TARIQ ANWAR

During the recent Governors Conference held in Delhi, President

Pranab Mukerjee laid emphasis on the need to foil all attempts to
weaken the countrys unity and integrity. Describing terrorism as
a great danger, he said that we must be determined and firm in
dealing with this anti-humanity and fatal disease. He also made an
appeal to unite to protect women.
In this Conference of Governors, two fundamental issues
were mentioned by the President. He made an appeal to the gov-
ernment, governors and the people of India to tackle unitedly, both
forms of terrorism the difference being only in degree. As
regards the first issue, it clearly relates to terrorism in the real
sense of the term, but in respect of the second, i.e. protection and
safety of women, this too relates to terrorism because a person or
thing needs protection only when it faces danger from someone
or something.
The question now arises: whose protection and from whom?
The answer is protection of Eves daughters from beastly human
beings. Today, we have gone down so low that the honour and
chastity of Eves daughters has to be protected against the sons
of Adam. Hence, we have to seriously think about its reasons and
its effects and find out a permanent solution.
Something needs protection only when it faces danger. When
beasts in the garb of human beings satisfy their lust at the cost of
the honour and chastity of Eves daughters, they too are terrorists
for the daughters of Eve in particular, and for society in general.
Thats why recently when some brutes satisfied their lust with the
honour of a female student in Delhi, the entire country rose up in
protest and revolt and the youth of the country took to the streets.
The country then realised that the punishment of rajm (stoning to
death) prescribed by Islam for rapists is better and these brutes
should be publicly executed so that future generations should
learn a lesson. Someone suggested that just as the victim was
taken to Singapore for treatment, in the same manner rapists need
to be taken to Saudi Arabia for punishment.
In short, the fundamental points which the President hinted at
in his speech in the presence of the prime minister and other min-
isters related to terrorism only. The difference being in degree
alone. The Presidents speech strengthens the belief, and it can be
firmly stated, that he too admits that there are some violent and
anti-peace forces which are not only bent upon weakening the
unity and integrity of the country but they are also a great danger
for the countrys security. And that is why he laid emphasis on
tackling these forces with an iron hand.
Terrorism after all has no religion or colour. It is painful when
some people say that all Muslims are not terrorists but all terror-
ists are Muslim. I have been repeatedly writing and speaking that
of all those arrested on the pretext of terrorism, the majority, after
spending the best and most useful part of their life in jails, are
released and this majority is Muslims. But these people raise hell
when a reliable and responsible person like the Union home min-
ister Sushil Kumar Shinde says that training in terrorism is impart-
ed in RSS and BJP camps. After this statement, towering leaders
like Digvijay Singh and Mani Shankar Iyer came forward in his
support and told mediapersons in clear terms that whatever the
home minister said is hundred percent true. The Union home sec-
retary too held a press conference and in support of the home
ministers statement, issued a list of ten such persons who are
directly or indirectly linked to the RSS and who are either in jail for
their complicity in terrorist activities or are absconding and a
search for them is going on.
Obviously, if a responsible person like the Union home minis-
ter makes such an statement, there must be some element of truth
in it and then only such a serious matter will be made public. But
after the home ministers statement, many Muslim organisations
as well as many responsible persons expressed the doubt that his
statement may remain only a statement without any practical
action being taken. They also suspected that government may
shirk its responsibility in putting into practice the statement made
by the home minister, that such a statement was made for deriv-
ing political advantage or to garner votes in view of next years
Parliamentary elections and to please the minorities, particularly
Muslims who are being harassed and accused of terrorism and
jailed, and the bright future of whose children has been, or is
being, destroyed because they are put behind bars for ages and
ages.
If there is no such thing, government must tell the world that
when there are sufficient proofs, and the home ministry admits
that training in terrorism is imparted in RSS camps, what prevents
it from taking strong action against the RSS? When the govern-
ment can knock at the doors of High Court for putting a ban on
SIMI on the pretext of terrorism, why no announcement can be
made on putting a ban on RSS? Ban on RSS can be a more use-
ful step for taking the war against terrorism to its logical end. If no
practical steps are taken in this direction, the question will obvi-
ously arise why double standard is being adopted in the on-going
war against terrorism? India must understand that by adopting
double-standards, achieving success in anything is like living in a
fools paradise.
If no ban is imposed on RSS and it is kept free, not one but
thousands of Col. Purohits will be born and we all know their
dream. If the government fails to impose the ban on RSS, it will
have to clarify what is it that prevents it from imposing the ban on
it inspite of the fact that it has sufficient proofs against the RSS.
The country wants to know where are the officers who were
trained by Col. Purohit who played an important role in the bomb
blasts in Malegaon mosque? When it has been proved that
Mumbais former ATS chief K.P. Raghuvanshi was working in
association with Col. Purohit, government will have to tell the
country what action has been taken against Raghuvanshi and
what mischiefs or crimes he had committed along with
Col. Purohit? Similarly, whenever any bomb blast takes place any-
where, it is almost immediately stated that Indian Mujahidin are
behind this and thereafter starts a media trial and arrests of per-
sons of one particular community are made indiscriminately.
Hence the government must tell: who is the chief of Indian
Mujahidin, where is its headquarter and why its HQ has not been
sealed so far? At the same time, the government also must tell if
the sudden wave of hatred against Muslims spreading after 1992
is not because of the opening of Israeli embassy in India?
The author is the Union minister of state for agriculture, food
and civil supplies. He is also the President of All India Qaumi
Tanzeem. This article is translated from Rashtriya Sahara Urdu
daily, 14 February 2013
If we nab the real
people behind the blast,
our home minister will
have to again apologise!
H
y
d

B
la
s
t
s
:
M
a
n
z
a
r

I
m
a
m
a
r
r
e
s
t
e
d

f
r
o
m
R
a
n
c
h
i
MG/Yusuf
THE
MILLI
GAZETTE
INDIAN MUSLIMS LEADING ENGLISH NEWSPAPER SINCE 2000
RECOGNITION AT AMU...12
24 pages ` 15 ISSN 0972-3366 Fortnightly Vol. 14 No. 6 Issue Serial # 316 facebook.com/milligazette www.milligazette.com 16-31 March 2013
Hindutva terror 3,8
Hyderabad blast questions 6
Arab World 16-17
J&K 10 | Analysis 11 | Special Reports 3,13 | Issues 2,11,13
Books 21 | Speaking Out 11 | Newsmakers 12
Community News 14-15 | Islamic Perspectives 20
Our Publications 19 | Classifieds 22 | Letters 23
Inside
MG
...whenever any bomb blast takes place anywhere, it is almost immediately stated
that Indian Mujahidin are behind this and thereafter starts a media trial and arrests of
persons of one particular community are made indiscriminately.
Where is Indian Mujahidins headquarter?
Katju appeals to Media:
exercise restraint in terror cases
Chairman of the Press Council of India, Justice Markandey Katju
has appealed to the media to exercise restraint in reporting cases
of bomb blasts and other terrorist activities. Asking the media to
avoid anything which could promote communal hatred and ani-
mosity, Katju said: Once such a Muslim is arrested, it is difficult
for him to get bail because when he applies for bail, the Public
Prosecutor tells the court that the accused is a terrorist, and con-
sequently bail is almost always refused.
Katju said that such a person often remains in jail for several
years, and even if he is ultimately found innocent, nobody could
restore so many years of his life spent in jail. Citing the example of
the recent case of Amir who was arrested when he was just 17
years old and kept in jail for 14 years until he was found innocent
by the court, Katju said it was gross injustice which is often done
to Muslims in India.
In response to a letter by the Chairman of the National
Commission for Minorities Wajahat Habibullah in which he asked
Katju to advise media not to defame a particular community in ter-
ror-related cases, Katju said: Bomb blasts and other terrorist
activities often occur in our country. The particular persons who
have committed such heinous crimes should correctly be identi-
fied, prosecuted and when found guilty, given harsh punishment.
However, often innocent Muslims are arrested and incarcerated in
prison for several years in this connection.
Wajahat Habibullah in his letter to Katju said that the NCM has
noted with concern that even before completion of investigations
and on the basis of what appears unfounded conjecture, media
appears to target a particular community, which seems unfortu-
nate and this is also reciprocated in the statements of some who
are in positions of authority. B. Raman of the Institute For Topical
Studies, Chennai, has stated in an article in the magazine Outlook
recently that it seems to have become the trend that if there is ter-
ror, it has to be a Muslim. If he is a Muslim, he has to be from the
IM (Indian Mujahideen). If it is the IM, it must have acted at the
instance of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). That seems
to be the thinking reflex of the police and the agencies, NCM chief
quoted.
2 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 ISSUES / OPINION
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 MADHYA
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; Chintamani 08154-50304, 9845228652, Dharwad 9342211155, 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 9748854543, 7306639936
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: [email protected]
Website: milligazette.com; Group: pharosmedia.com
Media database support: Orient Press International
Subscription rates: p. 20
Advertisements rates: p. 22
On 2 March, Syed Shahabuddin wrote to the MG
editor: In the latest issue of the Milli Gazette
replying to a letter you have mentioned that you
were the first to disagree with me when I sent
open letter to Modi on the eve of state elections.
Unfortunately, despite my pressure my clarifica-
tion was never published or even mentioned in
the Milli Gazette although I took pains to send a
personal copy to every leader who had objected
to my open letter to Modi. As far as I remember
even the text of the open letter was not published
in the Milli Gazette. I request that the relevant
portions of both documents may be published
for record in the Milli Gazette.
MG editor replied to Syed Saheb that the
full text of your letter to Modi was published in
the Milli Gazette (issue no. 309) despite an
advice from some community elders not to pub-
lish it. But somehow your explanation was not
published which is a mistake on my part. I will
publish it in the next issue as you have suggest-
ed.. Syed Shahabuddin sent his letter of expla-
nation on 26 November, 2012 as the convener of
the Joint Committee Of Muslim Organisations
For Empowerment, to the President, AIMMM,
Maulana Syed Arshad Madani, President,
Jamiatul Ulama-i-Hind, Dr. Mohd. Manzoor
Alam, General Secretary, AIMC, Mr. Tariq Anwar,,
MP, MOS, GOI, New Delhi, Janab Mohd. Ahmad,
Secretary, JIH, and Maulana Abdul Hameed
Nomani, Secretary, JUH (Mahmood Madani
Group). Following is the text of the letter:
Dear Friend & Respected Colleagues,
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatulah,
Your press statements objecting to my Personal
Letter to CM Modi have come to my notice. First
of all, I wish to clarify that this was a personal
letter with a strategic purpose and had nothing to
do with Joint Committee of Muslim Organisation
for Empowerment (JCMOE). However by mis-
take the office issued it on the pad of the JEC-
MOE. Your objection is therefore legitimate and I
beg your apology.
H o w e v e r ,
nowhere in this letter
have I asked the
Muslims to forgive
Modi or to vote for him. However it is a fact that
through various devises over the years Modi has
been able to soften some Muslims of the upper
classes. The strategy behind this letter was to
caution them and to rethink about Modi on the
eve of the election, so that they could be weaned
away by taking note that Modi has not fulfilled
any real Muslim demands.
Apparently none of you have seen the
Guidelines for the Muslim Electorate for
Gujarat Assembly Election 2012, issued by
me as the Convener of the JCMOE which is
almost word for word the same as the
Guidelines issued by it in previous elections,
the last being the recent election of UP. Its
purpose is that Muslim representation in the
legislatures should increase with secular
capable and reliable persons, preferably
Muslims. This purpose can be achieved
only if the Muslim votes are not scattered
and thus become ineffective, but are con-
centrated and cast unitedly in the favour of
one selected secular candidate. As far as I
know no member group has taken any
objection to this approach.
The JCMOE has not become defunct and
will continue to serve the community in future
elections. This Guideline was prepared nearly
two weeks earlier but its issue was delayed
because the list of new constituencies of Gujarat
and the detailed results of 2007 election were
not available.
I hope that in all constituencies in Gujarat
where Muslims constitute more than 20% of the
electorate, the local Muslim community adopts
the approach mentioned in the Guideline to
select the most suitable secular candidate,
preferably a Muslim, and vote unitedly for him.
This candidate has to be selected by the local
Constituency Consultation Committee, a repre-
sentative body.
I request you to read the Guidelines careful-
ly and let me know if you have any objection.
I apologise once again for my personal let-
ter being issued on the letter-head of the JCMOE.
With fraternal regards,
Yours sincerely,
Syed Shahabuddin, Convener
Why Syed Shahabuddin wrote to Modi
Whats Islamophobia? Is it an atavistic fear of Islam or some-
thing deeper than whats ostensibly perceived? The entire West
has an aversion to Islam not because its pretty powerful, the rea-
son is that its ever-swelling corpus has started threatening to
swallow the entire West. In psychological parlance, a phobia is
an unexplained sense of fear about an object. For example,
therere people whore fearful of cats and why theyre fearful of
this pretty innocuous animal cannot be rationally elucidated. In
fact, a phobia has many fluid fears at the root of a bigger fear. The
same has happened all over the world. From the West, the
Islamophobia travelled to all parts of the world and now the real-
ity is that Islam is the most maligned faith. Yet interestingly, nay
ironically, If we analyse and study the dissemination of Islam, we
find that its stupendous rise has made the West uncomfortable
because more than the religious Islam, its the political Islam that
has become an anathema to the rest of the world. The Palestine
issue and the Jewish usurpation of a hapless peoples land
should be seen more in geo-political context than in mere reli-
gious terms. In comparative study of religions, we consider Islam
to be the chronological culmination of Semitic faiths. Despite its
perceived fear, its the most sought after religion in the modern
world in terms of new members coming and augmenting its can-
vas. According to The World Religious Survey, 2007, maximum
inmates in the US gaols are turning to Islam for solace and theo-
logical meaning. Its spiritual impact is by far the greatest among
all the existing faiths in the world. Whether Casius Clay becom-
ing Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson embracing Islam or Malcolm X
calling himself a Muslim, world-history is full of examples of
celebrities as well as commoners treading on the path showed by
Prophet Muhammad. This seems to be a potential threat to other
religions. Look at the religious scenario of India, which leaves no
stone unturned to malign and sully Islam because of its fast
spread on the sub-continent. History will bail me out that 80%
sub- continental Muslims had willing ancestors who accepted
Islam sans coercion or force. Islam gained popularity because of
the simple teachings of the Sufis (mystics). I can adduce clinch-
ing proofs of Sufi teachings, which are completely original and
not at all influenced by Upanishad or the so-called Hindu mysti-
cism. If a religion that has just Kalima or Shahada as a prereq-
uisite for acceptance, why shouldnt people feel compelled to
turn to it?
To me, its the disarmingly simple and austere popularity of
Islam that makes it so fascinating and those whore against it,
coin terms like Islamophobia or biological terrorism (a putative
fear of Muslims producing offspring). SUMIT PAUL
Whats Islamophobia?
www.milligazette.com
By coining the magical terminology Collective
Conscience in the rarest of the rare case of
Afzal Guru, the SC has done a huge favour to the
minorities, especially Muslims, by enlightening
them that the centrality of the Indian justice sys-
tem lies in consistent reverence to the sacred
collective conscience where an accused, in
spite of there being no concrete evidence other
than circumstantial, could be hanged to death to
satisfy the Collective Conscience of the nation.
But, was it for the first time in the history of
Indian judicial system when the Collective
Conscience played a decisive role? Prior to the
hanging of Ajmal Kasab, when the case was still
in the court, our intelligence agencies suddenly
found another link to the Mumbai attack in Abu
Jundal which was termed as The Prize Catch
by the media and the entire Collective
Conscience of the nation rushed arguably to
the rescue of the Supreme Court in delivering the
400 pages judgment. In the Babri Mosque dem-
olition case, the Lucknow bench of the
Allahabad High Court also gave much weight to
the Aastha (Faith) of the Collective
Conscience than the reasoning and the materi-
al and documentary evidences and in the
process enlightened the entire world as to what
extent the Collective Conscience can go to
decide cases in the Indian judiciary which has
come up with the novel legal dictum that since
the mythological Bhagwan was born at that
spot, the land belongs to him for eternity! One of
the judges, Mr. Sharma, was a devout
Rambhakt, who after retiring the very next day
attended a grand function of the RSS! He could
well be said to be the official custodian on the
bench of this collective conscience.
Given its glorious record, India is not new
to the culture of riots, pogroms and genocides
against vulnerable sections of society. In fact,
considering its 5000-year-old history of caste-
based discrimination, it can lead and guide the
entire world on this privileged front. No country,
however pervert and prejudiced, could boast of
having six thousand castes and sub-castes that
do not see each other eye to eye and yet claim
to be followers of the same ancient and vibrant
faith. Even Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, the great
exponent of Hinduism, had to concede in his
book The Hindu Way of Life that Hinduism
was an odd mixture of innumerable castes and
sub-castes.
But, quite ironically, when it comes to riots and
pogroms against minorities, particularly against
Muslims and of late Christians, these six thousand
castes spontaneously get united to form a com-
mon front of Collective Conscience with a divine
right to kill innocents, rape vulnerable women, burn
alive young, sometimes unborn, children and
destroy properties worth crores.
Interestingly, the same logic of collective
conscience is conveniently applied while carry-
ing out bomb blasts. Here, the concept of col-
lective conscience suddenly broadens its base
and generously embraces the mainstream
media, bureaucracy, legislatures, ministries,
Parliament, agencies et. al. in its ambit. No
sooner a blast occurs, media, notably one of the
most powerful and shrill wings of the collective
conscience of the Indian democracy begins to
bark accusing Muslims of the blast to satisfy the
collective conscience of the nation. Now its
media culture to lambast the minorities much
before the sluggish police and inefficient intelli-
gence can start even their predecided investiga-
tions.
Things sadly came to such a pass that when
the falsely framed accused are defended by
lawyers, they too horrifyingly become target of
the lawyers of the collective conscience who
accuse them of defending a terrorist. The
same logic does not rub when the terrorists
belong to the saffron tribe.
Its a veritable Catch-22 predicament for the
minorities. But if the terror-accused, in the
rarest of the rare case, belongs to the collec-
tive conscience, then he automatically
becomes a hero or rakshak (saviour), show-
ered with thousands of flowers and is hailed for
his courage and love for the motherland.
Thousands of lawyers now rush forward to vol-
unteer to fight his case.
In a nutshell, the term collective con-
science seems to have intelligently been coined
and sanctioned by the Supreme Court to serve,
unwittingly though, the majoritarian patriotic
purposes of violence and terror against the
minorities. It does have the twisted kernel and
spirit of terror. But, while coining the term little
did the Supreme Court realise that in a bid to
satisfy the fake and diabolic Collective
Conscience of the nation, it unwittingly became
the most privileged, ever reliable and protective,
instrument of terror in the hands of the majori-
tarians. Isnt it the same Supreme Court which
legalised Emergency and the same which
opined that Hindutva is a way of life, hence
approaching voters in the name of Hindutva is
not a crime. Long live Indian judiciary. Words fail
us to praise its integrity and ingenuity.
MUSHTAQUE MADNI
Editor, Usool, Pune
The overarching Collective Conscience
...while coining the term little did the Supreme Court realise that in a bid to
satisfy the fake and diabolic Collective Conscience of the nation, it unwit-
tingly became the most privileged, ever reliable and protective, instrument of
terror in the hands of the majoritarians. Isnt it the same Supreme Court
which legalised Emergency and the same which opined that Hindutva is a
way of life, hence approaching voters in the name of Hindutva is not a crime.
NATIONAL The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 3
R
ecent investigation by the National
Investigation Agency which took over
terror cases in April 2011 has proven
that Union Home Minister Shindes
remarks were not a shot in the dark, after all.
The arrests the NIA has made seem to be
right out of a Crime Patrol episode. Two sad-
hus, putting up at two different ashrams in
Chitrakoot, Ujjain
(M.P.), were
booked to perform
pujas at designated
places and both
turned up, unsus-
pecting that their
cover had been
blown, only to be
nabbed by the
Police. These men
recently arrested
are Dhan Singh
and Samander
Singh Pehelwan. It
appears that they
operate from
Madhya Pradesh
as three more men
were picked up
from different parts
of the state and
three key planners-
Ramji Kalsangra,
Sandeep Dange
and Amit Chauhan,
are still abscond-
ing. They have
confessed to plan-
ning bomb attacks
in a house in
Nanded.
According to
NIAs interroga-
tions, top RSS
leader Indresh
Kumar attended a
meeting in Jaipur
in 2005 and it was
after this meeting that Devender Gupta, Lokesh
Sharma and Sunil Joshi took the responsibility
of arranging mobile phones and SIM cards for
all subsequent attacks.
The group purchased 11 SIM cards from
two different places, Asansol in West Bengal
and Jamtara in Jharkhand, under the name of
Babu Lal Yadav. To escape detection, the
four mobile phones used in the Mecca Masjid
and Ajmer Dargah blasts were bought from
four different states. The bomb-making training
was given by Sunil Joshi, Kalsangra, Sandeep
Dange and Amit Chauhan, all associated with
various Hindutva right-wing terror organisa-
tions. The men harboured strong anti-minority
feelings and hence were associated with right-
wing organizations.
Lokesh Sharma and Devender Guptas
statements led to the arrest of Swami
Aseemananda, who told the NIA that Indresh
Kumar funded the operations while Sunil Joshi
planned the terror attacks. Interrogation of the
arrested bombers has revealed that the bombs
were ferried in a car for the Ajmer blasts, while
for the Samjhauta and the 2006 Malegaon
blasts, the bombs and their carriers travelled
by train. Although Aseemananda retracted his
statements, his confession helped nine inno-
cent Muslim youth, who had been arrested for
the 2006 Malegaon blasts, secure bail.
In June 2011, the NIA filed a chargesheet
against Aseemanand, Sunil Joshi, Lokesh
Sharma, Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra
Kalsangra for their role in the 2007 Samjhauta
Express blasts. It said that Sandeep Dange, the
bomb-maker, had been roped in as SIM card
bombs could not be relied upon for too many
blasts.
After Aseemanand retracted his statement,
investigators arrest-
ed Kamal Chauhan in
February last year.
Kamal told investiga-
tors about the explo-
sives used, the train-
ing, team members
and the name of oth-
ers who were with
him while he planted
explosives on the
train.
On February 18,
2007, four suitcases
filled with bombs
were placed in unre-
served compar t-
ments on the
Samjhauta Express,
of which two explod-
ed while the train
was near Panipat in
Haryana. The third
suitcase exploded
while it was being
defused and the
four th was recov-
ered unexploded on
the tracks near the
15th compartment of
the train.
Recently, at a
hearing in Bhopal
court, the NIA pro-
duced the murder
weapon it seized
which was used to
kill Pracharak Sunil
Joshi. The mystery
was unravelled by the Rajasthan ATS which
arrested Lokesh Sharma and Devender Gupta
investigating the Ajmer blast case. And
Samander, arrested last year, confessed he
had directions from Lokesh Sharma to fire at
Joshi. Interrogations have revealed that
Samander fired the first shot, after the pistol
conked off, he fired four shots using a country-
made weapon.
It has also been found that various terror
camps were organized, one in Dewas, Madhya
Pradesh in 2006 where they participated with
their air pistols and .32 bore pistols and got
their training in bomb-making and also got a
demonstration of blasts on a nearby hillock.
At another terror camp, at Dr. Karni Singh
Shooting Range in Delhi, an Indian army man
in uniform used to be present but his identity
has not been established as yet.
Rajender, in NIA custody, told investigators
that he and Lokesh fired at Delhi professor
Geelani on February 8, 2005 while Geelani was
on his way to meet his lawyer, Nandita Haskar.
Lokesh Sharma and Choudhary travelled to
Delhi several times to keep a watch on Geelani,
carrying out instructions of Pracharak Sunil
Joshi. The Delhi University teacher suffered
serious injuries and had told media persons
that the Delhi Police neither contacted him nor
investigated the attack.
AALIYA KHAN
NIA investigations in
Hindutva terror
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 master-
minded by saffron elements in the government, IB and Police. Now almost all Muslim
organisations are up in arms against this state terror. People are organising dharnas,
meetings, conference 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 comprehensive in around 600+ large format pages covering the whole history
and genesis, communalism, 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 conven-
tion 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
enlighten 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 per-
sons including an expert; Rs 10 lakh for designing and printing the document in a world-
class format; 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 terror-
ism 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 oth-
ers 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 110025 - Email: [email protected]).
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 110025.
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 - [email protected]
www.milligazette.com
Sunil Joshi enquiry
Dewas / Indore: NIA investigations in Sunil Joshi
murder case seem to have reached a final stage
though the case presented by Dewas police
does not provide significant clues.
On the basis of its investigations, the impor-
tant evidence - the pistol recovered from 180,
Sanghi Street, Mhow (Lokesh Sharmas house).
Lokesh was brought by the NIA in the presence
of two witnesses where a green coloured poly-
thene bag was found hidden below stones near
the toilet. The pistol was wrapped in a dirty
white cloth covered by a yellow polythene bag.
In addition, a magazine was also found. The pis-
tol bears Webley & Scott LTP, Birmingham
marks. It is a 7.65 automatic pistol. The team
also raided Dilip Jagtaps house in Suman
Colony, Mhow. A magazine, four live cartridges
and five live cartridges of 12 bore were recov-
ered from the puja ghar (worship chamber).
Cheque books of various banks along with
passbooks were also recovered. These were in
the names of Jitendra Sharma, Purnima
Sharma, Kailash Sharma and Vishnu Devi. A
suitcase from Balbirs house with magazines
was also found. Along with RSS uniform, scarf
and a plastic whistle, an empty cartridge of 12
bore and six used cartridges were also recov-
ered.
Out of the three bullets fired on Sunil Joshi two
were recovered during post martem, however, the
one that had pierced the skull could not be found.
NIA sources believe that Lokesh Sharma
(Mhow), Rajendra Chaudhari alias Samadar
(Depalpur) and Balbir Singh (Sanwer) played a
major role.
The NIA team reached Dewas on
27 February 2013 and quizzed Shivam Dhakad
about the absconder Amit alias Prince. He car-
ries a reward of Rs. 5 lakh and is wanted in the
Malegaon blast of 2006 and Samjhauta Express
blast of 2007. The NIA intends to take Dhakad
for interrogation to Panchkula.
It may be recalled that Sunil Joshi had taken
shelter as Manoj in Shivam Dhakads NGO in
2006. A person named Dharmendra Shah had
brought Raj alias Harshad Solanki, Mehul alias
Ghanshyam alias Mafat, Mohan alias Ramesh
and Ustad alias Jayanti to Dewas by the end of
2006. (AG Khan)
Communal riots in Tanda
Ambedkar Nagar: Communal riots erupted in
Tanda town of this U.P. district on the night of
Sunday 3 March after the death of Hindu Yuva
Vahini leader Ram Babu Gupta who was shot
dead by some unknown persons. According to
report, as Ram Babu Gupta was returning home
at night some persons on a bike approached
him and shot at him resulting in his death on the
spot. Suspecting that some Muslims would
have killed him, a mob attacked some shops of
Muslims, looted and thereafter burnt them.
When the local thana incharge O P Yadav
reached along with his policemen, he too was
attacked and injured. His official jeep also was
set on fire. In addition to this, a number of cars,
at least two buses including one U.P. roadways
bus, tempos, motor cycles etc. were also set
ablaze. Next day i.e. on Monday 4 March when
his body was brought at his home after post-
mortem, his supporters and the crowd of
majority community got enraged and attacked
more than a dozen shops and houses of
Muslims and after looting set them all on fire. A
poultry farm of Moeen Ahmad was set on fire in
which hundreds of hens were burnt alive. Police
force from neighbouring towns and thanas, PAC
and RAF personnel were also deployed and cur-
few was imposed. When other top police and
civilian officials reached the troubled spot and
all forces were deployed, conditions began to
improve. Earlier all schools and colleges in
Tanda were ordered to be closed. Thana
incharge of Aliganj O P Yadav and three police-
men were suspended for their failure to control
the situation. In all, 32 persons were arrested for
arson and violence. No deaths were however
reported. Though curfew was in force in the
affect areas, conditions became almost normal.
(NA Ansari)
Quote, Unquote
India lost the battle for Kashmiri Muslim hearts in 1987, two years before the start of the
armed rebellion, the Pandit exodus and the birth of a Muslim independence narrative,
however flawed...
SAMAR HARARNKAR, columnist, Hindustan Times, 28 Feb. 2013
Some important cases
Killing of a nun in Indore (2001)
Congress leader Pyar Singh Ninama and his
sons murder (2003)
Jammu & Kashmir mosque bomb blasts (2004)
Firing at Prof. SAR Geelani in 2005
Samjhauta Express bomb blasts (2006)
Murder of RSS local chief Sunil Joshi (2007)
Malegaon blasts (2006 and 2008)
Ajmer Shareef bomb blasts (2007)
Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad blasts (2007)
Modasa, Gujarat blasts (2008)
Murder of Pyar Singh, Ninama murders witness
(2008)
Some known figures involved
Sadhvi Pragya Thakur
Swami Aseemanand (arrested by the CBI,
November 2010)
Lt. Cl. SP Purohit
Sunil Joshi, RSS Pracharak
Indresh Kumar, RSS leader
HUSSAIN AMIN
Lucknow: The nationwide movement, Campaign Against Politics
Terror, which aims at awakening the nation against the biased attitude of
both the Centre and state governments toward the Muslim minority and
selectively targeting Muslim youths in cases of terror, held a big rally
here.
The year-old movement is gaining momentum with rallies and meet-
ings at various places. Here it organised a big rally on on 3 March at the
grounds of Rifah-e-Amm Club in the Old City.
Several thousand participated in this rally from various sections of
society including a number of members of Parliament and political lead-
ers. The rally gave a message that the entire secular population is united
against the politics of targeting selectively Muslim youths in cases of ter-
ror. It vehemently demanded to set up fast-track courts immediately to
try all cases in which no chargesheet has been filed in spite of the
accused having been behind bars for several years. The rally demanded
that compensation be paid to the acquitted youth in terror cases, besides
punishment to the police and intelligence officials found guilty of framing
Muslim youths in false cases. The rally impressed upon governments to
relook at the anti-terror laws, like UAPA and set up mechanism and pro-
cedures to stop selective targeting of a community.
The rally was presided over by the eminent Islamic scholar Maulana
Saeedur Rehman Azmi. Speakers included CPI leaders A.B. Bardhan and
Atul Kumar Anjan, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman Barq (MP), founder of the
Movement Mohammad Adeeb (MP), Mohammad Sharifuddin Shariq
(MP - J&K) Munna Singh Chauhan (RLD), Akhtarul Iman, MLA (RJD -
Bihar), Z.K. Faizan, Advocate, former President of the AMU Students
Union Abdul Hafiz Gandhi. They expressed their sentiments about target-
ing Muslim youths and said that in many cases Muslim youths have been
falsely charged. They said that the issue is not about Muslims only, it is
about injustice. Congress leaders were conspicuous by their absence.
The way Samajwadi Party Lok Sabha Candidate from Lucknow, Ashok
Bajpai, was hooted as he stood to speak, demonstrated peoples senti-
ments about the SP betrayal on this issue despite solemn pledges offered
at the time of the assembly elections a year ago.
Editor of Tehelka Magazine Ajeet Sahi, Islamic scholar Maulana
Salman Husaini Nadwi provided much food for thought.
