Terrorism 7

State terrorism 1,2,8

Hindutva terror 1,3
Muslim media 2
Babri 3,5,8,13
UAPA 4
Intelligence Bureau 5,8
India/Palestine 9
Personal Law 11
J&K 10
Analysis 11
Special Reports 3,13
Issues 2,11,12-13
Books 21
National 3-10
International 16-18
Speaking Out 11
Newsmakers 12
Community News 14-15
Islamic Perspectives 20,21
Our Publications 19
Classifieds 22
Letters 23
Indian Muslims Leading English Newspaper, published since January 2000
www.milligazette.com
THE MILLI GAZETTE
www.milligazette.com
ISSN 0972-3366
Fort ni ght l y
Rs 10 Vol. 13 No. 24 Issue Serial # 310 16-31 December 2012 24 pages
Inside MG
MOHAMMAD SHAHID
Lucknow: Buoyed by his partys success in the UP elections, the
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is now eying
the Prime Ministers chair after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But
the hopes and aspirations of the Muslim community that gave him
strength and confidence to dream for the highest post lie shat-
tered. Most of the promises made to the community in the partys
election manifesto and later at the first press conference of
Akhilesh Yadav after taking oath as Chief Minister remain unful-
filled even after nine months of the party being in power.
Although the Akhilesh Government has announced fencing of
graveyards and some sops to Muslim girls, it has done really lit-
tle to fulfill its promises on major demands of Muslims like 18 per
cent reservation to the community in the state, promotion of Urdu
and release of innocent Muslim youths falsely implicated in terror
cases.
Youth of a community or a nation is its future. Branding inno-
cent Muslim youths as "terrorists" and killing them in fake encoun-
ters or keeping them in jails for years only to be released by
courts many years later for want of evidence is nothing but a con-
spiracy to spoil the future of the largest community in the country.
The issue is directly related to the communitys security and well-
being which the governments cannot take lightly and Muslims
cannot afford to ignore.
One of the reasons why the Congress yuvraj Rahul Gandhi
failed in the UP Assembly elections was its flip flop on the Batla
House encounter in which some youths of Sanjarpur in Azamgarh
were involved. But the Akhilesh Government, it seems, has not
learnt any lesson from the Congress mistake. It is sitting on the
Justice Nimesh Commission Report on the arrest of two Muslim
youths, Tariq and Khalid, from Azamgarh and Jaunpur districts
respectively without initiating any action or making the report pub-
lic. Tariq and Khalid were arrested by the ATS in connection with
blasts in Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad courts in 2007. Forced
by the popular demand, the then Mayawati Government had set
up a judicial commission headed by Justice RD Nimesh in March
2008 to probe the arrests of the two and report within six months.
Nimesh Commission managed to submit its final report to the
Government only in August 2012. Although the Government has
not made the report public, reports in a section of the press sug-
gest that the commission has termed the arrests of the two as
arbitrary and illegal. The commission has also recommended
stringent action against the ATS team responsible for their illegal
arrests.
The Samajwadi Party, which during the election campaign
had so loudly condemned the arrests of innocent Muslims, includ-
ing Tariq and Khalid, and had promised to release them if it came
to power, is now maintaining a stoic silence and they are still lan-
guishing in jails even after being declared innocent by an official
commission. This reminds one of the fate of many such commis-
sions whose reports were either never made public or action was
never taken on their recommendations. One such report is the
one presented by Sri Krishna report on Bombay riots. Though
made public, action was never taken by the so-called secular
Congress Government against the culprits named in the report.
The Samajwadi Party Government, sources say, is fighting
shy to take action on the Nimesh Commission report because it
does not have the courage to take action against the ATS team
indicted by the commission. The Government feels that any
action against the ATS team will only be at the cost of demoraliz-
ing and also annoying the
police force. A similar plea
was made by the Congress
Government in denying
probe into the Batla House
encounter. But can govern-
ments on this ground punish
innocents, kill and arrest
innocent Muslims at will while
the culprits roam free? It is
surprising that the Samajwadi
Party members make noises
in the Rajya Sabha for the
release of innocent Muslims
while their party Government
in the state is sitting on the
Nimesh Commission report
without any action for more
than three months now.
Whatever the compulsions of
the party on the issue, its
hypocrisy appears no differ-
ent from that of the Congress
on Muslim issues.
However, while following
in the footsteps of the
Congress, Mulayam should
remember that the Congress
dual policy on the Babri
Masjid issue cost the party its governments in UP and at the
Centre. Although the party was able to form Government at
Centre in alliance with other parties, it still struggles to find a
foothold in UP. Mulayam should also not forget the lesson of his
own past when he annoyed Muslims by befriending communal
Kalyan and lost the elections.
The UP Government can hide itself behind the High Court
ruling that the issue of release of terror accused will be looked
after by courts only, yet it can expedite the disposal of the cases.
Any slackness on the part of the UP Government on this count as
also in taking action on the Nimesh report would amount not only
to injustice to the Muslims but also will mean going back on its
election promise on the part of Samajwadi Party. Mulayams party
cannot afford this because it would be inimical not only to his
party Government in UP but also to his dream of making it to the
Centre.
Advani also
nursed the
same dream
INNOCENT TERRORIST...10
One nation, two rules...
Here is a news item which was published by the
Hindustan Times, Delhi on 2 December 2012:
NIA may seek common court for Hindu terror
cases
Rajesh Ahuja, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, December 01, 2012
After a Hyderabad court observed that there were
too many obstacles hindering the possibility of a
trial into the May 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case,
the National Investigation Agency (NIA) may
examine the option of seeking a common court to
try all Hindu terror cases. While giving bail to two
accused Lokesh Sharma and Devendra Gupta
in the Mecca Masjid case, the court of the IVaddi-
tional metropolitan sessions judge said they had
been in judicial custody for nearly two and a half
years. The two were never produced in court over
the last six months because they were said to be
in jails belonging to other states. Two more
accused in the case are yet to be held.
One of the accused was released on bail because
the NIA had not filed a chargesheet against him.
The court noted that these circumstances indi-
cate bleak prospects of commencement of trial and its expeditious completion soon.
At present, the NIA has to stretch its presence over three places Panchkula for the
Samjhauta Express blast case, Hyderabad for the Mecca Masjid blast case, and Jaipur for the
Ajmer Dargah Sharif blast case - for hearing the cases. The agency is also saddled with probes
into the Malegaon blasts, Modasa explosion and Sunil Joshi murder.
"We will have to examine the court order and look for ways to conduct smooth investigations
and trial," said a senior officer of the NIA.
Despite getting bail, both Lokesh Sharma and Devendra Gupta will remain in judicial cus-
tody because they have been chargesheeted in the Ajmer blast case as well.
We have added nothing to this report except emphasis to some sentences. It is clear that the National
Investigation Agency believes in two sets of rules one for first class citizens, another for thousands
of Muslim youths who are languishing in umpteen jails across the country for years on end yet the NIA
and courts are least bothered about their plight and need for expeditious trial. It is now common that
Muslim youths are pronounced innocent and released after any number of years, upto 18 by last count.
And now comes the NIAs novel suggestion to try Hindutva terrorists by common courts to expedite
their cases! We have already seen four Hindutva terrorists getting bail because NIAand other agencies
failed to file chargesheets within the stipulated 180 days under UAPA. Did NIA, any agency or a court
ever release one single Muslim boy on the ground that his chargesheet was not filed in time? Laws and
rules are only to be flouted when it comes to the Muslim accused who are arrested on flimsiest of
charges or on mere suspicion while cases of Hindutva terrorists are handled with extra care and we are
told that some people have not been arrested like RSS strongman Indresh Kumar and VHP leader
Praveen Togadia because there are no strong cases against them although their names are mentioned
in the Malegaon and Ajmer blast chargesheets... How long can this country be ruled by two sets of rules
- one for the first class citizens and the other for the de facto second class citizens?
ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN
SYED ASIF IBRAHIM...5
Nimesh Report: SP going Congress way
MG/Yusuf
ISSUES / OPINION
2 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012
DISTRIBUTORS: (Alphabetical - statewise and then citywise ) Become an MG distributor Call/SMS: 09818120669 / 09868656614
A.P.: Cuddapah 9866927380 Adilabad 9849173988 Nellore 9885827745; ASSAM: Guwahati 9435541136; Dispur 9864096688; Kamrup
9864986680; Silchar 9435207683; BIHAR: Al-Kitab (Araria) 09934788628; A. Wadood Alam (Bhagalpur) 9939071026; Sayeedur Rahman,
Vill. Abdullah Pur, Dt. Saheb Ganj; West Champaran 9470438842, 9097197306; Patna Faiza News Agency 9835421193; DELHI Batla
House - Choudhary Book Store GOA: Margao 0832-2734442; GUJARAT: Farooq A. Gaffar Bawani, Rajkot 9879188179 MAD-
HYA PRADESH: Satna 09926587087 MAHARASHTRA: Aurangabad: Maktaba Islami 9028938695; Dhule Maktaba Islami 241941,
9221392722; Latur: Yousuf 9960749675 Malegaon: Faran Books, Md. Ali Rd; Nagpur: Muniba Book Agency 9373797681 Saleha Book Traders
2721069 Noor Book Depot 9370978825 Nanded: Habib (Degloor) 9403662310; Venkateshwara 9689078710 ; Pusad: Star-N-Services 8983001645,
9922247444, 9689888252; JHARKHAND: Hazaribagh 9955175039 Dhanbad 9507552862; JAMMU & KASHMIR: Srinagar: Janta
2474755; Sikander 9419512762 KARNATAKA: Bangalore: Mahboob Book Depot 080-22867138 Bijapur 9916108194; Dandeli
9900834792; Dharwad 9342211155, HIREKERUR 9886939566 Hubli Islamic Book Centre, Dharwad 09242527896, 2260273 Gulbarga
9731230430; Mangalore: Moulana Book Stall 9901639856 Tumkur F. Ahamed 9342624304 KERALA: Calicut Other Books 2306808;
PUNJAB: Mohd. Naseer, Maler Kotla 9988236310; TAMIL NADU: Chennai Quality Book Centre 28527118; Vaniyambadi: Fizza
7418714117, 8825952559 Iqra 9952675123; UTTAR PRADESH: Aligarh: 9412562972; Educational Book House 2701068; Allahabad:
Asad Book Depot 9335153647, A2Z 9838460613; Azamgarh: Al-Bader Book Centre 9839591434; Kitab Mahal 9936704118; Bhadohi 9307572914
Ballia Jamal Alam Taleemi Markaz 9839714567, 8543917808; Etawa: 09456412482; Gorakhpur: Maktaba Nasir 9451846364; Jhansi 9793049545;
Kanpur: 9305255273; Lucknow Dr. SR. Khan, 9795515909; Mirzapur.: M Ali, 9450886580; Moradabad: 9897248111; Rampur 9675798490
Shahjahanpur: 9889989990; Varanasi: Akhalaqi Corner 0542-2503361; WEST BENGAL: Murshidabad Md. Asfaq Hussain 9733522436
Kolkata Islamic Bookstore 09331001823; Horizon 9831311918; Ash Shams Study Centre 9051392427
Central News Agency, New Delhi
Indian Muslims Leading English Newspaper
THE MILLI GAZETTE
REGISTERED NEWSPAPER
CHIEF EDITOR: ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN
EDITORIAL TEAM: HABIBAAZIM,
NAANSARI, NADIM AHMAD, AALIYA KHAN
D-84 Abul Fazl Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar,
New Delhi 110025 India Tel.: 2694 7483, 26952825
Email: edit@milligazette.com
Website: milligazette.com; Group: pharosmedia.com
Media database support: Orient Press International
Subscription rates: p. 20
Advertisements rates: p. 22
SUBHASHINI ALI (ex MP)
S
ince the last two decades, whenever an incident of a
bomb explosion takes place anywhere in the country,
large numbers of young Muslim men are arrested often
from places very far from where the incident has
occurred. Their identities are revealed to the press and their
names, places of origin and even their photographs become part
of sensational news stories in the print and visual media. After
their being picked up by the police, they are kept in custody and
confessions are extracted from them in which they not only
accept their own involvement in one or more incidents but also
name a number of other young men many of whom are arrested
subsequently. After this, they are produced in court and sent to
jail.
Since they are arrested under the draconian Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act and often accused of anti-national and
seditious activity as well, they are denied bail throughout their
incarceration. If the Court finds them innocent in one case, sev-
eral others are slapped on them so that they spend the better part
of their youth in jail.
Several cases have been documented in which young men
between the ages of 18 and 25 have been acquitted after having
been forced to spend between nine and 14 years in jail. They
have suffered not only physical and mental torture but have also
been deprived of education and employment. Their future has
been blighted and their families ruined. In judgment after judg-
ment, the agencies responsible for their arrests have been held
responsible for making false statements and for fabricating evi-
dence. Unfortunately, no one has been punished for these crimes
of omission and commission which originate from the worst com-
munal prejudice. At the same time, none of those acquitted after
long years spent languishing in jails in different parts of the coun-
try are treated as deserving compensation and rehabilitation.
The CPI (M) has been raising this issue from time to time and
has intervened to help some of those falsely accused to access
justice. It was felt, however, that this was not enough. Seeing the
enormity of the problem, it was necessary to pressurise govern-
ments at the central and state levels to address this issue. As a
first step, Prakash Karat, CPI (M) general secretary, met the
President of India on November 17, 2012 along with his Party col-
leagues, Yousuf Tarigami, Subhashini Ali and Sehba Farooqui
and three victims of State injustice who had been acquitted after
years in prison, Mohammad Aamir from Delhi, Maqbool Shah
from Kashmir and Syed Wasif Haider from Kanpur, Uttar
Pradesh.
Prakash Karat handed over a memorandum to the President.
He also presented the president with a copy of the report by the
Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association which has given details of
16 judgments by Delhi courts that have acquitted young men
accused of being terrorists and have passed strictures against
the investigating and arresting agencies.
The three victims also made their very moving submissions
to the President. Mohammad Aamir was only 17 years old when
he was arrested. One after another, about 17 different cases of
bomb-blasts were slapped against him and he was finally acquit-
ted after 14 long years in jail. He said that all he wanted was to
lead a decent life and all he was asking for was a future that had
been denied to him for so long. He had been promised compen-
sation by various government officials but has received nothing
so far. In fact, no Gazetted Officer was even willing to counter-
sign his applications for relief.
Maqbool Shah told the President that his father died of shock
after his arrest in Delhi and his sister died after visiting him in jail.
His family business was destroyed during his incarceration. It was
only because of the intervention of former CPI (M) MP, Brinda
Karat that he received monetary compensation from the home
ministry and, after several years of constant effort, he has been
given a very low-level job with the J&K Bank.
Syed Wasif Haider was working as a manager with a reputed
MNC when he was arrested in Kanpur. He was released after
nine years in 2009 and is now unemployed and penniless. His
appeals to the state government for compensation have gone
unheard.
The President gave the delegation a very sympathetic and
patient hearing. He responded to the various points made and
promised that he would use his good offices with the central and
state governments to address the issues raised.
The CPI (M) is committed to take forward this struggle
against injustice and communal targeting forward at all levels. All
state committees must identify cases of wrongful confinement
and harassment of so-called terrorists and intervene to help those
who have been acquitted to access compensation and rehabilita-
tion.
Subhashini Ali Ex MP, is a CPI (M) leader and represented Kanpur Lok
Sabha seat in 9th Lok Sabha.She can be reached on
Fighting Injustice & Communal Targeting
KALEEM KAWAJA
After 1947, whatever remained of the Muslim community media
(newspapers, magazines) in India was mostly in Urdu language.
Gradually, this Urdu media which only some Indians could read,
also limited reporting of events from the entire country to the
affairs of the Muslim community. Even in reporting about the
Muslim community, the focus shrank to the sufferings, poverty,
backwardness and injustice to Muslims from the government and
the majority community.
While it is true that in the decades following independence,
the Muslim community as a whole suffered much deprivations,
injustices and anti-Muslim violence, yet a small number of them,
say about four percent, managed to acquire good education,
good jobs and good business opportunities. This is well below
their population proportion of about 14 percent, yet it is there.
Also, in the field of sports a few Muslims did well at the national
level. However, the Muslim community media, which was mostly
Urdu based, gave very little coverage to any success stories from
the Muslim community.
Despite many Muslims being conversant in English lan-
guage, and at least 4 percent of them being financially and intel-
lectually well off, in 65 years the 170 million strong Indian Muslim
community, did not establish a single credible English language
newspaper or electronic news service, whereas a lot of people
from other Indian communities established newspapers that have
thrived as Indias economy has grown significantly. Thus the
entire Muslim community has had no media-means to convey
their concerns and issues to the vast number of Indians, Muslims
and non-Muslims, who did not read Urdu.
Since Muslims at large felt that the mainstream Indian media
was not giving adequate coverage to the issues of their commu-
nity, a handful of Muslims started a few biweekly newspapers and
online news services in the English language in the last about
five to ten years. The intent was to reach the Indian mainstream
and non-Muslim population across the country, through English
that is read and spoken throughout the country, to report on main-
stream events and issues while giving adequate coverage to the
events and issues of the Muslims. That was good news.
However, as things have developed over the last about five
years, these English language Muslim news services and news-
papers have followed the pattern set by their Urdu media friends
in earlier decades. The readability of these news services is
again getting confined to the Muslim community, as their cover-
age is getting confined to the Muslim community and most
reports are about the deprivations of the community as victims.
Only rarely one finds introspection of the communitys internal
problems, corruption, lack of effort to progress, lack of self-help
programmes.
For instance, if you look at the performance of the Muslim
English media in the last one year, you will find that they rarely
reported on major movements or events in the country that were
not Muslim-specific. Some examples are: Massive upsurge of
corruption including among Indias cabinet ministers, senior gov-
ernment officials et al; Anna Hazares massive nationwide anti-
corruption movement; substantial inflation and increase in prices
of consumer goods at all levels; significant slowdown of Indias
econmy; massive power shutdown in July 2012 that affected
about half of the country; widespread political turmoil in the Indian
parliament on the performance of PM Manmohan Singh and the
literal shutdown of the parliament for about half of its monsoon
session; the high performance of Sania Mirza - Indias star inter-
national tennis player; the high performance of Azim Premjis
WIPRO - an international information technology company; the
high performance of many large Indian corporations that grew
substantially; the growth of high quality educational institutions.
Amazingly, the English language Muslim media, just like the
Urdu media, provided hardly any coverage to these very major
mainstream occurrences. This was a contrast to the mainstream
Indian media that gave much coverage to these national issues.
The reason: these issues though major at national level were not
Muslim-specific. It is very strange that the Muslim media should
think that issues of corruption, turndown of economy, parliament
in turmoil or successes of Indian stars does not affect Indias
Muslim community. Instead, the major focus of the Muslim
English media is unlimited stories of injustices and violence to
Muslims, government neglect of Muslims, conspiracy theories
with BJP-RSS at their centre, writeups on Muslim clerics and the
absence of writeups on Muslim intelligentsia. Although all those
are true yet should they be given saturation coverage while main-
stream subjects are shut out?
What is surprising is the very brief coverage of the success
stories and stars from the Muslim community and the lack of
interest in promoting them as role models for the youth. Instead,
focus seems to be on orthodox religious Muslim organizations
and individuals
who appear to be
detached from
modern India and
appear to have a 19th century outlook and lifestyle. Do majority
of Indian Muslims fit this profile and does it motivate them?
Now think of the non-Muslim readers and youth who browse
the Muslim English media looking for the pulse of the Indian
Muslims. Think how readable the Muslim English media is. Think
how little it does to make mainstream non-Muslim Indians get
interested in the Muslim community. Think of how little it helps to
generate public opinion among non-Muslims for the pressing
needs of Muslims. Think of what it does to the aspirations of the
Muslim youth for an equal place under the Indian sun.
Indias Muslim English media has a special responsibility.
They have to communicate with the modern educated non-
Muslim Indians telling them that Muslims are like them, progress
oriented and wishing to move into 21st century India. Observing
their religion faithfully yet not wearing it on their sleeves and not
letting instances of injustice to the community demoralize them
into thinking of themselves as victims; looking for fair opportuni-
ties in various arenas but not handouts.
Another important need is that the Muslim intelligentsia that
does not support the Muslim English media must do that provid-
ing intellectual and financial support to them so that they can
break a path forward for the Muslim community that has been
stereotyped for too long. How long can the Indian Muslim com-
munity live without a relevant media of its own that serves the
most basic needs of the community?
The writer is a Washington-based community leader who can be reached
on: kaleemkawaja@gmail.com
MG comment: Muslims are lagging far behind in the media
field. Apart from Urdu and Malayalam, we have no presence
in the mainstream media in India. Urdu media, however, is
not what the writer thinks. Just pick any newspaper any day
and you will find a good coverage of national, regional and
even local issues besides Muslim community issues.
Corporate newspapers like Rashtriya Sahara and Inquilab
offer minute local coverage from far away places where they
keep stringers if not full-fledged correspondents. As far as
The Milli Gazette is concerned, it never was a mainstream
newspaper. It started with the sole aim of offering Muslim
news and views to the elite who are unable to read Urdu
newspapers. MGs periodicity and limited space do not allow
us to offer any general coverage. (Zafarul-Islam Khan).
Is Indian Muslim media serving its purpose?
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012 3
NATIONAL
On the eve of the 56th death
anniversary of Baba Saheb Dr.
Ambedkar and the 20th demoli-
tion day of Babri Masjid, a con-
dolence meeting was held at
Bagu, Vijay Nagar Byepass,
Ghaziabad, to express gratitude
towards the great personality of
the millennium Baba Saheb Dr.
Ambedkar, the chief architect of
the Constitution of India for lib-
erating the millions of untouch-
ables from the clutches and
shackles of slavery of the Hindu
society in which they had been treated as worse
than animals. The meeting was held under the
chairmanship of Bhai Vijay Pal Singh Gautam.
Bhai Tej Singh, the National President of
Ambedkar Samaj Party, was the Chief Guest.
While paying rich tributes to Baba Saheb
Dr. Ambedkar, Bhai Tej Singh expressed con-
cern over the deteriorating standards of the
political leaders especially that of dalits. He said
dalit leaders have since been licking the boots of
their Caste-Hindu masters for their personal
gain. Tej Singh said he has a lot of praise for the
Bahujan Samaj which made the prediction of
Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar true by snatching
political powers from the jaws of the Caste-
Hindus but it miserably failed to deliver anything
good for the people who made it possible. The
political power has gone into the wrong hands
that lack vision and wisdom and misuse it in
amassing huge personal wealth in the name of
Bahujan Samaj. The worst is that this unworthy
and unfaithful leadership has pampered
Brahmanism and feudalism depriving the dues
of the very society which brought them to the
helms of the affairs. Tej Singh warned Bahujan
Samaj of the dishonest leaders who can never
do good for them and will never deliver justice.
Tej Singh added that the same Caste-
Hindus who had never seen dalits as equals
have chosen this sad day of the demise of Baba
Saheb Dr. Ambedkar to demolish the Babri
Mosque, the symbol of reverence and prestige
for our Muslim brethren. While offering condo-
lences over the Muslims who were killed in gov-
ernment-sponsored riots after the demolition of
Babri Mosque, and expressing concern over the
Muslim leadership, whether political or apolitical,
which also miserably failed to deliver anything
good to the Muslims in protecting their Deen
and Duniya. They too, like the dalit leadership,
found themselves engaged in the flattery of their
Caste-Hindu masters.
Bhai Tej Singh said that it is the responsibil-
ity of Ambedkarite youths to come forward to
protect the lives and property of their Muslim
brethren and work for the restoration of their
human dignity and prestige. He asked dalits to
have friendship with Muslims and share their
woes. For the purpose, at least one dalit should
make friendship with one Muslim, he asserted.
It was unanimously decided to have
a dalit organization which should exclusively
work for the restoration of human dignity and
prestige of the Muslims and extend a helping
hand to the Muslim brethren for the reconstruc-
tion of the Babri Mosque on the same site at
Ayodhya. It was decided that every possible
step should be taken to ensure
the safety, security of the
Muslims and help create an
atmosphere worth living.
Bhai Tej Singh ji suggested
the name of the organization as
BABRI MASJID NAVNIRMAN
SENA. It was readily accepted
by the people present on the
occasion. Dr. Jagbir Singh was
chosen as the president of the
new organisation. He offered
his unconditional services to
this new organization. The con-
gregation requested Bhai Tej Singh to be its
patron which he has gladly accepted. Bhai Tej
Singh ji advised Dr. Jagbir Singh to complete the
formalities to make this organization a real force
to recon with.
People who addressed the gathering includ-
ed, Mr. Ram Swaroop, Mujibur Rehman,
Jitendra Singh, Munna Lal Prajapati, Saleem
Ahmad Saifi, Prem Chand Maurya,
Dr. Devendra Karnawal, Suraj Singh,
R.S. Jatav, Hanuman Azad. For more informa-
tion, contact mission bss@gmail.com.
Beed explosion
A day after a radio exploded in the house of a
bus conductor in Kaij taluka in Beed injuring him
and three of his family members, the state Anti-
Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the National
Investigation Agency (NIA) started probing
whether any explosives were kept in the device.
On 29 November, Om Nimbalkar, a bus conduc-
tor with Maharashtra State Road Transport
Corporation (MSRTC), claimed to have found a
packet containing a radio and three battery cells.
He took the package home and opened it. He
put in cells and switched on the radio. There was
a huge explosion. Nimbalkar, his wife Usha and
two children were seriously injured. An expert
from CRPF's Institute of IED Management said,
"It is unlikely that a radio set will cause such an
explosion. There is no component in a transistor
radio that can cause an explosion this large.
There have been instances of radio sets being
used as a guise for IEDs. "
191 fake encounters
in the last five years,
NHRC
New Delhi: The Supreme Court, which relent-
lessly strove to bring to book perpetrators of the
fake encounter killings of Sohrabuddin and
Tulsiram Prajapati in Gujarat, has an explosive
situation on its hands as the National Human
Rights Commission informed it that 191 fake
encounter killings took place in the country in
the last five years.
Appalled by the attitude of the Manipur gov-
ernment in responding to over 1,500 alleged
fake encounter killings in the militancy affected
state in the last three decades, a bench of
Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana P Desai had
asked during the last hearing, Is there a war
going on within? Is this the attitude and orienta-
tion of a state to say that if they are killing my
men, we will kill them?
In response to Manipurs alleged unad-
dressed extra-judicial killings, the NHRC in an
affidavit said in the last five years, from 2007 to
2012, it had received 1,671 complaints/informa-
tion regarding fake encounters.
The commission in the last five years has
awarded monetary compensation to the tune of
Rs 10.51 crore in 191 cases, it said in an affi-
davit. The commission awards compensation in
the range of Rs 5-10 lakh to the kin of victims if
it comes to the conclusion after inquiry that it
was a fake encounter.
The bench headed by Justice Alam had in
the past minutely scrutinized Gujarat govern-
ments attempts to put a veil on facts in the
Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram Prajapati encounter
killings and had ordered CBI probe into them,
resulting in filing of charge-sheet against former
minister Amit Shah, in addition to former senior
police officials.
The NHRC mirrored the experience of the
apex court in dealing with the two Gujarat fake
encounters. The only handicap is that in all the
cases, respective state governments invariably
take more than reasonable time to submit mag-
isterial enquiry report, post-mortem report,
inquest report and the ballistic expert report, it
said.
Due to this delay on the part of the state
governments in complying with mandatory
requirements, the delay occurs in all the mat-
ters, as for want of these reports even the com-
mission cannot draw any conclusion and cannot
take any view in the matter as to whether the
death took place in a genuine encounter or it
was a fake encounter, the human rights body
said in its affidavit.
NGOs Extra-Judicial Execution Victims
Families Association of Manipur through Neena
N and Human Rights Alert through Babloo
Loitongbam had requested the court to set up a
Special Investigation Team to inquire into the
extra-judicial killings in the state. Another peti-
tion by Suresh Singh through advocate S
Biswajeet Meitei alleged that continuance of
AFSPA had led to a spurt in extra-judicial killings
and sought its withdrawal from Manipur.
The NHRC gave its response to the 71
cases of alleged fake encounter complaints it
had dealt with relating to Manipur of which only
three have been closed. In one case - killing of
Thanjam Manorama Chanu on July 12, 2004 -
the commission had recently recommended
payment of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the victim but
the defence ministry is yet to comply with it.
Though the commissions guidelines require
states to complete mandatory inquiry reports
within three months, many cases of alleged
extra-judicial killings reported from Manipur
have been pending with the NHRC since 2007
as the state has not provided the key investiga-
tion reports. Of the 68 pending cases, five inci-
dents dated back to 2007, 17 to 2008 and 19 to
2009, the NHRC said.
To enable it to deal with such cases expedi-
tiously, NHRC said, It would be appropriate if
the Supreme Court directs all the states to strict-
ly comply with the guidelines/recommendation
issued by the commission without fail, both in
letter and spirit. (Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN
Dec 5, 2012)
Sectarian clashes
rising across India
Communal clashes are rising across the coun-
try, buckling a trend over the last few years,
which had seen a decline. Preliminary data with
the Union home ministry shows a 10 per cent
rise in such clashes between October 2011 and
June 2012.
Security agencies blame this on several fac-
tors, including eve-teasing, rape, elopement,
molestation and inter-community marriages.
The intelligence agencies report rumours of a
love jehad spread in some parts of the nation
inciting communal passions. Security sources
say rumours that radicalised youth were seeking
to lure and entrap Hindu girls through a love
jehad were causing tension.
The increase in communal flareups have
been reported from Andhra Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and West
Bengal.
We are looking into all reasons triggering
such a rise in communal incidents. Efforts are on
to sensitise communities about deliberate
attempts to disturb peace and harmony, a secu-
rity official said.
The security agencies also cite dangers
posed by the fanning of religious hatred through
the Internet. The Intelligence Bureau is asking
state police forces to develop a capacity to mon-
itor malicious Internet postings, citing the recent
ethnic violence in Assam. (asianage.com)
Dalit activists form
Babri Masjid Navnirman Sena
Quote, Unquote
to think that a politician who can at the drop of a hat stoop to such sectarian and divi-
sive cunning - "Ahmed Mian Patel" - should be a hot favourite for the top executive job in
the country may be the most damning comment on one considerable section of India's
political class and on the corporates and newly-minted elites who support them.
BADRI RAINA The Hindu
Respond now if you care about your community
White Paper on Terrorism:
calling out readers & researchers
The most important and burning issue facing Indian Muslims at present is the continuing
arrests and widespread fake implication of our youth in trumped up terror cases mastermind-
ed by saffron elements in the government, IB and Police. Now almost all Muslim organisa-
tions are up in arms against this state terror. People are organising dharnas, meetings, con-
ference etc all over the country.
As a long-term solution and serious response to this problem thrust upon us, All India
Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat (AIMMM) has decided to bring out a white paper on the Muslim-
related terrorism in the country. This was discussed and passed during the Working
Committee meeting on 7 July. But since AIMMM does not have the required funds and staff,
I have undertaken the responsibility of preparing this white paper which will be comprehen-
sive in around 600+ large format pages covering the whole history and genesis, communal-
ism, vested interests in various fields, analysis of various laws like TADA, POTA and UAPA,
fake encounters, acquittals, IB & Police role, media attitude, case studies, statewise studies,
SIMI and so-called Indian Mujahidin, Hindutva terror, individual tragedies of victims,
Azamgarh, Bhatkal, Malegaon, Darbhanga modules, some basic documents, etc.
The target is to bring it out during the next six months and release it in a big convention
at Delhi as a combined effort of all Muslim organisations, and thereafter present the white
paper to politicians, media, human rights orgs, especially those abroad, in order to enlight-
en public opinion as well as to build pressure on our blind and deaf government.
The estimated cost of this white paper is Rs 25 lakh divided as follows: Rs 10 lakh cost
of preparation and payments to contributors plus six months salaries to three persons
including an expert; Rs 10 lakh for designing and printing the document in a world-class for-
mat; and Rs 5 lakh convention costs. The first two concern the undersigned while the last
(convention) concerns AIMMM.
To finance this effort which will be a watershed in this struggle against state terrorism in
India, I need and solicit your full support. This may be either by direct contribution for the
effort or by buying copies in advance which could later be sent to you or to others at your
behalf. The estimated price of the white paper is Rs 2000 at least. Our well-wishers can pay
Rs 1000 only per copy as advance purchase (plus any actual postal or courier charges which
will be indicated and payable later). Payments for the copies may be made to our publishing
company (Pharos Media & Publishing Pvt Ltd, D-84 Abul Fazal Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar, New
Delhi 110 025 - Email: books@pharosmedia.com). Individuals and organisations ordering a
minimum of 100 copies will be included as sponsors of the White Paper. Contribution
towards the organisation of the convention may be sent to the All India Muslim Majlis-e
Mushawarat, D-250 Abul Fazal Enclave, part 1, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110 025.
Experts who can contribute to this white paper may kindly write to me with some
detail about their past experience and work.
ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN, Editor, The Milli Gazette - edit@milligazette.com
Tej Singh
NATIONAL
4 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012
Mystery of the missing ammo
Though police claims that it has solved the mystery of 18 tons
of missing Ammonium Nitrate sent from Indore to Singrauli on
April 18 this year; it has yet to find out where the remaining
12 tonnes are. Truck number PM 19 HA 1163 alongwith the
driver Sunder is in police custody. Officers claim that the
chances of the explosive falling into the hands of the militants
is ruled out but there seems to be no sound ground for such
complacency for the simple reason that Kshipra, where the
crime was reported, lies between Indore and Dewas (15 kms.
