After Ulema, it's government's turn

After the recently convened Anti-Terrorism Conference & the Ulema's historic Deoband Declaration, the Centre and State governments must also take care of the following critical issues:

1. The 'secular' Congress government in Maharashtra must immediately give sanction for prosecuting all the rogue cops booked for biased action and shooting innocents during the Communal Riots of 1992-1993 in Mumbai.

Indian Madarsa Students: Eternally in the dock.

2. The Vilas Rao Deshmukh's Congress-NCP combine 'secular' government should immediately accept the Sri Krishna Commission Report and implement its recommendatiosn without any further delay.

3. The Congress-led UPA government that has been playing the "Sachar committee card', should instead rein in the agencies that routinely arrest innocents, term Madarsas as threat to national security and in turn creating suspicion among Muslims regarding the police and law-enforcing agencies.

4. Put on a curb on spreading falsehoods about Muslims and check those who defame the entire Madarsa educational system of this country.

5. Police need to be de-communalised. In UP, the 'secular' Mayawati government should desist from framing innocent Muslims. The arrests of innocents like Haji Ishtiaq or Aftab Alab (their cases have been reported on this blog), are two cases in the point.

The Ulema have made a step. But if there is no response and excesses continue, the clergy would again go back into its shell. The dialogue must continue and it is not possible unless the other group takes a serious view of this situation.

Photo Courtesy AngeloAngelo [Flickr.com]

Anti-Terrorism Convention at Deoband: Will it succeed or meet the fate of Lucknow conference

Darul Uloom Deoband is hosting a convention against terrorism on February 25.

Apart from representatives of hundreds of leading seminaries and madarsas, the heads of Jamat-e-Islami, Jamat Ahl-e-Hadis and All India Muslim Personal Law Board chief are going to attend it.

The agenda will be to send a strong message against terrorism. And also to counter the propaganda that links madarsas with terrorism.

The Darul Uloom Rector Maulana Marghoobur Rahman has said that fundamentalist forces, sections of media and fundamentalist organisations are spreading falsehoods.

Despite LK Advani's [in his capacity as Home Minster of India] assertion in Parliament that no Indian madarsa is involved in any such activity, the madarsas are regularly targeted and baseless charges are made, trying to defame the educational institutions.

The aim is also to urge the government to stop the excesses on Muslims. I wonder if any lesson has been learnt from the failure of the recent Lucknow conference.

Why the Islamic clergy never invite the cream of intellectuals, editors, social activists and leading lawyers from Delhi, Mumbai and other cities. Unless the madarsas reach out to them, all such exercises would remain futile.

The criminal act of lawyers in UP who refuse to take up the case of anybody accused by police of terrorism, hasn't become an issue yet. Youths are languishing in jail (Not many are fortunate like Aftab Alam, who managed to get back to his Kolkata home).

You discuss a issue among yourself and nobody is going to bother. The Lucknow conference had hardly found any mention in the media. [See my earlier post on Arrests of innocent Muslim youths and failure of Ulema] This is the era of Public Relationing.

Unfortunately Islamic seminaries remain out of sync with times in this country. And the great institutions, which played a leading role in freedom movement, are today in the dock and having to explain their case.

UPDATE ON HAJI ISHTIAQ CASE

The Court has ordered release of Haji Ishtiaq, who was arrested for issuing a 'threat to Mayawati'. The same police that was hell-bent on 'proving' his links with terrorism and had even charged him with National Security Act (NSA), has filed the report to end the case.

Do we need Muslim MLAs: Concerns over delimitation of constituencies in Delhi

There is lot of concern expressed regarding the de-limitation (had-bandi) of Assembly constituencies in Delhi.

The Muslim leaders are complaining that their constituencies have been worst affected and there are apprehensions that even fewer Muslims would make it to the Assembly.

Since independence the Lal Quila and Jama Masjid were part of the Matia Mahal constituency. The voters of these areas will now vote in Chandni Chowk.