The rally organisers gave three months time to Akhilesh Government
to release the Muslim youths jailed in fake cases of terror. Maulana
Salman Nadwi cautioned as to how long such relations could be main-
tained. He said that he had given an agenda to Shivpal Yadav demanding
the release of youths, 18 percent reservation, Urdu medium schools in
UP, and implementation of Sachar and Rangnath Misra reports. He said
Shivpal had promised that all these demands will be fulfilled but nothing
has been done so far. He said that there is a need to change the situa-
tion. He told CM Akhilesh Yadav to stop giving statements and said we
give you three months time to fulfill your promises. Salman Husaini said
the political Nikah (marriage) with Mayawati ended in talaq, now is the
turn of Mulayam. The question is whether he would like to keep the rela-
tionship or go for talaq?
Mohammad Adeeb and others felt that the intentions of the govern-
ment are not good. Adeeb complained that for seven days he tried to
meet the U.P. chief minister but could not get time.
Campaign Against Politics of Terror
4 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 NATIONAL www.milligazette.com
Personal Law Board to take
up the issue of Muslim
youth in fake terror cases
Lucknow: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIM-
PLB) has decided to take up the issue of the harassment of
Muslim youth on false charges of terror acts across the
country with the UPA government. The Board has decided to
send a letter to the central government on the issue. Though
the issue of Muslim youths being falsely implicated in terror
acts has been debated for long, it acquired political colour in
2012 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, when the
Samajwadi Party (SP) promised that it will review the terror
cases lodged against Muslim youth and release those found
innocent. The SP came to power with Muslims voting over-
whelmingly for the SP. The UP government had earlier
formed a commission to review the cases. The commission
submitted its report in October last year. However, no action
has been taken by the state government so far.
Now, with Lok Sabha election scheduled within next 12
months, the issue has assumed significance again.
However, Muslim community leaders are not ready to
accept promises anymore and have demanded action.
Sources said that the AIMPLB members have reminded SP
national president Mulayam Singh Yadav about his poll
promises. The issue may also be taken up in the annual gen-
eral meeting of AIMPLB on March 22 in Ujjain. Demands
include speedy trial of terror cases, compensation to those
acquitted and action against officers responsible for framing
innocent youth.
Recently, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secre-
tary Prakash Karat along with senior party leaders had met
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and requested
him to provide compensation and ensure rehabilitation of
Muslim youths who were arrested on terror charges but
later acquitted by various courts in the state. Karat had also
handed over a list of nine such youths from Kanpur who
were lodged in jail from 3 to 9 years facing trial on terror
charges but were acquitted. Similar demands have been
made by other Muslim outfits as well. However, BJP is
opposing it.
Mudasir Kamran, a Kashmiri
student murdered in police custody
Pulwama (J&K): After
spending a night in a police
station, a Kashmiri research
scholar of English and
Foreign Languages institute,
Hyderabad, hailing from
Pulwama district was found
dead in his room. His death
was reported as a suicide
by media.
Stop targeting Muslims for blasts,
Katju tells media
New Delhi: In the wake of the coverage of the Hyderabad
blasts, Press Council Chairman (PCI) Markandey Katju has
appealed to the media to exercise restraint in reporting
cases of bomb blasts and terrorist cases, and avoid doing
anything which may fan or promote communal hatred and
animosity.
Justice Katju was responding to a letter sent to him by
National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Chairman
Wajahat Habibullah. The letter said that even before the
completion of the investigation [in the Dilsukhnagar blasts of
February 21] and on the basis of what appears as unfound-
ed conjecture, the media appears to have targeted a partic-
ular community. Mr. Habibullah referred to an article by B.
Raman, a former intelligence official and security analyst,
who had written: It seems to have become the trend that if
it is terror, it has to be a Muslim. If it is Muslim, he has to be
from the IM [Indian Mujahideen]. If it is the IM, it must have
acted at the instance of Pakistans Inter-Services
Intelligence [ISI]. The NCM Chairman highlighted the need
to discourage such a trend.
Agreeing with the note, Justice Katju said in a statement:
Since an impression has been created in some quarters
that most Muslims are terrorists, the police often arrest
some Muslims on mere suspicion. Once such a Muslim is
arrested, it is difficult for him to get baileven if he is ulti-
mately found innocent, nobody can restore so many years
of his life spent in jail. There were a large number of cases
falsely implicating Muslims, he added.
The PCI chief said that within an hour or so of a blast, TV
channels started showing messages or emails sent by an
organisation with a Muslim-sounding name, claiming
responsibility. This was irresponsible as any mischie-
vous person could have sent the message. By showing
this on TV screens, a message is conveyed to the viewers,
even if by insinuation, that all Muslims are terrorists and
bomb-throwers.
The only way of keeping the country of such diversity unit-
ed and taking it on the path of progress is through secular-
ism and giving equal respect to all communities and sec-
tions of society, Justice Katju said.
AG KHAN
Ujjain: Already a flash point for decades,
Dhar is likely to erupt as contradictory
reports suggest. The divide between two
rival groups in the ruling party each being
supported by two rival newspapers, Patrika
and Nai Dunia.
Vikram Verma, a senior BJP stalwart and
former Rajya Sabha M.P., alleged that there is
a gang of leaders which is spoiling the har-
mony in the city. The gang is supported by
liquor and land mafia which is distributing
pamphlets in the city after a peaceful denou-
ment of Basant Panchami tension. This gang,
he alleged, is not happy and hence wants to
denigrate the C.M.
Angry protestors did not allow Mahendra
Hardia, the minister in-charge of the district,
to meet people because of alleged police
atrocity on volunteers. They even warned
that no minister would be allowed to enter
Dhar or else he would be beaten.
An angry Kailash Vijayvargiya, the minister
who was earlier declared persona non grata
and had to go to Kumbh, strongly criticised the
local administration for handling of the situa-
tion. He reminded them of his deft handling of
the situation in 2006. However, there are many
who do not agree with his claim.
The district administration (Collector and
SP) sent a joint confidential report about the
situation which holds the Bhoj Samiti respon-
sible for the trouble. According to the report,
Ashok Jain and Gopalji Sharma had been
inciting the mob since morning. It also said
that many office-bearers were under the
influence of liquor and made obscene ges-
tures towards women police staff.
Intelligence agencies of the state as well
as Centre have already been alerted about
the situation. Police force has not been with-
drawn from Dhar for this very reason.
Qazi Vaqarullah Siddiqui reached Bhopal
to lodge his complaint with the Governor,
Ram Naresh Yadav, and urged him to order a
judicial probe. He alleged that a huge mob
had assembled in Kamal Maula
Mosque/Bhojshala and the administration
failed to remove them so that the Friday
prayer could take place though 1700
Muslims had gathered for it. They were not
allowed to go beyond the police control
room. Later, 58 persons were taken in a bus
to the backyard of the mosque. Six of them
were asked to pray there. They declined
because the ground was a burial place. Later
on, the administration collected another
group of 16 persons who were asked to pray
in the graveyard section.
Sajjansinh Verma, Congress M.P. from
Dewas, claimed that plain clothesmen
among the police were asked to pray.
Plan to enact Ayodhya at Dhar
Arun Chouhan of Patrika reported that there
was a plan to enact Ayodhya at Dhar on the last
Basant Panchami. It is for this reason the C.M.
did not allow local politicians from the region to
meddle. Kailash Vijayvargiya, Mahendra Hadia
and Ranjana Baghel were kept away and the
entire matter was entrusted to the administra-
tion specially I.G. Anuradha Shankar Singh,
Divisional Commissioner Prabhat Parashar and
local SP / Collector. The protest rallies in vil-
lages were to ensure communal riots in villages
which forced the administration to deploy addi-
tional forces and order flag marches.
Singing the Ram
mandir tune, an effort
to make money
President of All India Akhada Parishad, largest
of the 13 akhadas of India, Mahant Gyan Das
while strongly taking to task VHP and BJP on
their declaration to re-start the Ram mandir
movement said here that their harping on Ram
mandir in Ayodhya is nothing but a strategy to
make money. He said this declaration has no
significance, as it is simply an effort by VHP
and BJP to capture power and to earn money.
Dubbing VHP leaders Ashok Singhal, Pravin
Togadia and Vinay Katiyar as liars and hyp-
ocrites, the Mahant said that they have always
talked of violence. He said that Togadia did
everything against Narendra Modi but after his
victory in elections he is now supporting and
flattering him. He further said that VHP, BJP and
RSS are now feeling that they have lost the faith
of people and position and are now taking
recourse to this trick. He added that their efforts
of inciting religious feelings of the people will be
harmful for peace and harmony of the country.
He said that people of the country have already
rejected these forces and hence no trick of
theirs will be of any use now. The Mahant said
that if any BJP candidate wins Lok Sabha elec-
tions, it will be because of his personal popular-
ity, not because of the partys.
Another Hindu sant and dharm Guru,
Acharya Achlanand Giriji Maharaj, said that a
political game is again being played on the Ram
mandir issue. He said, we also want to build
the Ram mandir but construction of this centre
of faith should not be a game of politics but with
the blessings of Ramji. He said, we want to
see Ram mandir in Ayodhya not on the basis of
opposition, criticism and violence but on the
basis of unity and harmony. He added that in
this country both mandir and masjid are cen-
tres of aastha (faith) and in this matter, there
should be willingness of both communities. He
said that building of any place of worship on the
basis of politics and fanaticism has no impor-
tance from the point of view of dharma. He said
that he prays that God may bestow intelligence
and good sense on those who play politics on
mandir and masjid because the countrys cul-
tural, civilizational and democratic structure has
been, and is being, affected by such people. He
said that Hindus and Muslims are two eyes of
a cultured and civilized country like India and
neither of these two eyes can be ignored.
The two sants made their statements at
Kumbh Mela at Allahabad where BJP, VHP
and RSS made the call for revival of Ram
mandir movement last month. (NA Ansari)
Plan to do a Babri in Dhar?
NATIONAL The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 5 www.milligazette.com
New Delhi: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind on 2 March came down heavily
on the Congress-led UPA government for allowing arrests of inno-
cent Muslim youth in false terror cases and ignoring saffron terror
groups which have executed several terror blasts in the country.
Jamaat criticized the government for allocating a minuscule
amount for the minority community in the national budget.
On Victimization of Muslims
Addressing the press conference, Secretary of JIH Maulana Ejaz
Ahmad Aslam asked the government to bring out a white paper on
the shadowy terror group Indian Mujahideen. The government
should tell the countrymen about those who are running this group.
He emphasized that Muslim youths are continuously being
arrested under the guise of fighting terrorism. False allegations are
being levelled against them and confessions are secured from
them for crimes they never committed, by using worst inhuman
torture. These youths are implicated in dozens of false cases so
that they may not come out of jails for a long period. These meth-
ods are being used to continuously torture the Muslim community
mentally and intimidate it. This undemocratic exercise is a contin-
uing affair. Our law-enforcing agencies first arrest the victims, then
use draconian laws like UAPA, throw them behind the bars for a
long period and then try to manufacture allegations and impose
them upon the victims.
Specifically mentioning the recent case of Karnataka to high-
light the biased terror probe, Jamaat leaders said that in August
2012 about two dozen youths were arrested from different places
in Karnataka and Maharashtra. They were accused of hatching a
conspiracy to kill prominent Hindutva leaders and journalists in
Karnataka. Most of these youths were educated, employed, and
belonged to respectable families. But for lack of proof, NIA has
released three of them. Interestingly two of them -- Muthiur
Rahman Siddiqui, a journalist with Deccan Herald of Bangalore,
and Aijaz Ahmed Mirza, a junior research fellow at Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), were branded
by police and media as masterminds, but NIA court has released
both of them following NIAs failure to file any chargesheet against
them.
Engineer Muhammad Saleem, Secretary JIH, added that on
one hand DRDO scientist Mirzas contract has been terminated
despite his release by the NIA court, on the other, Colonel Purohit
accused in Malegaon and other terror attacks and chargesheeted
is continuing in his army post and regularly receiving his salary and
all allowances for the last four years. This is worst kind of discrim-
ination and example of double standards. There are large numbers
of such cases in the country. Mr. Saleem showed copies of relat-
ed documents to mediapersons.
These incidents are very shameful in a democratic country. It
is the duty of the government to arrest the real culprits of all such
terrorist attacks and punish them appropriately so that such unfor-
tunate happenings come to an end, said the JIH leader.
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had said in Jaipur in
AICC Session that RSS and BJP were promoting Hindu terrorism
through their training camps. He had clearly mentioned that RSS and
BJP were behind the Samjhauta Express, Makkah Masjid and
Malegaon blasts while the Sangh outfits blamed the minority commu-
nity for these crimes. Later, his ministry gave the names of 10
accused in terror acts who were connected with the RSS. But, later,
under pressure from the saffron party and threats of protest, Shinde
expressed regret and almost withdrew his remarks. The government
is apologetic and horrified in facing real terrorism despite evidences
repeatedly proclaimed by the government but does not have the
courage to act against them, as a result, the real terror groups are free
and safe while innocent citizens are being victimized and falsely impli-
cated. JIH strongly criticized a section of media for acting as a court
and turning newsrooms into courtrooms where newsmen charge,
prosecute and convict terror suspects, indirectly implicating the
Muslim community.
On the Present Situation in Bangladesh
Addressing the press, Jamaat leaders took up the issue of the convic-
tion of leaders of Bangladesh Jamaat Islami by the government-
appointed war tribunal. Our neighbour in the east, Bangladesh, is
nowadays passing through very turbulent days, they said. In 2010, it
set up a so-called International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) to consider
accusations of crimes said to have been committed during the 1971
war for independence - targeting opposition parties.viz., Bangladesh
Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI) and Bangladesh National Party (BNP). Up till
now the ICT has pronounced death sentence for two of the accused
and life sentence for one. Ruling party, Awami League, supporters
have launched a movement called Shahbagh movement against BJI
and other Islamic parties. They have also committed blasphemy
against God and His Prophet on their social networking sites against
which powerful mass protests are continuing across the country.
The Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, International
Centre for Transitional Justice, International Bar Association, UK
Bar Human Rights Committee, US Ambassador at large for War
Crimes Stephen Rapp, Lord Eric Avebury of the British House of
Lords and others, in their representations to Dhaka and in their
public statements have made it clear that the ICT trials fall far below
the international standards. They have also questioned the very
functioning of the tribunal, which is in fact a domestic tribunal with-
out any international oversight.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind is concerned because it is not in the
interest of either Bangladesh or our country that Bangladesh should
become victim of chaos. As a neighbour, it is our duty to save
Bangladesh from plunging into civil war. Therefore, we urge our
Government to impress upon Dhaka to abolish the so-called War
Crimes Tribunal and stop atrocities on Jamaat-e-Islami and other
Islamic organisations.
On prosecution of leaders in Bangladesh, Jamaat Secretary
(Media), Ejaz Ahmed Aslam, said: What is going on in Bangladesh
is part of larger international conspiracy to suppress Islamists all
over the world. It is not in the interest of Bangladesh and the
Muslim community.
On Union Budget 2013-14
Commenting on the Union budget for the year 2013-14,
Muhammad Saleem Engineer, Secretary JIH, said: The total budg-
et allocation for education is Rs 65,867 crore which is very small
while for defence the allocation is Rs 2,03,672 crore.
The budget allocation for development of minorities is only Rs
3,511 crore in the total budget of Rs 16,65297 crore. If we compare
this with the allocation for SCs/STs, it is highly disappointing and
betrays a discriminatory mindset. SCs with population 16% have
been allocated Rs 41,000 crore, while STs with a population 8% have
been allocated Rs 24,000 crore but the minorities with a population
of more than 15% have been allocated only one tenth of the the SC/ST
allocations. Many of the schemes for minorities have been dropped in
this years budget due to non-releasing of funds last year.Further, it is
painful to note that the funds released to the Ministry of Minority
Affairs during the last year was only 70% of the fund earmarked. The
failure is either on the part of the government to release the funds or
on the part of the ministry to utilize the same.
It is, however, satisfactory that the government of India has
included Aligarh Muslim University along with Banares Hindu
University and others in the institutes of excellence qualifying for an
assistance of Rs hundred crores for development. The doubling of
the corpus fund of Maulana Azad Educational Foundation from 750
crore rupees to 1500 crore rupees is also welcome. However, the
marginal increase in the provision of funds for the ministry of
minority affairs as compared to that provided last year is insuffi-
cient.
The budget document says that food inflation is high but it
ignores a pertinent cause of this malaise. One of the major causes of
food inflation is the commodity forward and futures trading in agricul-
tural products which have encouraged speculative market not related
to their respective supply and demand. We demand, said Jamaat
leaders, that speculation and gaming in the market in general and in
food items, in particular, should be stopped for good. Islam stands for
healthy market practices related with supply and demand.
Taking questions from mediapersons on terror arrests of
Muslim youths, Saleem Engineer asked the government: How long
will all this continue? How long will Muslims be denied opportuni-
ties for development? How long will they be projected as terror-
ists? Government should bring out a white paper on Indian
Mujahideen - who are they and who runs them.
Muhammad Saleem Engineer further said that it is a grave
danger for the country that no action is being taken against the real
terrorists, they have influenced the media and intelligence agen-
cies. Government too looks frightened as it is evident from the
Home Minister withdrawing his statement on saffron terror.
When asked if the Jamaat is talking to MPs to raise this issue
in Parliament, Mohammad Ahmed, Secretary, Social Affairs, said
he has spoken to some MPs who have promised to raise this issue
in Parliament.
Answering a question about Gujarat Chief Minister Modi,
Mohammad Saleem Engineer said, leave alone talking and cooper-
ating with Modi, Muslims cannot tolerate and accept those leaders
who have soft corner for him. A lobby is trying to influence
Muslims to accept Modi but we are sure that they would never
succeed.
Jamaat demands white paper on Indian Mujahideen
Addressing the press conference the Secretary of JIH Maulana Ejaz Ahmad Aslam demanded
the government to bring out a white paper on the shadowy terror group Indian Mujahideen. The
government should tell the countrymen about those who are running this group.
Letter to the
Minority Minister on Budget
Honble Minister Mr Khan,
For the last several years, I have been raising the issue of Muslims
not doing any pre-budget or even post-budget assessments. This
was also one of the major issues I raised in Muslim Vision of
Secular India: Destination & Roadmap. Fortunately, this year sev-
eral efforts have been made in this direction. But what is still seen
is that most experts are just interested in knowing what are the
allocations to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Minority
Commission, Waqf Board, Maulana Azad Foundation and AMU and
Jamia Millia. We forget that Muslims are 15 percent of the popula-
tion, and as such deserve to be the direct or indirect beneficiary of
15 percent of the national economy in all parameters including
Budget provisions. What we forget is that Muslim masses can ben-
efit only a little from various allocations listed above and will bene-
fit or lose more depending on the general direction of the budget.
It is really unfortunate that most governments do cater only to
the demands of the corporates in the first three annual budgets and
take certain measures for the masses only when the elections
approach. There is never a discussion in the budget on the state of
economic disparity. I have never heard any Finance Minister telling
us the level of economic disparity. They are hugely concerned
about the fiscal deficit but there is no concern at all about the pres-
ent economic disparity and expected economic disparity in the
coming financial year. Fiscal deficit is discussed because the pres-
sure of corporate groups is to keep it minimal, as more fiscal deficit
means more pressure on the rich.
Economic disparity level measurements will on the other hand
put pressure on the government to take more pro-poor measures.
Muslims, and all those who are interested in the alleviation of
poverty, must ensure that the main focus remained on Economic
Disparity, and must insist that the finance ministry tell the people
the current and expected level of economic disparity in the coun-
try. There is also a need to categorize economic disparity into
region to region, state to state and community to community dis-
parity. If just this one index is made the main topic of the talk, a
sea change will be seen in the direction of the budget.
The overwhelming percentage of the total revenues collected by
states and Centre comes directly from the masses (Sales Tax being
the major source) while wealth tax on the rich forms almost a negli-
gible proportion of the total revenues. Other so-called direct taxes
including corporate tax are also transferred to the consumers in one
way or the other. A change in the tax policy with more collection from
wealth and corporate taxes and less from sales tax will put a stop on
inflation.
As far as Muslims are concerned, everyone knows that the
allocations made to the Muslim ministries and organizations is
too little to produce any visible impact. As the Budget is yet to be
passed, I appeal to the Minority Minister to press for:
(1) Allocation of at least 20 percent of the funds allocated to
NGOs in different ministries, including welfare, labour, women and
child, health and family Welfare ministries. More than 1000 crores
from these ministries are allocated to NGOs, which means that
Muslims NGOs must get at least Rs. 200 crores. (To monitor these
projects, as well as other schemes, Ministry of Minority Affairs can
appoint a mother NGO). There are funds available for health, fami-
ly welfare, labourers education, de-addiction, women education
etc, but Muslims do not even get one percent of this corpus.
(2) There must be special provisions for ensuring that Muslim
villages and localities are cleaned and beautified and get proper
road connectivity and electricity. There should be special provi-
sions in the budget to ensure this.
(3) There is a strong need of beautification of important reli-
gious centres and cities like Ajmer, Kalyar, Deoband, etc. Special
budgetary allocations should be made for the maintenance of all
such centres.
(4) There is a need to open community centres in all Muslim
majority towns. This can be done under PPP schemes with
Government providing the land and the community contributing the
funds required for construction;
These are only some of the steps that can be immediately pushed.
Next year, we can plan afresh. I also appeal to you that come what
may, the budgetary allocations to your ministry must not lapse.
Best Regards DR JAVED JAMIL
[email protected]
RAM PUNIYANI
[email protected]
Rajnath Singh, the new BJP
President, has brought for-
ward the issue of Ram
Temple once again. Sadhus
associated with VHP have
also proclaimed that it is on
their agenda. All the top lead-
ers of RSS combine are vis-
iting the Mahakumbh, taking
a dip in the Holy Ganges and affirming the Ram
Temple as the fulcrum of their all-round cam-
paign in anticipation of the forthcoming 2014
Parliamentary elections.
What is disturbing is that after the Allahabad
High Court verdict on Ayodhya, which had decid-
ed to divide the land into three parts, one each
being given to the three litigants, Sunni Waqf
Board, Nirmohi Akhada and Ram lalla Virajman.
The matter is now pending in Supreme Court.
In the wake of the judgment, the RSS had
asserted that Muslims should give up their claim
for the sake of the sentiments of the majority.
Despite the cases pertaining to ownership of the
land where the mosque is located, VHP etc. were
already asserting that no mosque will be permit-
ted in Ayodhya. As per VHP, mosque has to be
outside the Shastriya Seema (boundary) as
given in the Ramcharita Manas (The Ram Legend
by Tulsidas) of Ayodhya. This meants that
Ayodhya is a holy place of Hindus only.
It must be made clear that Ayodhya means
(A+Yudhya: A no-war zone). It is not only holy
for Hindus. Ayodhya has been a focal point of
many religions, Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism
and Islam. From about the fifth century BC, a fair-
ly large Buddhist community was living in
Ayodhya. Though this religion suffered a setback
during the first millennium AD, several remnants
of its existence still survive. According to the Jain
tradition, Ayodhya was the birthplace of the first
and fourth Tirthankara. The early places of Hindu
worship of Ayodhya were of Shaiva or Vishnu
provenance. The specific worship of Rama even
as an avatar of Vishnu is a much later develop-
ment. References to the image of Rama appear
only in the sixth century CE. Nawab of the Awadh
region, where Ayodhya is located, had given land
for the biggest temple in the area, Hanuman
Garhi. Muslims too have their holy places,
mosques and dargahs in Ayodhya.
Another argument doing rounds is that the
State should take up the building of the Ram
Temple at Ayodhya the way Somnath temple was
built by the State. Advani and many others have
been claiming that the Somnath reconstruction
was done as per the decision of the Nehru cabi-
net. This is a total lie. Since the public memory is
too short, anything propagated repeatedly starts
sounding like being true, the way Hitlers propa-
ganda minister Goebbels used to do. Contrary to
this, a little study of the recent history will show
us that the Indian Government had nothing to do
with the reconstruction of the Somnath temple.
The lie that Nehru Government had reconstruct-
ed or supported Somnath reconstruction is a dis-
tortion of the fact that two ministers of Nehru
cabinet were involved in the reconstruction in
their personal capacity. As such, when the idea of
reconstructing temple at Somnath was mooted
by Sardar Patel, Gandhi who was alive at that
time opined that Hindus are themselves capable
to build the temple and they dont need
Government money or assistance for recon-
struction neither should Government give money
for such a construction.
With the death of Sardar Patel, K.M.Munshi
and N.V. Gadgil, who were ministers in Nehrus
cabinet, took up the reconstruction work at their
personal level. There was no question of recon-
struction proposal being passed by the cabinet,
as is falsely being claimed by communal forces
now. After the completion of the temple for its
inauguration, the then President of India
Dr. Rajedra Prasad was invited. He accepted the
invitation against the wishes of Pundit Jawaharlal
Nehru. Nehru had said that public officials should
never publicly associate with faiths and shrines.
Today nearly two decades after the demoli-
tion of the Babri Mosque, we have seen as to
how much damage this temple campaign has
done to the political scene in the country.
Unfortunately the Ayodhya judgment has accept-
ed faith as the basis of the verdict. It has been
challenged in the Supreme Court though.
At this moment why cant RSS & company
wait for the court verdict before declaring it on
their agenda? The real reason for this is political.
Temple construction has nothing to do with
Hindu religion. The RSS combine could demolish
the mosque and build their political strength.
Starting from two MPs in Lok Sabha in 1984
elections, as they gradually took up this issue,
BJP by and by went up to 183 MPs in Parliament
in 1999 elections. The mass hysteria created by
this movement built up the BJP from a marginal
outfit to the major opposition party. After 1999,
BJP gradually went declining in its electoral
strength. The present effort to revive Ram Temple
issue has a calculated strategy -- that reviving
this campaign may increase its power and bring
it to the fore again.
But it is doubtful if this strategy may succeed
again. Two decades ago, it worked. So many
years down the line, the voter profile has
changed and the newer set of youth may not be
too enamoured by the call for temple building, as
the more crucial issues are waiting for their atten-
tion. Still there is a big appeal of emotive issues
amongst a large section of society.
The RSS combine has been whipping up
emotive messages through different pro-
grammes. An outfit like RSS thrives on identity
issues. Ram Temple is their major trump card.
The argument that Ram Temple is a symbol of
our nationalism seems to have smudged the
issue in the minds of many. We know that Indian
Nationalism does not veer around mosques and
temples. It is not a religious nationalism. In a
democracy Nationalism cannot be identified with
the religions of the kings of the past. Even the
kings of both religions had mixed administrations
anyway. One needs to come to terms with the
values of freedom struggle, which made India
into a nation, based on democracy and secular-
ism, dump the issues of temple-mosque and
grapple with the issues of livelihood and human
rights of the citizens. .(Issues in Secular Politics)
Ayodhya: In Electoral Battle Again
6 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 NATIONAL www.milligazette.com
I am told by the Press that Indian Mujahideen
and Lashkar-e Toiba with several score sleeper
cells are responsible for the recent bomb blasts
at Hyderabad. The same press also reports that
the Commissioner of Police says it is not yet
known who is responsible. The media, however,
quoting allegedly unidentified yet allegedly reli-
able police sources, seems to know a great
deal more than even the police. For, scanning
news reports, I see that over a week, EVERY
alleged suspect has a Muslim name. Even
names of alleged organisations allegedly linked
with the blasts have Muslim names. The impli-
cations, the undercurrent of political, administra-
tive and executive as well as media bias is strik-
ing. Once again, Muslims are the target. To
interpret these horrifying signals, not much of a
brain is needed. However, in the India of today
where the language of political discourse has
fallen to abysmal levels, four notable absentees
are brain, shame, truth and justice.
Let me ask you, Sir, a few questions:
1. Despite the innumerable Muslim accused
having been found by due process of law to be
innocent of terror involvement, and despite the
confessional statements of right-wing Hindutva
group cadre members with those confessional
statements supported by independent corrobo-
rative evidence, how is it that ONLY Muslims are
stated in the press as being investigated, interro-
gated, searched for?
2. How is it that despite the confessional
statements of right-wing Hindutva group cadre
members with those confessional statements
supported by independent corroborative evi-
dence, NO non-Muslim name features in ANY of
these repor ts
including those
citing mysterious
sources giving out
Muslim names as
suspects ?
3. Has the
police undertaken
a questioning of
those media rags
(sorry, newspa-
pers) and ruts
(sorry, channels)
which have been
promoting this
lopsided image of
the Muslim com-
munity as respon-
sible for such
events, to ascer-
tain which
sources they got
these credible bits
of information from?
4. Has the police undertaken a questioning
of those mysterious sources to ascertain what
information they have and to know whether they
are somehow involved, or wish to create a red
herring to misdirect investigation?
5. Has the police undertaken questioning of
those who control or own these media rags and
ruts which have been promoting this lopsided
image of the Muslim community as responsible
for such events, to ascertain whether they are
carefully orchestrating a media blitz to ensure
that the direction of investigation serves to
deflect the focus from the right wing terror which
stands established as a fact?
6. Has the police taken any steps to book
cases against these media houses, press
reporters and publishers and newspapers, for
publishing material without reasonable basis, as
causes dissension within society which polarise
it and create enmity between groups and sec-
tions of society along religious lines?
7. Considering that a speech by an MLA has
had charges of sedition and waging war against
the State slapped against him, should the same
charges not be framed against these media
houses, press reporters and publishers and
newspapers, for publishing such scandalising
material without reasonable basis, and thereby
creating enmity between groups and sections of
society along religious lines? If they have had
these bits of information planted by some
sources, should those sources not be identi-
fied and similarly prosecuted? Or are Muslim-
baiters to be forever immune from prosecution?
8. Is this not indicative of interference
with investigative processes and is it not
actionable? Considering all this, what action
has the police taken against these communal-
ising elements?
9. If any non-Muslim has been questioned in
these matters, why is it that the media is
absolutely silent about that, or do police
sources only reveal to the media the names of
Muslim persons being investigated?
10. Is the police department not aware that
the assertion that a named person is being
investigated on such serious charges is by itself
enough to cause massive trauma in his and his
familys life? Who is behind the publication and
the media blitz to defame and demonise the
Muslim community?
11. Why is the Police a silent spectator in
the matter?
12. Why did the police not sanitise the areas
after the events and instead permit VIP visitors
with entourages, and were any measures taken
to ensure that the entourage members did not
interfere with the integrity of available evidence,
or even perhaps plant evidence?
13. If the police is yet to analyse the data
from the CCTV camera that was recording the
area/s in question, how is it that named sus-
pects are being spoken of even before that exer-
cise, and all of them happen to be ONLY
Muslims? Or is it a foregone conclusion that
ONLY Muslims can be responsible and the police
believes in advance that no one else need be
suspected?
14. If in earlier blasts, like the ones in
Samjhauta Express, Ajmer, Malegaon,
Hyderabad, etc., right wing groups are found on
NIA investigation to be involved, how and why is
it that none from those organisations or persons
linked to the accused, are being investigated or
their names shown as possibly involved? Or, to
repeat, is it a foregone conclusion that ONLY
Muslims can be responsible and the police
believes in advance that no one else need be
suspected, and if so, considering this and 13
above, how credible is this investigation going to
be?
15. The press also reports that the State
Police is reluctant to hand over the investigation
to the NIA! Why on earth is that? Is it that the
State Police desires a certain outcome and the
investigation by the NIA can come up with
results that a certain section of Indian society
holding certain non-inclusive, non-pluralistic,
non-secular views would be upset by this?
16. Is the possibility being investigated that
a police, paramilitary or military hand may be
involved, looking at the likely political situation
that can unfold while heading towards the 2014
elections? If not, perhaps someone knows why
not, considering that in the past there is at least
one known army man accused of complicity in
terror activities in collusion with some reli-
gious individuals wearing (and thereby defam-
ing) a certain colour?