From both the places). Ramchandra Kalasingra as well as
Sunil Joshi belong to this very region and so do many others
whom the NIA had nabbed.
The above matter took a totally different turn when a
head constable, Kamnath Pandey, was accused of allegedly
threatening to implicate Gagan Dubey in a false case. The
accused constable was a part of the team that had investigat-
ed the missing truck mystery. Pandey demanded Rs. 2 lakhs
from Dubey to clear his name. The police laid a trap to catch
Pandey who managed so give police a slip.
This very fact establishes two points - those who man-
aged to get a clean chit must have greased the palms of
Pandeys and his likes and, more importantly, the fact that
those who had been implicated in such cases failed to do so.
In light of this the whole matter needs thorough investigation
by a central agency. (AG Khan)
Hindu saint offers to give Rs 5 lakh to anyone who
spits on Jethmalanis face, no media outrage
Jabalpur: Alocal seer Mahamandaleshwar Swami Shyamdas
Maharaj, on 13 November offered to give Rs 5 lakh to any-
one who spits on BJP MP Ram Jethmalani for his derogato-
ry remarks about Lord Rama. At a prayer meeting in
Geetadham Ashram here on 11 Nov., Swami Shyamdas
Maharaj said, technically the promised reward was not a
threat...A threat presupposes violence and spitting is a harm-
less non-violent act, said the seer.Jethmalani had described
Lord Rama as a bad husband. Jethmalani should consider
himself a lucky man that he could get away with such a
lenient punishment for such an unpardonable act, the seer
said. The national, especially electronic media which goes ga
ga over any slip by a member of the Muslim community,
remained silent on this preposterous threat.
500 Dalit Homes Burnt, media plays blind
The caste violence in Dharmapuri district of northern Tamil
Nadu has rendered thousands of Dalits homeless. They are
living in constant fear of another possible attack. On
7 November, a mob of 2,500 backward- caste Vanniyars had
burnt and looted around 500 houses of Dalits, claiming to
avenge the death of a Vanniyar who committed suicide after
his daughter married a Dalit. Adding to the fear is a statement
by Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) MLA Kaduvetti Guru, who
heads the Vanniyar Sangam, forbidding inter-caste mar-
riages. Locals and even police officials posted in the area say
the attack was premeditated and done with the connivance of
pro-Vanniyar sections of the police and cadres of the PMK.
Between 5 pm and 10 pm on 7 November, every single
house of the three hamlets of Nathamkottai, Kondampatti
and Annanagar was burnt down. Around 4:30 pm, the police
started doing the rounds, asking us to run for our lives as a
mob of Vanniyars was on its way to attack us, says Paulina,
30, a Dalit Christian and mother of three, who ran to the near-
by fields to save herself, along with other women, children
and the elderly. There were few men in the villages at the
time as most of them work as labourers in the construction
sector in Bengaluru and Coimbatore, or in the garment-man-
ufacturing sweatshops in Tirupur.
The genesis of the recent violence is traced to the mar-
riage of a Dalit man, Ilavarasan, 23, from Nathamkottai, with
a Vanniyar woman, Divya, 20. As Divyas father, 48-year-old
R Nagarajan of Sallinkottai village, disapproved of their rela-
tionship, the couple got married in secret a month ago.
Nagarajan asked his daughter to return home, but she
refused. Then, a meeting of the Vanniyar community was
held, where it was decided that Divya must return to her
fathers house. When she did not relent despite the commu-
nitys pressure, her father allegedly felt humiliated and com-
mitted suicide on 6 November.
A fact-finding team of Peoples Watch, a Chennai-based
NGO, which visited the area on 11-12 November along with the
state representative of the National Commission for Protection
of Child Rights for RTE in Tamil Nadu, estimates the total eco-
nomic loss caused by the attack to be around Rs 12 crore.
According to this report, 215 families were affected in
Nathamkottai, 152 in Kondampatti and 36 in Annanagar. The
Jayalalitha government has offered Rs 50,000 as compensa-
tion to the victims. Violence of this kind would not have hap-
pened without the active support of the police, says Henri
Tiphagne, Executive Director of Peoples Watch. We found
that the Vanniyars used more than 150 petrol bombs. It looks
like a planned attack, instigated by the PMK, though Vanniyars
from other parties also participated in it. So far, the police has
arrested 92 Vanniyars and filed cases against 218 more.
According to the 2011 National Crime Records Bureau
(NCRB) report, Tamil Nadu ranks eighth among the states in
the number of attacks on Dalits, with more than 1,400 report-
ed incidents. A lot of this violence is rooted in the conflict
between the backward castes and the Dalits.
ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment (UAPA) Bill was
rushed through Lok Sabha on 30 November despite strong
protests which, as usual, were brushed aside by the government.
Government rejected requests by CPI, CPIM, JD, AIDMK, BJD
and MIM members to defer the bill in order to allow a thorough
debate. MIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi had vehemently opposed
the bill saying, UAPA is used only against Muslims, against
Dalits, against tribals and they are branded Maoists. We do not
want this draconian Act.
Under the new amendments, even an
economic offence, money laundering or pos-
sessing fake currency notes, may be
described as terrorism. Moreover, the peri-
od of ban on an organisation has now been
extended from two years to five years in one
go.
The UAPA gives freedom to the police to
interpret what constitutes terrorism and
unlawful activity. It criminalises dissent:
Section 15 defines terrorism vaguely.
Section 39 makes support to a terrorist
organisation an offence and criminalises
organising or even addressing public meet-
ings. It permits longer detention of terror
suspects upto six months without charge
or trial. It allows anonymous witnesses, cur-
tailing the right of accused to fair trial. All
these provisions violate fundamental rights.
The UAPA was originally enacted in
1969 to deal with activities directed against
the integrity and sovereignty of India. It was
later amended in 1969, 1972 and 1986. UPA
amended it in 2004 after repealing POTA but
incorporated most of the repealed clauses
into the new UAPA. It was again amended in
2008 after the Mumbai attack includes the
following:
The Act makes it a crime to support any
secessionist movement, or to support claims
by a foreign power to what India claims as its
territory. It includes the following: unlawful
activity which, in relation to an individual or
association, means any action taken by such
individual or association (whether by com-
mitting an act or by words, either spoken or
written, or by signs or by visible representa-
tion or otherwise), (i) which is intended, or
supports any claim, to bring about, on any
ground whatsoever, the cession of a part of
the territory of India or the secession of a
part of the territory of India from the Union,
or which incites any individual or group of
individuals to bring about such cession or
secession; or (ii) which disclaims, questions,
disrupts or is intended to disrupt the sover-
eignty and territorial integrity of India; or (iii)
which causes or is intended to cause disaf-
fection against India.
The act gave a lie to the loud pronounce-
ments of the UPA explicitly reiterated in the
Governments Common Minimum
Programme (CMP) that given the abuse of
POTA that has taken place, the UPA govern-
ment will repeal it, while existing laws are
enforced strictly.
The understanding was that no new laws
would be necessary beyond the existing
criminal laws. But the amended UAPA con-
tradicted this. The amended UAPA is infact
an improvements on the repealed POTA.
The new UAPA included verbatim provisions
from the repealed POTA, provisions that
were repeatedly misused under POTA and
continue to be misused under UAPA.
Moreover, additional provisions were includ-
ed which serve to further erode the rights of
the accused. The vague definition of terrorist
acts taken from TADA to POTA was retained
in the new act. This was the primary cause of
misapplication of both TADA and POTA, and
now under UAPA. Under Section 15 of the
UAPA, as with POTA, the definition of a ter-
rorist act is so broad that ordinary cases of
murder, robbery, and theft may be included.
The concomitant failure to provide a defini-
tion of abetment of terrorist acts likewise results in arbitrary
entrapment. For the very fact that abetment should clearly be
subject to prosecution, an express definition must be provided in
the act. Likewise, no definition of the parameters of member-
ship are divulged, and no criminal intent needs be proven for
guilt to be established. This may result in imprisonment for life.
The scheduled listing of a terrorist organisation as one that
may be involved in terrorism remains devoid of any statutory
procedure or requirements. The act maintains that the Central
Government will prescribe the procedure for admission and dis-
posal of an application made under this section. Once listed, the
onus lies on the organisation or any person affected to prove oth-
erwise, with no knowledge of the basis of their being added to the
Schedule.
Under Section 3(2) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,
1967, which refers to the banning of unlawful as opposed to
terrorist organizations, specification of
the grounds for notification must be given
but there is no basis for not affording the
same transparency under Section 26 of
the act, accounting for limitations on the
basis of national security, in order to
safeguard potential violations of the right
to free association.
The preservation of official immunity
for those involved in any operations
directed towards combating terrorism is
also regrettable. Such protections invite
abuse, as such a high evidentiary bar
makes it practically impossible to prove
that a police officer has acted without
good faith in abusing the provisions of
the act. This promotes a culture of
impunity. The act maintains that whoever
commits a terrorist act shall, if such act
has resulted in the death of any person,
be punishable with death or imprison-
ment for life, and shall also be liable to
fine. There is a growing consensus
under international human rights law that
all measures of abolition of the death
penalty should be considered as
progress in the enjoyment of the right to
life.
The act suffers from the diminishing
of certain safeguards like permissibility of
unlimited interceptions of communica-
tions. Though the police were previously
authorised to tap phones under the
Indian Telegraph Act 1885, under POTA,
the police had to abide by specific safe-
guards to justify their encroachment on
the privacy of the individual, including:
the submission by a superintendent of an
application detailing the facts to justify
interception; the permission could be
granted only by a specially appointed
competent authority, which in turn was
required to submit this order to the
Review Committee; an order of intercep-
tion was strictly limited to sixty days; mis-
use carried with it a penalty of imprison-
ment for up to one year. The amended
UAPA did away with these safeguards in
their entirety, so that any interceptions
collected, without any authorisation, shall
be admissible as evidence. Thus the
safeguards of POTA have been swiftly
and inexplicably discarded. Such unregu-
lated power created an aperture for
future misuse and serious violations of
the right to privacy. Article 17 of the
ICCPR also provides for the right of
every person to be protected against
arbitrary or unlawful interference with
his/her privacy, family, home or corre-
spondence. Rather than adopting legisla-
tive measures to prohibit such activity,
the Indian legislature has fully sanctioned
it. This amounts to a direct violation of
Article 17, and is the amended UAPAs
most regrettable contribution to the cata-
logue of misfortunes that have resulted
from anti-terrorist legislation in India.
It is a fact that during these past six
years, UAPA has been grossly misused.
On 14 May 2007, prominent physician
and human rights defender Dr Binayak
Sen was arrested under this act by the
Chhattisgarh government. This raised a
lot of criticism of this act. In his request to
the government, Sen said that he is
charged under two internal security laws
that do not comport with international human rights standards.
Another victim is Ajay TG, an independent film-maker and jour-
nalist. Indian Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy too was charged with
UAPA in 2009. An estimated 300 Muslim youths charged under
this act have been acquitted by courts. (With inputs from Human
Rights Features of hrdc.net)
UPA came to power on the promise to abolish POTA
New UAPA is Super POTA
Owaisi opposes new
avtar of UAPA
Majlis Ittehadul Muslimin MP, Asaduddin
Owaisi strongly opposed the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill
which seeks the expansion of the defini-
tion of terrorist act. The bill was hurried-
ly passed by the Lok Sabha by voice vote
on 30 November just a day after it was
tabled in the house. Owaisi said that the
Bill was more draconian than the erstwhile
Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and
the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities
(Prevention) Act (TADA).
According to the new bill, the defini-
tion will now include offences that threat-
en the countrys economic security. It has
also extended the period of ban on an
organisation from two to five years. It also
seeks to include procurement of weapons,
raising funds for terrorist activities and
counterfeiting Indian currency under the
definition of a terrorist act.
The amendment will also include acts
involving detention, abduction, threats to
kill or injure, or other actions that compel
an international or inter-governmental
organisation into complying with a
demand. Additional powers will be grant-
ed to courts for attachments or forfeiture
of property equivalent to the counterfeit
Indian currency involved in the offence or
to the value of the proceeds of terrorism
involved in the offence.
With the passing of the bill, Prabodh
Panda (CPI), Saidul Haque (CPI-M) and
Bhratruhari Mahtab (BJD) sought defer-
ment, seeking a thorough debate.
Responding to the same, Home Minister
Sushil Kumar Shinde said that the provi-
sion of the Act will not be misused by the
government. This Act is being amended
to bring clarity to the existing legal regime
and remove deficiencies identified in its
implementation by the Central and State
intelligence and investigating agencies,
Shinde said.
* Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association
said in a statement on 3 November: It is
saddening and surprising that at a time
when more and more evidence is surfac-
ing about the extensive abuse of anti-ter-
ror laws in targeting minorities, tribals,
deprived sections as well as political
activists, the government has chosen to
move amendments in the present UAPA
2008. These amendments will make the
law even more draconian and amenable to
human rights violations.
* Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
unanimously condemned the passage of
amendments to the Act in the Lok Sabha.
At its 11th national convention at Jaipur
on 2 December, the PUCL condemned the
passage of the amended UAP through the
Lok Sabha without any debate and dis-
cussion...It is shocking that the new
amendments aim at changing the defini-
tion of person [Section 2] which is a direct
attack on Article 19 [of the Constitution],
as now the government can label any
unregistered association of persons as
unlawful, Kavita Srivastava, PUCL nation-
al secretary.
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012 5
NATIONAL
M. H. RAHMAN
It appears that the Government of Assam is preparing to restart
the process of updating the 1951 National Register of Citizens
(NRC) following acceptance of the recommendations of the cab-
inet sub-committee by the state cabinet on August 16, 2012. It
may be recalled that in July 2010 the NRC updating work of the
two pilot projects in the state had to be suspended due to anom-
alies detected in the NRC forms and distribution of NRC of 1951
and the relevant electoral rolls of 1952, 1961, 1966 and 1971.
Following this, a cabinet sub-committee was set up to suggest
ways and means for the preparation of a faultless NRC for
Assam.
The cabinet sub-committee has recommended the updating
of NRC in three phases. In each phase, NRC of 42 of the 126 leg-
islative assembly constituencies will be updated. For this pur-
pose, forms will be distributed and collected through house-to-
house visits. Voters whose names are arbitrarily marked as
doubtful citizens, will also be allowed to apply for inclusion of their
names in the NRC provided that the foreigners tribunals have
cleared their names.
The purpose behind the updating of the NRC is to identify
the illegal migrants who have come from Bangladesh after 1971
and are living in Assam. The demand of such exercise came up
as the repeated revision of electoral rolls during the last thirty
years, particularly during the ten years of the AGPs rule in the
state, did not produce "foreign nationals" as fancied by the
parochial and communal forces.
However, the NRC updating may not be a smooth exercise
as there are many districts and villages in the state without NRC.
Moreover, NRC of many villages is either damaged or has
become illegible.
It has come to the light that the NRC is not available in some
districts of the state like Cachar, Baksa, Karbi Anglong, Dima
Hasao and Sivasagar.
In Nalbari district, there are 251 villages without NRC.
Moreover, NRC of 481 villages in the district is either damaged or
has become illegible. In Barpeta district, the NRC of 258 villages
is not available and of 42 villages is damaged.
In the district of Tinisukia there are 626 villages without NRC.
In Lakhimpur district, NRC of 229 villages is not available and of
523 villages it is damaged.
In Jorhat district, ten villages do not have NRC while the doc-
ument of 30 percent villages is totally damaged. In the district of
Odalguri also the NRC of 30 percent villages is damaged.
In Dhemaji district, the NRC of five villages has been dam-
aged while in Sonitpur district, the document of ten villages has
become illegible. In the district of Kamrup and Bongaigaon, NRC
is partially damaged.
In this situation, the preparation of a faultless new NRC on
the basis of the NRC of 1951 will not be possible. Therefore, elec-
toral rolls prepared between 1951 and 1971 would be taken into
consideration. But these electoral rolls are also not totally free
from errors. Hence, documents like ration cards, driving licenses,
certificates issued by Gaon Panchayat, land documents, school
certificates and the like will have to be taken into consideration.
It is good that the state government has decided to set up a
special directorate to look into various aspects of the NRC update
in the state. It will also establish a commission headed by a
retired judge to advise on the guidelines made for updating of the
NRC. While setting up the directorate and the commission, it
would be important for the state government to see that they are
manned with people known for their integrity and impartiality and
fairly represent members of the largest minority community of the
state.
Considering the present communal situation, it is notable
that when the NRC updating process will be on way, the social
environment of the state may be surcharged with communal ten-
sion. It will, therefore, be very important for the state government
to take appropriate measures to keep away the parochial and
fascist forces inside and outside the government from the NRC
updating process, while making elaborate arrangements for
maintaining public peace and order and conducting the entire
work of updating transparently.
NRC to be updated in Assam
The IB chief:
A matter of pride
FIRDAUS AHMED
Syed Asif Ibrahim has been elevated to what is considered the
seniormost position for a police officer in the country, that of the
Intelligence Bureau chief. It is clearly discernible from his spoken
reputation for competence, honesty and integrity and from the
positions he has held in his career, ranging from being SP in
Chambal to being in the IB for over two decades, that he would
easily have gained this position had been named anything but
Syed Asif Ibrahim. In other words, his religion has had nothing to
do with his appointment but it is sheer merit that has brought him
to this position.
For a competent person to be appointed head of a service or
agency is well understood. What is remarkable in this case is that
for the first time a Muslim has made it. This is not to say there
ever existed a glass ceiling, but then its existence was never
tested either. Acknowledging his religion should not really be
necessary, but that is what was prominently reflected in the
headlines. It has been the same sentiment with the two Sikh
chiefs the Indian army.
Not that religion matters for Syed Asif Ibrahim. Surely he
would continue discharging his professional obligations objec-
tively as hithertofore. His personal religiosity can only inspire him
on. However, while it is of little significance for Asif Ibrahim, the
man, it is certainly of consequence for the Muslim community, the
nation and his institution.
His appointment and his showing in the appointment during
his forthcoming tenure will be inspiring to the community, partic-
ularly the youth. As a role model he stands tall among the many
who have done their nation and their community proud. These
have included sportspersons such as Azhar, Aslam Sher Khan
and Sania to soldiers such as Haneefuddin, Zaki and Zamiruddin
Shah. The identification with their achievements instills a sense
of pride among members of their community. The impact of the
young Kashmiri doctor, Shah Faisal, topping the civil services
exam is a case to point.
In so far as their exertions were in the national way, there is
a corresponding national spirit that infuses the community. The
contribution of Muslims to national history, culture and post-
Independence progress has been such that Muslims have no
cause to wear their patriotism on their sleeves. The indices of
overall backwardness of the community explain why they are yet
to reach their fullest potential contribution to national life.
Therefore, such achievements are not only remarkable but also
act as spurs for the community to overcome its initial deficit at the
start line of endeavour.
However, Asif Ibrahims achievement is not only for Muslims
to partake of. In particular, for him to reach the pinnacle of polic-
ing is useful from the nations point of view. It bespeaks of the
nation moving beyond the ill-effects of Partition. It is a moment
that the republic can embellish and relish its secular credentials.
This is India as it was meant to be: a convergence of the idea of
India and its lived reality.
More narrowly, from an institutional point of view, it is a huge
boost to the image of the IB. As the principal internal intelligence
agency, there has been a certain cloud over its perception of
Indias largest minority. Earlier, it was regrettably well known that
it, along side the external intelligence agency, the R&AW, were
not keen on relying on the talents and contribution of Muslims,
howsoever qualified and able. Asif Ibrahim was to break their
misconception and through his professional progression has
indubitably demonstrated the inappropriateness of such preju-
dices.
The gain is for the image of the intelligence community, that
it now better reflects the national complexion. This can but have
useful fallout in terms of building psychological bridges between
it as an institution and the minority community that has been sub-
ject to unjustified surveillance ever since the contrived credibility
of the political philosophy of cultural nationalism has been ascen-
dant. Institutions such as intelligence, universally conservative in
their philosophical orientation, were at risk of forging a conserva-
tive-realist consensus with the political formations that sub-
scribed to Hindutva. By ensuring diversity in these institutions -
and in this case by careful selection of the head of the IB - the
threat has been made to recede considerably.
Asif Ibrahim will of course have a difficult task at hand. If he
is to exert in ensuring that the Muslim stereotype is dispelled,
there would be murmurs. However, his showing in the agency of
over two decades has perhaps earned him the moral capital and
authority to initiate course correction. Institutional cultural change
occasionally has symbolic beginnings. Ibrahim for his part would
naturally bear the expectations of the community lightly since as
a thorough professional he would in any case be engaged with
such issues of strategic import for the intelligence and policing
fraternities.
Clearly, there is still distance to traverse: after all, one swal-
low does not a summer make. That symbolism can sometimes
distract from substance compels wariness. Therefore, even as
this is a self-congratulatory time, it is also a time to remind one-
self that the Muslim shoulder to the national endeavour must be
such that it is rendered indispensable. The next moment of pride
in affiliation for Muslims as citizens is perhaps a Muslim army
chief.
The writer blogs on
http://www.subcontinentalmusings.blogspot.in/
VHP jittery
over possible
solution of
Babri dispute
Ayodhya: Vishwa Hindu Parishad, in view of the
possibility of a solution to the age-old Babri
Madjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute, is becom-
ing nervous and feels that the plank below its
feet is slipping. VHP came into being only after
the Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir issue in Ayodhya
came up. It does not want this dispute to be
solved because its very survival rests on pro-
longing this dispute indefinitely. If this dispute
between Hindus and Muslims is solved, not only
will the VHPs have to close shop, but it will also
have to account for billions of rupees, silver and
gold bricks and other costly gifts it collected
from the people in India and abroad in the name
of building the Ram Mandir.
After Babri Masjids demolition on
6 December 1992, VHP, BJP and other outfits of
RSS have been convincing their Hindu followers
that building of Ram Mandir will start soon and
will be completed very soon. Using this issue
BJP captured power in U. P. as well as at the
Centre. Ram Mandir could not be built but its
sellers became rich and big leaders who came
to power for the first time in free India.
Ayodhya and its people had to pay a heavy
price for Babris demolition because this famous
and peaceful citys communal peace, business,
catholicity etc. were badly damaged. Strict vigil
by police curtailed peoples freedom and every
new comer to Ayodhya became suspect.
Pending the Supreme Courts final verdict or
complete understanding between Hindus and
Muslims on the Mandir-Masjid issue, neither
peace can return to Ayodhya nor can the Mandir
be built.
With concerted efforts of Palok Basu,
retired judge of Allahabad High Court, who is
carrying forward the work initially started by
Asghar Abbas Rizvi by building Ayodhya Jama
Masjid Trust, important Hindu leaders and
mahants like Mahant Sharan Maharaj, Dev
Murari Babu etc. on one side and Sadiq Ali
Babu Khan, Muhammad Lateef, Manzar Mehdi
etc. on the other side have come forward to lend
a helping hand to Justice Palok Basu to make
his mission a success. Babri Masjids first plain-
tiff Hashim Ansaris and Haji Mahboobs silent
willingness is strengthening Justice Basus
efforts.
Justice Palok Basus efforts for peace and
understanding were already making VHP
nervous but when it was decided in the joint
meeting of both parties to the Ayodhya dis-
pute, held on 8 September that they will
accept Allahabad High Courts verdict of
30 September 2010 and Muslims, in the inter-
est of communal peace and goodwill will ren-
der one more sacrifice, i.e., the land allotted
to Muslims (as per High Courts verdict of
30 September 10) will be swapped and the
Masjid will be built on the acquired land at a
little distance from Ram Mandir. When this
news became public it created a great stir and
uneasiness in the VHP camp. The Ram
Mandir with which VHP had been dilly dallying
for about 20 years was going to be built with
the joint efforts and cooperation of both
Hindus and Muslims.
VHP president Ashok Singhal in spite of
being ill has come onto the field and started
manipulating things so as to frustrate Justice
Basus efforts. Head of Ram Janmabhoomi
Nyas, Mahant Naritya Gopal Das, playing into
the hands of Ashok Singhals tricks, says that
the acquired land is Ram Lallas playground on
which no one should cast eyes. He said that the
question of any mosque being built in Ayodhya
does not arise and any mosque on the acquired
land will not be tolerated at any cost. It is now to
be seen if the people of Ayodhya while maintain-
ing peace make way for the building of Ram
Mandir or they work for promoting VHPs agen-
da for 2014 general elections.
MANZAR MEHDI FAIZABADI
NATIONAL
6 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012
RAM PUNIYANI
ram.puniyani@gmail.com
Gujarat is going to have the
assembly elections later
this month. As per the sur-
veys and the claims of BJP
and Narendra Modi him-
self, the incumbent Chief
Minister, will be winning
again with a great majority.
The media has created a larger than life image
for Modi. His own media management firm has
been creating the image of Modi as a man for
development, and the big industrial houses are
pitching for his victory.
The big industrialists are having a great
time in Gujarat. Despite the claims of Modi and
company, the average people are facing a
rough weather as indicated by different indices
of development, nutritional levels, haemoglobin
levels of pregnant women etc. Still the popular
perception in large sections is that Mdoi will
romp home and thereby stake his claim to
become the BJPs prime ministerial candidate.
At the same time, Modi has been trying to
win to his side sections of Muslims, business-
men, affluent Muslims in particular. Some of
them have openly advocated for Modi.
One thing should be clear that till a decade
ago, it was a myth that the whole community
votes in unison. In earlier riots the major victims
of violence were poor Muslims. Since Gujarat
carnage the class divide of victims has been
abolished and now even if one is as affluent a
person with reach, like Ihsan Jafri, he can also
be the victim of violence. Thats the logic of
communal violence today. Accordingly, a major-
ity of Muslims may evolve a uniform policy of
voting for a candidate who can defeat BJP. This
was sometimes contemplated and exercised in
practice.
There is also a dilemma or confusion
amongst some Muslims that since BJP and
Congress both are equally bad, how does it
matter as to who comes to power. This unfortu-
nate perception of situation is due to the vacilla-
tions of Congress on the communal front, its
opportunism at times and its collusion with com-
munal forces at times. Its lack of principled
stand against communalism has given rise to
this perception. Still, on deeper thinking large
sections of Muslims do become clear about the
basic difference of BJP and Congress. The dif-
ference is that Congress is pragmatically com-
munal and BJP is programmatically commu-
nal. That BJP is part of the RSS combine
whose agenda is Hindu nation and to bring in
such a state by working through the liberal
space offered by Indian democracy, should be
well known by now. And in that sense Congress
or no other party can be compared with the BJP.
The BJP is one of the vehicles of communaliz-
ing the society as far as RSS, the patriarch of
communal politics in India, is concerned.
The BJP has been propagating that more
communal riots have taken place under the rule
of Congress so how come, Congress is better
than BJP as far as communal violence and
communalism are concerned. It is a clever use
of the fact that though the Congress has been in
power, the real instigator of violence, by and
large, is the BJP and its affiliates. Congress
merely colludes or looks the other way round.
Also, here the role of police becomes important,
as large sections of police are not only very
communal; police force is also heavily infiltrated
by those who have sympathies with communal
politics. In this complex situation, who do the
Muslims vote for? The noted Islamic scholar,
Asghar Ali Engineer, points out that though the
Bohra Muslims and their religious leader, Dai,
has good links with Modi for business reasons,
still most Bohras will not vote for Modi due to the
larger picture on the political scene. Maulana
Wastanwi, who had earlier said that Muslims
are doing better in Gujarat, has also said that
Muslims should not vote for Modi.
Modi has been trying his best to woo the
Muslim community by tying up with business-
men from Gujarat like Zafar Sareshwala. Still,
the larger section of Muslim community remains
fearful of Modi. Despite his Sadbhavna stage-
shows the Muslim community knows that at root
Modi has no sympathies with minorities. Modis
fasting and Sadbhavna meetings were well-
managed stage-shows where many with beard
and cap paid their obeisance to Modi, but at the
same time Modi got exposed as he refused to
wear the skull cap offered by one of the clerics
who came to meet him. This at a time when he
was putting on all sorts of caps and pagadis
(headgears) offered by Hindus and Jains. The
Muslim community knows that in this stage-
managed show Modi has spent millions to proj-
ect his image of amity. But can the deeper
wounds be healed by such attractive coverings?
The Muslim community recalls that the
human rights activist Dr. Bandukwala had asked
Modi to atone for his role in Gujarat violence
and the Muslims community will forget the car-
nage and will move on. But that expression of
remorse never came. In contrast, Modi went to
have more sophisticated defence to hide his
crime in the carnage of Gujarat. Now ex-MP
Syed Shahabuddin has come out with an open
letter to Modi saying that if he wants Muslims to
vote for him, he should apologize for the Gujarat
genocide of 2002. Failing this, Shahabuddin
said that, Muslims will vote massively and unit-
edly for one candidate, irrespective of party or
religion who is likely to defeat the BJP in their
constituency.
Syed Shahabuddin landed up in another
controversy due to the tone and tenor of his let-
ter and the letterhead, but some of the points
which he raises are very valid for the Muslim
community of Gujarat. Shahabuddin has asked
Modi to give full rehabilitation, reimburse med-
ical expenses, suitable compensation, rebuild-
ing of the places of worship which were ruined
due to the violence amongst other demands.
The basic flaw in Shahbuddins letter is that to
presume that Modi may be amenable to such
suggestions and the very process of writing a
letter to Modi itself is a misplaced one. Some
may call it optimism but it is nothing short of a
delusion about Modi.
The core question dodging the Muslim com-
munity is that they have been effectively rele-
gated to the status of second class citizens in
Gujarat. It is a part of their daily experience.
Politically marginalized, economically pushed
back and facing the step-motherly treatment
from the state, it is unlikely that Muslims can
even think of voting for Modi. Surely, there will
be some like Sareshwala who will ask for the
votes for Modi, but barring such elements, aver-
age Muslim has suffered and travails of living in
the Hindu Rashtra of Gujarat, where the affili-
ates of BJP, the VHP, Bajrang Dal, Vanvasi
Kalyan Ashram and ABVP are making the pic-
ture complete by their brash ways of imposing
their will on minorities.
While celebrations are already afoot for
Modis victory, its unlikely that he can have a
cake walk in Gujarat this time as apart from M
factor the whole deprivation of dalits, Adivsis
and other poorer sections of society are too
deep to be won over by the rhetoric of Vibrant
Gujarat.
While psephologists are burning midnight
oil to ratify Modis victory, the real outcome of
Gujarat 2012 elections may be a surprise to
many who are undermining the impact of social
development indices and the scars of 2002,
which remain very much painful even now!
(Issues in Secular Politics)
Gujarat: Who will Muslims vote for?
Mumbai: Association of Muslim
Professionals (AMP) conducted a
seminar on Vision 2020 for Indian
Muslims in Mumbai on 1 December.
The discussions and brainstorming
aimed at charted out a vision for a
better future.
Guests included K. Rahman
Khan, Union Minister for Minority
Affairs, Sayed Mohammad Qasim
Ashraf, an Islamic scholar,
Dr. Zaheer Kazi, President of the
Anjuman Islam Group of Institutions,
Dr. Javed Jamil, social scientist,
Amin Patel, Chairman of MAMFDC &
MLA, and many others.
Amin Patel asked the audience
to realize their share in the budget
and demand its optimum utilization.
Dr. Javed Jamil said we need to
understand and analyse the budget
from the community perspective and propose our reforms in the
planning stage itself rather than discussing the pros and cons
after the budget is declared.
Dr. Zahir Kazi pointed out that we need to build a pressure
group so that we can make the Government realize our impor-
tance and pay heed to our demands. We need to realize our
share of rights and demand the same so that we can achieve as
much development as possible. For this purpose, we need
youngsters who are politically conscious but not politically ambi-
tious. His personal vision for Vision 2020 is to try and reclaim
the Ismail Yusuf College land so that it could be developed as a
centre of excellence as originally envisaged by its donor.
Rahman Khan said that we should not have a micro
approach to the minority budget but have a macro vision of our
share in the budget which is more than 16,000 lakh crores. He
further said that we need establish ourselves in the educational
field as well as the corporate world. He suggested that we
should not be dependent on any government for our progress.
Rather, we be self-sustained for our development. He suggest-
ed that the community workers should have a planned approach
for our development and progress. He suggested that similar to
the 5-year plan of the Government, we too should plan for the
development and progress of the country -- such as the first
five-year plan could be for education and generation of income,
the second could be for economic development, the third to
focus on social development issues and so on.
K Rehman suggested that Muslims should create a vision
document and share it with him. He assured his support.
Maulana Syed Qasim Ashraf said that the communitys
bright future depends on its young generation. He said that we
need to have not just an intellectual mind but also a healthy
heart and a clean spirit for which we need to establish institu-
tions which focus not just on professional brilliance but also on
spiritual excellence.
