MINORITIES: MUSLIMS - 2012 January to December – 2012

Compiled By Human Rights Documentation∗

Indian Social Institute, Lodi Road, New Delhi – 110 003, (India)

Muslims should forget differences: Minister (7) BANGALORE, January 9, 2012: “Muslims need to forget the minor theological differences that exist among them,” said Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy. “Muslims are never united and always differentiate between the Shiites and Sunnis. This is why they are always used as a ‘vote bank' in politics,” he added. Mr. Abdullah was speaking at a function to commemorate Imam Hussain's martyrdom here on Sunday. Hussain was the second grandson of Mohammed, the prophet, and was killed in 680 AD when he refused to swear allegiance to Yazid. The sacrifice of Hussain is of special importance to Shiite Muslims who mourn his death annually with great passion. “Muslims have forgotten the meaning and relevance of Hussain's martyrdom,” he said. He also made scathing comments on the state of Islamic education offered at religious seminaries and said that only “half-baked” clerics were being produced at these institutes. He advised the Muslim clergy to pull up their socks and improve the quality of education so that leaders could be produced. His speech was littered with examples from Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier, Mahesh Bhatt revealed that he had a special interest in the personality of Hussain as his mother, who was a Shiite Muslim, used to take him to the mourning ceremonies. “Muslims are discriminated against and they need to fight this stereotyping in the spirit of Hussain. He is a metaphor for justice and his message also says that tolerating injustice is a sin,” he added. K. Rahman Khan, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, also spoke at the event which was organised by Aga Sultan, former member of Academic Council of Bangalore University. Dr. Khan said: “The idea of ‘human rights' was first propagated by Imam Hussain who refused to endorse a tyrant's rule.” Moulana Syed Kalbe Jawad, member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, presided over the event. (The Hindu 9/1/12) Muslim migration up in Kerala, Christians lose (7) Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 13 : More and more Keralites are going abroad for jobs, and the highest migration increase is among Muslims. The number of migrants abroad in 2011 was estimated at 2.28 million, up from 2.19 million in 2008, 1.84 million in 2003 and 1.36 million in 1998. These are among the findings of the Centre for Development Studies here. It has come out with a fifth comprehensive study on international and internal migration from Kerala since 1998. Remittances from migrants form more than 60 percent of Kerala's revenue. The report said this stood in 2011 at Rs.49,695 crore, from Rs.43,288 crore in 2008. The proportion of Hindus among the non-resident Keralites has shot up. It was 37.5 percent in 2011, and 29.9 percent in 1998. The vast majority of the migrants in 2011 were Muslims (about 45 percent), although the community's share in Kerala's population was 26 percent. While Hindus formed about 56 percent of the population, their share among the migrants was only 37.5 percent. The gain among the Hindus was mostly at the expense of Christians, whose share shrank from 25.1 percent in 2003 to 17.9 percent in 2011. The 2011 study is based on primary data collected from 15,000 households selected through random sampling covering all 63 taluks or sub-districts. According to study researchers K.C. Zachariah and S. Irudayarajan, the main countries of destination for Keralites have remained unchanged over these years - 90 percent go to Gulf countries. Nearly 40 percent of Kerala's migrants live in the United Arab Emirates and 25 percent in Saudi Arabia. (IANS) (New Kerala 13/1/12) Muslim groups oppose Rushdie's visit to Jaipur fest (7) JAIPUR, January 14, 2012: Muslim organisations here on Friday warned the organisers of the Jaipur Literature Festival and the Rajasthan authorities against participation of novelist Salman Rushdie in the mega-event starting this coming Friday. They threatened to launch a State-wide protest coinciding with the opening of the five-day event, after the namaz . As many as nine Muslim groups — including Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Rajasthan; All India Imam Council, All India Milli Council, Jamaat-e- Ulema Hind, Rajasthan and Muslim Forum, Rajasthan — jointly convened a press conference at the Muslim Muzafir Khana here

∗ This is a collection of previously published news and views from the print as well as the electronic media, whose reference marked at the end of each news items. Department of Documentation and Library (DDL) of the Indian Social Institute, New Delhi neither claims to the veracity of the facts in the news nor subscribes to the views expressed.

to express their “severe disgust” over the move to allow participation of the controversial author in the Jaipur Literature Festival 2012. The last time Mr. Rushdie attended the event was in 2007, which seemingly went unnoticed by these organisations. Addressing the media, Jamaat-e-Ulema Hind president Habibullah said the Muslims of this country were against Mr. Rushdie's visit to India and in particular to the event in Jaipur. “By allowing him free movement here the Government is playing with the religious sentiments of Muslims,” he said. Mr. Habibullah warned of strong protests if Mr. Rushdie reaches Jaipur for the festival. “In case the authorities do not stop him and he arrives, Muslims from all over Rajasthan will assemble at Jama Masjid in Johri Bazar (in the Walled City) and after the Jumma prayers would start an indefinite dharna. We are not responsible for what happens thereafter,” he said. A day before, after addressing a high-level meeting of State Government functionaries, Rajasthan Chief Secretary A. Ahmad had told this correspondent that it was not for the State to stop Mr. Rushdie from visiting. The Government on its part would not get involved in the matter, but only ensure law and order as he is coming for a non-government event, he said. However, Jamaat-e-Islami national secretary Engineer Saleem — who was not present at the press conference — told The Hindu on phone that whatever be the protests against the visit of Mr. Rushdie they would all be peaceful and democratic. “We respect the freedom of expression. We are of the opinion that freedom of expression should be protected in everyone's case. However, the expression should not hurt the sentiments of others. That way the freedom of expression cannot be unlimited,” he noted, speaking in the context of charges of blasphemy against Mr. Rushdie. Asked about their stand towards the Literature Festival as such, Mr. Saleem said they appreciated the holding of the event. “Literature should be promoted. Good writers and academicians get honoured by such events and we welcome it. Our only disagreement is with inviting such [like Mr. Rushdie] persons who resort to provocative language and expression for cheap popularity,” he said. (The Hindu 14/1/12) Muslim groups to go ahead with Rushdie protest (7) JAIPUR, January 20, 2012: The spectre of author Salman Rushdie's visit loomed large over the festival horizon in the Pink City on Thursday with Diggi Palace, the venue for the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), all set for the five-day event beginning on Friday. A last-ditch attempt by a few human rights activists and liberal Muslim leaders for an amicable settlement on the proposed protest against the “likely visit” of the Booker-winning author did not elicit any positive response as the talks held between the organisers and the Muslim groups here on Thursday afternoon ended without any accord. The brief dialogue between the Muslim groups led by Rajasthan Muslim Forum and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and the two organisers, Sanjoy Roy and Namita Gokhale, in a city hotel got bogged down as the Muslim leaders insisted on a categorical statement from the JLF management that Mr. Rushdie's invitation stands cancelled. The leaders said they did not have anything against the festival but Mr. Rushdie, whom they termed a “criminal”, would not be allowed to come to Jaipur. There were more than a dozen Muslim leaders — most of whom had no idea of what exactly Mr. Rushdie wrote against Islam — who were insistent that the writer would not be welcome even for a day. This, they said, on the basis of rumours and some local newspaper reports, that Mr. Rushdie might make a surprise appearance later during the festival after skipping the initial two days. The Muslim leaders, who again met at the Muslim Mussaffir Khana for six hours thereafter to deliberate on the plan of action, decided to go ahead with the dharna programme in front of the Jama Masjid in the Walled City's Johri Bazar after the Friday prayers. The impression one could gain from the locality late evening was that some local politicians, including the Congress MP from Jaipur, Mahesh Joshi, are in touch with the Muslim leaders. As for the State Government, it is holding its breath, to say the least. “We are not against literature. We are happy about the Jaipur Literature Festival coming up so well. However, there is no compromise on Mr. Rushdie who has deeply hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims the world over through his writings. If there is no categorical stand on cancellation of his visit we will go ahead with our protest as well,” said Engineer Saleem, national secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. Though there is official patronage for the festival, there is no official support for the visit of Mr. Rushdie. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was in New Delhi two days ago to discuss the “security” issues involved in Mr. Rushdie's Jaipur visit. The State Government has advised the organisers that it would be desirable if they do not go ahead with the writer's itinerary. The organisers remained non-committal. “The festival stands by its invitation to Mr. Rushdie. However, we want JLF to get beyond Salman Rushdie. It has 250 authors and 108 performers. It is not about one author. The festival is not A person or B person,” Sanjoy Roy told the media on the eve of the festival. About Mr. Rushdie's participation he reiterated that the festival stood for freedom of expression. “We first and foremost stand for the freedom of expression. Again, the festival

has always stood by the issues of minority groups. That has made the festival so special,” Mr. Roy said. (The Hindu 20/1/12) ‘Muslims should shed minority tag and empower thems elves' (7) Patna, January 23, 2012: Muslims in the country should shed their “minority syndrome” and look at themselves as the second-biggest chunk of India's population in order to find solutions to their socioeconomic problems, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan said on Sunday. The change of perspective would give them a sense of empowerment, and of being a collective unit, to seek redressal of their socioeconomic problems from within the community and the political system, he said at a conference hosted by the Bihar Pradesh Qaumi Tanzeem (BPQT). Muslims should understand that the solution to their problems does not lie with the government or other communities but with themselves, for which they should set out their priorities and look for a solution, the 73-year-old Congress MP from Karnataka said. It is a matter of concern that the community has failed to unite for their collective betterment over more than 60 years since Independence, he said and asked the community to introspect on the reasons for their deprivation. The community stands divided on grounds of caste, sub-religious and political groups, he added. Stating that there was a general disinclination in the community towards educating children, Mr. Khan said Muslims should change their views to bring about improvement in their quality of life, family, religious groups and society at large, besides making them competitive with other sections of society. Referring to the demand for reservation in government jobs and education for Muslims, Mr. Khan asked the community members to ponder over their socioeconomic and political standing which has “declined to a level where demand for reservation has to be made from within and outside”. The community must take the blame for having to raise reservation demands despite its number being about 17 per cent of the population, when similar benefits were extended to other communities without their seeking it, he said. There was also talk within the community of lack of their numbers in Parliament and State legislatures, he said, adding that Muslims should ensure that there was division of the minority votes to ensure their candidates win so that they could speak for constitutional empowerment of the community. NCP general secretary Tariq Anwar, RJD MLC and Leader of Opposition in the legislative council Gulam Gaus, RJD MLA Akhtarul Imam and Jamia Milia Islamia's Islamic Studies Head of Department Akhtarul Vase were among those who also spoke on the occasion. –PTI (The Hindu 23/1/12) Muslim couple cannot adopt Hindu child: court (7) Madurai: A Muslim couple cannot seek custody of a minor child belonging to a Hindu couple on the basis of an adoption deed as neither the concept of adoption is known to Mohammedan law nor the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act applicable to those practising Islam, the Madras High Court Bench here has ruled. A Division Bench of Justice N. Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice P. Devadass gave the ruling while disposing of a habeas corpus petition filed by a widow, S. Mala of Villupuram, alleging that Shaik Dawood of Tiruchi and his wife had kept her four-year-old son in illegal custody. She sought a direction to the police to rescue her child and produce him in court. According to the petitioner, she was living in penury after the death of her husband on November 23, 2008. Then she took up a job at a cloth factory in Tiruppur and let her child in the custody of the Muslim couple by paying them Rs.1,000 every towards his maintenance. In May last year, she could not trace the whereabouts of her child and hence the present petition. The couple, who were produced in court by the Tiruchi police, claimed that the petitioner had actually given the child in adoption to them. They also produced an adoption deed in which she had reportedly affixed her thumb impression and begged the court to let them have his custody. The petitioner denied having executed such a deed. Writing the judgment for the Bench, Mr. Justice Vasanthakumar said that the adoption deed produced by the couple would not have any sanctity even if it was proved to be genuine. “Creating a relationship of parentage by adoption is unknown to Mohammedan law as the same is forbidden by the Quran.” He further pointed out that the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956 permitted adoption by a Hindu alone. “Section 7 of the Act states that any male Hindu who is of sound mind and is not a minor has the capacity to take a son or daughter in adoption. Therefore, the couple, being Mohammedans, are not entitled to adopt the child under this Act also.” A Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court had taken a similar view in 2003 by relying upon a Full Bench decision of the same High Court in 1888 when it was held that there was no question of adoption in Muslim law as it followed the doctrine of acknowledgement of paternity. The Karnataka High Court too had considered the issue in the same perspective in a case decided in 2009, the judge said. (The Hindu 24/1/12)

13 Muslim couples united in wedlock (7) KARIMNAGAR, January 30, 2012: Thirteen poor Muslim couples were united at the mass marriages programme conducted by the Andhra Pradesh State Minorities Finance Corporation at Muslim Shadikhana in Karimnagar on Sunday. Additional Joint Collector Sundar Abnar, DRO BR Prasad, RDO Hymavathi, Tahsildar Bhujanga Rao, APSMFC executive director MA Hameed and others were also present on the occasion. The minorities finance corporation had distributed Rs. 15,000 worth articles including beds, utensils, holy Quran and other household requirements to each couple. The organisers have also served food to all the guests at the function. The second phase of Muslim mass marriages would be performed on February 26 and the third phase on March 25. The authorities have promised provide employment to the eligible Muslim youth under the Rajiv Yuva Kiranalu after providing training in various trades. (The Hindu 30/1/12) We did not pose threat to Rushdie: Muslim bodies (7 ) Jaipur: Muslim organisations in Rajasthan on Tuesday said they had not posed a life threat to controversial author Salman Rushdie during his proposed visit to the recently concluded Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF). "Ever since the Jaipur Literature Festival ended with a fiasco on January 24, an impression is being created that Muslim organisations of Rajasthan had issued threats to the life of Rushdie or threatened to disrupt the prestigious literary event by resorting to violence," Rajasthan Muslim Forum said. "It is absolutely wrong. We wish to clarify that the Rajasthan Muslim Forum or any of its constituent organisations has nothing to do with the threat perception claimed by the intelligence agencies," Kari Moinuddin, secretary of the umbrella body of Muslim bodies, said in a statement. We did not pose threat to Rushdie: Muslim bodies He said Rushdie's visit to Jaipur and his video-conference address at JLF were cancelled after negotiations between the Rajasthan Police and the organisers and the forum were not a party to it. Mohammad Salim Engineer, National secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and member of the body, said the forum had only announced its intention to hold demonstrations if Rushdie came to Jaipur, which was an "exercise of our democratic rights." "Any suggestion that we were intimidating the state government or threatening the JLF organisers is ludicrous...We only advised the organisers and police that since Rushdie's himself has cancelled his visit, his appearance through video conference would be provocative because he has a history of provoking people and hurting their sentiments," he said. Rushdie cancelled his visit to the literary extravaganza held earlier this month after suspecting a threat to his life for his book 'The Satanic Verses.' A video conference scheduled with him on the last day of the festival was also cancelled because of fears of violence. (CNN IBN 1/2/12) Call to raise reservation quota for Muslims (7) Tirupur, February 15, 2012: Around 1,500 people from Muslim community took part in the demonstration conducted by Tamil Nadu Towheeth Jamaath in the city on Tuesday asking for appropriate reservation quotas for Muslims in government jobs and in education sector. According to them, the reservation quota for Muslims should be raised from 3.5 per cent offered by the State Government in employment and education sectors to seven per cent. Likewise, Union Government should introduce exclusive reservation quota for Muslims at the rate of 10 per cent in jobs available in Central Government departments/Public Sector Undertakings as recommended by Ranganath Mishra Commission report. The Towheeth Jamaath members wanted the Centre not to delay the implementation of the suggestions in the Ranganath Mishra Commission report anymore. “Imperatives of social justice demand that Muslims should be allocated their due reservation quota considering the poor socio-economic conditions of a large chunk of people from the community across the country,” Tamil Nadu Towheeth Jamaath district secretary J. Zakir Abbas said. The Jamaath members were of the view that empowerment of Muslims could become a reality only if they get greater representation in Parliament and Assemblies as well as in bureaucracy and overall governance. (The Hindu 15/2/12) Urdu as second official language demanded (7) KOLKATA, February 15, 2012: Demanding introduction of Urdu as the second official language in the State, minority groups have accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of not keeping her election promise and have threatened to intensify their protests. Earlier this month the State Cabinet approved of Urdu as the second language in 13 municipalities and three blocks of the State but this has only further intensified the movement. The groups demanding Urdu as second language claim that giving it a second language

status in some areas will neither do any good to language nor increase job prospects for the community. “Mamata Banerjee had promised to the people that if her party is elected in 2011 then she will introduce Urdu as the second official language of the State. The introduction of Urdu as second language in some isolated areas is a betrayal of promise made to us” said Shamim Ahmed, national-in-charge (India) International Human Rights Protection Association, one of the organisations which have been protesting for the cause. Mr. Ahmed said States like Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar have already recognised Urdu as the second language, but it is beyond ones understanding what prevents West Bengal from doing so when it has about 10 per cent Urdu speaking population. Support for second language status for Urdu in West Bengal is being expressed by various political parties including the Congress. “We have learnt from newspaper reports that Urdu has been introduced as second language only in 13 municipalities and three blocks. This is not enough,” said S. M. S. Haider, president of West Bengal Congress Minority Cell. Mr. Haider said that before the election Congress and Trinamool Congress had promised that Urdu will be introduced as second language in the entire State. In an attempt to garner support for their cause the groups have called “State Urdu Conference” on February 19 where representatives of the Muslim community across political lines will participate. (The Hindu 15/2/12) Torture of Muslims: CPI(M) seeks House panel probe (7) HYDERABAD, February 24, 2012: Former Rajya Sabha member and CPI (M) leader P. Madhu on Thursday demanded that the State government constitute a House committee to probe allegations of torture of innocent Muslim youth in Old City by the police. Addressing a press conference here, he charged the police personnel in Old City with harassing youth by opening rowdy-sheets against them stating that they were involved in communal cases. Rules stipulate that authorities should review the rowdy-sheets once in six months and if the conduct is satisfactory, their names can be cleared. But officials were not taking any steps in this regard and in turn were harassing youngsters, Mr. Madhu maintained. He said footwear shop worker Mohd. Aqeel committed suicide in his house at Nasheman Nagar in Talabkatta a few days ago as he was unable to bear the police torture. The police opened a rowdy-sheet against him following his alleged involvement in a communal case in 2010. A constable Baig was pestering Aqeel to become police informer, the former MP alleged. Referring to ‘atrocities' committed by the financiers in old city, he accused the police of failing to initiate stringent action against them. “Financiers are literally fleecing poor people by collecting much higher interest from them. We request the Home Minister to look into the problem and take appropriate action,” he said. Mr. Madhu alleged that MIM, in collusion with Congress, was neglecting the overall development of Muslims. About recent attack on him, he questioned whether it is a crime to console a bereaved family? (The Hindu 24/2/12) After VHP, Muslim group objects to ‘Osama’ shooting (7) Chandigarh, March 3, 2012: After the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), it was the turn of a Muslim outfit on Saturday to protest the shooting of Kathryn Bigelow's film on Osama bin Laden here. The outfit said the shooting would disturb the peaceful atmosphere between the communities in a secular country. “We express our great concern over the shooting of Zero Dark Thirty or ZD 30. This picture will create more differences between Muslim and other communities. It will provoke other communities and law and order will be badly affected and the peaceful atmosphere of the region disturbed,” Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind's North India General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed Kasmi said in a memorandum submitted to the Chandigarh's Deputy Commissioner. Later, talking to PTI, Mr. Kasmi said, “We are Muslims living in a secular country where such type of activities should not have been allowed by the administration in the first place. We demand that the shooting of this film be stopped forthwith.” He alleged an attempt was being made through this film to portray the Muslim community in bad light. “If they have to shoot this film, they should go to Pakistan and not shoot it in India as here we apprehend the peaceful atmosphere will be disturbed. The film will portray Muslims as terrorists, which is wrong,” he said. Earlier during the day, a group of traders in Sector 26's grain market, where the film's shooting was going on, also lodged their protest against the movie. “It is badly affecting our business. The entire area has been sealed and customers cannot reach our shops,” a trader based in the grain market said. On Friday, the film crew was forced to cancel the shoot and move the cameras away after the protests when a few scenes of the film were being recreated to show areas in Pakistan by the Oscar-winning director at Manimajra town on the outskirts of the city. VHP activists, led by Vijay Singh Bhardwaj, had disrupted the shooting and removed the sign boards in Urdu put up in a few shops. They had also raised slogans against Pakistan and removed its flags that were put in place to recreate the spot in Abbotabad where United States commandos killed