17. Considering the press reports that use
of certain chemicals points allegedly to an IM
imprint, is the possibility being investigated that
any group wanting to have an investigation go in
a certain direction, would use such methods or
means to direct blame towards a specific
group?
18. Considering that there is no effort by the
police department or other agencies to distance
itself/themselves from what the media reports,
do we citizens take it that the police also is
investigating these matters only along the lines
that ONLY Muslims and none other than Muslims
can be involved ?
19. Are the police officials who are investi-
gating these matters screened to ensure that
they are not persons with anti-Muslim bias or
reluctant to see right-wing hands that evidence
points towards? Is there ever any screening to
weed out officials who have been found in the
past to have targeted Muslims during such
investigative exercise or foisted false cases
against them?
20. Is it a scheme already in place, with the
2014 elections in mind, that UAPA will be
invoked in the aftermath of these blasts ?
21. Is it a likelihood, based on similar past
tragedies, that an unknown number of young
Indians will be charged, arrested, imprisoned,
tortured, police will extract confessions from
them under extreme torture, they will be tried on
those charges in the courts, the accused will
have attorneys who will hardly have the experi-
ence, resources and support to match the mas-
sive resources and influence over the process of
the prosecution by government and its agencies
and, though none of the accused will be convict-
ed for the alleged crime they are accused of,
nevertheless their lives will be shattered forever?
22. Considering that one out of seven
Indians is a Muslim, one out of eight Muslims
of the world lives in India, and over 200
Million Muslims of India belong to India, and
India belongs to Muslims as much as to any
other community, what do you believe the
demand of proper policing is?
SHAFEEQ REHMAN MAHAJIR, Advocate
Post-script: DC carries a news item,
25 February, saying that 20 kg explosives were
recovered from two people. NO NAMES are
given! I am absolutely certain that they are not
Muslims otherwise they would be made prime
suspects as well and their names and photos etc
were splashed across front pages.
Hyderabad blast: questions for Police Commissioner
The RSS combine has been whipping up emotive messages through dif-
ferent programmes. An outfit like RSS thrives on identity issues. Ram Temple
is their major trump card. The arguments that Ram Temple is a symbol of
our nationalism seem to have smudged the issue in the minds of many. We
know that Indian Nationalism does not veer around mosques and temples.
Hydeabad-based lawyer and human rights activist
Shafeeq Rehman Mahajir sent the following letter to the
Police Commissioner, Hyderabad on 25 February:
NATIONAL The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 7 www.milligazette.com
MOHAMMAD SHAHID
L
ucknow: Deputy superintendent of police killed by a mob in
Pratapgarh allegedly at the behest of a senior U.P. cabinet
minister, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya,
another DYSP attacked by lawyers in a Gorakhpur court,
violence in Ambedkar Nagar following the murder of Yuva Vahini
office-bearers in which Muslim houses were set on fire. The fam-
ily of the murdered Police officers alleged the local Samajwadi
Party MLAs hand in the murder, court reopened a case of embez-
zlement and threat to murder against another senior minister of the
U.P. state, yet another minister accused of kidnapping resigned but
was soon re-inducted into the ministry after a probe committee
acquitted him of the charge.
The list is long. With such leaders in his ranks, the Chief
Minister Akhilesh Yadav needs no enemy to malign him and his
government. Law and order has taken a dip in the state. Akhilesh
has failed to erase the goonda Raj image of the Samajwadi Party.
The police force is demoralized, people are terrorized and the gov-
ernment machinery remains paralysed. How can a government
that cannot protect its senior police officers ensure the safety of
its ordinary citizens. Though the beleaguered Chief Minister has
got Raja Bhaiyya resigned and has recommended for a CBI probe
into the DySPs murder which has found echo in Parliament and
state assembly, the opposition is baying for his blood demanding
Presidents rule in the state.
Ziaul Haque (30), the upright and brave DySP of Kunda, was
shot dead in a mob attack when he along with eight other police-
men had gone to investigate the murder of a village pradhan in
Walipur village. When the mob attacked the officer, all the cops
accompanying him, except his gunner, fled -- out of fear or due to
some conspiracy as alleged by the victims widow. This is for
investigative agencies to find. The gunner escaped with injuries.
However, the widow of the slain officer has alleged that her hus-
band was murdered at the behest of the minister for civil supplies
Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya. A case of murder and
criminal conspiracy was registered against the minister, and four
others. Although two of the culprits named in the FIR have been
arrested, Raja Bhaiyya is roaming free.
A year ago, when Akhilesh Yadav took over the reigns of
power in Uttar Pradesh, people had great expectations from a
young and dynamic leader. They thought that Akhilesh would also
take the state on the road to development, discipline his party
cadres and rein in anti-social elements to improve the law and
order situation in the state. But it seems the Samajwadi Party has
learnt nothing from its past mistakes. Tainted leaders were induct-
ed as ministers into the government. Raja Bhaiyya, who had been
in and out of jails for years and has dozens of criminal cases
against him, was made the minister for jails.
With law-breakers becoming law-makers, rule of law cannot
be expected. Dozens of major communal riots (27 till December
last by CMs own admission), intimidation of officials by ministers
and SP MLAs and attack on police have become the order of the
day. Raja Bhaiyyas name cropped up even in the context of
Pratapgarh riots in which about 40 houses belonging to Muslims
were burnt. Allegations were made that the riots took place at the
behest of the Raja. But the Chief Minister ignored the allegations.
Had the government taken those allegations seriously and initiat-
ed action against the minister, the murder of Ziaul Haq might have
been averted.
Its an irony that Muslims, who whole-heartedly supported the
Samajwadi Party to power during the previous state elections, are
the worst sufferers under its rule. Their life and property was
never as cheap as during the one year of Akhilesh rule. In all the
riots Muslims were the main sufferers. Their youths were killed
and houses and shops were destroyed but no action has so far
been taken against the culprits. Even the promises made to the
community during the time of elections remain unfulfilled till date.
The Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had said after
the completion of 100 days in office of Akhilesh government that
all promises made in the election manifesto would be fulfilled
within a year. But as the government completes its one year in
office, all the major promises made to the community remain
unfulfilled. Innocent Muslim youths are still languishing in jails
even after the Nimesh Commission has termed their arrests ille-
gal. The promise of reservation still remains a distant dream for
U.P. Muslims.
If Akhilesh thinks that by giving alms of a few thousand
rupees to Muslim girls here and there and announcing to build
boundaries of graveyards he will win over Muslim votes, he is
mistaken. Similarly, distribution of laptops and tablets while
people live in fear cannot win elections for the par ty. Today,
voters in general and Muslims in par ticular feel disenchanted
with the SP. Muslims are restive and this can be seen from the
frequent conventions of Muslim organisations vowing to fight
against injustice meted out to the community. Akhilesh should
not forget that his father was voted out on the law and order
issue which has come to a nadir in his own regime. He must
see the writing on the wall and take steps to improve the situ-
ation in time or else the 2014 elections may spell doom for the
par ty.
Following is the full translation of a report published in the
Delhi edition of Urdu daily Inquilab on 26 February 2013:
If anyone of you comes to Mathura, his fate will be similar to
that of Shabbir
By Farzan Qureshi
New Delhi: Government has given us the licence to kill people. If
any Mewati came to Mathura, he too will be killed.
Sarpanch Mumtaz Ali of Rethat village of Mewat district said
this quoting Mathura Police. The background of this warning by
Mathura Police is that at about 10 p.m. on 20 February, two real
brothers, both truck drivers living in Rethat village of Mewat dis-
trict, were driving their truck towards Mathura. On their way, they
stopped at Chaudhari dhaba for taking their dinner. After dinner,
the younger brother Shabbir went to the toilet. On his return, a
police officer stopped him and questioned him. When he told his
name and the district he came from, the police officer took him
along and subsequently shot him dead. Police claimed that he was
killed in an encounter while people of his village say that he was
killed in a fake encounter. Sarpanch Mumtaz Ali said that on
23 February the Mathura police had threatened us in front of all
members of the Panchayet that government has given us the
licence to kill people and if anyone of you came to Mathura he too
will meet the same fate as that of Shabbir. The police officer also
said that so far I have killed 16 persons.
Mumtaz Ali further said that police did not register any FIR
even five days after Shabbirs murder, neither handed over his
dead body to us nor allowed us to bury his body nor gave us his
medical report. He added that (in the absence of these things) on
what ground can we file a case. He added that villagers are not
much educated people and hence police keeps frightening and
threatening them every now and then. He said that if we get his
dead body, we would have got post-mortem done and initiate
some action. He further said that Mewats S.P. has told Mathura
police not to give Shabbirs dead body to these people, otherwise
they will sit on a dharna and indulge in disturbances. Mumtaz Ali
alleged that when we went to the Mathura Police for taking
Shabbirs dead body, policemen told us that the S.P. very much
hates the people of Mewat, so it is better if you do not meet him.
Policemen even told us that you people are very lucky that we
showed you Shabbirs dead body, otherwise we do not show the
dead bodies of persons whom we kill.
Mumtaz Ali said that Mathura police has so far killed five-six
youths of Mewat and after killing them they either burn them or
bury them instead of giving the bodies to anyone. He also revealed
that before actually murdering Shabbir, one grave was already dug
and kept ready in Mathura city two days prior to the murder. This
proves that police had deliberately killed Shabbir in an encounter.
Mumtaz said, while describing the conditions in Shabbirs house
and village, that there is mourning in his house and his mother,
wife and two daughters are totally broken down. A wave of fear
prevails in the village and no one is taking care of us.
Meanwhile, reacting to the police claim openly that govern-
ment has given them the licence to kill, advocate Sher Muhammad
said that we are trying to gather proofs and witnesses for filing a
case in the High Court. He added that this was a fake encounter
and even if police has got the post-mortem done, it will be accord-
ing to its own liking. He said that we were not allowed to bury
Shabbirs dead body. Instead, the police buried it on its own and
did not even allow his mother and wife to look at it. (Inquilab Urdu
daily, Delhi, 26 Feb., 2013 -- translated from Urdu)
The report is alarming enough and shows how the Police has
become a law unto itself, terrorising and killing people at will. Dr
Zafarul-Islam Khan, President of the All India Muslim Majlis-e
Mushawarat sent the following letter on 27 February 2013 to all
concerned starting from the The President of India, Prime Minister
of India, Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, Union
Home Minister, Chairman, National Minorities Commission, Chief
Minsiter of Uttar Pradesh, Home Minsiter of Uttar Pradesh,
Chairman, State Human Rights Commission, Lucknow, and
Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh:
Respected Sir,
I am writing to you with a heavy heart. This is not an over-
statement in the backdrop of the free-for-all race to kidnap, arrest,
kill, incarcerate for years without trial, torture in secret safe hous-
es, police stations and even inside jails. This rush to persecute
and criminalize the Muslim community, especially the Muslim
youth, has been going on since at least 2001 when the BJP was
in power and has continued unabated under the Congress rule at
the Centre. Police,
Intelligence, Special
Cell, ATS, STF and
umpteen other open
and secret agencies are
going about their
unending persecution
game as if there is no
constitution or law or
judiciary in the country.
The latest blind arrests
in Hyderabad and
beyond are staring us
in our disbelieving eyes
at this point of time.
Direct and unpro-
voked police attack on
the Muslim community
has been widely report-
ed in recent years.
Cases of Hashimpura &
Maliana (22 May,
1987), Beemmapalli
(17 May, 2009),
Forbesganj (3 June,
2011), Moradabad
(6 July, 2011),
G o p a l g a r h
(14 September, 2011),
Rudrapur (2 Oct.,
2011) and more
recently Dhule (6 January, 2013) are only some glaring examples
known to all but apart from lip service, nothing concrete has been
done to stop and detoxify this menace of an utterly communalized
and biased force.
The immediate provocation that made me write this letter is a
news item in a respectable Urdu newspaper which shows how our
police has become an unbridled beast, killing innocents at will and
behaving as if it is law unto itself. I am afraid this menace will not
stop with the Muslim community. Instead, a day will come when
no ones life and honour will be safe in our country at the hands
of these beasts in uniform. I have got this report translated in full
for your convenience. The same is attached herewith alongwith
the original Urdu report.
The S.P. Mathura referred to in the report is Pradeep Yadav
and Advocate Sher Muhammad referred to in the report may be
contacted at 09812006792.
Kindly take whatever action is possible under law at your end.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, President
Till date only the National Minorities Commission has taken note
of this letter. NMC member KN Daruwalla has written to the
Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, on 4 Mar 2013 asking
for a report at the earliest. He commented on the above Inquilab
report in his letter that it makes very startling reading.
If anyone of you comes to Mathura, his
fate will be similar to that of Shabbir
Akhilesh fails to erase SPs goonda raj image
A year ago, when Akhilesh Yadav took over the reigns of power in Uttar Pradesh, people had great
expectations from a young and dynamic leader. They thought that Akhilesh would also take the state on
the road to development, discipline his party cadres and rein in anti-social elements to improve the law
and order situation in the state. But it seems the Samajwadi Party has learnt nothing from its past mis-
takes. Tainted leaders were inducted as ministers into the government. Raja Bhaiyya, who had been in
and out of jails for years and has dozens of criminal cases against him, was made the minister for jails.
MUSTAFA KHAN
In his visit to Italy in 1931 to meet Mussolini, Dr Balkrishna
Shivaram Moonjes sole objective was to ascertain how to cause
mass casualties. Towards this aim he established the Central
Hindu Education Society in Nasik in 1935. This led to the founda-
tion of the Bhonsla Military School there and another at Nagpur
town which has the headquarters of the Hindu extremist group
Rashtrya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). Moonje was one of the
founders of RSS.
It was in these military schools that Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant
Purohit imparted training to around 5000 activists of Abhinav
Bharat who were also members of the RSS. The training was in
line with the mass casualties that they wanted to commit in the
name of exclusionary cultural nationalism of their hate ideology.
These groups wanted to cause enormous casualties as in the
case of Malegaon 2006 and Malegaon 2008 terror attacks,
Samjhauta Express attack of 2007 and the plan to attack the Ijtema
or congregation of Muslims in 2001 in Bhopal. Each of these and
many others has the same script.
The Ajmer shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti was
the target of a bomb attack on October 11, 2007. There were two
fold aims of the attack. One primary aim was that it was a revered
shrine of Muslims, and others also worshipped there; and the sec-
ond was to destroy a symbol of pluralist culture. (The reason why
Muslims cannot be suspected is given below.) So naturally those
suspected would be the Hindu extremists or the Hindutva groups
including RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal and Abhinav Bharat, among oth-
ers. They have vowed to wipe out Muslims and destroy compos-
ite culture.
But instead of taking this line of investigation Police and intel-
ligence agencies had the very opposite aim of framing Muslims
and blaming them.
As it turned out, those who carried out the blast were extrem-
ist Hindutva activists of the module led by Sunil Joshi. Every event
related to Sunil Joshi in his role as a module chief was meant to
cause mass casualties of Muslims and, at the same time, inflict
blame on them for it. Even in his death he proved true to this pol-
icy.
As the Indian Police and investigation agencies take long time,
sometimes even more than a decade, to genuinely investigate the
terror-related cases, it has become imperative of our times to
make way for independent jurists of international repute to help
India establish truth and move beyond. The delay is on account of
the infiltration of the right wing Hindutva activists in the investiga-
tion agencies, Police and even the Army.
The extremist Hindu organizations are so well-entrenched that
their deliberations and planning are carried over years. This shows
their power and determination to harm the Muslims to the fullest
extent even when there is no provocation.
In 2001 Sunil Joshi had exploded bombs at a Hindu temple in
his native Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. His aim was to incite a com-
munal violence in which obviously the Muslim minority would suf-
fer. There was no immediate provocation for this attack.
This module held several meetings aimed at planning violence
against Muslims. In their secret meetings, they decided to attack
Muslims on some pretext or other, like the attack on Amarnath pil-
grimage in July 2001, on the temples of Raghunath of Jammu in
March 2002 and of Akshardham in September 2002.
In a meeting in April-May 2004 at Ujjain during the Sinhasth
Kumbh, they planned more terrorist attacks. Another such meet-
ing was held in the Gujarat Guest House of Jaipur on 26 October,
2005 in which the second most influential office-bearer of the
RSS, Indresh Kumar, participated. He exhorted the module mem-
bers to cause mass casualties on Muslims and hide in Hindu tem-
ples to escape police arrest. Those who attended the meeting
were Sunil Joshi, Sadhvi Pragyasingh Thakur, Ramji Kalsangra,
Lokesh Sharma, Sandeep Dange, Shivam Dhakad, and Samander.
Sunil Joshi carried out the assignment in Malegaon 2006,
Samjhauta Express in February 2007, Mecca Mosque in
Hyderabad in May, and Ajmer shrine in October of same year.
Sunil Joshi was the link with Indresh Kumar and the modules.
Indresh Kumar became apprehensive that Johsi knew too much
and feared that he would put him in jeopardy. An opportunity came
his way to have Joshi killed. Joshi lived in hiding with assumed
name of Manoj. Indresh Kumar had an inkling that Joshi was
under Police scanner.
After murdering the Congress leader Pyare Singh Ninawa and
his son in 2003, Joshi was hiding in Gujarat. After Joshi returned
from Dangs ashram of Aseemanand, he lived in Dewas. There
were others who shared the room with him and were living with
assumed names. One was Rajender Choudhary whom Lokesh
Sharma at the instance of Indresh Kumar ordered to shoot and kill
Joshi. (There could be a bigger conspiracy behind this crime.) In
the meantime, Joshi reportedly had tried to molest Pragya. That
was the flash point. (This story is disputable because Lokesh
Sharma was among the elite of the module who would not risk the
murder of his own chief over such a sensitive but private matter
and hence the suspicion is on Indresh Kumar.) Joshi was called
out to visit someone at a distance. His motorcycle was out for
repair and hence he walked the distance. His room-mates over-
took him and killed him on December 29, 2007.
Joshis murder too was blamed on Muslims and they were
subjected to terror and suffered atrocities. First, they named anti-
national elements like SIMI to be behind the murder. The fanatics
of Bajrang Dal and RSS called a bandh (strike) on the second day
of Joshis murder. During the strike they attacked Muslims. In
Sutarkheda near Dewas, they went to the house of Rasheed Shah
(65) and killed the old man. Then they burnt alive his son Jalil (27).
They also wanted to kill his other two sons. They shot at them and
injured both of them but they escaped death. A five-year-old girl
suffered burn injuries but survived. The crowd, carrying fire arms
and swords, shouted Burn them! Burn them! The goons bolted
the door of the house from outside. The family was taken by sur-
prise because Rasheed was a member of the committee of
Radhyshyam satsang and had good relations with Hindus. His
wife Sheraj even in her dreams could not believe that such a ter-
ror would visit upon them. Rasheed and the family were part of the
composite culture of which the Ajmer shrine was a symbol. Little
did they know that those who killed them wanted to establish a
Hindu Rashtra of which they could not be members. This instance
of atrocity is the worlds worst crime (in the words of President
Barack Obama who created Atrocities Prevention Board to deal
with such crimes.)
The simple life and beliefs of the Shah family are verified by
the US embassy cables which establish the fact that Indian
Muslims are not attracted to extremism. One such US diplomatic
cable says: Separatism and religious extremism have little appeal
to Indian Muslims, and the overwhelming majority espouse mod-
erate doctrines. (The Hindu, December 18, 2010)
This remarkably contrasts with the aggressive Hindutva terror
as in the case of the Sunil Joshi module, the Abhinav Bharat and
other conglomerations allied with the RSS. Given this background,
it was truly news when the murder of Joshi was easily explained
away and right-wing Hindus were made to believe that this mur-
der was a handiwork of anti-national elements like SIMI. Later, in
the following year Malegaon experienced a repeat performance of
Hindutva terror.
The broader aim of the Hindutva juggernaut is the establish-
ment of a Hindu Rashtra. Be it Purohit, Togadia or Narendra Modi,
the roller skater of Hindutva will move on with or without them. It
may be hindered temporarily but it resumes its course soon there-
after.
After the 1992 demolition of Babri mosque, came the moment
for snatching power at the Centre. For this, there was already
preparation afoot. At the release of Tavleen Singhs book, Arun
Shourie remarked that if Muslims demand reservation then
nobody can stop Modi from becoming the Prime Minister. Even
Bal Thackeray threatened a civil war in a letter of to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh. The bomb explosions by the Hindutva gangs
are aimed at this larger goal.
The most rabid among the Hindutva groups is VHP which
wants Modi as PM. The campaign has reached Kumbh mela of
2013 via Shabri Dham mela of February 2006, via the first
Malegaon attack of 2006.
In a multi-pronged aggressive movement of creating an anar-
chical situation to seize power, they aim to attack Muslims and
create hatred for them in the minds of ordinary Hindus.
Ajmer 2007 was a stop on this long journey. At 6.12 pm on
that day of Ramadan, a cannon was fired as is the tradition in the
shrine of Ajmer during the holy month of fasting as a sign to start
breaking the fast of that day. The firing of the cannon is a signal
that the people gathered there, both Muslims and non-Muslims
including Hindus, were to start eating after completing a day of
fast. But another such sound struck the gathering at 6.14 pm -- it
was the sound of a bomb explosion emanating from Ahata-i Noor
or the Enclave of Light. The bomb explosion killed two on the spot
and injured many. One succumbed to his injuries later. Those
killed were Mohammad Shoaib, Sayyed Saleem and Dr Wadiul
Hasan. The fifteen injured were Mohammad Sabir, Ghulam
Mohammad, Samir Saifi, Waijul Haq, Imran Pathan, Firoz Khan,
Mohammad Hafiz, Asif Miyan, Hamsu, Abdullah Mondol, Arshad,
Abdul Rahman, Nand Lal, Bismillah and Anan Aziz.
According to the charge sheet number 92 dated October 20,
2007 of Case No. 85/7, Thana Dargah Ajmer sub-police station,
the bomb was exploded to destroy harmonious relationship
among members of different communities, to cause communal
riots, to destabilize the county by hurting the sentiment of the
common man.
The thematic continuant of the Hindutva extremist is recur-
rence of Vande Matram. It was the celebration of 100th year of
this controversial song that marked the blasts in Malegaon 2006.
The SIM card in Ajmer blasts with number
89915220000005990837 of the mobile number 9931304642 had
the words Vande Matram as its screen saver. The theme of the
song and the court case complement each other.
It is clear that this blast could not have been a jihadi work
and yet suspicion fell exactly on jihadis and innocent Muslims
were quickly arrested, blamed and questioned.
Sunil Joshi was at the shrine. So were others. This and subse-
quent events included Rajendra Singh Choudhary and others. After
the terrorist act at Malegaon 2006 and the murder of Joshi, Rajender
assumed the disguise of a Hindu holy man and assumed the name of
Rambalak Dash while Dhan Singh became Laxman Das. Both of
them hibernated in two different ashrams of Chitrakoot. They set out
to act as Hindu priests on call and that is how the NIA trapped them.
Thus what Indresh Kumar taught them turned upon their head and
led to their arrest. Now is the turn of Indresh Kumar. Let us see how
much more proofs the NIA needs to finally handcuff him.
One of the accused caught by the police was Dvendra Gupta. He
was a paracharak (head of district unit of RSS) at Jamtada, Mihijam
in Jharkhand from 24 May, 2006 to 26 November, 2006. The SIM
cards and mobile sets, one of which was used to trigger the Ajmer
dargah bomb, were bought from there. He was a native of Ajmer. The
same mobile set was used by him and was later used for exploding
the bomb at Ajmer. This is proof of RSSs direct involvement in the ter-
ror activity and committing of mass atrocities on Muslims. The same
kind of timer device was used earlier in the attack in Mecca mosque
of Hyderabad.
Even to the last point, the planning bore the hallmark of the dou-
ble-speak of RSS. The module wanted to celebrate their achievement
called Siddhbat for having inflicted revenge upon Muslims in places
like Malegaon 2006, Mecca mosque 2007 and Ajmer 2007. Later in
that year (2007) they organized a meeting attended by Joshi,
Pragyasingh, Kalsangra, Sharma, Samandar and Shivam Dhakad.
They called it Muslim aatankwadiyon duwara kiye gaye bomb vis-
photon mein marey Hindu vyaktiyon ka vidhivat kiryakaram ka aayo-
jan sampan (Commemorating the occasions of the killing of Hindus
in bomb blasts by Muslims - note the doublespeak!).
But Joshi was not destined to live to see the greater achieve-
ments of Hindutva forces in 2007.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/his-own-men-killed-joshi-mus-
lim-family-paid-with-lives/738080/0
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Indias-
Musl i ms- l ar gel y- unat t r act ed- t o- ext r emi sm- US- cabl e/ ar t i -
cleshow/7124415.cms
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2012/04/23/president-obama-
announces-creation-of-atrocities-prevention-board/
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/1068448/
Mass Casualties of Muslims for Hindu Rashtra
8 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 NATIONAL www.milligazette.com
The broader aim
of the Hindutva
juggernaut is the
establishment of a
Hindu Rashtra. Be
it Purohit, Togadia
or Narendra Modi,
the roller skater
of Hindutva will
move on with or
without them. It
may be hindered
temporarily but it
resumes its
course soon
thereafter.
Sunil Joshi car-
ried out the
assignment in
Malegaon 2006,
Samjhauta Express in February 2007, Mecca Mosque in Hyderabad in May, and Ajmer shrine in October
of same year. Sunil Joshi was the link with Indresh Kumar and the modules. Indresh Kumar became
apprehensive that Johsi knew too much and feared that he would put him in jeopardy. An opportunity
came his way to have Joshi killed. Joshi lived in hiding with assumed name of Manoj. Indresh Kumar
had an inkling that Joshi was under Police scanner.
Sunil Joshi was at the shrine. So were others. This and subsequent events included Rajendra Singh
Choudhary and others. After the terrorist act at Malegaon 2006 and the murder of Joshi, Rajender
assumed the disguise of a Hindu holy man and assumed the name of Rambalak Dash while Dhan
Singh became Laxman Das. Both of them hibernated in two different ashrams of Chitrakoot. They set
out to act as Hindu priests on call and that is how the NIA trapped them.
Thus what Indresh Kumar taught them turned upon their head and led to their arrest. Now is the turn of
Indresh Kumar. Let us see how much more proofs the NIA needs to finally handcuff him.
Dharna against murder of Afzal Guru
NATIONAL The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 9 www.milligazette.com
New Delhi: A protest dharna was held here at the Jantar Mantar on
4 March to protest against the illegal act of executing Mohammad
Afzal Guru. The dharna was organised by the Committee for the
Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP). Representatives from vari-
ous states of India like Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand as well as the oppressed
North East and Kashmir gathered at the dharna.
Amidst slogans and songs of protest, students condemned
the brutal killing of Afzal and demanded Kashmirs Azadi. The
arrival of Syed Ali Shah Geelani at the protest venue was greeted
with vibrant sloganeering. Speakers severely condemned the
hanging of Afzal and unequivocally demanded the abolition of
death penalty and all other draconian laws being imposed on the
people of India fighting for justice, freedom and equality.
Sujato Bhadro, prominent civil libertarian and vice president of
CRPP, condemned the heinous execution of both political and
non-political prisoners. As a principle, he condemned capital pun-
ishment as it is nothing but a clear premeditated murder by the
State. It is the inherent discrimination within an unequal society
that creates criminals. The society cannot murder them and wash
off its hands. He condemned the flouting of all legal procedures in
Afzals killing and demanded a re-trial of Afzals case and of the
whole case file of the so-called attack against Indian parliament.
Sumit Chakravarthy, editor of Mainstream, said Afzals hang-
ing was not just an attack on Kashmir, but most importantly it was
an attack on Indian democracy. He said to kill Afzal was a political
decision and there was no law involved. This was a product of
political rivalry between Congress and BJP for competitive jingo-
ist nationalism. Not a single voice was raised within the parliament
because from right to left, all worried that they will lose out on vote
bank politics. We must extend our solidarity with the people of
Kashmir. It is only this way that we can defend democracy. He
added that the martyrdom of Afzal, for all the democracy loving
people of India should remain an example.
Amit Bhattacharyya, Secretary General of CRPP, said that 99
percent prisoners in Indian jails are from lower caste, minorities,
adivasis, and all other oppressed masses who are fighting for jus-
tice and their rights. On the other hand, the murders and crimes
being committed everyday by Army/CRPF are not even booked.
He asked the collective conscience of which nation was satis-
fied by hanging Afzal? Is it a Hindu nation? Does it not include
minorities or oppressed?
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of Kashmirs Tehreek-e-
Hurriyat, said that absolute power corrupts and blinds people. But
history tells us that whenever this happens, resistance wins. The
people of J&K are fighting for many years for their inalienable right
to freedom. More than six lakh have been martyred, and we are
being killed even now. Maqbool Bhatt was killed in 1984 in Tihar,
and now Afzal. We have clear evidences that he was not involved
in the Parliament attack. He was framed, and not even a chance-
was given to him to defend himself. The judge who gave this
judgement himself accepted that law is not supporting, but we still
want to hang Afzal to satisfy the conscience of the people. This is
a judicial murder. He was not even allowed to meet his family
members before he was hanged which is guaranteed by law. They
are now demanding his body. A Kashmiri student studying in
Hyderabad who had offered prayers for Afzal was thereafter found
dead in his room. Now they are saying that he has
committed suicide. It is a conspiracy through which
they killed him.
Geelani said he was kept under house arrest for 19
days since Afzals hanging, at his Malviya Nagar residence
and was not even allowed to offer Friday prayers. As far
as Kashmir issue is concerned, he said, people are being
oppressed and humiliated for 65 years and they will keep
fighting against the forcible occupation of Kashmir by the
Indian state.
Prof. P Koya, vice president of the Popular Front of
India & CRPP, observed that by hanging anyone to death,
the State commits a crime. We are not talking about the
illegal execution of Afzal Guru. Rather, we are opposing the
legal execution of Afzal. We know fundamentally all such
murders are illegal. Murder by a State is itself a political act
- whether in India, Saudi Arabia or US. He further said that
despite the maintenance of one million Indian security per-
sonnel, protest and anger are slowly coming out in
Kashmir. While pointing out that the underprivileged are
always sent to the gallows, he asked: How many people
were hanged when 8000 people were gassed in Bhopal,
when 2000 were hacked in Nellie, when 3000 were killed
in the streets of Ahmedabad... nobody was hanged after
these crimes.
Prof. Haragopal, prominent social scientist and civil
libertarian, said that when they talk of sentiment was the
sentiment of the people of Kashmir taken into considera-
tion and does the SC still consider Kashmir as part of
India? He said that in India the popular morality is danger-
ously overriding constitutional morality. Ambedkar had
said constitutional morality is more important than popu-
lar morality. In a country where the heinous caste system
exists, what can be the public morality in India? Rule of
law is important in a democracy but in no way it means
rule by law. AFSPA, TADA, POTA are not rule of law but
rule by law. He added that there lies a connection between
the 9 percent rate of growth and Afzals killing. Where
there is so much inequality, poverty, unemployment,
unrest is legitimate. And if the response of the State is ter-
rorizing the people who are fighting for their inalienable
rights and justice with more and more draconian rules,
then people will fight back. He strongly criticized the media
for the jingoism that they indulged in while reporting the
hanging of Afzal. He pointed out that the vast sections of
the corporate media are instigating the public. If you cre-
ate support for Modi, for the states so-called develop-
ment agenda, for hanging somebody - all of this is anti-
people.