 "The irony is that Matia Mahal is no longer part of the Matia Mahal constituency, and new areas have been added", says Shoaib Iqbal, who has been representing the seat for 15 years.


Many say that hardly Muslim MLAs would get into the Assembly, the elections for which are due in October this year.Delhi has 70 Assembly constituencies. Concerns are also visible in newspapers that Muslim presence will dwindle in the house.

But does the number of Muslim MLAs matter much?

Is it not better if the real issues--refurbishing of school buildings, cleanliness in slums, proper drinking water, opening of schools and dispensaries, registration of poor under the BPL list and similar basic needs--are raised.

And any candidate, irrespective of his religion or party, who promises to deliver on these counts, should be voted. Of course, the promise should be public and in presence of prominent citizens. I am sure, there is no dearth of dynamic persons, who can ensure basic amenities and at least make an effort towards that, after all, it's not a big bargain.

Kosovo's independence: Birth of third Muslim country in Europe

Kosovo is the latest country to have proclaimed independence. After Albania and Bosnia, it is the third country* with a Muslim majority in Europe.

The reactions have been mixed. USA, France, Germany and some other countries have decided to recognise the fledgling nation. Some other countries including Spain, Russia and Serbia (that lays claim over Kosova) have criticised the move of Kosovan government, to unilaterally declare its independence.

The birth of Kosova should be seen as another sign of harmony between Europe and Islam. The fact that such large Muslim populace has existed in Europe for centuries, should also serve as an eye-opener for those who consider Islam as incompatible with West.

Kosovo has a population of 2.1 million (21 lakh) and 90% populace practice Islam. There is a Christian Serb minority in the country also. The new government has downplayed its religious affiliation and is all set to be a secular nation on lines of Albania.

After disintegration of Yugoslavia, and subsequent war in this region Kosovo was administered by United Nations. *Apart from these countries, Balkan region including Bulgaria, Macedonia and Croatia has susbtantial Muslim population.

[The photograph shows 'New Born' and banner of 'Kosova is born' in the capital city Pristina]

Dividing UP: Harit Pradesh, Bundelkhand & Purvanchal

Uttar Pradesh, the heart of India, and the great landmass with a population of 200 million may get trifurcated into three states (or even four states).

And Lucknow may lose its political power that will get divided among Varanasi*, Jhansi and Meerut, the capitals of the proposed states.

It may take a couple of more years for the states to come into existence, but the growing regional aspirations among people in these regions and the politicians' vested interests will ultimately lead to the division of these states.

Though UP is difficult to govern, given its size, the fact remains that smaller states have turned out to be bigger failures. As long as Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were part of greater Madhya Pradesh and greater Bihar, the situation in these regions was not as bad as today.

Both the states that had huge mineral deposits and other natural resources, have become hotbeds of Naxalism. Corruption has grown by leaps and bounds and insurgency has made development impossible. These arguments aside, the states will ultimately come into existence. Bundelkhand is the most under-developed region in North India.

The historic city of Benares (Varanasi) will be the capital of Purvanchal (UP's Eastern part), that will share its borders with Nepal and Indian states of Bihar and MP. Bundelkhand will be carved out of both UP and MP with Jhansi as capital.

But the most contentious is the issue of Harit Pradesh. There are 'strategic concerns' that this region of Western Uttar Pradesh (UP) that will have nearly 35% Muslim population, become a 'unique case' in the heart of India.

The fact that the urban Muslim populace in this region is even higher, makes it unpalatable for not just BJP but many other parties also. Ajit Singh has however made it an issue, for quite sometime. UP has already lost Uttarakhand (formerly Uttaranchal) but still Southern states complain about its sheer size that gives a party winning in UP, a larger clout at the Centre.

The Second State Reorganisation Commission is about to be instituted. And the long-standing demands of Telangana & Vidarbha can't be ignored either. Future will tell whether the backward regions and people of these areas will get benefited from the formation of new states or it will worsen things.

[Photo: Map showing different regions viz. Awadh, Poorvanchal, Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh ]
[*The status of Allahabad that falls in this region also remains questionable]