Lord Hameed makes Lucknow proud

LORD Khalid Hameed who hails from Lucknow, India, has been felicitated with ‘Freedom of the city of London’ honour. He was rewarded for his contributions to medicine and inter-faith activities. He is currently Chairman of Alfa Hospital Group and London International Hospital.

Lord Hameed chairs the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council. He is a board member of both the British Muslim Research Centre, and the Ethnic Minorities Foundation. Dr Hameed supports various charities and was awarded the Sternberg Award for 2005 for his contribution to further Christian – Muslim – Jewish relations. He is involved with interreligious matters and lectures on this subject.

He was appointed by the Queen as the first Asian High Sheriff of Greater London for the year 2006-2007. This office is 1000 years old and is the second oldest office in the country after the monarchy. He was also named British Asian of the year 2007.

Acknowledging his efforts the Government of India conferred Lord Hameed with the Padma Bhushan in 2009.

Islamic Calligraphy: In search of a lifeline

THE art of Islamic calligraphy finds its roots in early Islam. Part of its popularity lay in the way Quran stresses the importance of written word. In Surah 96 (verse 3 to 4), God is described as one Who “taught man with the pen”. The Surah 68 starts with the oath, “And by the Pen”. There are several other Suras talking about writing, viz., Surah 96 (verse 3 to 4), Surah 82 (verse 10), Surah 50 (verse 16). Naturally, the best style of writings were developed for God. As Arabic became the language of all Muslims in Arabia and elsewhere, it gave birth to beautiful new forms of Arabic script.

Prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law and the fourth Caliph of Islam, Ali ibn Abi Talib is considered to be the first master of calligraphy. He developed a Kufic script where the tops of alifs were twin-horned. [1] The Kufic in general is an angular script found on tombstones and coins.

The sacred nature of calligraphy ensured that in Islamic architecture inscriptions became an important means of decoration. Continue reading “Islamic Calligraphy: In search of a lifeline”

“I’ve been wronged”, says the man who could have stopped the Godhra carnage

FOR somebody beginning his political career in 1997 and in a space of 15 years changed four parties, (joining one twice, before being expelled again earlier this month) is surely a seasoned politician. To top it all Shahid Siddiqui is also the chief editor of an Urdu weekly. A potent combination indeed!

So Siddiqui’s sudden journalistic urge to hear Narendra Modi’s point of view (a decade after the Gujarat riots) should not come as a surprise. He dedicated full six pages to the man who more than welcomed the interview. Inspite of this Siddiqui claimed that Modi didn’t answer many questions. The interview looked more like a story to halt the plunging fortunes of Siddiqui, and for Modi another opportunity to project himself as the right man for the top job of the country. Continue reading ““I’ve been wronged”, says the man who could have stopped the Godhra carnage”

Haj subsidy continues despite Muslim opposition

THE Union Cabinet has gone ahead with the Haj subsidy for 2012. It has approved the following-

(i) 125,000 haj pilgrims would be covered by the Haj subsidy scheme.

(ii) Apart from statutory taxes like PSF, UDF,  ADF and Saudi airport fees, each pilgrims would pay Rs. 20,000 as air fare. The balance cost of air travel arrangements would be borne by the government.

(iii) The pilgrims would depart from 21 embarkation points in India. Gaya as an embarkation point has been introduced in place of Patna due to technical difficulties presently in operating direct flights from Patna.

This year the Haj flights would start on 17.9.2012.

The element of cost of air travel arrangements in excess of the fare paid by the pilgrims is the Haj subsidy borne by the Government, which is called Haj subsidy. Untill 2009, the pilgrims were carried by Saudi Arabian Airlines on negotiated fares and by Air India on cost basis. From 2010, the government decided to select the airlines through a tendering process. Sealed bids are invited from all eligible airlines and the airline offering the lowest fare from an embarkation point is engaged to carry the haj pilgrims.

It’s noteworthy that the practice has received considerable criticism in the past from Muslim leaders, both on grounds of inflated air fares and being un-Islamic.

Aligarh movement to be revived

A MEETING was organised by Aligarh Muslim University Alumni Association of Maharashtra (AMUAAM) on July 15, 2012, in Mumbai, to discuss the revival of ‘Aligarh Movement’, State’s lukewarm response to AMU Campus in Aurangabad, building of ‘Syed House’ in Mumbai and other pertinent issues.