Com. Aparna of CPI (ML) (New Democracy), pointed
out that we must remember that in the Bhopal case, when
collective conscience of this country wanted punishment
of Anderson, the SC refrained from giving any verdict. We
must understand that this history of hanging can be traced
back to the British colonial rule as they employed this
repressive strategy to murderously rule the people of the
Indian subcontinent.
Sumit Chakravarthy, editor of Mainstream, said Afzals hanging was not just an attack on Kashmir, but most importantly it was an attack on Indian democ-
racy. He said to kill Afzal was a political decision and there was no law involved. This was a product of political rivalry between Congress and BJP for compet-
itive jingoist nationalism. Not a single voice was raised within the parliament because from right to left, all worried that they will lose out on vote bank poli-
tics. We must extend our solidarity with the people of Kashmir. It is only this way that we can defend democracy.
SUBHASH GATADE
This is not a hand [Congress symbol], it is the power of the lotus
[BJP symbol]. It will cut the head of... Jai Shri Ram, a PTI report
quoted Varun Gandhi (29) as telling an election meeting in Pilibhit,
his attack directed at the Muslims. At another meeting, the PTI
report said, he said: If anyone raises a finger towards Hindus or
if someone thinks that Hindus are weak and leaderless, if some-
one thinks that these leaders lick our boots for votes, if anyone
raises a finger towards Hindus, then I swear on Gita that I will cut
that hand.
(Varun Gandhis hate-Muslim speech makes his BJP squirm
Express News Service : Lucknow, Tue Mar 17 2009)
M
r Varun Gandhi, BJP MP, was all smiles when he emerged
on 5 March from the court which had just acquitted him in
the second hate speech case. Waxing eloquent about the
Indian Constitution and Indias legal system, he said, truth has
prevailed. Only a few days earlier another court in UP had acquit-
ted him of the first hate speech case. It may be added that when
extracts of the speeches he delivered during election campaign in
2009 appeared in a section of the press, the then Mayawati gov-
ernment had promptly filed cases against him and ordered his
arrest. As a result, Varun had to spend some time behind bars
before bail was ultimately granted to him.
It is interesting to recall how BJP had then reacted to his hate-
speeches. Officially, it was stated then that the BJP squirmed
when his controversial speeches had made headlines, with one of
its spokesperson claiming that Varuns outburst did not reflect
BJPs traditional culture. It was a different matter that the then
party president Mr Rajnath Singh went to visit him in jail to show
solidarity.
Coming back to the case and looking at the legal proceedings,
one finds that there are many gaps, which have allowed this
acquittal possible. In fact, the role of the Akhilesh Yadav-led gov-
ernment in the whole affair has come under scanner. A few
months back, newspapers carried out a report wherein it was
mentioned that Akhilesh-led government was contemplating with-
drawal of cases against the young MP. As this report, which was
never confirmed nor rejected, raised an uproar in the state, no for-
mal withdrawal of cases was done. A fact which has been noted
by activists is that once it was known that the state government
was not keen on the case, witnesses started turning hostile.
Another point concerns the issue of voice sample. The foren-
sic report had stated that unless and until they get a voice sample
they would not be able to confirm if the said speeches were made
by Mr Varun. It is really surprising that despite repeated instruc-
tions by the honble court, Mr Gandhi refused to submit his voice
sample to the Police. A forensic test of his voice sample would
have validated the prosecutions charge against him. Varun
claimed that his speeches had been edited by local channels to
make it seem like he was promoting communal hatred.
Interestingly, the broadcasters were unable to furnish the original,
unedited footage to the Police. A staggering 51 witnesses pro-
duced by the prosecution failed to indict him for delivering
speeches to provoke communal hatred. The same witnesses were
used for the second case. The courts did not deem it necessary
to call reporters of the TV channels as well as the print media,
which had carried reports about the controversial speeches.
A statement issued by the Lucknow-based Rihai Manch, a
forum for the release of innocent Muslims imprisoned in the name
of Terrorism (email: [email protected]), has thrown
light on the way the witnesses in the case turned hostile en
masse. According to them, it cannot be called mere coincidence
that during the hearings in the said cases held on 24 and 29
November, a total of 18 witnesses turned hostile, The press
release further underlined that when Mr Gandhi refused to give
samples of his voice to the public prosecutor, he neither apprised
the courts of Mr Gandhis refusal nor deemed it necessary to
emphasise the point and ensure that it was done. According to the
Rihai Manch, this vindicates the claim that the state government
was keen to release Mr Varun Gandhi and not to punish him.
The Rihai Manch also questioned the role of the judiciary in
the whole case. It added, when advocate Asad Hayat, associated
with the Manch, put forward a prayer before the CJM court in
Pilibhit on 25 February that since Mr Varun Gandhis said speech-
es had hurt his religious feelings, the channels which had shown
his speeches be called as witnesses. The petition also requested
the honble courts to ensure Mr Varun Gandhis voice sample be
taken and if he does not comply then consider it as adverse infer-
ence in his case and declare that it was his speech only. The court
did not admit the petition and because of the insistence of the pub-
lic prosecutor, rejected it on 27 February.
Mr Asad Hayat then put a revision application in the high court
and also petitioned the CJMs court a second time saying that
since an application is pending before the high court in connec-
tion with the rejection of his case on 27 February, it is requested
that the CJMs court should not decide the matter till the high
court gives its decision. Here also, because of the resistance put
forward by the public prosecutor, the CJM court rejected his appli-
cation on 4 March and finally gave its verdict on 5 March.
One does not know what will happen next. With more than
eleven major communal riots within a period of less than a year,
under a government which has received fullsome support from
the minorities, Akhilesh Yadav-led government has exhibited its
ineptness in handling communal elements. If justice is to be done
in the hate speech case, it is incumbent that the state government
challenges this decision by moving a fresh application in the high
court. Looking at the fact that there is a world of difference
between what the Samajwadi Party claims and does, the possibil-
ity seems really dim. (Countercurrents.org)
Subhash Gatade is a writer and social activist based in New
delhi. He edits the Hindi journal Sandhan. His recent book is
Godses Children: Hindutva Terror in India.
Spew Venom, Enjoy Life: who scripted Varuns acquittal?
Syed Ali Shah Geelani speaking
Prof. Koya speaking
AFSANA RASHID, SRINAGAR
Jammu and Kashmir Draft Police Bill 2013 has been widely criti-
cized by people cutting across all political party lines.
The 76-page draft bill was made public on February 15, when
the entire valley was reeling under curfew following the execution
of 2001 Parliament attack convict, Mohammad Afzal Guru on
February 9 in Tihar jail, New Delhi.
The draft bill proposes vesting of magisterial powers with the
police itself instead of a civilian magistrate, police officials shall
always be regarded to be on duty, in case of non-rendering of
assistance to police officer an adult member of the public can be
arrested, statutory recognition of village defense committees
(VDC), no criteria for appointment of SPOs, no role for leader of
opposition in the constitution of the State Security Commission,
creation of Special Security Zones and that a person can be jailed
for wrong parking, cleaning furniture at a public place, urinating at
the road side and overtaking and breaking queue for essential
supplies.
The proposed bill is an attempt to institutionalize dreaded
Ikhwan culture and creation of Special Security zones and legal-
ization of VDC, said PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti, February 24.
Police is definitely in need of drastic reforms, but many provi-
sions in the bill are undemocratic and anti-people.
Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, February 25,
said, Kashmir is already suffering since 1947 due to bills passed
in the Assembly including Disturbed Areas Act and PSA. If police
needed reforms, it should study the Northern Ireland model.
Hurriyat (G) spokesperson, February 26 said, If the bill is
passed, it would empower an ordinary policeman and VDC will
have power to interrogate anybody.
JKLF acting chairman Bashir Ahmad Bhat said the bill proves
beyond doubt that Jammu and Kashmir is virtually a police state.
Dukhtaran-e-Milat chief Asiya Andrabi, February 28 said,
Government wants to suppress the voice of dissent.
Independent legislator from Langate, Er Abdul Rashid,
February 25, termed the bill as a ploy by the government to revive
government-sponsored militia in Kashmir and legalize VDC.
Senior Congress leader and Minister for Medical Education Taj
Mohiuddin asked, Where is the bill? It is just a draft. It will take
shape of a bill only after it is tabled in the House. CPI (M) state
secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, February 27, said, It
should have been named as Police Force Special Powers Act.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, February 26, said the draft leg-
islation has been put to public scrutiny to get feedback from
stakeholders before formalizing it. Pertinently, it was reported that
there is no chance of the draft bill being tabled in the budget ses-
sion of Assembly that started at Jammu from February 28.
Valley mourns Mudasir
Thousands of people participated in the funeral procession of
Kashmiri research scholar, Mudasir Kamran Malla, who was
found hanging in his hostel room at a University in Hyderabad,
March 2 evening. As the news about Mallas death spread,
protests broke out across the valley. He was pursuing his doctor-
ate at English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad.
Family and locals refute police claims that Malla committed
suicide. They allege he was tortured to death as his body bore vis-
ible marks of violence.
Mallas father, Ghulam Qadir said that his son had been mur-
dered without any reason. His elder brother, Ashiq Hussain
alleged that Malla had arguments with his batch-mate and a pro-
fessor, who handed him over to the police. He was in police cus-
tody for three days. Later, he was found dead in his hostel room.
Mallas death evoked widespread condemnation, with main-
stream parties terming it mysterious death that needs to be
probed and separatists claiming that he was murdered under a
well-planned strategy.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, March 3 said, It is shocking
that a bright boy lost his life in circumstances that call for thor-
ough investigation.
Why should a bright student commit suicide? asked
Hurriyat (G) chairman, Syed Ali Geelani, adding he has been
murdered by communal forces, who are everywhere in India.
Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said,
Circumstantial evidences of his death dont favour the claim that
he has committed suicide. JKLF acting chairman, advocate
Bashir Ahmed Bhat said it is another wound on the hearts of
Kashmiris. Muttahida Majlis-e-Mushawarat, a joint front of sepa-
ratists, March 3, issued a weekly-protest calendar and called for
Parigam-Pulwama Chalo on March 5 to express solidarity with
Mallas family.
Clashes broke out here when security forces prevented pro-
testers from marching towards Parigam-Pulwama. Tahir Ahmad
Sofi, 24, a resident of Baramulla was killed and two other sus-
tained injuries after 46 RR fired at people, who were protesting
against ransacking of houses and damage to scores of vehicles
parked in front of their houses by the forces, March 5.
Sofi received a bullet in his head and was declared brought
dead at a district hospital. The incident triggered protests. Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah, March 5, broke down in the legislative
assembly over Sofis killing, saying he is tired of such happenings
and demanded an answer as sought by those in opposition.
Sarpanch killed by unidentified gunmen
Unidentified gunmen shot dead National Conference sarpanch,
Javed Ahmad Wani, in north Kashmirs Kalantra-Baramulla,
February 24. Wanis killing is viewed as a severe setback for the
party.
All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference, an amalgam
of elected sarpanches and panches, at Jammu, February 25, held
the government responsible for the killings of panchayat leaders,
so far. This is the fifth instance in the last six months in which a
sarpanch has been killed.
Minister of State for Home, Sajad Ahmed Kichloo, February
25, said preliminary investigations reveal that he could have been
killed due to personal rivalry while former MoS Home and provin-
cial NC president, Nasir Aslam Wani said it was the handiwork of
militants. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said Wani was a protect-
ed person and the role of his security guards is being investigat-
ed.
Besides, two cops, constable Santosh Singh (26) -Belt num-
ber 285 -and Azad Chand (27)- Belt number 199- of 13 Indian
Reserve Police (IRP) Battalion, presently attached to 16 IRP
Battalion of Armed Police, were shot dead in Handwara- Kupwara,
March 2. Panic gripped the area, people ran helter and skelter and
shopkeepers downed their shutters. Militant outfits, Hizbul
Mujahideen and Jamiat ul Mujahideen, have claimed responsibili-
ty, as per local news agency KNS.
Hot debate on Guru in J&K assembly
Amidst uproar and noisy scenes, both houses of the state legisla-
ture discussed the execution of 2001 Parliament attack convict,
Mohammad Afzal Guru.
The debate was initiated by opposition PDP leader Mehbooba
Mufti, March 4, stating it was inhumane that Gurus family was-
nt allowed to meet him before his execution. Chief minister Omar
Abdullah stated the Centres course of action regarding cases
similar to Guru will determine whether his hanging was selective
and political.
Budget session of the Assembly started on a stormy note,
February 28, with PDP and independent legislator Er. Abdul Rashid
boycotting the Governors address in protest against Gurus hang-
ing.
The Assembly witnessed pandemonium, the next day, after
PDP created an uproar on its demand to discuss Gurus hanging,
leading to adjournment of the House for the day. Finally, Assembly
speaker Mubarak Gul, decided to allow a debate over the crucial
adjournment motions moved by various parties over Gurus exe-
cution and its fallout in Kashmir on March 4. Gul was elected,
unopposed, as new Speaker, February 28.
Er. Rashid, February 25, asked NC and PDP to unanimously
impress upon the Speaker to bring a resolution seeking the return
of Gurus body for discussion without balloting.
Meanwhile, an official handout here said in a letter to the
Prime Minister on February 19, chief minister Omar Abdullah had
strongly pleaded for handing over the mortal remains of Guru to
his family. PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayed, February 26,
wrote to Prime Minister that Gurus body be returned to his fami-
ly. A candle light protest was organized by JKLF, March 2,
demanding the return of the mortal remains of Bhat and Guru.
Mutaihida Majlis-e-Mashawarat, a united group of separatists,
came out with weekly-protest calendar demanding return of
Gurus body.
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
J&K to introduce AFPSA-like Police bill
10 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 NATIONAL www.milligazette.com
New Delhi: President of the All India
Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, the
umbrella body of Indian Muslim
organisations and eminent personali-
ties, Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, con-
demned here on 2 March the unjust
verdicts being passed by the contro-
versial International Crimes Tribunal
in Bangladesh and the daily toll of
dozens of protesting civilians being
mowed down by the trigger-happy
Bangladeshi security forces.
Dr Khan said that the verdicts
passed by the controversial and dis-
credited tribunal, based on highly
exaggerated and fictitious accounts,
are a travesty of justice as cases have
been opened after four decades in
what is a clear political vendetta and
attempt to silence political opponents
using sham legal processes and pli-
able judges.
Dr Khan called on the Bangladesh
government to rethink its diabolical
strategy which will only lead to a civil
war and a very protracted friction in
the Bangladeshi society. This schism
will hamper Bangladeshs economic,
social and political progress and will
blacken Bangladeshs name and
standing in the comity of nations. The
sooner these sham verdicts are can-
celled and the controversial tribunal
abolished the better for the future of
Bangladesh.
Centre and state govts
prefer corporates:
Welfare Party
Thiruvanathapuram: Dr.S.Q.R.Ilyas,
General Secretary of the Welfare Party
of India made a scathing attack here
on the central and state governments
for their pro-corporate policies at the
expense of the common people. While
inaugurating the two-months long
state-level agitation named peoples
rage against governments not letting
the citizens to live at the historic
Putharikkandam maidan here on
2 March, Dr. Ilyas said that govern-
ments were withdrawing from vital
service sectors like health and educa-
tion and were reneging on the concept
of a welfare state for which the inde-
pendent nation was created, resulting
in the emergence of two kinds of citi-
zens in our country. The WPI leader
came down heavily on the govern-
ment for its developmental terror
policy by forcefully evicting people
without providing proper compensa-
tion and/or due rehabilitation. Their
lands are being taken away for
peanuts and given to mafias, multi
nationals and corporates. Dr. Ilyas
asked the central and state gov-
ernments to bring out a white
paper on all terror acts as it has
been proven now that most of
these acts and blasts were false
flag operations and innocent
youth of a certain community were
harassed and put behind bars for
years for no crime. Many of them
were exonerated by the courts
after lengthy and costly legal bat-
tles.
T
he public meeting was held
after a procession attended by
thousands of par ty workers.
National General Secretary P.C.
Hamza, National Vice-president Fr.
Abraham Joseph, State President
Dr. Koottil Mohammedali, State
General Secretaries K.
Ambujakshan and Abdul Hakeem,
State Vice-president Prema G
Pisharati also attended the func-
tion. As part of the two-month long
agitation, rallies and processions
across the state, door to door cam-
paign, vehicle rallies etc are being
taken out..
Mushawarat condemns state terror and vendetta in Bangladesh
Dr. S.Q.R.Ilyas speaking
P
aradoxically, criminal activities targeting women count-
er noise having been made frequently about Muslim
women facing discrimination. The month of March
began with nearly half a dozen cases reported within
three days in the capital city of girls being physically abused
and raped. What does this suggest? Massive demonstrations
held earlier in several parts of the country in protest against the
gang-rape of a 23-year woman in a moving bus have failed to
deter criminals. At the time when these demonstrations were
held together with media coverage received by the same, the
impression was created that collective consciousness of peo-
ple was aroused against such crimes. The conscience was cer-
tainly aroused strongly enough to hit headlines across the
country and most parts of the world. But even this had limited
impact on society as facts state that it did not succeed in put-
ting an effective check on crimes abusing women. Rather,
women continue to be exploited and abused with criminals car-
ing little for their violating social ethics, norms and also the
legal process. Who, what has failed where and why?
While what happens in Delhi tends to receive prompt cov-
erage, this does not imply that similar crimes do not take place
in other parts of the country. Last month witnessed rape and
murder of three minor girls in a village in Bhandara in
Maharashtra. Three sisters aged 6, 8 and 11, had failed to
return from school on February 14. Two days later, on February
16, their bodies were found in a well around 2 kms from their
house. More than a fortnight has passed since the crime was
committed and at the time of writing this, the police remained
clueless about who were the criminal(s). The very nature of this
crime from A to Z is disgusting, hardly reflecting any of the lofty
cultural traits, the countrys citizens claim to be proud of.
There is a major lapse in the Indian system which appar-
ently is being taken advantage of by criminals. Even though vic-
tims family spared little time in reporting the girls disappear-
ance to the police, the criminals received substantial time to
eliminate all clues of their crime. They did not even take the
risk of leaving any one of the victims alive. To be doubly sure of
their murder, they threw their bodies in a well.
This is not Indian culture where, as per the countrys tra-
dition, women are looked up to and even worshipped as deities.
The job of the police is to continue with this case till the crimi-
nals are nabbed. Yes, the police would have been held as
responsible had they been present at the time when the crime
was being committed and they allowed them to escape.
The Bhandara-case exposes the degree to which Indian cit-
izens cannot be absolved of their role. Three minor girls were
targeted brutally and also shamelessly by probably more than
one person. That was the prime objective of the criminals, com-
mit the crime and do away with the biggest evidence, by sniff-
ing out lives of the young and innocent victims and then dispos-
ing them of by throwing them in a well. The criminals had prob-
ably never been taught to display respect for women and the
societys norms. They probably arent feeling guilty or even
remorseful at having committed such a disgraceful crime. They
are probably feeling relieved at still remaining out of grips of
the police. And this brings us to the fundamental malaise in
Indian society that needs further attention. The society in gen-
eral has little respect for women who at large are looked down
as second-class citizens. The situation is worse in rural areas.
Women are not given the status of human beings but treated as
commodities to be used and abused as desired by men. What
is more deplorable is that men consider their physical strength
and gender as having given them the authority to exploit as well
as abuse women.
What a tragedy. One cannot forget the fact that there has
prevailed a trend in other countries to overplay Indias negative
traits, whether they are marked by communal riots, cows
squatting on roads, stray dogs, beggars or open drains. Now,
these have been replaced by the Indian rape-cases hitting
national, regional and global headlines. This is not India. Yet,
the fact that it is reflective of a major lapse in the countrys
socio-cultural system cannot be ignored.
Within three months, one has come face to face with the
hard fact that protest demonstrations against such crimes can
have only limited impact. Capital punishment for criminals is
not the answer to this problem. The Bhandara-case has
exposed the fact that women shall probably continue to be
abused in most parts of the country till they are not treated as
human beings and as equal Indian citizens. The right to vote
cannot be viewed as Indian womens passport to equality in the
society. There is need of a continuing revolution across the
country to make each and every citizen gradually but definitely
accept that all women must be respected!
Speaki ng Out
Bhandara Case:
An Eye-Opener
NI LOFAR SUHRAWARDY
HAFEEZUR RAHMAN
Mr Digvijay Singh said that Dr Javed Jamils book based on
facts and figures from across the world would be a fitting
answer to those who try to paint Muslims as uncivilized and
lovers of violence. He said that certain forces in India are
again trying to destabilize the peace of the country. He
appealed to Muslims to remain alert of these forces and said
that they and other deprived sections of society would always
find him standing with them. He said that Muslims need not
fear anybody and must concentrate on their educational and
developmental pursuits. Singh praised the endeavour of
Dr Jamil in preparing the Muslim Vision Document for Indian
Muslims and hoped that with the support of people like
Mr K Rahaman Khan and Mr Sirajuddin Qureshi, this vision
will soon become a reality.
Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, Congress MP, said that though
Secularism in general is well and safe in India, certain forces
are bent to destroy the secular fabric by inciting hatred against
Muslims. He said that though Dr Javed Jamil has done a
remarkable work by producing massive statistics to prove the
case, the truth is that we Indians are aware for centuries that
Islam stands for the true civilization, and Muslims are indeed
truly civilized. He said that No leader, no thinker, no writer or
any other expert can deny the influence of Islam and Muslims
on the World, particularly Indian Subcontinent. He said that
India is a secular country and Secularism is the cement that
binds India into one nation. If there is no secularism, India will
break, he said. Mr Aiyar lambasted the forces of Hindutva
saying they want to destroy the social fabric of the country.
In the midst of repeated cheers from a very large audience,
Aiyar said that in the name of Development, Communalism is
being brought to the country. Referring to the BJPs projec-
tion of Narendra Modi as the leader of BJP in coming elections,
he said that these forces are the scorpions and snakes that
are readying to bite the nation. Mr Aiyar spoke at length about
the historical successes of Muslims in India and said that the
stamp of Muslims can be seen in every corner of Indian civi-
lization.
Minister of Minority Affairs, Mr K Rahman Khan admired
the unapologetic, comprehensive, dynamic and visionary
approach of Dr Javed Jamil and said that he is his fan. He
said that he and Dr Jamil are working closely for about four
years and we have a common way of thinking about the
national and community issues in the country. He said that
through Internet, Dr Jamil has influenced the thinking of many
people across the world. Khan said that there cannot be any
other option for Muslims except being the most civilized
because they are the followers of Quran, which provides the
best foundation for civilization. If Muslims have shortcomings,
it is only on account of their own callousness and disobedi-
ence of Quran and Sunnah, he said. He said that Not Yet
Enough part of his book needs special attention and he would
like it to be the subject of his next work. Muslims must not
simply be satisfied with what they have achieved but must
concentrate on what they have to achieve, he said. Khan
called upon Muslims to work on war-footing to empower
themselves in every possible way. He admired the efforts of
Dr Javed Jamil in giving a vision to Indias Muslims. He said
that when we plan, we need a vision, then only we can define
our objectives and prepare a roadmap.
Sirajuddin Qureshi, President of the India Islamic Cultural
Centre, said that Dr Javed Jamil has already earned the repu-
tation of a visionary and thinker who has a holistic and
unapologetic approach towards the world issues. He remind-
ed the people about Muslim Vision and said that While we
are still contemplating on how to convert that roadmap into
action, he has come up with another remarkable and unparal-
leled piece of research work. He said that we are living in the
world of propaganda and in last few decades the propaganda
machinery has focused all its attention on Muslims and has
left no stone unturned in spreading the myth that Muslims are
uncivilized, violent and backward. Dr Jamil has successfully
countered this mischievous propaganda and has accumulated
huge statistics to prove that the Muslim World is much more
civilized than the so-called champions of civilization.
He said that We in India are also facing the propaganda
by certain quarters to paint Muslims in the negative and time
has come for all communities, particularly Hindus and
Muslims, to unite to fight against the dangers facing the coun-
try and Indian society.
Ejaz Aslam, Editor of Radiance viewsweekly called upon
Muslims to come out of their somnolence. He said that as
Dr Jamil has highlighted, Muslims must shun inferiority com-
plex. At the same time they must also do introspection which
is the key to future development and progress. He expressed
dissatisfaction with the disunity in the ranks of the Ummah and
hoped that Muslim Ummah will soon learn its goal of bring-
ing peace to the whole mankind.
Prof. Akhtarul Wassey described Dr Javed Jamil as a per-
son of extraordinary calibre who has done remarkable work in
many fields, including medicine, economics, social affairs and
international issues. He said that Muslims Most Civilised, Yet
Not Enough is a kind of work that every person must read. He
suggested that the book must be included in the courses of all
madrasas and Islamic institutions so that Ulama and other
Islamic scholars may become well-equipped to spread the
teachings of Islam to the world. He said
that books bring revolution, and this book
has the potential of bringing another ideo-
logical revolution. He proposed that the
book must be translated in other lan-
guages, particularly Hindi and Urdu.
Dr Javed Jamil, the author of the book,
spoke at length about its contents. He said
that he felt the need for writing the book
when he saw that certain forces in the world
are not merely interested in destroying the
Muslim World but also want to hurt Muslims
in ugliest possible colours. He said that with-
in about 200 years, the stars of the hori-
zon of Westernism have all degenerated into
black holes Democracy into
Corporatocracy, Secularism into negation of
religious conscience and morality, free-
dom into license to commit evils and
human rights into defence of criminals
and perverts. He said that he collected data
related to violence of all types and most of
the Western countries were in the top 15 in terms of almost all
forms of violence. He said that he counted every single death that
has been allegedly caused by al-Qaeda and the numbers of these
deaths is hardly 5500. In contrast, America and its allies have
killed more than two million innocent Muslims. He said that
Western countries have highest murder rates, highest rape rates,
highest incarceration rates, highest abortions, highest percentage
of teenage pregnancies, children living in single parent families,
divorce rates and children born out of wedlock. He added that
apart from the total disintegration of the family system, they also
have the maximum suicide rates. He produced statistics to show
that Muslims can claim to be more civilised than most countries
because in most Muslim countries, the crime rates are very low,
family system is intact and the problems related to social vices are
minimal. He said that the so-called champions of civilisation have
promoted prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and have
made women the killers of their own children. He argued that life
expectancy should be determined not from birth but from concep-
tion because the antenatal life is biologically and medically an
essential part of human life. When counted from conception, the
life expectancy of most Western countries dropped very low. He
said that except few Muslim countries like Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Pakistan and Somalia, most Muslim countries have
very high life expectancy, both after conception and after birth,
have high per capita income with relatively less economic dispar-
ity and they are now making substantial progress in educational
fields. Dr Jamil said that he has not only concentrated on positives
but has also discussed in detail the shortcomings and their solu-
tions. He argued that there is a strong need of strategic relation-
ship between India and Muslim countries which will help both in
getting rid of dependence on West. He gave details about violence
in India and showed that Muslims were not the culprits but the vic-
tims.
Read review of Muslims Most Civilised, Yet not Enough
on page 21 in this issue
Muslims Most Civilised, Yet not Enough, authored by eminent thinker and writer, Dr Javed Jamil, was
released in Delhi on 4 March at the India Islamic Cultural Centre. The book was released by Mr K
Rahman Khan, Union Minister of Minority Affairs. Mr. Diggvijay Singh, former chief minister of Madhya
Pradesh, whose wife expired a few days back, sent a written speech.
ANALYSIS The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 11 www.milligazette.com
Forces of Hindutva are scorpions: Aiyar
One cannot forget the fact that there has pre-
vailed a trend in other countries to overplay
Indias negative traits, whether they are
marked by communal riots, cows squatting on
roads, stray dogs, beggars or open drains.
Now, these have been replaced by the Indian
rape-cases hitting national, regional and global
headlines. This is not India.
Pix
Dr. SAYYAD AHMAD KHAN, a
famous unani physician was
honoured with Hakim Ajmal
Khan Award in recognition of
his tibbi and social services on
12 February which is observed
as World Unani Medicines Day,
in Ajmer. He is also the General
Secretary of All India Unani
Tibbi Congress. Many other
impor tant personalities in
Unani Tibb were also honoured
on this occasion.
Dr. SHAMIM DEOBANDI, an Urdu-Hindi poet of
humour and satire was honoured with Jal Chetna
Award 2012 for his book Paani ki Qeemat
Samjho laying emphasis on the importance of
water and the great need for its saving and pre-
venting its wastage.
(Ms.) SHAMIMA, a Graduate student of Home Science in SLU
College and (Ms.) Shirin a BSc student have won 3 Gold Medals
each along with 5 other Muslim students who in all won 15 Gold
Medals in Gujarat, a state where Muslims are generally marginalised
and ignored almost at all levels by Gujarat government. Out of 118
Gold Medals won by students of higher education, 15 were bagged
by Muslim boy and girl students.
AWARDS
MAULANA AZIZUN NABI KHAN MAZAHIRI,
noted religious scholar, researcher and
Rector of Jamia Siddiqa Tartilul Quran,
Rampur died on 21 February after a long ill-
ness. He was a man of many-sided capabil-
ities who devoted his whole life for the serv-
ice of Islam.
ALLAMA ABU QASIM, Shaikhul Hadees of Jamia Razzaqia
which is proposed to become the Arabic University in West
Bengals Murshidabad district, died on 24 February. In addition
to being a religious scholar, he was also a fine orator and author
of many books.
CHAUDHARY DOOLHA JAAN, oldest man of Moradabad, most
probably of the world, died in this city on 4 February at the age
of 123 years. He was a devout person and leaves behind a very
large family. He was fully in his senses at the time of his death.
Prof. RAEESUR RAHMAN, a former
teacher of unanipathy in Delhis Ayurvedic
and Unani Tibbia College has taken over
as Adviser in the Department of Ayush,
Union ministry of health. It may be stated
that after the retirement of first adviser in
the Department of Ayush (Ayurvedic,
Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy), Prof. Anees
Ahmad Ansari long time ago, this post
was lying vacant and no one was appoint-
ed to this post. Ultimately, Prof. Raeesur
Rahman has been appointed to this post.
QADIR KHAN,
B o l l y w o o d
actor of yester-
years who after
bidding good
bye to film life
has been
devoting him-
self to promo-
tion of Islamic
studies and val-
ues and rendering educational, social and
religious services, has been selected to
be the Brand Ambassador of Moallim, an
English magazine which is a blossoming
magazine and is the first of its kind in India
which depicts Muslim life style: spiritual,
material, educational, economic, political
etc. in modern days and published by
Blossom Media Pvt. Ltd., a thriving media
company of Mumbai. When Qadir Khan
happened to come across and read it, he
liked its contents and agreed to become
its Brand Ambassador for its promotion
and popularisation. This magazine is
becoming popular in many cities of India
as well as many foreign countries, partic-
ularly in Middle East and other countries
where there is sizeable population of
Muslims.
Mrs. RUMANA SIDDIQI has been
appointed by BJP as chief of its U.P.
Minority Wing with the main objective of
reaching out to Muslim families through
women in the
f o r t h c o mi n g
elections in the
country. A
Political Science
and English
graduate from
Delhi University
and wife of a
Muslim busi-
nessman of Lucknow she is the first
woman to head any of its (BJPs) state
units other than the womens wing. She
says that being a woman she can
approach Muslim women even in kitchen
where men folk generally dont go, and
convince women and their families to
suppor t BJP in the next years
Parliamentary elections.
