pointed out that it was not for the first time that he had said as much.
“Ungrateful to whom? This is my land. I am an equal citizen of this country. I am an equal stakeholder of this country and I have been so for centuries. Where is the question of ungratefulness? Gratefulness or ungratefulness comes only if you are giving me something and I am receiving something. It is my right. I have my rights, I have my duties,” Ansari said.
Asked if the incident of Hindutva goons barging into Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) when he was there to attend a function on May 2 happened with the local administration’s connivance, Ansari said he would desist from drawing such conclusions but stressed that the Jinnah portrait there was just an excuse to create disruption.
“I don’t draw that kind of conclusions. But I do know I was invited there, and there was disruption. The function could not take place. The senior police officer in the district next day admitted that there was a failure of arrangements and that he is going to inquire into it.
“I am not drawing a conclusion that there was a connivance of the local administration with the miscreants. But I see it as straightforward fact of failure. Now why that failure took place, let the inquiry find out.
“But yes, the Jinnah portrait was just an excuse. It’s been there for a long time. The gentleman who objected to the portrait was a member of the AMU Court for three years. What did you do about it?” Ansari asked.
On the demand by rightwing politicians to end the minority status of the AMU and Jamia Millia Islamia, Ansari said that as the matter is being heard in the Supreme Court, he, and others, should not comment on it.
“Let the court’s opinion come, we will see after that. The Acts of Parliament are there which created these institutions, the debates in Parliament are there as to what was the intention behind setting up these institutions. All this will be discussed threadbare in the Supreme Court and the court will decide,” he said.
As the next Lok Sabha elections are nearing, it is pertinent to examine the present government’s achievements and failures. While Prime Minister Modi used to bitterly attack the Manmohan Singh government over an “absence” of a tough policy on Pakistan, has the present government evolved a consistent policy on Pakistan after four years in office?
Ansari, who was a career diplomat, replied: “We have zig-zagged on Pakistan to the best of my knowledge. We have gone like a pendulum from one extreme to the other. If that is policy, then there is a policy. What can you do about it?”
He added that while India’s traditional policy of non-alignment adopted under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was “fine” and earned the country respect in the world, India’s neighbourhood policy has deteriorated in recent years.
“Our neighbourhood policy at the moment seems to be under some stress. People who are knowledgeable about it have written about it,” he said.
Is India doing enough to counter China’s growing influence?
“Successive governments have been very conscious about it. China is a big neighbour. And we have relations with China, different kinds of relations — political, cultural and even military relations. Both countries understand that we have problems also, we have positive relations as well,” Ansari said.
(Asim Khan can be reached on mohd.a@ians.in )
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
Hamid Ansari
By Ram Puniyani
Recently (May 2018) Hamid Ansari, the ex-Vice President of India, was invited to Aligarh Muslim University to honor him with life membership of AMU Students Union (AMUSU). He had due security with him, still the Hindu Yuva Vahini-ABVP activists could reach near his place of stay. The pretext of the armed protesters was that Jinnah’s portrait has been put up to please Ansari and that they will not allow Jinnah’s portrait in AMU. The usual violence followed few arrests of Vahini volunteers, most of them let off. This has been followed by series of statements from Yogi Adityanath, who incidentally is also the founder of this Hindutva group, saying that portrait will not be allowed, Subramaniam Swami questioned as to who will teach a lesson to AMU! The students of AMU are on the protest against the violence unleashed by Vahini and ABVP.
Too many angles to the story! First of all how come the armed volunteers of Vahini and ABVP reach near the place where Hamdi Ansari was put up? One recalls that every occasion there has been an attempt to humiliate this distinguished scholar, diplomat who held the high office. His photo of not saluting the Republic day parade, hinting he is disrespecting, was made viral only to bring in the realization that he was following the rule book as only President takes the salute and no one else. When he was given farewell Modi hinted at his being a Muslim, being attached to issues related to Muslims in a very humiliating way. In this light he being targeted is just the continuation of what RSS combine has been doing to Ansari so far.
How come someone recalled that Jiannh’s portrait is there and on that pretext the armed volunteers sneaked into AMU campus? Has the portrait been put up yesterday? The portrait has been there from 1938, as AMU students Union conferred a rare honor on him by giving him life membership of AMUSU. The statement is that Jinnah divided the country, so how can be we celebrate, him was the slogan. The role played by Jinnah in the freedom movement is not a linear one and is not uniform. He began as a part of the movement and was part of it in the beginning. He has to his credit being the Chairman of Reception committee which welcomed Gandhi on his return from South Africa. He was the one who fought the case, in which Bal Gangadhar Tilak was given the death sentence and it is due to his legal brilliance that he could save the life of Tilak. He was also the lawyer for the young revolutionary, Sardar Bhagat Singh and to cap it all he entered Hindu Muslim unity pact with Tilak (Lucknow, 1916). India’s nightingale Sarojini Naidu called Jinnah as the ‘ambassador of Hindu Muslim unity’.
There is another side to the story also. He dissociated from national movement once Gandhi launched the non cooperation movement in 1920, in which for the first time average people of the country were involved. This movement laid the foundation of the biggest ever mass movement in the history of the World. Jinnah was a constitutionalist and he felt involving average people in the struggle against British is unwarranted. Similarly he opposed Gandhi’s role in Khilafat movement and gradually dissociated from active involvement and left for London to practice law. The second major flaw which transformed Jinnah, who was basically secular, was his associating with and leading of Muslim League. Muslim League was given the status of being the representative of Muslims by British. This is a basically motivated exercise by British as Muslim League began from the Nawabs and Landlords, with feudal values inherent in it down to the core. His role as a leader of Muslim League and his Lahore resolution of separate country for Muslims, Pakistan, is what made him a communal leader. To blame him alone for partition of the country is a distorted presentation of history of modern India. The process of partition was begun by the British who pursued the policy of ‘divide and rule’. This was supplemented by communalists from both Hindu and Muslim. Savarkar was the first one to articulate that there are two nations in the country, the Hindu and the Muslim. As per this understanding the country belongs to Hindus so Muslim nation will have to remain subordinate to Hindus. This is where Jinnah falls in the communal trap and the logic he puts forward is, if there are two nations in the country, so why not two countries? So why not Pakistan?