Osama on May 2, 2011. Ms. Bigelow had later said no Pakistani flag would be erected in the shooting areas. The crew has been shooting this week in prominent markets here, at the Punjab Engineering College and at Patiala, changing local shop boards to Urdu, showing auto-rickshaws with Lahore number plates, burqa-clad women and men in salwar-kameez, chappals and skullcaps. (The Hindu 3/3/12) Fulchur villagers oppose land for Muslim cemetery ( 7) GONDIA: Tension over the Fulchur Muslim cemetery row seems to have been mounting as the villagers have shown their resentment towards the gram panchayat (GP) decision to allot two acre land for an upcoming Muslim cemetery . In a meeting with sub divisional officer Anant Walaskar and tehsildar SA Morghade, sarpanch Rajesh Katre had said that the gram panchayat (GP) had already passed a resolution that will pave the way for release of the land for the purpose. "GP has already issued a certificate in this regard and given it to the Congress MLA Gopaldas Agrawal," Katre has been reported to have told the two officers. Apart from that revenue inspector Turkar on Monday was asking GP members to sign the resolution in 'back' date, which did not go down well with the villagers. Walaskar said that the GP action taken 'in good faith' was not legal. "Even If the people of Fulchur now want cancellation of the resolution, the decision could only be reversed by the district collector," he said. Fulchur villagers told TOI that this unnecessary controversy has disturbed the peace of their village. Whatever they want to say now shall be announced only in the proposed gram sabha meeting on March 17, they said.(Times of India 14/3/12) In Delhi's nursery classes, Muslim children are a r arity (7) New Delhi, March 19, 2012: Low Muslim representation appears to be a striking feature of this year's admissions to nursery classes in Delhi's private schools. Of 92 schools which provided some sort of information on their websites, as many as 20 (or their branches) admitted no Muslim child while 17 admitted only one Muslim child each. While the sketchy nature of available data – with only a few schools willing to reveal the numbers of Muslim applicants -- makes it difficult conclusively to establish the prevalence of bias -- information from individual schools suggests Muslims applied in fairly significant numbers this year and were, on average, less likely to be selected for admission than non-Muslims. For example, against 170 available seats, the Pusa Road branch of Springdales School received 2443 applications of which 155 were from Muslim children. The school admitted two Muslim children in the Economically Weaker Section category. Delhi Public School, East of Kailash, received 2997 applications – of which 269 were from Muslims – against 180 vacancies. This school, which is close to many Muslim neighbourhoods, admitted five Muslim children in all. On Sunday, social activist Abdul Khaliq wrote to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, alleging that these skewed figures amounted to “denial of quality education” to Muslim children. In a letter to Ms. Dikshit, copies of which were sent to Union Minister of Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal and principals of all major private schools in the Capital, he said : “`Data collected by us on the number of Muslim children admitted to nursery class this academic year in the city's popular private schools indicate dismally low numbers. Although Muslims comprise about 15 per cent of the population, less than 0.5 per cent of Muslim children have been admitted (in these schools).” Mr. Khaliq, who said distressed Muslim parents had approached him for help, looked at a total of 179 schools. Of these, 87 failed to upload admission details on their websites as mandated by the Directorate of Education. The Kirti Nagar branch of Springdales School admitted no Muslim child while the school's Dhaula Kuan branch admitted one Muslim child. Of 150 children admitted by Blue Bells, Lajpat Nagar, two were Muslim. The ratio for Indian School, Sadiq Nagar, was three of 120. The best (The Hindu 19/3/12) Muslim cleric warns against RTE Act (7) Karwar, March 21, 2012: The Right to Education Act and other legislations introduced by the Government would have adverse effect on the Islamic religious education centres and madrasas, said Maulana Sayyad Muhammad Rabe Hasan Nadvi, chairman of All India Muslim Personal Law Board. He was addressing the seminar on “the role of madrasas in establishing peace in the world” on Monday in Bhatkal as part of the golden jubilee of Jamia Islamia Education Centre. He called upon Muslims to wake up before such laws were introduced as they posed a danger to the Muslim religious educational centres. Maulana Mohammad Salman Hasan Nadvi, lecturer of Nadwatul Ulema, Lucknow, said that Islam always taught peace and affection through madarsas. Saif Al Jabiri, Director-General of Wakf Department of the

United Arab Emirates, laude Jamia Islamia for arranging the international seminar and said that he was impressed by the harmony that existed among the Hindus and Muslims.(The Hindu 21/3/12) Wakf scam rocks Karnataka assembly, opposition dema nds probe (7) Bangalore: The report of the Karnataka minorities commission on the alleged Rs2 lakh crore Wakf property scam on Tuesday generated considerable heat in the Legislative Assembly, where an agitated opposition demanded a thorough enquiry and punishment to those found guilty. Karnataka Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda said the government is studying the report and would take a decision on it after opposition Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)] members demanded its tabling and discussion in the House. The matter was raised during Zero Hour by CT Ravi (BJP) and HD Revanna (JDS), who termed it as a serious issue and demanded "action without hesitation" if there is truth in it. Zameer Ahmed Khan (JDS) said though the report is yet to be tabled, a section of the media has already reported that many politicians, including himself, have been implicated in it. Claiming that the magnitude of the alleged scam is the size of two Karnataka budgets, he suggested a probe into it by former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde, saying the former Supreme Court Judge does not "yield politically"."The guilty should be hanged," he said, while Qamarul Islam and Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah and NA Harris (all Congress) demanded a CBI investigation. Tanveer Sait (Congress) said the guilty should be punished. Harris and UT Khader (Cong) said if the report is found "wrong", the commission's chairman Anwar Manippady should be punished. Sayeed Yasin (Cong) termed the report "abnormal", contending that as per law Wakf property cannot be sold. Siddaramaiah said the report should be tabled as one should know how the enquiry was conducted, evidence collected and conclusions arrived at as several legislators have been indicted, leading to their "character assassination". Wakf properties worth about Rs2 lakh crore have been encroached upon or sold illegally, according to the report submitted to the Chief Minister on Monday, with Manippady terming it "bigger than the 2G scam" in magnitude. It reportedly said Wakf property had been misused since 1954, thanks to the "nexus" between Wakf officials and real estate mafia. (DNA 27/3/12) Nikah with non-Muslim without conversion illegal: D eoband (7) MUZAFFARNAGAR: Leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has disapproved a proposed love marriage between a Muslim boy and a non-Muslim girl as per Hindu tradition, saying Islam does not allow such a union without conversion. Such nikah before conversion would be considered illegal under the Shariat law, Deoband said in response to the query of a Muslim man whose brother fell in love with a non-Muslim girl and was going to marry her as per Hindu tradition. The girl and her family members were ready for the union on the condition that the marriage should be performed as per Hindu tradition. Noting that Islam prohibits such marriages, Deoband ruled that a non-Muslim marriage would be illegal under the Shariat law. If girl converts to Islam on her own without any pressure, nikah would be justified, it said. The fatwa was issued in the wake of a query from a Muslim man when his brother fell in love with a non-Muslim girl. (Times of India 1/4/12) JD-U, RJD protest arrests of Bihar Muslims (7) Patna: The competition in Bihar’s rival political parties to augment their support base among the state’s Muslims became sharper on Monday with both sides vehemently protesting against the increasing arrests of Muslims from Bihar on terror charges. The ruling JD(U) and main Opposition party RJD’s anxieties over the hurt sentiments of Bihar’s electorally crucial Muslim community and the possible effects they could have in the coming elections came out clearer in a street demonstration organised by senior RJD leaders and chief minister Nitish Kumar’s statements. Mr Kumar strongly criticised the increasing number of arrests of Muslims from Bihar by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad and the Delhi police without informing the state authorities and said he would raise this issue at the conference of chief ministers on NCTC in New Delhi. “I have earlier written to the Centre about it. Such arrests without informing the state could create law and order problems,” said Mr Kumar. He objected to use of words such as “Darbhanga module of terrorism, Madhubani module and Bihar module”. Senior RJD leaders like Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Ghulam Ghous, state unit president Ramchandra Purve and MP Ram Kripal Yadav participated in a public demonstration at Patna’s crowded Kargil Chowk to protest against the arrest of over a dozen Muslims from Bihar on terror charges in the past four months. Describing the CM’s statements about the state government being kept in dark before the arrests as “highly irresponsible,” Mr Ghous asked him to ensure that such arrests and the increasing use of terms like the “Bihar module of terror” should stop. “In the RJD’s 15 years of rule in Bihar not a single Muslim was arrested in Bihar on terror charges,” said Mr Ghous. (Asian Age 3/4/12)

‘Will strive to uplift, educate Muslims' (7) KARIMNAGAR, April 5, 2012: District Minorities Welfare committee president Syed Ghulam Ahmed Hussian has said that they will strive to provide welfare and uplift the Muslim minorities by educating them about various government welfare schemes and development programmes. Talking to newsmen here on Wednesday, he said the newly constituted Minorities' Welfare Committee in Karimnagar would educate Muslims about Indiramma housing scheme, ration cards, pensions and scholarships to students by approaching concerned officials etc. They would also educate the youth about importance of education and utilisation of government scholarships for their higher education. (The Hindu 5/4/12)

Now, a better life for married Muslim women? (7) Mumbai: Muslim women who have been getting a rough deal due to arbitrary decisions of Ulemas and the unscrupulous behaviour of their husbands now have something to look forward to. A consultation on codification of Muslim Family Law offers them a better deal with respect to marriage age, mehr (gift during marriage), polygamy, and maintenance during the marriage and iddat (separation period before divorce), divorce and irregular marriage. The consultation for the same was held on Saturday at the SNDT Women’s University. Organised by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) and Muslims for Secular Democracy (MSD), it had prominent speakers like Dr Zeenat Shaukat Ali, advocate Kirti Singh and Javed Anand, representatives from Jamat-e-Islami and various women’s group across Maharashtra participating. While issues like the mehr amount being the same as that of a man’s annual income, the marriage age being 18 for girls and 21 for boys and the fight for better maintenance have been highlighted in the media before, the meeting delved into greater details of the marriage contract. The draft talks of making divorce a wee bit more difficult, to begin with. “There were some customs like triple talakh that were prevalent during the pre-Islamic period and got re-introduced during the Kalipaths. At one point of time, people made a joke out of divorces. They were being given legitimacy by clergy order and laws made by Imams, which ended up eclipsing Quran. There should also be a complete ban on Halala that makes a joke of women,” said Dr. Zeenat Shaukat Ali. Halala includes making a women marry another man if she has to remarry her previous husband. “The things being prepared in the draft are not something new. They were always there in the Quran. Due to various schools of thoughts, these issues are being dealt arbitrarily and not the way Quran talked about it. Ulemas call the triple talakh socially repugnant but also consider them to be theologically valid,” said Javed Anand. Apart from Halala, the draft helps women to call off the marriage if her husband has deserted her and has not been around for two years. The new codification also makes polygamy conditional. “In the nikahnama, a woman can deny marriage if her husband does not accept monogamy,” said Noorjehan Safia Niaz of BMMA.. Other issues that left for discussion at a later date include custody of child and inheritance rights. “We will take them up soon. Overall it was very fruitful. We are happy that we could take them up openly as all this was not possible earlier. There are differences and they still remain but we are able to talk now,” added Niaz. (DNA 8/4/12)

Muslim League criticises communalism charges (7) MALAPPURAM, April 13, 2012: The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has pooh-poohed the charges of ‘‘communal imbalance and minority predominance'' levelled by certain organisations, including the Nair Service Society (NSS). However, the party has chosen to brush aside the communal allegations being raised in the wake of its fifth Minister, Manjalamkuzhi Ali, taking charge of Urban Affairs and Minority Development on Thursday. IUML State general secretary E.T. Mohammed Basheer said there was no logic in the arguments that the minorities had grabbed a lion's share of the present regime. ‘‘It is nonsense. Muslims constitute a little over 24 per cent of the population in Kerala. Examine the community-wise or caste-wise representation in the State's governance, and none can turn a blind eye to the statistics,'' Mr. Basheer said. He said that Muslims should not be clubbed with Christians, another minority community which made advance by being more enterprising. Party State president Sayed Hyderali Shihab Thangal said the party getting the fifth minister was a political matter, and not communal. He described the United Democratic Front (UDF)'s decision to induct Mr. Ali into the Cabinet as one of the best moves it had made. He, however, cautioned the party rank and file against excessive jubilations over the matter. ‘‘You should view the new move (Mr. Ali becoming a Minister) only with the interest of the UDF,'' he said. IUML Malappuram district president Sayed Sadikali Shihab Thangal described the resentment displayed by people such as Sukumaran Nair of the NSS as ‘‘unfortunate.'' ‘‘Our Ministers have ruled the State many times even before. Never was there any communal allegations or fears as raised now by organisations like the NSS,'' Mr. Thangal said. Describing the allegations as baseless, IUML district chief said that there would be no scope for any concern about party Ministers acting parochially. Mr. Basheer said those raising such allegations were helping foment divisions. (The Hindu

13/4/12) Century-old, hilltop mosque falls to mining greed ( 7) JAIPUR, April 25, 2012: The demolition of a century-old roofless mosque on a hilltop at Pur village in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan to make way for mining by a private company has led to outrage here. The issue has brought into question the State Waqf Board's role in giving the “green signal” to a group, claiming to represent local Muslims, for razing the mosque. Jindal Saw Limited, owned by the O. P. Jindal Group, bought the mosque, paying the Anjuman Committee of Pur Rs. 65 lakh, and demolished it on April 19. The company has produced a receipt issued by the Anjuman for the payment. The incident left the community in the village stupefied. It lodged a police complaint under Section 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Indian Penal Code. The police have since arrested three persons and recovered the money paid to the Anjuman. Jindal Saw Limited director Dharmendra Gupta and Anjuman president Qasim Ansari and secretary Ramzan Sorgar have been remanded in police custody. Six other accused persons, including Congress leader Om Narayaniwal, are yet to be arrested. Amid allegations that bribes over and above Rs. 65 lakh, paid as settlement through receipt, changed hands between the company representatives, local politicians and Waqf Board functionaries, the district administration has started reconstructing the mosque at is original site. The Anjuman Committee has justified its action on the basis of a ‘fatwa' it sought from the Imam of the Gulmandi Jama Masjid, Maulana Hafeez-ur-Rehma, who has also been arraigned as an accused. The Maulana opined, after visiting the place, that it was a “cluster of graves” rather than a mosque and could be shifted. Muslim groups here allege that Waqf Board Chairman Liaqat Ali Khan gave the go-ahead for the demolition after receiving a letter from the Anjuman seeking guidance in the matter, though the place has been registered as a mosque in the list of Bhilwara district's Waqf properties published in the 1965 State Gazette. Mansoori panchayat president Abdul Latif Arco said here on Tuesday that the Waqf Board could not entertain such a plea from a so-called committee which was neither registered with it nor authorised by anyone: “We believe that the Waqf Board gave a tacit approval after a deal with the company. Demolition could not have taken place without the connivance of the topmost functionaries.” A demand has been made for immediate removal of Mr. Khan and other officers concerned as well as for a CBI probe. Mr. Arco pointed out that the Waqf Board Chairman had directed the Anjuman to take action, stating it should be “in the interest of the Waqf and in accordance with the Shariah provisions.” Mr. Khan, however, told The Hindu that he had not instructed the Anjuman to demolish the mosque per se and only suggested that “appropriate action” be taken to save the roofless mosque from mining. “Anyone is free to approach the Waqf Board [for guidance] in view of its status as the highest body looking after the Muslim endowments,” he said. An emergency Waqf Board meeting, called here for Tuesday, could not take place ostensibly for lack of a quorum. Mr. Khan said the full Board would put the seal of approval on the permission granted by him to the Bhilwara Collector for reconstruction of the mosque. (The Hindu 26/4/12) Samajwadi Party leader says his party prefers a Mus lim for President post (7) NEW DELHI: A Samajwadi Party leader today said his party was in favour of a Muslim candidate occupying the post of the President but maintained that it was against "communalising" the elections for the constitutional office. SP leader Kamal Farooqi also said parties like SP, BSP and Trinamool Congress can have a consensus in supporting a presidential candidate but added that the idea was not to isolate the UPA. Noting that SP was in favour of a Muslim candidate as it wants to "promote Muslims" due to its "solid Muslim vote base", he said names of Vice-President Hamid Ansari, former Rajya Sabha deputy chairman K Rahman Khan and Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi were making the rounds and they were being discussed in media and among people. Farooqi said favoured the names of Ansari, Khan and Quraishi terming them as "able" people who have proved themselves in their respective fields. He claimed that there seems to be a "consensus at least among non-NDA parties" and said if a good candidate is available "in the market" then a name could be decided. Recalling that though SP had supported former President A P J Abdul Kalam for the post in 2002, he was "afraid" that the Congress had certain "inhibitions" about his name this time. He said the SP will come out with its decision on the name of Presidential candidate shortly. (Times of India 1/5/12) Mining greed behind Rajasthan mosque demolition: Re port (7) JAIPUR, May 4, 2012: A fact-finding report on the recent demolition of a century-old rooftop mosque at Pur in Rajasthan has held “crony capitalism” and “mining greed” responsible for the incident. It demanded a judicial inquiry into the role of a corporate house, ruling Congress leaders and a section of the clergy in