FAISAL NAZEER
QASIM, a second
year student of
Jamia Millia
I s l a m i a s
Depar tment of
Arabic was declared
not only the best
speaker in the declamation contest but
also brought credit and honour to Jamia
Millia by securing first position among 49
universities of the country which had
paraticipated in this debate. For this he
was given a cash prize of Rs. 6000, a tro-
phy and a certificate. It may be stated in
this connection that Jamia Millia
University had organised a 3-day Inter-
University cultural and educational pro-
gramme named Miraas on 28 February
and 1 and 2 March at its Ansari
Auditorium which included paintings,
music, dancing (Indian and foreign),
drama, story writing, debate etc. etc.
which successfully ended on 2 March.
Prof. ABU BAKAR KHAN has been
appointed Dean of the Faculty of Unani
Medicines in AMUs Ajmal Khan Tibbia
Colleges Department of Physiology in
place of Prof. Shagufta Aleem for about
one year.
M U H A M M A D
WAZIR ANSARI,
IPS, has been
appointed per-
manent secre-
tary of Maulana
Azad Education
Foundation. He
took over this
post towards the
end of February. It may be stated that
for about 3 years only par t-time secre-
taries were appointed in this Foundation
which is entrusted with the impor tant
task of promoting education among
Muslims. This shows governments, or
more par ticularly Salman Khurshid
(predecessor of present minister K.
Rahman Khan)s lackadaisical attitude
towards the problems of Muslims.
Ansaris appointment is in place of Ali
Ahmad Khan, secretary of Central Waqf
Council who was looking after Waqf
Councils as well as MAE Foundations
affaris also. Hence after more than 3
years MAE Foundation has now got a
full-time secretary (with the effor ts of
Rahman Khan) and it is hoped that the
Foundations work will improve.
Apparently, a Police Officer appears to
be a misfit in an agency meant for pro-
moting education among the education-
ally backward Muslim community but
the Ghazipur (U.P.) born Wazir Ansari,
IPS who was Director General of Police
in Chhattisgarh before joining this
Foundation is a sincere and hard work-
ing person and it is hoped that he will
improve the per formance of this
Foundation whose Corpus Fund has
now been increased from Rs. 750
crores to Rs. 1500 crores in the 2013-
14 Budget.
MEN & WOMEN IN NEWS
OBITUARIES
Wakeel Ahmad Ansari, advocate and education-
ist, a selfless and active social worker, died
unsung in his home town of Jaunpur on 5
November 2012. We read his obituary much
late in Al-Rashad, a magazine published in
Azamgarh which said that late Maulana
Mujibullah Nadwi used to organise a three-day
educational and cultural competition of different
kinds every year in winter in the spacious cam-
pus of Jamiatur Rashad, in which students of
various maktabs and madrasas of the district
participated. There used to be great hustle and
bustle for three days. Wakeel Ahmad Ansari was
considered among the few sincere and selfless
persons of Jamiatur Rashad who selflessly
served and patronised this madrasa since it was
established in early 1960s.
Wakeel Ahmad Ansari was a man of sim-
plicity, humility, contentment and religiosity who
was punctual in group prayers. Maulana
Mujibullah Nadwi used to call him over the
phone and Wakeel Ansari used to take pride in
immediately leaving Jaunpur to meet him.
Jamiatur Rashad madrasa is in fact working
under Jamiatur Rashad Educational Society
which is a registered body. Ansari Saheb was
the joint secretary of this Society till his death
and it was because of his efforts that a depart-
ment of calligraphy was set up in this madrasa
in cooperation with the Central Urdu Taraqqi
Board. In addition to this, many buildings of
Jamiatur Rishad were built with the financial
assistance obtained through his sincere efforts.
Ansari Saheb rendered many notable edu-
cational and social services in his city, Jaunpur.
The citys famous Khair Girls Degree College
was founded by him which, from a primary
school with gradual progress, because of his
hard work, is today counted among the best col-
leges of Poorvanchal University, and without
any exaggeration it can be said that thousands
of Muslim girls are educated from this college.
Among his other social achievements are Khair
Ambulance, Khair Pharmacy and Khair Public
Library which need special mention. In Khair
Pharmacy free medicines are provided to the
poor and helpless patients. On both sides of his
Khair automobile Ambulance, the Prophets
hadith in Arabic is written with its translations in
Urdu and Hindi saying Best of people are those
who serve people. Roaming around in the city
and adjoining areas this ambulance spread
Islams golden principles of mutual brotherhood
and human relationship. (NA Ansari)
Qari Abdus Samad
Malegaon: Internationally acclaimed Qari,
renowned Quran reciter and a strong promoter
of womens education in Malegaon, Qari Abdus
Samad Faizee, who had followers and students
spread across India, died on 9 March afternoon.
He was 75.
A great scholar and diehard trainer of
Sabaa qiraaat, the seven different methods of
reciting the Holy Quran, Qari Abdus Samad was
the winner of many national and international
Quran Recitation competitions held in various
parts of India especially New Delhi and Calicut
in eighties.
He was later invited by the organisers of
national and international Quran recitation com-
petitions as jury.
A diehard trainer of Quran recitation, Qari
Samad devoted his entire life to voluntarily teach
Quran recitation to girls and boys, and also to
the elderly men and women. His book,
Anwaarut Tajweed, on Quran recitation, is a
perfect work on the subject and is most sought
after by the students of Quran.
Qari Abdus Samad was in the forefront of
the Qaris of the country on whose invitation
Qaris from Egypt and Iran started visiting India.
In a first, he invited Qari Taha Mohammad Diya
of Egypt in Malegaon in 1972.
He has left behind him thousands of disci-
ples, both girls and boys, including his own
sons, daughters, grandsons and grand-daugh-
ters who are experts in Quran recitation.
He started training girl students in Quran
recitation at a time when education of girls and
women was considered a taboo. One of his girl
students was qualified for an International
Quran competition held in Iran.
Simultaneously, with few of his friends, he
established Tehzeeb High School - a co-ed
school, something very rare in Malegaon at the
time.
He was also instrumental in inviting Frontier
Gandhi Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan to Malegaon.
When he finally visited the city, Qari Samad was
among those who led the procession to greet
the Frontier Gandhi.
Besides his contribution in teaching Quran
recitation and promoting womens education,
he was an acclaimed sportsman of Kabaddi and
wrestling. His mastery in Kabaddi had earned
him the title of Wall of the Fort. For years he
led the local Kabaddi team in various competi-
tions.(ummid.com)
Anjum: 2nd I.P.S. Muslimah
Saharanpur: Anjum Ara earns the distinction of
being the second Muslim woman to join the
I.P.S. Sarah Rizvi of Gujarat cadre was the first
one. Hailing from Azamgarh, daughter of an
engineer father Shaikh Ayyub who is a J.E. in
Rural Engineering service, Anjum obtained
B.Tech degree from a Lucknow engineering col-
lege. She passed the I.P.S. examination in 2011
and has been given Manipur cadre.
WAKEEL AHMAD ANSARI
12 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 NEWSMAKERS www.milligazette.com
Prize Distribution at AMU
Aligarh: The Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University,
S. Ahmad Ali on 26 February felicitated Sehba Zaidi of Class X
with Papa Mian Padma Bhushan Award and Rida Fatima, a student
of Class IX with M. J. Haider Award on the occasion of the annu-
al Prize Distribution Function of the AMU Girls' High School. Ms.
Asra Ansari has been awarded the Dharampur Merit Scholarship
of Rs. Fifty Thousand for securing 85% marks in the High School
examination. Begum Sabra Shah was awarded to Ms. Bushra
Waseem, a student of Class X fo securing highest marks in Class
IX board examination. Mrs. Amna Malik, principal of the school
highlighted the achievements made by the school. She said that
AMU Girls' High School students have bagged eight positions in
the top ten from amongst the AMU schools. The first position went
to Ms. Tanisha Gupta who secured 93.20% and the second posi-
tion was bagged by Ms. Shubhi Pathak who secured 92.40%
marks. Mrs. Malik said that school is also proud of Ms. Ibra Khalid
of Class X, a gifted singer, who made way to the semi-finals of a
popular TV programme, India's Got Talent - Season 4, telecast by
Colors Channel recently. Mrs. Malik added that the winds of
change in school education are blowing very fast. India is on the
threshold of a knowledge revolution. She urged the University
authorities to lend support for the modernization of existing class-
rooms and creation of Smart Classrooms, construction of an
auditorium for school functions and extension of conveyance
facilities to school students.
Justice Verma and Sainath lecture at AMU
SPECIAL REPORT The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 13 www.milligazette.com
MG/Yusuf
We have ordered an
inquiry. Soon we will
know who is behind
these incidents
Z
i
a
u
l

H
a
q

T
a
n
d
a

m
u
r
d
e
r
MUSLIM WOMEN DISCOURSE MARGINALIZED
New Delhi: Delhi
Malayali Halqa organ-
ized a panel discus-
sion on "Women in
India: Challenges and
Discourses" on 24
February at the Abul
Lais Hall at the head-
quarters of SIO here.
Chaired by Dr. Sabiha
Khanum, Delhi
J a ma a t - e - I s l a mi
women wings leader,
the discussion debat-
ed a wide range of
issues concerning
women and engaged
with women repre-
sentation especially Muslim women representation in the Indian mainstream. The panel comprised
of Khulsum Fathima, Najmu Sahar, Nada T.K, Sumayya Ahmed spoke on broad topics including
women in history, women representation in media, women in Islam and Muslim women represen-
tation in the Indian mainstream.
Aligarh: Justice J.S. Verma, Former Chief Justice
of India said that in any society the essence of
justice is fairness. The plain truth is that our civil
society cannot escape from the responsibility of
fostering the concept of genuine gender justice
in our homes. No amount of alteration in the
legal system will deliver unless it is supported by
the sanction of society. Justice Verma was deliv-
ering the third K.P. Singh Memorial Lecture on 2
March on "Gender Justice: Significance for
Human Development" at the Kennedy Auditorium
of the AMU. He said that proper education to
inculcate value is very important for securing
gender justice. He said we should change the
mindset of the general public. Criticizing steps
like launching special banks for women in the
budget, he said these are symbolic of an
approach of 'tokenism' in the quest of ensuring
Gender Justice in the country.
He said that such tokenism will not deliver
unless it is backed by a complete mindset
change both in governance and in civil society
as a whole. Justice Verma hoped that the 21st
century would be of gender equality. He said
today three women, Sonia Gandhi, Jaylalitha and
Mamta Banerjee, are the undisputed leaders of
their respective political parties. Justice Verma
criticized the role of Khap panchayats and said
these panchayat are unconstitutional and every
such group is violating the constitution.
Referring to the ghastly rape incident, which
took place in Delhi, he said it brought out the
anger of the civil society and the civil society
launched a peaceful protest. The silver living,
however, is that the Delhi rape incident has trig-
gered off such an intense reaction, particularly
amongst youth, that the present movement for
securing gender justice is ultimately going to
reach its logical conclusion.
Dr. Tariq Islam of the Philosophy Department
highlighted the contributions of Prof. K.P. Singh
and said that he served the University as a dis-
tinguished faculty. He was appointed as
Professor of Hindi in 1989 and retired in 1997.
He was a leftist and social activist. He said that
Prof. K.P. Singh was the first person who donat-
ed his body to the JN Medical College and now
53 persons have decided to donate their bodies
to AMU.
IG Khan Memorial Lecture
Aligarh: Noted journalist and rural development
expert, P. Sainath, delivered the Eighth IG Khan
Memorial Lecture on 9 March at the Kennedy
Auditorium of AMU. Sainath, Rural Correspondent
of The Hindu, spoke on "India in the Age of
Inequality" and focused on urban poverty. He
drew attention to the rising inequality in the coun-
try terming it as India's fastest growing 'industry'.
He spoke about distorted priorities within
Government and the inadequate nature of pro-
grammes aimed at poverty alleviation. Citing the
examples of Posco and Vedanta in Orissa, he
highlighted the absence of a social democracy in
the state. He, however, expressed hope that the
enduring nature of India's diversity, which is it's
greatest strength, would not fail the people.
The lecture was followed by an interactive
session with students. The students presented
an audio-visual presentation exploring various
aspects of the lives of rickshaw-pullers. Noted
theatre group from Delhi, Jan Natya Manch, per-
formed a street play on the Dignity of Labour,
titled "Hum Kyun Sahein".
The events concluded with a screening of
the classic film 'Do Beegha Zameen' by Bimal
Roy. Ms Rinki Roy Bhattacharya, daughter of the
director, presented an introduction of the film.
Seminar on women,
Islam, and literature
The Kerala branch of the Idara-e Adab-e Islami
Hind conducted a one day seminar on women,
Islam, and literature in connection with JASHN E
URDU, an annual celebration of the organization
here on 2 March at Al-Jamia Al-Islamia
Shantapuram campus. Six papers were present-
ed on different topics. Mr. TK Abdullah was the
guest of honor on the occasion while Mr.
Abdullah Manham, Rector of Aljamia, inaugurat-
ed the function. Mr. Shah Rashad Usmani, the All
India Vice President of Idara and Principal
Anjuman Urdu College Bhatkal, presided over the
function. Iqbal and Philosophy of Khudi, Iqbal
and niswaniyat-e zan, contribution of Malyali
women to Urdu literature, women, Islam and lit-
erature were the key features of the seminar.
Justice Verma (middle) at third KP Singh lecture in AMU Sainath delivering AG khan lecture
Zafarul-Islam Khan speaking at Welfare Party of India conference on terrorism at Aurangabad on
4 March 2013
Swami Agnivesh and Zafarul-Islam Khan at release of a Bengali Islamic magazine during a
conference at Silchar, Assam on 28 February 2013
Dr Enayatullah Subhani speaking at the seminar
Govt questioned about Indian
Mujahideen and location of its office
New Delhi: Muslim leaders and organisations, fed up with securi-
ty agencies naming Indian Mujahideen (IM) after every bomb
blast, have now started boldly asking the government and these
agencies to name the leaders of the so-called Indian Mujahideen,
who are running and sponsoring this organisation, when it was
founded, where is its office or offices and if at all such an organi-
sation exists, why is it not banned and why its offices are not
sealed or destroyed? Jamat-e Islami Hinds secretary and media
spokesman, Ejaz Ahmad Aslam while talking to media persons in
Delhi on 2 March asked these questions openly and challenged the
govt. to answer the questions and asked it to issue a white paper
on this organisation. After asking these questions he himself
answered that it is a figment of imagination, a fake and non-exis-
tent outfit. It is simply a concocted and imaginary organisation
publicised and propagated by the government, security agencies
and the print and electronic media simply to hide its own ineffi-
ciency and failure to catch hold of the real terrorists and to put the
entire blame on innocent Muslims in order to harass and arrest
members of the minority community. He said that the way in
which after every bomb blast or terror activity anywhere in the
country the bogey of IM is presented, clearly shows that the cre-
ator or founder of this organisation is someone among the securi-
ty agencies themselves.
Raising the issue of biased and discriminatory attitude
towards Muslims he said that they were extremely worried that
even 66 years after Independence Muslims are being meted out
discriminatory treatment. He said that Muslims are falsely
accused, arrested and tortured inhumanly to extract fake confes-
sion from them for uncommitted crimes which are actually com-
mitted by some others, adding that our youth are falsely implicat-
ed in many crimes simultaneously at different places so as to con-
fine them to jails for many years, causing untold miseries and
hardships to their family members in addition to destroying their
own life and career. He said that frightening Muslims and making
them suffer mental torture for years is totally undemocratic and
unethical which must be brought to an end.
Giving a true example he said that in August 2012 a journalist
of an English daily Deccan Herald, Matiur Rahman Siddiqi was
falsely implicated in a serious case but was released after six
months because the investigating agency had no proof. Another
speaker, Saleem engineer while speaking on this occasion said
that only a few days back a scientist working in DRDO (Defence
Research & Development Organisation) Ejaz Ahmad Mirza was
falsely arrested for terrorism. He was consequently sacked from
service but in the absence of any proof a special court freed him
on bail. As against this, he said, Col. Purohit who was charge
sheeted in Ajmer, Malegaon and other bomb blasts and is in jail for
4 years, was not only not dismissed from the army but his full
salary is being regularly paid to him which is being deposited in
his bank account. On the other hand a Muslim, against whom no
proof was found, was removed from service merely on false accu-
sation, he said.
Sohrabuddin encounter: 3 crore bribe for derailing probe
New Delhi: An alleged deal of Rs. 3 crore to derail the CBI probe
in Sohrabuddin fake encounter case is under the scanner. Director
General CBI Ranjeet Sinha ordered reinvestigation about the
alleged deal.
Nitin Shenoy, an accused in the fake encounter, during inter-
rogation in February 2011 made a 15 page statement in which he
alleged that Rs. 3 crores were arranged to bribe the Mumbai-
based CBI investigation officer Amitabh Thakur. Rajesh Ranjan
was arrested on charge of trying to derail the probe in September
2011. According to in-house report of the CBI Rs. one crore was
remitted to an unnamed CBI officer of Delhi through hawala trans-
action. However, the entire amount was returned as Yashpal
Chudasmas arrest could not be averted. CBI D.I.G. and investiga-
tion supervisor P. Kandaswami has also been allegedly involved.
The probe is likely to investigate Rajesh Ranjan, Nitin Shenoy,
Yashpal Chudasma and the unnamed CBI official of Delhi
Percentage of poverty higher among Muslims: UNDP report
Hyderabad: According to a report of United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), a UN agency, the rate of poverty of Muslims
is much greater in Assam, West Bengal, U.P. and Gujarat. The
report however says that India is moving forward towards achiev-
ing its goal of bringing the ratio of poverty to about 50 percent,
basic education for all and equality of sexes, though it is less like-
ly that it (India) will be able to achieve the pre-determined target
for bringing down the death rate of women in child birth, rate of
infantile mortality and death of children blow 5 years of age.
UNDPs Director, while speaking in a seminar organised by
National Institute of Rural Development, said that in rural areas
there are many levels of poverty, adding that among scheduled
tribes 47% people and among scheduled castes 42% people are
poor. She further said that among agricultural labourers or work-
ers 50% population and among other labourers / workers 40%
population is leading life below the poverty line. Though she
refused to clearly give the reasons for poverty among Muslims,
she hinted that it is because of lack of opportunities of employ-
ment and political reasons.
Azim Premjis philanthropic act
Bangalore: The noted industrialist and head of Wipro group of
companies, Azimbhai Premji who was at one time the richest man
in India, said here that he would dedicate the greater part of his
personal wealth for social welfare and philanthropic activities in
India. It may be stated that he has been doing philanthropic work
for more than a decade, particularly in the field of education
through Azim Premji Foundation (APF) which he heads. His total
assets are worth 16 billion dollars about 8 percent of which i.e. 2
billion dollars (about Rs. 10,000 crores) he has already pledged
for philanthropic activities, mainly for promoting education in
India. In a letter to Giving Pledge, an international philanthropic
group founded by Bill Gates, his wife and some others which has
been impressing upon billionaires of the world the need to dedi-
cate / donate parts of their wealth for charitable and philanthropic
causes, he expressed his desire to expand the activities of his
Foundation. At present APF employs 800 persons in the country
and expects to employ a total of 4000 / 5000 persons by the next
5 years for expanding his philanthropic works and activities. He
runs a large network of schools in the country promoting educa-
tion quantitatively as well as qualitatively. He also runs Azim Premji
University in Bangalore which imparts training to teachers.
NCPUL to start Persian certificate course
New Delhi: In view of deep linguistic, literary and cultural relation-
ship between Urdu and Persian languages, NCPUL in cooperation
with Iranian embassys Iran Culture House in New Delhi has decid-
ed to take various steps for the promotion of Persian language and
in consultation with Dr. Ali Fauladi, Irans Cultural Counsellor has
decided to start a one-year Persian certificate course on the pat-
tern of Urdu-Arabic Diploma course in the near future. It will hold
a workshop to finalise detailed plan in which Indian and Iranian
intellectuals will be invited. Its CD version will also be prepared
which will be launched soon.
NCPUL also has decided to hold a seminar in cooperation with
Iran Culture House on the art of calligraphy in which teachers
appointed at calligraphy centres run by the Council will also be
invited. These teachers will be trained by Irans famous calligra-
phers. Councils Director Dr. Khwaja Muhammad Ikramuddin said
that along with all-round progress of Urdu the central government
has also entrusted to NCPUL the additional responsibility of pro-
moting Arabic and Persian languages also, so that these lan-
guages also, particularly Persian which has a deep relationship
with Urdu, could also be promoted.
BJP leaders son murdered
Indore: Tanveer son of Mubarik Khan, former president of BJPs
minority cell and president of Muslim Jagran Manch, was killed in
a feud. He was dragged from a car which he was driving with a
young woman near Choitram Hospital. Two killers managed to
escape. The motive behind the murder has not been ascertained
so far. While Sohail has been arrested; Rizwan and Owaiz are
absconding. (AG Khan)
11 SIMI activists sentenced
Khandwa (M.P.): Sanjeev Shrivastav, third upper district magistrate
sentenced 11 SIMI activists to various terms of imprisonment.
While nine were sentenced for three years two were awarded two
year terms. Three persons were acquitted.
The case pertains to 2006 Milad-un-Nabi procession which
resulted in communal violence. 14 persons were later arrested and
objectionable literature was recovered from their homes. The mat-
ter is subjudice for the past six years.
Dismissal of CBSE chairman demanded for ignoring Urdu
New Delhi: Teachers and students of Urdu medium schools in
Delhi as well as lovers of Urdu are greatly agitated and angry over
the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) authorities
inability to get question papers of 9th and 11th classes for PSA
Examination (held on 15 February) printed in Urdu and described
it as a deliberate act of omission due to their biased attitude
towards Urdu. Urdu Academy, Delhis Vice Chairman Prof.
Akhtarul Wasey described this attitude as a deliberate, biased and
organised conspiracy of the concerned authorities, particularly
chairman of CBSE Vineet Joshi towards Urdu. He said that after
former HRD minister Kapil Sibals quitting the charge of this min-
istry, communal-minded and biased officers of HRD ministry have
come back to their anti-Urdu agenda.
Principals of many Urdu medium schools like Dr. Shabana
Nazeer of Jama Masjid Girls Sr. Sec. School, Dr. Muhammad
Maroof of Zakir Husain Sr. Sec. School, Jameel Ahmad of Govt.
Boys Sarvoday Vidyalaya, Pataudi House, Muhammad Wasim
Ahmad of Anglo-Arabic Sr. Sec. School etc. said that they had
already requested Deputy Director of Education (School Branch)
and other higher authorities of CBSE by letter as well as by email
that question papers in Urdu should be sent for Urdu medium
school students but on some lame and illogical excuses they sent
question papers in Hindi only. Some of the authorities claimed that
all students read Hindi so they can easily write the answers in
Urdu whereas others asked the principals to themselves get those
question papers translated into Urdu.
Delhi Urdu Movements general secretary Farid Ahmad said
that in letters written to chief minister Shiela Dikshit, education
minister Mrs. Kiran Walia and CBSE chairman Vineet Joshi he has
strongly condemned the non-publication of question papers in
Urdu, describing it as their anti-Urdu mentality, has demanded an
inquiry into the whole affair. Some speakers also demanded the
dismissal of CBSE chairman Vineet Joshi for his deliberately not
getting papers published in Urdu.
Tunnel in Sabarmat Jail
Ahmedabad: Officers of the crime and FSL reconstructed the
scene / incident of 42 feet long tunnel in the states high security
jail. They suspect Asghar Ali, an LeT activist acquitted in Haren
Pandya case to be the mastermind. It is believed that the I.B. had
warned of such an attempt four months ago. Four teams are prob-
ing the incident. (AG Khan)
Ishrat Case: Singhal arrested
Ahmedabad: CBI arrested IPS officer G L Singhal in the Isharat
fake encounter case. In its report SIT had stated that the four per-
sons were killed prior to the fake encounter on 15 June 2004. The
SIT submitted its final report on 18 November. Singhal has since
resigned from IPS.
Gujarat gang-rape compensation disbursed
Ahmedabad: Compensation of Rs. 5 lakh was paid to
Nayeemuddin Ibrahim Shaikh following an additional session
courts verdict. A resident of Naroda Patia his wife was the lone
survivor of the brutality. However, even this execution of session
courts order had its bureaucratic delay, lamented Teesta Setalvad.
Shaikh narrates, My wife is still traumatised about the inci-
dent. She had her arm chopped off from the shoulder. Though the
doctor joined it, she can use it no more. He regrets that the real
culprits managed to escape and have not been brought to justice.
They were not among the accused. Though Shaikh mustered
courage to visit the locality on a few occasions; his wife is too
traumatised to set foot there.
Two more cops arrested in Ishrat encounter
Ahmedabad: After IPS officer G. L. Singhals arrest two more cops
have been arrested in Ishrat Jahans fake encounter case.
Retired deputy superintendent J. G. Parmar already in
Sabarmati jail in connection with Sadiq Jamal encounter was
arrested through a transfer warrant so has been Tarun Barot. So
far three cops have been arrested. The agency has to submit its
report in the Gujarat High Court by 15 March. FSL officers too are
likely to be arrested for their tampering in investigations. Remand
period of Barot and Bharat Patel was extended till 28 February in
view of their tactics during interrogation
Alliance School Murshidabad
Uttar Ghoshpara (Mushidabad): Fifty students of the Alliance
School Murshidabad, run by the Delhi-based Charity Alliance,
have been enlisted in the merit list of the Government of West
Bengal Minorities Development and Finance Corporation this year.
Each has been given a cheque of Rs 1000 on behalf of the
Government of West Bengal. The school received in total 50
cheques of Rs 1000 each. These have been handed over to the
students.
Mumbai: The riot-affected people of Dhule (or as it is called
Dhulia also) in Maharashtra have filed an appeal in the Supreme
Court seeking appointment of a special investigation team (SIT)
to inquire into the police excesses during the 6 January commu-
nal riots in which six Muslims were killed. Photos of police atroc-
ities and their participation in various acts of violence, looting and
giving a free hand to rioters in killing and burning shops and
houses etc. of Muslims, were published in many newspapers and
magazines after which states chief minister Prithviraj Chauhan
admitted to the presence of communal elements in the police
force. Muhammad Naseer, father of Asim Ahmad, one of the six
Muslim boys shot dead by police, along with ANHAD filed a peti-
tion in the Supreme Court. ANHADs Mrs. Shabnam Hashmi,
before filing the petition said in a statement that police are refus-
ing to register the complaints made by members of the minority
community (Muslims) and the chief minister in spite of announc-
ing a judicial enquiry has not yet, i.e., about six weeks after his
announcement, appointed a judge to investigate these riots. We
therefore feel that going to court is the only way left for us now.
In the petition filed by them it was stated that police partici-
pated in the destruction of properties of Muslims and firing on
Muslim youths. The PIL requests the court to direct the govern-
ment to appoint a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate
this incident and prosecute the criminals including police person-
nel as well as government officials (for their inaction in taking
strict action for controlling the riots). Residents of Dhule also
complained that they had not received compensation amounts for
injury as well as for loss of lives as announced by government.
They had gone to the office of the collector to take the compen-
sation but they were told that compensations would be paid only
after completion of the enquiry. Affected people said that it is now
more than three weeks since the riot had broken out and that the
seriousness of the chief ministers assurance that such incidents
will not occur again can be judged from the fact that he is yet to
announce the name of the judge who will conduct the investiga-
tion.
Meanwhile, a fact finding repor t released by ANHAD has
accused the authorities of watching over the sectarian clash-
es in Dhulia. Survivors said that polices actions were biased
against the minority community. One of the members of this
committee, Apoorvanand who is a professor in Delhi
University said that eye-witnesses had testified that police had
provided cover for a Hindu mob, which then plundered
through Muslim localities. Nazneen, a local resident, accused
Deputy S.P., Monika Rawat of pressurising her to avoid help-
ing a public enquiry. (NA Ansari)
Victims of Dhule riots of 6 January file
petition in Supreme Court for probe by SIT
14 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 COMMUNITY NEWS www.milligazette.com
SIMI activists in Dewas Court
Dewas: SIMI activists accused of bank robbery in the Vijayaganj
Mandi branch of Bank of India on 24 August 2009 were brought
from Bhopal to Dewas court under tight security and later on
taken back to Bhopal jail. 15th and 17th April are the next dates of
hearing. Two accused plead their own case while others are
defended by Kishore Pandya, advocate. (AG Khan)
Govt and Waqf Board biggest enemies: Kalbe Jawad
New Delhi: Anjuman Hydari, held a press conference in Press
Club of India here 19 February. Speakers said that the work of re-
building of Masjid Ghausia at Khasra No. 217 in Mehrauli is total-
ly wrong and illegal, as it is a planned conspiracy to put to an end
to the 700years historical importance and status of the Masjid.
Hence for building this mosque those very stones should be used
which were pulled down at the time of its demolition. Addressing
the press conference the Shia religious scholar and leader
Maulana Kalbe Jawad said that it is a matter of great shame and
sorrow that this Masjid which is on the heritage list was demol-
ished in the name of development and many graves also are being
demolished and levelled on the pretext of development. He said
that the government and Waqf Board are destroying and harming
auqaf, adding that in the entire country government is illegally
occupying a maximum of Waqf properties and Lucknows Nehru
Bhavan and Indira Bhavan were built after occupying Waqf prop-
erties by force; not only this but 90% Waqf properties in Punjab
and 80% Waqf properties in Bengal have been illegally occupied
by the government. Now the condition is the same in Delhi also.
Accusing the Congress he said that it puts Muslim leaders in the
fore front and through them it is destroying auqaf and causing
harm to Muslims. Referring to Karbala in Jor Bagh area he said
that the nursery in this area is also being shared by the said party
leaders. Anjuman Hydari Waqfs secretary Bahadur Abbas Naqvi
while describing the on-going work for rebuilding Ghausia Masjid
at Khasra No. 217 as totally wrong and illegal said that the area of
this mosque was about 2000 yards but now it is being reduced to
50 yards only and a small wall is being erected around it.
Describing Delhis L.G. Tejinder Khanna as a puppet of the RSS,
he accused him of manipulating Hindu-Muslim riot in Delhi.
All India Imams Associations Maulana Sajid Rashidi while
accusing union minister Kamal Nath said that even after so much
demonstrations and protests following Ghausia Masjids demoli-
tion he did not take any steps for setting things right. He said that
in Delhi 271 large properties of Waqf are under governments
(illegal) control and 171 Waqf properties are under DDAs occu-
pation. Mrs. Rooshi Mehnaz, wife of Ghausia Colonys social
worker Shakir Ali against whom an FIR is registered by police said
that she was receiving threats from police almost every day and
demanded that FIR lodged against her husband be withdrawn.
Muslims dissatisfied at nominal increase in the budget
New Delhi: A nominal increase of 12% or Rs. 3500 crores for the
union ministry of minorities affairs in the central budget for the
financial year 2013-14 has dissatisfied Muslims and Muslim
organisations and they have completely rejected it. They have
asked government that when the overall condition of Muslims is
worse than that of dalits even, why a meagre amount of rs. 3500
crores has been allotted for this ministry against Rs. 40,000
crores for the people belonging to SC / ST? Whereas Congress
Partys spokesperson Rashid Alvi because of his position in the
Congress has defended it by saying that this amount (Rs. 3500
crores) is more than last years budget, personally he wants that
it should be much more. Samajwadi Partys MP Chaudhary
Munawwar Saleem asked Congress to answer why a budget of
only Rs. 3500 crores has been allocated to the ministry for
minorities affairs (which concerns not only Muslims but other reli-
gious minorities also) and a budget of Rs. 40,000 crores has
been allotted for SC / ST, when the Sachar Committees report
clearly says that the condition of Muslims has become worse
than dalits. In view of this, why a much larger amount was not
allocated for them? Jamiatul Ulama leader and former M.P.