The former Vice Chancellor, P.K. Abdul Aziz, with a direction from central government had decided to open five campuses of AMU in different parts of India, and Maharashtra was one of them. The site had been finalised by the university officials a long time back and the indication of the same had been forwarded to the state government to allot the site to University. The state government has so far shown no interest in expediting the process because of which campus construction has yet to start. AMUAAM  has decided to put this issue on its lists of priority and to take it up with the state government. A committee has been formed to address the same. Continue reading “Aligarh movement to be revived”

More than 30,000 scholorships awarded to Muslims

THE Ministry of Minority Affairs has awarded 42,476 Merit-cum-means Scholarships during 2011-12. Of these 32,723 scholarships went to students belonging to the Muslim community. For this the Ministry sanctioned Rs. 1.16 billion during 2011-12. For 2012-13 the budgetary provision for this scheme has been increased to Rs. 2.2 billion and the physical target has also been increased to 80,000 scholarships.

Merit-cum-means scholarship scheme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs is meant for the students belonging to the Minority communities studying in technical and professional courses.

Brig. Mohammed Usman remembered

INDIAN Army organised a function today to celebrate the birth centenary of Late Brigadier Mohammed Usman. A war hero, Brig. Usman was the senior most Indian officer killed during the Jammu & Kashmir operations of 1947-48. He was 36 when he sacrificed his life for his country on July 3, 1948. Brig. Usman was awarded the Mahavir Chakra posthumously.

Invited as a special guest on the occasion, the Vice President of India Mr Hamid Ansari said that Brig. Usman, the hero of the Battle of Naushera is one of the most inspiring military leaders of Independent India, who demonstrated exceptional courage, devotion to duty and and love for the motherland in the finest traditions of our Army. Continue reading “Brig. Mohammed Usman remembered”

“Government has forgotten the communal violence bill”

DR ASGHAR Ali Engineer is a reformist-writer and activist. He is known for his work on liberation theology in Islam. He is also a leading voice against communalism in India and South Asia. In an exclusive interview with Ali Hasan, Dr Engineer speaks at length about the issues affecting Indian Muslims.

MT: How do you see the progress of Indian Muslims during the last 20 years?

AA: Though there is some progress in last 20 years but it is far from satisfactory. Muslims are 15 per cent of India’s population and yet nothing more than a mass of ignorant and illiterate people. They are bringing in more money from the Gulf countries than the Christians do from western countries. Whereas Christians are successfully running and controlling educational institutions, Muslims have not improved their literacy by even one percent.

Our leaders, too, hardly do anything to address these problems. Continue reading ““Government has forgotten the communal violence bill””

In the name of harmony

KOSI Kalan, a town in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, witnessed communal violence earlier this month. It resulted in three people losing their lives and several got injured. The normal life was affected and the market reopened only after 22 days on the 22nd of this month.

On 24th June, when the passenger train from New Delhi arrived at Kosi Kalan Railway Station, people heard a different noise that was strangely attracive. It came from a compartment from which a team of young and energetic youths was coming down. They were singing ‘Insaan ka insaan se ho bhaichara, yahee paighaam hamaara’. (A popular hindi song promoting love and harmony from the movie Paigham.) The group also distributed pamphlets to general public on roads to spread message of humanity, peace and harmony. Continue reading “In the name of harmony”

Scholarships galore for minority students

THE months of June and July are probably two months of the year in which most of the government scholarships for minority students open. It happens year after year, and yet, the percentage of Muslim students applying for it increases by a fraction compared to the scholarships available. The Government of India, in the past five years has more than doubled the scholarships after Justice Sacchar Committee report.

Mass awareness of the various scholarship schemes is the need of the hour for our community. Lots of parent and students worry as they seem to apply but don’t receive any funds. Some just blame the system and that the babus in the Minority Department demand “suvidha shulk” to process the scholarship.

But there is a way out! Students can apply for scholarships online. Once they submit the various documents online and get a application Id generated, then no one can stop them from getting one.  And those who come across “suvidha shulk” problem can contact me, and we will do something together.

I have compiled details of various government scholarship schemes available to the students (from Class 1 to College):

a. For Post Matric Scholarship –  http://momascholarship.gov.in/postmatric/

b. Merit – Cum – Means Scholarship – http://momascholarship.gov.in/minority_scholarship/

c. Pre – Matric Scholarship – http://www.minorityaffairs.gov.in/prematric
(Download the Application form and then apply)

d.  Free Coaching Tuition Assistance – http://www.minorityaffairs.gov.in/free_coachin

e. Government Order Copy to the UP State Government: http://minoritywelfare.up.nic.in/2012-13/post/post%20matric%20online.pdf

(Ajaz Farooqui is part of a charity trust which works for the upliftment of Muslim minorities in India)