making the deal for sale of the place of worship. Jindal Saw Limited, owned by the O.P. Jindal Group, bought the mosque from the Anjuman Committee of Pur for Rs. 65 lakh and demolished it on April 19 to make way for mining on the Tiranga hills where it was situated. The Anjuman had stated that it had obtained “guidance” for the act from the State Waqf Board. Jaipur-based Irada Society, working for the socio-economic uplift of Muslims, released the report here on Thursday following its president Prof. Mohammed Hasan visit to Pur. It said the demolition was the end result of a “nexus of interests” for exploitation of precarious community resources. Prof. Hasan said the lease was given ignoring the presence of religious and archaeological heritage and natural resources in the area. The report had raised questions over the controversial fatwa issued by an Imam stating that the structure was a cluster of graves and the speed with which the correspondence was conducted between the Anjuman and the Waqf Board two days before the demolition. Interestingly, Waqf Board Chairman Liaqat Ali Khan was the first to rush to the Pur site after the mosque was razed. Prof. Hasan said there was a “marked contrast” in the language of two letters written by Mr. Khan on the issue. In his letter dated April 18, he advised the Anjuman to act “in the interest of Waqf and in accordance with the Shariah provisions.” Later, he wrote to the Bhilwara Collector on April 23 asking him to reconstruct the mosque and take stringent action against the violators. Muslim groups here have alleged that bribes over Rs. 65 lakhs had changed hands. The reconstruction of the mosque is in progress. Prof. Hasan, who taught at the Harish Chandra Mathur State Institute of Public Administration here, is a member of the State Government's Rajiv Gandhi Social Security Mission. In addition to the judicial inquiry, the Irada Society demanded an immediate halt to the mining operations around the Tiranga hills. (The Hindu 4/5/12) Jamiat demands single Wakf Board (7) Chandigarh, May 7, 2012: A Muslim organisation on Sunday demanded a single Wakf Board for Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind favoured restoration of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh Wakf Boards to its earlier form that existed before 2003, prior to the trifurcation of the board. “The way Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is advocating single Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for Punjab and Haryana, the Jamiat also wants that all these States be brought under single Wakf Board,” said Maulana Arshad Madni, president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. He claimed that in 2009, the Centre Wakf Board directed that Punjab Wakf Board be reconstituted on old pattern wherein the boards of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh be brought under one umbrella. Maulana Madni also demanded that instead of giving land for education and religious purposes on lease, the government should permanently transfer land in the name of organisations concerned and make it free hold. Encroachments made on places related to Muslim community should be immediately vacated and further encroachments should be stopped, he demanded. He also expressed concern over the lack of education among Muslim children. – PTI (The Hindu 7/5/12) SC strikes down Haj subsidy, sets 10-yr elimination deadline (7) New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down the government's policy of giving subsidies to Haj pilgrims and directed that it be progressively “eliminated” within a period of 10 years. “We hold that this policy is best done away with,” a Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and Ranjana Prakash Desai held. The Bench also directed the government to reduce to two, the number of its representatives in the Prime Minister's goodwill delegation. It said it will look into the functioning of Haj Committee of India and the process for selecting people for Haj pilgrimage. The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by the Centre challenging a Bombay High Court judgement which had directed the Ministry of External Affairs to allow certain private operators to handle 800 of the 11,000 pilgrims earmarked under the VIP quota subsidised by the government. The Bench while hearing the plea of the Centre had expanded the purview of the plea...(New Kerala 8/5/12) Mumbai Muslims want alternative to Haj sop (7) Mumbai | Agency: DNA: The city’s Muslim community has welcomed the Supreme Court directive to the centre to phase out the Haj subsidy, but with attendant demands and suggestions. An alternative to the subsidy needs to be made soon, they said, along with a global tender system in place. The SC order came after the Centre challenged the Bombay high court ruling in favour of private operators, allowing them to take on certain numbers of subsidised pilgrims. Around 1.25 lakh pilgrims travel every year from India to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Of these, the quota for Maharashtra consists of over 7,300. However, last year around 12,000 went from the state, after other states surrendered seats. “If the government policy is to not give other communities any kind of subsidy, then it is alright to do away with the subsidy. But not having another arrangement would be an injustice to the community,” said Maulana Hakim Mehmood Dariyabadi, general secretary, All India Ulema Council. Alleging that the subsidy was actually cheating the

community, Maulana Ather Ali, member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said, “They were actually subsidising Air India, since it was making a loss. Air India officials, in turn, were pocketing the money.” He added, “Air India was, at times, charging as high as Rs54,000 as fare, as its return journey would be without any passengers. We instead demand that the government make this entire thing an open tender case. Prices will come down, and pilgrims will get a better deal too.” Dariyabadi, said, “The government subsidy is also from taxpayers’ money. No Ulema has given any fatwa stating that travelling through subsidy is not allowed. There are poor people who desire to go, and they should be given subsidy.” (DNA 10/5/12) Five years on, Masjid blast probe continues (7) HYDERABAD, May 17, 2012: Prolonged investigation, absconding accused and demand for action against policemen for ‘implicating the innocent'. Five years after the terror attack inside the historic Mecca Masjid - that is where the case stands now. From the local police, the case was first transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and finally the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the investigation now. Yet, not much progress is reported in the investigation of the case with the two accused, Ramachandra Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, who were believed to have planted two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the Masjid, still eluding the police. The investigators identified six persons, Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand, Suneel Joshi, Devendra Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Kalsangra and Dangre, as members of the core team that planted the IEDs with a mobilephone trigger mechanism. While one IED went off, the other did not. Nine persons were killed in the explosion while five more died when police opened fire to quell the mobs that erupted in anger on May 18, 2007. All the six accused persons were directly or indirectly connected to right-wing organisations like Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS). Of them, Sunil Joshi was shot dead by unidentified persons outside his house in Dewas of Madhya Pradesh seven months after the blast in the Mecca Masjid. Initially, the local police and even intelligence agencies believed the blast could be the handiwork of pan-Islamic terror groups such as Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami or Lashkar-e-Tayaba. Some even attributed the attack to HuJI group regional commander, Mohd. Shahid of Hyderabad, who was eventually killed somewhere in Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Hyderabad police with the help of the Commissioner's Task Force sleuths began picking up several Muslim youngsters accusing them of conspiring for terror attacks. While civil rights groups such as the Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee-India alleged that police were targeting and torturing innocent Muslim youths in the name of investigating the Mecca Masjid blast case, police continued to pick up youngsters and tortured them. Twenty seven youngsters were arrested and charged with conspiring to resorting terror attacks and waging war against the country. Interestingly, police did not link any of these arrested youngsters with the blast in the Masjid. “They were accused conspiring to wage war against the country and plotting to create violence,” the police maintained then. The presumption that Islamist terrorist groups were behind the Masjid attack were soon to be dispelled when RSS activists Gupta and Sharma, were nabbed by the Rajasthan Anti-Terrorist Squad in May, 2010. The duo admitted that their group of Hindu right-wing activists carried out the explosions in Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad and Ajmer in Rajasthan. New names such as Indresh Kumar, a top level RSS leader, have cropped up in further investigation. But, Kumar and the accused Kalsangra and Dange, are still evading police while Swami Aseemanand was caught in 2010. The confessional statement made by Aseemanand before the magistrate that he and some other Hindu religious activists planned and carried out the blasts cleared the air about the persons responsible for Mecca Masjid blast. Assemanand Swami's revelation and further findings in the investigation put the State government on defensive. All the 27 youngsters who were arrested in conspiracy and terror cases were acquitted and with the civil society mounting pressure, the government was forced to announce payment of compensation to the acquitted Muslim youths. Several of them were implicated in subsequent blasts at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat on August 25, 2007. (The Hindu 17/5/12) Christians, RSS converting Muslims’ Boycott Ahmadiy as for conversions NEW DELHI: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JuH), the largest body of imams, on Saturday sought social boycott of Qadyani, also known as Ahmadiyas, a sect who call themselves Muslims but are not accepted as such by the community. In a resolution adopted at the end of its two-day conference here, JuH accused Ahmadiyas along with Christians and RSS of trying to convert Muslims. "Preachers of Qadyani and Christian missionaries are trying to convert poor Muslims by offering them a better life. They mostly lure them in the net woven of the dreams of better job opportunities, health facility, cash and easy loan," the resolution said. Ahmadiyas or Qadyanis have been declared apostates in Pakistan, and face persecution and violence, with Sunni hardliners targeting them. Many of them have been killed in a wave of targeted killings. Ahmadiyas or Qadyanis, who face persecution also in Indonesia, are called so after the founder

of their sect Mirza Ghulam Ahmed who was born in Qadian in undivided Punjab. They see the founder as a mujaddid. Although they claim that they don't dispute the Islamic view about Mohammad being the last Prophet, the Sunnis have argued that their belief in Ahmed being the reformer disputes that Mohammad was the last Prophet. JuH also sought steps to expel Qadyani from state waqf boards. Citing RSS attempts to convert Muslims, JuH said, "Few days ago, it was learnt that some Muslim youths joined it for spiritual peace." "Christian missionaries are organizing programmes to defame the Prophet of Islam. Some channels are teaching Bible in the name of Holy Quraan. They are spreading hatred and misconceptions about the Islamic Shariyah," the resolution said. "So-called spiritual movements with deceiving tactics, employing Islamic and Sufi terms are attracting people in the name of teaching art of life... due to lack of knowledge some people get deceived," it added. The imams stressed on the need to confront such movements "with full preparation". (Times of India 20/5/12) Uttar Pradesh may give inheritance rights to Muslim women (7) LUCKNOW: Muslim women may finally get their due share in family inheritance. The long standing demand of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board for a suitable amendment in the UP Zamindari Abolition and Land Reform Act 1950 to bring it at par with the Shariat is likely to get an official nod soon. After AIMPLB reasserted its stance last month, the state government is considering the option to push through the politically correct agenda in the assembly session which begins on May 28. In a formal request forwarded to chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on April 2, Board general secretary Maulana Syed Nizamuddin demanded the right of inheritance to Muslim women, including widows, divorcees and married daughters. The Board drew attention to the fact that in UP this privilege vests only with the unmarried daughters while the rest of the categories have been arbitrarily left out. The chief minister responded favourably. On April 19, he wrote back to the AIMPLB president Maulana Rabe Hasan Nadvi and signaled his assent to the need for a speedy amendment in the law. The issue, said senior AIMPLB member Zafaryab Jilani, figured prominently in the Board's annual meeting at Mumbai from April 20-22. States like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar do not follow such discriminatory practice, there is no logic why should UP women be deprived of their share, he said. Jilani recalled the half-hearted measures of former chief minister Mayawati in this regard. Maya government, he said, brought an amendment in the sections 171(2) and 174 of the Act in September 2005. But, the right to inherit the agricultural asset was granted only to the unmarried daughters. This, Jilani said, was not what was intended under the personal law which acknowledges property rights of married unmarried, widowed or divorced women. This restrictive approach, he said, had drawn ire of the Board in its annual meeting at Bhatkal and the members called for rescheduling the list of beneficiaries to match the Shariat. Meanwhile, sources claimed that the government is no mood to delay the issue. With eys on the parliamentary elections, the "goodwill gesture" could yield to major political advantage to the Samajwadi Party. "Hopes are already up," said Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangimahali, Imam of Aishbagh Idgah, "after the positive communication of the chief minister." The amendment, he said, would surely lead to a revolutionary change in the economic status of women and raise their status in society in general. (Times of India 21/5/12) AP HC strikes down Muslim quota (25) Hyderabad, May 28, 2012, DHNS: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday quashed the 4.5 per cent sub-quota to minorities carved out of 27 per cent reservations meant for OBCs (Other Backward Classes). A division bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Sanjay Kumar, set aside the Office Memorandum (OM) issued by the Centre in December last year to provide sub-quota to minorities in central educational institutions and jobs. The court, which was dealing with the petitions of BC Welfare Association and others, said the OM violates Article 15 (1) and 16 (2) of the Constitution of India, which prohibit discrimination based on religion. The bench, which had heard the arguments and reserved its judgment last month, felt the sub-quota was created only on religious grounds and the government did not justify classification of religious minorities as a homogeneous group or as more backward classes deserving some special treatment. The court held that Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) do not form a homogeneous group but a heterogeneous group. Shortly after the verdict was pronounced, the Congress treaded cautiously, saying the court judgement has to be read and understood. “You cannot react to court judgments until you have perused, read, understood and appreciated..(We can comment)....after we receive copy of the judgment,” party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters in Delhi. The court order may affect admissions already made in central educational institutions such as IITs. (Deccan Herald 28/5/12) Narendra Modi woos Muslims, conditionally (7)

GANDHINAGAR: Even as harping on his well-known phrase "appeasement of none, development for all", chief minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday told a gathering of BJP Muslim cadres in Gandhinagar that the minorities have seen all-round development in the state under his government. While not recalling the 2002 riots even once, Modi read out statistics to prove how the Muslims in the state were on fast pace of development compared to what was the case earlier. Called by the state BJP's minority cell, Modi told the 200-odd gathering, many of whom had put on saffron scarves, that recent local body electoral victories of the BJP suggest the Muslims had realized that things were changing for the better under his regime. "We made major inroads in one of the bastions a very senior Congress leader in Ankaleshwar taluka," he said, referring to a recent bypoll victory in the South Gujarat taluka, where from Sonia Gandhi's political advisor Ahmed Patel hails. Modi told the meeting, which took place in the presence of all-India BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, that in Bharuch district today 25 per cent of all transport business is under Muslim control. Reading out from a piece of paper handed over to him, he added, "Muslims have been the net gainers from 30 per cent of all real estate deals in district. And, 47 per cent of all non-agricultural (NA) permissions have been granted to Muslims in the district." Ankaleshwar is part of Bharuch district. Modi further said, at the last Rannotsav, which is a tourist event each winter, Rs 2 crore worth of handicrafts were on display for sale. "Eighty per cent of what was displayed was made by Muslim women. We never asked where from the art pieces had come", he said, even as taking issue with those who criticize him for failing to implement the Central directions on pre-matric scholarship to Muslim children. "We have given way pre-matric scholarship worth Rs 63 lakh", he said. Asking Muslim BJP cadres to go to the minority areas and convince everyone that under him the minorities are "safe", Modi however made no assurance on whether he would give ticket to any Muslim at the forthcoming polls. Last time a Muslim was given BJP ticket was in the 1998 assembly elections by ex-CM Keshubhai Patel - to Ghani Kureshi to fight from Vagra in Bharuch district. Kureshi lost the election to Congress' Iqbal Patel. Talking with newspersons on the sidelines of the meeting, Naqvi said, he "hoped" the BJP will field some Muslim candidates in the forthcoming assembly elections in Gujarat. Times of India 31.5.12) Marriage of 15-year-old Muslim girl upheld (7) NEW DELHI, June 6, 2012: Quoting the Mohammedan Law on marriage which says “a Muslim can marry without the consent of her parents when she attains the age of puberty”, the Delhi High Court has upheld the marriage of a 15-year-old girl of the community and allowed her to stay with her husband, dismissing the charge of kidnapping levelled by her mother against the boy. According to Article 251 of Mulla's Principles of Mohammedan Law, “every Mohammedan of sound mind, who has attained puberty, may enter into a contract of marriage. The explanation to the said Article says that puberty is presumed, in absence of evidence, on completion of the age of 15 years.” In her statement recorded by the Court, the girl had expressed her desire to stay with the boy. She stated that she had voluntarily gone with the boy and married him and had been living as husband and wife since then. She further informed the Court that she did not wish to go back to her parents. Noting that the Mohammedan law allows a girl to marry without the consent of her parents once she attains the age of puberty and she has the right to reside with her husband even if she is below the age 18, the Court said: “… in view of the fact that the girl in this case…. clearly expressed her choice of residing with her husband, this Court is of opinion that she ought to be allowed to exercise her option.” According to the case registered by the mother of the daughter, the boy had allegedly kidnapped the girl in April last year. She said that according to the marriage certificate issued by the Delhi Government, her daughter was 15-year-old at the time of her alleged kidnapping. After being traced by the police following a notice to them by the Court, the girl was kept in a children care home here. While allowing the girl to stay with the boy, the Court also directed the couple and the in-laws of the girl to appear before the Child Welfare Committee once in six months in order to ascertain her well-being till she attains the age of majority (18 years). (The Hindu 6/6/12)

Muslim claims bias at US religious freedom panel (7 ) Washington: A Muslim has filed a lawsuit against a US government body in charge of advocating religious freedom, alleging that she lost a job because of her religion, court documents showed on Friday. Safiya Ghori-Ahmad, who studies South Asia, said the US Commission on International Religious Freedom rescinded a job offer after learning that she was Muslim and worked for a group promoting Muslims' civil rights in the United States. In a lawsuit filed on Thursday in federal court, Ghori-Ahmad said she was hired to work as an analyst and immediately was asked to produce a report on religious freedom in Pakistan to test if she could write ‘objectively.’ Ghori-Ahmad said a commissioner detected no sign of bias in her report but still objected to hiring her, arguing that it would have been ‘really stupid’ for the new employee to reveal her views, according to the lawsuit. "Passing these tests (which she did) made no difference to the commissioners who opposed working with a Muslim," said the lawsuit, which seeks a

jury trial. Ghori-Ahmad is seeking damages for distress as well as back pay, saying she was unemployed after the job offer was rescinded. She was later hired by the State Department. The commission referred questions on the lawsuit to the Justice Department. The incident took place in 2009. Three commissioners whose actions were questioned in the lawsuit have since left after a shakeup last year led by Senator Dick Durbin, the second highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate. Speaking in December, Durbin said he ‘strongly’ supported the group's work but added: "I have been deeply troubled by allegations of misconduct, misuse of funds and discrimination at the Commission." Durbin spearheaded an amendment that limited terms of commissioners and subjected them to federal regulations on discrimination and expenses, amid charges that some had flown first class and stayed in expensive hotels. The commission was set up under a 1998 law to advise the US government on religious freedom. It has strongly advocated for the rights of minorities around the world. (Asian Age 9/6/12)