Jinnah that way has been the subject of various biographies and interpretations. His August 11 1947 speech in Pakistan Constituent Assembly , stated that people are free to follow their own religion, state will not interfere in that, elaborates his secular values. Advani quite late in his life after having launched biggest attack on secular values by demolishing Babri Mosque; realized that Jinnah was secular. He called Jinnah Secular and paid with his career as RSS combine has built on the understanding of ‘Hate Jinnah’, have presented Jinnah as a symbol of Indian Muslims, Jinnah as a symbol of India’s enemy Pakistan!
With this AMU episode Hindu nationalist politics is killing many birds with a single stone. First, to target Hamid Ansari, whom they can’t approve of as his credential is thoroughly secular. Second is to create yet another divisive issue in the form of portrait of Jinnah, to add on to other emotive issues manufactured so far. And thirdly to intimidate the AMU campus in line with what has been done in JNU, Hyderabad universities to name the few.
One can say the Ghost of Jinnah, who can be called as ‘Secular soul in Communal body’ will keep visiting us, and RSS combine through its efforts will keep propping up divisive issues one after the other!
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Hamid Ansari
New Delhi : Former Vice President M. Hamid Ansari on Saturday wrote a letter to Aligarh Muslim University Students Union (AMUSU) President Mashkoor Ahmed Usmani confirming that there was breach of security during May 2 programme.
“I have just received a letter from the former Vice President Hamid Ansari Sahab, in which he confirms the breach of his security on May 2,” Usmani said at a press conference late evening in the Union Hall of the university campus.
On May 2, Ansari was scheduled to visit the AMU at the invitation of the AMUSU that was to confer its lifetime membership — an honour also bestowed on Jinnah in 1938, which explains the presence of his portrait there — on the former Vice President and a former Vice Chancellor of the university.
IANS has reported that Ansari had to cut short his two-day programme and returned to Delhi soon after the incident as the local administration expressed its inability to provide him security cover.
In the letter, Ansari has thanked AMUSU for conferring on him life membership and also mentioned disruption caused by intruders and anti-social elements.
On May 3, Ansari was to deliver a lecture on pluralism in the Kennedy Hall at the varsity and in the evening attend a dinner hosted by the AMUSU. His schedule had been conveyed to the Aligarh administration in advance by Ansari’s office as per protocol.
Ansari reached the university on May 2 at the scheduled time, i.e. 1.00 p.m., and was lodged at the AMU guest house which is near the Baab-e-Syed Gate of the university.
A little later, a group of men, owing allegiance to the Hindu Yuva Vahini, an outfit founded and patronised by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, started creating a ruckus near the administrative block of the university by raising objectionable slogans. The AMU security confronted them and handed them over to the Civil Lines police.
As per the statement of the AMU Proctor’s office to the police, the men returned barely after half an hour with more people — around 25-30 men, some of them equipped with pistols, lathis and stones — and shouting expletives and objectionable slogans against the AMU, tried to barge into the university through Baab-e-Syed Gate.
“The disruption, its precise timing, and the excuse manufactured for justifying it, raises question. The programme of the day, including an address by me in the Kennedy Auditorium, was publicly known,” Ansari wrote in the letter.
“The authorities concerned had been intimated officially and were cognizant of the standard arrangements including security for such occasions. In view of it, the access of the intruders to close proximity of the University gest house where I was staying remains unexplained,” the letter read.
Ansari also said that the peaceful protest by the students against this transgression was commendable, adding that they must ensure that it did not in any way interfere with their academic pursuits.
“Their request that action be taken against the intruders and disruptions, after a judicial inquiry, is justified,” the letter said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : The Delhi chapter of the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association (AMUOBA) on Monday demanded a “time-bound” judicial probe into the incidents that happened on the varsity campus on May 2 and action against the policemen who were allegedly “complicit” in the “politically motivated attack on the university”.
The body demanded “immediate arrest” of those who tried to attack former Vice President Hamid Ansari and barged into the campus “brandishing weapons and shouting provocative slogans, thereby leading to an extremely volatile situation”.
Ansari, who is also a former Vice-Chancellor of AMU, was visiting the varsity when the incident happened.
“The AMUOBA strongly condemns the attempt to disturb peace in AMU campus on May 2 by armed miscreants who also tried to attack former Vice President Hamid Ansari. The miscreants were allegedly members of right-wing Hindu outfit,” the university alumni body said in a statement.
“A time-bound judicial enquiry is also among the foremost demands. AMUOBA also demands action against the policemen who were complicit in what appears to be a coordinated and politically motivated attack on the university. In addition, the cases against AMU students must be withdrawn,” it added.
The association said it was deeply aggrieved by the “partisan role played by the Aligarh police and the brutal lathicharge on AMU students who were protesting the police inaction”.
The association issued the statement after a resolution was passed in its meeting on Sunday here. The resolution will be submitted to the President, it said.
“Since the incident involves breach of security with regard to one of the highest dignitaries of the country, we demand a time-bound judicial inquiry into the events on AMU campus on and after “May 2,” the resolution said.
The association appreciated the support extended by several university students and teachers’ bodies and associations including Benaras Hindu University, Hyderabad University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Jadavpur University, Kolkata University and others.
—IANS