This event was a prelude to the week-long Annual Career
Fest which is one of the largest Education Guidance festivals in
the country and has been successfully conducted since the last
four years. For more information on AMP activities, visit its web-
site: www.ampindia.org
Rs. 130 million provided by government
for computerisation of Waqf Boards
New Delhi: Central government has provided Rs. 130 million for
computersation and digitisation of Waqf Baords so that old and
new records of Waqf properties could be preserved in computers
and Waqf Boards would not only be computerised but all their
records and properties could be digitised. Minority affairs min-
istrys minister of state said that under the computersation of
Waqf Boards scheme of 2009, government had provided this
amount (Rs. 130 million) so that all records could be put online
and all information about Waqf Boards, their registration, preser-
vation of documents and other details could be obtained on com-
puter. He further said that under this scheme, facilities of comput-
ers have been provided in 25 states and union territories.
Five universities for minori-
ties under consideration
New Delhi: Union minister for minority affairs K. Rahman Khan
said in a statement in Parliament that a scheme of setting up five
universities for the minority community under Maulana Azad
Education Foundation in minority concentrated districts and
Central Universitys K. V. model institutes are under consideration
of the government. He said that sites for this purpose have been
identified and a decision has already been taken about three uni-
versities. These are Tipu Sultan University of Science &
Technology in Bangalore, Khwaja Gharib Nawaz Professional,
Technical and Vocational Education University at Ajmer and Rafi
Ahmad Qidwai University of Health & Medical Sciences at Kishan
Ganj in Bihar. He further said in a written reply to questions by
MPs B.J. Panda and D.V. Chandra Goda that in view of Sachar
Committees recommendations, government is considering set-
ting up Central University K. V. (Kendriya Vidyalaya) Model
Institutes in 93 minority-concentrated districts (formerly 90 such
districts) and statistics in this connection are being prepared.
He said in view of lack of education among minorities partic-
ularly among Muslims and in order to remove this, improvement
of basic educational structure is badly needed in these districts
and since government alone cannot do much, people should
invest in educational field. He said that for improvement of basic
educational structure in secondary and university education, pub-
lic-private partnership (PPP) model will be encouraged.
Regarding minority concentrated districts he said that a district is
quite a large unit and hence instead of districts, minority concen-
trated blocks should be identified because in this way complaints
or deprivations of all minority sections will be removed. He said
that his ministry will take steps to find out how much benefits are
being derived by minority communities from different welfare
schemes of the government. (NAAnsari)
AMP holds seminar on Vision 2020 for Indian Muslims
...on deeper thinking large sections of Muslims do become clear
about the basic difference of BJP and Congress. The difference is that
Congress is pragmatically communal and BJP is programmatically
communal. That BJP is part of the RSS combine whose agenda is
Hindu nation and to bring in such a state by working through the liberal
space offered by Indian democracy, should be well known by now.
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012 7
NATIONAL
MUSTAFA KHAN
There are two events that took place in Malegaon that are viscer-
ally related to the bomb blasts. One is the arms haul in May 2006.
But even before this there were people who hobnobbed with the
additional superintendent of police Rajwardhan. It is difficult to
say exactly when Abrar Ahmed came in contact with the cop or
when his brother-in-law Farooq Verdha and wife Jannatunnisha
preceded him in having some relationship with the top cop of the
district. Was it such an important contact that a person commit-
ted suicide in the town for having known him? And was Abrar so
important an accused that he was induced to become the state
approver and was introduced to Lt Col Shrikant Purohit, Sadhvi
Pragyasingh Thakur, Dyanand Pandey among others? Moreover,
why was he given slow poisoning in Arthur road prison? By
whom? Why the nephew was assaulted when he went to visit his
uncle?
This earliest crucial date is not definite but it goes like this in
the words of his intimate friend Sajjad.
Abrar was dealing in spare parts of power looms. If a part
was broken and it stopped working he would go and bring a
replacement or have it repaired from a foundry. For this he used
to frequent the foundry.
There was a godown in front of the foundry. The police said
that arms were seized from the godown.
The police suspected the people who (habitually) visited it
(or, lived) there. Abrar was visiting the place and so the police
suspected him and caught him.
There was a tea stall in front of the godown. The people of
the neighbourhood habitually sat there to idle away their time.
Abrar would visit the tea stall. One day he had a brawl with a
friend there. The friend accused him saying You do not earn
more than four to five hundred rupees. Then how can you afford
to use a mobile phone?
People began to suspect that he (Abrar) had joined the con-
spirators (in the arms haul) or joined the police (as an informer).
(After ExplosionMalegaon Marathi title:
SphotaanterMalegaon, Nilo Damle, April 2008, p.128)
Azhar Pervez. People say that he had met Abrar just before
the blasts on September 8, 2006 and saw the new cycle with a
box fitted on it. He admired it and wanted one such for himself.
He killed himself in very mysterious circumstances. He had cut
his arteries on the ankle and wrist with what the police claim was
a blade bought from a shop.
However, his dead body was found in a room that was locked
from the outside! How could he, a victim of cancer, have had so
much courage and supernatural power to cut arteries at four to
six vital parts of the body and bleed to death? Therefore the enig-
ma of Abrar. What role did he play in the hands of the police?
At first he scoffed at the people of his town. He wrote so while
in his early detention. He also agreed to become an approver.
Then he changed slowly. He felt the police officers
Rajwardhan, Sujit Kumar Jaiswal, ATS chief Krish Pal
Raghuvanshi had trapped him. Then he turned against them and
wrote an affidavit and submitted it to MCOCA court of Judge YD
Shinde on April 18, 2009. When he came out of jail he accused
his brother in law and wife of having betrayed him, and led him
into the police trap.
One of the most talked of incident was this that haunted the
people around their coffee tables in the town of Malegaon.
Another was the fracas of Abrar referred to earlier in the book of
Nilu Damle. What he has recorded was already in the public
domain by which I mean grapevine or hearsay. This also became
the leitmotif of my book Aggressive Hindutva Terror and
Malegaon (June, 2011). There was also another interlude, per-
haps apocryphal. It goes like this that the quarrel between Abrar
and his friend went to such an extent that it resulted in a brawl
and the friend snatched the mobile phone from Abrar and took
away the SIM,memory card. The parties went to the sitting MLA
Sheikh Rashid. They were so adamant that the leader was not
successful in resolving the problem. He carried the matter right
up to the then chief minister Vilas rao Deshmukh. He solved(?) it
or quashed(?) the matter.
The trail runs cold as Damle does not give his respondents
full name or address or contact number. However, Damles con-
tact is 09820971567.
This is the story repeated in the town so often that it does not
strike as remarkable. In the definition of story by EM Forster the
events fit as for a good story, like: The king died and then the
queen died. But then a novel has a plot based on causation. The
king died and therefore the queen died of grief. This is the plot of
a novel. What have the cops and investigating agencies done?
They have given sops to the mainstream newspapers from time
to time. They were good short stories to read. But that was not
the plot of the novel.
That was like One Thousand and One Nights of Arabia told
by Shahezadi to the Arabian monarch. She wanted him to sleep
and spare her life.
Each reader should pick up a pen and write what he sees as
the probable end. In the meantime the ATS of Maharashtra must
be allowed to make it more popular by its foray into Batla House
and the arrest of more innocents for the sleepy king to lapse into
a slumber.
However, what happened in Batla House on Monday
February 13, 2012 is a repeat of the arms haul and bomb blasts
in Malegaon 2006. The police came to arrest a person who was
said to be connected to Students Islamic Movement of India.
Zahid was in Phooosangvi in Yavatmal. They arrested his broth-
er Javed and framed him in the arms haul case of May 2006.
Afterwards they also arrested Zahid and framed him in the bomb
attacks of September 8, 2006. Zahid is now out on bail. Javed is
still languishing in jail.
The British left a rich legacy for the police too. They believed
that some castes in India are biologically and mentally thieves
and arrested their members when theft cases came to their
notice. In modern day India the police do the same with the
Muslims. There are scores of cases of which what the
Maharashtra police did at Batla House was an example albeit a
repeat of what they did in the cases of the two brothers in
Malegaon. The Bhatkal brothers story also falls into the same
pattern. As the standoff between Maharashtra police and Delhi
police continues there is need for Scotland Yard detectives to
play a fair role in the investigations. They surely would not be in
a muddle as to Indian polices Hobsons choice of complexity
whether Taqi is Naqi, Zahid is Javed or one Bhatkal is like the
other.
Events that preceded the blasts in Malegaon
Nearly one-fifth (19 per cent) of all maternal deaths across
the world in 2010 occurred in India writes senior journalist
AMMU JOSEPH
Poornima died in April 2012 after giving birth to a baby on a busy
street in Bangalore. Passers-by rushed the young woman to a
nearby private hospital, which referred her to a government hos-
pital, but she died on the way, presumably due to excessive
bleeding. It is anybodys guess what happened to her children:
last heard, the newborn was in a critical condition in the neo-natal
intensive care unit of the public hospital and the two older chil-
dren were lost in the confusion.
Poornimas death did not spark public outrage or provoke
protest rallies, demonstrations or candle-light vigils in
Bangalore, let alone elsewhere in the country or the world. Nor
did it merit prominent or sustained media coverage, including
heated television debates, or social media campaigns. No union
minister said, Saving the life of the mother is of prime impor-
tance. No secretary of the government (state or Union)
expressed concern and angst about her untimely and tragic
death. No official source deemed it an extremely sad and unfor-
tunate thing to happen. No one suggested that measures be put
in place to prevent similar incidents occurring in the future. Nor
was even one inquiry into the circumstances of the tragedy
demanded or initiated.
After all, Poornima was a poor woman, abandoned by her
husband and dependent for shelter on her sister, a domestic help.
And hers was merely one of the thousands of maternal deaths
that take place in the country every year: 56,000 altogether or six
every hour or one every ten minutes in 2010, according to esti-
mates in a report released by several United Nations agencies
and the World Bank in May 2012, less than a month after
Poornimas death. Nearly one-fifth (19 per cent) of all maternal
deaths across the world in 2010 occurred in India.
This is not surprising since, according to official statistics,
less than half of all births in India are assisted by anyone trained
in healthcare at any level: doctor, nurse, auxiliary nurse midwife
(ANM), lady health visitor (LHV) or any other category of health-
care worker. Only 40 per cent of births here take place in medical
institutions (of any kind) and just over a third of Indian women
delivering babies receive post-natal care from trained healthcare
personnel (of any sort).
Five cases of maternal death were reported in Punjabs
Ferozepur district in just two months (July and August) this year,
apparently due to the non-availability of medical facilities and
expertise. This is despite government schemes such as the
Janani Suraksha Yojna (JSY), launched specifically to check
maternal mortality by providing financial assistance and encour-
aging institutional deliveries. According to a local doctor, the inad-
equate training of health workers and the pressure to meet tar-
gets are at least partly to blame for the situation. The fact that the
district civil hospital does not have a gyaecologist or a paediatri-
cian in attendance - both posts have long been vacant - must
surely be a significant factor, too.
The deaths of Sonia, Neelam Rani, Veerpal Kaur, Harvinder
Kaur and Gurmit Kaur in Ferozepur did not quite capture media,
public, political or official attention - at least at the national level.
One wonders whether they made it into health statistics: Indias
Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is currently said to be 212 (thats
the number of women aged 15-49 dying due to maternal causes
per 100,000 live births), slightly above the global average of 210.
Punjabs MMR is 172. Nine states, including Assam (at 390), reg-
ister MMRs higher than the national average, whereas Kerala
and Tamil Nadu are doing much better at 81 and 97 respectively.
In contrast, Irelands MMR is among the lowest in the world,
ranging from one to six per one lakh in 2010. It would remain so
even if the highest figure was doubled to compensate for possi-
ble under-reporting (mainly due to discrepancies in definition and
criteria), about which Irish experts are concerned.
Under the circumstances one can only wonder at the nerve
displayed by the Indian government in dealing with the tragic
case of 31-year-old Savita Halappanavar, who died on 28
October in Galway, Ireland, after doctors there refused to perform
an abortion even though she was miscarrying 17 weeks into her
first pregnancy. The Ministry of External Affairs summoned the
Irish ambassador in New Delhi to convey Indias unhappiness
over a young life coming to an untimely end. The Indian ambas-
sador in Dublin met the Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign
Minister, Eamon Gilmore, besides various officials, to convey the
deep concern of the Indian government and to seek an independ-
ent and transparent investigation. He is also reportedly scheduled
to meet Enda Kenny, the Taoiseach or Prime Minister of Ireland,
to request a public inquiry.
Earlier the Indian diplomat was quoted by The Guardian as
stating that Savita may not have died if she had been treated in
India. According to him, hospitals in India would not have denied
a miscarrying woman an abortion. This is arguably true with
regard to middle or upper class, educated, urban Indian women,
like Savita, with access to quality medical care.
After all, India was one of the first countries in the world to
legalise induced abortion through the Medical Termination of
Pregnancy Act, 1971. Considered a pioneering and fairly liberal
law, the MTP Act enables women to legally avail abortion up to
the 20th week if the pregnancy carries the risk of grave physical
injury to the woman, endangers her mental health, has resulted
from contraceptive failure (within marriage) or rape, or is likely to
result in the birth of a child with physical or mental abnormalities.
Significantly, no spousal consent is required under the law.
Despite the law, however, India has a disgracefully high abor-
tion-related death rate, mainly due to the prevalence of unsafe
abortions, which is clearly linked to the non-availability or lack of
accessibility of safe abortion services. The country recorded 6.5
million abortions in 2008, of which two-thirds or 66% were
deemed unsafe, according to figures released by the World
Health Organisation along with the Guttmacher Institute earlier
this year.
According to Anuradha Gupta, director of the National Rural
Health Mission, abortion-related deaths (approximately 4600
annually) contribute to eight per cent of all maternal deaths in
India. Studies suggest that only one trained provider of MTP serv-
ices is available for a rural population of 2.24 lakh.
The work of a committee constituted in 2006 to recommend
amendments to the MTP Act has reportedly been stalled over the
past couple of years. Among the changes awaited is an extension
of the cut-off time for the legal termination of an unwanted preg-
nancy to 24 weeks. Another is a proposal to permit nurses and
AYUSH doctors to conduct safe abortions, besides ensuring
healthy deliveries and providing appropriate contraception, after
undergoing the necessary training.
The terrible loss suffered by the Yalagi and Halappanavar
families cannot be wished away, even if multiple probes lead to a
progressive change in the way abortion is viewed and dealt with
in Ireland (as desired by many of their own citizens) and even if
the bereaved husband opts for legal action to seek justice.
However, if the widespread public anger and sorrow generated by
Savitas untimely and probably avoidable death could be chan-
nelled into a sustained campaign to reduce the number of mater-
nal deaths in India - abortion-related and otherwise - thousands
of similar tragedies could perhaps be prevented in the country of
her birth. (The Thumb Print)
Ammu Joseph is an independent journalist and author based in
Bangalore. Among her publications are six books. She has been visiting fac-
ulty of several institutes of journalism education in India. She can be
reached at ammujo2003@yahoo.co.in
The British left a rich legacy for the police
too. They believed that some castes in India are
biologically and mentally thieves and arrested
their members when theft cases came to their
notice. In modern day India the police do the
same with the Muslims. There are scores of
cases of which what the Maharashtra police did
at Batla House was an example albeit a repeat
of what they did in the cases of the two brothers
in Malegaon. The Bhatkal brothers story also
falls into the same pattern. As the standoff
between Maharashtra police and Delhi police
continues there is need for Scotland Yard detec-
tives to play a fair role in the investigations.
Our manufactured outrage over Ireland abortion death
Do we really care for our mothers health?
NATIONAL
8 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012
MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN
Intelligence agencies in most countries are guided by the rule
book and are accountable for what they do, but on the contrary,
India is the only democracy where agencies are in no way
accountable to the people or to Parliament. Are our intelligence
agencies above the law, if not, then why we do not have any rule
book or a watchdog and oversight mechanism in place or a body
to which these agencies are accountable or answerable?
The Parliamentary Standing Committee has already recom-
mended a separate law for the Central Bureau of Investigation
but the other agencies operating in the country, especially
Intelligence Bureau, are free to act according to their will without
any fear. For these agencies there is neither any law nor any
charter. These agencies function according to their own terms as
per the demand of the situation, or to fulfil the aspirations of their
peers in the organisation or their political bosses. In the absence
of any transparency or accountability of any kind, graft and
wrongdoing within these agencies go unchecked or can hardly
be traced. They receive huge amounts of cash for which no
external audit is made. The government till date does not have
any kind of control on the modus-operandi of RAW, IB and
NTRO.
Vice President Hamid Ansari, while addressing senior intelli-
gence officers on the occasion of RN Rao memorial lecture at
the RAW headquarters in January 2010, had stressed the need
for intelligence agencies to be made accountable and at the
same time to function under some sort of legal cover. In 2011,
Congress MP Manish Tiwari had introduced a Private Members
Bill in the Lok Sabha seeking to regulate the functioning and
power of the intelligence agencies.
It is true that these intelligence agencies deal with the most
secret and confidential information but none of the existing sys-
tems in place has any control over these agencies. Now the big
question: Is it incorrect to say that these agencies function in an
illegal and unconstitutional manner if they are not subject to any
legal cover or are not made accountable for what they do?
Indias intelligence agencies may not be guided by any law
but most advanced and trusted intelligence agencies of many
countries function within the limits of one or the other form of act
or law. For example, the American intelligence agency CIA oper-
ates under CIAAct of 1947. United Kingdoms internal and exter-
nal security agency MI5 and MI6 operate under Security Service
Act of 1989 and Intelligence Service Act of 1994. In Canada,
there is Security and Intelligence Act of 1984 while in Russia
there is the Federal Intelligence Service Act. In South Korea,
there is Intelligence Service Act of 1994 while in Germany there
is Federal Intelligence Law of 1990. In Japan there is Public
Security Intelligence Act of 1996. In countries like America,
Canada, South Korea and Australia there are Parliamentary
Committees in place to oversee the functioning of intelligence
agencies. In America, overseeing the intelligence agencies is
considered paramount to ensure the nations security and also
checking their potential for misuse of power.
The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) in a
recent report titled ACase for Intelligence Reforms in India, has
recommended that intelligence agencies in India must be provid-
ed a legal framework for their existence and functioning and
brought under Parliamentary oversight and scrutiny. The report
highlighted in detail the functioning of the countrys intelligence
set-up; analysed the factors that impede good intelligence at var-
ious stages of collection, initial analysis, inter-agency coopera-
tion and assessments and what can be done to improve assess-
ments and human resources.
In July 2011, the then home secretary G.K Pillay, while
speaking at a seminar on Enabling Intelligence in India:
Autonomy, Accountability and Oversight at Observer Research
Foundation in the national capital had said that government will
soon decide on legislation to be introduced in the Lok Sabha that
seeks parliamentary supervision of intelligence agencies for their
better and unbiased functioning. The Intelligence Services
(Powers and Regulation) Bill, 2011, seeks parliamentary super-
vision on three major intelligence agencies -- Research and
Analysis Wing (R&AW), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the
National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO). The draft bill
broadly proposes a National Intelligence Tribunal for the investi-
gation of complaints against these agencies, a parliamentary
committee for an effective supervisory mechanism of these
agencies, and an intelligence ombudsman for efficient function-
ing of these agencies.
Prashant Bhushan, member of Team Anna, in his letter to
the government on 6 June 2012, had asked the government to
bring out proper legislation in order to grant legal status to these
intelligence agencies and make them accountable to Parliament.
He demanded that the CAG should be authorised to look into
the (internal) annual statutory audit of these agencies. Since
their operations are shrouded in secrecy, their illegal acts seldom
come to light, except when exposed by whistle-blowers who
have served in these intelligence agencies. Some examples of
misuse of intelligence agencies have come out in books written
by those who have worked in these agencies. he added.
Why our intelligence agencies are above law
SUMIT PAUL
While its advisable to forget, a few incidents remain etched in
the collective psyche of a community or race that has been at
the receiving end. Can Jews ever forget the Holocaust? Can
Japanese people ever forget what happened in Hiroshima and
Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 1945 respectively? Never. Bitter
and painful memories have a tendency to stay forever because
its the bitterness that keeps telling and prodding that all is not
honey and ambrosia in this world.........
Long back I read these profoundest of words by a colum-
nist with The Spectator , London. His piercing words got
seared on my mind and have stayed with me since then. On the
20th occasion (I wont call it an anniversary, as anniversary has
a ring of happiness to it) of the demolition of Babri mosque, that
happened on December 6, I feel betrayed and stabbed. Im no
Muslim. Neither am I a Hindu or a Christian. Im a human being
and therefore all the more ashamed of the mindless act of my
fellow human beings, my brethren. Years have elapsed, yet Ive
not been able to come to terms with the demolition of a place
which a certain group of people deemed to be sacrosanct.
By demolishing Babri mosque, a wedge was created that
can never be bridged, however hard one may try to reconcile
the followers of two faiths. This cataclysmic event in the mod-
ern history of India shouldnt be seen as a mere demolition and
vandalization of a sacred place, it must be seen as a metaphor,
a metaphor of difference and a metaphor of hatred. Kar Sevaks
didnt destroy a mosque. They destroyed faith and sullied the
image of Ganga-Jamuna composite culture. Look at
December 6 as a day when mutual trust suffered and humani-
ty touched the nadir. An abandoned mosque became a bone of
contention for the fanatic Hindus, who believed their putative
Ram lalla was born at the very place where Babar built this
mosque 500 years ago. It was the day, Muslims realised that
they were truly unwanted in a Hindu Rashtra. It was the day
when states assurance of the safety of the minorities turned
out to be a fib and fig-leaf of perceived equality and egalitari-
anism.
As Ive already stated that we must see Babri Masjid issue
as a metaphor because a metaphor has far-reaching ramifica-
tions. The very incident demolished an entire communitys
hope and faith. The myth of Hindus being a peace-loving com-
munity received a severe jolt on December 6.
But in a sense, the whole episode served the Muslim com-
munity in good stead. It unmasked the fanatic face of Hinduism
and demystified many beliefs. It showed that Hindus were and
have always been as violent as the followers of any other faith.
Those, who doubted the historical accounts of Hindus demol-
ishing Jain Vihars and Buddhist monasteries to establish the
hegemony of Hinduism, had to accept that the history didnt lie
on this count. Adi Shankaracharya justified the killings of Jain
and Buddhist monks. That violent streak percolated down to
the Hindu consciousness to manifest itself on the fateful day of
December 6 and further degenerated into Gujarat pogrom
exactly a decade after the demolition of Babri mosque.
Let me wind it up with an apposite couplet by an anony-
mous Urdu poet , Eent-o-patthar ki masjid gira di / Tumne
yaqeen-o-ittihad ki neev bhi hila di (By breaking the mosque
made of bricks and stones/ Youve shaken the foundations of
trust and bonhomie to). So true.
II
Adi Shankars stand against Jains and Hindus
A reader has asked for the stringent references to Adi
Shankaracharyas stand against Buddhists and Jains after read-
ing my article online Why shouldnt the demolition of Babri Masjid
be forgotten? (Dec. 7). I seldom write sans research and take
utmost care to present my views after verifying all the facts. I
invite him to come to BORI (Bhandarkar Oriental Research
Institute), Poona, where he can see Rahul Sankrityayans Ganga
Se Volga Tak (unexpurgated and original edition). It clearly and
categorically states that Adi Shankar was a rabid Hindu who
could go to any length to establish the supremacy of his faith.
Hed invite Buddhist and Jain monks for debate and after defeat-
ing them, thanks to his sophistry (misleading and plausible logic),
hed humiliate them so much that theyd commit suicide by self-
immolation. Wasnt it an act of indirect violence? Indologist A L
Basham and Ramdhari Singh Dinkar in his book Sanskriti ke
chaar adhyay mentioned this pervert cruelty of Adi Shankar,
whom Hindus consider to be the reincarnation of Shiv. Tell me,
wasnt this South Indian Brahmin against the non-Brahmins?
Havent you read the story of Shankar and chandaal (untouch-
able)? He was an advocate of the disgusting Varna Vyavastha
(Caste System) of Hinduism and gave the most derogatory word,
Malechchha to Sanskrit that defines anyone from the lowest
stratum of the society. Hindus used this Adi Shankars demean-
ing term to describe the Muslims, along with Yavani (Hindus
believed that Muslims came from Yavan (Yemen?)).
(The reaction referred to above came after this article was
placed on MG website (www.milligazette.com) on the Babri dem-
olition anniversary - editor)
Why shouldnt the demolition of Babri Masjid be forgotten?
New Delhi: Amanatullah Khan, a local Lok Janshakti Party (LJP)
leader from Jamia Nagar Okhla who had been on an indefinite
hunger strike in protest against the large scale arrest of, and to
secure the release of innocent Muslim youth held on fabricated
charges of terrorism or complicity in cases of terrorism without
any proof, ended his hunger strike on 3 December with the inter-
vention of LJP President Ram Vilas Paswan. Amanatullah was
not alone in this protest hunger strike, many others also had
joined him in this strike. Eight days later he broke his fast after
Ram Vilas Paswan convinced him that Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh had assured him (Paswan) and others that this problem will
be solved at the earliest. Paswan offered him a glass of juice to
break his fast with, others then, also broke their fast.
Earlier, a delegation of 16 MPs belonging to different political
parties (except BJP) met the prime minister and not only
demanded the release of innocent Muslim youths falsely implicat-
ed and arrested and being subjected to inhuman and humiliating
treatment but also to put an end to the callous arrest of Muslim
youth without any proof. They also demanded strong action
against all police officers and agencies who implicated them
falsely in cases of terrorism without any proof, and bringing mis-
ery to their families. Among the MPs who were part of this dele-
gation included CPMs Sita Ram Yechuri, CPIs D. Raja,
Congresss Mani Shankar Iyer, NCPs D. P. Tripathi, Janta Dal
(U)s Siva Nand Tiwari, LJPs Ram Vilas Paswan, BSPs Shafiqur
Rahman Barq, Sayeed Ahmad Malihabadi, Muhammad Adeeb
etc. They demanded verbally and in writing also that police per-
sonnel who were responsible for such irresponsible acts be
penalised.
Ram Vilas Paswan speaking
on this occasion (when the fast
was broken) said that if no solu-
tion is found to this problem with-
in three months, a country-wide
movement will be started. It may
also be stated in this connection
that on two or three occasions
earlier also Jamiatul Ulama and
other delegations led by Maulana
Arshad Madni and heads of those
delegations had met the prime
minister regarding the same prob-
lem and the prime minister had
on each occasion given an assur-
ance that their grievances would
be removed but nothing hap-
pened. Many Muslim youth were
no doubt released but all by
courts because of absence of any
proofs or insufficient proofs, but
none due to government efforts.
The honourable courts / judges
had also reprimanded the police and agencies for their criminal
acts in falsely implicating innocent persons but no action was
taken against the erring police officials. (NAAnsari)
Hunger strike for the release of innocent Muslim youths
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012 9
NATIONAL
BINDU DESAI
.
Mumbai: A two-day conference on Palestine was held here
despite attempts by the local police and the Israeli consulate to
scuttle it. It was organised by India Palestine Solidarity Forum
(IPSF). The organizers included Dalit leaders, active among
them Kishore Jagtap. Many students from radical Dalit groups
attended. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was cooperative
but slow. Delegates from Pakistan and Iran were not granted
Conference visas. One Palestinian delegate Hisham Jamjoum
was not allowed to leave Occupied Palestine by the Israelis.
IPSF general secretary Feroze Mithiborwala gave the
keynote address. Israel cannot subdue Gaza, he said, and called
Israel an apartheid state which should be treated as such. He
called for the boycott of Apartheid Israel. He stated that the
Israeli occupation of Palestine is the central geopolitical crisis of
our times and, thus, its both a moral as well as a political imper-
ative for the Indian and Asian peoples movements to play a deci-
sive role. He declared that the walls that divide us will break one
day and that our goal was a free Palestine with Jerusalem as its
capital. He was happy to hear from the Palestinian Ambassador
to India Adli Sadeq that India had co-sponsored the UN resolu-
tion and worked hard to lobby for votes. He felt the fight against
Zionism was part of a larger struggle against US and Western
Imperialism as well as Manuvad (the Hindu laws that justify caste
system in India). The Palestinian resistance is the vanguard of
the global struggle against Imperialism and Zionism, thus the
struggle for the liberation of Palestine is a struggle for the libera-
tion of the whole world. He stated that the international scenario
is changing rapidly and the Western powers are on the decline,
as Asia and other former colonized nations and continents con-
tinue to rise.
Advocate Niloufer Bhagwat was happy that the conference
was being held in Mumbai as the city had always been on the
side of the Palestinian people who she noted were determined to
find new ways to attain their freedom.
The Palestinian Ambassador in India Adli Sadeq thanked
India for its support for the Palestinian cause from the days of
Mahatma Gandhi. He praised the Government of India for acting
at the UN in concert with the spirit of the Indian people. He point-
ed out that Israel was guilty of preemptively bombing Gaza.
Palestinians were to be assaulted and then blamed too!
Rabbi Weiss (USA) of the Neturei Karta sect, who are reli-
gious Jews opposed to Zionism, declared that Judaism had been
hijacked by Zionists into a base materialism. The
Commandments of the Torah, clearly say not to steal or kill and
Israel does both. He called Israel a rogue state that had result-
ed in an endless river of blood. Jews had flourished in every
Arab and Muslim country prior to the formation of Israel and that
Jews would not be destroyed no matter what happened to Israel.
Israel was an impediment to peace, Zionism a racist and
supremacist flawed ideology.
Paul Larudee (USA), one of the founders of the movements
to end the siege of Gaza, described how Palestine has been
home to people from all over the world through the ages. He
declared that Jerusalem belongs to all of us. He urged India to be
an honest broker as the USA clearly could not be one. He was
really enthused and buoyant at the fact that the Palestine solidar-
ity movement was now breaking new ground, in a country as cru-
cial as India.
Mr. Abdullah Abdullah of Fatah thanked the GOI for sponsor-
ing the UN General Assembly resolution. President Mahmoud
Abbas had delayed this move at the UN till after the US presiden-
tial election but when Barack Obamas stance was unchanged,
President Abbas went ahead with the resolution. Most people on
this earth supported the Palestinian cause. He pitied those who
opposed the UN General Assembly resolution. Mr. Abdullah felt
that in a unipolar world the US wanted global hegemony.
Abdullah differentiated between the policies of the US govern-
ment and the people of the US, remembering and paying his trib-
ute to Rachel Corrie who was brutally murdered in Gaza by the
Israelis. He felt the solidarity movement had to be rebuilt;
Palestinians have to get their house in order and consolidate
Palestinian unity.
Former Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat felt that super capitalism
was the problem with petrodollars used to buttress Western
banks.
Songs and Slogans:
A group of singers led by the famed cultural icon, Sambhaji
Bhagat came on stage and sang songs in Marathi and Hindi
about social issues. One dealt with the colonization of the mind
by the US, no need for troops, or physical occupation of a coun-
try. They sang with fervour and the audience erupted with loud
and enthusiastic slogans like From the river to the sea, Palestine
will be free! / Palestine Zindabad! (Long Live Palestine!). A little
girl with a hammer then proceeded to demolish the Apartheid
Wall that besieged Gaza and all of Palestine to loud applause.
Session on the Colonization of Palestine
Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh from Bir Zeit University said there are
two responses to discrimination: fight or flight. The Palestinian
people were forced to flee in 1948-49 when Israel destroyed 530
towns and villages. Palestinians have a long history of resistance
from 1891 till today with 15 major uprisings. The separation wall
that Israel has built is 767 kms long; 1.5 million trees have been
uprooted; 87 % of the district of Bethlehem has been taken over
by Israeli settlements. There is apartheid in the distribution of
water, in the building of roads, in employment.
Israel is one of the largest sellers of arms to India. It has a
well-organised system to infiltrate Indian media and supply it with
pro-Israeli stories. Bilateral trade was presently $5 billion and is
expected to grow rapidly. Professor Mazin reiterated that the con-
flict in Palestine was not a religious one but a struggle of an
oppressed people regardless of religion. He was Christian and
prior to the formation of Israel Jews, Christians and Muslims lived
together without violence. He maintained that peace in
Jerusalem is necessary for peace worldwide.
Dr Haider Dukmak, a Palestinian from Lebanon, said that in
Al Quds (Jerusalem) Judaisation began with stones and is now
proceeding with increasing settlements to Judaise the whole
area. The area around the Al Aqsa mosque was being modified
with tunnels dug underneath and access to the mosque being
made increasingly difficult.
Session on Indo-Israeli ties, a betrayal of our anti-colonial
legacy
Dr Tasleem Rehmani said that the recent policies of the GOI
were not so much anti-Palestinian but pro-Israeli as economic
interests are paramount in this post-1991 unipolar world. Indian
political leadership feels that Israel is helpful to them in this
regard and in promoting Indo-US ties. A sea-change from the
days when Yasser Arafat was warmly welcomed by Indira Gandhi
he called her his sister and she had reciprocated those senti-
ments by calling him her brother. The present government would
respond to public pressure. He gave the example of the state-
ment of the Ministry of External Affairs when Gaza was bombed.
The MEAstatement was full of pious sentiments about both sides
needing to show restraint and about peace talks. Two days later
reacting to public sentiment, the Minister of External Affairs
Salman Khurshid criticized Israels use of indiscriminate force
and reiterated Indias support for the Palestinian independence
with Jerusalem as its capital.