Centre cheated us on quota: Muslim leaders (7) NEW DELHI: Muslim leaders slammed the Centre for not being serious about the community's development after the Supreme Court pulled up the government for its casual handling of 4.5% sub-quota for minorities within the 27% OBC reservation in central educational institutions like IITs. However, some community leaders reserved their comment till Wednesday, when the case comes up for hearing next in SC. Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind leader Mahmood Madani said neither the government of India nor the AP government did anything to defend the 4.5% sub-quota for minorities in court. "This is betrayal by the government. Muslims feel cheated by the government's casual approach," said Madani. Dr Zafarul Islam Khan, president of All India Muslim Majlis-Mushwarat, an umbrella body of Indian Muslim organizations, criticized the Centre for lack of preparation to defend the sub-quota in court. "In Andhra Pradesh high court, too, the state government sent a junior lawyer. It only shows the Congress is not serious about the sub-quota," he said. All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Kamal Faruqui echoed similar views. "The Supreme Court was right when it said people who announced the sub-quota have not done their homework," he said. Community leaders believed announcement of the sub-quota by the UPA government was a poll gimmick aimed at appeasing Muslims in UP. Khan said, "It seems they (Government of India) now want to get rid of the sub quota proposal. So, the government is not defending it properly in court." "The sub-quota was a good step, but the government seems to have lost interest," said Sharique Ansar, national secretary of Students' Islamic Organization of India (SIO). He demanded the HRD ministry issue clear directions to educational institutions to carry on with existing decisions by June 13. "The future of hundreds of students will be jeopardized if this is not done," he said. IIT counseling starts from June 10. Syed Babar Ashraf, national secretary of All India Ulema and Mashaikh Board, said, "The government is not serious about development of Muslims. It is not serious about implementing recommendations by Sachar Committee and Ranganath Mishra Committee either." Citing an instance about the Congress's causal approach to development towards Muslims, Faruqui said a case to amend Article 341 of the Constitution is still pending in Supreme Court. "In the last year and a half, they haven't filed an affidavit." Article 341 doesn't allow Muslims and Christians to claims scheduled caste status and seek reservation while allowing Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists to do so. "In 1937, backward Muslims were entitled to reservation, but the Congress through a Cabinet note approved by the President snatched it away from them in 1950," added Faruqui. (Times of India 12/6/12)

Tales of detention and harassment (7) JAIPUR, June 18, 2012: Muslim youths who faced illegal arrests, detention, kidnapping and torture by the police and intelligence agencies in the aftermath of bomb blasts in Ajmer dargah and Jaipur launched a scathing attack here on Sunday on the Congress-led Government in Rajasthan for justifying their persecution and refusing to consider their demand for reparation. At a public hearing of victims of police atrocities organised by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind here, the Muslim youths and activists pointed out that the harassment by the police on the pretext of terror investigations was still continuing. They charged that the ruling Congress “resembles the BJP when it comes to so-called war on terror.” A panel of leading civil rights activists of the State conducting the hearing said the State's Anti-Terrorism Squad could only act as a “tool of the Government” and had instructions from the highest level to implicate the minority youths in concocted cases, detain them illegally or intimidate them through rigorous questioning. “The hidden agenda is to demoralise the Muslim community,” said JIH national secretary M. Salim Engineer. About a dozen youths and the relatives of some others who are still behind bars narrated heart-rending stories of physical and mental torture at the hands of police, emotional trauma, humiliation during incarceration, destruction of career, social boycott of their families and an insecure future with the stigma of being branded terrorists. Taufeeq Qureshi from Kota, who was in jail for three-and-a-half years before his acquittal, said he was constantly taunted for his religious beliefs and not allowed to appear in

examinations for his Unani medicine course. Mohammed Shamim, Imam of a mosque at Khandela kept in illegal custody for 20 days after the October 2007 Ajmer dargah blast, said the police fed the theory of “Deobandi attack” on the shrine to the national media after trying to cook up a case against him. Abid Hussain of Baran said he was picked up from his shop and brought to the State capital for interrogation in connection with the Jaipur blasts. Back home, Bajrang Dal took out a rally demanding stern punishment to him. Despite his release after four days, he is still summoned to the police station every three months for questioning. Mohammed Asim, uncle of Mohammed Sarvar of Azamgarh – an accused in the Jaipur blasts case – said his nephew has been kept in a dingy cell in the Central Jail here and not allowed to mingle with others or attend the congregational prayers on Fridays. Sarfaraz Ahmed, a Government school teacher from Behted in Sawai Madhopur district, said he was suspended in 2007 for an ostensible reason of having “some connection with SIMI”. However, no reason has been communicated to him officially even after five years, nor is any inquiry pending against him. He remains suspended from service. A resolution adopted at the end of the hearing demanded an assistance of Rs.25 lakh each to the 11 persons acquitted in the SIMI case in December last year and registration of criminal cases against the ATS officers who implicated them. (The Hindu 18/6/12)

Indian Muslims discuss reforms to Haj pilgrimage ma nagement.. (7) NEW DELHI: Forum for Haj Pilgrimage Management in India (FHMI) organized a one day Conference that deliberated on the issues and concerns related to Haj Pilgrimage Management and suggested options for a subsidy-free Haj Management in India on Tuesday. The primary objective of conference organized by FHMI under the chairmanship of Member of Parliament K Rahman Khan (former deputy chairman, Rajya Sabha) was to understand the functioning of Tabung Haji, a successful Haj Pilgrim Management Institution of Malaysia, and to create a consensus among the Indian Muslims on the possibility to establish an institution in India on the lines of Tabung Haji. Such a fund will not only help better Haj Pilgrimage Management but also work towards inclusion and social betterment of the Muslim community in India.The Conference focused on the need to devise a sustainable institutional mechanism to minimize the impact of gradual withdrawal of Haj subsidy on the majority of poor Indian Haj Pilgrims, in the event of the recent judgement of the Supreme Court to phase out subsidy in the next 10 years. Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, president, Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and senior officials from Tabung Haji, Malaysia, participated in the conference and made their presentations on Haj Management. Tabung Haji, a unique Haj Management and financial institution established in the year 1960, having a meagre capital of USD 15,400 with the aim of mobilizing savings of individuals and prospective Hajis and successfully managing an investment fund on Shariah principles in order to fulfill the life-long desire of the individuals to undertake Haj Pilgrimage. The depositors are able to save their money under Shariah principles and able to obtain Halalreturns which can be used either to perform Haj or for any other purpose. Today, Tabung Haji, is considered as the best Haj Management organization in the world having seven subsidiaries and fund base of over USD 11 billion. Khan said: "India being the second largest Muslim populated country in the world and with more than 180,000 pilgrims from India performing Haj every year, there is need for a reform in the entire Haj Pilgrim Management for a long sustainable Institutional system. Under the circumstances, the example of Tabung Haji, as practiced in Malaysia, seems to be the most viable answer to the problems of Indian Hajis ." "Through a unique financial institution, our aim would be to mobilize savings of millions of prospective Hajis and successfully manage their funds under Shariah Principles to fulfill their life-long desire to perform Haj. Since, these savings will create a huge corpus, the Institution will not only assist Indian Muslims for Haj Pilgrimage at an affordable cost but also bring it into the mainstream economy which will further help in the development of the community and the country," added Khan…. Times of India 19/6/12)

'Muslims lagging behind SCs, STs' (7) HYDERABAD: Voicing a unified demand for implementation of recommendations of the Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission or the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Muslim politicians and minority rights advocates highlighted the condition of socially backward minorities, Muslims in particular, at a discussion held at Jamat-e-Islami Hind in the Old City on Sunday. The participants iterated that the commission's recommendation for providing 15% reservation for minorities (including 10% for Muslims) has not been implemented by the government. Many of them also opined that the creation of a sub quota from the OBC quota would not benefit the Muslims much as it only guarantees reservation in education and government postings.Zahid Ali Khan, editor-in-chief of Siasat Daily, urged all minorities to take up the cause of implementation of the recommendations of the Ranganath Mishra Commission report. "In order to emancipate the backward Muslim communities, many of which have been declared as more backward than SCs and STs, political reservation is also

necessary. Therefore separate reservation for minorities and Muslims is required," the participants said. They also demanded that paragraph three of the 1950 presidential order should be deleted as it prevents Muslim and Christian dalits from availing reservation on par with Hindu dalits. The order violates the constitutional guidelines against discrimination on the grounds of religion, they said. (Times of India 25/6/12)

BJP against financial assistance to Muslim girls in UP (7) LUCKNOW: The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday opposed the financial assistance proposed by the Samajwadi Party (SP) government in Uttar Pradesh (UP) for girl students of minority community. The party staged a walk out from legislative council in protest. UP government has made an allocation of Rs 100 crore for helping education and marriage of Muslim girls in order to strengthen its minority vote bank for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The issue was raised by the BJP members through an adjournment notice during Zero Hour demanding a debate on the scheme announced by the state government. The BJP members said that the government has announced a financial assistance of Rs 30,000 to a girl student of the minority community after passing high school examination conducted by the UP Secondary Education Board. They alleged that the government move was against the provisions of the Constitution and against the right of equality. Raising the issue BJP member Vinod Pandey said that such type of arrangement or announcement for a specific religion was anti-Constitutional. BJP member Nepal Singh alleged that it was not justified. Leader of the House and state health minister Ahmad Hasan, however, said that financial assistance was not being given on the basis of religion, but on the basis of financial condition. He said that there was no violation of the provisions of the Constitution. Dissatisfied with the government's reply the BJP members walked out of the house. In all 68 muslims won in assembly elections, of which 43 muslims belong to SP, 15 to Bahujan Samaj Party, four to Congress, three to Peace Party, two to Quami Ekta Dal and one to Ittehad-E-Millat Council. There are around 140 constituencies in UP where Muslims are above 30% of the population. In recent assembly elections, of SP won 72 Muslim dominated seats, BSP 27 seats and Congress 11. BJP also won at 25 Muslim dominated constituencies due to polarisation. Out of 80 Lok Sabha seats, Muslim are in position to influence 25 constituencies in the state. (Times of India 26/6/12) Explain atrocities on Muslims, says NHRC (7) AHMEDABAD: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Gujarat government seeking reply on the alleged police atrocities towards Muslims after the 2002 riots. The commission has sought explanation within four weeks from the chief secretary and the director general of police in connection with evidence it gathered showing atrocities towards the minority community, especially police atrocities. The NHRC got complaints that while the Muslim community was still recuperating from the shock of the 2002 riots, there was no security ensured in the state for them. During its visit to the state last year, the commission held a public hearing. At that time, some 50 cases of alleged atrocities against members of the minority community were presented before the commission. Besides, a civil rights organization, Centre for Social Justice, also made a detailed representation before the commission on May 14 projecting the situation of the Muslims in Gujarat after the 2002 riots. The NGO highlighted the continuing discrimination against the minorities and told the commission that the attitude of authorities jeopardizes the security of minorities in this state. The representation by the organization was placed before the commission on June 12. On basis of the material gathered, the NHRC issued a notice the next day to the DGP and chief secretary of the state, demanding a report on the issues raised by the commission regarding the alleged atrocities on the Muslims. Last month, the NHRC conducted open hearing when its chairman justice (retired) K G Balakrishnan heard complaints from people belonging to SC. In March, a United Nation's special rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary and arbitrary execution conducted his investigations into the issue of human rights violation in Gujarat. (Times of India 30/6/12) Muslim bureaucrats make a mark in power corridors ( 7) NEW DELHI: Indian Muslims might have missed opportunities in securing government jobs in big numbers due to lack of formal education, but the community has the distinction of having a record number of five IAS officers at the upper echelons of the bureaucracy, heading various departments at the Centre as secretaries. Though the instance of a Muslim IAS officer as head of department in central government is not a rarity, the presence of six of them as secretary-level officers at one point of time is a record of sorts. Shumsher K Sheriff (secretary to the Vice-President Hamid Ansari); Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi (civil aviation secretary); Naved Masood (secretary, corporate affairs); Mohammad Haleem Khan (disinvestment secretary) and Rajen Habib Khwaja (tourism secretary) are handling various departments at the Centre. "One should not read too much into such senior-level appointments. It is just a coincidence

that these top bureaucrats belong to a particular community. It happened because they had qualified for IAS either in same year or within a gap of one-two years," said a senior ministry of personnel official. List of secretaries in the government shows that while Zaidi and Khwaja had joined IAS in 1976, three others — Masood, Haleem Khan and Sheriff - had joined the elite service in 1977. At present, there are 91 secretary-level officers, who are heading various departments at the Centre. While 21 of the departments are headed by non-IAS officers, the rest 70 are headed by IAS officers - mainly of 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977 batches. Five out of these 70 IAS officers are Muslims. As far as Muslim IAS officers are concerned, every batch has one, two or more officers from this community. The 1977 batch is, particularly, better represented by Muslims as three of them rose to the rank of secretary in the Union government. Besides, there are number of Muslim IAS officers who are posted in different states at top level like Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Jawed Usmani, who was earlier posted as additional secretary at the Centre. Only senior IAS officers, having fairly good professional record, are empanelled for posting as secretary in central government. IAS officers of different seniority level usually serve at the Centre as deputy secretary, director, joint secretary, additional secretary, special secretary and secretary in different ministries or departments. (Times of India 4/7/12) AIMPLB to seek marriage registrar status for Qazis (7) Lucknow: The executive committee (EC) of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), which will meet in Lucknow on July 15, will demand the status of government marriage registrars for Qazis who solemnise nikah among Muslims. The demand has gained momentum after the Supreme Court passed a verdict for compulsory registration of all marriages. The board is of the opinion that compulsory registration with government is an encroachment upon the Islamic Shariah. “We have no reservation about marriage registration. In fact, these are done among Muslims since ages. There is a complete record available with the Qazis in different districts who solemnise nikah,” said official spokesperson of AIMPLB SQR Ilyas. He is also convener of the board’s internal committee, which is monitoring the issue of compulsory marriage registration. Ilyas stated that making registration of marriage compulsory with the government authorities will pose hardships for poor Muslim. “The only solution is granting marriage registrar status to the Qazis who solemnise nikah,” he added. He also stated that compulsory registration will create confusion and social problems for marriages which have taken place in the past. The 51-member EC will also consider various decisions given by different courts across the country in light of the Muslim Women Maintenance Act. “Many decisions are not in sync with the Islamic Shariah. We have formed a committee which is reviewing these decisions. The EC will discuss these issues,” said Ilyas. The major issue is fixing the responsibility of maintenance on the husband even after the mandatory period of iddat (three months). Islamic law fixes no responsibility on the man after the three months period as the female can remarry. “There have been instances where the court decision has asked the man to pay maintenance. We will discuss it,” said Ilyas. (Indian Express 9/7/12) Muslims seek representation in Ministry (7) Bangalore: A group of Muslims under the banner of State Muslim Rights Demand Committee and Dalit Hindulida Alpasankhyatara Samiti on Friday arrived in a procession at Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar’s home office here demanding representation for Muslims in his Ministry. In a memorandum submitted to Mr. Shettar, they said that 50 per cent of the Cabinet posts had been cornered Lingayats and Vokkaligas, who constitute just 32 per cent of the population, while 10 per cent had been given to Brahmins. Not a single Muslim finds a place in the Cabinet, they said. They said that the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had assured representation to Muslims in 2008 and had inducted Mumtaz Ali Khan in his Cabinet. They said that Muslims cast 35 per cent of their votes to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha elections, zilla and taluk panchayat elections proving their commitment to the party and urged the Chief Minister to induct a Muslim into the Cabinet. (The Hindu 14/7/12) Muslim organisations ask UPA to take minority quota seriously (7) LUCKNOW: The executive committee of the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat (AIMMM), an umbrella organisation of Muslim organisations, has called upon the Congress-led UPA government to file reply at the earliest in the Supreme Court on minority quota issue to show its commitment towards secularism. The AIMMM notes that the central government was never serious about its 4.5% sub-quota for minorities under reservation for other backward classes (OBCs). The hasty action was struck down by the Andhra Pradesh high court because the central government failed to defend it and the similar thing is being repeated in the Supreme Court, states the resolution passed by the AIMMM executive committee held recently. The resolution further stated "The Central government should come out of its slumber and adopt the recommendations of the Rangnath Mishra Commission in order to end this vexed issue once and for

all. The AIMMM notes that the intention of the central government is not trustworthy as it is clear from its reluctance to file reply to the Supreme Court's query regarding the exclusion of Muslims and Christians of SC origin from the SC list by an executive order since 1950. The AIMMM calls upon the central government to file its reply at the earliest in order to show its commitment to the secular bases of our constitution and polity and end this shameful illegal discrimination for ever". (Times of India 16/7/12) AIMPLB up in arms against Waqf amendment bill (7) Mumbai: Expressing serious displeasure over ignoring its opposition to the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2010, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a representative body of Muslim religious groups has announced a nationwide campaign against the UPA government after the holy month of Ramzan, beginning later this week. The decision to this effect was taken in the Board’s executive committee meeting. Dubbing Union law minister Salman Khurshid as ‘anti-minority’, Mohammad Abdul Rahim Qureshi, assistant general secretary and spokesperson of the Board, said while in meeting with the Board’s delegation some time back Khurshid assured the Muslim Personal Law Board that he would look into their demands but on the very next date he ruled out any amendment in the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2010. The Bill, currently pending before parliament, has been opposed by the Board and various other Muslim community organisations alleging that it ignores recommendations of Justice Sachar Committee on Waqf, renders the compulsory survey of Waqf as optional and ‘dilutes’ definition of encroacher. The Board also expressed concern over verdicts of various courts throughout the country on matters touching Muslim Personal Law on marriage registration, divorce and maintenance. The Board decided to ove the Supreme Court on the issues. Opposing compulsory registration of marriage, Abdul Rahim Qureshi said it would amount to a violation of Muslim personal law which was not acceptable to Muslims. (DNA 17/7/12) Thousands offer namaaz, HC stays mosque work (7) NEW DELHI: Around 25,000 people offered namaaz at the purported site of the 17th Century Akbarabadi Masjid on Friday as police did not enforce North Delhi Municipal Corporation's order against religious activity at the venue. As the Subhash Park grounds, where the Mughal-era site is situated, filled up, hundreds spilled over into the adjoining roads to pray. There was heavy police deployment between Delhi Gate and the Chandni Chowk intersection, and traffic headed towards Jama Masjid was diverted. North corporation officials accused the police of inaction. "We had asked police to ensure that no party is allowed to carry out religious rituals at the disputed site, but they took no action," said mayor Mira Aggarwal. Delhi Police, however, said it would follow the high court's directions. In the morning, a tense situation was averted when police detained around 300 Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) supporters outside Gauri Shankar temple in Chandni Chowk, foiling their plan to march to the namaaz site and chant the Hanuman Chalisa. "We detained them under Section 65 of Delhi Police Act after they courted arrest, and took them to Maurice Nagar police station. They were let off later," said an officer, adding, "Mild force was used to restrain some of the workers who tried to break the barricades and march on. They were claiming that the excavated ruin was a Pandava-era relic".VHP's Delhi unit spokesperson, Vinod Bansal, said, "The new mosque walls have been illegally constructed and they should be demolished to make way for a temple. But before we could start our procession, police stopped us saying the law and order may be disturbed. We did not want any unrest, so we courted arrest.''Prayers were offered peacefully at the site under police supervision. "For 155 years, our ancestors could not pray here but now we have got this opportunity. We will not let it go waste. Special prayers will be offered for the next 10 days during Ramzan. All of you who have come from neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana should stay back," said local councillor, Khurram Iqbal, addressing the crowd from the stage. Iqbal told the crowd: "The British demolished Akbarabadi Masjid on the pretext that it was a meeting ground for the 1857 mutineers. We are reclaiming our land. The government should rethink its stand on construction of a mosque here".There was much sloganeering in support of Matia Mahal MLA Shoaib Iqbal during the proceedings. "Iqbal bhai has been MLA from this area for 18 years. Your vote hasn't gone waste and the Akbarabadi Masjid is his gift. Our next target is to rebuild the Babri Masjid," one of his supporters announced to wild cheering. The namaaz started at 1.30pm and ended at 2pm. Many of the worshippers from outside Delhi had camped at the site since Thursday evening. North Corporation had taken possession of the site on Thursday and prohibited any further construction. It had also issued orders against religious activity, but this was defied by the locals led by Shoaib Iqbal. The MLA had reportedly deployed workers to carry out digging work at the site to build a mosque on the Mughal-era base, even as ASI ordered stoppage of work as the area falls in the regulated zone of Red Fort. (Times of India 21/7/12) SC admits govt plea against quashing of Muslim sub- quota (7) NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday admitted the Union government's appeal challenging a