Maulana Mahmood Madni also said that this amount is very insuf-
ficient which he rejects.
Jamat-e Islami Hind also expressed its dissatisfaction at this
budget. Ejaz Aslam of Jamate Islami said in a press conference
on 2 March that in this budget (2013-14) Muslims have been
ignored and it is insufficient because it is in the name of minori-
ties and not only Muslims but other religious minorities like
Christians, Sikhs etc. also are included in this category. How then
this can be called a budget for Muslims? In last years (2012-13)
budget the amount allocated to minorities affairs ministry was Rs.
3135 crores and in the current budget it is Rs. 3511 or 3500
crores which shows only a marginal increase which is very insuf-
ficient. Moreover, out of last years total allocation, only 70% fund
was released. Either the government is responsible for not releas-
ing the entire funds or the concerned ministry for not spending the
total amount released. Lok Janshakti Partys general secretary
Abdul Khaliq said that simply allocation of funds does not have
any meaning because whatever is received is not actually spent
and the remaining amounts are returned. He said that as long as
biased and communal minded officers are sitting in the govern-
ment, Muslims will not get their due rights. Hence, first of all gov-
ernment should remove such people in the establishment and
then put the policy in practice.
Delhi Waqf Board has no money to raise salaries of Imams
New Delhi: Imams of Delhis mosques had a meeting with
Chairman of Delhi Waqf Board Chaudhari Mateen Ahmad on
28 February regarding increase of their salaries but nothing hap-
pened because Chaudhari Mateen Ahmad told them that Board
did not have enough money to increase their salaries. Those rep-
resenting Waqf Board included, in addition to chairman Mateen
Ahmad, Chief Executive officer Muhammad Ahsan Abid, Mufti
Ejaz Arshad Qasmi, Maulana Muhammad Qasim and advocate
(Mrs.) Rana Parveen Siddiqi. As many as 40-50 persons includ-
ing Maulana Hasrat Ali, Mufti Merajuddin, Maulana Sajid Rashidi
etc. representing Imams had reached Waqf Boards office.
Chaudhari Mateen Ahmad said that Waqf Boards total monthly
income is about Rs. 20 lakh of which Rs. 15 lakh are paid as
salaries of Imams and muezzins and Rs. 25 lakh to Boards
employees and for meeting other expenses. In this way Rs. 40
lakhs are spent whereas Boards income is almost half of this
amount in a month. He said that a further amount of Rs. 7 lakh is
received as donations and out of this amount something is paid
to Imams also which, truly speaking, is not proper but even then
we have to use these amounts as salaries of Imams. He said that
a meeting with chief minister Shiela Dikshit will be held in about a
week whenever we get an appointment with her and a request will
be made to her to somehow arrange additional funds to meet their
expenses including increased salaries of Imams and Muazzins.
Imams said that because of sky rocketing prices increase in their
salaries is very essential. They also referred to Supreme Courts
order of 1993 in which the court had ordered that Masjid Imams
and Muazzins should be treated as government employees and
hence their category and pay scale should be fixed. Chaudhari
Mateen reminded them that during his chairmanship of Waqf
Board salaries of Imams have been increased two or three times.
He reminded them that at one time their salaries were around
Rs. 1000 per month which are now Rs. 6000 and those of
Muazzins are Rs. 5000. He said that he certainly realises their dif-
ficulties because of rising prices but is helpless as explained
above and for this purpose he wants to meet the chief minister
along with them.
Shehla Masood case: MLA likely to be grilled
New Delhi: A senior BJP MLA is likely to be interrogated in the
light of fresh evidence collected by the CBI. A team has already
interrogated all the accused persons - Zahida Parvez, Saba
Farouqui, Ali Irfan and Tabish. The above persons were grilled on
6 February. The CBI had asked the BJP leader to undergo a lie-
detector test which he declined to do, on health grounds. Zahida
has alleged a deep rooted conspiracy in the murder The CDs
authenticity is yet to be ascertained. It shows relations of the
leader with Zahida Parvez hence fresh interrogations have
become necessary.
One kilometre long carpet
Nagpur: Haji Tayyab Ansari, a famous bunker (weaver) of this city,
set a record of sorts by weaving a one-kilometre long dari (car-
pet). BJP president Nitin Gadkari honoured him at a function by
giving him a cheque of Rs. 2 lakh for this feat. In addition to Haji
Tayyab, Gadkari also rewarded ten other persons who had con-
tributed in the preparation of this carpet. While speaking on this
occasion Gadkari said that by encouraging skilled workers, who
are working in small scale industries and businesses, India can
make progress in this field and small industrialists also will be
encouraged. He said that with industries like these Nagpur city will
become famous, the country will also earn a good name and poor
bunkars will get recognition in foreign countries, the economic
condition of poor Muslims will also improve and they will firmly
be on the road to progress and prosperity. He also praised and
encouraged poor Muslim women for making beautiful ladies purs-
es from cuttings and gifted a sewing machine each to about 15
women. The one-km long carpet has a map of India with a brief
history of the country and paintings of important kings and lead-
ers of Indias independence. Gadkari also said that if BJP comes
to power, a separate ministry for bunkers will be constituted so
that along with the welfare of bunkers their industry also could be
popularised the world over.
Pitiable condition of Delhis Qaumi Sr. Sec. School
New Delhi: Delhis Qaumi Senior Secondary School in Old Delhi is
a typical example of Delhi governments negligence towards
Muslim issues which may rightly be called a blot on Delhi govern-
ments face. This School is being run in a tin shed for about four
decades. One can well imagine the pains and difficulties poor chil-
dren of this School face in all seasons: winter, summer or rains.
Delhi government has built and also been building dozens of night
shelters in winter for poor, homeless people, some times on the
courts order, as well as many new pucca schools with all neces-
sary facilities, but this School has neither a pucca building nor
even the bare facilities provided in a night shelter. Poor, small chil-
dren of this School near Eidgah shiver in the biting cold in the
morning as well as in evening shifts. When a media person visit-
ed the evening shift to see the condition of the children, he found
many children crouching behind their desks in order to protect
themselves from the cold. When he tried to talk to them, their lips
were shivering and they could not speak properly also because of
the cold. Classes are being held in tin sheds without walls. In the
scorching summer heat, and with hot winds blowing and in rainy
season rains trouble them. At the time of elections political lead-
ers come and make promises to improve its condition but after
election are over every thing is forgotten.
This school was set up in 1960 at Sarai Khalil, a Muslim pop-
ulated locality near Eidgah in Old Delhi. In those days the School
was run properly but during Emergency (mid-1970s) it became a
victim of governments demograph policy of scattering Muslim
population to weaken their collective empowerment. In conse-
quence of this policy this school and surroundings too were
demolished like many other Muslim populated areas such as
Turkman Gate area etc. The population of this area was shifted to
Indralok but the governments promise to re-build this school
could never be fulfilled. During this period tents were temporarily
erected in which the School was being run. Subsequently
Sirajuddin Qureshi put up tin sheds here. Presently there are
between 600 and 700 students. What is the condition and suffer-
ings of the poor students of this tin shed school during the
scorching heat and biting cold we can guess very well but these
children and teachers who actually brave them, know better.
Examination results of this School even under such hostile climate
are 80/90 percent and some times even 100 percent. If such
promising students get comfortable conditions and healthy
atmosphere their performance can be better still and they will not
lag behind the students of other good schools in bringing a good
name to their community and country. There are many vacant
D.D.A. plots in the surrounding area of this school. If government
wants, one of these vacant plots can be allotted for this school. If
it is not possible, there is vacant space in Eidgah slaughter house.
Government can negotiate with Municipal Corporation and this
vacant land can be given to the school.
According to the School manager Abdul Malik, union minister
Kapil Sibal who is M.P. from Chandni Chowk, which includes this
area, had promised during the last election that he will try his best
to get this school its own building. He had held meetings with
Jaipal Reddy and Ajay Makan, union ministers for urban develop-
ment in this connection and had also demanded of them to allot an
alternative site but after the election no body took any action and
every thing was forgotten. Delhi government has built many new
schools in recent years and plans to build many more schools but
it never thought about improving the condition of this school in
spite of the fact that many delegations of residents and peoples
representatives met concerned government authorities and drew
their attention to the poor condition of the school and its difficul-
ties children and teachers are braving extreme climates but no one
is moved to take positive and concrete action to change this.
Explosion in Dasna mosque, cause unknown
An explosion was reported at Qazi ki Masjid in Dasna, Ghaziabad
on 15 January. Over a month later police are yet to ascertain the
source and cause of the explosion. The police cordoned off the
area and members of the Bomb Squad and Forensic Science
Laboratory were called. No injuries were reported but cracks have
appeared in the neighbouring houses and their windowpanes
were shattered. The mosque is located two kilometres away from
Adhyatmik Nagar railway station where torn pages of the Quran
were found in September last year, sparking riots in the area. The
clashes had left six dead and several injured.
New Delhi: Central government now plans, in view of the com-
plaints by independent observers within and outside the govern-
ment and Muslim organisations that even after six years imple-
mentation of Sachar Committees recommendations and prime
ministers 15-point programme for the empowerment of
Muslims, the benefits of minority welfare schemes have not, or
only very little, have reached them, to set up a high power com-
mittee to review and assess the progress of Muslims. Union min-
ister for minorities affairs K. Rahman Khan said that such a com-
mittee is needed because there is widespread dissatisfaction and
criticism by the community and Muslim organisations that all
these plans are, truly speaking, an eyewash. Even though the
government claims to have implemented almost all recommen-
dations, he (the minister) honestly feels that the benefits of these
schemes have not reached them. Among the intellectuals who
had expressed their dissatisfaction over the benefits of govern-
ments welfare scheme accruing to the marginalised members of
Muslim community were Dr. Abu Saleh Shariff, famous econo-
mist and Chief Scholar of the US-India Policy Institute at
Washington and Harsh Mandar, the retired IAS officer. Dr. Shariff
in his research paper had stated, among other things, that there
was no perceptible improvement in the condition of Muslims and
that even after so many years their condition is virtually the same
as it was at the time of submission of Sachar report. Harsh
Mander, who heads the Centre for Equity Studies at Delhi had
termed government Multi-Sectoral Development Programmes as
blunt and ineffective in improving the condition of Muslims.
Hence there should be an independent review of the whole affair
by people outside the government, he said and added that this
committee will be given a time frame to submit its report. He said
that experts like Dr. Amitabh Kundu of J.N.U. and Dr. Manzoor
Alam of the Institute of Objective Studies (IOS) have been
approached by the government to be a part of this committee.
He said that in the 12th (current) 5-Year Plan the govern-
ment has made blocks, and not districts (as previously) as
the unit of planning for implementation of the multi-sectoral
development programmes (MSDP). In this way as many as
776 minority concentrated blocks in 196 such districts (as
against 90 previously) have been identified for coverage
under MSDP which aims to improve the socio-economic
standards of Muslims.
It is reported that the government has made up its mind to
set up a high power committee after a number of Muslim leaders
and their organisations met the prime minister, Mrs. Sonia
Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and told them that minority welfare
schemes are almost ineffective. It is considered that one of the
reasons for such schemes being ineffective is that in the name
of minorities, other religious minorities have benefitted and
Muslims are ignored because of the communal mindset of the
executors of these schemes. (NA Ansari)
Committee to review Sachar and PMs 15-pt prog
COMMUNITY NEWS The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 15 www.milligazette.com
The Arab World an Arab perspective
ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN
The following is the text of a lecture delivered at the
Academic Staff College, Jamia Millia Islamia on 22
Feb. 2013
The Arab region is called the Middle East these days though it is
an incorrect term. Middle East and Levant/Near East are
colonial terms coined by the Europeans. The British coined the
term Middle East around 1850. Since Middle East does not
cover the whole Arab region, they now add North Africa to it - so
it becomes Middle East & North Africa - MENA for short, a term
preferred by the American administration in a conscious effort to
avoid using the word Arab. Here in India we use the term West
Asia which, too, is inaccurate and can at best include Palestine,
Lebanon, Syria and the Asian part of Turkey. The Arabs themselves
call their region Al-Watan Al-Arabi (The Arab Homeland) or Al-
Alam al-Arabi (The Arab World). It is a coherent region united
by language, religion, culture, history and heritage.
The Arab countries occupy 14,291,469 km2 which is around
10.2% of the worlds land mass. Out of this, 72.45% is located in
Africa and 27.55% is located in Asia. The distance from east to
west of the Arab World is 6000 kms and 4000 kms, from north to
south.
The Arab world today has a population of 338 million. Despite
all the wealth and resources, 30% of them are illiterate. There are
around 18 million Arabs living in the diasporas (mahajir). The
majority population is Muslim following Sunni Islam with sizeable
Christian minorities in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt. Jews are
found in Yemen. Earlier, there were flourishing Jewish communities
in Egypt, Iraq and Syria but most of them left for Israel after its
emergence in 1948.
This region comprises of two distinct parts, eastern and west-
ern, which are referred to as Al-Sharq Al-Arabi (The Arab East)
and Al-Maghrib Al-Arabi (The Arab West). Broadly, the Asian
part of the Arab World is the Arab East while the African part is the
Arab West although Egyptians commonly visualise themselves as
part of the Eastern flank.
Beside the Arab hinterland countries, the Arab League
embraces Somalia and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa and Comoro
Islands in the Indian Ocean. There are other countries which too
speak Arabic but have not been invited to join the Arab League like
Eritrea, Niger, Chad, Mali and Senegal.
The Arab World consists of four distinct regions which are as
follows:
a. The Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, UAE, Bahrain,
Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.
b. Fertile Crescent: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan.
c. North Africa: Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria,
Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania.
d. East Africa: Somalia, Djibouti and Comoro Islands.
The Arab League
The Arab World has its own UN-like organisation called the
League of Arab Countries. It was established in 1945 with a view
to further Arab unity. Today, it consists of 23 countries including
Palestine which was allowed full membership of the Arab League
during the Leagues Rabat Summit Meeting in 1974 when PLO
was recognized as the sole representative of the Palestinian peo-
ple and PLO offices were accorded the status of full-fledged
embassies. Outside the Arab World, India was the first country to
recognise the PLO in 1975 and accorded it the status of a full-
fledged embassy in March 1980.
After the unprecedented oil price hike as a result of the short-
lived oil embargo in 1973 against countries supporting the Israeli
aggression, unprecedented wealth came to the oil and gas-pro-
ducing Arab countries. This wealth was squandered on building
worlds biggest mosques, biggest towers and on thousands of
unproductive show-pieces which run thanks to millions of import-
ed cheap labourers from neighbouring countries. The total Arab
GDP in 1999 was US$ 531.2 billion. The total Arab exports were
US$ 1066 billion in 2008 while the total imports were only US$
653 billion.
The Arab countries possess enormous human, material and
natural resources. But there is no strong economic cooperation
between them despite umpteen agreements and covenants.
Railway lines do not connect one Arab country with another. There
is no common electrical grid. There is no agricultural cooperation
although the fertile lands of only one country, Sudan, are sufficient
to feed all the Arabs and more. A programme for common arms
production with Egypt and Saudi Arabia as main partners could not
take off. There is a customs union between the Arab countries
although it exists on
paper as still there are
no agreed customs
rules.
Apar t from the
petrochemical indus-
try, which is totally
established and
manned by foreign-
ers, there is no seri-
ous industry in the
Arab countries. There
is no Arab university
in the worlds top 500
universities, although
there are a number of
Israeli universities and
research institutes in
that list.
Almost the whole
Arab World, from east
to west, was part of
the powerful Ottoman
Caliphate for over four
centuries (since 1570
CE). This is why the
Arab countries,
though very close to
Europe, could be
colonised only
towards the second
half of the nineteenth
century when the
Ottoman State became weak and unable to defend its far-flung
frontiers. France occupied Algeria in 1830, Tunisia in 1881 and
turned Morocco into a protectorate in March 1912. The British
occupied Egypt and Sudan in 1882. Italy occupied Libya in 1912.
From 1763 until 1971, the British Empire maintained varying
degrees of political control over some of the Persian Gulf states,
including the United Arab Emirates (originally called the Trucial
Coast States) and at various times Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and
Qatar through the British Residency of the Persian Gulf (earlier
through the British administration in Bombay). Aden (or South
Yemen) was occupied in 1839. Other Arab countries like Palestine,
Syria, including what it now Lebanon, and Iraq could be colonised
only in 1918 after the Turkish defeat in the First World War, large-
ly as a result of the Arab treachery known as the Arab Revolt led
by Lawrence (of Arabia), a British officer.
The Arabs remained under the colonial yoke for a relatively
short period compared to other African and Asian countries. Egypt
became independent in 1922 and Iraq in 1932. Lebanon was
carved out of Syria by the French as a Christian state and given
freedom in 1943. Syria and Jordan because independent in 1946,
Libya in 1951, Morocco and Tunisia in 1956, Kuwait in 1961,
Algeria in 1962, and UAE in 1971. Saudi Arabia emerged as a
Kingdom in 1932 after occupying Hijaz while it existed earlier as
the Sultanate of Najd & Its Dependencies which included Al-Ahsa
(the present Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia) since early twentieth
century. Hejaz and Najd were never occupied. Yemen ceded from
the Ottomon State in 1918. Aden, or South Yemen, became inde-
pendent in 1967 and later united with the Arab Republic of Yemen
in 1990. Oman had been independent since the eighteenth centu-
ry but was occupied briefly by the Iranians (967-1154) and the
Portuguese (1507-1650).
There are parts of the Arab World which are still occupied like
Palestine (occupied in 1948-49 and 1967), Syrian Golan Heights
(occupied in 1967), and a small tract of Lebanon known as
Sheba Farms occupied by Israel in 1982. Iskandarun and parts
of north Syria, which were ceded by France to Turkey in 1937. In
the west, Spain continues to occupy parts of Morocco, viz.,
Canary Islands, Sabta (Ceuta) Malila (Melilla) and Al-Hosaima (Al
Hoceima). In the east, Iran occupies the small islands of Abu
Musa, Tunb Al-Kubra and Tunb Al-Sughra in the Persian Gulf since
1971 immediately after the British withdrawal. These islands are
claimed by UAE. The most serious of these was the emergence of
Israel which stunted the Arab march to progress and continues to
suck resources and energies ever since.
Arab Nationalism and Arab Unity
The formation of the Arab League in 1945 was an affirmation by
the Arab leaders that they want to achieve a kind of unity. Unity
was and remains a popular demand but it remained a mere slogan
as the Arab leaders never wanted to dilute their absolute and sov-
ereign powers.
The agreed Covenant of the League was such that to take any
action, consensus is required. Thus, Arab unity remains a charade
to this day because there is no consensus on almost anything. The
Unified Arab Military Command and the Arab Supreme Court, uni-
fied Arab currency etc. never saw the light of the day.
A unilateral pact of unity was signed between Egypt and Syria
in 1958 but it soon fell apart in 1961. Likewise, a union of sorts
between Egypt and Yemen did not survive long -- 1962-1967 to be
exact. For years, Libyas Col. Muammar Gaddafi tried in vain to
convince Egypt, Tunisia etc. to unite with his country.
Russia was able to penetrate the Arab world since the Czech
arms delivery to Egypt in September 1955, exploiting the Western
embargo of arms imposed on the Arabs in a bid to ensure Israeli
military superiority. Slowly Russia emerged as the ally and protec-
tor of Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. But the West, espe-
cially the U.S., regained its previous position after the Arab defeat
in June 1967.
Bilateral problems
By early 1960s, the Arab World was roughly divided into reac-
tionary and progressive blocs led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt
respectively. This mostly ended after 1967 as a result of the strong
Saudi support to Egypt and Syria vis--vis the Israeli aggression
and occupation of Arab lands. The post-1967 period witnessed a
gradual slump in Arab solidarity, e.g., Jordans attack on the
Palestinian freedom fighters in what is known as Black
September (1970), Iraqs occupation of Kuwait in 1990, dispute
over the Western Sahara between Algeria, Mauritania and
Morocco, and the dispute between Sudan and Egypt over borders.
Recognition of Israel
The Israeli pre-emptive aggression in June 1967, during which it
occupied lands of Egypt, Jordan and Syria in addition to the
remaining 22 percent of Palestine known as West Bank (of the
River Jordan) and Gaza Strip. This new situation paved the way for
the eventual Arab recognition of Israel. Historical Palestine, 78 per-
cent of which was occupied by Jews during 1948-49, was now
forgotten and the issue since is limited to the demand the with-
drawal from the territories occupied by Israel in June 1967. But
Israel, with American and western blind support, has continued to
reject umpteen Arab and other peace proposals.
The idea of a single Arab Nation and Arab Unity effectively died
after the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat concluded a unilateral
peace with Israel. It was signed at Camp David in the US on 17
Sept., 1978. Egypt was temporarily suspended from the Arab
League and the Leagues headquarter was moved from Cairo to
Tunis in 1979 where it remained until 1989, when all was forgiv-
en, Egypt was welcomed back into the Arab fold without changing
its policies and the Arab League moved back to its headquarters
overlooking the now famous Tahrir Square. In protest against his
pro-Israeli policies, President Sadat was killed by his own soldiers
on 6 October 1981.
Narrow country-based nationalisms, like the Egyptian nation-
alism, prospered during this period side by side with Arab nation-
alism which was championed by Iraqs Saddam Husain and
Libyas Muammar Gaddafi.
During this period of schism and uncertainty, a regional Arab
bloc called "Gulf Cooperation Council" was founded in 1981. It
includes Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait,
which shared tribal and political affinity. Interestingly, their imme-
diate neighbour, Yemen, was not invited to join GCC while Jordan
and Morocco were invited though both chose not to join this new
regional bloc.
With the Egyptian unilateral peace with Israel, the Arab commit-
ment to Palestine was weakened. The consensus till then was that
no Arab country will recognize Israel until the Palestinian issue was
solved and this put pressure on Israel and its western backers.
Soon, in 1994, Jordan too made peace with Israel while some other
countries like Tunisia, Morocco, Qatar and UAE started a kind of
backdoor relationship with Israel. Post-"Arab Spring," both Egypt
and Tunisia have toned down ties with Israel to the bare minimum.
Isreal's future, as a militarist Western checkpost in an Arab and
Muslim ocean, is once again in doubt. Commentators in the West
are now openly saying that Israel may not survive beyond 2025.
The PLO was already marginalized since the Israeli invasion
of Lebanon in 1982 and dispersal of PLO forces to a number of
countries away from Lebanon and Jordan. The new situation after
the Egyptian and Jordanian peace with Israel forced the PLO
under Yasir Arafat to start secret negotiations withAs a result, the
Palestinian Authority was established in West Bank and Gaza Strip
in 1993 with an Israeli commitment to recognise Palestine as a
sovereign state within five years. Contentious issues like borders,
status of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees and exploitation of
resources within the proposed Palestinian state like water, were to
be decided by negotiations during this period. Israel which led to
the conclusion of the Oslo Accords in 1992.
Weve got mail.....
for you!
The flow of news never ceases, so between our
fortnightly print issues we send out email newslet-
ter - MG e-Alerts. Get our eNewsletter FREE!
write to us at [email protected]
Become a fan of MG on Facebook
visit: facebook.com/milligazette
Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/milligazette
16 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 INTERNATIONAL www.milligazette.com
Continued on the next page
The British coined the term Middle East around 1850. Since Middle East does not cover
the whole Arab region, they now add North Africa to it - so it becomes Middle East & North
Africa a term preferred by the American administration in a conscious effort to avoid using
the word Arab... The Arabs themselves call their region Al-Watan Al-Arabi (The Arab
Homeland) or Al-Alam al-Arabi (The Arab World). It is a coherent region united by lan-
guage, religion, culture, history and heritage.
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!
Sayedee's conviction - a travesty of justice
S.M. MOHAMED IDRIS
Bangladesh's much-criticised international war
crimes tribunal (ICT) found the vice-president of
Jamaat-e-Islami party Delawar Hossain Sayedee
guilty of war crimes and sentenced him to death.
The tribunal verdict has led to violent demonstra-
tions and over 70 people have been killed with
most deaths caused by the security forces using
live ammunition against Jamaat protesters. If the
situation is not brought under control it could lead to a civil war.
Nine senior Jamaat leaders and two leaders from the main
opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are being prosecut-
ed for alleged war crimes which took place 40 years ago. They are
being prosecuted to fulfil the electoral promise of Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina's party Awami League (AL) during the last elections
to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes during the 1971
independence war.
Since independence in 1971, all the accused have been living in
Bangladesh and participating in politics there. Some of them have
held high positions in the government. They did not flee the country
for fear of being prosecuted for war crimes. In fact, the Awami
League had an electoral understanding with the Jamaat in the 1996
elections. In the circumstances, the trials are perceived as political-
ly motivated to break the alliance between BNP and the Jamaat and
liquidate the latter.
A leaked cable from the US State Department seems to confirm
this diabolical scheme. It states: "there is little doubt that hard-line
elements within the ruling party [AL] believe that the time is right to
crush Jamaat and other Islamic parties." Recent amendment to the
ICT Act to enable war crime charges to be brought against "organi-
sations" is aimed at banning the Jamaat from politics.
The ICT trials have come under widespread international criti-
cism for failing to observe international standards. The critics
include the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the
International Centre for Transnational Justice, the International Bar
Association, the UK Bar Human Rights Committee, the US
Ambassador-at-large for war crimes Stephen Rapp.
Human Rights Watch, commenting on the performance of the
ICT, stated: "Glaring violations of fair trial standards became appar-
ent in 2012 in the trials of the International Crimes Tribunal
(ICT)..serious flaws in the law and rules of procedure governing
these trials have gone unaddressed, despite proposals from the US
government and many international experts."
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in their Opinions
given in November 2011 and December 2012 have found the ICT's
refusal to grant bail to BNP and Jamaat leaders, and their continued
detention, as being arbitrary and in violation of international law.
Professor Ghulam Azam who is 90 years old, suffering from illness
and not getting proper treatment in prison, was repeatedly denied
bail.
The tribunal ignored complaints by the defence team about
police abducting a defence witness right at the door of the court-
house, and harassment of defence lawyers and witnesses. Written
statements allegedly by witnesses were put in evidence without the
makers being called to be cross-examined. The prosecutor misled
the tribunal and falsely stated that the witnesses could not be found.
When the defence produced logbooks which showed that the wit-
nesses were in the government safe-house the judge took no action
against the prosecutor who was in contempt of court and, instead,
admitted the documents.
It is now public knowledge that Sayedee's conviction and sen-
tence is the result of collusion between the government, the prose-
cutor, the ICT chairman Mohamed Nizamul Haque and a lawyer of
Bengali origin living in Belgium Dr. Ahmed Ziauddin.
In December last year, The Economist received 17 hours of
recorded Skype conversations and over 230 e-mails between
Haque and Ziauddin which revealed direct government interference
in the ICT proceedings. Political pressure has been applied on
Haque to come out with verdicts fast. The Minister of law Shafique
Ahmed promised that if he gave one verdict by December 2012 he
would be promoted to the appellate division. Ziauddin was advising
the prosecutor and Haque throughout the trial on the conduct of the
case. He also arranged for one Raihan Rashid from the Bengali dias-
pora to prepare the structure of the judgment.
Haque resigned from the ICT panel hearing Sayedee's case and
was replaced by another judge after the release of his improper and
illegal conversations and emails exchanged with Ziauddin. The
defence filed motions for retrial based on the improper conduct of
the chairman of ICT but they were rejected arbitrarily, thus exposing
its lack of impartiality.
None of the three judges hearing the case after Haque resigned
had heard the full evidence given by witnesses and yet they found
Sayedee guilty of the charges and sentenced him to death. On the
improper conduct of the ICT judges, the Human Rights Watch com-
mented:
"It would be highly irresponsible and unprofessional for a ver-
dict to be delivered when none of the judges heard all the evidence
and were unable to assess the credibility of key witnesses, particu-
larly in trial involving 40-year old evidence and complex legal issues.
Before the chair of the court resigned for improprieties only one
judge had heard the totality of the evidence, and now even that one
judge is gone. A new trial is the only way for the court to preserve
its integrity."
The prosecution of the Jamaat and BNP leaders is not aimed at
doing justice to the victims of the independence war but to destroy
Hasina's political opponents. Her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in
his wisdom, declared in the 1974 Simla agreement that, "with
regard to the atrocities and destruction committed in Bangladesh in
1971, he wanted the people to forget the past and to make a fresh
start, stating that the people of Bangladesh knew how to forgive."
Hasina, her party, and its followers, while idolising him, have
ignored his sensible advice which, if followed, would have led to
national reconciliation, socio-economic progress and independent
national institutions instead of the anarchy, violation of human
rights, corrupt institutions and grinding poverty that prevail now.
Bangladesh is one of the poorest nations in the world. Over 70
percent of its population survives on less than $2 a day. Bangladesh
is ranked 146th out of 187 countries in the Human Development
Index (HDI) ranking, just above Sub-Saharan Africa. Corruption is
pervasive and the judiciary is the most corrupt institution, accord-
ing to Transparency International. Instead of focussing efforts on
promoting national unity and wiping out poverty and corruption, she
is creating deep divisions within Bangladesh society and further
corrupting the judiciary to serve Awami League's political objective
of eliminating the opposition.
The author is Chairman, Citizens International, Penang, Malaysia
INTERNATIONAL The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 17 www.milligazette.com
These negotiations, euphemistically called "Peace Process,"
continue even today without any hope whatsoever of a settlement
acceptable to the Palestinians in the near or distant future while
Israel continues chipping away at Palestinian lands in West Bank
and continues building totally illegal Jewish settlement on them. It
continues changing the demography of Jerusalem, confiscating
Arab land there on a regular basis and has already expelled around
30 percent of Jerusalem's Arab population.
Back in 1980, the Israeli parliament, Knesset, had passed a
law proclaiming that Jerusalem is the "eternal capital" of Israel. An
apt commentary at the time in Crescent International of Toronto
(Canada) described it as an "eternal capital" for a temporary state.
"Arab Spring"
Dictatorships ruled all Arab countries without exception backed by
a huge security and secret police apparatus. The stifling police
state was omnipresent everywhere in the Arab World. There was
no difference between monarchies and republican regimes in sup-
pression of civil and political rights. Arab governments seriously
cooperated only in one field: security. The annual conferences of
the Arab interior ministers have been punctual and security has
been the only field where Arab regimes seriously cooperated with
each other. The Freedom Index of 2010 shows Lebanon, Iraq and
the Palestinian Authority as "Hybrid Regimes", while all other Arab
regimes have been classified as "dictatorships". Freedom House's
survey of 2011 described Comoro Islands and Mauritania as "elec-
toral democracies", Lebanon and Kuwait as "partially free" and all
others as "not free". This is slowly changing after the Arab Spring.
Israel and West's rejection of the Hamas victory in the elec-
tions of January 2006, blockade of Gaza Strip since June 2007, the
22-day Israeli War on defenceless Gaza Strip during 27 December
2008-18 January 2009, coupled with total Arab silence, rather col-
laboration with Israel, added to the popular anger and unrest in all
the Arab countries. The Arab rulers were utterly out of sync with
their masses. Earlier the American attack on Iraq in March 2003
had exposed the Arab rulers' collaboration and complicity with the
American and western powers. The stagnating economic condi-
tions were directly caused by systematic loot of resources by the
ruling elites.