IPSF chairman and known human rights activist Dr Suresh
Khairnar emphasized that the Palestine issue was not Islamic but
a human issue. He had been to the Palestinian camps in
Lebanon and Syria, so different from the areas of the cities that
tourists frequented. People living in these camps had been
forced into exile. On Indira Gandhi, he said that though he was
jailed by her during the Emergency, he admired her stand on
Palestine, her support for their cause never wavered. Dr Khairnar
pointed out that Ayatollah Khomeini had also been emphatic in
stating that the Palestinian issue was not an Islamic issue but a
human one.
S S Yadav, a well-known economist, affirmed that Dalits were
with Palestine as they too were suffering like the Palestinians,
their land was taken away, and they too were humiliated and dis-
criminated against.
Maulana Azhari, a respected cleric from Malegaon, first
addressed the guests from Palestine in Arabic. Switching to Hindi
he related how Indias policies had been much appreciated in the
Arab world. He was in Egypt in the late 60s when Dr Zakir
Hussain, President of India was warmly welcomed while General
Ayub Khan, though from a Muslim country, was not. He stressed
that it was the policies followed by India that were respected, not
the religion of a nation.
Session on the History of the Palestinian Resistance:
Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, wearing a kurta, said he was
from Beit Sahour near Bethlehem. He related that the first Zionist
settlement was established in Palestine in 1880. The first resist-
ance to it took place in 1881. In 1929 women led by Matiel
Moghannam protested against British policies in Palestine. The
protest was non-violent. Matiel Moghannam was called the
Palestinian Gandhi. A more widespread protest took place in the
mid-1930s. Armed resistance had erupted then. Prof Mazin said
that an oppressed people have the right, indeed an obligation, to
resist including armed resistance. He described how in the 1987
Intifada, 12 children were taken to a nearby valley where Israeli
soldiers broke their arms and legs. To exist is to resist he said.
All simple acts of day to day life like farming, going to school, as
well as arguing with soldiers, climbing the separation wall, sit-
ting in front of a bulldozer constituted such daily acts. He said
that an activist who had founded the International Solidarity
Movement was not allowed to come to India by Israeli authorities.
Professor Mazin, though holding an American passport, cannot
go to Jerusalem while an American Jew could go anywhere in
Palestine. He urged us not to get disheartened by the inaction of
governments. People change first, governments are the last to
change, he said.
Basel Mansour (Palestine) displayed a map of Palestine
which showed us how relentlessly Israel had expropriated
Palestinian land. He spoke about the wall and settlements which
are illegal according to international law. The wall isolates 29
Palestinian areas and takes away 13% of the 5600 square kms
that form the West Bank. When the wall on the border with
Jordan is completed, 37% of the land will be stolen as settle-
ments grow.
Officially there are 300 Israeli checkpoints in the West
Bank. In some areas additional checkpoints are erected every
100 meters and these are not included in the official 300 tally. A
hundred kilometers of roads have been constructed in the West
Bank for the exclusive use by the Jewish settlers. The wall cuts
villages into half, and destroys the local economy. Non-violent
resistance is an imperative as the Israeli military is very strong.
He continued, We try to keep them busy by creative non-violent
resistance. In Bilin with international support creative acts occur
every week with different themes. For instance, one week we put
mirrors in front of the soldiers so it appeared as though they were
carrying our protest signs. We have tie ourselves to olive trees,
use as a float a model of the Marmara (the ship on its way to help
Gaza which was stormed by the Israeli soldiers resulting in many
deaths). We have played tennis using a tear gas canister as a
ball. We have used cyber media. Our protest has been partially
successful in that some of the wall around Bilin has been
removed, the land reclaimed. We bring diversity of ideas to our
protest. Some Israelis also support us. We use Israeli law though
we do not trust their legal system. We use it to show how the sys-
tem functions. We have been called the new Gandhians
because of our non-violent resistance. The Israeli military has
used many weapons and ways to deter us: nightly raids, burning
houses and farms, collective punishment, arresting people
including children.
Maysoum (Palestine) began with leading us in cheering:
Palestine Zindabad! Yasser Arafat Zindabad! She spoke about
those imprisoned by Israel, at present 4700 individuals; 185
under the age of 18; 470 from Gaza, 534 from the West bank.
200 have spent more than 20 years in prison. Prison though
functions as a university where prisoners learn the history of the
area, the many past struggles, the ideas with which to confront
Israel etc. Apartheid exists even in prisons between Palestinian
and Israeli detainees. Hamas and Fatah prisoners are also seg-
regated. Since 1967, 800,000 Palestinians have been jailed by
Israel at one time or another. Upon release, prisoners are often
deported outside Palestine so they cannot visit their families. Not
many countries want them as they are considered dangerous.
She moved many in the audience to tears when she said she
could see in our eyes the love we had for Palestine and she
therefore felt that she was in Palestine!
Saeed Yaqin (Palestine), whose village was destroyed by
Israel in 1984, said that yesterday he felt he had a home again in
India. He was clearly touched by the warmth and affection of the
attendees to the conference. He remarked on the order in
Israels ideology, to kill our smile, our people, our livelihood. He
warned that all religious sites in Palestine were in a precarious
state due to Israeli neglect and their policies. The Bantustans in
Palestine were worse than in South Africa.
Wida Warde, a Palestinian who lives in Beirut, spoke elo-
quently about the Right of Return and said that one day soon,
all the millions of Palestinian refugees will march back home and
brave the Israeli bullets, but will never give up their struggle and
soon one day, Palestine will be free.
All the international delegates were feted with well-crafted
mementoes as a token of affection. The words inscribed herein
stated: We the people of India hereby honour your commitment
& sacrifice for the cause of the liberation of Palestine. This is our
common struggle against imperialism, Zionism & all forms of
racism, oppression & exploitation. It is only then that we will
achieve our common human ideal of a just & peaceful world.
Conference stresses Indo-Palestine solidarity
Weiss Mithiborwala
NATIONAL
10 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012
AFSANA RASHID, SRINAGAR
After Delhi High Court acquitted two convicts, Mohammad Ali
Bhat and Mirza Nissar Hussain, families of the duo heaved a
sigh of relief and now look forward to their rehabilitation. Bhat
and Hussain, who had been given the death penalty by trial
court for their alleged involvement in 1996 Lajpat Nagar bomb
blast case that killed 13 people and injured 38, were acquitted
by the Delhi High Court, November 22.
While celebrating the acquittal, Bhats family looks forward
to his rehabilitation. After 17 years, they now say he is inno-
cent. What about the 17 years?, asks Haji Sher Ali, his father.
A resident of Rainawari-Srinagar, Bhat was arrested in
Kathmandu-Nepal in May 1996 in connection with the blasts.
Ali said he was even denied a passport to perform Hajj on the
pretext that his son was a militant.
Hussians acquittal too has infused a new lease of life to his
family. His mother, Padsha Begum says his acquittal has
proved that he wasnt guilty of what he was framed for.
The court has commuted the death penalty of Javed
Ahmad Khan to life imprisonment. Khan, a resident of
Khanqah-e-Moula in Srinagar, is lodged in Delhis Tihar jail for
the past 16 years. My son was arrested in Ahmadabad on May
21, 1996 after he had returned from Nepal where he worked in
his uncles carpet business. These 16 years have been more
than a misery for us, says Mohammad Shafi, Khans father.
CPI (M) state secretary M Y Tarigami November 23 said such
faulty investigations not only have a telling impact on security of
innocent people but create a mockery of policing in the country.
The Court didnt utter a word about compensating the 17 pre-
cious years of their detention, says Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed
Ali Geelani, November 23.
Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said decree
reflects how the Indian political system misuses its institutions to
reap political dividends and Kashmiris are made scapegoats by
being booked in fictitious cases.
Dukhtaran-e-Millat chairperson Aasiya Andrabi stated that
the same reflects nefarious designs by which Kashmir youth and
Indian Muslims are implicated in false charges.
Meanwhile, TADA court, December 3 convicted two JKLF
men, Nazir Ahmed Sheikh alias Gul Danter and Showkat Ahmed
Khan alias Pup Waza to life imprisonment and Farooq Ahmed
Chichoo to five years rigorous imprisonment for allegedly killing a
BSF inspector in 1990. JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik
has called for a shutdown, December 10. Sheikh and Khan have
already completed more than 15 years in prison, he said.
Hurriyat consultations with stakeholders
In view of its week-long visit to Pakistan scheduled from
December 17, Hurriyat (M) led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq conduct-
ed various feedback sessions with civil society here. Mirwaiz,
November 27 said Kashmir is a tripartite issue with people of
Kashmir as its real stakeholders. But the fact remains that there
is no legal sanctity to Kashmiri being main party to issue. He
added plundering of water resources and power, too need to be
discussed. Senior Hurriyat (M) leader, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat said
Hurriyat leadership will go to Pakistan as owners, not as slaves.
Prof Bhat, December 1 added there was no question of entering
into sell-out, the amalgam will find a respectable solution to the
Kashmir issue.
Participants stressed on the Hurriyat leadership to keep the
importance of sacrifices of people in mind. UJC chairman Syed
Salahuddin, December 2 said that the visit wont be fruitful in the
absence of a consensus among separatists. Hurriyat (G) chair-
man Syed Ali Shah Geelani December 4 said he wouldnt visit
Pakistan at a time when that country is about to witness elections.
Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone November 24 said
Hurriyat has a role to play in an amicable and peaceful resolu-
tion of political issues between India and Pakistan.
Separatists warn against Guru hanging
Separatists here have warned the Government of India (GOI) of
dire consequences if it decided to hang 2001 Parliament attack
convict Mohammad Afzal Guru. Guru had been sentenced to
death in 2004. Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani, November
22 asserted if Guru is hanged, Kashmir will witness a storm.
Guru has been framed in a case where he played no role.
JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik, November 22
warned of new era of violence. Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz
Umar Farooq said, Exploitative forces are playing a big part in
the issue.
Union Minister Farooq Abdullah, November 23 said justice
has to be done. BJP and Congress general secretary, Digvijay
Singh want the government to expedite a decision on the mat-
ter.
Geelani spurns Shinde offer of talks
Reacting to Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shindes offer
of talks to separatists to know what they want Hurriyat (G)
chairman Syed Ali Geelani said it was astonishing that a person
holding charge of Home Ministry is unable to understand the
real aspirations of the people of the state. It is a mockery. New
Delhi and its agencies are deliberately issuing such statements
to mislead the world media, said Geelani, November 21,
adding disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir is a fact and
New Delhi should note that without resolving the core issue one
cant think of peace in South Asia.
Shia-Sunni clashes, curfew
Curfew was imposed here to avoid any law and order problem
after reports of clashes having erupted between two groups.
Security was beefed up after clashes broke out in Zadibal and
Hawal areas of Srinagar, November 28.
Separatists, November 29 appealed to people to maintain
calm. Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, December 4
staged a peace rally at Zadibal and Hawal to convey that there
was no room for division between two communities. Police how-
ever, stopped Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani from
leading a peace march (December 5) in the old city that wit-
nessed group clashes.
Protests were also held against objectionable inscription on a
foreign product. Protests also erupted in Nowhatta-Srinagar,
November 28 against the arrest of a few youth and some parents.
Hurriyat (G) chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani said the com-
pany that had made the inscription was based in America. So
people need to understand that it is a well-planned conspiracy.
JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik termed it as part of
conspiracy to divide Muslims in the state.
Meanwhile, mourners here were prevented from taking out
Ashura (10th Muharram) procession, November 25 by imposing
severe restrictions in various parts of city. Muharram is a month
of mourning in remembrance of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain
(AS), the beloved grandson of Prophet Mohammed (SAW).
Normal life came to standstill as all roads leading to Lal
Chowk were sealed. Pertinently, the valley is witnessing ban on
Muharram processions since the conflict started here in the early
nineties.
7 out of 10 subscriptions are through WORD OF MOUTH
You know we dont have the resources to advertise & promote ourselves, so
please ask your friends to get their copy now
THE MILLI GAZETTE
First English Newspaper of Indian Muslims. Telling the Muslim side of the story fortnight after fortnight since January 2000
Celebrations in the Valley over Delhi acquittals
CBI to probe Surankote massacre
High Court has directed CBI to probe the killing of 19 members of three
families, allegedly massacred at Surankote-Poonch, Jammu in 1998.
Disposing off a petition filed by the victim families seeking investigation
by Special Investigation Team (SIT) of CBI, the Court November 21
directed investigating agency to take over the case for investigation.
The court observed that a gruesome offence has been committed and
it was the duty of the state and authority to investigate the case.
Three families of victim had filed a petition seeking direction to the
government for reinvestigation of case by SIT or CBI and implementing
SHRC recommendations. The families contended that during the inter-
vening night of 3/4 August in 1998, 19 members comprising six males
and 13 females of three families were allegedly killed with alleged
active participation of then SSP J P Singh, Surankote, Major Gora of
9 Para Rashtriya Rifiles C/O 56 APO, Sevak Singh Additional SP
Poonch, SPOs Mohammad Younis alias Tiger, Mohammad Rafiq Gujjar
alias Pathan, and Havaldars Maqsood Ahmad and Mohammad Akbar.
The petitioners stated that police had registered an FIR 122 of 98
under various criminal sections of RPC.
Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) demanded
that CBI enquiry should lead to prosecution of all accused. The
Struggle of families continues as it is important to ensure that CBI car-
ries out a fair, speedy and impartial investigation, says Khurram
Parvez, JKCCS program coordinator.
Acquitted man takes
three dailies to court for
calling him terrorist
Alleging that he was being
labelled a terrorist in media
reports despite having been
acquitted after serving an eight-
year jail sentence, a 40-year-old
has filed writs against three Hindi
dailies. Kanpur-based Syed Wasif
Haider, who was arrested in
August 2001 on 12 charges, has
filed writs against Dainik Jagran,
Hindustan Dainik and Amar Ujala,
for running his media trial even
after his acquittal and frequently referring him as an atanki. Mr.
Haider was part of the recent delegation led by Communist Party
of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat that met
President Pranab Mukherjee and handed over a memorandum
outlining how Muslim youth were being targeted and persecuted
in terrorism-related cases.
Mr. Haider was acquitted on August 12, 2009 after serving a
sentence over charges of rioting, attacking a Provincial Armed
Constabulary vehicle, murdering an additional district magistrate
and involvement in the Swarup Nagar pressure-cooker explosion
case. According to Mr. Haider: A December 9, 2010 report in
Dainik Jagran [referred to me] as atanki Wasif, in a story spec-
ulating the Kanpur connection of the 2010 Varanasi bomb attack.
The report said the police were closely monitoring the normal
lives of terrorists who had been released from jail, their phone
records and sources of income. A similar report was published
two days later. I was not booked under TADAor POTA, yet, even
while I was under trial I was labelled an atanki. Also, the spe-
cial cells charges of sedition were dismissed by the court even
before they could be filed.So why is this media trial going on
even when the court has acquitted me in all the cases?aks Mr
Wasif. Mr. Haiders fight against the irresponsible and preju-
diced media reporting during and after his trial has affected not
only his economic standing but also his reputation. He and his
family are now supported by his father and sister.
After my release, I spent a good amount of time convincing
people of my innocence. And, to some extent, people started
trusting me again. But with these reports, they have grown sus-
picious again and I have become a social outcaste. I have no job.
Nobody wants to have any connection with me. My young
daughter also gets taunted at school, he said. Mr. Haider said
the newspapers, to whom he sent legal notices in April regarding
their reportage, were yet to respond. In September, he alleges,
Amar Ujala published a story in which his father was referred to
as a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist.
My father has won many awards in translating text. He is
also a Sahitya Akademi award winner, Mr. Haider pointed out.
Mr. Haiders defamation case against Dainik Jagran is pend-
ing in the Allahabad High Court. The papers Editor Sanjay Gupta
said he was not aware of any such case or notice. The papers
legal advisor, B.K. Mishra, also said the management had
received no such notice and it was the papers prerogative
whether to respond to any such notice.
The HR department of Amar Ujala said it had received a
notice from Mr. Haider but it could not confirm the content of the
news reports as alleged by Mr. Haider.On Tuesday, Mr. Haider
filed a petition against Amar Ujala in the Supreme Court under
Article 32.
Cases against Hindustan Dainik and Amar Ujala are pending
with the Special Judicial Magistrate. Hindustan Dainik was not
available for comment. Rihai Manch, a civil society group work-
ing for the release of innocent persons arrested in terror cases,
said compensation and rehabilitation must be ensured to such
innocent undertrials and proper enquiry called against police offi-
cers who wrongfully implicated such persons. (Omar Rashid,
thehindu.com)
12 people sentenced to RI for role in Kandhamal riots
Phulbani (Orissa): A fast track court on 27 November sentenced
12 people to six years imprisonment after they were convicted of
being involved in the violence during 2008 riots in Odishas
Kandhamal district. Additional session judge BN Mishra of fast
track court-II also imposed Rs 5,000 each as fine on the convicts
in connection with arson, rioting and house torching at Jarkinaju
village under Raikia area on August 25, 2008. The court ordered
that in case of non-payment of the fine amount, each convict
would be required to undergo an additional jail term of one year.
However, 10 others who had been accused in the case were
acquitted due to lack of evidence. The tribal-dominated
Kandhamal district had witnessed largescale violence in the
aftermath of the killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati
and four of his followers on Janmasthami day on August 23,
2008. About 38 people were killed and hundreds of houses and
places of worship torched during the communal violence in the
district and elsewhere, sources said.
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012 11
ANALYSIS
Ironically, a little too much importance is being given to the
role of Muslim vote in the Gujarat assembly elections. With
Muslims being around 10 percent of the states population
and as elections are viewed as primarily a key battle between
the Congress and BJP, in essence, the Muslim vote cannot
be expected to have any major impact on either partys polit-
ical fate. Besides, both parties are well aware that their suc-
cess depends on who the majority community decides to
favour. In this context, neither is taking risk of losing their
crucial votes. This explains the minimal importance given in
selecting Muslim candidates by parties in the fray.
Chances of a Muslim candidate winning elections in a
state which has been dominated by Hindutva-brand of poli-
tics are slim. The present Lok Sabha does not have a single
Muslim from Gujarat. Not surprisingly, BJP has continued
the anti-Muslim policy it has followed since 1995, thus it is
not fielding any Muslim candidate in these assembly elec-
tions. Political caution has prompted Congress to field less-
er number of Muslim candidates, four compared to seven it
fielded last time. The present 182-member Gujarat assembly
has only four Muslims while it should have over 18.
Now, it is to be watched whether communal polarization
displays itself strongly or not in these elections. Without
doubt, the Congress decision of fielding Shweta Bhatt
against Narendra Modi from Maninagar constituency partly
reflects the partys attempt to awaken secular conscience of
Gujarati voters. Shweta is wife of Sanjeev Bhatt, a suspend-
ed police officer, who has accused Modi for his negative role
in Gujarat-carnage (2002). Clearly, while Sanjeev is engaged
in a legal battle against Modi, his wife has decided, with sup-
port of Congress to fight against him in the political domain.
With Modi having a strong base in Maninagar and entire
Gujarat, prospects of his facing a close contest from Shweta
may be viewed as negligible. Yet, Shweta and the Congress
party are not expected to take part in this political drama
without expecting some gains. Had Congress selected any
party worker, with strong roots in Gujarat, to fight against
Modi, most probably the candidate would not have received
as much media attention as Shweta has.
Though an advocate by profession and also a classical
dancer, till she filed her nomination papers to contest from
Maninagar, Shweta was more of homemaker and hardly
active in public life. Had she not been Sanjeevs wife, who
has dared to challenge Modi legally, in all probability, the
Congress would not have selected her.
By pushing Shweta into the political fray against Modi,
Congress has succeeded in compelling people to once again
reflect on the horrific communal phase Gujarat went through
in 2002 under Modi. This may be viewed as a multi-purpose
strategy. The primary purpose is to incite a fear of extreme
communalism that the state faced in 2002. Congress is to a
degree hopeful that this may help at least secular Gujaratis
to give another thought to voting in favour of Modi and his
party. Here, it may be noted, with Modi at helm, BJP has won
two assembly polls after the Gujarat carnage, in 2002 and
2007.
Nevertheless, Congress is banking on Shweta to at least
succeed in adding a little more fuel and fire to the anti-Modi
campaign than the party could in 2002 as well as in 2007. The
fact that she is wife of a suspended police officer is likely to
make Gujaratis more inquisitive about giving at least an ear
to what she has to say. From this angle, within a short peri-
od, Shweta is getting more media attention than most other
candidates fighting the assembly polls.
If Shweta fares well, even marginally, this would help
Congress in feeling more confident about planning its polit-
ical strategy for the next parliamentary polls. This also indi-
cates that Shweta has been deliberately fielded by Congress
to contest assembly polls with an eye on the parliamentary
elections. The partys key agenda is to ensure that her cam-
paign plays a significant role in setting the stage for the per-
formance of Congress in the Lok Sabha polls.
There is a view that the current infighting within BJP
ranks and the saffron brigade over Modis political ambitions
may play a greater role against him in Gujarat than the
Congress campaign, including that of Shweta. Though sev-
eral party leaders have cautiously expressed that Modi is
their prime ministerial candidate, some are known to have
strong reservations against him heading the government if
BJP and its alliance win next parliamentary elections.
The nature of Modis electoral performance is strongly
dependent on the campaign strategy of his own party work-
ers and its associate groups, including the saffron brigade.
It is to be watched whether infighting within his own camp
over his national ambitions helps Modi in the assembly elec-
tions or not. Regarding Congress, the party has fielded
Shweta displaying its secular card. It may or may not suc-
ceed in Gujarat, but the Congress is hopeful of this political
strategy paying dividends in the parliamentary elections
when the Muslim vote will assume greater significance.
Speaki ng Out
Gujarat Elections
& the Muslim Vote
NI LOFAR SUHRAWARDY
TAHIR MAHMOOD
Arecent ruling of the High Court of Jammu
& Kashmir on the Islamic procedure for
extra-judicial divorce by Muslim men has
raised many eyebrows in and outside the
state. As usual, it is being described as
un-Islamic and hence an unwarranted
tampering with the Muslim religious law.
The ruling given in the case of
Mohammad Naseem Bhat vs. Bilquees
Akhtar by Justice Hasnain Masoodi relates to the deserted
Muslim wifes claim for maintenance against her husband. The
parties were married in August 2002 and had a baby girl. The
marriage failed and Bilquees started living separate with her
daughter. In January 2006, she filed a claim of maintenance for
herself and the daughter, alleging that her husband had mistreat-
ed her and turned her out of the matrimonial home mainly for the
reason that she had given birth to a female child. The husband
took the plea that he had divorced her more than a month earlier
and hence she was no more entitled to get any maintenance from
him. The lower court accepted the mans divorce plea and, reject-
ing her claim for maintenance for herself, directed him to pay a
monthly amount of maintenance only for the daughter. On her
appeal, the first appellate court set aside the lower courts deci-
sion describing it as perverse, illegal and passed in a mechani-
cal manner and directed it to fix a proper maintenance allowance
for her. The man then went in appeal to the High Court with a plea
that the lower courts decision be upheld, alleging the first appel-
late courts action as an abuse of the court process.
In his eloquent judgment, Justice Masoodi stated that under
the Kashmir Shariat Act 2007, Muslims are to be governed by the
Shariat law. He added that the primary sources of that law are the
Qur'an and Sunnah. Raising a question whether a husband has
an absolute and unqualified power to pronounce divorce on his
wife and wriggle out of his obligations under the marriage con-
tract?, he asserted that to find out the answer to the question,
and manner in which marriage may be dissolved or the marriage
contract can come to an end, we have to go to the fundamental
sources of Shariat law. Referring to various Qur'anic verses and
Prophets traditions, he made an admirable attempt to bring out
the significance and sanctity of marriage in Islam and explain the
proper manner for dissolving it as laid down in the Qur'an.
Referring to the so-called forms of talaq as mentioned in the
books on Muslim law, he described the talaq-ul-bidat as a med-
icine that was conceived to cure the menace of multiple divorces
at one time which turned out to be more lethal than the disease it
was to cure.
In the light of his exposition the true Islamic law of marriage
and divorce, the judge concluded that a husband to wriggle out
of his obligations under marriage including one to maintain his
wife, claiming to have divorced her, has merely to prove that he
has pronounced talaq or executed a divorce deed but has to com-
pulsorily plead and prove that he has complied with the condi-
tions and procedure laid down for talaq in the Qur'an and Sunnah,
viz., (i) that effort was made by the representatives of husband
and wife to intervene and settle the dispute and disagreement
between the parties and that such attempts for reasons not attrib-
utable to the husband did not bear any fruit, (ii) that he had a valid
reason and genuine cause to pronounce divorce on his wife, (iii)
that talaq was pronounced in the presence of two witnesses
endued with justice, and (iv) that talaq was pronounced during
the period of tuhr. As the man had failed to give evidence of all
this, the learned judge dismissed his appeal and directed the
lower court to hear the case again and, pending the final decision,
award interim maintenance to the wife.
I would not like to make any comment on the merits or demer-
its of Justice Masoodis observations, but must clarify that all he
has said in the judgment has not been said by an Indian court for
the first time. Besides some High Court decisions saying more or
less the same thing, in several rulings given since 2002 the
Supreme Court of India has ruled that a husbands statement in
response to his wifes maintenance claim that he has divorced
her cannot be accepted on the face of it and that he has to satis-
fy the court that he did comply with the conditions and procedure
for divorce laid down in authentic Islamic texts.
The Kashmir verdict is in accord with the law settled by the
apex court of the country and could not, under the system of judi-
cial precedents under Indian law, have gone against it. Anybody
who wants to dispute the Kashmir ruling has to question the legal-
ity of the earlier Supreme Court decisions. But were they really
wrong? Read what an eminent scholar of the subcontinent the
late Maulana Umar Ahmad Usmani has to say in his celebrated
work, the Fiqhul-Quran (vol I, Karachi, 1981):
As Nikah is not just a symbolic expression the mere utter-
ance of which can create marital relationship but a procedure
which must be fully followed to bring a marriage into existence,
exactly the same way Talaq is not just a word the mere utterance
of which will terminate the marriage but a procedure which must
be meticulously followed. Only if all the prescribed steps of this
procedure have been duly taken, will the marriage be dissolved.
This procedure has not been laid down by us but by God of
Muhammad the Prophet.
(This column will now appear once in a month)
Chances of a Muslim candidate winning elec-
tions in a state which has been dominated by
Hindutva-brand of politics are slim. The present Lok
Sabha does not have a single Muslim from Gujarat.
Not surprisingly, BJP has continued the anti-Muslim
policy it has followed since 1995, thus it is not field-
ing any Muslim candidate in these assembly elec-
tions. Political caution has prompted Congress to
field lesser number of Muslim candidates, four com-
pared to seven it fielded last time. The present 182-
member Gujarat assembly has only four Muslims
while it should have over 18.
The Kashmir verdict is in accord with the
law settled by the apex court of the country
and could not, under the system of judicial
precedents under Indian law have gone against
it. Anybody who wants to dispute the Kashmir
ruling has to question the legality of the earlier
Supreme Court decisions.
FRANKLY SPEAKING - 4
Kashmir High Court Ruling on Talaq
MUSINGS
Pigeonholing
Muslim Community
TOI reported on Dec. 7 that a 33-year-old
Muslim woman in the UK beat her son to death
for not memorising Quranic verses. Just a cou-
ple of days prior to this sensational news, Pune
Miror reported that a 32-year-old Muslim
woman in France named her son Jihad (cour-
tesy: The Daily Mail, UK).
I seriously doubt the veracity of both the
news items because it reeks of flagrant hatred
for a community. The entire world is suffering
from Islamophobia. The western as well as
Indian media are openly prejudiced against this
community and theyre leaving no stone
unturned to sully its image by projecting a wrong
and malicious picture. Islam has become an
Aunt Sally. The rest of the world has stereotyped
Islam to the extent of pigeonholing and pushing
it to a corner. When a community or a race is
marginalised in this ignominious manner, its
bound to bounce back with a renewed vigour
and verve. The almost proverbial line: Islam
zinda hota hai har Karbala ke bad (Islam is
reborn after every Karbala) is applicable to the
cornered Muslim community all over the world.
Itll be advisable to remember the Persian
adage: Tang aamad, ba-jang aamad (Pushed to
the wall, one retaliates belligerently). Its time we
learnt a lesson from history and stopped this
stereotyping of Muslims as violent followers. We
must ask ourselves, who are actually violent in
words and deeds.
Ill-omen for free thinking
Are we living in a fascist and totalitarian state
where even innocuous comments are censored
and the persons are put behind the bars?
Wheres much hyped freedom of speech and
expression? The two girls in Bombay just voiced
the sentiments of lakhs of people who had to
suffer because of complete bandh in Bombay
and Poona following the death of Bal Thackeray.
These twenty-something girls must be felicitated
for giving a definite expression to the seething
anger of innumerable citizens. What the elders
couldnt do, theyve done.
Using a social medium like Facebook for
reaching out to more like-minded people is per-
fectly alright. What George Orwell depicted
about the futuristic fear of the state in his
prophetic novels Cancer Ward and August
1984 seems to be chillingly true in this age of
over-sensitivity and unconstitutional interfer-
ence with the lives of common people. Its a pal-
pable Kafkaesque uncertainty we all seem to be
living in. This certainly doesnt bode well for the
champions of fearless thinking.
SUMIT PAUL
Its time we learnt a lesson
from history and stopped this
stereotyping of Muslims as violent
followers. We must ask ourselves,
who are actually violent in words
and deeds.
SHAMOEL AHMAD, noted short story and fic-
tion writer of India and Ataul Haque Qasmi,
renowned poet of humour of Pakistan were
honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award in
recognition of their valuable services to Urdu
language and literature by world famous liter-
ary organisation Majlis Farogh-e Urdu Adab,
Doha (Qatar). Another Award, Khosoosi
(Special) Farogh-e Urdu Adab Award was
given to famous Bollywood actor Naseeruddin
Shah for his pivotal role of poet Ghalib in
famous Indian T. V. serial Mirza Ghalib. In
India the jury which selected Shamoel Ahmad
for this Award was chaired by Gopi Chand
Narange and in Pakistan the jury selecting
poet Ataul Haque Qasim for this Award was
chaired by Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi. The
Award-giving function was held at Dohas
Sheraton Hotel and attended by Qatars
important dignitaries, ambassadors of India
and Pakistan and other important personali-
ties and poets. A mushaira was also held on
this occasion in which poets of India and
Pakistan recited their poems.
Ghalib Awards 2012 were announced by
Ghalib Awards Sub-committee in its meeting
held on 30 Novemebr and chaired by Prof.
Siddiqur Rahman Qidwai: Prof. ATIQULLAH
of Delhi was honoured with Fakhruddin Ali
Ahmad Ghalib Award for Urdu criticism and
research; Prof. AAZAR MEDAKHT SAFWI
(Aligarh) was honoured with Fakhruddin Ali
Ahmad Ghalib Award for Persian criticism and
research; Dr. MUHAMMAD ZAKIR (Delhi)
honoured with Ghalib Award for Urdu prose.
KRISHN KUMAR TOOR (Dharam Shala) hon-
oured with Ghalib Award for Urdu poetry; Prof.
NOORUL AIN SIDDIQUI (Mumbai) honoured
with Hum Sub Ghalib Award for Urdu drama
and Prof. KALEEM Aajiz (Patna) honoured
with Ghalib Award for overall services to Urdu
literature. These Awards, consisting of Rs.
75,000, a medal and a certificate each will be
given to the awardees at Jashn-e Ghalib func-
tion to be held in Delhi on 21 December.
World famous painter and artist, 90-year old
SYED HAIDAR RAZA was honoured by the
government of Jammu & Kashmir with Award
consisting of a certificate and a shawl in
recognition of his priceless services to art at a
function held at India International Centre at
New Delhi. Haidar Raza spent a large part of
his life in foreign countries, mostly in France.
He returned to India about a couple of years
ago.
Dr. TAUQEER ALAM FALAHI, Associate
Professor of AMUs Department of Theology
was honoured with a cheque of Rs. 20,000
and a commendation certificate for his
research treatise at the Golden Jubilee cele-
brations of Jamiatul Falah, Bilarya Ganj
(Azamgarh). The cheque was presented to
him by Saeedur Rahman Azmi Nadwi.
Dr. SOMAYYA, Principal of Thassim Beevi
Abdul Kader College, Kilakarai (Tamil Nadu)
was honoured with Best Social Worker Award
for Womens Welfare by the government of
Tamil Nadu. In addition to being the Principal,
she managed the welfare activities of the
N.G.O. Seethakathi and raised Rs. 18.41 lakh
to meet the expenses of studies of 840 girls
through Muslim Women Aid Society. She also
worked against intoxication and made
arrangements for de-addiction treatment of
men and reunited their broken families. She
also organised training of women in acquacul-
ture (fish breeding etc.) to enable them sup-
plement family income, and created aware-
ness about small family. She was also a mem-
ber of National Commission for Minorities
Educational Institutions, New Delhi.
AWARDS
MAULANAAFZAALUL HAQ JAUHAR QASMI, a
great religious scholar and journalist, president of
Markazi Jamiatul Ulama-e Hind and Abna-e
Qadeem, Darul Uloom Deoband died at his home
town in Azamgarh district on 30 November at the
age of 89 years. He served in different capacities
at different places like teacher in Ghosi,
Muradabad etc., as Sheikhul Hadees, Rector of
Gorakhpurs Darul Uloom, Madrasa Reyazul
Uloom, Jaunpur district etc. etc. He was also
associated with Jamiatul Ulama-e Hind for many
years. He also wrote many books in Urdu and
Arabic. He leaves behind five sons and two
daughters.