judgment of Andhra Pradesh high court, which quashed the Centre's decision to carve 4.5% quota for Muslim groups within the 27% OBC reservation in jobs and admission to central educational institutions. A bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra admitted the Centre's appeal and ordered it to be tagged with a pending appeal of Andhra Pradesh government challenging another decision of the HC on carving out of 4% quota for Muslims in jobs. During the summer vacation, the Union had pleaded for an interim stay on the HC decision so as to implement the Muslim sub-quota in IIT admissions, but the vacation bench had refused to grant the interim relief saying the decision on Muslim sub-quota prima facie appeared to be against the mandate of the Constitution. In Andhra Pradesh, the quota for Muslims had a history starting from the YSR Reddy government's 2004 decision to carve out 5% quota in favour of the minority community. After the decision was quashed by the HC in September, 2004, the government had passed an ordinance in 2005 to implement the reservations for Muslims. But, the HC again quashed it in November 2005. Subsequently, the state backward commission recommended 4% quota for Muslims in jobs and admissions after identifying 15 groups within the minority community as socially and educationally backward. But, the HC yet again quashed it in February, 2010. This was challenged by the state government in the apex court, which stood referred to a constitution bench for adjudication and the matter is still pending. (Times of India 24/7/12) Fleeing Myanmar Muslims seek refuge in Hyderabad (7 ) HYDERABAD: Fleeing from the communal conflagration in Myanmar, a group of about 30 Muslims have arrived in Hyderabad to seek refuge. M Mandakini, field officer of United Nations High Commission for Refugees that is working in collaboration with the Cova in the city, said that many of them have taken shelter in Hafiz Babanagar and Kishanbagh where already a considerable number of Myanmar citizens reside. "We don't have the exact count of the people. But we know that some 30 persons from Myanmar arrived during the last two weeks and are living with their countrymen. A local NGO, Safa Baitulmal, has provided them with some relief material," she said. According to sources, the Rohingyas (Myanmar Muslims who mostly live in Arakarn region) who are considered by the UN as one of the most persecuted communities in the world, chose Hyderabad as it is already host to some 22 families who are registered as refugees. There are 25 more waiting to get the refugee status. Most of them are daily wage earners. (Times of India 1/8/12) Gorkha Janmukti Morcha condemns Assam violence (7) Bagdogra (W. Bengal): The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) on Tuesday condemned the recent ethnic violence in Assam that has claimed at least 80 lives and displaced 400,000 others. The secretary-general of the GJM, Roshan Giri, said: "We condemn violence in Assam and our chief, Bimal Gurung, had sent a fax letter to the Home (interior) Minister five to six days ago. We want that our people, including everyone should get proper security and the government should do the needful." In late July, bloody clashes had taken place between local Bodo tribal families and illegal immigrants from Bangladesh settled in Bodoland areas of Assam. The conflict between Bodo tribes and Muslims is not new. Decades of feuding over land rights and political power has often erupted into blood letting, the worst of which was in 1983, when nearly 3,000 people were massacred. Giri also said that the Terai and Dooars areas located in the foothills of Darjeeling region should be brought under Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), which he termed as a justified demand. "We want Terai and Dooars should be included within Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and our area duly gets expanded," said Giri. The Gorkhaland movement that began in 1980s had ended with a truce between the then Gorkha leader Subhash Ghising and New Delhi, after he accepted limited autonomy in 1988 with a new Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). However, after two decades, the stewardship of Ghising and the DGHC earned the wrath of local residents that led to the breakaway faction to float the GJM. At least 1,200 people died in the first Gorkhaland campaign, but protests ended a few years later after Gorkha leaders accepted limited autonomy. Darjeeling Hills region is geo-politically and strategically important for India as it lies close to the borders of China, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. (ANI) (New Kerala 21/8/12) A first after riots: BJP to field Muslims in Gujara t? (7) New Delhi: Senior Delhi police officials with social activist Arvind Kejriwal at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday during a protest Senior Delhi police officials with social activist Arvind Kejriwal at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday during a protest The Sangh Parivar’s Hindutva icon and BJP Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi may be forced to play the minority card in the forthcoming Assembly polls. These polls, first after the delimitation exercise, may see the saffron party fielding Muslim candidates as some of the constituencies, which were considered BJP strongholds, have become Muslim-dominated. If the BJP fields Muslim candidates, it will be a first after the post-Godhra riots for which Mr Modi is often

blamed. For Mr Modi, a claimant for the Prime Minister’s post, the forthcoming polls are a do-or-die battle. Delimitation has drastically changed the electoral profile of around 28 Assembly constituencies in the state, with minority voters increasing substantially. Of these 28 Assembly segments, nine constituencies, including Khadia and Sarkhej, which were considered strongholds of the saffron party, have now majority voters belonging to the minority community. Though the saffron party had fielded Muslim candidates in the recently held local bodies polls, most of whom had won, the problem with the BJP is that it does not have any “known faces” from the minority community in its fold who can be fielded in the polls. Even though the BJP maintains that Mr Modi, a three-time CM, gets minority votes because of “good governance” and development schemes undertaken by his government benefiting all communities, delimitation has certainly posed major challenges to the ruling party. Mr Modi, who is battling the anti-minority tag, does not want to be seen antagonising the minority community, which could harm his electoral prospects. He has asked party leaders to come up with a list of probable Muslim candidates. Also, the Opposition Congress and dissident leader Keshubhai Patel, who has launched his own outfit, are giving him a tough time. In the last Assembly polls, the BJP won 10 seats less than the 2002 polls. Of the 182 Assembly seats, it won 117 in 2007. Sources disclosed the state unit has begun screening probable candidates for these crucial seats, where delimitation has changed the electoral profile. Some of these Assembly seats are in and around Ahmedabad, South Gujarat and Rajkot. Mr Modi, it is learnt, is personally monitoring the screening process. Party sources said the saffron party is of the view that if it fields a sizeable number of minority candidates, the Opposition will find it difficult to attack it and its chief minister of being anti-minorities. (Asian Age 27/8/12) Muslims protest ‘jail beatings’ (7) MUMBAI: A section of Muslim leaders have protested against the alleged beating of a few August 11 riot accused in Arthur Road Jail and asked the authorities to look into complaints lodged by their relatives in this regard. "The police have already recorded their statements. It is a violation of the law to beat them in judicial custody. This must stop," said M Luqman Nadvi of the All-India Milli Council (Maharashtra). Activist M A Khalid said, "We do not support those who assaulted journalists and police personnel, but protest against the harassment of mere bystanders." Milli Council's Abdur Rahman 'Milli' called for an impartial investigation.(Times of India 28/8/12) Conspiracy alleged in arrest of Muslim youths (7) Hyderabad: The CLMC asked the Prime Minister to order a high-level enquiry into the arrests and to ensure release of all youth detained illegally. The Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee (CLMC) condemned the recent arrest of Muslim youths from different parts of India and dubbed it as a ‘greater conspiracy’ against the community. It sought the Prime Minister’s intervention to stop targeting of innocent Muslims by the police. The CLMC asked the Prime Minister to order a high-level enquiry into the arrests and to ensure release of all youth detained illegally. In a statement here on Sunday, Lateef Mohammed Khan, general secretary, CLMC, said the arrests were the result of nexus between ‘anti Muslim’ police groups of Hyderabad and Bangalore working with the support of Hindutva outfits. The main intention was to divert the attention of people from the court verdict against the criminals of Gujarat genocide and the violence against Muslims in Assam. The police arrested the youths in illegal manner, detained and tortured them and then declared them arrested, Mr. Khan alleged. He said the ‘notorious’ city police officers who were involved in arresting Muslim youths in the name of Mecca Masjid blast investigation were in forefront this time too. The arrests were part of greater conspiracy included in Hindutva agenda to target the educated Muslim youths who are in good professions. Those arrested belonged to journalism, medicine, science and technology fields as well as students. By this way, Muslims would be looked with suspicion in these fields and denied job opportunities in future, Mr. Khan said.Ridiculing the police claim, he said computer, laptop, cell phone, hard disk ‘recovered’ were essential things and not dangerous weapons. Keywords: CLMC, Bangalore police, anti-terror investigation, terror bust, muslim youth arrested, bais against muslims (The Hindu 3/9/12) Muslim body to fight communalism (7) GUWAHATI: An organization named MY-FACTS - Muslim Youths: Forum Against Communalism, Terrorism and Sedition - has decided to fight against communalism within the community and promote liberal and secular values among Muslims. After a day-long meeting here on Sunday, MY-FACTS concluded that the "social and intellectual" vacuum in the Muslim society has led to unscrupulous elements and politicians exploiting the community for petty and vested political interests. The forum also pointed out that communal forces of all hues were bent on polarizing the Assamese society on religious lines in the backdrop of "humanitarian crisis in Bodoland." "The participants discussed that due to lack of

dialogue and social assimilation between Muslims and other communities, an atmosphere of misconception, mutual suspicion and hatred is brewing slowly and taking dangerous shape. This is detrimental to the secular fabric of the larger society. To achieve a harmonious and peaceful society, the Muslim youths present at the meeting formed an ad-hoc committee to start a dialogue with all communities and stakeholders. The forum will further focus on carrying forward a secular movement for peace and development among educated Muslim youths in every district of Assam," a statement said. The statement said a draft road map would be formed to give shape to an educational and cultural study centre to address the intellectual vacuum in the Muslim society and to enable Muslim youths to take well-informed and secular decisions during ethnic crisis. "The forum will promote social assimilation of Muslims with the larger society in the state," the statement added. (Times of India 4/9/12) Gujarat builders mean business, bet on Muslims-only homes (7) Ahmedabad: Amid reports that Muslims find it difficult to buy homes in housing societies in the state, a number of real estate developers are offering housing schemes exclusively meant for Muslims. For instance, Balvantsinh Padheriya, director of B Shahjee and Company Pvt Ltd, is offering plots of 200-400 square yards in the price range of Rs 6-12 lakh to Muslims on the Dholka-Bagodara highway in the outskirts of Ahmedabad. And to hardsell his project, the developer is even building a mosque at the site. “As eating habits and religious rituals of two communities differ, I thought of keeping the scheme exclusive for Muslims. It is a risk, but I am a businessman and I understand what is a good investment. I have seen many housing schemes leaving out people from the minority communities,” says Padheriya. “I will be talking to a Maulvi soon to finalise plans for building a mosque at the site,” he adds. “This is definitely a good move as we get a lot of inquiries from Gujarati Muslims living in UAE about housing schemes, but we are not able to give them many options. Many builders have developed areas around temple towns Mahudi and Sankeshwar, which makes it easy for them to sell land parcels to NRIs or religious tourists,” says Pravin Bavadiya, president of Ahmedabad Realtors’ Association. Offering gated premises to the Muslim community is not restricted to Ahmedabad. Space Age Infracon Pvt Ltd is building a housing project in Fatehganj of Vadodara exclusively for Bohra Muslims. “Having built Ammatullah Residency comprising 22 bungalows near Ajwa Road in Vadodara in 2009, this is my second community-specific housing project. We have made every effort to create the right ambience for a close-knit community experience — right from a prayer hall for namaz to space for religious festivities,” says Tahir Jhabuawala, the director of Space Age which is offering 2-3 BHK flats in its Fatehganj project. Sharif Memon of Deep Builders, while acknowledging that Muslims in the state found it hard to buy houses in residential complexes, says he is not sure of the success of community-specific housing projects. “I have not floated even a single housing scheme exclusively for Muslims, but my building Al Burj in Makarba has become exclusive after homes were given to Muslims. Now, no other community wishes to come and reside there,” he says. (Indian Express 4/9/12) Illiteracy leading to high birth rate among Muslims : Tarun Gogoi (7) New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today dismissed the suggestion that illegal migration from Bangladesh has led to high growth of Muslim population in the state but blamed illiteracy for the high birth rate among the community. He said growth of Muslim population in Assam was higher than Hindus as the community give birth more children due to poor rate of literacy among themselves. "It is because of low literacy...Illiteracy among the Muslims. Most of them are illiterate. Every family...six, seven, eight, nine, ten...It is because of illiteracy," he said. When repeatedly asked whether he was suggesting that illiterate people have more children, Gogoi said, "Yes, 100 per cent I believe...It is because of illiteracy. "If you look at the 2001 census, the growth of Muslim population in Assam is less than the national average, almost three per cent. In 2011 census also growth of population in Assam is less than the national average. It is a clear indication that illegal immigration is on decline." Gogoi said even though there were around three lakh cases pending against suspected illegal immigrants in various tribunals, many would be dismissed eventually as it is very difficult to prove the allegations. The three-time chief minister also "challenged" the claim of Bodoland Territorial Council chief Hagrama Mohilary that there were two lakh illegal immigrants in the in BTC area saying the figure was wrong. Asked whether he was soft towards the Bodos during the recent clashes as the Bodoland People's Front is a coalition partner of his government, Gogoi termed it as a wrong perception saying even the Bodos were accusing him of being soft towards Muslims. (Indian Express 9/9/12) Violence across Muslim world over anti-Islam film ( 7) Khartoum: Furious protesters targeted symbols of US influence in cities across the Muslim world on Friday, attacking embassies, schools and restaurants in retaliation for a film that mocks Islam. At least six

protesters died in Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon and Sudan as local police battled to defend American missions from mobs of stone-throwers, and Washington deployed US Marines to protect its embassies in Libya and Yemen. The protests broke out when Muslims emerged from mosques following weekly prayers to voice their anger at a crude film made in the United States by a right-wing Christian group that ridicules the Prophet Mohammed. Clashes or demonstrations were reported from as far apart as Mauritania and Indonesia. Troops in Nigeria fired live rounds in the flashpoint city of Jos and Egyptian police fought street battles in downtown Cairo. In the Sudanese capital Khartoum, guards on the roof of the US embassy fired warning shots as the compound was breached by protesters waving Islamic banners, after earlier ransacking parts of the British and German missions. Tunisian demonstrators, meanwhile, set fire to several vehicles and an American school during a failed attack on the main embassy compound, and in Lebanon, 300 Islamists set fire to a branch of the US fast food chain KFC. In Washington, US President Barack Obama welcomed home the bodies of four US officials who were killed on Tuesday when armed militants stormed the consulate in Benghazi, cradle of last year's Western-backed Libyan revolution. "Their sacrifice will never be forgotten, we will bring to justice those who took them from us. We will stand fast against the violence on our diplomatic missions," Obama said at Andrews Air Force Base. The fighting brought foreign policy back to the heart of the debate in the US Presidential race, and on Friday also clouded the start of Pope Benedict XVI's three-day visit to Lebanon to promote Muslim-Christian coexistence. In much of the region, police from broadly pro-Western regimes attempted to contain the protests, but in Iran, crowds had official sanction to chant "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" in central Tehran. In India, police arrested 86 protesters in Chennai and in Afghanistan the outrage whipped up by the film mixed with resentment at the ongoing Western military presence to feed large-scale street protests. The eruption of violence posed a challenge for Obama, less than eight weeks before his re-election battle against Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who accused the incumbent of inviting violence through a weak and muddled stance. In response, Obama has promised to show resolve and to stand by the fragile fledgling democracies of the Middle East, while deploying platoons of marines to vulnerable embassies and hunting the killers of the four envoys. "Even as voices of suspicion and mistrust seek to divide countries and cultures from one another, the United States of America will never retreat from the world," Obama vowed, alongside the flag-draped coffins. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton told relatives of the dead men -- US ambassador Chris Stevens, information officer Sean Smith and former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty -- that the killings dishonored the Arab Spring. "The people of Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Tunisia did not trade the tyranny of a dictator for the tyranny of a mob," she said. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Friday urged leaders in Arab and Muslim countries to "call immediately for peace and restraint," condemning the attacks on diplomatic missions. US military and intelligence agencies have already launched a manhunt in Libya for the militants who staged the assault on the Benghazi consulate, with an FBI team on its way and drones criss-crossing North African skies. (Hindustan Times 15/9/12) Stir against anti-Islam film continues in TN (7) Chennai, Sep 16: Hundreds of Muslims held protests at different places in Tamil Nadu against an anti-Islam film that has triggered anti-US protests worldwide even as security for the US Consulate here was beefed up. Protests were held in Madurai, Rameswaram and Kumbakonam where the participants condemned the film that has triggered violence in many countries and led to the killing of the US ambassador in Libya. A senior police official said security at the US consulate had been strengthened with a 150-member strong special team led by a senior official put in place after the Friday attack and in view of some more parties planning for demonstrations in coming days. A team led by a Joint Commissioner has been formed and would guard the US Consulate located at the busy Gemini Square on the arterial Anna Salai, which came under stone pelting by activists of Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) on Friday, the official said. The team would comprise 10 inspectors, equal number of sub-inspectors and over 130 constables, he said. Meanwhile, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) in a release said it is planning to hold a demonstration in front of the Consulate on Monday, while Indian Union Muslim League too had called for a demonstration on September 18. In Rameswaram, more than 2,000 Muslims took out a rally protesting the controversial film. The protesters, including women, from Pamban, Mandapam and Thangachimadam raised slogans against the film, police said. At the end of the rally, a public meeting was held where local jamath leaders condemned Israel and US for the film, which has sparked anti-US protests worldwide. In Madurai, members of the TMMK held a street meeting condemning the film, police said. A Kumbakonam report said around 200 members of various Muslim organisations staged a demonstration in the town. (One India 17/9/12) Anti-Muslim film: Protest in Chennai turns violent again (7)