The Arab street was now ready for a popular revolution. The
Tunisian uprising, which started on 18 December 2010 and led to
the ousting of long-time President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in
January 2011, was the starting point. Egypt followed suit on 25
January 2011, soon to be followed by Yemen, Libya and Syria. A
similar movement in Bahrain has been contained for the moment
as a result of GCC military intervention. Tremors have been felt in
Sudan, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Morocco. As a result of this pop-
ular uprising, a number of well-entrenched Presidents, each ruling
for over three decades, fell like a pack of cards - viz., Zainul Abedin
Ben Ali of Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Ali Abdallah Saleh of
Yemen and Mu'amar Gaddafi of Libya. Incidentally, all of them were
former army officers who came to power pledging a free and fair
government.
The most important and meaningful gain was in Egypt where
free and fair elections ushered in an Islamic government and a
President from the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood. A new dem-
ocratic constitution has been passed. President Muhammad Mursi
has been able to neutralise the overbearing Army and omnipresent
Mukhabarat (Intelligence) but remnants of the fallen regime and
political forces rejected by the voters have united to defeat the new
government. Subtle foreign help to the rejectionists is discernible.
Similar attempts are being made to destablise the Islamic govern-
ment in Tunisia. Chaos still prevails in Libya while Syria is facing a
protracted civil war since March 2011, where the ruthless Baathist
regime, with Russian and Chinese support, continues to murder its
own civilians. The death toll in Syria has crossed 70,000 and there
is no end in sight. Clearly the "Arab Spring" - again a foreign, rather
western, term - is still in progress. But it is clear that the spark
which started in Tunisia will not stop before Arab people regain
their rightful freedom and democratic rights.
The author spent seven years in Egypt as a student (1966-73),
worked with the Libyan foreign ministry for six years (1973-1978) and
received his PhD from Manchester University in 1987. His published
works include Palestine Documents (1998).
Continued from the previous page
FIROZ MAHBOOB KAMAL
Dhaka: The ruling Bangladesh Awami Leage (BAL) made another
record of shameful failure. On a single day, 28 February, its police
forces killed more than 60 civilians (source: Daily Amar Desh,
Dhaka 1/3/13). Four people were killed on 1 March, 2013 and
three more were killed next day, 2 March. Most of the deaths took
place in the rural districts.
As soon as the death sentence against the country's most
famous Islamic preacher Moulana Delawar Hussain Sayeedi was
announced, thousands of protestors poured into the streets. To
disperse these unarmed protestors, Police opened fire indiscrim-
inately. Unlike the previous mass uprising, this time the movement
is no more confined to the big cities' urban populations. Instead, it
quickly spread to the whole country. Although Moulana Sayeedi is
a Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader, his popularity goes beyond party
lines. Thousands of non-partisan religious people used to flock to
his religious sermons -delivered in almost every nook and corner
of the country. Shaikh Hasina's government has now hammered
on the very sensitive fibres of these religious people. During the
whole Pakistani period of 24 years - till 25th March 1971, not even
24 people were killed by the Police. Hence, even many supporters
of the 1971's cessation from Pakistan are now questioning the
wisdom of creating such a blood-letting Bangladesh?
Moulana Sayeedi's death sentence was announced by
Dhaka's so-called "International Crime Tribunal" (ICT). However,
the court is neither international, nor does it adjudicate the coun-
try's bursting crimes. All of its judges, the prosecutors, the inves-
tigating officers are the political appointees of BAL. Its mandate
has been pre-fixed by the BAL government: to expedite the judicial
murder of its political opponents. They have started with the trial
of only 10, but their declared target is to try every "Razakar" - the
Bengali who took part against the break-up of Pakistan in 1971.
The minimum punishment demanded by BAL and its allies is the
death sentence. Such political mandate of ICT is not hidden. It is
abundantly clear from the Skype conversation of ICT's chairman
Mr. Nizamul Haq with his Brussels-based personal friend Dr.
Ahmed Ziauddin which was exposed by the London Economist
last November. Mr. Nizamul Haq revealed in this conversation that
the BAL government is mad to have quick death sentences against
the arrested leaders. After such revelation, Mr. Haq had to resign
from the ICT.
The Pakistan Experience
It is impossible to understand Bangladesh's present crisis without
understanding her Pakistan experience. The Bangladesh Awami
League (BAL) and its allies, too, are also drawing the legitimacy of
ICT and the pretext of hanging the Razakars from Pakistan experi-
ence. In the early part of the twentieth century, Bengali Muslims -
the largest Muslim population in the South Asia - realised that
they have an important role to play for the Muslim ummah, espe-
cially for those who live in South Asia. For such a role, they
thought it indispensable to remain at the centre of the Indian
Muslim politics. The Khilafat Movement led by Ali Brothers gave a
heavy boost to this feeling. With such a pan-Islamic vision,
Bengali Muslims played a crucial role in the making of Pakistan.
The originator of Pakistan movement was the All India Muslim
League (ML) which was formed in Dhaka in 1906. And the pio-
neering role was played by the Nawab of Dhaka, Sir Salimullah.
Even in 1940, the famous Pakistan proposal was raised by
Bengal's Prime Minister Moulavi Fazlul Haque during ML's Lahore
conference.
The creation of Pakistan gave a golden opportunity to her
majority Bengali Muslim citizens to influence not only the politics
of Pakistan, but also the politics of the whole Islamic world. But
such objective was foiled by Pakistan's huge internal enemies.
The colonial rulers left the Subcontinent in 1947, but left behind
many hard-core secular institutions. The British were very opti-
mistic of their role to protect their economic interests and the cul-
tural legacy in this Muslim land. Members of these institutions
were the most obedient servants and as well as faithful allies of
the British rule in India. Raising such obedient class in an Islamic
country was a key strategy of the British colonialists. This was
made clear by Lord Cromer, the representative of British Empire in
Egypt. His famous saying is that the British will never allow any
Muslim land to have independence until a secular class grew up
to take up their place. And Pakistan had those people in abun-
dance. They are heavily embedded in the army, judiciary and
bureaucracy. Indeed, these institutions were the cultural and polit-
ical islands of the colonialists. They never reconciled with the ide-
ological objective of Pakistan as was visualised by Allama Iqbal.
Rather they tried in every possible way to undo the Pakistan proj-
ect. Drinking wine in the army of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
was banned only after the demise of the united Pakistan.
The first shot against Pakistan's body politic did not come
from her external enemies, but from the country's own secular
institutions. The country's first constitution-making body, the con-
stituent assembly, was dismantled by its own bureaucratic
Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad, while it had nearly fin-
ished its job. While Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra left the
country for an official tour to Washington, Ghulam Muhammad
dissolved not only his government, but also the assembly and its
final product, the constitution. Muhammad Ali Bogra never lost the
confidence of Parliament, but still had to go. Such a dictatorial act
was ratified by another secularist institution, the judiciary. The
politicians of both the wings made another constitution in 1956,
but that too was dismantled by another faithful British product,
General Ayub Khan. His 11 years' autocratic rule effectively
blocked the Bengali Muslims' political participation in Pakistan and
this triggered enormous frustration among the country's majority
which lived in East Pakistan. This gave Shaikh Mujib the best
opportunity to capitalise as well as politicise such frustration. The
settled issue was unsettled again and again; and ultimately led the
united Pakistan to have a constitutional death which could have
been easily avoided as shown by India, in the early fifties.
Mujib's Crime
In 1971's election, the key issue addressed was to make a new
constitution. Shaikh Mujib, too, fought the election on constitu-
tional provision of more provincial autonomy. He never raised the
issue of division of Pakistan. But after his electoral victory, he
changed his position. He took a posture that whatever he says is
mandated by the people in the 1970's election. He used the elec-
tion as a tool of dismembering Pakistan, and raised the flag of
independent Bangladesh. It was a clear betrayal of Mujib's own
electoral promise. He signed Gen. Yahia Khana's eight-point LFO
to protect the integrity of Pakistan. No doubt, Pakistan had its
worst enemies, great failures, and even grave political crises. But
it is the duty of the political leaders to contribute positively to face
such enemies and to solve the crises peacefully. But Shaikh Mujib
and his party BAL did the opposite. He made coalition with
Pakistan's arch enemy, India, and manipulated the crisis to manu-
facture a full scale war. Every war brings deaths and devastation.
1971's war was not an exception. After the 1971 war, Shaikh
Mujib and his propaganda machine raised the accusation that
Pakistan Army wanted to annihilate the Bengali people by geno-
cide and rape. But they did not tell the truth that Pakistan Army's
non-Bengali soldiers and officers stayed in Dhaka, Chittagong,
Comilla, Jessore, Bogra and other cantonments for 23 years till
25th of March 1971, and they did not kill or rape a single East
Pakistani during that long period. Therefore, how such heinous
intention can be attributed to them?
As a ML worker in his early life, Shaikh Mujib was not
unaware of the fact that India did not want the creation and con-
tinuation of Pakistan from day one. But he conveniently forgot the
fact, and made an alliance with India. Mujib withdrew himself from
united Pakistan's national politics, and led the country back to the
provincial politics. When he became the Prime Minister of
Bangladesh, he had no foreign policy. He delegated it to India.
Shaikh Hasina, too, does not have any foreign policy. Hence,
Hasina's government does not have any say on Muslims' plight in
Kashmir, Myanmar, Palestine and India. Shaikh Mujib and his
party thus foiled the Bengali Muslims' participation in the south
Asian politics. Mujib betrayed not only the people of Pakistan, but
also the people of Bangladesh.
The enemy strategy
Bengal has been the target of anti-Islamic forces for centuries. The
reason lies in its large Muslim population. Bangladesh has the
highest concentration of Muslims in the world: 92% of its 160 mil-
lion population is Muslim. Moreover, unlike Pakistan, Iran, Turkey
and many other Muslim countries, the country is not infested with
ethnic divisions. Hence, even today, Bangladesh has a huge
potential to cause an Islamic resurgence that may influence the
whole eastern part of south Asia. During the Muslim rule in India,
especially in the Moghul period, Subah Bangala played a great role
in the expansion and continuation of the Muslim rule by paying the
largest amount of revenue to the state coffers. The cessation of
Bengal from Delhi not only weakened the empire, it eventually led
to its extinction. The rulers of Delhi did not have enough money to
sustain an effective army. Bengal's cessation also brought its own
curse: the country became the first prey in the hands of the British
colonialists.
Considering Bengal's potentials, India wants to keep a tight
grip. The attacks against the Islamists and the de-Islamisation
project have been intensified in this fertile land after the creation
of Bangladesh in 1971. India withdrew its armed forced in 1972
but did not withdraw its unarmed huge enforcements. Now the
country's media, army, academic institutions, bureaucracy and
political parties are embedded with large numbers of such ele-
ments. Shaikh Mujib, India's trusted ally, banned Islamic political
parties. Shaikh Hasina, the current Prime Minister, is following in
her father's footsteps.
Why JI is the target?
Muslim League (ML) established a deep-rooted base in
Bangladesh. Before the creation of Pakistan, ML had government
only in two provinces: in Bengal and Sindh. In 1970's election, ML
and other pro-Pakistani parties were badly divided, hence got
defeated. But that does not mean that its support base and the
workers disappeared after the election. Millions of them support-
ed and worked for united Pakistan in 1971's war. The numbers of
ML workers were much more than that of JI. But eight out of 10
people picked up by the government for prosecution now belong
to JI. Only two of them are from the Muslim League, now integrat-
ed with Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The
reason is clear: since Muslim League no longer survives as a
political rival of BAL, it is not a target of elimination.
L
ike any brutal dictator, the current dictator of Bangladesh,
Shaikh Hasina, too, wants to use the judiciary as a tool to anni-
hilate her political opponents. In the nineties, while Shaikh Hasina
was in the opposition, she instigated her followers to form lynch
court in Dhaka's Suhrowardi uddayan to try JI leaders. In that
open court, death sentences were announced against the top JI
and ML leaders and many others, but could not execute such
sham "verdict". Now they have the state power. The same motive,
the same politics, and the same prosecution of the lynch court are
now functioning under the judicial cover in Dhaka high court
premises. She named it Bangladesh' "International Crime
Tribunal". On 28 February, 2013, the ICT has announced its judge-
ment against Moulana Delwar Hussain Sayeedi, one of the coun-
try's most famous religious preachers and the central leader of
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). The verdict has been for his execution by
hanging. Moulana Sayeedi is yet to face the execution, but already
more than 70 people have been executed in the streets the same
day. The police opened fire on unarmed protesters in different
parts of the country. To show its anger, Jamaat called for two
days' hartal in the whole country involving dawn to dusk closure
of all shops and academic institutions and putting all vehicles and
other means of communication out of the roads.
Entering a civil war
Bangladesh is speedily entering into a phase of civil war. The BAL
is bent upon taking revenge from its political opponents in a bru-
tal way. Its cadres are holding protest rallies in Dhaka's Shahbag
roundabout for more than 20 days. The government has had
deployed thousands of its police force to give all possible protec-
tion to its supporters. It has even started screenings all entrants
to Shahbag by metal detectors. They are openly raising slogans
and instigating people to kill "razakars", people who took part for
a united Pakistan in 1971. They demand that ICT should announce
death sentence for every razakar. The court has succumbed to
their demand. What they have pronounced in the street has got full
expression in the court's verdict. As a result, there was a huge cel-
ebration among Shahbag youths after the announcement of the
verdict.
JI is left with no option. It has to either announce its own death
by keeping silent or fight back. It seems JI has taken the second
option. The huge presence of its supporters on the streets in every
nook and corner of the country proves this assumption. On the
other hand, the fear of an attack by Shibir, JI's student outfit, is
profound among the Shahabag's pro-BAL youths. Dhaka's daily,
the Manab Jamin, reported in its 3 March issue that a rumour of
Shibir attack spread among the Shahbag' youths the previous day.
In response, there was a huge rush to flee the place, and many
were injured in the stampede. JI has been successful to observe
hartal on 28 February all over the country and a two-day hartal
on 4-5 March. BNP leader Khaleda Zia added an an additional day
of hartal on 6 March. It seems that the country is now moving fast
to a turning point.
Two nations
Bangladesh is already deeply divided into two nations: the nation
of Islam and the nation of anti-Islam. They follow two conflicting
visions and road-maps for the country. Their mindset, culture,
heroes and political objectives too are different. Day by day, they
are becoming mutually incompatible, hence moving towards a
confrontation. In the Bangladesh constitution, there was a
proclamation of trust in Allah the Almighty. But such a constitu-
tional announcement was not acceptable to Bangladesh Awami
League (BAL) leaders. Since BAL has the majority in Parliament,
it didn't hesitate to remove this articulation of faith of the Muslim
majority. They quickly deleted it. The USA prints "We Trust in
God" on its currency notes but BAL is not ready to write it in its
constitution. BAL thus showed its own colour, its alienation from
Islam. Its political agenda is not limited to deletion of trust in
Allah from the constitution, rather the Islamic influence from the
country.
The country's anti-Islamic forces are a coalition of the extrem-
ist fascists, secularists and Bengali racists. Their hatred is not
merely against JI, their blasphemous and abusive comments
against Allah the Almighty and His great prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) have come to the public notice through their writings in
blogs. Several popular newspapers have published catalogues of
their blasphemous write-ups. The stuff written by Salman Rushdi
or Tasleema Nasreen are peanuts in comparison to those written
by these Bangladesh atheists. Common people are angered up to
the explosion level. Non-JI religious leaders and their followers
have come to the streets in their millions. The government has
deployed its police, RAB (Rapid Action Battalion) and armed bor-
der guards of former BDR to control the situation.
The pro-BAL protestors who raise "Joy Bangla" slogans in
Shahbag roundabout get free packet lunch, free packet dinner and
cold drinks. Along with full police protection and the toilet facili-
ties, they also get continuous entertainment by free dance shows,
songs, and other amusements day and night. But they forget the
fact that Joy Bangla cards my play well against the non-Bengali
West Pakistanis, not against the Bengali compatriots.
Judicial Murder in Bangladesh
Moulana Sayeedi's death sentence was announced by Dhaka's so-called "International
Crime Tribunal" (ICT). However, the court is neither international, nor does it adjudicate
the country's bursting crimes. All of its judges, the prosecutors, the investigating officers
are the political appointees of BAL. Its mandate has been pre-fixed by the BAL govern-
ment: to expedite the judicial murder of its political opponents. They have started with
the trial of only 10, but their declared target is to try every "Razakar"...
18 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 INTERNATIONAL www.milligazette.com
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 400
Colour Coded Juzu Amma (Part 30) (Eng Tajweed Rules) Rs 75
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 250
Stories of The Prophets - Ibne Kathir Rs 250
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 other information/books
PHAROS MEDIAPUBLISHING PVT LTD
D-84 Abul Fazl Enclave - I,
Jamia Nagar
New Delhi 110 025
Tel.: 011-26947483, 26942883, 26952825
E-mail: [email protected]
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
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
Books from Pharos Media, publishers of MG The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 19 www.milligazette.com
The following is an Interview with Dr.
Mahmood A. Qazi, the Muslim Chaplain
(Imam) at the Cambria County Prison,
Ebensburg, PA, Cresson Secure Treatment
Unit (CSTU), Cresson, PA, and Torrance State
Hospital, Torrance, PA, in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, USA. He has been preaching
Islam to people in the US for more than thirty
years. He is also the founding member and
President of the Chicago-based Kazi
Publications, Inc. (a non-profit organization),
one of the oldest and the largest printers,
publishers, and distributors of the Holy
Qur'an and Islamic literature in North
America, established in 1972.
1. How did you become involved with the con-
versions within the prison community? How
many people have you converted?
My first experiences with conversions to Islam
outside of the prison setting were in the early
1970s, when I first immigrated to the United
States. In 1972, I started Kazi Imports in
Chicago, Illinois, which became Kazi
Publications, Inc., a non-profit organization.
During this time, I came in contact with the
Nation of Islam, whose followers became our
biggest customers for the Holy Qur'an and
Islamic literature. Because of their exposure to
the true Islamic literature, some of them started
moving away from the Nation of Islam teachings
and converting to true Islam.? My next experi-
ences were in the military setting beginning in the
early 1980s. In 1978, I became a member of the
Northbrook Islamic Cultural Center (NICC), where
I came to know Mr. Nizar Hassan, the Principal of
NICC Sunday school, who became my mentor. I
was really impressed by his method of teaching
and preaching Islam to non Muslims. In January
1982, I started accompanying him as a volunteer
to the United States Great Lakes Naval Training
Center on Sundays, where he used to teach Islam
to naval recruits. That is where I saw young
recruits accepting Islam almost every Sunday.
The maximum number of recruits that accepted
Islam on one Sunday was 23. I volunteered at the
Great Lakes for eleven years.
My experiences with conversions within the
prison system began in 1993 after I moved to
Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It was here that I
began to preach Islam as a volunteer at the
Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) at Loretto,
PA, the Sate Correctional Institution (SCI),
Cresson, PA, and Cambria County Prison at
Ebensburg, PA. I continued as a volunteer till
October 2003, when I was offered a part time
Muslim Chaplain (Imam) position at the South
West Secure Treatment Unit (SWSTU), Blairsville,
PA, and also at the Cresson Secure Treatment
Unit (CSTU), Cresson, PA. The Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania closed the SWSTU in June 2006.
I continued to provide Islamic services to the
juveniles at CSTU, Cresson, PA.? In 2004, I was
offered a Muslim Chaplain's position at the SCI
Laurel Highland, PA, and SCI Somerset, PA,
where I served as an Imam till June 2007.
Currently, I am providing Islamic Services as a
Muslim Chaplain (Imam) at the Cresson Secure
Treatment Unit (CSTU), Cresson, PA, Torrance
State Hospital, Torrance, PA, and as a volunteer
at the Cambria County Prison, Ebensburg,
PA.???
2. Can you briefly describe the prevalence of
Islam in the prison systems?
According to the Chief of the Federal Bureau of
Prison's Chaplaincy Services Branch, approxi-
mately 9,000 inmates, or about six percent of the
federal inmate population, sought Islamic reli-
gious services in 2003.[1] These inmates can be
classified in four groups: Sunni, Shiite, Nation of
Islam, and Moor Science Temple of America.[2]
Nearly 85% of inmates identify themselves as
Sunni or Nation of Islam; less than one percent
identify them as Shiite.[3] A 2006 report found
that Muslims, including Nation of Islam and Moor
Science Temple, are believed to have the high
rates of prison-based conversions.[4]?The top
religious services that appear to be run by pris-
oners for prisoners are (in rank order): Muslim
Religious Services, Moorish Science Temple of
America, Native American Services, Nation of
Islam Services, Asatru Services, Islamic
Services, Wiccan Services, Judaism Services,
Sunni Muslim Services, and Jum'ah Services.?
The Bureau of Prisons provides Muslim inmates
with religious services through chaplains, con-
tractors and volunteers. Currently, there is a
severe shortage of Muslim chaplains for Muslim
inmates, with one Muslim chaplain for every 900
Muslim inmates.[5] In 2003, Harley Lappin, the
Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, stated
that of their 231 full-time chaplains, only 10 were
Muslim Imams, and of their over 12,000 contrac-
tors and volunteers nationwide, only 56 contrac-
tors and 80 volunteers provide religious services
to Muslim inmates.[6]??
3. What are some of the factors, which make
conversion to Islam in prisons different from
conventional conversions?
In prisons, Islam spreads mostly through person-
al contacts of inmates both with the Muslim
inmates and the Muslim Chaplains (Imams). The
inmates have an easy access to Holy Qur'an and
Islamic literature. With a lot of time at their hands
they read a lot. It is a well known fact that the
people, who are looking for the Truth, read the
Holy Qur'an and understand it accept Islam much
more easily. A typical example is that of Yusuf
Islam (former Cat Stevens), who read the Holy
Qur'an while in hospital and became a Muslim,
and is now one of the top Muslim preachers in
the world.?
In prison, religion is a hotly energizing force, and
Islam is spreading fast. Even Muslim leaders and
scholars say that the pace of prison conversions
has surprised them, though national research on
religion in prison is scarce. In what may be the
most dramatic example, one researcher says the
majority of inmates are Muslim at New York City's
Rikers Island jail complex, the largest in the coun-
try.?
In prison, conversion - largely by other prisoners
- is the source of Islam's spread. The prison
movement, rooted in the Nation of Islam era of
Elijah Muhammed and Malcolm X, initially was
mostly African-American. Now, although blacks
still predominate, more Hispanics and whites are
converting, too. Experts say the Nation's influ-
ence is waning, and Sunni and Shiite traditions
are gaining ground.??
4. Given the prevalence of gangs in the prison
societies, are there gangs based on religious
lines? Do some people convert for protection or
reasons other than faith?
When I first started work in the PA prison system,
I was surprised, rather shocked, to learn that the
Muslims in these prisons are called a "gang."
However, with a prolonged exposure to and
working with the Muslim inmates, I found that it
was not true. The Muslims inmates, because of
Islamic tradition and culture, stick together, as
they are taught that the Believers are brothers and
one community (Ummah) under Almighty God.
This gives other inmates, the staff and the man-
agement a false impression of Muslims as that of
being some kind of a "gang," which is not true.?
Nearly half of the prisons in the U.S. report the
existence of separate gangs for Muslim inmates.
Some prison gangs adopt a form of Islam that
incorporates values of gang loyalty and violence,
so-called "Jailhouse Islam". These reports show
that the Five Percenters are the single largest
nationwide, followed closely by Nation of Islam
and Fruits of Islam. Some gangs thought to be
just ordinary street gangs are now posturing
inside some prisons in some parts of the coun-
try as having an Islamic identity.??
Some Muslim inmates, when they arrive in
prison, are already members of a particular gang.
Others, however, start attending Islamic services
for protection and eventually accept Islam. This
phenomenon of temporary conversion to Islam
for protection only has been labeled "Prislam" by
the New York Police Department (NYPD).??
5. On average, how many prisoners convert to
Islam every year?
During my more than 20 years' tenure as a
Muslim Chaplain (Imam) and volunteer in PA, I
can say that the inmates do accept Islam on a
regular basis, although I did not keep a count.
?An exact number of prison Muslim converts is
not available. However, according to the Harley
Lappin, the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Prisons, the percent of self-identified Muslim fed-
eral inmates has remained stable for nearly a
decade, at a little less than 10,000 inmates or six
percent of the federal inmate population. ??
6. Is there a typical kind of prisoner who con-
verts?
Islam means peace. It offers freedom, justice and
equality to all, irrespective of their color, race,
creed, national origin or religion. Many converts
to Islam are disenchanted with their current belief
systems. Others, who lack strong belief systems,
are seeking an answer to the spiritual emptiness
and the need for self-realization that they are
experiencing. They find in Islam the peace, the
guidance, and the spiritual health that fulfills
them.??
a. Do more men, or women, convert to Islam?
In the U.S., women converts to Islam outnumber
men converts four to one. Islam as a religion
immensely improved the status of women and
granted them many rights that the modern world
has recognized only this century. Islam still has
so much to offer today's woman: dignity, respect,
and protection in all aspects and all stages of her
life from birth until death in addition to the recog-
nition, the balance, and means for the fulfillment
of all her spiritual, intellectual, physical, and emo-
tional needs. Female converts to Islam find a
sense of self-respect and dignity in Islam that
they are seeking.
Many Latina converts say that their interest in
Islam comes from the fact that they do not want
to be seen as sex objects anymore and are tired
of the stereotype of the Latina women as por-
trayed by Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera.
For many women, Islam is the solution to that
dilemma.
b. In the case of women who have converted,
what are some of the drawbacks they face, e.g.,
are they allowed to cover their head (wear Hijab),
if they so choose?
In federal prisons, Muslim women are allowed to
exercise their right to wear Hijab (head cover)
while in custody. Of course, there have been
cases of female Muslim inmates not being
allowed to wear Hijab. Recently, a Muslim
woman filed suit due to the fact that she was
forced to remove her Hijab when arrested.[7]
However, I have not personally come across this
issue in my tenure as an Imam at the state and/or
county prisons.
Continued in the next issue
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
Individual Rs 320
Gift a friend @ Rs 250
Students* Rs 200
Foreign**
By Airmail : US$ 45
THE MILLI GAZETTE TELLING THE MUSLIM SIDE OF THE STORY SINCE JANUARY 2000
AEFX-316
MG SUBSCRI PTI ON FORM
I would like to subscribe to The Milli Gazette in the following ways:
SUBSCRIBE / Renew @ Rs 320 by paying one year subscription [24 issues]
I am a student (undergraduate or below), Subscribe / Renew @ Rs 200 a year (attach a copy of your School/College Identity Card)
GIFT a subscription to a friend by paying Rs 250
(first fill your address in the first part below and then fill gift subscription address below it, as indicated)
With your Rs 320 subscription (new or renewal) 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/DD 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$ 5
*** 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 with-
in the community and
beyond in a fortnight.
Riots erupt, wars blow
up, reputations are won
and lost, scandals
blow over and pretty
much everything in
between can take a dif-
ferent 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
ISLAM IN THE U.S. PRISONS - i
20 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES www.milligazette.com
It is a well known fact that the people, who are looking for the Truth, read
the Holy Qur'an and understand it accept Islam much more easily. A typical
example is that of Yusuf Islam (former Cat Stevens), who read the Holy
Qur'an while in hospital and became a Muslim, and is now one of the top
Muslim preachers in the world.
Book: Muslims Most Civilised, Yet Not
Enough
Author: Dr Javed Jamil
Year: 2013
Pages 364
Mission Publications
Price: Rs 800
ISBN: 81-88268-09-7
SYED ADIL
T
his is now increasingly clear that the so-called New World
Order is an ugly product of the forces of economics that are
located in West. These forces have no other aim except
attaining economic supremacy and political hegemony in
the world, and to achieve these aims they can do anything, from
killing people, destroying families and social values to redefine
morality to suit their own ends.
One man who has perhaps been on the forefront in unveiling
these designs is Dr Javed Jamil whose relentless campaign
against New World Order, Westernism and Economic
Fundamentalism is going on for well over a decade now. His lat-
est work, Muslims Most Civilised, Yet Not Enough, should be
rated as a most remarkable work of recent times, especially in
terms of challenging Westernism and its allies.
In this book, Dr Jamil has produced massive statistics show-
ing that in terms of the criteria of civilized existence, Western
countries are far behind Muslim countries. He has used the follow-
ing as the criteria of civilization:
1. Security: incidence of murders (all types, not any par-
ticular category), sexual assaults, killings in other parts of the
world (wars), abortions (all categories)
2. Social peace: alcohol, gambling, prostitution, promis-
cuity, pornography,
3. Personal: suicides, religiosity
4. Family: Divorces and separations, Promiscuity,
Children born out of wedlock, issues related to single parenthood,
abuse of women and children; domestic violence;
5. Human Development: Life Expectancy (both at birth
and at conception), Education, Economic conditions
Taking one criterion in each chapter as the yardstick, he has
produced international statistics to prove how bad the West is in
terms of Security, Social Peace, Personal Happiness, Family
Peace and Human Development. Muslims, in comparison, are far
better on the basis of almost all criteria related to security, social
peace and family peace and are catching fast in the human devel-
opment criteria including life expectancy, education and econom-
ic development.
Dr Jamil enumerates the aims of the study as follows:
1. To contest the claim of the Western propaganda of its
being civilized and Muslims being uncivilised;
2. To highlight the issues that are largely buried under the car-
pet by motivated interests despite their playing havoc with the
peace and security of human beings as individuals, families and
societies;
3. To bring Muslims out of inferiority complex in which they
are being perpetually pushed by both friends and foes;
4. To make them realise that they need not blindly follow the
Western models; and that qualities like education, good health and
comfortable life are not the monopoly of any ideology;
5. To make them realise that despite their many qualities and
admirable achievements at various levels, there are still many
shortcomings, some of them very big, which they have to under-
stand and address; they have to find their solutions within the
parameters of Islam;
6. To make them realise that though they must try to achieve
power in all rightful ways, they must never use that power to
threaten, subjugate and control mankind or monopolise human
resources; and last but not least
7. To convince them that their duties, assigned by their reli-
gion, are not limited to the improvement of their own lot; they must
work for the benefit of the whole mankind; and it is their foremost
duty to fight against the evils, injustices, exploitations and dispar-
ities at every possible level, and to develop programmes and poli-
cies that lead to prosperity without evil effects.
Some of the interesting findings of Dr Javed Jamils work are
as under:
1. The rate of murderous assaults in USA is more than 10
times that of major Muslim countries. Top fifty countries in terms
of murder rates are mostly Western countries. It can also be seen
from the list that the rate of murders in Muslim countries is less
than that of other important systems like Russia, China, India and
African countries.
2. Out of top 50 nations in terms of the incidence of rape, the
US, South Africa, France, Germany and Australia feature among
the top 10. Out of about three hundred thousand incidences of
rape committed in top 50 countries, which is more than 95% of all
the rapes committed all over the world, more than 210,000 are
committed in the most advanced, peace-loving and women-
loving nations of the world.
3. Out of the total number of around 160 million dead, more
than 135 million have been killed in or by countries that are now
the five big powers of the world, namely China, US, UK, France
and Russia. The killings by or in Muslim countries form a very
small percentage of the total killings despite the fact that Muslims
form about one fifths of the world population. Community-wise,
90 percent of violence has involved Christians, Buddhists and
atheists. While China and Russia hold the distinction for murder-
ing their own people in maximum numbers for political reasons,
the credit of killing most people abroad goes to the US, especial-
ly during last 60 years. Contrary to the lie propagated by the
Western media, Muslims have been subjected to violence by oth-
ers rather than vice versa. Russia killed millions of Muslims in
Afghanistan, America killed hundreds of thousands in Iraq and
Israel killed thousands in its conflict with Arabs. In all of these
resistance movements or liberation struggles, Muslims were killed
in very large numbers, while they killed much less.