Bahrul Uloom Mufti Abdul Mannan Azmi, great
religious scholar, expert on Islamic jurisprudence,
author, poet, orator and Arabic-Urdu translator
died at Azamgarh on 29 November at the age of
80 years. Born at Mubarakpur (Azamgarh), after
completing his education he was a teacher at
Jamia Asharfia, Mubarakpur for about 35 years
after which he taught in different capacities in
famous madrasas at Mau and Ghosi. An author
and translator of more than 20 books from Arabic
to Urdu, he was honoured with many titles, hon-
ours and awards including Imam Ahmad Raza
Award, Noori Award, Qibla-e Aalam Award etc. On
one occasion he was weighed with silver coins. A
collection of his fatwas running into several vol-
umes and titled Bahrul Uloomhas been published.
He was laid to rest at his native place Mubarakpur.
MAULANA HAKEEM MUHAMMAD ISLAM
ANSARI, founder of Jamia Arabia Noorul Islam
and freedom fighter died on 1 December at the
age of about 96 years. A good physician and an
expert nabbaz (pulse feeler), he was also an
author of about two dozen books. In his madrasa
he had been teaching the Quran, Hadees and
Fiqh (jurisprudence) for about 60 years. He leaves
behind six daughters (no sons) and a number of
grandsons.
Dr. (Nawab) KAZIM ALI KHAN, a leading
researcher, a man of letters and literary critic died
of heart attack in Lucknow on 3 December at the
age of 74 years. Educated at Lucknow and AMU
Aligarh he started his career as a lecturer in Shia
College, and Lucknow University. He was a great
researcher and mercia composer and did
research and creative work on Ghalib, Anees,
Dabeer etc. An author of about 35 books, he also
published an Urdu daily Aag. He leaves behind
wife, two sons and one daughter.
MUHAMMAD YAHYA, a popular social worker of
Old Delhi died of cancer on 3 December. He
leaves behind one son who is a journalist, one
daughter, five sisters and three brothers. Many top
police officers of Old Delhi in addition to local polit-
ical leaders and large number of people attended
his funeral.
MAULANA ABU RAIHAN AHMAD NOORI, a
Kannad writer and translator died recently in
Bangalore at the age of 92 years. He belonged to
the Beary community of Mangalore and had
migrated to Bangalore in early 1980s. His most
important work is Divya Quran, translation of the
Quran in Kannad language. His book Maikala, a
description of Beary community and culture is his
master piece. He also translated more than 20
books into Kannad language. He was honoured
with Beary Sahitya Academy Award in 2010. He is
survived by three sons and two daughters.
Prof. K. A. JALEEL, former Vice Chancellor of
Calicut University, a renowned academician and
author died at Kozhikode (Kerala) at the age of 90
years. He devoted his life in eradicating educa-
tional backwardness of Muslims of Malabar and
their educational progress and achievements dur-
ing the time he was V. C. of Calicut University and
Principal of Farook College was indeed impres-
sive. He was also the founder Chairman of Social
Advancement Foundation of India.
Mrs. RAHEEMA RANA BAKSHI, a popular Urdu
author of South India was found murdered (by
unknown person) by her husband in her house in
Belgaum. She was a journalist also and was a reg-
ular columnist in Urdu journals like Daily Salar and
some others. Two of her works Bahar-e Raana
and Ramzan ki Raanaiyan have so far been pub-
lished. She was 64 and leaves behind her hus-
band, three sons and two daughters.
MAULANA KHALID SAIFULLAH RAH-
MANI, general secretary of Islamic Fiqh
Academy has been nominated a member of
International Islamic Fiqh Academy. Makkah
which functions under Muslim World
League. Presently head of Mahad Islami,
Hyderabad, he has written about 60 books
so far. He is the second Indian to be nomi-
nated to the International Islamic Fique
Academy after Maulana Abul Hasan Ali
Nadwi.
SYED ASIF IBRAHIM, a 1977 batch I.P.S.
officer of Madhya Pradesh Cadre has been
appointed new Director of Intelligence
Bureau (I.B.). He is the first Muslim officer to
head the countrys premier intelligence
agency. His appointment is in place of
Nehchal Sandhu who retires on 31
December. Ibrahims new assignment is for
two years from 1 January 2013 when he will
formally take over his new post. He has
taken over as O.S.D. in I.B. on 1 December.
AFZAL AMANULLAH, at present Additional
Secretary in Dept. of Consumers affairs,
Food & Public Distribution, has been
appointed Director General of Bureau of
Indian Standard (formerly Indian Standard
Institution). He took over his new post on 19
November. Aman of Economics, he did B. A.
(Hons.) from St. Stephens College, got
Masters Degree from Delhi School of
Economics and Masters Degree in Public
Administration from Harvard University.
While he was head of Bihar governments
Water Resources Department, it was under
his leadership and guidance that for the first
time there was no breach in the 3643 kms.
embankment over various rivers flowing into
the state. It was also during his tenure that a
record 13.83 lakh hectares were brought
under Kharif cultivation through irrigation
network of canals which is an all-time
record.
MAULANA MUHAMMAD WALI RAHMANI,
noted religious scholar, man of letters, histo-
rian, expert on Islamic jurisprudence and
exegesist and secretary of All India Muslim
Personal Law Board was honoured with
honorary Doctorate Degree by Sri Lankas
International University at Colombo, along
with other specialists in different sciences at
the universitys seminar hall on 25
November. He was conferred this degree in
recognition of his important role in the edu-
cational progress of India. It was for the first
time that Sri Lankas International University
had conferred this Degree on any religious
scholar.
MAULANA QARI OBAIDULLAH KHAN
FAIZI, a teacher in Madrasa Faizul Uloom,
Rampur is among the four Qaris of India who
have been selected by Saudi government
for participation in World Qirat Competition
being organised by Saudi governments min-
istry of Auqaf Islamia affairs. The competi-
tion will be held from 2 December onwards.
E. AHAMED, minister of state for external
affairs and Muslim League leader and K. M.
Qadir Mohiuddin of Tamil Nadu have been
unanimously re-elected President and
General Secretary respectively of Indian
Union Muslim League at the Partys 2-day
National Working Committee meeting held
at Kozi Kode.
AZAM KHAN of Faridabad who is a B.B.A.
(1st year) student of this citys Al Falah
School of Engineering & Technology is
emerging as a rising star on the horizon of
Indian cricket. In the North Zone Inter-
University Cricket Tournament held at
Aligarh Muslim Universitys Athletics ground
while playing for Rohtaks Maharishi
Dayanand University against Rajouris Baba
Ghulam Shah Badshah University on 28
November he scored unbeaten 214 runs
and thus broke the 212 not out scored by
Virat Kholi, now an Indian Test cricketer, in
2009-10 while playing for Delhi University.
Azams 214 not out on 126 balls included 25
fours and 10 sixes.
NEWSMAKERS
12 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012
MEN & WOMEN IN NEWS OBITUARIES
Mumbai : Tahir Wagle, a 62-year-old resident of
Mazgaon, is still waging a relentless battle since the
last 20 years to file an FIR against Byculla police offi-
cials who shot dead his son Shahnawaz Wagle on
January 10, 1993.
On one hand, the police claims that Shahnawaz was
shot while being part of a rioting mob while on the other
side, Wagle's family maintains that Shahnawaz was
dragged out of his home in Pathan Chawl, Mazgaon and
shot at point blank range in the compound in front of their
neighbours.
Inspite of an eyewitness, Yasmin Wagle, elder sis-
ter of the victim who had seen a police constable shoot-
ing Shahnawaz from the balcony of second floor where
the Wagle family resides, the police has since refused
to register a case. The day when Shahnawaz was killed
his father Tahir was in Ratnagiri. "Early morning on
January 10, 1993, a curfew was declared and we were
at home. Then suddenly many officers came to our chawl and
arrested 81 persons including my son Shahnawaz. I requested
and begged police officers to leave my son and in return the offi-
cers beat me with the stick", said Akhtari Wagle, 58, mother of
Shahnawaz.
Akhtari added that my daughter Yasmin who had seen the
whole incident from the balcony called saying that the police had
shot Shahnawaz. Kishore Mabkar was poking my son at the
place of the gun shot injury with his rifle's bayonet again and
again, as my son lay on the ground, said Akhtari.
After Shahnawaz was shot, the mother and the sister
begged police officers to hand over the body to them. "But the
officers took the body of Shahnawaz and dumped it in the JJ hos-
pital", said Akhtari.
The Srikrishna Commission in its report submitted in
February 1998, had referred the killing of Shahnawaz
as a "cold blooded murder" by police officers and had
asked for a special investigation into it.
Tahir said, "We decided to file a complaint against
the police after four years as my wife and my daugh-
ter were mentally shocked seeing Shahnawaz dying
in front of them. And the day when I decided to regis-
ter an FIR against the police everyone started mis-
guiding us".
Some four years back, Tahir received the post-mortem
report of Shahnawaz from JJ hospital at the behest of MLA
Bala Nandgaonkar who asked JJ hospital officials to provide
him the report. Some four months back, Tahir decided to file
a writ petition in the high court. Wagle family approached Abu
Asim Azmi, the Samajwadi president who assured that finan-
cial aid would be given to the family by him in filing the writ
petition seeking an FIR by CBI against police officers and Rs
25 lakh compensation. He also hired a lawyer for them. The
petition filed by Akhtari Wagle through her lawyer advocate Ejaz Naqvi,
stated the whole incident and requested the court seeking an FIR by CBI
and investigating the role of some Byculla police officers and their superi-
ors, including DCPK LBishnoi, ACPJadhav, SPI Ulhas Patankar, PI B B
Patil, PI Vaivle, PI Bhalme, PSI Phartade, PSI Ram Desai, PSI Gora
Sawant, along with other police staff of Byculla police station. (Excerpted
from Zeeshan Shaikh, freepressjournal.in)
WAGLES STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE
MG CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi: A reception was held here at the central office of the All India Muslim Majlis-e
Mushawarat in the honour of noted Urdu journalist Muhammad Ahmad Kazmi who was
released on bail from jail after eight months last month in the case of the terror attack on
an Israeli diplomatic car last March. It is widely believed that a case was fabricated to
implicate him. The function was chaired by noted journalist Iftikhar Geelani who too was
similarly implicated in a false case a few years ago and was released after similar inter-
vention by civil society and media organisations.
AIMMM president Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan introduced the guest and said in his remarks
that the millat has shown a spectacular unity in standing with Journalist Kazmi in his hour
of trial. He said we believe he is innocent and we are waiting for the final judgment of the
court.
Journalist Kazmi offered a background of his professional work since 1983 when he
started working for IRNA and later for IRIB and Iran Radio. He also worked for the state
television Door Darshan as a newscaster as well as a reporter and in that capacity toured
Iraq extensively during the American war on Iraq in 2003. His weekly columns were car-
ried by some 80 Urdu papers across India and abroad and these were very critical of
Israel and the US. He was arrested without warrant on 6 March this year as he came out
of the India Islamic Cultural Centre. He said some 100 protests were held in Delhi and
other parts of India against his arrest which led to a cohesion in the Muslim community as
all came out in his support. He said he has forgotten all his pain when he saw this unity in
the millat and he is ready to go to jail again if it serves the millats unity. He said as a result
of his ordeal, his children suddenly grew up and now they are offering him advice. He said
that just as I believe in Allah, I believe that I will be exonerated from all charges which are
fake. Kazmi said that he thinks that he was arrested for three reasons: 1. to defame Iran;
2. to damage India-Iran relations and 3. to warn people who wrote and spoke against
Israel and the US to beware as they too will be dealt with like Kazmi.
He said that there are many people languishing in jails on similar fake case but they
are too poor to hire a good lawyer. There is another problem: some lawyers take money
from the accused and work for the agencies. He met such people in Tihar Jail, like
Engineer Tariq who was drawing a salary of Rs 40,000 per month and now he does not
know what his future will be. Likewise there is a terror-accused who was studying in
Standard XII and he is not able to realise what has happened to him. He said that the peo-
ple already incarcerated in jail are being implicated under Section 120B in terror-cases
which take place while they are in jails. He said as soon as someone is arrested other
agencies hasten to meet him and in no time he is implicated in umpteen terror cases
across the country.
He said this war on terror is a national and international plan to terrorise Muslims. We
must not get scared and should come to the streets once such an arrest takes place and
fight the case legally.
He said that the media was parroting whatever agencies wanted them to but all this
changed once the chargesheet was filed. Times of India had claimed that Iran
Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) are involved in the attack but it apologised next day.
Journalsist Iftikhar Geelani said that the war on terror is continuing with vengeance
and the proof is that UAPA has been further strengthened. He said insecurity is being
manufactured and terrorists are made by informers of police and intelligence agencies.
They come to Muslim localities and ensnare Muslim youth who are later arrested while the
informer vanishes. He narrated many cases where innocents were falsely implicated in
cases and sent to jails for years. He said that in his own case a Hindustan Times journal-
ist (Nitu Sharma) reported in her newspaper that Geelani has confessed in the court that
he is an ISI agent while she was not present in the court.
Other speakers included Muhammad Ahmad, Secretary of Jamaate Islami Hind,
Akhlaq Ahmad, Secretary of APCR and Mushtaq Ahmad Alig Advocate.
SPECIAL REPORT
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012 13
Reception for Kazmi at Mushawarat
MG/Yusuf
Babri martyrdom
remembered
Many protests were organised on 6 December across
the country against the demolition of the Babri
Mosque 20 years ago and the political and judicial
delay to solve the issue and penalise the criminals
who demolished the historic mosque. One such
protest was organised at Jamia Nagar with the initia-
tive of the youth leader Amanatullah Khan. Leaders of
milli organisations like the All India Muslim Majlis-e
Mushawarat and Jamaate Islami Hind, Lok Janshakti
Party as well as local community organisations partic-
ipated in this protest. Zafarul-Islam Khan of the
AIMMM said that such protests are necessary to pro-
tect hundreds of other threatened mosques which the
communalists brasenly claim to be standing on the
sites of temples.
In Lucknow, milli organisations organised a simi-
lar protest in whcih Prof. Mustafa Sherwani, INLs
Muhammad Sulaiman and Ulama Councils Aamir
Rashadi participated. Speakers demanded quick jus-
tice to the criminals who demolished the mosque
despite assurances to the National Integration
Council and the Supreme Court of India..
S
h
a
u
r
y
a
d
iw
a
s
Twnety envoys of Arab countries called on BJP presi-
dent Nitin Gadkari on 8 November in an apparent
attempt to engage with the party and figure out its
agenda in case the BJP wins the next general elec-
tions.
Gadkari hosted 16 ambassadors and four other
envoys from the countries at his residence for a discus-
sion they had sought on issues such as the BJPs plans
for the next parliamentary session, its agenda on the
external front and the BJPs outlook towards the Arab world.
The envoys represented Djibouti, Qatar, Bahrain, Somalia, the UAE, Palestine, Kuwait,
Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, League of Arab States,
Lebanon, Libya and Oman.
Gadkari is believed to have referred to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDAs governments poli-
cies and assured them that the BJP maintains the same outlook towards the region.
Sources said he also impressed upon the envoys that vested political interests had brand-
ed the BJP anti-minorities while the party firmly believed in social harmony. Gadkari is learnt
to have stressed that none of the policies of the NDA regime had been anti-minority, nor had any
of the BJP-ruled states adopted anti-minority policies. The envoys reportedly apprised Gadkari
about the developments in Syria and Sudan, seeking the BJPs support for the Arab Cause.
Arab envoys call on Gadkari to gauge BJP thinking
Batla House, Delhi
Lucknow
Jantar Mantar, Delhi
COMMUNITY NEWS
14 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012
Centre for Deccan Studies at MANUU
Hyderabad: Indias first Centre for Deccan Studies has been
opened at Maulana Azad National Urdu University. This Centre is
named after Haroon Khan Sherwani, a scholar and historian who
has done extensive work on various aspect of the Deccan, its his-
tory and composite culture etc. This Centre was inaugurated by
William Dalrymple, noted author who also delivered a lecture on
this occasion, on The Syncretic Civilization of the Deccan.
Honorary Director of this Centre Salma Ahmad Farooqi said on
this occasion that Deccan Studies Centre is specially important
because it aims at developing as a research and resource centre
which would facilitate scholars in undertaking research on Andhra
Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Student asked not to come to school with his beard
New Delhi: Azad Mansoori, a devout Muslim, is a student of 9th
class (Section E) of government school in Yamuna Vihar (B-2),
Delhi. He sports a beard. Though many teachers of the school did
not like a bearded student in this school, no one had asked him
to get his beard shaved. A new Principal took over charge of this
school about a month ago. When he saw Azad Mansoori, he
asked him to get his beard shaved before coming to the school
next day. Azad, unwilling to shave off his beard, told his father
Zahid Mansoori about the Principals order. Zahid, though sad at
the Principals order however advised his son to go to school with-
out shaving off his beard. When the teachers saw him again with
a beard, they complained to the Principal who sternly warned him
not to come to school again if he doesnt shave off his beard.
Azad again told his father about the Principals warning. His father
met the MLA of his area, Hasan Ahmad and told about the
Principals warning. Hasan Ahmad met Deputy Director
R. N. Sharma and informed him the whole story and requested
him to warn the Principal not to act arbitrarily and in violation of
the Constitution which guarantees religious freedom and prac-
tices.
Distribution of loans to madrasa teachers & employees
Madhubani: A function was held at the Bank of India lawns here
on 15 November in which loans to 107 teachers and employees
of the adjacent madrasa were given. In this function Bank officials
including Deputy General Manager Jitendra Kumar Shrivastav,
Manager Sanjiv Kumar Sinha etc. and some Muslim leaders and
Ulama including JDU leader Zaheer Parsonvi, Madrasa
Ahmadiyas Principal and district president of Madrasa Shikchhak
Sangh Maulana Afaq Rahmani, Sanghs secretary Muhammad
Husain and others were present. Maulana Matiur Rahman Falahi
apprised the Bank officials of the financial difficulties and pitiable
condition of madrasa teachers and employees. D.G.M. in reply
said that in this camp loans have been given to teachers and
employees under Personal Scheme and more amounts, even a
maximum amount of loans prescribed under this scheme can also
be given if these teachers or employees want to start small scale
business or if they want for other necessary purposes on the con-
dition that loans or instalments can be repaid on time. He said that
after all, this is our business and we have no hesitation in giving
loans to them either for their personal requirements or for any
other plan or scheme provided the amounts are returned on time.
Other officials including Pravin Kumar and Shailendra Kumar
said that they fully understand the financial difficulties they (teach-
ers etc.) face and this step has been taken by the Bank for their
convenience. ADGM said that SDGMTIM amounts being given by
the government for promotion of education in madrasas can be
transferred to Madrasa account, which could not be done earlier.
He further said that all banks adopt one or more institution/s,
organisation/s and spend amounts for their upkeep and / or pro-
motion. He said that he would like to make an appeal to DGM that
he also should adopt some madrasa of this district and help in
their development, particularly those madrasas in which there are
more girl students. Zaheer Personvi said on this occasion while
praising the bank authorities that this was for the first time in this
government tenure that camps in its premises have been held for
helping poor teachers and employees of a Madrasa by giving
loans for their better prospects.
HRD minister assures fecilitation of AMU Kishanganj centre
Kishanganj: Lok Sabha M.P. from Kishan Ganj Maulana Asrarul
Haque Qasmi said while talking to media persons that after the
approval of President of India, all difficulties and hindrances in the
way of setting up AMU Centre in Kishan Ganj have been com-
pletely removed and soon the process of construction of the
Centre and educational activities will commence and all the
efforts made by the people of Kishan Ganj and all districts of Bihar
including North Dinajpur and neighbouring areas irrespective of
their religion, community, party and sect will bear fruit. He said
that President of Indias approval to the Kishan Ganj Centre of
AMU has been obtained and HRD ministry has written a letter to
AMU Registrar, asking him to prepare DPR (Detailed Project
Report) and DFR (Detailed Feasibility Report). On the other hand
the AMU management itself is actively working in this connection.
A few days ago AMU Vice Chancellor Zamiruddin Shah while
addressing a press conference in the meeting of AMU Old Boys
during his tour to Kolkata had also announced the preparations
being made for setting up of the Kishan Ganj Centre.
Meanwhile, Maulana Qasmi accompanied by Mrs. Deepa
Das Munshi, union minister of State for urban development met
the new HRD minister Pallam Raju who also assured him of pro-
viding funds at an early date to speed up the completion of the
building and educational process after the Presidential approval
for AMU Centre. Before that, Maulana Qasmi in a letter to AMU
Vice Chancellor had requested him to complete all the necessary
formalities and procedures at the earliest and send the concerned
file to the HRD ministry. In reply to a question about the possibil-
ities of getting funds for the Centres buildings and educational
activities, the Maulana said that all the fundamental and neces-
sary conditions for setting up the Centre have been fulfilled and
funds also will, InshaAllah, be provided soon. He said that the uni-
versity administration, after completing the project report, is send-
ing it to the ministry and as soon as the file reaches the finance
department, we shall meet the finance minister P. Chidambaram.
Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasmi while describing the eager-
ness of lovers of education said that these people had phases of
hope alternating with disappointment, but now that the approval
of the President has been obtained and both the HRD ministry
and AMU administration are working on this matter, people are
happy and hopeful that they will soon see the countrys renowned
Aligarh Universitys Centre being set up in Kishan Ganj, which is
one of the most backward districts of the country.
Corporation acquires disputed Waqf property
Ujjain: In a surprise move, the Municipal Corporation got a road
constructed under heavy police bandobust over a disputed prop-
erty belonging to a dargah. Trees were felled, barbed wire fenc-
ing removed, a road built to connect one locality with another.
Anticipating protest from the minority community, the action
was undertaken in on Sunday evening (4 November). One man
tried to register his protest by standing in front of the J.C.B.
machine. He was protesting against the administrative action. He
was detained but allowed to go after a while. The Municipal
Commissioner himself supervised the action.
The dargah of Baba Magzine Shah is on a prime location and
has been disputed since decades. The Waqf committee sent
protest letters to various officials staking its claim on the land. The
Corporation intends to build a shopping complex (Food Zone) in
the area. According to N. S. Parmar, the Municipal Commissioner,
the land is government land and by constructing the road the res-
idents of Sethi Nagar shall be spared the 700 meter route. Top
officers of the administration were present at that time - Divisional
Commissioner, I. G., Collector, S. P. and others.
The Muslim community is simmering with resentment over
the proposed demolition of a few religious places in the road-
widening programme at Kamarii Marg. An action committee is
likely to lodge its protest with the administration for this proposed
project.
A delegation met the district collector and other civic officers
under the leadership of Shahar Quazi Khaliqur Rahman Saheb,
lodging the communitys protest against the action. A memo drew
attention to the fact that the land acquired by the corporation is
under legal occupation of Waqf Tribunal. Several other areas are
also under proposed road-widening programme. However, in
order to play safe the administration is following a wait and
watch policy. Projects will be undertaken after assessing the reac-
tion on the Kamari Marg demolition.
Two hundred study centres to be set up in U.P.: NCPUL
Lucknow: Dr. Khwaja Ikramuddin, Director of NCPUL said while
talking to mediapersons at U.P. Press Club here that the NCPUL,
in order to promote Urdu at the primary level in U.P., will set up
200 study centres which will be run at the local level with the help
of voluntary organisations in far off and distant places. In addition
to this, he said, NCPUL will also make arrangements for educat-
ing and training of artisans and craftsmen in their traditional hand-
icrafts and trades in Urdu speaking areas, this is already being
done in Kashmir and Moradabad.
He said that along with Urdu language, Union HRD ministry
has also entrusted some work of Arabic and Persian languages to
this Council which will also be done. Further more, he said that
this Council has also started Urdu language course for people liv-
ing in far off and distant places through the online method for
which neither books nor teachers are required. He said that this
method is easy and uses the internet which is liked very much not
only in India but also in foreign countries. In reply to a question
Khwaja Ikram said that in places where computers are there but
not the internet facility, this programme is provided on a CD.
Khwaja Ikram further said that NCPUL is also working to provide
computer and professional education and training to madrasa stu-
dents so as to enable them to keep abreast of the requirements
of modern times.
U.P. tops in communal riots in the country
New Delhi: A report of the union ministry of home affairs shows
that U.P. tops in matters of communal riots, crimes and violence
against women and children. According to this report, in the cur-
rent year i.e. 2012 as many as 104 incidents of communal riots
and communal tension have taken place to date in which 34 per-
sons have died and 456 people were seriously injured. Riots on a
large scale erupted in Bareily, Pratapgarh, Mathura, Faizabad,
Ghaziabad, Muradabad, Meerut, Bhadohi, Kanpur, Allahabad and
Lucknow. Maharashtra stands at No. 2 where in all 83 such inci-
dents took place. In Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka 78 and 54
such incidents took place respectively. In the year 2009 a total of
159 incidents of communal riots and communal tension, in 2010
and 2011 such incidents were 121 and 84 respectively in U.P.
which also tops in cases of violence and physical torture of dalits,
women and children. On the other hand, for its failure in maintain-
ing law and order U.P. government puts the blame on others, say-
ing that rivals and opponents of Samajwadi party are behind all
such cases of violence and riots in order discredit the S P govern-
ment and make it unpopular in the eyes of the people. Chief min-
ister Akhilesh Yadav, instead of strongly tackling the deteriorating
law and order situation and punishing the known criminals, says
that in order to blame and project a bad image of our party some
people and our rival parties are manipulating such communal
riots. Meanwhile, in spite of its own report, union home ministry
has asked the U.P. government to send a report to it (home min-
istry) indicating how many such incidents have taken place till the
end of November from the time it formed its government.
Varun Gandi accused of provocative speeches
Bareily / Pilibheet: A local court of
Pilibheet (U.P.) has fixed the
offences related to the inflammatory
and provocative speeches made by
BJP M. P. from Pilibheet parliamen-
tary constituency, Varun Firoz
Gandhi, the son of (late) Sanjay
Gandhi and cousin of Rahul Gandhi.
It may be stated that at the time of
last Lok Sabha elections in 2009
while making a highly provocative
speech in this city he stated, among other things that, if someone
(Muslims) raises his hands at you (Hindus), I will chop off his
hands. Even BJP leaders were surprised at his harsh words and
hate speech. Acase under different sections of I.P.C. and Peoples
Representation Act for promoting hatred between two communi-
ties, injuring religious feelings and threat to kill etc., was regis-
tered against him though subsequently he had denied all these
charges. Police had filed a charge sheet against him and he was
also sent to jail for some time. He was subsequently released but
the case was lying pending against him.
On 30 November he was presented in the court of Abdul
Qaiyyum, Chief Judicial Magistrate when the accusations against
him were fixed, the Magistrate asked the prosecutor to present
some more witnesses. Next hearing of this case was fixed on 10-
11 December 12.
MOVEMENT FOR EMPOWERMENT OF MUSLIM INDIANS
(MOEMIN) is organising "Third National Workshop of Muslim
NGOs" in the fields of Education, social sector, women empow-
erment & child Welfare, health and economic empowerment and
rural development during 18-20 January 2013 at the Abdur
Rahman Auditorium, India Islamic Cultural Centre, New Delhi.
The Muslim community is economically, socially and education-
ally backward in comparison to the other communities of our
country, and yet it has fewer number of NGOs working for the
empowerment and social upliftment of the community. Most of
the NGOs of the community, registered with the central and state
governments, are unorganised and they either lack infrastruc-
tures, proper guidance and have negligible information about
welfare schemes of the various government departments or they
face indifferent attitude of the bureaucracy in getting even a mar-
ginal share in the welfare funds, as well as in giving them permis-
sions, affiliations and registrations of new institutes of learning.
It is observed that the present UPA government has initiated a
number of welfare schemes for the minorities and there is a sub-
stantial increase in the favorable disposal of the applications and
increase in the permissions to start new professional institutes
and centres of higher learning. However, much needs to be
done.
Earlier MOEMIN successfully organised two National
Workshops of the Muslim NGOs in December 2006 and January
2008 in New Delhi in which around 325 delegates representing
365 NGOs from 19 states and 300 delegates representing 275
Muslim NGOs had participated. Union ministers and officials of
various ministries and government welfare bodies had participat-
ed in different sessions of these workshop to disseminate gov-
ernment policies and interact with the delegates.
The new workshop will take stock of the welfare schemes of
various government agencies - implementation and hardships in
getting them; for better channelization and re-strengthening our
vision for social commitments. It is expected that once again a
number of Union ministers and officials of various ministries and
government welfare bodies will participate in different sessions
to disseminate the government policies and interact with the par-
ticipants.
The workshop will address following themes:
I. Economic Equality: Policy priorities - Achievements and
Challenges
II. Access to Credit : Micro Financing; Millennium
Development Goals; Islamic Banking
III. Education of Muslims : Governments initiatives -
Problems and prospects
IV. Health for All : Inclusion of Muslims
V. Women Empowerment & Child Development.
VI. Access to Information: RTI & other sources of Information
VII. Corporate Social Responsibilities and expectations of
Muslims
VIII. Governance of NGOs
Each delegate will be charged a nominal fee of Rs. 600. A max-
imum of two delegates would be welcome from one organisation.
For more information, contact Mr Navaid Hamid, General
Secretary, MOEMIN at navaidhamid@gmail.com /
mobile: +91 98116 43929
MOEMIN to hold 3rd natl workshop of Muslim NGOs
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012 15
COMMUNITY NEWS
Lecture on Gaza
New Delhi: People of Gaza will come out as a more recognized
entity internationally and within Palestine itself, said Dr Zafarul
Islam Khan, editor of The Milli Gazette, while delivering a lecture
on the Present Situation and Future of Gaza held at the head-
quarters of Jamaat-e Islami Hind here on November 24, 2012. He
first offered a brief about the geo-political history of the present
day Gaza Strip, its current situation and the condition of its just
under 2 million people and their plight at the hands of the Israelis
since 1967 and especially since 2005. Dr. Khan said that Gaza is
more committed, restive and more hostile and militant towards
occupation just because it houses a far greater number of
refugees from Palestinian areas occupied by Israel compared to
the West Bank. He said that Gaza is one of the most densely
populated areas in the world with little agriculture or industry to
sustain its popluation. Over 80 percent of its population are
refugees who had been forced out of their homes and lands by
Jews in 1948. Coming to the latest conflagration and the truce
between Hamas and Israel, he said that this was for the first time
that Israel has accepted Hamas as a stakeholder and worthy of
making agreements with. Earlier, Israel always depicted them as
a terrorist organization and dealt only with the regime in
Ramallah in West Bank. This change towards the Gaza authori-
ty will ensure more acceptability among Arab and foreign govern-
ments to the Gaza government and Hamas will benefit from it
nationally and internationally. (Nadim Ahmad)
More madrasas under madrasa scheme
New Delhi: Union minister of state for HRD ministry, Shashi
Tharoor said in a written reply in response to a question by Rajya
Sabha M. P. Muhammad Adeeb that the number of madrasas
under Standard Education in Madrasas scheme has gone up to
5934 which earlier was 1979 two years ago. He said that this
scheme was introduced in 2008-09 and under this scheme a
300% increase was made in the budget allotment. He said that
whereas in 2009-10 the number of such madrasas was 1979 and
the number of madrasa teachers was 4962, in the year 2011-12
the number of such madrasas increased to 5934 and the number
of teachers increased to 14,412. He further said that a National
Advisory Committee has been constituted for preparing a report
on the coordination and implementation of this scheme.
Lokesh granted bail in Mecca Masjid blast
Indore / Mhow: Lokesh Sharma, an accused in the Mecca Masjid
blast of May 2007, was granted bail by a special NIA court. He
was earlier granted bail in the Malegaon blast case too. However,
he continues to remain in Panchkula jail for two other cases - one
involvement in the murder of a congress leader Pyar Singh
Nimama and the Ajmer blast. He, along with co-accused
Devendra Gupta was granted bail by Justice Sagar Rao.
Over 600 posts lying vacant in minority edu institutions
New Delhi: Union minister for minority affairs K. Rahman Khan
said in written reply to a question in Parliament that more than
600 vacancies exist in minority educational institutions. Giving
details he said that in Maulana Azad National Urdu University, out
of approved 284 posts, 148 posts are lying vacant,in Jamia Millia
Islamia, New Delhi out of 824 sanctioned posts, 134 and in AMU
out of 1887 posts, 378 are lying vacant. He said that in addition
to these three universities, 30 percent posts are lying vacant in
other minority universities. He said that not a single minority insti-
tution is under the administrative control of his ministry.