Chennai: Muslims from over 20 outfits gathered in thousands on Chennai's Anna Road on Tuesday evening as protests against an American’s video denigrating the Prophet continued to target the US consulate general here. Outwitted and outnumbered yet again, police resorted to mild lathicharge to push back the protesters who tried to break barricades and reach the US mission. Some vehicles were set on fire and many American flags were burnt in the rally. Several ambulances got stuck in the distressing traffic holdup and at least seven flights were delayed as pilots waited for passengers to reach from the gridlocked city traffic. City police commissioner J.K. Tripathy paid the price for his force fumbling once more in handling a ‘tense situation’ at a crowded public place and too close to a foreign diplomatic mission. S. George, ADGP, has been posted as CoP in his place. There were not many people at 4 pm, the time set for the launch of the protest at the Tarapore Towers, but within 15 minutes, the crowd swelled to a few thousands. The restive demonstrators tried to push through the police barricades and take alternative routes to reach the US mission. As tension mounted, many protesters engaged in scuffles with the police. Some vehicles were set on fire. The attempt of the protesters to go towards the mission forced police to resort to a lathicharge at least three times. Some protesters set fire to two-wheelers on Thiru. Vi Ka Salai off Anna Salai as they dodged baton-wielding police personnel. As many as 19 police personnel and 15 protesters were injured in the stone pelting and subsequent lathicharge. The police registered three cases in connection with the burning of bikes and the damaging of an MTC bus. Traffic on the arterial Anna Salai was thrown completely off gear while more than 1,000 protesters offered namaz on Anna Salai not far from the Spencer junction, leaving the police in a dilemma. The violence near Tarapore Towers was sparked off when protesters started trying to break through the police barricades to get to the US mission, where a three-tier security has been set up to ensure that there is no repeat of the violence that took place on Friday. The police first resorted to lathicharge to push the protesters back towards Tarapore Towers at 5 pm, following which protesters starting pelting stones at the nearby building. Police later allowed the charged up mob to go up to Spencer junction. However, when they tried to move further ahead, police resorted to lathicharge again to disperse the crowd at Pattulos Road junction. After the second lathicharge, the crowd moved back and assembled on the middle of Anna Salai just a few meters away from Spencer junction for namaz. “They offered namaz for 30 minutes and after that when there were dispersing some people started pelting stones at the police. That is when we had to resort to another lathicharge. The people set fire to two bikes parked on Thiru Vi Ka Salai and GP Road,” the police said. (Asian Age 19/9/12) Frequent communal clashesmay alienate Muslims from SP (7) LUCKNOW: The six communal riots within the first six months of Samajwadi Party (SP) government has made the Muslim community in the state insecure about its safety. And if the SP fails to take stringent measures to curb communal clashes, the party may see its political repercussions in the future. Muslims form the major chunk of SP vote bank. Even Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati had minced no words while explaining her party's defeat in UP assembly elections. "Muslims voted en-bloc in favour of the SP and this was the major reason why our party was defeated," she had said. After coming to power, the SP had assured the community of all help in its growth towards a better future. But the spate of communal riots has raised questions over this assurance. "It is a growing concern. Every time there is a riot, the government claims that it will take strict action. No government can explain that six communal riots within the six months of SP rule is close to normal," said Maulana Khalid Rasheed Ferangi Mahali, the Naib Imam of Edgah Lucknow. "If the government believes that it is not a normal situation, then it will have to initiate extraordinary measures to curb such happenings. We don't see any such happenings coming," Maulana Khalid told TOI. Shia cleric Maulana Yasoof Abbas, too, finds the situation alarming. "It is shocking that the government is yet to initiate any stringent action to check such happenings," he said. "It is not about Shias or Sunnis or even Muslims but it is about the innocent human beings who generally fall prey to such violence. That such incidents also force a particular group or community to stand out of the rest is something very logical and self-explanatory," he added. Though political observers feel that such incidents would help the SP government benefit politically as polarization of votes on communal grounds works in favour as it consolidates the votes of the two communities further, they are doubtful if the government inaction has anything to do with it. The common man, who looks at these incidents without any political perspective, finds the situation shocking. "Agar sarkar na chahe to dange ho hi nahi sakte ...Ab ya to sarkar chahti hai ki danga ho aur ya phir wo yeh sab rok pane mein nakamiyab hai" (I believe that a riot cannot take place if the government wants to ensure that it doesn't .... Now either the government wants clashes to happen or it is unable to control this)," said Idrees Ahmed, a junk dealer in Kaiserbagh. Drawing parallels between the previous Mayawati regime and the SP government, Munawwar Hasan, who deals in export of chikan garments, said: "In BSP regime one hardly heard that a communal riot had taken place but in the present dispensation, it is almost a monthly affair." The

frequency with which such clashes are taking place, has madet the Muslim community concerned. Politically speaking, this is sure to wake up the SP leaders who have apparently failed to curb such incidents. (Times of India 20/9/12) Pak mob sets church ablaze in anti-Islam film prote st (7) Islamabad: A mob of hundreds of Muslim men attacked and burnt an 82-year-old church and an adjoining school in northwest Pakistan during a protest against an anti-Islam film, sparking concerns among the minority Christian community. The mob broke through the gate of the St Paul's Lutheran Church inside the cantonment in Mardan city, 48 km from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa capital of Peshawar, on Friday while returning from a rally against the film Innocence Of Muslims. According to reports from Christians in Mardan, the mob attacked and set on fire the church, St Paul's high school, a library, a computer laboratory and houses of four clergymen, including Bishop Peter Majeed. The mob also damaged and torched moveable property, including a car and three motorcycles. Zeeshan Chand, the 17-year-old son of a pastor, was beaten by the mob and had to be hospitalised in Mardan. Rev Binyameen Barkat, the treasurer of the Northern Diocese of the Church of Pakistan, said, "We were under threats of such attacks since last week and had requested the local administration to provide security to the church property, which they did. However, it was not enough to stop the aggressive armed men".Christian leaders said those who attacked the church had brought kerosene and guns. They stoned the church, desecrated the altar, tore copies of the Bible and prayer books and later put everything on fire. "We immediately called the fire brigades, but the mob stoned and did not allow the fire fighters to enter the church compound," Barkat said. The incident has caused considerable concern in the minority Christian community in Pakistan's restive northwest. Bishop Majeed said the church was targeted twice in 2010 during protests though the damage at that time was not extensive. President Asif Ali Zardari today condemned the burning of the church, saying the ransacking of public and private property, particularly places of worship of other religions, was an "un-Islamic and highly condemnable act".Zardari noted that the "highly provocative anti-Islam film" had been condemned across the world by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. However, the ransacking and vandalising of places of worship in retaliation for the film "amounted to playing into the hands" of those who produced the anti-Islam movie. Zardari called on the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government to take all measures to protect the places of worship of Christians and other minorities and to address their grievances. The St Paul's Lutheran Church was built in 1930 and is situated on three kanals of land. Mardan, the hometown of provincial Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti, has some 5,000 Christian families that moved to the region in 1903. Many Christians work for the local municipality and a majority of them live in the Mardan cantonment. The Christians of Mardan demanded the reconstruction of the church during a protest on Saturday. The protestors said they too are Pakistanis and condemned all acts against Islam like the sacrilegious film. However, they said they expected the same treatment from their "Muslim brothers". Friday's nationwide protests against the anti-Islam film resulted in 23 deaths and the destruction of property worth billions of rupees. The government had declared a national holiday to facilitate protests but the situation got out of control as mobs went on the rampage in cities across the country. (Asian Age 23/9/12) Sri Lankans Muslims condemn attacks on Buddhists (7 ) COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s minority Muslims condemned attacks on minority Buddhists in the Muslim-majority Bangladesh and demanded that authorities there punish those responsible. N.M. Ameen, president of Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, an umbrella organisation of over 100 Muslim civil society groups, said Wednesday that any ethnic incident against minorities in Bangladesh or any other South Asian country “is surely to reflect in our country Sri Lanka too.” About 7 percent of Sri Lanka’s 20 million people are Muslims, and 74 percent are mostly Buddhist Sinhalese. (The Hindu 3/10/12) Free ‘innocents’: Muslim leaders (7) MUMBAI: Several Muslim community leaders and activists have demanded the release of "innocent" youths arrested on the day of the Azad Maidan rioting. On August 11 the police arrested 23 accused for the violence at a rally at Azad Maidan organized by Muslim groups to protest the killings of Muslims in Assam and Myanmar. Out of the 23 arrested on August 11, three were released while 20 are still in jail. Muslim activists believe that the youths arrested on August 11 are innocent as there are no video clips or photographs to prove they were involved in the rioting. Several delegations have met senior police officers, CM Prithviraj Chavan and home minister R R Patil seeking their release. "These boys are those who returned to collect their bikes at the Azad Maidan police station. Senior police officers promised the innocents will be released, yet the boys who just attended the protest meeting and had no role in the violence are languishing in jail," said senior Urdu journalist Sarfraz Arzoo. M A Khalid of the All-India Milli

Council said the Muslim community leaders were demanding the release of only the innocents, not the guilty of violence on August 11. Joint commissioner of police Himanshu Roy, said, "We have discharged five persons who were found innocent. The five are among the first lot of the 23 persons arrested. We are taking extra care as we don't want any innocent persons to be punished." (Times of India 9/10/12) Scenes in film 'Innocence of Muslims' blocked on We b: Police (7) Mumbai: The Cyber Crime Investigation cell of Mumbai police's Crime Branch today informed the Bombay High Court that on police's request, video-sharing portal Youtube (a Google subsidiary), had blocked "objectionable scenes" in the controversial anti-Islam film 'The Innocence of Muslims'. However, Youtube could not provide the IP addresses from where the film was uploaded as addresses were located outside India, said inspector Ravi Sardesai in his affidavit on a petition seeking removal of the film from the Internet. For this, the process of Letter Rogatory was being initiated (whereby assistance of foreign judicial system is sought), he said. Additional Solicitor General Kevic Setalvad, who represented the Union Government, sought time to file his reply, so the the matter was adjourned to October 17 by Justice Sharad Bobade and Justice Rajesh Ketkar. Cyber Crime Cell says in the affidavit that it is closely monitoring Internet sites and taking utmost efforts to ensure that such objectionable content is deleted or blocked. The film, made in USA, recently sparked off violent protests in the middle-east and also in Pakistan. The PIL by local Congress member Ameen Mustafa Idrisialso demands criminal action against top officers of Google for letting the film that hurt the religious feelings of Muslims across the world to be online. (Indian Express 10/10/12) Muslims' paddy being destroyed in BTC: Rights body (7) GUWAHATI: The United Movement for People's Rights (UMPR), an umbrella body of non-Bodo organizations, alleged that there is a conspiracy in place to prevent Muslims affected in the violence from getting rehabilitated in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD). The UMPR also alleged that miscreants are destroying paddy belonging to Muslims in Kokrajhar district under the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). "Since the resettling of the riot-hit people in the BTC area has begun, anti-social elements who want to oust Muslims and other non-Bodo communities from Bodoland have launched a new strategy to hamper the process of resettlement of the people who have been taking shelter in the relief camps for the past several months," Hareswar Barman, convener of the UMPR, told mediapersons here. He said that during the past week, agricultural produce, especially paddy that is ready to be harvested, has been damaged on a large scale at Dotma, Bhowraguri, Hudumkhata and Charagaon areas in Kokrajhar district. He added that the situation in these areas has deteriorated again, raising an alarm among the non-Bodo communities. The UMPR alleged that the district administration of Kokrajhar is yet to respond to the pleas of locals in these areas where miscreants have fired several rounds of bullets in the past week to cast out the non-Bodos and the Muslims. "Paddy crop on 16 bighas has been damaged by miscreants in Hudumkhata recently, but the police are yet to act against the culprits. A motorbike and a tractor belonging to a peasant have also been snatched by miscreants. The people of this village are in deep trouble," Barman added. Brajen Mahanta, coordinator of the UMPR, demanded that the government deploy adequate security personnel in these villages. He demanded that the NRC be updated before the 2014 Lok Sabha election so that the issue of illegal immigrants in the state cannot be used political parties to their advantage during the general election. A(Times of India 15/10/12) ‘Urdu doesn’t belong to Muslims alone’ (7) Poet-lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri immortalised the word 'caravan' with his couplet 'Main akela hi chala tha jaanib-e-manzil magar/ Log saath aate gaye aur kaarvaan banta gaya (I was going towards my goal alone/People came along and a caravan was formed).' Much the same hope has set Justice Markandey Katju, retired Supreme Court judge and Press Council of India chief, on a mission: that of leading the Urdu Heritage Caravan, an initiative to restore the glory of a language slowly slipping into a coma. Kicked off in New Delhi on September 16 with a conference and a shaam-e-ghazal (evening of ghazals), the caravan will reach Mumbai on October 21 before it moves to Lucknow and Hyderabad. In Mumbai, apart from a discussion on Urdu fiction, Caravan will also hold a conference on 100 years of Indian cinema and Urdu. Through debates, dramas and conferences, the initiative will engage people from cultural icons to powerful politicos to common connoisseurs. It seeks to remove two wrong and mischievous notions about Urdu—that it is a foreign language and the language of Muslims alone. "Only fools believe that Urdu belongs to Muslims alone and that it came from outside. It is an indigenous language created by both Hindus and Muslims," explains Justice Katju, a connoisseur of Urdu poetry. "Our idea is to highlight Urdu's pluralistic character and the injustices it has suffered over the years," adds Asif Azmi, Caravan's

convener who roped in Justice Katju to head the movement. Where did these injustices stem from? "Urdu is paying the price of Partition. Urdu ko logon ne musalman bana diya (Urdu has been made a Muslim)," protests senior Urdu poet Nida Fazli. Fazli slams those Muslims who try to appropriate Urdu, cover it in an Islamic hue and disrobe it of its secular veneer. Competitive communalism in post-Independence India has also harmed Urdu grievously. Take Maharashtra. With 4,400 Urdu-medium primary schools, 1,400 high schools and 240 junior colleges, Maharashtra could have set an example in being an incubator for Urdu. Yet, here too Urdu's future looks bleak. Recently, this newspaper reported about a "crumbling" civic-run Urdu school in Mumbra where around 150 pupils are crammed in one classroom. Students use a public toilet across a nullah, as the authorities allegedly pulled down school's toilets to accommodate more students over the last nine years. "Primary teachers teach students of Class 9 and 10, as not a single teacher has been appointed in many years," says local activist Pervez Farid who took mediapersons to the school. This is not an isolated example, as creaking infrastructure mars teaching of Urdu across the state. Limited job opportunities in Urdu also hamper the language's progress. "Many parents don't teach their children Urdu because they know Urdu has few takers in the job market. The language cannot survive unless it is linked with rozi-roti," says M A Basheer, a Nanded-based lecturer and champion of Urdu. He says that, like the UPSC, the MPSC too should allow students to write papers in Urdu in the exams conducted by it. The Maharashtra State Urdu Sahitya Academy, one of the partners in Caravan's programme in Mumbai, is doing precious little to promote Urdu. It stopped running Urdu classes years ago. "While the annual budget of the Andhra Pradesh Urdu Academy is Rs 28 crore, in Maharashtra it is just Rs one crore. How can you expect an academy to function efficiently on such a small budget?" asks Meraaj Siddiqui of Majlis-e-Shoora, an NGO. State minorities affairs minister Naseem Khan denies that any injustice is being done to Urdu. "The government is giving an annual grant of Rs 2 lakh to all minority-run schools and that includes Urdu schools," he says. "We will soon build Urdu Bhavans in Mumbai, Nanded, Aurangabad and Solapur. But as Urdu journalist Sami Bubere counters, what purpose will Urdu Bhavans in the future serve if there are hardly any Urdu-knowing people left. (Times of India 21/10/12) Congress Muslim leader joins BJP (7) In a high-profile crossover ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls, former state Congress spokeswoman Asifa Khan on Saturday joined the BJP. Ms Khan, who hails from Bharuch district where Muslim population is high, said the community has to move on by “burying the 2002 communal riots”. “I am as pained as any victim of 2002 riots but the community has to move on. Riot victims are getting justice from the judiciary,” she said in a reply to a query on who was responsible for the 2002 riots. “You know that many riots took place before 2002 also in Gujarat,” Ms Khan told reporters. A former journalist, Ms Khan was handpicked by Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political advisor Ahmed Patel to join the party as spokesperson before the 2009 general elections. Ms Khan said though she was “grateful” to Mr Ahmed Patel for brining her into politics, she stood firm on working for the BJP. Ms Khan, who was also the media convenor of national women wing of the Congress, said she had no problem as such with the Congress but decided to switch to the BJP as the party is “working towards bringing in prosperity”. Elated over Ms Khan crossing over to the saffron party, the BJP said, “Her coming to the party proves that the BJP is gaining support from all communities of the state ahead of elections. She has come to the party from Bharuch district where Muslim population is high,” BJP MP and spokesman Vijay Rupani said. He said more people will get attracted to the BJP for its policy of “development for all and appeasement for none”. However, the BJP kept quiet on whether it will give tickets to minority community members in the forthcoming elections. So far under Mr Modi, no members of minority community have been given tickets. “The process of selecting candidates is on and our party observers are touring all districts. Once we get a report from observers our parliamentary board will decide on the issue,” he said. (Asian Age 21/10/12) UP to get more Muslim cops (7) The Akhilesh Yadav government is now making a conscious effort to induct more people from Muslim minorities into the police force. A proposal to this effect has been sent to the government by the police department.UP DGP, A.C. Sharma, while addressing a conference of retired officers of the Provincial Police Services, said that if the state government cleared the proposal, retired PPS officers would be commissioned to train the new entrants.“In the proposal sent to the state government, we have suggested that Muslim students should be inducted into the police forces and the services of retired PPS officers should be taken to train the new cadres,” the DGP said.Later, DGP Sharma explained that the induction of minorities, particularly Muslims, would make the UP police force more broad-based and would also