4. A total of 5,529 Westerners, including 2,883 on 9/11, have
been killed in all the attacks alleged against al-Qaeda. In contrast,
at least 919,967 people have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq
since the US and coalition attacks, based on lowest credible esti-
mates.
5. In the US, about 40.6 percent of children were born to an
unmarried mother in 2008, an increase from 39.7 percent the pre-
vious year. While teenage mothers accounted for 52 percent of
extramarital births in 1975, they made up only 22 percent in 2008.
More than 6 in 7 births to teenagers were non-marital. In Europe,
the average has risen from one out of four in 1997 to one out of
three children born outside wedlock. Nowadays, national figures
in Europe range from 5% in Greece and 9% in Cyprus to 58% in
Estonia and 64% in Iceland. In Britain the rate increased to 44%
(2006) and further to 46 % (2009). In Muslim countries, unwed
mothers are almost negligible if any.
6. 50-70 million babies are aborted annually, mostly due to
the vagrant sexual behaviours of their parents -- and yet they claim
of being civilised. The total abortion rate in most of the Muslim
countries is less than 20 percent, and an overwhelming percent-
age of abortions in Muslims are within families with the consent
of both parents. Not a single Muslim country features in the list of
countries with highest rates of teenage pregnancies, which proves
the success of family system in Muslim societies. The success of
family system can very well be regarded as the biggest indicator
of civilization because its failure leads to a large number of health
and social problems which are caused by no other factor.
7. According to surveys, in the US about one in three children
live in single-parent families and nearly 40 per cent live away from
at least one biological parent. Out of 23 countries listed in terms
of single parent families, all but South Korea are members of the
Western World. The level of family civilisation in their societies is
extremely low compared to most of the Muslim world.
8. An estimated 325,000 US children of age 17 or below are
prostitutes, performers in pornographic videos or have fallen in
the trap of commercial sexual exploitation. In contrast, Muslim
societies are much more civilised in their treatment to children.
They do not abort them as often as Westerners; most of the times
they do it, it is for medical reasons; hardly if ever their children are
the products of their lust rather than legitimate love; they do not
leave them to live in single-parent families; if at all they do it on
account of the divorce or the death of a parent, the extended fam-
ilies provide them love and security; they do not sexually abuse
children to the extent and degree of the West; they breastfeed
them more often for the medically advisable period of two years,
which is also what is prescribed in the Quran; there are rare
chances of children in Muslim countries being pushed into sex
trade.
9. This study puts the average life expectancy of male homo-
sexuals nearly 30 years less than the general male population.
Another study showed that, on average, ever-married men out-
lived the ever-homosexually-partnered by 23 years in Denmark
(74 yrs v. 51 yrs), and 25 years in Norway (77 yrs v. 52 yrs).
Obviously, homosexuality is a threat to the whole mankind, and it
is the biggest threat to the life of homosexuals themselves. Pure
permanent homosexuality is extremely rare in Muslims. There is
no possibility of same sex marriages; owing to severe legal pun-
ishments, gay movements cannot prosper in Muslim societies;
10. While modern ideologies accept and promote prostitution
and pornography despite their being greatest threats to survival of
humans, particularly women and children and family peace and
social order, Islam has no place for them. Despite prostitution
existing in several Muslim countries, it is nowhere, in terms of the
number of brothels, revenues involved, number of prostitutes and
number of customers, near the level that exists in most of the non-
Muslim countries including Western countries;
11. According to another study, more than 95% of Americans
are promiscuous. Teenage birth rate lists show that all the 18
countries listed belong to the so-called Civilized World. Not a
single Muslim country appears in this list. It is clear that: Islam as
a system does not accept promiscuity while the so-called Free
World not only accepts it and legally protects it but also commer-
cializes it despite huge health and social hazards associated with
it. The promiscuity rate in Muslim countries is negligible com-
pared to Western countries; the rate of polygamy in Muslim coun-
tries can be described only as extremely low compared to the rate
of promiscuity in the Western countries.
12. About 140 million people throughout the world suffer from
alcohol-related disorders. 100,000 die in the US alone. In most of
the Islamic countries, the problems related to alcohol are exceed-
ingly low. Out of the 30 countries that have maximum consump-
tion of alcohol, only Turkey appears at the end of the table.
13. Gambling-related problems are much lower in Muslim
countries. All top 10 gambling nations are Western countries.
14. The overall life expectancy of Muslims is high. It can be
seen that the True Life Expectancy of top 25 Muslim countries is
more than those of all the big powers. Even from the commonly
followed definition of life expectancy at birth it is on the higher
side, but with the changed definition (at conception), they beat
almost all the fancied nations of the world including the big pow-
ers and countries like Japan, Australia, Canada and Singapore.
This is despite the fact that the health infrastructure in Muslim
countries is not as good as in Western countries. High life
expectancy at birth as well as at conception along with a higher
growth rate indicates that the system in Islamic countries, with
Islamic prohibitions and permissions, which are naturally health-
protective, is much more health friendly than in Western countries.
The Life Expectancy at birth is good in most Western coun-
tries; but it is almost nearly as good in top Muslim countries. In as
many as 19 Muslim countries, the life expectancy at birth is more
than 70 and it is more than 75 in five countries.
15. It can be seen that the literacy rates in the Muslim coun-
tries is generally very good with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan
and Turkmenistan having about 99 percent literacy rate and ranked
ahead of the US and UK. Uzbekistan, Bosnia & Herzegovina,
Brunei Darussalam, Kuwait, Palestinian Authority, Qatar,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates have all a liter-
acy rate of more than 90, Lebanon, Bahrain, Turkey, Libya, Saudi
Arabia, Syria, Iran and Oman have the percentage of more than
80. The per population number of secondary school students in
Indonesia is better than the United States and almost as good as
India. The same is true with Iran, which has a better percentage
than almost every country in the list. A 2010 report by the
Canadian research firm Science-Metrix has put Iran in the top rank
globally in terms of growth in scientific productivity with a 14.4
growth index followed by South Korea with a 9.8 growth index.
Irans growth rate in science and technology is 11 times more
than the average growth of the worlds output in 2009 and in
terms of total output per year.
16. In top five ranking countries in terms of per capita income,
there are two Muslim, both Arab countries, Qatar and UAE whose
per capita income is more than the big economies like US,
Australia, UK, France and Germany. There are eight Muslim coun-
tries in the top 50 list. These include Saudi Arabia and Libya. The
list shows Qatar at the top of the table with a growth rate of more
than 16 and ahead of highly growing economies like China and
India. Turkmenistan is at 7th place, Uzbekistan at 14th, Nigeria,
Afghanistan, Turkey and Yemen at 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th.
Other Muslim countries are also showing good rates. Western
countries are not doing well. By 2025, Indonesia will be among six
major emerging economies to account for more than half of all
global growth, says a new World Bank report
17. All 17 countries in terms of highest suicide rates are typ-
ical Western countries. Suicide is almost negligible among
Muslims, which speaks highly of their mental calm as well as fam-
ily peace and social equanimity. Most of the factors leading to sui-
cides like extramarital sex, family disintegration, alcohol, gambling
and sex-related diseases are minimal if not totally absent in typi-
cal Islamic societies. Added to this, an unshakeable faith in God
and Hereafter armour them with incredible patience, which helps
them in facing even the most depressing situations. Mental peace
has direct relation with the level of religiosity and the kind of reli-
gion.
T
he study has shown that Qatar, UAE, Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia are among the top contenders for being the most
civilised nations of the world. Qatar has in fact emerged as the
most civilised country, with the third highest per capita income
and the highest growth rate in the world, very high life
expectancy and literacy rates, very little rate of crime, with no
involvement in any war, very low level of social vices and a
strong family system. The performance of Turkey, Iran,
Indonesia and Malaysia is also admirable. The Muslim coun-
tries that need attention are Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh
and Sudan.
What is still more remarkable is that the author has taken
care not to show disrespect to any religion, community or
country. Instead, he focuses on the system that governs the
world today. While he has criticised Western forces, he has
been candid enough to pay tribute to Western scientists who
have provided numerous means of comfor t to the mankind. His
complaint is that the great services of the scientists to human-
ity have been undone by the economic fundamentalists to use
these researches for economic and political hegemony.
Fur thermore, he has been realistic enough to also focus
on the shor tcomings of Muslims, individually as well as collec-
tively, and pay considerable attention on trying to find out solu-
tions of the problems that afflict the Muslim world. He rightly
argues that if Muslims have to emerge as a formidable force,
they will have to think beyond sectarian and parochial issues.
While he has contributed a full chapter on the age-old question
of Shia-Sunni divide, he has argued that the real answer to the
problem lies in Muslims realising the true and larger aim of
Islam, which is to bring peace to the whole mankind. He has
exhor ted them to unite against the forces of chaos and has
shown considerable sensitivity in discussing the need of all
religions coming together in this struggle.
All said and done, this work has the potential of unveiling
an intellectual and social revolution, led by the Islamic philos-
ophy of Natural World Order. The author deserves not one but
repeated rounds of applause for accomplishing a task that will
be remembered for a long time to come. The book is a Must-
Read not only for Islamic intellectuals but also for thinkers and
commentators belonging to other religions and ideologies, as it
introduces several new concepts, indices, phrases and terms.
It is this holistic, ideologically aggressive, unapologetic
approach that makes it an unparalleled work the like of which
is hard to find in recent times.
Muslims most civilised but...
BOOKS The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 21 www.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.
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 [email protected]
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
[email protected]
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: [email protected]
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: [email protected]
Complete Set of Vol. 21 (2003) Rs
550 / Euro 70 (Including postage)
Complete Set of Vol. 22 (2004) Rs
550 / Euro 70
(Including postage)
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:[email protected]
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
M4 Sunni Khan (Yousfzai) 28/54 / B.Sc (M-Bio) fair,
homely Convent Educated M: 09936406473, 09389459482.
Em: [email protected]
SM4 Shia Syed Slim Good looking girl M.Sc B.Ed 27/52
wrkg as Biologist in G.O.I. Instt-Noida #07599311646,
E: [email protected]
ALLIANCE for Sunni Mansoori 28/52 wheatish B.Tech
girl in Govt Job. Seeks prof, wkg boy. M: 7607171525,
E: [email protected]
SM4 Bful Shk. Siddiqui conv. educated MSc, B.Ed UP.
girl 25/51 seek well settled qualified, boy.
Em: [email protected] . M-9453304337
SM4 bful homely girl BA 28/ 53 Rajasthan based settled
family invited Divorce accepted
Em: [email protected] 07737465044, 3-6pm
SUNNI Syed convent educated 29/53 MBA
(AMU) Asst. Mgr IDBI Bank Delhi,
7 L P A . M b : 0 9 7 5 8 6 7 2 3 1 8
Email: [email protected]
SM4 Sunni fair bful Namazi Khan Girl
30/56/l LPA B.Ed Pursng Ph.D seeks well stld
qlfd boy.M:9936031116/8127695431 :mgkhan-
[email protected]
SM frm Del/NCR for Sun/ Syed 27/163 slim,
smart, fair, Prof, qualified. Cont: jauhar-
[email protected] # 8447782072, 9582262608
BRIDES WANTED
MBBS doc, businessman.Cosmopolitan
doctor/bzness/prfsnlly qlfd tall slim below 30 matches
sought. [email protected]
ANSARI Sunni Lucknow Rptd. MNC Business Family
M4 31/53, 28/57 Seeks Qlfd. Family.
Mobile: 09696214117 E: [email protected]
SM4 Sunni Muslim Dr. BDS boy 59/30 own Clinic.
Father Govt. Retd. Engr. own house South Delhi hails
Western UP Agri. Biloch/ Nayak family. 9810036027,
9990546920.
SM4 Fair Handsome Tall Pathan Boy 37, Working in
Canada Seeks Professional. Well-Educated Girl. Contact -
9810021558
SUNNI Muslim well estblshd industrialist fmly in Punjab
seeks v.bful homly cltrd whtish fair girl for 33/58
MBA.fair son. E: [email protected]
22 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 CLASSFIEDS / DISPLAY ADS www.milligazette.com
Classifieds: Rs 25 per word per insertion. Minimum charges Rs 500. Display (B/W): Rs 40 per sq. cm
Send your ad to by email to [email protected] or by post to The Milli Gazette D-84 Abul Fazal Encl-Part -I, New Delhi-110025 with cheque/DD/postal order/M.O. payable at Delhi
BACK
ISSUES
AVAILABLE
THE MILLI GAZETTE
D-84, Abul Fazl Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar,
New Delhi-110025 India
Tel.: (+91-11) 2694 7483
Email: [email protected]
MG
Having found Milli Gazette in his hand, one is bound to be proud
of it as it is the only media through which a reader not only visits
the Muslim World but come across the day to day victimisation
and achievements politically, economically, socially, educationally
with different modes and styles in various ways. One may rightly
claim that MG is a glorified invaluable Milli document being pub-
lished by the right people for the benefit of right thinking people
under the fabric of ethics, honesty, impartiality, truth, discipline,
principles, decency, code and norms of journalism which are
hardly or never seen now-a-days globally. We the Indian Muslims
are really fortunate to have such a nice and marvellous documen-
tary treasure amongst us. However, the other side presents the
very sad and shapeless reality spotted with grimy, gloomy and
apathetic negative thinking of Millat particularly with regard to the
Muslim newspapers, journals, periodicals, magazines etc. In this
connection, impudency of Umma is clearly evident as till now we
have not realised the importance of a daily newspaper, fortnight-
ly, weekly at the national level but depend upon papers which have
no sympathy, support and softness for us, Alas, majority of
Muslims are unaware of the publication of MG or those having
knowledge have no time and keenness to touch the paper even,
which puts a question mark on the survival of the fortnightly.
Renowned poet late Akbar Allahabadi had rightly observed for the
Muslim papers like Milli Gazette as follows: "Kheencho na
kamanon ko, na talwar nikaalo, gar top muqaabil ho to akhbar
nikalo" (Do not pull arrows-nor take out swords, in case of facing
the gun, publish a newspaper.) Advertisements are the source and
soul of every paper playing vital role in their establishment.
Undoubtedly Indian Muslims have large number of reputed and
well established business houses, industries, commercial agen-
cies, businessmen, traders, entrepreneurs, institutions, banks and
such other related organisations around the country but none has
any time to think to facilitate MG with advertisements whereas
these agencies get their advertisements published regularly in so-
called national papers and others published in different cities.
Surprisingly, advertisements of AMU, JMI, Hamdard, Anjuman-e-
Islam Mumbai and Muslim establishments of all the four corners
appearing in dailies, weeklies, periodicals and even local English
and Hindi papers but none of them has fund for MG! It is a well
known fact that Central and state governments have no place for
MG because of its impartial, unbiased and honest standing with
fair and fine status of journalism in all the way which demands
Ummah to rise above the level by keeping aside its indifferent atti-
tudes towards the paper which is regrettably not attempted at indi-
vidual and collective level at all.
Faheemuddin, Nagpur-13
II
I have been a regular reader of the Milli Gazette since a long time.
In fact, I have instigated Star N Services in Pusad to start the dis-
tribution of MG here and helped him get subscriptions from indi-
viduals and institutions. MG is catering to the needs of much
awaited nationalpaper, thanks to you and your board of editors
and all the staff. It was so panicking to know in between that MG
was in financial crunch and needed much help. We are actually
very careless about our own selves, our requirements and neces-
sities. We prefer to buy a dish TV connection but we dont want to
spend one or two hundred rupees for a newspaper of the caliber
of MG. How can we lament when the people and the issue, both
are ours. As Ghalib rightly put in, Hairaan hoon R0-oon dil ko kay
peetoon jigar ko main. Muqaddar ho to saath rakhkhoon nauha gar
ko main.
Khan Hasnain Aaqib, Pusad, Maharashtra
[email protected]
Koi batlao kay hum batlaayen kiya...
Stories are not corroborated by any other news agency/magazine,
so seem only one sided.
Dr. Munawar Hasan, Makarana - 341505 (Raj)
Bomb Blasts Serve As Reprieve
The twin bomb blasts in Hyderabad served the rulers of central
government as a reprieve .The time and place has favoured the
rulers .Though the security agencies have informed the home
minister and the home minister in turn has warned the Cm of AP
to be alert. But unfortunately the state machinery could not take
the measures to apprehend the culprits and 16 precious innocent
lives had to be sacrificed for terrorism. How ever the blasts was a
blessing in disguise .The central government was the most bene-
fitted stock due to the bomb blast .The blasts served the following
purposes 1) Release of MIM MLA who was given bail as against
the will of BJP and congress fanatics Hindus were quit against
release of Akbar, 2) Rising of prices of essential commodities due
to the spiralling prices of petrol and diesel prices, 3) The role
played by Indian Mujahedeen was being overlooked by people
now again it came into lime light .Their activism has not stopped,
4) The Centre was in utter desperation due to the political and non
political groups pressure now the tension was subsided due to
this blast, 5) The police and security agencies can apprehend
Muslim youths on charges of terrorism .This action of the ruling
congress rejoice the fanatic Hindus who can vote to congress
rather to the BJP, 6) Venkayya Naidu has blamed Pakistan for this
blast .This blame indirectly strengthened the congress vote bank.
This will raise the graph of hatred to Pakistan .This is the desire of
caste Hindus who think a life saving drug for Hinduism .They such
political dialysis for degrading Hinduism, 7) The government may
need such daredevils to make blasts wherever there is need as
per their preconceived policy
DR Maqdoomi Hyderabad
Persian written Ramayan in Vaishali
Hajipur is HQ of Vaishali District where Chechnar village is situat-
ed. During Indira Gandhi tenure, excavations were carried out in
this village where many ancient idols were found and amazingly a
Persian manuscript of Ramayana was also found. During ancient
period the medium of education and civilisation in this area was
Persian and Urdu. In excavation, palera idols, Muslim era tomb,
idol of Budha and Stupa at Wajidpur Saidaat village were found.
Development during the ancient period was due to Muslim domi-
nation and it proves that Muslim rulers were so secular that they
allowed Hindus to follow their religion even in Persian and Urdu.
Muslim rulers made available Hindu scripture in Persian. This
should open the eyes of the saffron brigade who target Muslim
rulers.
S. Haque, Patna
Salman Rushdie
Salman Rushdie with dirty eyes should be given a chance to
speak before our Muslim scholars. MG has given good news.
Brother Yusuf Muchhala is quite broad minded to give suggestion
to invite the so called author to a debate on Islam and our beloved
Prophet. Muslim scholars who are proficient in English and are
good debater should be invited to participate in such debate. The
event should be given good publicity on inter national level. Let us
inspire our young generation to have a healthy and positive
approach. We are sure to win the debate, InshAllah. Why worry?
Islam is a strong truth and it is a beautiful truth. Let is attract peo-
ple toward Islam by doing such activities..
Nazneen O.Saherwala (Surat, India).
[email protected]
Surya namaskar in Bihar govt. schools
Bihar government has issued an order to host surya namaskar
programme in every government school and college on 18 Feb.
on the 160th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. Surya
namaskar is Hindu sanskar to adore surya (Sun) as God. This is
pseudo secularism. S. Haque, Patna
Vishawaroopam
The article titled Vishawaroopam reinforces global stereotypes,
justifies US terror published on pg.8 th of 18-28 th Feb issue of
Milli Gazette was really very informative. Please do accept my
heartiest congratulations and do forward my well wishes to the
writer Mr.Feroze mithiborewala ji. May Allah bless you more n
more.
Rehana Shabbar Hussain., Indore (MP).
[email protected]
Islam and Music
In a recent edition, there was an article by Mr. Sumit Paul on Islam
and Music. I would like to say that in Islam, it is not our whims
and desires that decide whether something is allowed or not. The
issue of music has got both opinions and even the view expressed
by the author is a legitimate sharii opinion. But it is not fitting to
give any opinion based on our personal views. Islam is submis-
sion. So I would like to appeal to the MG team to kindly refrain
from allowing such articles, these would only confuse the mass-
es. Abul Hasan, New Delhi
[email protected]
Passport denied in Kashmir
I, Niyaz Ahmad and my wife applied for passport in May 2011 (2
May 2011) vide Regional Passport office, Srinagar file Nos:- A-
01977 and R - 001391 with all necessary documents to perform
Haj and Umra. I am a retired government teacher and my age is
about 65 years. But due to absence of our passport, we could not
perform the Haj or Umera, either through government or private
agencies. I visited offices including CID, Police, RPO, Srinagar and
other departments to enquire about the status of our passport.
The authorities fail to give a reason for delay in our passport. We
fail to understand why we are denied to perform Haj.
Niyaz Ahmad, Srinagar-10015 (Kashmir)
Continuous hate mongering creates collective conscience
Secularism and democracy in our country are object of show
case and the ground reality is different because collective con-
science is created by continuous hate mongering. On 17 Feb. at
Patna, Janta paraty president Subramaniam Swamy said
Muslims quit the right on Babri Masjid. VHP leader Togadia said
he would snatch all democratic rights from Muslims if he
became PM. Ashok Singhal says Muslims are responsible for
decline of Hindu population (Allahabad / 2 Feb.). Continuous hate
mongering creates collective conscience. This is the reality of our
democracy which tramples justice.
S. Haque, Patna
Three trunks full of army explosives and silence
On 15 Feb. night three trunks full of army ammunition and explo-
sives were recovered from Narayana village near Narayana Vihar
railway station. They were army seal marked. Police registered a
case in Narayana vill. P. S. and the news appeared in 1.5x1.5 inch-
es column on page 24. Imagine if this arms and explosives cache
was recovered from a Muslim area -- news would have appeared
on the front page with captions like: Terrorists had reach deep
into army or Conspiracy to blow Delhi unearthed etc.
S. Haque, Patna
Do champions of communal fascism deserve any tribute
Communal Fascism is the greatest enemy of Indian democracy as
it aims at transforming India into a Hindu Rashtra and establish a
Hindu state and is deadly opposed to the distinctive features of
Indian national culture - pluralism, unity in diversity, equal rights
for all Indian citizens, respect for all religions and rule of law. It is
therefore, strange that our national leaders including the President
of India and Prime Minister have paid tributes to Bal Thackery,
Shiv Sena chief, who vigorously carried on a hate campaign
against north and south Indians and against Indian Muslims
through his hate speeches and writings.
Dr. M. Hashim Kidwai, ex M.P., Delhi - 110091
Selfishness
A section of the Zion-influenced press has published its wishful
thought of a rift between leader Khamenei and President
Ahmedinejad! It is, of course, difficult for materialists to realise
that in a society ruled by Muhammadi (not American) Islam, the
lower the post the higher ones eagerness to gain the pleasure of
ONLY ONE GOD.
S. Akhtar, Khanpur Deh - 392150
The hanging games
Who acquires a gain
In the hanging game?
Only the stone-hearted power-hungry politicians
Who care the least for peace and patience.
How long the world will watch with wide eyes
Unable to stop all wailings and cries?
S. Akhtar, Khanpur Deh - 392150
BJP Resolution - Minorities Of Bangladesh
BJP at its just concluded National Executive has adopted a res-
olution pertaining to Bangladesh . The resolution says that Indian
Government should take up the matter seriously with Dhaka
regarding the recent attacks on minorities and activities of funda-
mentalist forces . The resolution further says that many places of
worship and houses of minorities have been destroyed and they
(Minorities of Bangladesh )also suffered physical assaults . In this
context, it is submitted why the resolution is silent about the con-
ditions of minorities in India which have been persecuted , dis-
criminated , suspected , victimized particularly in Assam and
Gujarat . Why the resolution is silent about the places of worship
destroyed and damaged belonging to Indian minorities particu-
larly in Assam and Gujarat ? As an Indian it is the foremost duty
to look after the welfare and well being of Indian citizens rather
than Bangladeshi citizens . It seems that minority of Bangladesh
(Read Hindus ) follows BJPs favourite religion (Read Hinduism )
whereas minority of India (Read Muslims ) follows BJPs unfa-
vorite religion (Read Islam ) . Isnt BJPs resolution smells extra
territorial loyalty ? Is it constitutional to pass a resolution for
another country ignoring the minorities at home ? Respected
Editor saheb please do correct me if my interpretation is wrong
Farooq Abdul Gaffar Bawani, Rajkot Gujarat
[email protected]
Modi and Muslims
I am satisfied with your reply . I am happy to note that you have
not given a clean chit to Modi and you are writing and speaking
against Modi and warning against his prime ministerial ambitions.
May your tribe increase.
Farooq Abdul Gaffar Bawani, Rajkot Gujarat
[email protected]
Are the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami timid?
Non participation of JIH or Welfare Party of India in the Lucknow
congregation for the protest of apprehension of Muslim youths is
the proof of overt timidity and negligence of an important issue
.Everyone know that the congress, BJPand SP governments have
arrested thousands of Innocent Muslim youths .They are lan-
guishing in jails, They were arrested on false charges of terrorism.
It is nothing but to browbeat, discourage and dishearten and
destroy their future .The Hindu fanatics want that they should not
play any political part and should not progress. With this intension
the leaders of caste Hindus in power are against the wellbeing of
Muslim community .There are number of Muslims ministers ,MPs
vice presidents MLAs are there but they are more worried about
their own position in parties .they are selfish But there are number
of non political organizations like Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamyetul
Ulama with All India cadre but They give only press statements
and do nothing .They collect crores of Rupees as their party fund
,having grand offices and posh vehicles for their leaders But when
such issues come across they become mute and hide their faces
.They want to be always in the good books of the government and
ruling party. The organization is meant for Islam and the Muslim
community but if they are meant for the office bearers then what
is the purpose of formation of the organizations?
Dr AH Maqdoomi Hyderabad
U.P. Waqf Board
I am heavily pained to communicate to you about the compelling
circumstances under which I was forced to resign from the chal-
lenging and responsible position which I joined just six months
ago after very tough NOC process in Govt of India. Due to pitiable
status of the Waqf properties, I had undertaken wide range travel
to 25 districts covering almost half of the state Waqf assets utiliz-
ing all weekends and holidays. Thus one third of my total time was
spent in the field. The observations had been quite eye-opening
which might have annoyed mighty and influential persons in and
outside the Waqf management/establishment. Obviously this had
created furore in public, Waqf establishment and administration.
Some of the efforts made and observations noted are attached
herewith in files. However, I would be moving to another institu-
tion/department where even I would like to continue my current
zeal with your moral support. I am sorry in such a short span of
time I could not meet the expectations and demands of the time
and people. Kindly keep in touch and try to get fulfilled the agen-
da/mission of the community empowerment through own
resources (Awqaf). Your ever-loving cooperation and blessings
will give moral strength in bearing the present trauma. Allah Hafiz
Dr Akmal Husain, Lucknow 226 001
[email protected]
Pak P.M.s visit to Ajmer and Dargah Mujawar (faqeer)
The Pakistani Prime Minister is coming to India to pay obeisance
at the dargah of great sufi saint Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti
(R.A.) It is a matter between the governments of two countries.
Had the government of India any objection, it would not have
issued him visa for this visit. Once he is in our country, he is our
welcome guest, and even our External affairs Minister Mr. Salman
Khursheed will host luncheon for the visiting dignitary. In such
matters of bilateral relations, what is the concern and role of this
worthless Mujawar ( beggar). The government of India must
immediately arrest him for interfering in the countrys foreign pol-
icy affairs.
Dr. Mustafa Kamal Sherwani, Lucknow
[email protected]
Goodwill Advise Message
Islams message
For safe and smooth passage
For avoiding every strife
For ensuring happy life
Do for others
What you want from others
In a brotherly way
From envy away
S. Akhtar, Khanpur Deh - 392150
Urdu media least interested to know facts
Governor of Bihar addressed the joint budget session of Bihar
assembly on 18 Feb. reading hostels in districts completed and
rest of district minority hostel will soon completed. Muslim media
should verify the facts because many districts minority hostel are
incomplete according to our knowledge. In how many minority
hostels students are living? Bihar CM had announced 27,000
Urdu teacher appointments in 2009. Three years have passed. No
Urdu media followed up and that is why politicians take benefit of
Muslim media timidness and Muslims are used as votebank.
S. Haque, Patna
REJOINDERS/OPINION/LETTERS The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013 23 www.milligazette.com
The Milli Gazette, P.O. Box 9701, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025 Email: [email protected] 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 MARCH 2013 POSTED ON 11,12 MARCH 2013
ADV. FORTNIGHTLY AT NDPSO-110002
The Milli Gazette
D-84 Abul Fazl Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar,
New Delhi 110025 India Tel.: 011-26947483 Email: [email protected]
24 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 March 2013
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
With best compliments from
Kaleem Kawaja , Washington DC
Want your friend to read what you read?
Gift MG
at just Rs 250
You like MG so much that you want your friend to also read us regularly? With this
limited period offer you can gift your friend a one year subscription at just Rs 250
instead of the normal Rs 320. Valid only for Indian addresses.
Use a copy of the subscription form on page 20 of this issue.
STUDENT?
Read The Milli Gazette at just 45%
The Milli Gazette is glad to announce a 45% discount on the cover price to under-
graduate or below students on one years subscription. Valid only for Indian
addresses. Attach a copy of your I-card. You may use a copy of the subscription
form on page 20 of this issue.
WHOSE COPY
ARE YOU READING?
If this copy is not yours, please get you own copy, see page 20
Businesses dont support
The Milli Gazette
with advertisements.
We are a reader-
supported newspaper.
Our survival is at sake.
Three ways to help us
survive are listed here.
Please act now.
JazakAllah Khairan.
1
2
3
The bookwhich says it in black and white that its Brahminical Terrorism of brahminists and
not Islamic Terrorism of Islamists...
WHO KILLED KARKARE?
BY SM MUSHRIF (Former I.G. Police, Maharashtra)
This 335 page book smashes Islamic terrorism mythin India.... Turn to page 19
Mumbai/Delhi 0-9820114771
Foodsmiths
Specialised turnkey catering services for all occasions:
Parties, Wedding, Corporate, Non Veg Cuisine, Biryani,
Continental, Birthday Parties, Exotic Cakes & Consultancy
Arabic
for
beginners
A full-colour book for teaching your
kids reading and understanding
Arabic (like those A-B-C books with
writing activities and other exercises)
Rs 175
Ordering details on page 19
We have no Jinns
SEND US ANY NEWS ABOUT INDIAN MUSLIMS
Achievements: A short story about awards and other achievements is published
briefly under our newsmakers page. Email us or post us details with photos.
Local News / Community News: No matter how large or small the event, The Milli
Gazette is interested in local and community news related to Indian Muslims which
has national significance. Something which our readers would like to read. You
can send us brief reports along with pictures (jpg format). Don't worry, the report
does not have to be professionally written. Just the basic facts are fine. But it
should be typed and include a contact name and telephone number in case we
have a question.
Obituaries: Obituaries are free of charge. Send us a photo and biographical details.
The Milli Gazette reserves the right to edit obituaries and may even reject them.
Letters to the Editor: The Milli Gazette welcomes letters on all issues pertaining to
Muslims in India. Please keep letters to 300 words or less. All letters must have
complete postal address. The writers' name & email address will be published. The
Milli Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length, clarity and taste and may
reject any letter. E-mail to [email protected].
Contributions: The Milli Gazette is open to contributions! Kindly send in your arti-
cles at [email protected]. The contributions should not be more than 1000
words and their publication will be decided by our team. Submission of the arti-
cles would not automatically guarantee publication.