On another occasion, in the first General Body meeting of
Maulana Azad Education Foundation held in his ministry on
26 November of which he is the Chairman by virtue of his being
the minister for minority affairs, on the suggestion of members of
the Foundation to make the Foundation more dynamic and to
ensure the implementation of all its plans, he said that his min-
istry had decided to constitute a High Power Committee consist-
ing of 15 members, the objective of which would be to see to it
that of the 14 objectives, none should be left out. He said that of
these 14 objectives or targets, only two have so far been, and are
being, implemented i.e. providing grants and scholarships to girls
for education. He said that other objectives of the Foundation
which include setting up many schools for promoting education
among minorities (Muslims), cooperation on the implementation
of National Education Policy, setting up of counselling centres,
starting movement to create education awareness among
Muslims, setting up libraries, keeping minorities (Muslims)
informed about educational problems etc, have not so far been
touched though the Foundation was set up in 1989. Among the
15 members of the Foundation, in addition to Chairman Rahman
Khan, were Vice Chairman Dr. Muhammad Muslim, M.L.A. from
Amethi, AMUs V.C. Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Zamiruddin Shah, Haji
Muhammad Taqi Malhotra from Delhi, Aziz from Gujarat, Yasmin
Ahmad, retired I.A.S. officer from Chennai, Ali Ahmad Khan, sec-
retary of Central Waqf Council, Ms. Maajidah Khan from Manipur,
Foundations secretary Abrar Ahmad etc. Before this, meeting of
the Foundations Governing Body was held on 19 November in
which proposals for a new office building for the Foundation,
increase in the amounts of scholarships etc. were made.
Citing the example of educational progress of minorities
(Muslims) of South India, he said that here also a campaign like
the one in South India should be started and people should be
familiarised with the importance and benefits of education. He
reiterated that High Power Committee will be constituted so that
none of the original objectives of the Foundation are ignored. He
said that High power committee will prepare the draft of all future
plans. He said that before the next meeting of the Foundations
Committee he will prepare the final plan of future projects and
present it before the committee.
Chief organiser of Azad Maidan, Mumbai rally arrested
Mumbai: Almost four months after the violence that had erupted
at the Azad Maidan rally in Mumbai on 11 August in protest
against communal riots and violence in Assam and against
Muslims in Myanmar (Burma) in which two persons were killed
and many more persons were injured and properties approxi-
mately worth Rs. three crores were destroyed or damaged, chief
organiser of this rally Maulana Ahmad Raza has been arrested
and was presented in court on 4 December. Maulana Raza, who
is secretary of the N.G.O. Madinatul Uloom is accused of murder,
conspiracy, rioting and damaging / destroying public and private
properties and organising a rally in which large number of people
had illegally participated. According to police sources, last month
i.e. in November police had prepared the chargesheet against
him running into more than 3,300 pages according to which 57
persons were held guilty of whom 50 persons have so far been
arrested. Four of these have been accused of misbehaving with
and molesting lady police personnel. It may also be stated in this
connection that Raza Academy of Mumbai had sought police per-
mission for holding the said rally in Azad Maidan on 11 August to
protest against communal riots and violence against Muslims in
Assam and also in Burma. Maulana Raza had obtained permis-
sion for the rally in which about 1500 persons were to participate
but the number of people exceeded 15000 which subsequently
resulted in violence because, according to police, speakers incit-
ed the participants. The crowd had also targetted policemen and
mediapersons. Some persons had misbehaved with the lady
police while some had grabbed arms from the police and had
escaped with those arms.
Wipro tops the list of green firms of the world
London: Wipro, the Indian giant in the field of software and elec-
tronics headed by Azimbhai Premji, according to a survey con-
ducted by Greenpeace, the organisation that has been cam-
paigning all over the world for a cleaner environment and preser-
vation of endangered species, occupies the top place among the
list of world giants in the electronics field. Wipros Electronics
Division from this point of view leaves the worlds leading elec-
tronic companies like H. P. (Hewlet Packard) and Apple of U.S.A.,
Nokia, Samsung, Sony etc. behind. In Greenpeaces latest edi-
tion of Guide to Greener Eelctronics, Wipros score is 7.1 out of
10, as compared to HPs score of 5.7, Nokias 5.4 and Apples
4.5. Greenpeaces Guide says that Wipro enjoys top position
because it excels in the exploitation and use of renewable ener-
gy and lesser emission of greenhouse gases i.e. carbondioxide
and CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) which result in global warming
which is since long being described by scientists as dangerous
and will lead to catastrophic results like melting of glaciers and
ice on mountains, resulting in the increase of sea levels and sub-
merging of many low lying countries of the world.
Anthology of Rubaiyat released
New Delhi: Dr. Swamy Shyam Anand Saraswati Roshans two
collections of rubaiyat titled Kalaam Mera and Aur na Chhor
were released by (Ms.) Shaheena Tabassum at a 2-day function
held at Bharti Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi and sponsored by
Kaavya Shodh Sansthan on 28 November. The second book
Aur na Chhor contains about 400 rubaees. This function was
chaired by Prof. S. M. Talha Rizvi and special guest was Dr. Janki
Prasad Sharma. Speakers Rajendra Nath Rahbar and Firaq
Rohvi explained rubaee which is a genre of Urdu and Persian
poetry. On the first day Dr. Swamy Shayam Roshans another
collection of rubaees titled Roshan hoon main (I am Roshan) was
released at a function held at the same premises and chaired by
Ganga Prased Vimal. Special guest on this occasion was Prof. H.
A. Aaki Ashida from Japan in addition to other guests and audi-
ence. On this occasion poets Seemab Sultanpuri and Mittar
Hoshiarpuri were honoured with Awards.
Jamia Millias annual convocation
New Delhi: Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhis annual
Convocation was held on 22 November at Ansari Auditoriums
spacious lawn. Jamia Millias Vice Chancellor Najib Jung in
his introductory speech while shedding light on the institu-
tions early days said that ninety years ago education in Jamia
was imparted in tents and camps but today it has become an
extraordinary institution which is equipped with all education-
al tools and resources. He also briefly described the fields in
which Jamia had made laudable progress during the past few
years and said that whereas on the one hand we have provid-
ed many facilities for students, on the other hand Jamias edu-
cational and administrative systems have improved a lot and
along with its contemporary institutions it is moving fast on the
road to progress. In this Convocation, Degrees and Diplomas
were given to 4179 successful boy and girl students of B.A.,
M.A., M. Phil etc, PhD Degrees to 204 research scholars and
147 gold medals to toppers in different fields and subjects.
V.C. Najib Jung also said that in order to maintain and pro-
mote Jamias secular ideals and diversity of languages it has
been decided to introduce question papers of exams in Urdu,
Hindi and English languages. Speaking about educational
progress of Jamia, he said that this University has entered
into educational agreements and mutual exchange of students
with many universities of different countries including
England, Italy, Canada, France, Germany, U.S.A., Taiwan etc.
for the benefit of students. The convocation address was
delivered by Dr. Ashok Seth, eminent cardiologist and
President of Fortis group of hospitals who asked the students
who were given degrees and diplomas to always give the
credit for their success to their parents and family members as
they are the ones who actually made it (success) possible for
them, of course along with their own hard work. He advised
the students to always work hard and with determination if
they wanted to achieve success in life and if they succeed
they will get honours and rewards anywhere. He also asked
the students to balance science with religion and spirituality.
Though a man of science, his firm faith in God was evident
from what he said to the students: that we have gone so far
in the world of science that we have forgotten our real Creator,
though without His will and order not a single hair of our head
can move. He also believes that the existence of the invisible
hand of God cannot be denied, seeing that several perplexing
diseases get healed miraculously for which doctors have no
answer. The Convocation function was chaired by Lt. Gen.
(Retd.) M. A. Zaki, a former Vice Chencellor of Jamia Millia
and now its Chancellor. In this Convocation the Degree of
Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) was conferred on Dr. Ashok
Seth by the Chancellor, Gen. Zaki.
Ahmedabad: By the time this report reaches your hands the
election process will have come to an end and probably all the
results will be available by then. However, this report will give
you an idea of what strategies and manipulations were planned
and schemes undertaken to ensure victory:
1. Maulana Ghulam Muhammad Vastanvi expressed his apathy
towards the poll campaign inspite of being present at a congress
programme on 22 October.
2. Modi retain his bastion - Maninagar seat while Keshubhai
Patel contests from the Visavdar seat where the Leuva Patels
are in a majority. Gordhan Zadaphia also seeks Patel support
stands from the Gondal seat. The Patels are kingmakers in
many regions and each party is keen to win them over.
3. Shahrukh Khan is among the many whom the congress wants
to join its campaign and canvass for it. Others include Salman
Khan, Amir Khan, Dipika Padukone and Diya Mirza from
Bollywood. Shahrukh is reported to have asked for Rs. 3 crores
a day.
4. Unkile Maharashtra where Biharis are ridiculed by the Shiv
sena, Gujarat gives them a warm welcome Election compul-
sions compell parties to vie with one another in showing their
love for the Biharis. Chhat festival saw partymen of all hues
attending the chat rituals.
Not only software programmes were developed to enable
Modi keep an eye on all the 182 constituencies; a 3-D avatar
strategy was also specially launched by which Modi was visible
simultaneously at Ahmedabad, Suraj, Vadodara and Rajkot (as
if in flesh and blood).
Lambasting the brainchild of Amit Shah Congress called it a
waste of public funds as the appearance cost Rs. 216 crores out
of Rs. 500 crores extorted by the party.
6. State employees engaged in election duties might tilt the bal-
ance in favour of candidates of their choice. On an average
there were 1648 postal ballots per seat issued to employees
performing election duties. At places where the margin of votes
is less than 1000 these postal ballots might change the result.
Congress is happy and hopeful because it believes that employ-
ees are annoyed with Modis rule.
7. Modi no maanas campaign projects Modi (and not the
party). A Modi fan gives a lengthy justification of why he is in
favour of Modi rule on radio. When he finishes his eulogy he
says Hun Modi no maanas chhu (I am Modis man).
Immediately after, an anonymous voice asks people to vote for
BJP.
8. Keshubhai Patel is to face the same strategy that brought
defeat to Shankar Singh Waghela during the Lok Sabha
polls. A large crowd of independent candidates will try to
snatch off voters from Keshubhai ensuring victory for BJP
candidate.
9. BJP strategists by ensuring the support of Mahmood Ali
Chishti (of Barelvi sect) and by inducting Aasiya Khan and
retired I.P.S. officer Al Saeed sent a strong message across
the state that it is sympathetic to Muslims by using Ekmat
Gujarat (Gujarat unanimous) slogan. (AG Khan)
Gujarat poll politics
INTERNATIONAL
16 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012
Hypocrisy of Egypts Liberals and Secularists
M.A. KADER
Egypts liberals and their allies have
exposed themselves to be hypocrites
who, while demanding democracy, are
opposing the process to achieve it. They
have organised demonstrations and boy-
cotts by judges against President
Mohamed Morsis Constitutional
Declaration which gave him extraordinary
powers to speed up the democratization
process in Egypt. It provides immunity to
the Constituent Assembly drafting the
Constitution and the Shura Council
against the Mubarak-appointed Supreme
Constitutional Court ordering their dissolu-
tion. In June this year, the SCC had
ordered the dissolution of the lower house
of Parliament whose members were elect-
ed by millions of Egyptians and, thereby,
impeded Egypts progress towards
democracy.
Nearly two years after the 2011 revo-
lution, there is still no Constitution in place
to transform Egypt from a dictatorship to a
democracy because of the demand by the
liberals and secularists to imprint in the
draft Constitution their Western liberal ide-
ology which is alien to the vast majority of
Egyptians.
President Morsis opponents received
help from the neo-conservative US
Senator John McCain who, fearing an
Islamic state emerging in Egypt, called
on President Obama to cut off all aid to
the country. The European Union also
threatened to withhold aid unless the
Declaration is rescinded.
Senator McCains fear is rooted in
Islamophobia, an irrational hatred of Islam
and Muslims. Islam is perceived as a
threat to Western liberalism and its values
not only by Western governments but also
by mentally and intellectually colonised
and enslaved members of the Muslim
elite. Islamic awakening in the Arab world
is threatening the interests of Zionism and
Western imperialism and its local allies
and agents. Therefore, instability and
anarchy in Egypt and other Arab states
will, they hope, work to their advantage to
bring back the old order in some new
form. Unseen hands of these forces are
manipulating the counter-revolutionaries
to create violence and chaos so that a
compliant regime like the Mubarak-dicta-
torship can emerge again.
Despite demonstrations by his oppo-
nents, boycotts by Mubark-appointed
judges and threats from the West, Morsi
has gone ahead and fixed December 15
for a referendum on the draft Constitution
adopted by the Constituent Assembly.
After the referendum, President Morsis
powers under the Constitutional
Declaration would cease to have effect.
He would be subject to the limits set on his
authority and powers by the democratic
Constitution once it is approved by the
Egyptian people.
This popularly elected leader, who is
prepared voluntarily to end the extraordi-
nary powers given to him after the refer-
endum, has been maligned and defamed
by liberals like the former IAEA head
Mohamed El Baradei as a modern
Pharaoh and dictator. After decades of
dictatorial rule, on the initiative of
President Morsi, the Egyptian people now
have the power to decide the type of soci-
ety and government they want.
El Baradei has criticised the draft
Constitution as one that undermines
basic freedoms and violates universal val-
ues. He made this baseless comment
without providing any specifics. This criti-
cism comes from a man who served
Egypts dictators loyally for many years
while the Muslim Brotherhood activists
and leaders were persecuted, tortured,
incarcerated and exiled for opposing the
dictatorship. This same El Baradei had
supported the West in its illegal efforts to
corner Iran on the nuclear issue.
After the adoption of the Constitution,
elections to the lower house of Parliament
must be held. Egypt has been without an
elected legislature after the SCC ordered
its dissolution on technical grounds. The
draft Constitution provides for the separa-
tion of powers between the two houses of
Parliament, Executive and Judiciary. It
entrenches fundamental freedoms and
makes the military subject to civilian over-
sight. These are the essential foundations
of a democratic society.
The draft Constitution provides for a
strong protection against arbitrary deten-
tion, torture and inhumane treatment. It
embodies the right to freedom of move-
ment, privacy of communication, freedom
of assembly and association and freedom
of thought and opinion.
The provision prohibiting insulting the
prophets and messengers has come
under criticism from these same liberal-
secular groups for, what they claim,
infringing the right to freedom of expres-
sion. What a perversion of the concept of
freedom! It can only come from sick
minds.
Freedom of the press embodied in the
draft has come for criticism from some
journalists. Articles 48 and 49 provide that
media organisations cannot be suspend-
ed, closed or their assets be confiscated
unless there is a judicial decree and noti-
fication only is required to launch and own
newspapers.
The wide freedom to publish given by
these Articles cannot satisfy some mem-
bers of the Journalists Syndicate who
want special privileges for themselves.
Journalists should not be prosecuted and
given custodial sentence even if they pub-
lish lies like Judith Miller of the New York
Times which influenced American public
opinion to support the illegal war on Iraq
resulting in the loss of over a million lives,
displacement of millions of people and
destruction of a civilised nation.
Even Articles intended to protect
women and family have come under
attack from the secular fanatics. Article 10
provides: The state shall provide mother-
hood and childhood services for free. It
shall also guarantee co-ordination
between the duties of the woman and her
public work. The state shall provide pro-
tection and care for the divorced and wid-
owed woman. Can anyone who cares for
the dignity and welfare of women object to
this provision?
The Constituent Assembly has tried
hard to meet the demands of the different
sections of Egyptian society - Christians,
Muslims, Liberals, Secularists, Socialists,
Military and the Judiciary. Some compro-
mise on ones demands is necessary for
producing an agreed draft but the liberals
and the secularists tried to sabotage the
drafting process by their representatives
withdrawing from the Constituent
Assembly and instigating the judges to
dissolve the Constituent Assembly and
the Shura Council.
A constitution is not cast in granite. It
is a living document which evolves with
the changes in society. It can always be
amended by an elected legislature to
strengthen democracy and meet the
emerging needs of the masses.
The only way to test whether the draft
Constitution is acceptable to the people is
through a referendum. If they do not like it
they would vote against it. The opposition
can campaign to get the people to reject it.
So, why are they demonstrating and
resorting to violence and intimidation to
stop the referendum, a democratic
process, instead of going to the people to
convince them to vote against the draft?
The Egyptian people have waited
long enough for the promised
Constitution. President Morsi must go
ahead with the referendum and, after it is
approved, with the elections for the lower
house.
With Egypt anchored in democracy,
the government can focus its efforts on
solving the serious economic, social, and
law and order problems, confronting the
people. A handful of judges, counter-revo-
lutionaries and secular fundamentalists
should not be allowed to undermine the
revolution through delaying the democrati-
sation process and creating chaos.
The writer is a human rights activist
and scholar based in Penang, Malaysia
Ban on Iranian media:
a sector with no links to the
nuclear programme
HASAN RAHIMI MAJD
The US and the West, in addition to their unilateral economic and
financial sanctions, which lack UN support, have recently made the
Iranian media also the target of their illegal actions. This time the
victims of the attack are not the people of Iran but the Persian,
Arabic and English language audience of the Iranian media
throughout the world. In a flagrant violation of the human right to
freedom of expression, some satellite providers removed Iranian
channels off the air and the western media which gives priority to
the coverage of the economic sanctions imposed on Iran, keep
mum about sanctions against the Iranian channels.
The Hong Kong-based Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co.
Ltd. (AsiaSat) has taken all Iranian channels off air in East Asia
and, therefore, the Iranian channels are not being received in India
as well from 15 November. The satellite provider says the decision
is in line with a law recently signed by the US President. According
to the new sanctions regime, American companies are banned
from doing business with Iran. Nearly 37 percent of AsiaSats
shares are owned by the General Electric which itself is owned by
an American company.
The European Satellite Company (Eutelsat) ordered the
media service provider, Arqiva, to take 19 Iranian radio and TV
channels off its Hot Bird satellite from October 15. These channels
include Press TV, Al-Alam, Jam-e-Jam 1 and 2, Sahar 1 and 2,
Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN), Quran TV and Al-
Kawthar. The Eutelsat, through an official statement, announced
that this decision was taken on the basis of the sanctions imposed
by the European Union.
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also ordered
the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
(Intelsat) to stop broadcasting Iranian channels.
In line with the efforts to silence the Iranian media which
exposes the criminality, hypocrisy and duplicity of the policies of
the Zionist regime and the western powers, Maya Naser, the Press
TV correspondent, who used to report crimes of the foreign pow-
ers in Syria, was assassinated on 26 September this year while
reporting from the field.
Imposing a ban on the Iranian media, which has no links with
the Iranian nuclear programme, shows that the whole project of
inhuman sanctions against the 75 million people of Iran is not
derived from the alleged concern that it is trying to build nuclear
weapons, but is motivated to silence the alternative voice coming
out from this country.
As Finian Cunningham, a prominent Irish columnist, wrote in
his articles Silencing Press TV is murdering the truth, the west
claims that the aim of these sanctions is to draw Iran into serious
negotiations on its nuclear programme, but this is a lie. Iran is not
obstructing the negotiations as the west alleges. It is the US and
its western allies which have created the impasse in negotiations
by continually insisting that Iran must abandon its legal right to
peaceful nuclear energy as a signatory to the Nuclear Proliferation
Treaty (NPT). Yet the western media and officials present it as a
reasonable demand which Iran is not reciprocating and thereby
causing a diplomatic problem. This issue shows that the premise
for the sanctions is baseless and therefore their application is ille-
gal. Iran is unique in the whole world in that it is not building atom-
ic weapons. It has signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). All its
nuclear activities are under the complete supervision of the IAEA
and it proposed the idea of Nuclear energy for all, nuclear
weapons for none.
Iran, unlike any other country in the world, has got an addition-
al and more important commitment towards not building atomic
weapons. The commitment comes out of a fatwa of Ayatollah
Seyed Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic
of Iran, who has declared the atomic weapons as haram (forbid-
den). In Islam, a fatwa is an stringent ruling and for Muslims its
sanctity surpasses conventional national and international laws. It
should also be added that no religious scholar in the world has
ever issued such a progressive and peace-loving fatwa.
Many of the usual defenders of free speech have yet to come
out and defend Iran against what seems like a clear-cut case of
censorship and stifling of free speech. Deafening silence and in
some cases cooperation with the illegal actions against Iran,
including economic sanctions, killing of scientists, sabotage, throt-
tling its media and threats of military attacks, is not a good omen
for the whole world.
The writer is Chief of Press at the Iranian Embassy in Delhi
Latest figures of Palestinian casualties in Gaza
Gaza: According to the Palestinian Health ministry figures released
on 26 November, 175 persons were killed by Israeli raids during
14-21 November aggression and 1398 injured. The martyrs
include 34 children, 12 women, 19 elderly persons and 16 children
under the age of 5. The injured include 465 children, 254 women
above 18 years of age, 91 elderly persons. 141 injured children
were under five years of age. 27 persons were in ICUs in serious
condition at the time of making out this report on 26 November.
Two martyrs belonged to the medical personnel. Four hospitals
and ten clinics were damaged during the aggression.
Amr Mousa met Livni in
secret to unsettle Morsi
Cairo: Leftists, secularists, western agents and leftovers of the
Mubarak regime are waging a relentless war to unseat the elected
president of Egypt. Noted Palestinian journalist and edit Abdel Bari
Atwan disclosed in London on 26 November that a secret meeting
was held between former Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, and
Amr Mousa, former Arab League secretary general and a failed
candidate in the Egyptian presidential elections, during the latters
unexpected visit to Ramallah. In an interview with London-based
satellite channel, Al-Hiwar, the editor of al-Quds al-Arabi newspa-
per, Abdel Bari Atwan, revealed the existence of intelligence reports
documenting a secret meeting between Livni and Mousa during the
latters unexpected visit to Ramallah on November 4. Reports men-
tioned that Livni made a direct request to Mousa to pre-occupy
Egyptian President, Mohamed Morsi with internal affairs during the
Israeli attack on Gaza. This is what in effect happened as Amr
Mousa returned from his visit and led the withdrawals from the
Constituent Assembly of the Constitution without providing any con-
vincing reason to the public opin-
ion. So much so that he affected
an altercation with the head of the
Constituent Assembly and
blocked an article of the constitu-
tion which he himself had pro-
posed.
According to Atwan, these
reports coincide with statements
made by Israeli Middle East
expert, Binhas Anbari, during an
interview with the satellite TV
channel Russia Today. Anbari
asserted that Egyptian President,
Mohammed Morsi, aborted the
Israeli operation in Gaza before it
began, and that we counted on
forces inside Israel to preoccupy
him with internal political and eco-
nomic affairs.
Weve got mail.....
for you!
The flow of news never ceases, so between our fortnightly print
issues we send out email newsletter - MG e-Alerts. Get our
eNewsletter FREE! write to us at sales@milligazette.com
Become a fan of MG on Facebook
visit: facebook.com/milligazette
Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/milligazette
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012 17
INTERNATIONAL
CHARITY ALLIANCE, with the active support of MG and like-minded people, is helping the victims of starvation in
Murshidabad since April 2005. More tasks are being undertaken in some of the most deserving areas and most backward
sections of our community. This charitable trust is channelising this long-felt effort. Almost every paisa is reaching the
deserving people as MG is providing office and administrative facilities free of cost as well as free advertising space, and
the trustees are barred by the trust deed from receiving any remuneration for their work and time.
CHARITY ALLIANCE
D-84 Abul Fazl Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar,
New Delhi 110 025 India Tel.: (+91-11) 2694 7483, 2695 2825
How to make payments: We prefer cheques to bank drafts. Cheques/Drafts should be crossed / marked account payee
and payable to Charity Alliance. Individuals are welcome to pay cash in our office or send M.O. If you want to contribute
through credit card or internet-banking visit www.charityalliance.in for secure online payment. In some cases we may be
able to arrange to collect cash from your doorstep.
List of donors may be seen on Charilty Alliance website (www.charityalliance.in).
Zakat, Sadaqat and bank interest accepted
See www.charityalliance.in for detailed reports on our work.
CHARITY ALLIANCE
Registered trust
Donations to Charity Alliance are eligible for tax liability deduction in India under Section 80G
Invest
and save
tax!
Israeli Terror: The Final Solution to the Palestine Question - i
PROF. JAMES PETRAS
For the past forty-five years the state of Israel has been dispos-
sessing millions of Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories,
confiscating their lands, destroying homes, bulldozing orchards
and setting-up Jews- only colonial settlements serviced by high-
ways, electrical systems and water works for the exclusive use of
the settlers and occupying soldiers. The process of Israeli territo-
rial expansion throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem has
greatly accelerated in recent years, converting Palestinian-held
territory into non-viable isolated enclaves - like South Africas
Bantustans - surrounded by the Israeli soldiers who protect violent
settler-vigilantes as they assault and harass Palestinian farmers at
work in their fields, beat Arab children on their way to school , pelt
Palestinian housewives as they hang their laundry and then
invade and defecate in Palestinian mosques and churches.
The Rage and Rape of Gaza and its Apologists
Israel s strategic goal is to impose Greater Israel on the region:
to take over all of historical Palestine , expell the entire non-Jewish
population and subsidize Jews-only settlements (for settler-immi-
grants, often from the US and former USSR ). While bulldozers
and tanks have dispossessed Palestinians in the West Bank for
decades, the launching of thousands of missiles and bombs have
become the weapons of choice for uprooting and eliminating the
Palestinians in Gaza . In just eight days, Israel s latest blitzkrieg
resulted in the killing of 168 Palestinians (42 children and 100 civil-
ians), the wounding of 1,235, the destruction of over 1,350 build-
ings and the further traumatizing of over 1.7 million children,
women and men fenced in the worlds largest concentration camp.
According to the Israeli Defense Minister, the Jewish State
dropped a thousand times more bombs onto Gaza than the
Palestinians fired back into Israel.
The current Israeli offensive began with the gruesome assas-
sination of a prominent Hamas leader, Ahmed Jabari, and imme-
diately escalated into an assault on the entire Palestinian popula-
tion of Gaza . Secure in the knowledge that the Palestinians had
no capacity to retaliate with similar weaponry, the Israeli High
Command ordered the systematic destruction of civilian life, work-
places and densely populated neighborhoods. Over 75% of the
casualties have been non-combatants; almost half are children,
women and elders.
The Israeli propaganda machine and its Fifth Column in the
US fabricated and repeated the Big Lie: that the Jewish state was
defending itself Right with only six (mostly military) deaths
and 280 wounded (the majority non-threatening) versus the near-
ly 200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, slaughtered. The US Zionist
power configuration (ZPC), embedded in the policy centers of the
US Executive, the Congress and both political parties, parroted
this line. All the major US TV networks and print media reproduced
verbatim Israeli Foreign Office press handouts about Israel s
defensive genocide while entire Palestinian families were
being buried under the rubble of their bombed apartments.
Death and destruction, planned and executed with the unani-
mous support of all the major Israeli political parties and leaders,
enthralled the mass of its Jewish citizens: Indeed, over 80% of
Israeli Jews supported the terror blitz against Gaza . As the
Russian media outlet (RT) reported: A new wave of hatred
towards Palestinians is sweeping through Israel from public fig-
ures to the man (person) in the street. The Israeli Interior Minister
declared that Gaza should be bombed into the Middle Ages.
Israeli demonstrators in Tel Aviv shouted; they (the Palestinians)
dont deserve to live, they must die, may your children die and
now we must go back there (to Gaza) and kick out all Arabs. The
prominent Israeli Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, the son of a former chief
rabbi, made a speech in the Cave of the Patriarchs in occupied
Hebron where he blessed the Israeli soldiers and urged them to
slaughter their enemy.
Even more to the point, Israel Katz , Israel s Transport
Minister, demanded Gaza be bombed so hard the population will
have to flee into Egypt (the Sinai desert). Avi Dichter, the Minister
of Home Front Defense, incited the Israeli military to re-format
Gaza - that is to erase its population with bombs.
Almost half of Israeli Jews considered Netanyahus terror
bombing of Gaza insufficient: According to the independent Israeli
Maagar Mohot poll, half of Israelis opposed the cease fire and
demanded the bloody assault against the Palestinian population
of Gaza continue. The same poll reported that almost a third of
Israeli Jews though their government should have sent ground
forces into Gaza , an invasion which would have led to tens of
thousands of Palestinian casualties and total destruction of their
vital infrastructural life-lines. Netanyahu and his allies in power
now confront a new, totalitarian mass opposition that openly
embraces a genocidal Final Solution to the Palestinian problem.
Genocide at the Service of Greater Israel
The parallels between the pronouncements and actions of Nazi
Germany and Zionist Israel are overwhelming. The bloodlust in
Israel goes far beyond psychopathic raving of a few deranged rab-
bis and marginal politicians: it extends from the top Cabinet mem-
bers to the average citizen.
In Israel, almost an entire people - over 80% of Jews - sup-
port, with varying degrees of intensity, the terror bombing and
slaughter of the people of Gaza. Setting aside the profound socio-
pathic disorders of the raging and racist multitude in Israel , what
is politically more significant are the totalitarian rants of leading
Israeli public figures, published as editorials, in such newspapers
as the respectable Jerusalem Post: We need to flatten all of Gaza
. There should be no electricity in Gaza , no gasoline or moving
vehicles, nothing, writes Gilad Sharon and the statements of
prominent Knesset members, like Michael Ben-Ari , There are no
innocents in Gaza mow them (all) down. These outbursts
reveal Israel s strategic goal:
Genocide at the service of Greater Israel - the bloody purge of
5 million Palestinians, the creation of a 100 percent pure Jewish
State. Overseas (mostly US) Zionist-Jewish media moguls, Ivy
League university academics, billionaires, US Congress people
and government officials finance, underwrite, propagandize for
and promote with single-minded perseverance the defense of
Israels most heinous war crimes, its violations of international law
and its ongoing crimes against humanity.
During the entire period of the recent Israeli blitzkrieg, Israel s
Fifth column, the Presidents of the 52 Major American Jewish
Organizations, the New York Times and the rest of the major US
press rose to the dirty task of giving unconditional support for
Israel s war crimes. Vocal support from the US White House and
by extension the leaders of the European Union echoed
Netanyahus lies. In order to grasp the media white wash of these
ongoing crimes against humanity one could compare the US
press reports on Israels bombing of Gaza to those which would
have appeared in the leading fascist newspapers at the time of
Hitlers defensive attacks on Poland and Belgium and the bomb-
ing blitz of civilians in London.
The true purpose of Israel s terror bombing raids and assas-
sinations in Gaza and the cutting up of the West Bank is to make
these territories uninhabitable for the Palestinians. The daily
humiliation and destruction of the basic conditions for normal life
are designed to force young, educated, ambitious Palestinians to
abandon their land, homes and families for less grotesquely bar-
baric sites, where they might achieve a normal civilized existence,
free from foul-mouthed Jewish settlers, unending military incur-
sions, Israeli soldiers pistol- whipping their fathers or breaking the
legs and arms of stone-throwing Arab schoolkids.
The Logic of Public Flogging
This obscene Israeli-Jewish behavior is intentionally open and fla-
grant: Flaunting Jewish military superiority over the defenseless
Arab is vital part of the psychological war reinforcing the idea of
Arab inferiority and of Palestinians as aliens in their own country.
Israel s underlying slogan Arab Raus! (Arabs Get Out!) echoes
the Nazi screed, Juden Rauss (Jews Get Out!). The message is
clear: If you are not a Jew then you do not exist! Your very alien
presence is an abomination in the eyes of the Zionist God. So if
you wont leave politely we will hasten your departure with a few
thousand bombs, missiles and a rain of white phosphorous. That
is the deeper meaning of Israel s rape of Gaza .
The Impact of Israel s Genocide on US Society
Leading journalists in the politically most influential US newspa-
pers, academics from the most prestigious universities and
experts from the leading research institutes have systematically
defended each and every Israeli war-crime, including the rape of
Gaza, the demolition of Palestinian civil society and the cruel
blockade of 1.7 million Palestinians in the biggest open air con-
centration camp in the world.
As usual, the Uber-Zionist Harvard law professor, Alan
Dershowitz and his acolytes provide a legal gloss on the savage
bombing of essential public services and private communication
and media centers. Not to be outdone by the loudmouths in
Harvard Square , Yale and Princeton professors, with tribal loyal-
ties to the Jewish state, describe the Israeli killing machine as a
righteous citizen army defending its eternally victimized people.
Experts at the Brookings Institute, Hudson Institute and
dozens of other research (read propaganda) centers provide sci-
entific explanations regarding Israel s unique right to dispossess
millions of Palestinians. The experts justifications of Israeli war
crimes permeate the mass media, penetrate the homes of millions
of Americans and fill the heads of elected officials. Meanwhile they
convince and/or browbeat thousands of non- tribal school teach-
ers and educators into complicity or silence, thus perverting and
hollowing out what residual humane and democratic values
remain embedded in the citizenry. It is precisely the much-vaunt-
ed high achievements of so many Israel-Firsters that has led to
their rise to the most influential positions in US society and state
and makes their support of terror bombings, ethnic cleansing and
genocide so deeply destructive to the US political culture. In spite
of this, some of the same expert-academic apologists for Israels
terror against the Arab civilians are the most vociferous defenders
of human rights everywhere else in the world - including the US
(piously condemning US war crimes whenever and wherever they
are not explicitly aligned with the interest of the Jewish State).
These experts have perverted the concept of universal human
rights in the minds of the US public.
As the US mass audience and political class watches the
smoke, debris and wreckage of Gaza - and even catch glimpses
of a childs dismembered small body - they are told by the tribal
loyalists that this destruction is morally justified, that the target is
really Hamas - even over the piercing cries of Palestinian moth-
ers for their slaughtered children. US citizens are told that Israel s
aggressive aerial bombing and mass shelling from warships off-
shore is really a defensive maneuver against a terrorist regime
- one which just happens to lack a single airplane, warship, tank
or missile capable of hitting a single major Israeli military or civil-
ian installation.