help immensely in ensuring better policing.At present, Uttar Pradesh has a poor representation of Muslims in the state police force. Of the 1.87 lakh police personnel in UP, the strength of Muslims is merely 9, 166.The Sachchar Committee report of November 2006 had also pointed to the poor representation of Muslims in various government services and recommended having Muslim officers at top positions in police stations as a way to build confidence among the population which may have a high concentration of Muslims. Earlier in 2012, the central government also sent a letter to all the state governments, asking them to ensure higher representation of Muslims in the police force. National Commission for Minorities (NCM) chairperson Wajahat Habibullah said that poor representation of Muslims in the police is impacting investigations as there is a lack of sensitivity in understanding the community.Former director general of the UP Police, Prakash Singh, however, felt that it would be better if policemen were taught to behave objectively, irrespective of their religion and efforts were made to erase caste lines that divide the police force. Meanwhile, a top police official in the state, on condition of anonymity, said that publicising the induction of Muslims in the police force could lead to a backlash from the majority community. “Such decision should be implemented without making a hue and cry. During the recruitment drive, we should encourage more Muslim boys to apply. At present, the PAC is accused of being anti-minorities because it is dominated by Hindus. Tomorrow, if more Muslims are inducted, the majority community could react in a similar manner and that would be dangerous. It is best not to identify the police personnel by their caste or religion and ensure representation to all,” he said. (Asian Age 30/10/12) Minority meet: Speaker Vasava says Muslims grew in Modi’s Gujarat (7) Surat: Ganpat Vasava, Assembly Speaker and MLA from tribal constituency of Mangrol, turned Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s Sadhbhavana ambassador at BJP’s minority meet here on Tuesday and said Muslims in the state have witnessed growth under him. Vasava, who was chief guest at the meet attended by over two thousand people, told the gathering, “I want to say that Islam gives message of peace and harmony. Congress party’s policy is to divide and rule. After independence, the Congress party divided brothers and ruled the country. Narendra Modi speaks about six crore Gujaratis, which includes both Hindus and Muslims. We should say he is secularist as he has never discriminated. Due to the divide-and-rule policy, Muslims have been left behind and are away from the mainstream. Now the community has awakened, and since 2001 when Narendra Modi became CM, we have (seen) development and growth among Muslims too.” He said the Congress was fighting without a commandant in Gujarat for the last two assembly elections, and therefore they were losing. The BJP, on the other hand, was winning the “war” because it had a strong commandant (chief minister), he said. While BJP national vice-president Parshottam Rupala, who was also invited, could not make it because of BJP’s parliamentary board meeting that started in Gandhinagar today, conspicuous was the absence of state BJP minority cell president Mehboob Ali Bawa. Muslim faces of the BJP included chairman of Waqf Board A I Saiyed and Gujarat State Director of Finance Board Dr Mohsin Lokhandwala. Over 100 of youths and Congress workers belonging to minority community joined BJP in the meeting. Saiyed, a former IPS officer who joined BJP after retirement, said, “I had been in the police department in Gujarat for over 30 years. During my tenure, in majority of the districts I came in direct contact of Congress leaders when they were in power. I found they were using Muslims as goons and had never thought for growth and development of the community.” (Indian Express 31/10/12) Muslim man's power to divorce not unrestricted: J&K HC (7) Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has held that a Muslim man's power to divorce his wife is not "unrestricted or unqualified".Justice Hasnain Masoodi in his 23-page judgment extensively went into details of the Shariah law and Quranic injunctions to hold that a "husband cannot have unrestricted or unqualified power to pronounce the Talaaq." The court delved into the fundamental sources of Shariah law to understand the concept of marriage in Islam, the rights of the parties to the marriage contract and the mode and manner the contract is dissolved. "Though Islam visualizes a situation where a marriage may run into rough weather for reasons beyond control of the parties to the marriage contract, and provides for a mechanism to end or dissolve the relationship in such case, yet the device of divorce is to be used as the last option when the marital relations have irretrievably broken down," the court said. It maintained that in Islam divorce or Talaaq by the husband may take three forms including Talaaq-e-Ahsan which is single pronouncement of divorce made during a 'Tuhr' (period between menstruations) followed by abstinence from physical relationship for the period of Iddat (waiting period). The second form is Talaaq-e-Hasan which is three pronouncements of divorce made during successive Tuhrs, without any physical relationship during any of the three Tuhrs. The third is Talaaq-e-Bidhi which is three

pronouncements of divorce made during a single Tuhr either in one sentence or in three sentences or in any other form like in writing, indicating intention of the husband to irrevocably dissolve the marriage. (Deccan Herald 1/11/12) Karnad says no chance of apology to Naipaul (7) Noted playwright Girish Karnad, who delivered a scathing attack on Sir Vidia S. Naipaul for his views on Muslims in India at the Tata LitFest on Friday, calling the Nobel laureate “stone deaf” and an “unreliable” writer of non-fiction as far as India is concerned, on Saturday stood by his remarks and ruled out an apology. “I completely stand by my statement. I haven’t made any mistake, rather I came prepared for it,” Karnad said. Karnad, who on Friday was invited to speak about his life as a theatre artiste, threw the audience off guard when he came out guns blazing at Sir Vidia. The writer questioned the decision of the festival organisers to honour the Nobel laureate with the award. Farrukh Dhondy, a close friend of Sir Vidia, said, “Firstly, Naipaul is not anti-Muslim, unlike what Karnad said. He also said that the Nobel Prize was given to him because he was anti-Muslim. And that, since it was right after the 9/11 attacks, the Swedish committee wanted to express their anti-Muslim sentiments by honouring him. It’s absurd; not the kind of remark one expects of a distinguished playwright like him.” (Asian Age 4/11/12) 'Iqbal never demanded separate home for Muslims out side India' (7) Lahore: In The Discovery of India, Jawaharlal Nehru recollects his last meeting with poet Mohammed Iqbal a few months before the latter's death in Lahore in 1938. Nehru says that an ailing Iqbal, comparing him with Jinnah, had remarked: "Jinnah is a politician and you are a patriot." While that should have silenced Iqbal's critics in India who continue to blame him for coming up with the idea of Pakistan, the poet who paid tribute to India's multiculturalism, called Lord Ram Imam-e-Hind (Leader of India) and celebrated its eternal beauty through numerous poems, including Sare Jahan Se Achcha, is still a pariah in India. How else does one explain the country's collective amnesia about him on his birth anniversary (November 9)? While the government has completely forgotten Iqbal, the public at large also seems to be abandoning him. Barring Dongri-based think-tank Urdu Markaz, which is planning to celebrate an Iqbal Week through lectures, mushaira and singing of Iqbal's poetry, Mumbai too is choosing to ignore the poet's birth anniversary. Ignorance combined with doctored history has misled even many educated Indians to believe that the once great patriot later turned fanatical and chose Islamic Pakistan over secular India. The late scholar Rafiq Zakaria was shocked when Pramod Mahajan, then general secretary of the BJP, at a seminar at Nehru Centre in 1990, said that "a great Indian Muslim like Iqbal who penned Sare Jahan Se Achcha later divided India". "I reminded Mahajan of his ignorance and decided that very day to try and set the record straight," writes Zakaria in Iqbal: The Poet And Politician. The book not only details Iqbal's love and admiration for India's iconic figures like Ram, Guru Nanak, Swami Ram Teerath and classical poets Vishwamitra and Bhartrahari but also traces the reasons for hatred against the poet. The seed that sowed doubt about Iqbal's patriotism was in his 1930 presidential address at the Allahabad session of the Muslim League. Addressing a motley crowd at an old haveli, Iqbal proposed the creation of a Muslim province within the Indian federation, comprising the Muslim-dominated areas of Punjab, North-West Frontier, Sindh and Balochistan. "Iqbal never demanded a separate home for Muslims outside India. He didn't include the Indians of Bengal or Central India," says Abdul Haq, Urdu scholar and professor emeritus at Delhi University. "In Independent India too, we have given special status to some north-eastern states and Jammu & Kashmir to safeguard their unique culture. Iqbal's demand should have been seen in that spirit." Haq admits that since Iqbal's formulation suited the supporters of Pakistan, they lapped it up and declared him as the "ideological father" of the country-which too made him a detested figure among many Indians. Mumbai-based Urdu scholar Abdus Sattar Dalvi, who translated Zakaria's book on Iqbal into Urdu, argues that years before Iqbal uttered the controversial plan at Allahabad, nationalist leader Lala Lajpat Rai had written a series of articles in Tribune favouring the creation of a separate Muslim state within India, comprising the Muslim-dominated north-west provinces. "Why doesn't anyone question Lala's patriotism for his views?" asks Dalvi. Most scholars agree that as a politician Iqbal was a big failure. But that doesn't undermine his contribution as one of India's greatest poets. Anwar Pasha, professor of Urdu at Jawaharlal Nehru University, says that even if Pakistan regards Iqbal as its founding father, India should not abandon him as he championed our struggle against foreign rule. Iqbal, says Pasha, attacked both Hindu and Muslim fanaticism, ridiculed orthodox mullahs and pandits and exhorted not only Indians but Asians against western imperialism. Acknowledging Iqbal's contributions, poet-freedom fighter Sarojni Naidu had called Iqbal the "poet laureate of Asia".Iqbal fought communalism-attacking fundamentalist Hindus for questioning Muslims' loyalty to India, he wrote: Patthar ki moorton mein samjha hai tu khuda hai/khak-e-watan ka mujhko har zarra devta hai (For you god is in stone's idol/To me every particle of the country's soil is a deity). Although he used Islamic metaphors extensively

in his poetry, Iqbal attacked the sloth-filled Muslim masses and supremacist, narrow-minded clergy. (Times of India 5/11/12) Muslim League irked as cops continue arrests (7) KOZHIKODE: Though Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) had approached chief minister Oommen Chandy over the arrest of party workers who had returned from the Gulf via Karipur airport, the party is irked since no action has been taken to remedy this situation. Ajinaz, an IUML worker from Nadapuram, was detained by immigration officials as there was a look out circular (LOC) against him. Police said there are cases were filed against Ajinaz in connection with the 2005-08 clashes. LOCs have been issued against nearly 100 people who are either accused in serious communal or political clashes or against whom there are long-pending warrants. Majority of them are the IUML workers from Nadapuram and adjoining areas. Police say they sneaked out of the country after getting involved in criminal cases. "We have already informed chief minister Oommen Chandy about this and he assured us that he would talk to the home minister. We strongly protest the continuing arrests though the chief minister gave us an assurance," said IUML district general secretary M A Razak. He added that the party has not demanded the withdrawal of cases against its workers. "We only requested the police to inform the persons about the case before issuing LOCs. Many persons arrested so far are not aware of the cases slapped against them," he said. Police, however, said they have not received any directive from the government to stall present proceedings. "We will arrest the people against whom we have LOCs," a police officer said. (Times of India 8/11/12) Gujarat tops states in number of Muslim policemen ( 7) NEW DELHI: Gujarat, which faced one of the worst anti-Muslim riots in the country barely 10 years ago, has emerged as the state with the largest number of Muslim cops posted in police stations, beating states with a higher proportion of the community in their population. The data, shared by the home ministry in response to an RTI query filed by TOI, shows that 10.6% of Gujarat's cops posted in police stations are Muslims. This is higher than the proportion of Muslims in the state's population, which is 9.1% (2001 census). The state has 5,021 cops from the community out of a total of 47,424 in its 501 police stations. On an average, Gujarat has 10 Muslim cops per police station — higher than any other state which shared data with the Centre. The trend comes to light at a time when most states have failed to implement a key recommendation of the Sachar Committee report, suggesting that more Muslim cops be in police stations to build confidence among the community. Assam and Kerala, home to a much larger chunk of Muslims, have a higher percentage of the community in their police forces. But Gujarat has higher number of Muslim cops. Along with Odisha, it is the only state where the percentage of Muslims in the police force is higher than in the general population. The list includes 17 states and six Union Territories (UTs) and leaves out states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh (where Muslim population is 10% or more), which did not share data with the home ministry despite several reminders. Gujarat has 5,021 Muslim police personnel in its 501 police stations compared to 2,210 Muslim cops in 451 police stations in Kerala, 2,048 in 525 police stations in West Bengal, 930 in 773 police stations in Rajasthan and 616 in 417 police stations in Jharkhand. Absence of data from 11 states and one UT (Puducherry) may spare them from being scrutinized at this juncture by the Centre but not sharing figures of Muslim cops may itself raise a question mark over these states' commitment to implement the Sachar committee recommendations. TOI had sought information under the transparency law in the context of the home ministry's missive to states reminding them about implementing Sachar panel's recommendations on posting a minimum of one Muslim inspector or sub-inspector in police stations which catered to a sizeable number of the minority community. This, the committee said, should be done "not eliminate discrimination but as an initiative to build confidence".The ministry also sought details of action taken by the states in this regard on a half-yearly basis. The Sachar committee, constituted on March 9, 2005 under the chairmanship of Justice Rajinder Sachar to prepare a comprehensive report on the social, economic and educational status of Muslims in India, had submitted its findings in November 2006. (Times of India 12/11/12) Police atrocities anger Muslims (7) HYDERABAD: The United Muslim Action Committee (UMAC), the biggest representative body of Muslims in the state filed a petition with the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), complaining against police atrocities in Old City, officials said. Measures taken up by the police department to prevent or diffuse communal tension in the city seem to have rubbed the minorities on the wrong side, with members alleging harassment and discrimination by the police. Of late, the SHRC is witnessing a spurt in complaints by Muslim citizens and organizations, mainly in connection to police inaction. "From November

10 night, police have imposed section 144 in many parts of Old City but it looks like an undeclared curfew has been clamped. One can find barricades with hundreds of policemen in most parts of Old City," said Abdul Raheem Qureshi, president of UMAC. He said if action is not taken, there could be riots against the police. The UMAC said most of the commercial establishments had been forcibly closed by the police resulting in huge losses to the traders of the area. The committee members along with MIM leaders Asaduddin Owaisi and Akbaruddin Owaisi met the SHRC chairman justice Nisar Ahmad Kakru and briefed him on the prevailing situation in Old City. "Residents within a two kilometers radius are also unable to get their daily provisions. Ration shops, medical halls, private clinics and nursing homes are also shut in these areas," the petition says. Trouble broke out on November 11 when the Bhagyalakshmi Temple authorities built a canopy over a bamboo structure, violating court order, which they said was mainly to keep devotees away from the heat and rain during special aarti on Diwali day. But police did not bring down the structure and instead imposed restrictions, which forced people out off the streets. The petition also focused on the state of petty vendors and fruit sellers who eke out a living with their daily businesses and informed that many of them are in a deplorable state. Members also complained that devotees are not being allowed to pray inside the Mecca Masjid because of unnecessary security measures. The members had earlier been to the police headquarters and complained with the commissioner.They further alleged that police was resorting to illegal arrests of minorities and traffic restrictions which were throwing life out of gear. Blaming the police for the present situation, members requested the commission to enquire into the unofficial curfew and ensure that petty vendors and traders are compensated for the loss incurred during this duration. Admitting the case, the Chairman of the commission directed the chef secretary and DGP of the state and city police commissioner to enquire within 48 hours. (Times of India 15/11/12) Muslim body to tour state to 'expose' govt (7) HYDERABAD: MIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi and United Muslim Action Committee (UMAC) president Abdul Raheem Qureshi on Wednesday said the UMAC leaders would tour the state to "expose the anti-secular activities of the Congress government." Criticising the police and the government for "creating a curfew-like situation in Old City" and they said Muslims have been badly hit as 'the business establishments run by them are not being allowed to function.'Addressing the media at MIM headquarters in Darussalaam, Owaisi said "We will go to all places. We will speak to the people and tell them about the anti-people and communal policies of the government. We will also include SCs and BCs in our tour." Owaisi stated that deputy chief minister Damodar Rajanarsimha's wife had visited the Bhagyalakshmi Temple for darshan on Tuesday even as business establishments had been shut down. "It is surprising and upsetting that shops were not allowed to open but the deputy chief minister's family visited the temple with a police escort. This is a deliberate economic blockade of Old City. Vendors are not allowed to sell their wares and autos are not being allowed to ply on the streets. This family's visit to the temple has corroborated what the MIM has been saying about the Congress government," Owaisi said. Owaisi said that since the MIM had supported the Congress government in the no-confidence motion, it was necessary to give governor E S L Narsimhan a letter expressing their withdrawal of support. "Technically we are not a pre-poll ally. But since our support is on record, we will give the letter very soon." (Times of India 16/11/12) Majority govt not good for Muslims: Shahi Imam (7) KANPUR: Expressing his displeasure over the performance of the Samajwadi Party-led Uttar Pradesh government, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari has said the formation of governments with absolute majority doesn't do any good for Muslims. "For the safeguard of rights of the Muslims, it is better that governments should not be formed with absolute majority. Formation of government without absolute majority is in favour of Muslims," Bukhari said on Thursday. Bukhari claimed that the Samajwadi party before the Assembly polls had promised that the charges against all those Muslims, implicated in false cases, would be taken back but instead, cases against only those, who are close to ruling party, are being taken back by the government. Bukhari appealed to the community members to cast their votes depending on the performance of the political parties in the next general elections. (Times of India 17/11/12) Muslim doctors his last sentinels: Urdu press (7) MUMBAI: The city's Urdu newspapers on Sunday gave thorough coverage to Bal Thackeray's death. All carried detailed reports about his early days, years as a cartoonist and transformation into a political firebrand. As for editorial comment , while most held him in a favourable light for being a messiah of Marathi Manoos, they criticized him for being anti-minority and communal. The Urdu Times, the city's

second largest Urdu daily, carried a story noting that the man who kept issuing statements against Muslims throughout his life was served by two Muslim doctors (Dr Jalil Parkar and DR Abdus Samad Ansari) when he breathed his last. Columnist Shakeel Rasheed wrote in the paper, "I saw Thackeray having Unani medicines. My topic for the interview was Muslim enmity. I remember Thackeray saying that he wanted Muslims to support him, but they didn't ." One story noted that the Sri Krishna commission held Thackeray's provocative speeches responsible for the 1992-93 riots, "but today , it is being said that he gave a lot to Mumbai and Mumbaikars" . All the papers agreed that he was a charismatic leader, one calling him the 'Godfather of Maharashtra' . They also speculated about the Shiv Sena's future. The Urdu Times wrote, "Will Shiv Sena be shattered after Thackeray's death? Won't some more Sena leaders defect to the Raj Thackeray-led MNS? At a time when Thackeray is no more, what will happen to the Sena?" It said that during his last days, Bal Thackeray was worried about his son and party's future. "It was due to his charisma that the party became popular," the newspaper's editorial said. The Inquilab maintained a neutral view. On its news pages, it carried pictures of Thackeray, Shiv Sainiks outside Matoshree, police bandobast and the arrival of Raj Thackeray at Matoshree. On its sports page, it carried four cartoons of Indian and Pakistani cricketers drawn by Thackeray. The recently launched Sahafat had the headline 'Shiv Sena orphaned : Bal Thackeray, who played politics in the name of Marathi prestige, passes away' . Its Sunday magazine had an opinion page on him, with a column calling him the most popular leader of Maharashtra and the voice of the Marathispeaking people. (Times of India 19/11/12) Support for Modi if he regrets 2002: Muslim umbrell a body (7) NEW DELHI: An umbrella body of Muslim organisations has acknowledged "some signs of change'' in Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's attitude, but laid down stiff conditions, including an apology and "expression of sorrow'' for the 2002 riots, before extending him support "in rebuilding Gujarat''. The Joint Committee of Muslim Organisations for Empowerment (JCMOE) comprises 10 outfits: Jamiat-ul-Ulema Hind, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind; All India Majlis-e-Mushawarat, All India Milli Council, Movement for Empowerment of Muslim Indians, All India Momin Conference, All India Shia Conference, Markazi Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadith, Imarat-e-Sharia, and All India Muslim Educational Society. JCMOE chairman Syed Shahabuddin noted that the BJP and Modi are giving special attention to Muslim voters ahead of the assembly elections in Gujarat, but said the community in the state and elsewhere in the country has not forgotten the 2002 massacre. He asked Modi to offer at least 20 assembly tickets to Muslims acceptable to the community, where they constitute more than 20% of the electorate instead of repeatedly announcing his faith in secularism. "This would give the community representation according to its population (10%) in the state. Token nomination of one or two Muslims, personally known to you, will not do,'' Shahabuddin said. "Alternatively," the former IFS officer wrote, "The Muslim leadership will advise Muslims not to divide their votes and vote massively and unitedly for one candidate, irrespective of party or religion, who is likely to defeat the BJP." Shahabuddin sought "a promise to give Muslims equitable share in the benefits of development at all levels, particularly in education and employment''. He said Gujarat's Muslims have rebuilt their lives on their own with limited resources in the last 10 years as they have realized they have nowhere to go but to live in the state hoping to get equitable benefits in development and employment. JCMOE also called for compensation to the families of those killed in 2002 at par with the 1984 Delhi riot victims, reimbursement of expenditure incurred by the injured in private hospitals, rehabilitation of the displaced people in camps, rehabilitation of those unable to return to their homes in dignity and security and with restoration of their property, compensation for their houses demolished during the massacre. (Times of India 25/11/12) Bengali-speaking Muslim group takes up arms (7) Bogged down by frequent communal violence, a section of radical forces from among Bengali-speaking Muslims have started arming themselves in trouble-torn Bodoland Territorial Council of Western Assam. Disclosing that arms and ammunition are procured from Siliguri area of West Bengal, authoritative security sources told this newspaper that there are indications that these youth may soon float a new armed group in BTC. Though the initiative is at a nascent stage, security sources, however, felt underestimating them would be a blunder. Indicating that the home ministry has also been alerted about this alarming development, security sources clarified that support to this initiative was coming from within the country. Stressing the need for sustained counter-insurgency operations in BTC area, security sources, however, said the ongoing drive to recover illegal weapons in BTC has been yielding results so far with security forces recovering 53 arms, including 12 AK series rifles, 185 rounds of ammunition, including 16 grenades, since July this year. Asserting that the arms recoveries were merely the tip of an iceberg, security sources claimed that many more illegal arms still find their way into the hands of Bodo rebels associated with various pro-talks and anti-talks factions of the NDFB. Security sources said a

number of ex-BLT cadres also have illegal arms but to disarm them security forces should be allowed to carry forward sustained counter-insurgency operations. Regretting the practice of suspending counter-insurgency operations soon after peace is restored, security sources said confiscation of illegal arms is the only way to restore lasting peace in the BTC. Admitting that intervention of Assam governor J.B. Patnaik has given the security forces more teeth, the sources said the governor has also directed the government to route all files relating to Bodoland Territorial Area district through Raj Bhavan. The governor happens to be the constitutional head of BTC, an autonomous administrative unit constituted under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, covering an area of 8,795 sq km. (Asian Age 29/11/12) Muslims won't give up Babri Masjid land, says Owais i (7) Hyderabad: Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi has said the Muslims will never give up even an inch of the land of the demolished Babri Masjid at Ayodhya. The president of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) said Muslims were betrayed at every step in the Babri Masjid case and felt that justice should be done to ensure peace and law and order in the country. Owaisi was addressing a mammoth public meeting organised by the United Muslim Action Committee at MIM headquarters Darussalam in Hyderabad Sunday night, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid on Dec 6, 1992. Giving a detailed account of the case, the MP from Hyderabad advised Muslims to pray for the success of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) in the legal battle. The AIMPLB has challenged, in the Supreme Court, the Sep 30, 2010 verdict of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, which directed that the 2.77-acre disputed land be divided in three parts among Hindus and Muslims. Of this, two parts go to Hindu organisations, while the remaining one-third will go to the Muslims. Owaisi drew a parallel between installation of idols in Babri Masjid and the construction of an illegal temple in the precincts of the historic Charminar here. He alleged that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) colluded with "communal forces" to allow the temple to come up, in blatant violation of the rules for protection of heritage monuments. United Muslim Action Committee convenor Abdul Rahim Quraishi said secularism and justice were "murdered" with the demolition of the Babri Masjid. He said Muslims would never forget that tragedy. Quraishi, who is also the secretary of AIMPLB, said the Babri Masjid case was linked to all those mosques on which "Hindu communal forces" were laying claim. He hoped justice would be done to Muslims. Shakeel Samdani, professor at Aligarh Muslim University and member of AIMPLB, said the tragedy of Dec 6, 1992 broke the hearts of Indian Muslims. He alleged that the communal forces which demolished the mosque were out to destroy Hindu-Muslim unity. Samdani advised Muslim youth to pay attention to law education along with medical and engineering courses. Leaders of various Muslim organisations addressed the meeting. (Hindustan Times 3/12/12) 20 years after Babri razing, India has moved on (7) Twenty years after the Babri mosque demolition sparked off the worst communal clashes after the subcontinent’s partition in 1947, India has moved on. But analysts and politicians say there has to be a constant secular vigil. Despite the then government’s pledge, the razed 16th century mosque has not been rebuilt. On its ruins now stands a makeshift shrine for Hindu god Rama, guarded by hundreds of heavily armed security personnel. The temple-mosque row of Ayodhya, where it all happened, no more elicits the kind of emotions it evoked in the late 1980s and early 90s, redrawing the political map of the country. “The general resentment against the demolition has been vindicated,” says political analyst Aswini K. Ray. He said the incident came as a shock to India’s deep-rooted secular traditions. But the fact that no political party, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, today justifies the destruction is a “vindication of India’s secularism”, the former Jawaharlal Nehru University professor told IANS. Added Rizwan Qaiser of Jamia Millia Islamia university here: “The country has moved on, so has the (Muslim) community, but the scar has remained.” Attempts by well-wishers to resolve the issue by holding discussions between Hindu and Muslim leaders have so far failed. The judiciary too has not succeeded in coming up with a solution acceptable to everyone.IANS (The Hindu 6/12/12) Modi selects his side, rejects Muslim candidates (7 ) Ahmedabad: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and his core team thought long and hard about fielding a Muslim candidate, especially after his September 2011 sadbhavana fast where he tried to reach out beyond his core Hindu constituency, but they developed cold feet and finally decided against it. There were many arguments in favour of the proposal: it could help soften his anti-Muslim image; and it could go some way in making him more acceptable to a pan-Indian electorate. But the plan also had a potentially fatal downside: it could alienate the BJP’s core Hindutva constituency. “It was too risky a gamble. This symbolic gesture may have confused the majority who see Modi as a saviour of the Hindus,” a senior leader close to him told HT. More importantly, the conciliatory gesture towards the minorities could’ve

alienated the party cadre. So, Modi vetoed the plan despite his close advisors being keen on it. “If this election has to be a springboard for 2014, it is important to keep Gujarat’s majority sentiment in mind. There will be enough time for symbolic gestures later,” the leader said, adding: “The party may think of nominating a Muslim to the Rajya Sabha when the time is right.” For the record, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitaraman, said: “The sadbhavana fast was never meant as a quid pro quo (for gaining Muslim support). When there is a fight for every seat, winnability is important. We don’t believe in appeasement.” On the face of it, Modi includes all religious groups when he talks of bettering the lives of “six crore Gujaratis”, and ‘Ekmat Gujarat’ (united Gujarat) is the main theme of the BJP’s election strategy, but the core Hindutva ideology has never been too far below the surface. There's another reason why Modi and his close advisors developed cold feet about giving a ticket to a Muslim. Keshubhai Patel's newly-floated Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) has not given any Muslim a ticket. The chief minister was apprehensive that his core constituency would drift towards the GPP if he did. (Hindustan Times 10/12/12) 'Cultural genocide of Islamic heritage' in Saudi Ar abia riles Sunni Sufis (7) NEW DELHI: A Muslim clerics' body that claims to represent about 80% of Sunni Sufis in India has protested against destruction of sacred monuments of Islam in Saudi Arabia. The All India Ulema and Mashaikh Board (AIUMB) on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, external affairs minister Salman Khurshid as well as to the Saudi ambassador in India and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) among others venting the angst of "thousands of Indian Muslims".In his letter, AIUMB general secretary Maulana Syed Mohammad Ashraf Kicchouchhwi wrote, "... the tomb of the Prophet is now prime target of the Saudi regime. This is sought to be done away with in the name of expansion of the mosque (Al-Masjid-al-Nabawi) and developing a five-star culture in Medina Shareef." He said this was the most heinous crime ever committed against any religion by the 'protector of its holy places'. AIUMB national secretary Syed Babar Ashraf told TOI, "The Saudi government should preserve, protect and develop the sacred places which are landmarks in the history of Islam. Instead, they are demolishing symbols of Islamic heritage, including the birth place of the Prophet of Islam, in the name of expansion and modernization." The AIUMB plans to hold a protest march next month. "We will continue to protest until the Saudi government reassures the world that the decisions to demolish Islamic heritages will be withdrawn and all the demolished sacred places will be restored in their original form in their original places," said Ashraf. While accepting that expansion of Medina is needed, he said, "It cannot be done by demolishing Islamic cultural heritage and sites related to the Prophet, his family members and companions. This is cultural genocide of Islamic heritage," said Ashraf. (Times of India 11.12.12) Call to rework Muslim personal law (7) HYDERABAD: The current Muslim Family Law (MFL) that is followed by millions in India needs to be reworked by abolishing the age-old practice of oral triple talaq (divorce) and by taking more steps to empower women, prominent social scientist Asghar Ali Engineer said on Saturday. Engineer leads the Progressive Dawoodi Bohra movement and has taken the lead in condemning Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the leader of the Bohras, for influencing Bohras to vote for Narendra Modi, the chief minister in BJP-ruled Gujarat. "The oral triple talaq is being given unjustly in a condition of inebriation or in a fit of rage when a man is not in his senses. Further, giving talaq on the phone or by means of SMS should also be abolished," Ali engineer said. Speaking at a consultation meeting at Madina Education Centre in the Old City on Friday, Engineer noted that oral triple talaq finds no mention in the Quran. A heated debate also ensued between Engineer and Muslim Personal Law Board joint secretary Abdul Raheem Qureshi as he maintained that no changes should be made in the sharia (Islamic law). Qureshi said that any codification of Islamic law would give the parliament an opportunity to manipulate it, but Engineer who is very well respected in the Muslim community called for several measures to make laws more people-friendly. Engineer said arbitration is the most modern method to settle talaq disputes and proposed that a marriage council headed by a chief qazi be constituted to deal with such cases. He said many times the woman is blamed for being unable to bear a child when it is the man's specific medical condition that is responsible for childlessness. "A medical test must be done to determine why a child cannot be conceived after which the arbitration council must give its decision whether talaq should be given or not. Only then the man should be allowed to marry again," he said. Engineer noted that grooms give meager amounts as mehr (bride gift or dowry) to the bride at the time of marriage and even defer payment or get it waived off. He suggested that the mehr should be decided by the wife and be given in the form of gold or silver and not cash. "The value of currency decreases over a period of time. On the other hand, the value of gold or silver or property appreciates. We will have a dialogue with the Muslim Personal Law Board (MPLB). We are open to suggestions as we don't want these suggestions to be unreasonable." Engineer observed that polygamy was neither a right nor a privilege and has been

allowed only in exceptional circumstances. He said that the Quran almost bans it if its conditions are not fulfilled. (Times of India 16/12/12) Mulayam pushes for Muslim quota, threatens govt (7) New Delhi: On a day that Rajya Sabha passed the quota bill with an overwhelming majority, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav once again threatened to review support to the UPA, even as his party has come up with the demand for reservation to Muslims in government jobs. "Our isolation (on the quota bill) works to our political advantage. The bill is against the interests of almost 82% of social groups. The party will continue to campaign on it and will make this an election issue in the 2014 elections," said party general secretary Rajesh Dixit. Party sources, however, indicated that the SP won't withdraw support to the UPA. "The SP will continue to make noise on the quota bill - when the bill is scheduled to be brought to Lok Sabha - but not go so far as to withdraw support to the UPA government at this stage." For the record, the SP chief told reporters outside Parliament that the "party would think about continuing support" to the UPA coalition. He said "he had not succumbed to any pressure" in the wake of the ongoing CBI investigations against him. "The condition of Muslims is worse than that of the scheduled castes and tribes. Reservations should be provided to the Muslims and there is no alternative to this," Yadav said. SP forces adjournments In Lok Sabha, the SP forced repeated adjournments on the issue. Soon after the House met in the morning, the SP MPs were on their feet demanding time to speak on the issue of quota in promotions. Led by MP Shailedra Kumar, party MPs trooped into the Well, contending that the bill had led to anxiety among government employees. Parliamentary Affairs minister Kamal Nath tried to calm the MPs, but in vain. Despite the apparent political consensus, the quota bill has created unease among different political parties. At a public function at Jaipur on Sunday, union minister Dr CP Joshi and senior BJP leader Dr, Murli Manohar Joshi were both reported to have expressed reservations against the Bill. (Hindustan times 17/12/12) BJP paid Gujarat Muslims not to vote: Digvijaya Sin gh (7) NEW DELHI: After Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's hat-trick in the state assembly elections, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh Saturday accused the BJP of paying Rs 500 to each Muslim in the state to stop them from voting. "This has been the BJP's strategy for the last 15-20 years. The BJP cadre and candidates fan out in Muslim-majority constituencies and enforce a lower voter turnout by buying them off. They blatantly distribute cash among the Muslim population and take away their voter ID cards, thus keeping them away from polling booths," Singh told news channel Headlines Today in an interview. "If you see the voting pattern in Muslim-dominated areas, the turnout is never more than 25-30 percent. Voters are bought over for as less as Rs.500. This is not a wild allegation. I have evidence and am saying it with full responsibility," said Singh. According to Singh, the BJP swept 12 of the 19 constituencies in Gujarat where Muslims are in majority. He said Modi's apology for the 2002 communal riots in the state in January had nothing to do with the poll results. "In some areas, there was polarisation of votes and in most areas, the BJP unleashed its strategy to gag Muslims by forcing a low turnout by paying them off. This is BJP's pogrom not only in Gujarat but all over India. I have proof and there are statistics to back my claim," said Singh. Responding to a query if battle lines for 2014 were already being drawn for a clash between Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and Modi, Singh said: "Modi's influence is limited to Gujarat but Rahul has an overarching appeal across the nation. The two cannot be compared. Rahul Gandhi will not project himself as the prime ministerial candidate. Elections will be fought under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi. If we win, the party's parliamentary board will decide on the prime ministerial candidate." "The BJP is stuffed with prime ministerial aspirants who do not even have a constituency. LK Advani contests from Gujarat, Arun Jaitley and (BJP president) Nitin Gadkari have never fought elections and Sushma Swaraj is always on the hunt for a safe seat. Modi is the only leader rooted to the ground. And he's ahead in the race as the prime ministerial candidate," Singh said. (Times of India 22/12/12) 'Govt's job schemes not reaching Muslim youth' (7) HYDERABAD: The government may have schemes like the Rajiv Yuva Kiranalu (RVK) for welfare of youth, but enrolment of Muslim candidates remains poor and measures should be taken to increase their participation for their upliftment, educationists and activists said on Friday. In spite of the fact that RVK training programmes for minorities were routed through the AP Minority Finance Corporation for better accessibility, the scheme has failed to attract Muslim youth due to lack of awareness, irrespective of incentives such as free training, food and bus fare. Addressing a packed gathering comprising people from different walks of life at the event organised by Muslim Educational Social and Cultural Organisation (Mesco) at Salar Jung Museum auditorium, Dr Mohammed Samiullah Khan, director of academics at

Medwin Hospital said, "Most of the candidates cannot even afford to attend free training because they are daily wage earners whose survival depends on Rs 50 a day. They will starve even if they don't work for a day. Of the 500 who had approached us, 200 have registered. The dropout rate is around 30%. The government should give a stipend of Rs 2,000 to curb the dropout rate and provide alternate income to such people," Khan said. Describing education as a source of opportunity for employment, vice-chairman of RYK Prof KC Reddy noted that despite the four percent reservation for enrolment of Muslim students in higher education institutions, it was no better than that of Schedules Castes and Scheduled Tribes. He said that though the Sachar Committee report provides insight on the condition of Muslims, statistical data on the socio-economic conditions of Muslims continues to remain 'scanty'. He observed that there was little representation of candidates from minority communities in the government even at the undersecretary level. Reddy urged minorities to make full use of government schemes meant for their welfare. Speakers said that Muslims must 'stop dwelling in the past' and instead chart a course for the future with well defined goals so that by 2020 every child has access to primary education. Drawing comparisons between Sikhs and Muslims, both of which are minority communities, K M Arifuddin secretary of Madina Education Society said that while the Sikh population constituted just 1.5% of the population, they accounted for 19% of IPS officers while Muslims officers were less than 1%.Speakers suggested that wherever minorities accounted for 10% to 25% concentration in various districts, schools and colleges should be set up following the public private partnership model. They noted that there were only 463 Muslim students in all the IITs put together. (Times of India 29/12/12)