To be continued in the next issue
INTERNATIONAL
18 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012
KARAMATULLAH K. GHORI
K_K_ghori@yahoo.com
Anyone inclined to give Israel and its
Zionist leaders the benefit of doubt and
hoping that they would have learned
some lesson from their recent debacles
in Gaza, and at UN General Assembly,
should reconsider their optimism. The
revanchists in charge of Israel-with a
war-monger like Benjamin Netanyahu
at the helm, are a much too arrogant
and incorrigible lot to learn, even from
their own dismal failures.
Humiliation for Israel-and loss of face for its western mentors
and promoters-couldnt be more telling than successive and jar-
ring reverses suffered within a span of a fortnight. Quick on the
heels of its unprovoked aggression against the hapless Gazans,
which failed to break their spirit of resistance, the vote in the UN
General Assembly on November 29 in favour of the Palestinians
was a resounding reminder to Israels inebriated and arrogant
leaders that the world had had enough of their hubris and tyran-
ny against the Palestinians.
The General Assembly vote-138 member states in favour of
elevating the Palestinians to the status of non-member Observer
State-couldnt be more categorical, principled and forthright to
affirm the international communitys collective will on the side of
the Palestinian demand for their own, sovereign, independent
and contiguous, state.
By the same token, embarrassment and humiliation for Israel
and its powerful North American supporters-US and Canada-
couldnt be greater. With the inclusion of these two-and of course,
Israel-there were only 6 other states casting their lot with the
naysayers; 5 of these 6 happened to be specks of dust in the
South Pacific-Micronesian states-ever dependent on US largesse
for survival.
However, instead of eating a humble pie, Netanyahu has
quickly fallen back on his old plan to create-in the words of a now-
comatose Ariel Sharon-facts on ground so as to deny the
Palestinians any chance of having a viable and contiguous state
of their own. He has announced plans to go ahead with the con-
struction of 3,000 housing units for Jewish settlers on the last
remaining sliver of Palestinian land that could have provided con-
tiguity to a future State of Palestine.
Netanyahus plan is precisely aimed at cutting off any physi-
cal link between the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem,
the potential capital of a future Palestinian State. According to
Mustafa Barghouti, Head of the Palestinian Movement for Non-
Violence, who was in Ottawa, Canada on a speaking engage-
ment the day Netanyahu announced his diabolical plan to demol-
ish the lingering hopes of the Palestinians, the two-state solution
is dying before our eyes. Mustafa Barghouti was the man who
challenged Mehmoud Abbas in the 2005 presidential election of
the Palestinian Authority and won 19 per cent of the popular vote.
Barghouti hit the nail on its head. Its not an item on
Netanyahus nefarious agenda-or that of his rabidly anti-Arab
Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, whom even the American
right has dubbed as a Neo-fascist-to leave any prospect alive for
a two-state solution of the festering Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
Writing on the opinion page of the globally-popular liberal
blog, Counter Punch, Saul Landau summed up the tactics of this
Zionist pair in its essence, under the caption: Fire Power and
Propaganda: Israel and Gaza, in the following words: AgainThis
assault on Gaza follow an old Zionist strategy, outlined by Zionist
ideologue ZeevJabotinsky. In 1923 he wrote: The Iron Wall in
which he advised the use of force -an iron wall which the native
population cannot break through. Israel has used force to strip
Palestinians of their land and drive them out of the country
However, the stiff Palestinian resistance to Israels neo-colo-
nialism is regarded as a major obstacle by the likes of Netanyahu
and Lieberman in the attainment of their ultimate design of ethnic
cleansing of the Palestinians from the West Bank and claim all
Earz Israel as an exclusively Jewish state. Netanyahus latest
manoeuvre to obliterate any prospects of a contiguous
Palestinian state is just a first step in that direction. It would be
something that even the rabid practitioners of apartheid in South
Africa didnt envisage for their coloured quarries in that country.
Understandably, Netanyahus peevish and provocative move
has sent ripple effects-and triggered murmurs of protest-even
through the Israeli left- wing. The Canadian newspaper, The
Toronto Star, quoted a Jerusalem-based lawyer, Daniel
Seidmann, calling it a doomsday move. Seiderman told the
Americans for Peace Now: We are weeks away from the end of
the two-state solution. By 2013, Jerusalem will be so Balkanized
that it will be impossibleto carve out a solution acceptable to
both Israelis and Palestinians.
The Canadian counterparts of the American peace move-
ment-Canadian Friends of Peace Now-have also castigated
Netanyahus egregious behaviour as a sly and calculated effort
to punish the Palestinian Authority for gaining UN recognition of
limited Palestinian statehood. They have denounced it as a
deplorable exercise in exacerbating tensions.
The Canadians were still being a little too kind, if not diplo-
matic, to debunk the Israeli provocation as designed to add to
tension. It is much more than that. Its an affront to international
law and a brazen attempt to short-change the Palestinians and
hoodwink the international community.
Alan Hart, a veteran of several US administrations and an
expert on intelligence services who has been an outspoken critic
of US having pawned its policies to Israeli and American Zionists,
got it right in lambasting Netanyahus provocation as indicative of
an Israel behaving like Neo-Nazis.
Recording his reaction to Netanyahus mischief in his widely-
read blog , on December 3, Hart laid it out with remarkable clari-
ty and candidness in asking the question, Are Israels Jews, some
of them, on their way to becoming Nazis? Hart no room to doubt
that Israelis faithful to-and toeing the aggressive lines of the likes
of Netanyahu and Lieberman-were behaving exactly as the Nazis
under Hitler did in Germany.
To buttress his argument that a revanchist Israeli society
parading out its support to Netanyahus naked expansionism,
Hart quoted a renowned Israeli intellectual and Holocaust sur-
vivor, Dr. Hajo Meyer, agreeing with him that Zionism was trying
to follow in the footsteps of the Nazis. Hart surmised that Zionism
is seeking to dehumanize the Palestinians in the same way the
Nazis sought to dehumanize him (Meyer) in the Auschwitz con-
centration camp.
Hart also directly quoted Hajo Meyer telling him in so many
words: Zionism is to modern enlightened Judaism what Nazism
was to Germanys traditional ethical values.
Some die-hard friends and admirers of Israel-habitually used
to papering over, if not routinely endorsing, Israels deliberate vio-
lations of international law and conventions in regard to its brutal
policies vis--vis its oppressed Palestinians-may be tempted to
question Harts candid likening of Zionism with Nazism. However,
there are verifiable indicators that Netanyahu is not alone in map-
ping out a diabolical scheme to trigger ethnic cleansing of the
Palestinians from what the Zionists see as the land given to them
in perpetuity by God.
Last year, for instance, an Israeli government-appointed com-
mittee, headed by a former Israeli Supreme Court Judge,
Edmond Levy, gave the Israeli settlement building and expansion
its seal of approval. It said Israel was not in breach of internation-
al law in its land grab and illegal settlement building denounced
by the whole world.
However, the blatant Levy committee assertion flies in the
face of dozens of UN resolutions attesting to the contrary. Most of
these were passed in 1979 and 1980, after which US, Israels
biggest and blind supporter in its settlement building as well as in
its frequent acts of aggression against the hapless Palestinians,
made it an essential tool of its policy at the UN to block with its
veto power in the Security Council any resolution inconvenient to
its Israeli allies.
One such resolution is 446 which stipulates that the Fourth
Geneva Convention on land occupied after a war should be the
regulating and binding legal instrument with regard to the Israeli
occupied Palestinian territories. It forbids Israel from transferring
its own population to the occupied lands, or changing its demo-
graphic character.
Israel is in brazen breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention
in both its settlement-building and transfer of hundreds of thou-
sands of its Jewish citizens to the occupied lands and making it
their permanent abode. Settlement building commenced soon
after 1967. However, in the 20 years since the Madrid Conference
and the Oslo Accord, settlement expansion has gone on a frantic
pace, with the connivance and material assistance of its principal
mentor, US. From around 350, 000, in 1992, the settlers popula-
tion in the occupied land has doubled, reaching, today, to more
than 700,000. Its a never-ending process as far as the Zionists
are concerned.
Israel blatantly insists that the Fourth Geneva Convention
doesnt apply to its occupation of the Palestinian lands because
there was no sovereign authority that it seized land from at the
end of the Six-Day War of 1967-which is specious and mislead-
ing, to say the least.
The UN Security Council (until it was paralysed by US veto),
the UN General Assembly, The International Committee of the
Red Cross, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have all,
time and again, repudiated the Israeli claim and termed it illegal
and without any foundation. In an advisory opinion rendered in
2004, ICJ categorically held that Israel was in violation of interna-
tional law in building settlement in the West Bank and East
Jerusalem and was equally in breach of law in transferring its
people to live on occupied lands. Israel, in the courts opinion,
was also in violation of law in restricting the movement of the
Palestinians on their own land under occupation.
Israel was initially a signatory to the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) but later pulled out of it and
refused to ratify it when it read Article(8)(b)(viii) of the Statute
which clearly states that the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the
Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the
territory it occupies is a war crime.
Most observers of Netanyahus bullying and shenanigans
agree that he is so furious over the new UN credentials of the
Palestinian Authority largely because the coward bully in him
fears that, armed with their new legal status the Palestinians may
go to ICJ or drag Israel before ICC for its blatant and persistent
refusal to abide by international law. So a hectoring Netanyahu
wants to rush into creating new ground realities in the occupied
land and snuff life out of any blue-print of a physically contiguous
state of the Palestinians.
In his remarks before his Ottawa audience, Mustafa
Barghouti didnt flinch from stating, candidly, that the Palestinians
may not be averse to going before these international courts of
law if Netanyahu persisted in his pox-on-you posture and atti-
tude, vis--vis the Palestinians. Barghouti said, emphatically, If
Israel continues to evade the law, they (the Palestinians) are
obliged to take stepsquite soon.
So the ball, proverbially speaking, is in the court of Israel and
its western mentors and benefactors to decide whether they
would like to go on giving into Netanyahus bullying and arm-
twisting -which would array them on the wrong side of history and
make them culpable before the international community of
nations that have just given the Palestinians their thumbs up and
ushered in a new era of hope and promise for them.
An inebriated Netanyahu, and his insufferably racist side-
kick, Avigdor Lieberman, might still suffer from hubris-induced
paralysis of mind, but even some of Israels erstwhile unquestion-
ing supporters and mentors in Europe clearly can see that
Netanyahu & Co. may have bitten more than they can chew, this
time around.
With an eye on the embarrassing fallout from Netanyahus
arrogant move, the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague,
could see the picture lucidly without the kind of cobwebs still
blinkering the vision of Obama and others in his administration on
the issue. Hague had this to say in regard to Netanyahus plan of
expanding the settlements; If implemented, these plans would
alter the situation, with Jerusalem as a shared capital, increasing-
ly difficult to achieve. They would undermine Israels internation-
al reputation and create doubts about its stated commitment to
achieving peace with the Palestinians.
Hague doesnt have to dig too deep into the history of the
20th century to quickly discover that the genie the British-admin-
istered Balfour Declaration had released, 65 years ago, has,
today, become a monster that not only deems it his birthright to
trample over the Palestinian sensitivities and fundamental rights
but has also scant respect for international laws and conventions
regulating the global comity of civilised states. Israel, under its
Zionist doctrine, is a state that lives by the sword and practices
terrorism as an essential perk of its power.
However, the international community of states still believing
in the primacy of law and supremacy of justice have given the
Palestinians what was long over-due to them. That should add to
the quantum of hope among the oppressed, persecuted and
occupied Palestinians and rekindle their faith in the ultimate tri-
umph of justice over tyranny.
A Humiliated Israel Plans further
Punishment of Palestinians
Alan Hart, a veteran of several US administrations and an expert on intelligence
services who has been an outspoken critic of US having pawned its policies to Israeli
and American Zionists, got it right in lambasting Netanyahus provocation as
indicative of an Israel behaving like Neo-Nazis.
Recording his reaction to Netanyahus mischief in his widely-read blog, on
December 3, Hart laid it out with remarkable clarity and candidness in asking the
question, Are Israels Jews, some of them, on their way to becoming Nazis? Hart no room
to doubt that Israelis faithful to-and toeing the aggressive lines of the likes of Netanyahu
and Lieberman-were behaving exactly as the Nazis under Hitler did in Germany.
ENGLISH
Russian Military Intelligence (GRU) daily reports on the Iraq war (Compiled
by Zafarul-Islam Khan) 112pp, Rs 75/d 10
Shamsul Islam, Golwalkars We or our nationhood defined: A critique
with the full text of the book, 200pp, Rs 150/d 15
Islamic economics, banking and finance (Special issue of MAP),
200pp., Rs 175/d 15
Irfan, Punchline (cartoons), 112 pp., Rs 50/d4
Zafarul-Islam Khan (ed.), Palestine Documents 1897-1998
894 pp. (HB), (Out of print)
Ram Puniyani, Terrorism: Facts Vs Myths 96 pp (Out of print)
Zafarul-Islam Khan, At the threshold of a new millennium 32 pp., Rs 20/d3
Zafarul-Islam Khan, Hijrah in Islam 398 pp (Out of print)
ARABIC
Zafarul-Islam Khan, Waliullah al-Dihlawi 50 pp., Rs 20/d3
Iqbal Ahmad Khan Suhail, Ma Huwa al-Riba? 196 pp. (HB), Rs 180/d 9.5
Mustafa A.R.A. Roshash, Ahkam al-sharikat fil-fiqh al-Islami - dirasah
fiqhiyah muqaranah 312 pp., Rs 600/d20
URDU
Naseema Hurzuk, Sitaaron se Aagey [autobiography],
272 pp., Rs 150/d15
Malik Ben Nabi, Jadid Islami fikr par mustashriqin kay asarat,
50 pp., Rs 30
Zafarul-Islam Khan, Milli masael - chand aham sawalon ke jawabat
42 pp., Rs 20
Ahmad Muhammad Kani, Maghribi Afriqa ki tahrik-e jihad
(Sokoto Caliphate), 106 pp., Rs 40/d4
HINDI
S.M. Mushrif, Karkare ke Hatyare Kaun? - Bharat
mein aatankvaad ka asli chehra 368pp, Rs 250/d 20
Yugal Kishore Sharan Shastri, Ram Janmabhoomi banaam Babri Masjid
- Mithak ewam tathye 64pp, Rs 40/d 5
GUJARATI
S.M. Mushrif, Karkare na Qatilo Kaun?
Bharitya aatankvaad no asli chehro 352pp, Rs 200/d 20
BOOKS DISTRIBUTED
Sachar Committee Report, Ministry of Minority Affairs, English Rs 1000/d50
Urdu Rs 1000/d50; Hindi Rs 1000/d50
T.M. Mani, End of Casteism (Ordeal of a Dalit leader
who finally accepted Islam) 134 pp.(PB), Rs 50/d8
Tahir Mahmood, Uniform Civil Code 208 pp.(PB), Rs 175/d20
Full text of the Misra Commission Report, National Commission for Religious &
Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, 428 pp.(PB), Rs 500/d25
Imam Muslim, Sahih Muslim (Arabic/English) 8 Vols. Rs 1800
Colour Coded Quran (English Tajweed Rules) Rs 425
Colour Coded Juzu Amma (Part 30) (Eng Tajweed Rules) Rs 70
Colour Coded Ahsanul Qawaid (Arabic/English)
Laminated-Qaida with Namaz Rs 85
Noorani Qaidah (Arabic-English) Rs 30
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, The Prophetic Medicine Rs 200
Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi, Stories of The Prophets Rs 225
Stories of The Prophets - Ibne Kathir Rs 225
Dr. Aid Al-Qarni, You can be the Happiest Woman in the World Rs 150
Prof. S. A. Rahman, A Dictionary of Muslim Names Rs 100
I. A. Ibrahim, A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam Rs 120
A.Q. Zalloom, How the khilafah was destroyed Rs 450
Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, The Economic System In Islam Rs 490
Muhammad Abdul Haq Ansari, Sufism And Shariah Rs 240
See last page for more books
PHAROS MEDIAPUBLISHING PVT LTD
D-84 Abul Fazl Enclave - I, New Delhi 110 025
Tel.: 011-26947483, 26942883, 26952825
E-mail: books@pharosmedia.com
MO/Cheque/ payable to Pharos Media & Publishing Pvt Ltd
***Add Rs 20 postage on orders less than Rs 200
VPP/Cash on Delivery orders accepted.
To pay by credit/debit card, internet banking visit our website.
Visit us at www.pharosmedia.com
Meani ng l i ghthouse, Pharos of Al exandri a was one of the Seven
Wonders of the Worl d
Books from Pharos Media, publishers of MG
Subhash Gatade
Godses Children:
Hindutva Terror in India
440 pages
Rs 360/d 15
Kamaluddin Ahmed
Assams Doubtful Citizens :
Fact or Fiction?
62 pages
Rs 60/d 5
Afsana Rashid
Widows and Half Widows:
Saga of extra-judicial arrests &
killings in Kashmir
192 pages
Rs 200/d 15
Farooque Ahmed
Manipuri Muslims:
Historical Perspectives
615-2000 CE
192 pages
Rs 200/d 15
Dr E Kazim
Scientific Commentary Of
Suratul Faatehah
562 pages (Large format),
Rs 250/d 20
S.M. Mushrif
Who Killed Karkare? -
The real face of terrorism in
India
336 pages
Rs 300/d 20
Iqbal Ahmad Khan Suhail
What is riba?
208 pages
Rs 200/d 13
M.A. Roshash
Islamic Company Law
(Rule of companies in Islamic fiqh - a
comparative fiqhi study
302 pages
Rs 600/d20
IK Shukla
Hindutva: Treason & Terrorism
184 pages
Rs 130/d10
Mustafa Kamal Sherwani
Secular Horror:
15 years ordeal with Indian sec-
ularism
96 pages
Rs 80/d10
Nur Ali Qabobe
Somalia:
From Nation-State To Tribal
Mutiny
152 pages (HB) ,
Rs 300/d20
Zafarul-Islam Khan
Usul-e tahqiq
[on methodology of modern research],
192 pages
Rs 120/d10
Feza Aazmi
Azab-e-Humsaigi
(The Agony Trail)
(with English Translation)
224 pages
Rs 120/d10
Iqbal A Khan Suhail
Riba kya hai?
230 pages (HB),
Rs 120/d10
Tahir Mahmood
Minorities Commission:
minor role in major affairs
viii+286pages
Rs 300/d 15
S.M. Mushrif
Karkare ke qatil kaun -
Hindustan mein dahshatgardi ka asl
chehra
312 pages
Rs 200/d 20
Allama Muhammad Iqbal
Islam & Ahmadism
48 pages
Rs 30/d5
Shamsul-Islam
RSS Primer:
Based on Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh documents
32 pages
Rs 30/d 4
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012 19
NEWARRIVAL
Continued from the previous issue
What is taught: Isaac Newton, during the 17th
century, discovered that white light consists of
various rays of coloured light.
What should be taught: This discovery was
made in its entirety by Al-Haytham (11th century)
and Kamal ad-Din (14th century). Newton did
make original discoveries, but this was not one
of them.
What is taught: The English scholar Roger
Bacon (d. 1292) first mentioned glass lenses for
improving vision. At nearly the same time, eye-
glasses could be found in use both in China
and Europe .
What should be taught: Ibn Firnas of Islamic
Spain invented eyeglasses during the 9th centu-
ry, and they were manufactured and sold
throughout Spain for over two centuries. Any
mention of eyeglasses by Roger Bacon was
simply a regurgitation of the work of al-Haytham
(d. 1039), whose research Bacon frequently
referred to.
What is taught: Gunpowder was developed in
the Western world as a result of Roger Bacons
work in 1242. The first usage of gunpowder in
weapons was when the Chinese fired it from
bamboo shoots in attempt to frighten Mongol
conquerors. They produced it by adding sulfur
and charcoal to saltpeter.
What should be Taught: The Chinese devel-
oped saltpeter for use in fireworks and knew of
no tactical military use for gunpowder, nor did
they invent its formula. Research by Reinuad
and Fave have clearly shown that gunpowder
was formulated initially by Muslim chemists.
Further, these historians claim that the Muslims
developed the first fire-arms. Notably, Muslim
armies used grenades and other weapons in
their defence of Algericus against the Franks
during the 14th century. Jean Mathes indicates
that the Muslim rulers had stock-piles of
grenades, rifles, crude cannons, incendiary
devices, sulfur bombs and pistols decades
before such devices were used in Europe . The
first mention of a cannon was in an Arabic text
around 1300 A.D. Roger Bacon learned
of the formula for gunpowder from Latin transla-
tions of Arabic books. He brought forth nothing
original in this regard.
What is taught: The compass was invented by
the Chinese who may have been the first to use
it for navigational purposes sometime between
1000 and 1100 A.D. The earliest reference to its
use in navigation was by the Englishman,
Alexander Neckam (1157-1217).
What Should be Taught: Muslim geographers
and navigators learned of the magnetic needle,
possibly from the Chinese, and were the first to
use magnetic needles in navigation. They
invented the compass and passed the knowl-
edge of its use in navigation to the West.
European navigators relied on Muslim pilots and
their instruments when exploring unknown terri-
tories. Gustav LeBon claims that the magnetic
needle and compass were entirely invented by
the Muslims and that the Chinese had little to do
with it. Neckam, as well as the Chinese, proba-
bly learned of it from Muslim traders. It is note-
worthy that the Chinese improved their naviga-
tional expertise after they began interacting with
the Muslims during the 8th century.
What is taught: The first man to classify the
races was the German Johann F. Blumenbach,
who divided mankind into white, yellow, brown,
black and red peoples.
What should be Taught: Muslim scholars of
the 9th through 14th centuries invented the sci-
ence of ethnography. A number of Muslim geog-
raphers classified the races, writing detailed
explanations of their unique cultural habits and
physical appearances. They wrote thousands of
pages on this subject. Blumenbachs works
were insignificant in comparison.
What is taught: The science of geography was
revived during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries
when the ancient works of Ptolemy were discov-
ered. The Crusades and the
Portuguese/Spanish expeditions also con-
tributed to this reawakening. The first scientifi-
cally- based treatise on geography was pro-
duced during this period by Europe s scholars.
What should be taught: Muslim geographers
produced untold volumes of books on the geog-
raphy of Africa, Asia, India , China and the
Indies during the 8th through 15th centuries.
These writings included the worlds first geo-
graphical encyclopedias, almanacs and road
maps. Ibn Battutahs 14th century masterpieces
provide a detailed view of the geography of the
ancient world. The Muslim geographers of the
10th through 15th centuries far exceeded the
output by Europeans regarding the geography
of these regions well into the 18th century. The
Crusades led to the destruction of educational
institutions, their scholars and books. They
brought nothing substantive regarding geogra-
phy to the Western world.
What is taught: Robert Boyle, in the 17th cen-
tury, originated the science of chemistry.
What should be Taught: A variety of Muslim
chemists, including ar-Razi, al-Jabr, al-Biruni
and al-Kindi, performed scientific experiments in
chemistry some 700 years prior to Boyle. Durant
writes that the Muslims introduced the experi-
mental method to this science. Humboldt
regards the Muslims as the founders of chem-
istry.
What is taught: Leonardo da Vinci (16th centu-
ry) fathered the science of geology when he
noted that fossils found on mountains indicated
a watery origin of the earth.
What Should be Taught: Al-Biruni (1lth centu-
ry) made precisely this observation and added
much to it, including a huge book on geology,
hundreds of years before Da Vinci was born. Ibn
Sina noted this as well (see pp. 100-101 of
Drapers book). it is probable that Da Vinci first
learned of this concept from Latin translations of
Islamic books. He added nothing original to their
findings.
What is Taught: The first mention of the geo-
logical formation of valleys was in 1756, when
Nicolas Desmarest proposed that they were
formed over long periods of time by streams.
What should be taught: Ibn Sina and al-Biruni
made precisely this discovery during the 11th
century (see pp. 102 and 103 of Drapers book),
fully 700 years prior to Desmarest.
What is taught: Galileo (17th century) was the
worlds first great experimenter.
What should be taught: Al-Biruni (d. 1050) was
the worlds first great experimenter. He wrote
over 200 books, many of which discuss his pre-
cise experiments. His literary output in the sci-
ences amounts to some 13,000 pages, far
exceeding that written by Galileo or, for that
matter, Galileo and Newton combined.
What is taught: The Italian Giovanni Morgagni
is regarded as the father of pathology because
he was the first to correctly describe the nature
of disease.
What should be Taught: Islams surgeons
were the first pathologists. They fully realized
the nature of disease and described a variety of
diseases to modern detail. Ibn Zuhr correctly
described the nature of pleurisy, tuberculosis
and pericarditis. Az-Zahrawi accurately docu-
mented the pathology of hydrocephalus (water
on the brain) and other congenital diseases. Ibn
al-Quff and Ibn an-Nafs gave perfect descrip-
tions of the diseases of circulation. Other
Muslim surgeons gave the first accurate
descriptions of certain malignancies, including
cancer of the stomach, bowel and esophagus.
These surgeons were the originators of patholo-
gy, not Giovanni Morgagni.
What is taught: Paul Ehrlich (19th century) is
the originator of drug chemotherapy, which is
the use of specific drugs to kill microbes.
What should be Taught: Muslim physicians
used a variety of specific substances to destroy
microbes. They applied sulfur topically specifi-
cally to kill the scabies mite. Ar-Razi (10th cen-
tury) used mercurial compounds as topical anti-
septics.
What is taught: Purified alcohol, made through
distillation, was first produced by Arnau de
Villanova, a Spanish alchemist, in 1300 A.D.
What should be taught: Numerous Muslim
chemists produced medicinal-grade alcohol
through distillation as early as the 10th century
and manufactured on a large scale the first dis-
tillation devices for use in chemistry. They used
alcohol as a solvent and antiseptic.
What is taught: The first surgery performed
under inhalation anaesthesia was conducted by
C.W. Long, an American, in 1845.
What should be taught: Six hundred years
prior to Long, Islamic Spains Az-Zahrawi and
Ibn Zuhr, among other Muslim surgeons, per-
formed hundreds of surgeries under inhalation
anaesthesia with the use of narcotic-soaked
sponges which were placed over the face.
What is taught: During the 16th century
Paracelsus invented the use of opium extracts
for anaesthesia.
What should be Taught: Muslim physicians
introduced the aesthetic value of opium deriva-
tives during the Middle Ages. Opium was origi-
nally used as an anesthetic agent by the
Greeks. Paracelsus was a student of Ibn Sinas
works from which it is almost assured that he
derived this idea.
ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES
1
Dont miss
an issue
DELIVERED AT YOUR DOORSTEP
MG
SUBSCRIPTION
RATES
24 pages per issue
24 issues per year
1 YEAR
(24 issues)
India Rs 240
Foreign**: US$ 48
*By Airmail
THE MILLI GAZETTE TELLING THE MUSLIM SIDE OF THE STORY SINCE JANUARY 2000
AEFX-310
MG SUBSCRI PTI ON FORM
I would like to subscribe to The Milli Gazette in the following ways:
SUBSCRIBE subscription by paying one year subscription [24 issues]
RENEW subscription no........................................... by paying one year subscription
GIFT a subscription to a friend/relative by paying one subscription
With your subscription payment you can INTRODUCE MG to a friend for 3 months absolutely free.
(Give address in gift subscription part below)
Please complete the subscription order form and send it to:
THE MILLI GAZETTE, D-84 Abul Fazal EnclavePart-I, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025 Tel. 011-26947483
Mr/Dr/Mrs/Ms........................................................... .....................................................................Profession:..................................
Address: .................................................................. ..................................................................................................................... ...
.............................................. ..............................................................................State.............................Pin Code.........................
Tel.(................).....................................Mobile ...............................................E-mail:.......................................................................................
Gift subscription or Free introduction recipients Name & address:............................................... ..........................
................................................................................................................................................................................. .......................
.............................................. .........................State.............................Pin Code.........................Tel.(................)...................................
ENCLOSED Cheque payable to The Milli Gazette for Rs*......... ...................No.......................................dated...........................
Or Cash on Delivery/VPP or M.O. No. .................dated......................Booked from P.O................. ..........................
* For Indian rupees cheques payable outside Delhi/Mum/Hyd/Bang/Chn/Kol please add bank charges of Rs 20
** For US$ / UK/Euro and other non-rupees cheques please add bank charges of US$ 4
*** Cash on Delivery only possible within India. The postman will come and collect the payment.
T
H
E
M
I
L
L
I
G
A
Z
E
T
T
E
I
n
d
i
a
n

M
u
s
l
i
m
s

L
e
a
d
i
n
g

E
n
g
l
i
s
h

N
e
w
s
p
a
p
e
r
A lot can happen
within the community
and beyond in a fort-
night. Riots erupt,
wars blow up, reputa-
tions are won and
lost, scandals blow
over and pretty much
everything in between
can take a different
turn. Make sure you
get your hands on the
real picture
subscribe to
THE MILLI GAZETTE.
Well keep you
posted wherever
you are.
Visit
www.milligazette.com
to pay by
Credit / Debit
Itz Cash Cards
Net banking
PLEASE PHOTOCOPY OR CUT THIS FORM
OR SEND THE REQUIRED DETAILS
ON A PLAIN PAPER
ALONG WITH YOUR PAYMENT
The Forgotten Scientific legacy of the Muslim World
Muslim contribution to Science - ii
20 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012
Excerpted from Forgotten
History of Muslims
By J W Draper
To be continued in the next issue
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012 21
BOOKS
Book: From Camp David to Cast Lead: Essays on Israel,
Palestine and the future of Peace Process
Edited by Daanish Faruqi
Publisher: Lexington Books, Maryland, USA
Year of Publication: 2011
Pages: 173
Price: Not mentioned
ISBN: 978-0-7391-4456-5
MUSHTAQ UL HAQ AHMAD SIKANDER
The issue of Palestine has been on the priority list of the United
Nations as an unsolved and perpetual dispute since the unjust
creation of Israel on 14 May, 1948, the day which is commemo-
rated as Nakba (Catastrophe) by the Palestinians. Many wars
have been imposed on Palestinians and the neighbouring Arab
countries by Israel since then, which have consumed thousands
of souls, maimed hundreds and destroyed properties worth bil-
lions. Israel illegally justifies these wars as a struggle for its sur-
vival among hostile Arab nations. The unconditional and unrelent-
ing support which Israel has been getting from the superpowers
during and after the Cold War has encouraged it to commit more
aggression with impunity. Despite the occasional hue and cry by
human rights activists, UN General Assembly resolutions and the
condemnations pouring in every other day, Israel isnt pressur-
ized even by an iota to bring a bit of relaxation in its atrocities
against Palestinians.
The present book is a compilation of different essays on
Israel-Palestine conflict, why peace is still elusive, and why rec-
onciliation efforts are bringing no respite in violence especially
during the last one decade. As the name of the book suggests, it
covers the failed negotiations of Camp David (2000) to the
Operation Cast Lead (2008-09). It is edited by Daanish Faruqi
who in his powerful introduction to the collection says that The
idea of a bi-national state shared by Israelis and Palestinians,
previously considered sacrilegious in public discourse, is now
garnering renewed interest. Describing the purpose of the book,
he writes that, Its purpose is to address the limitations of con-
ventional discourse towards this conflict which the rapidly shifting
political dynamics of the past decade have made unabashedly
apparent.
The volume has been divided into four sections. The first sec-
tion Beginnings consists of three chapters. Henry Pachter, in his
essay, Who are the Palestinians? touches the cord with a histo-
ry of the Palestinians, their agony since the creation of Israel and
how they became refugees in their own land but infers a unique
solution, The solution for Jerusalem will have to be imposed by
great powers; it cannot be negotiated between the parties con-
cerned. As long as they pretend to negotiate about it, they mere-
ly indicate that they do not mean to make peace(p. 17). But will
such an imposed solution be respected by both Israel and
Palestine? Who can guarantee that the imposed solution even if
respected wouldnt initiate a new spate of violence?
Deconstructing Israeli Democracy: On the cultural pre-requi-
sites of Political Modernity is the title of Michael J Thompsons
paper which deliberates that a liberal democracy as pronounced
by John Locke is completely absent in the Israeli polity which is
rather a Jewish hegemony via ethnocentrism which is a pre-mod-
ern concept. Thompson proves that the presupposition of Uncle
Sam and various other countries that Israel is the only country in
the Arab World which is a democracy and hence a model to be
emulated is a brazen sham as, the very idea of a State defined
by religious and ethnic identity becomes anti-liberal and therefore
anti-democratic since it privileges a conception of politics which
survives on the basis of exclusion(p. 22), whereas democracy
thrives and survives on pluralism, inclusiveness and mass partic-
ipation.
Menachem Klein discusses the Security-Settlement
Complex in the third chapter and unveils the settlement and
expansion of Israel in the West Bank, though Gaza is ignored.
Klein describes how Palestinian land is confiscated and no com-
pensation is paid for the same, and how the nexus of military-set-
tlement-bureaucracy complex tries every tactic to squeeze and
suffocate the Palestinian inhabitants of West bank in all aspects.
In many cases the military even supports the unauthorized con-
struction and expansion of illegal settlements.
Part two of the book 2000 to 2006: Sharon, the Intifada, and
the Roadmap contains four essays which deal with various
aspects of Israel-Palestine conflict during these years. Avi Shlaim
in his essay, Ariel Sharons War against the Palestinians, traces
the various roles of Ariel Sharon from military to politics and how
Sharon was following Jabotinskys way while dealing with
Palestinians (Jabotinsky is the father of Jewish right). Sharon was
of the firm belief that Palestinians could never be peace partners,
hence it was necessary to decimate and annihilate them wherev-
er you find them. Hence with all the military might at his disposal
he expanded the Jewish settlements scuttling the Oslo accords in
the process. For Sharon, power was the deciding factor for his
politics and negotiation too. The Arabs, first the Egyptians, then
the Palestinians, then the Jordanians, learnt the hard way that
Israel could not be defeated on the battlefield and were com-
pelled to negotiate with it from a position of palpable weakness
(p. 44). He tried every tactic to defeat Palestinians and make
them negotiate on his own terms. Sharon was the father of the
Iron Wall strategy, hence the security barrier was erected along
the West bank.
The Building of a Wall is the title of the next essay by Moshe
Zuckermann. He takes the reader into the dynamics of the wall
debate and will it serve the purpose of curbing terrorism accord-
ing to Israel. He concludes that this policy of shuttering terroris
nothing other than a perfidious ideology as long as the actual
causes of terror, and theIsraeli occupation and systematic
oppression of the Palestinian people, are not abolished(p. 56).
West Bank Settlements Obstruct Peace: Israels Empire
State Building is the title of Marwan Bisharas essay who
believes that the greatest barrier to peace in the Middle East are
the ever expanding Israeli settlements. He says that the settle-
ment drive and its ideology have become a cornerstone of mod-
ern Israeli national identity (p. 59). The settlements have various
ramifications on different aspects of life and even the power of
settlers is growing in the electoral politics. Settlers believe in eth-
nic cleansing and targeting innocents under the veil of War on ter-
ror, plus the discriminatory laws prevalent between the settlers
and Palestinians make peace an illusion and distant dream.
Mustapha Barghoutis essay, A Place for our Dream takes
the settlement debate further. He writes that, through its settle-
ment activities, Israel has sought to transform the West Bank into
an ethnically Israeli territory, in which Palestinian villages and
towns are nothing more than isolated outposts (p. 65). He also
deliberates on several steps to be undertaken for the restoration
of peace in Palestine.
Part three of the book, 2006 to 2008: Hamas Election
Sweep, Gaza Incursions, and the Annapolis Peace Conference
contains three essays, starting with Elna Sondergaards long
essay, Trails in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict which lucidly but
academically discusses the helplessness of judiciary and the fate
of litigations. In case of settlements, courts cant decide or pro-
vide judicial protection and usually have to take the official posi-
tion, thus courts fail to take an independent stance or come to
rescue of the wronged ones who are facing the Israeli States
wrath.
Blitzkrieg in Gaza, is the title of Lawrence Davidsons essay
according to which there have been more than three hundred
Israeli incursions into Gaza, West bank and Lebanon since 1967.
This essay has been written in the backdrop of Operation
Summer Rains of 2006 which was imposed on Gaza by Israel to
recover an abducted soldier and the purpose of the war was to
dismantle and dislodge the elected Hamas government. Despite
opting for peaceful means of resistance, the biased media always
stereotypes and reports the suicide bombings by Palestinians
only while sidelining the peaceful methods and making them die
in oblivion.
Stephen Eric Bronner tries to describe Who are the
Palestinians Today? in his essay and goes back into history
when, during the Cold War, the atrocities and breach of treaties
by Israel were overlooked by USA because it was supposed to
check the spread of communism in the Arab world, but now when
the elected Hamas government is in place, Israel is also being
condemned for its violations of treaties and human rights. Various
conferences like Annapolis are discussed too which had no out-
come, plus the attempts of unity between Hamas and Fateh are
discussed too, alongwith the stance of Israel to talk to Hamas
only when it recognizes Israel, but till date no such reconciliation
attempts have been opted for.
The fourth and the last part Gaza in 2009-2010: Operation
Cast Lead and the Future of the Peace Process contains two
essays, Unjust and Illegal: The Israeli attack on Gaza is the fist
essay by Stephen R Shalom, which deals with the Operation
Cast Lead when Israel attacked Gaza on the pretext of stopping
rockets fired into Israel. Shalom is of the opinion that no self-
defence theory of Israel is justified as Palestinians are struggling
by just means to end occupation.
The settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, and it is
always Israel which breaches every truce and on the pretext of
Operation Cast Lead, Israel did the same though Hamas was
ready to extend the truce again. There are no means by which
Israel can justify the Operation Cast Lead and the atrocities com-
mitted against the Palestinians were just unheard of earlier, like
using Palestinian civilians as human shields, mingling Israeli
Defence Forces(IDF) with Israeli civilians, targeting hospitals and
ambulances on the charge of harbouring militants and acting as
their safe havens.
In the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead no IDF soldier was
prosecuted for the massacres, intentional killings and atrocities
perpetuated on Gazans. To add insult to injury collective punish-
ment in the form of economic blockade was imposed on the peo-
ple of Gaza.
Sara Roys essay Gazas Diminishing Landscape speaks
about the agony and devastation which people of Gaza under-
went as a result of the Operation Cast Lead and various other
earlier Israeli incursions, how their lives are ruined by the war and
now by the economic blockade which has resulted in a crises of
every type in Gaza. Roy is of the opinion that whether settlements
are expanding or Israel is militarily occupying Gaza water, trans-
port, food items, trade, taxes and tourism, everything is controlled
by Israel. Roy tries to highlight the dichotomy between West Bank
and Gaza, but is all praises for the spirit of Gazans who have
started to rebuild their lives once again.
The book is an essential read for everyone interested in the
last decade of Israel-Palestine conflict and even a general read-
er cannot afford to miss this book, which contains opinions, analy-
ses and solutions of varied hues. The book lives to its promise
which its Editor Daanish Faruqi makes in the Introduction to the
volume, Whether the two states solution is the most desirable
outcome is beside the point; instead, the goal of this volume is to
challenge the underlying assumptions of prevailing peace para-
digms by exposing their limitations in the aftermath of the past ten
years. The book is successful in addressing the challenges.
Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander is Writer-Activist based in
Srinagar, Kashmir and can be reached at
sikandarmushtaq@gmail.com
From Camp David to Cast Lead
Sharon was of the firm belief that Palestinians
could never be peace partners, hence it was nec-
essary to decimate and annihilate them wherever
you find them. Hence with all the military might at
his disposal he expanded the Jewish settlements
scuttling the Oslo accords in the process.
Sachar
Committee
Report
English Rs 1000
Hindi Rs 1000
Urdu Rs 1000
Ordering details on page 19
Assams Doubtful Citizens
Fact or Fiction?
Find out on page 19
faru
MG CLASSIFIEDS / DISPLAY ADS
22 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012
Classifieds: Rs 25 per word per insertion. Minimum charges Rs 500. Display (B/W): Rs 40 per sq. cm
Send your ad to D-84 Abul Fazal Encl-Part -I, New Delhi-110025 with cheque/DD/postal order/M.O. payable at Delhi
ADVERTISEMENT RATES: THE MILLI GAZETTE
B/W Full page (24.4 x 37) cm Rs 31,000
B/W Half page (12 x 36.6 cm) Rs 18,000
B/W Half page (24.4 x 18.5 cm) Rs 16,000
B/W Qtr page (12.2 x 18.5 cm or 225 cm
2
area) Rs 8,500
B/W Custom size (per sq. cm space) (B/W) Rs 40
Colour Custom size (per sq. cm space) Rs 80
Classifieds (minimum 20 words) Rs 25 / word
Any right page: 20% extra; or details email to sales@milligazette.com
REACH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
READERSHIP: International India, Gulf, North America and Western Europe, especially
among Indian Muslims and NRIs of Indian Muslim origin.Your ad will also appear on the
newspapers website www.milligazette.com until the next issue. Banners with links to your
websites may also be placed on MG website with prior arrangement.
Learn the Language
of the Quran
www.understandquran.com
www.lqtoronto.com
www.zekr.org Free Quran
Study Software
Get a A verse a day, from the
Quran, in English in your inbox,
send a blank email to
quran.avad@ilmpedia.net
Advertisers alone are responsible for the claims and contents in their ads. The Milli Gazette doesnt vouch for any claims
made by advertisers. You are recommended to make appropriate enquiries and seek appropriate advice. MG shall not be
held liable for any consequences, in the event such claims are not honoured by the Advertisers.
CLIPPINGS SERVICE
O P I N E WS & F E AT U R E S S E R V I C E
Unique clippings, database and
documentation service
covering a vast range of subjects.
Over 5000 individual subject-files on almost any
aspect, especially India, Islamic issues, Palestine,
Kashmir, Muslim minorities etc. etc.
PHAROS MEDIA
D-84 Abul Fazl Enclave-I,
Jamia Nagar, New Delhi-110025
Email: opi@pharosmedia.com
http://www.pharosmedia.com/opi.htm
For Muslim Indias
2003 & 2004
volumes contact
PHAROS MEDIA &
PUBLISHING P LTD
D-84 Abul Fazal Enc-I, Jamia
Nagar, New Delhi 110025
Email: info@pharosmedia.com
Complete Set of Vol. 21 (2003)
Rs 550 / Euro 70 (Including
postage)
Complete Set of Vol. 22 (2004)
Rs 550 / Euro 70
(Including postage)
BACK
ISSUES
AVAILABLE
THE MILLI GAZETTE
D-84, Abul Fazl Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar,
New Delhi-110025 India Tel.: (+91-11) 2694 7483
Email: mg@milligazette.com
a ` f Z ; y Q . > + 7 _ ] ; Z G G S ; G k Z k
G S Z n ; G k Z Z [ ; ^ ; Z G ] ^ + 7
] New Arrivals G ] a + 7
Index ; G . Z ; ; ` G ) G 5 7 ]
i > k G 7 , Obituaries Z >
96 > ; Z G
______
g ; S `
. . I G Z Y
G Z 100 G Z . X & 120
G Z 5000 G Z > 180 . Z ; k ; G ]
G Z . . 400 _ Y # k ^& W
; , 2 E ; . . . 25 G Z Z Y { . 10,000 >
; , 2 E ; . ; k Z . W 100 6 Z Y
; , 2 E ; . 500 >
URDU BOOK REVIEW
1739/3 (Basement) New Kohinoor Hotel,
Pataudi House, Darya Ganj, New Delhi-110002
Tel.: 011-23266347 / 09953630788
Email:urdubookreview@gmail.com
Website: www.urdubookreview.com
. g
| j a q a a , | | | , U a a a j a j m | I o
@ D h o

O
. G S ; ' W
_ ^ ` f G , 1995
MATRIMONIALS
GROOMS WANTED
SM 4 Sunni Ansari Girl 5 / 28 Fair M.Sc Clerk SBI
Lucknow. Father Retired Govt Officer. Pref U.P.
M: 9451065297 mohdmustafa5l@yahoo.in
SM for 34/53 BCom/MS (Aus) fr vry pretty homely
attrctv Austr. Citzn, wrkg in HK, opn 2 relocte, now in
India T; 9029402034/ shaadi.ns@gmail.com
SMAnsari widow 32/52 fair M.Sc. (Electronics) Teacher,
1 son 5 yrs, own flat Delhi seeks Delhi/ NCR wkg. match
pref. Bihar. Contact: 9891062499.
SM4 Siddiqui bful girls in Aligarh 30/52, M.Sc, B.Ed,
Teaching and 26/55, MSW. Early Marriage. Alliance
from well edu. #09411491462.
Email: delhi356@ymail.com
SM for Sunni Muslim Graduate girl 27,53 inch fair
smart convent educated modern with family values,
daughter of a retired senior officer, Mumbai based fami-
ly, from qualified Sunni Shaikh / Pathan boys upto 32
years well settled in life, independent preferably having
own accommodation in Mumbai. Contact on mail
p.u.a@botmail.co.uk, with complete details & photo-
graph mobile 9821067184.
SUNNI syed girl 34/54, Ex IAF offr,MBA,15L, Seeks
well Edu, broad minded groom Cont:
9717343599/09949137840 farzanahid2004@gmail.com
EQUALLY Edu. SM match for 36/53 Iless div. conv.
edu. MBA earning 7Lpa. Email: ma_mansoori@rediff-
mail.com Mb: 09414193783
BRIDES WANTED
SM family 4m lucknow sttld Blore seeks bful bride 18-24
yrs for hsome sw engr aged 27 yrs wrkg in L&T blore
email B/P. 09741033955 anwarkhan_a@hotmail.com
SUNNI Muslim27/62/ B.Tech, MBA Senior Manager in
MNC Earning 20Lpa seeks Tall, Slim, Beautiful,
Educated Girl. E: ahmedshahana02@gmail.com
MEDICO ( PG done/doing) Match 4 Sunni(Sheik/Pathn)
Doctor(Radiologist) 31/170.emid-
symphony9605@gmail.com.
SKH Idrisi UP-Delhi fmly seek bful Dindar girl for hsm
boy 31/510 Phd(neuro)Japan 29/58 B.Tech MBA Mgr
MNC Japan. Caste no bar. Early marriage.
(M) 9873277324 Em: mdsayeedfamily@gmail.com
SM4 Sunni Ansari boy v.fair 28/510
B.Pharma,MBA,Manager in Pharma Co.well stld in
Delhi seeking Fair Grad. Religious Girl M:-9717106267
Eml: ansari.9717@gmail.com
ANSARI Boy 27/5-5, B.Tech wkg in Banglore, seek
Educated,B-full Girl, Biodata to shadabah-
madansari.786@gmail.com 09987567072.
SUNNI Hsome B.D.S. D.R. boy 29/58 Doctor fmly,
seeks M.B.B.S., B.D.S., P.C.S., Gov. job girl. Cast No Bar.
Mb: 08545013818, 09795117585
DELHI Based high business Class Venky college Grad.
Son 31/6 lkng 4 Bful well edu girl frm bness fmly only
#9810007860 Em: info@zabbys.net
SEEKING Bful Girls for Hsome boy 28/58Govt. job &
25/ 56 Comp. Engineer boy. Cont. 9310245015,
9717813611 Em: tajs0786@gmail.com
MG
Very good newspaper. Kindly continue and serve community and
nation. H M Khan, Jaipur - 302018 Rajasthan
hmkhan@sancharnet.in
II
The Milli Gazette is very informative. It is good to know a lot of news
and views. Wishing all the best.
National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), Delhi - 110001
nccidel@nccindia.in
III
Lots of appreciation to you guys for doing the great job for our com-
munity. Keep up the excellent work.
M Hanif J Dagia, Bharuch 392001
dagia4all@gmail.com
Congratulations, Mr Obama
Thank God the lesser of the two evils has grabbed power in the US
of A. Is American democracy well-defined or ill-defined is a subject to
debate. Democracy involves a series of institutions, a constitution, a
set of accepted norms for civil society, and free periodic elections.
Many nations covertly violate their own definitions as we have expe-
rienced over the last 65 years by one of the most corrupt democra-
cies in the world (India) particularly in state politics much more than
in Union politics. On the wider international scene, take the case of
the Israeli Government for instance. Israeli politicians contradict the
well-defined democratic principles, violate their own national consti-
tution and routinely commit many undemocratic actions such as
occupation, torture, annexation, civil structural demolitions, martial
law and so on. Even in the US, it is becoming increasingly a relevant
topic where the constitutional processes are being bypassed by the
executive branch and ignored by the Congress. National constitu-
tions state that a democracy must put its military under civilian con-
trol. On paper, this is correct but in practice it is a different story. We
see this vividly here in Kashmir. The U.S. economy is largely influ-
enced by military corporations, and since much of its budget is off the
record, there certainly is no democracy in the control and running of
the U.S. military. The world wonders whether America is a democra-
cy or an effective plutocracy well controlled by the filthy super-rich
and the Military Industrial Complex. Elections are necessary in a
democracy but are elections alone sufficient to create a true and
clean democracy?. This provides an interesting contrast to the U.S.
spectacle of never-ending election cycles and processes that carry
on for months and years and require hundreds of millions of dollars
to win - a grand spectacle but hardly a democratic process in an
almost single party state particularly as far as foreign policy goes.
There is the self-proclaimed belief that the U.S. is the ultimate model
of democracy, and that free markets and trade liberalization (in fact
corporate control of the worlds finances) are democratic. Can any
political analyst deny the many interventions made by the U.S. to
destroy democratic governments (Iran, Chile, Brazil, most of Central
America, Greece, Grenada to name a few) before they proved to be
a good alternative and democratic working model to the U.S. system.
Pamohamedameen (via email)
Progress downhill
Is it progress when, explaining digital vigital of T. V. a daughter tells
her father how maximum joy can be had from the idiot box which sel-
dom refrains from showing shameless scenes of fashion show, cat-
walks, body baring cheer girls, half-naked game players? It seems
man is racing to overtake devil in every field. Will this monkey busi-
ness root out corruption or spread it further in every field with no one
trusting another any more.
Sultan A. Patel, Khanpur Deh - 392150
Is Media anti-Muslim by nature?
National Hindi / Hindustan / 11/11/12 published a full page report
about the novel Jismon Mein Qaid Dastaney written by Shazi
Zaman. Media give coverage to Muslims play, drama, novel afsana,
sham-e-ghazal programmes. But media did not give any space to the
historical book Who Killed Karkare and Framed, Damned and
acquitted. Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan Amir Khan, Naushad,
Amjad Khan etc. are hot cakes for media but media blacked out the
news of release of Syed Kazmi from jail after eight months. Our
national media by nature is harshly anti-Muslims. This is fourth crum-
bling pillar of our democracy. Is judiciary hearing? For justice
Muslims life ruined. S.C. quashed the corruption case against former
union minister C. K. Jaffer Sharief in a case filed about 1995 London
tour (9 October 2012). A. P. high court lifted the ban on Md.
Azharuddin whose world record of consecutive centuries in debut is
still a record after 12 years. Syed Kazmi, noted journalist, was framed
by police. He was released from jail after eight months of imprison-
ment. Md. Aamir was released from jail after 14 years of imprison-
ment. Unending stories of Muslims agony will be covered in the
White Paper editor MG and his team is working on. It is obviously
clear that Muslims could get justice only after their career, life and
family get ruined. Is our judiciary ready to hear this?
S. Haque, Patna
Dawoodi Bohra Community: Need of Immediate Reform
The article Bohra: An Islamic sect reduced to a cult by Mr Saifuddin
Insaf (MG, Dec. 1-15) engenders a host of relevant questions. This
Shia sub-sects servile veneration for the Syedna is against the very
essence of Islam which doesnt allow any mediator between banda
and Khuda. But this religious head, Syedna, demands complete sur-
render and submission from his followers. Here, Id like to adduce a
rather straightforward analogy by placing Syedna cheek-by-jowl with
the late Bal Thackeray. Thackeray forcibly elicited respect from the
people of Bombay and Maharashtra. Similarly, the Dawoodi Bohra
religious head demands grovelling respect from his followers or else,
theyll be excommunicated. This fear of banishment makes most of
the Bohras kow-tow to this grand patriarch. Almost a year back, the
magazine Open wrote that Syedna must stop the un-Islamic prac-
tice of female circumcision of Bohra females. This is still vogue
among some North African Muslim communities in Morocco, Tunisia,
Algeria, among others. But its basically an African tribal ritual and
Syedna allows it in his fiefdom. Its his unique way to exert complete
hold over the community and congregation. More than a decade
back, Syednas goons thrashed the Bohra reformer Asghar Ali
Engineer at Indore airport. Syedna has the audacity to think that hes
on a par with Allah. But he must realise that Ain imaan hai Anal-haq
ka tarana lekin/Hai yahi kufr agar deeda-e-Mansoor na ho
(Proclaiming Im god is completely in sync with the highest parame-
ters of faith/ But its a sheer blasphemy if isnt seen by one who does-
nt have the eyes of Mansoor Hallaj, the Arab mystic who was exco-
riated for proclaiming Anal-Haq in 940 AD). The point is: Whos this
Syedna whos inebriated by absolute power of pelf? Why dont Bohra
reformers dethrone him and do away with the priesthood that has
been leeching on the helpless Bohra Muslims? If Ahmadiyyas are
heretics in Pakistan and unofficially in India as well, how come
Bohras are still tolerated?
Dr. Sumit Paul, Pune
sumitmaclean@hotmail.com
II
Apropos of the article in MG 1-15 December 2012 by Saifuddin Insaf
under the heading Bohra: an Isalmic sect reduced to a cult. Insaf
deserves heartiest congratulations for exposing un-Islamic, inhuman
and anti-Muslim activities of the religious head of Dawoodi Bohra
community HH Dr. Syedna saheb. The writer of the article has also
highlighted the corruption and malpractices in the Dawoodi Bohra
trusts and Jamaats headed by H H Dr. Syedna saheb. Two enquiry
commissions findings are ample proof of this. It requires tremendous
courage to challenge powerful religious heads. Insaf Saheb: may
your tribe increase.
Farooq Abdul Gaffar Bawani, Rajkot Gujarat
mohammed.galeriya@yahoo.co.in
Benefits of Namaz
When we become dirty we take bath. Our soul also collects dirt and
dust from our surroundings. Thoughts on lower level, jealousy, bad
words to others, anger, dee to do unlawful things and such other dirt
cover our soul and make the light of our soul very dim. Our soul
needs bath. It needs bath regularly. Namaz is a bath of our soul.
Islam only tells us to take bath five times a day to get rid of the dust
and dirt surrounding our soul. Namaz leads us on right path. Namaz
cleanses the soul and help soul send right messages to our mind.
The mind leads us to do good deeds. Namaz helps in solving many
problems. Sometimes result of our good deeds are delayed but not
to worry. Allah has His own ways to shape us and mould us. He
sends Noor( light) on the face and body of the Muslims who perform
Namaz regularly.
Nazneen O. Saherwala (Surat) nazsita@yahoo.co.in
Lalu Yadav in Pak national assembly
What a coincidence when Bihar C. M. Nitish Kumar was returning
from Pakistan tour Lalu Yadav was remembered in Pakistan National
assembly when M. Q. M. law-maker Sajid Ahmad made the sugges-
tion in national assembly that the countrys railway should be hand-
ed over to former Indian railway minister Lalu Yadav if the govt. was
unable to tackle the state run entity numerous problem (16/11/12).
Lalu Yadav will be remembered as a hero who killed communalism in
Bihar and stopped the blood-stained Advani rath yatra.
S. Haque, Patna
Yaad aye Muslmaan
Jharkhand government led by Arjun Munda BJP with coalition of
JMM. Now J. M. M. superemo announced that CM post would
change as per contract of 28-28 months rule. The Jharkhand govern-
ment is rocking. Suddenly Jharkhand minority department
announced that Urdu teachers will be appointed, Haj House con-
struction soon will be completed and staff of Haj House will be
appointed. Whenever any govt. rocks or election at hand, Muslims
are remembered for votes. After result announcement or stablity
reached, Muslims are dumped.
S. Haque, Patna
Why intel agencies have RSS mentality
A senior member of the AIMPLB Sheriff Qureshi said (09/11/12) that
mentality of intelligence agencies was that of Rashtriya Swayam
Sevak Sangh. He said that in the name of fighting terrorism, Muslim
youths were being arrested and subjected to all kind of torture. This
revelation is not new but our side is at fault that announcement came
in every late and Muslims had not diagnosed the reasons why saffron
mentality penetrated into intel agencies? We must know that Pandit
Nehru cabinet issued a secret circular not to recruit Muslims in sen-
sitive government departments. This is the vital reason saffron men-
tality penetrated in intelligence, police department. Without reserva-
tion to Muslims in intelligence and police departments, saffron men-
tality penetration cannot be checked, thus justice cannot prevail in
society.
S. Haque, Patna
Another fake announcement by Congress-led UPA
Congress net to trap Muslim votes (MG / 1-15 Nov. 2012) will
stretch till 2014 election. Now newly recruited Muslim minister for
minorities Mr. K. Rahman Khan announced that five minority univer-
sities will be established (1 Nov. 2012). He said, for educational
excellence five universities with minority character would be estab-
lished especially for Muslims in different states and a plan is being
prepared to start central schools in 93 minority dominated districts. At
least Muslims will be glad by just hearing that predecessor of
Rahman Khan had announced on 24 May 2011 to establish three
minority universities named Rafi Ahmad Qidwai University of Health
& Medical Sciences at Kishan Ganj, Khwaja Gharib Nawaz
University of Professional Technology at Ajmer and Tipu Sultan
University of Sciences and Technology at Bangalore. Congress-led
UPA kept the fund allotment for AMU campus at Kishan Ganj hang-
ing for more than one year after the Bihar government gave the land.
These are nets to trap Muslim votes.
S. Haque, Patna
RSS in the south
In the month of May-June 2010, I was on the trip to South India. I was
very much shocked see the incidents of encroachment by the saffron
brigade on the lands of monuments and built up temples on the her-
itage monuments land. At Golkunda Fort at the top near about 1 to 2
kms of land has been grabbed for a temple. People are doing puja
and a priest is sitting in the temple. Similarly I had seen a big veran-
da of Charminar captured by the saffron alliance and a temple has
been built there. Why these saffron elements wanted to grabbed the
land of monuments built up by Muslim kings. I have not come across
any incident of encroachment for temple on the monuments created
by Hindu kings by these elements. This is a planed game by them to
wipe out the good work done by the Mughal or Muslim kings in India.
In May 2012 I had a trip to the cities of M. P. Indore, Dhar and
Mandu. I observed a couple of mischievous facts created by the saf-
fron elements. At Dhar, mischievous problem makers try to grab the
Jama Masjid which was was built in 1305 by Ainul-Mulk Multani for
the dargah of Sufi saint Kamalludin Maula, a disciple of Hazrat
Nizamuddin Auliya. Trouble started in 1902 when Kashinath Krishna
Lele, who was the District Superintendent of Education, found that
some slabs of Kamal Maula mosque had engravings in Prakit and
Sanskrit. On the basis of this, Lele said that this was a Bhojshala.
Subsequently, in 1904, the complex was declared a protected mon-
ument under the British. It was in 1935 that for the first time the name
Bhojshala was officially attached to Kamal Maula when the civic
administration placed a board outside the complex calling it
Bhojshala-Kamal Maulan mosque. And here lies the genesis of the
dispute over the monument and Hindus forcibly started puja there
and Muslims are restricted from entering in the premises every
Tuesday. The second incident relates to Karbala Maidan which was
in the legal possession of Muslims well before 1947 but saffronites
wanted to build a temple of Nagdevta and a temple of Hanuman in
the middle of the ground. Bajrang Dal, VHP along with the BJP MLA
forcibly installed some stones there and the place has become dis-
puted.
Zuber Ahmad Khan, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra - 410210
Equal justice
Verily terrorism recognises no religion and often terrorists kill people
of their own community. Therefore, the blasters of Samjhota Express
should also be dealt with like A. A. Qassab (butcher). When will be
the real killers be caught?
S. Akhtar, Khanpur Deh - 392150
India-Israel friendship
Before deciding to issue a postage stamp commemorating twenty
year relationship, we should have realised that the grabbers of
Palestinian land were different from Jews. The grabbers are
Ashkenazi (European) Zionists who are acting totally against the
humanism taught by the great Prophet Moses (peace be upon him).
Sultan A. Patel, Khanpur Deh - 392150
India vs Shiv Sena
Great work to reinstate the justice in Shaheen & Rinus case. You all
are mighty warriors of justice & guards of helpless people. Nation has
to award you all: the Times, Katju, Shreya Singhal, Shaheen & Rinu.
Athikula Aziz innduz@gmail.com
Modi
Is there any need of this letter (by Syed Shahabuddin to Modi) when
we all know the sick mentality of this guy Narendra Modi. This is just
to insult our own self. If anybody seriously wants something to do for
the Muslim community, then empower yourself first and bring your-
self to the bargaining capacity. Strengthen Muslim politics in India,
form strategy for Muslim parties to win, make an umbrella of all the
Muslim parties, educate Muslim children, encourage them to fight for
govt jobs and enter security forces. Then you will be in a position to
write any letter and the person will listen to you. At this point, he will
throw your letter in to the bin even if you write a nice one. This is the
time for all Muslim organisations to get active.
Anonymous (by email)
Publish White Paper on fake police encounter
Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausarbi were murdered in a fake police
encounter in Modis Gujarat in November, 2005, Sohrabuddins close
friend Tulsiram Prajapati, who was a witness of the murder, was also
killed by Modis police in 2006. In this regard eleven accuseds,
including three former I.P.S. officers namely D. G. Vanjara, Rajkumar
Pandian and Abhay Chudasama are in Jail. According to the C.B.I.
Amit Shah, former minister of state for Home in Modi Govt. was the
kingpin of the conspiracy. In this regard he was also in jail. There
have been dozens of such fake police encounters in Gujarat, Delhi,
Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka etc. where
large number of innocent Muslims were murdered. U.P.A. Central
Government should hold high level judicial probe to punish all the cul-
prits and their masters. To keep peoples faith in clean democracy
and judiciary, the sooner criminals and law breaker are punished the
better. When people loose faith in democracy and judiciary, they take
law in their own hands.
G. Hannain, Bhandara, Maharashtra - 441904
India - a democratic state or a police state?
The recent arrest of two girls in Mumbai for posting a political com-
ment on a facebook is decidedly a case of clear abuse of authority
and grave violation of human rights. The girl had not surrendered any
body. She had only expressed the view that there was no need for
Mumbai to shut down on the death of a political leader i. e. shiv sena
chief. What was the criminality involved in it. Even more bizarre is
that the other girl was arrested for merely indicating that she agreed
with her friend. These arrests raised the question whether we are liv-
ing in a democratic state under whom citizens irrespective of religion,
race and language enjoy the most important right of expression or in
a police state where we have no rights. The Maharashtrian govt.
should take stern and deterrent action against the erring police offi-
cers and thus tell the world that Maharashtra is not ruled by shiv sena
but by the congress which stands for real democracy.
Dr. M. Hashim Kidwai, ex-M. P.,
New Delhi - 110091
Chat ghat accident death and police firing deaths
17 innocent people lost their liveis in the 19 Sept. accident in Patna.
Bihar government distributed compensation Rs. 2 lakh each the very
next day and ordered an inquiry by chief secretary home Aamir
Subhani. The inquiry sat on 22-23 Sept. In contrast, four precious
Muslim lives lost in SSB/police firing in Araria (20/12/12) and
Forbesganj (3 June 2011). Chief secretary Aamir Subhani was
enstrusted to inquire that too. For Forbesganj police firing a belated
judicial inquiry was instituted. More than one and a half years have
passed since but no one has heard what happened to these inquiries
and where are the reports. Muslim organisations are pocket organi-
sations. Muslim media is busy in praising government. Muslims are
busy in organising mushairas.
S. Haque, Patna
Sher Shahs priority was public welfare & development
The great king Sher Shah Suri considered roads necessary for wel-
fare and development. The Grand Trunk Road from Peshwar to
Kolkata is always mentioned but Sone river submerged a long stretch
of the old GT road. The GT road was constructed during 1540-45.
Now its breadth 17 feet can be seen at different stretches in Dehri-
on-Sone. Irrigation department has costed the stone and other met-
als amounting to Rs. 1.29 crore so that it can be utilised for other use.
(See MG / 16-31 Oct. 2012 letters). There is a conspiracy to wipe out
Sher Shahs name. People realised the importance of this road even
in Chat festival.
S. Haque, Patna
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012 23
REJOINDERS/OPINION/LETTERS 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 DECEMBER 2012 POSTED ON 11,12 DECEMBER 2012
ADV. FORTNIGHTLY AT NDPSO-110002
The Milli Gazette
D-84 Abul Fazl Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar,
New Delhi 110025 India Tel.: 011-2694 7483 Email: edit@milligazette.com
24 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2012
DNA Replication within wombs revealed in Quran
With best compliments from
Kaleem Kawaja , Washington DC
Printed, published and owned by Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan and printed at Vibha Publication Pvt Ltd., D-160B, Sector-7, Noida, U.P. and published at D-84 Abul Fazal Enclave-I, New Delhi 110025.
Editor: Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan
Please see page 3 inside for details
Respond now if you care about your community
W
h
ite
P
a
p
e
r o
n
Te
rro
ris
m
calling out readers & researchers
All praise to Allah
WITH THIS
ISSUE
WE COMPLETE
OUR
13th
YEAR
This is the 310th issue of The Milli Gazette.
We are grateful to our readers, advertisers, well-
wishers and everyone else who was directly or
indirectly responsible in making this happen. And,
Insha Allah, we will carry on with our endeavour.
Please continue reading and supporting MG, and
remembering us in your prayers to Allah taala to
give us strength to give voice to the voiceless.
JazakAllah Khairan.
Please see inside page 2 for list of DISTRIBUTORS,
page 20 for SUBSCRIPTION details and
page 22 for ADVERTISEMENT tariff and
page 19 to READ OUR BOOKS.
SUBHASH GATADE
Godses Children: Hindutva Terror in India
Ordering details on page 19 of this issue Urdu edition soon!
Revised and enlarged 2nd Edition
The book ably documents evidence of saffron terror.
A.G. Noorani in Frontline
A must for all those who seek truth in contemporary times.
Ram Puniyani in countercurrents.org
Gatade has detonated many myths about Islamic terrorism and
categorically held Hindu outfits for the mischief.
Sumit S Paul in The Milli Gazette