After irresponsibly watching takeover of Afghanistan by Taliban, India should avoid losing Kashmir to Global Taliban through OMM

(i)- British Indian politicians from Gujarat and U.P disintegrated India in 1947 and now again may do the same

(ii)- Present India may pay the price of depending not on ‘Americanism’ but foolishly on ‘Americans’.

Kabul & entire Afghanistan has been taken over by Taliban as reported at https://www.news18.com/news/world/afghanistan-news-taliban-kabul-mazar-i-sharif-ashraf-ghani-india-us-herat-4087322.html which has not come as surprise. Though nobody expected such a quick victory for the Taliban because US-President Biden (either naively or misleadingly) assured the world that about three hundred thousand security forces (against merely about 70,000 Taliban) were in Afghanistan and in view of the huge amount of money, military arms & equipments, intelligence, training etc provided by the USA, the Afghan government would defeat the Taliban.

Of course ‘the USA was war fatigued and wanted to leave Afghanistan (a SAARC member) by any means’ can be understood but when the USA started talking to Taliban and started making deal with Taliban for the withdrawal of the forces of the USA and of its allies including NATO, India should have woken up and should have adopted a plan to ensure that Afghan government does not lose to Taliban. But the way India (which, despite being an economically humble country, dumped $ 3 billion of so-called aid in post 9/11 Afghanistan) behaved all along in Afghanistan should not come as a surprise given the history of the politics of Indian politicians (specially from British Indian region) which can be termed as humbug, to say the least.

The Indians who think (that the Taliban may come to power but can’t govern the country) do not understand that the Taliban need not do it. So far the Taliban were carrying out militant Jihad in Afghanistan and after coming to power in Afghanistan the Taliban will convert themselves into the Global Taliban and then will carry out global militant Jihad for achieving ‘one military for Muslims’ (OMM) with not merely Chinese help / approval but even with Chinese submission to the religious fury of the Global Taliban.

Because there are 4 major religious groups in this world namely Christians, Muslims, Chinese and Hindus. The 3 major religious groups have one military (Christian West through NATO and Chinese & Hindus due to their one country). Muslims believe that this ‘fragmented military power of the Muslims’ is the main reason that hundreds of millions of Muslims are bleeding and weeping profusely from Myanmar to NAME. Taliban in power (by roping-in militant Jihadis from all over the world) can easily achieve OMM by using China as mentioned at –

https://www.ansarpress.com/english/23540 or

http://politicstoday.in/if-china-uses-likely-taliban-govt-in-afghanistan-no-big-deal-but-if-global-taliban-uses-china-will-be-game-changer-catastrophic/ or

If China uses likely Taliban govt in Afghanistan, no big deal but if Global Taliban uses China, will be game changer & catastrophic

Because Kashmir is crucial for achieving OMM and Kashmir is the most easy issue for the Global Taliban to takeover nuclear Pakistan hence now after irresponsibly watching the takeover of Afghanistan by Taliban, India should be prepared (due its derelictions) to lose Kashmir (maybe even entire J&K) to Global Taliban through OMM after Pak take-over.

There is one more reason that India may suffer another dismemberment. Present India is not merely British India but about 565 princely States too. But before independence British Indian politicians from Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh (Gandhi, Jinnah Nehru, Patel etc) disintegrated India in 1947 and now again (Modi, Amit Shah and Raj Nath) from Gujarat and U.P. may do the same by way of losing Kashmir (even entire J&K including Jammu and Ladakh) to Global Taliban, who will be supported by international militant Jihadis for achieving OMM which will become very easy due to extremely emotive (like Palestine for Muslims all across the world) Kashmir issue.

Anybody who can not protect the territorial integrity of the country does not know even abcd of politics this is what we (who were born before 1947 in pre-independence princely State of India, namely Rajasthan) know from our childhood. Territory is extremely important also for the civilians who live on it that is why in Rajasthan the rulers never allowed others to directly rule in Rajasthan (they took Mansabdari from Mughals, suzerainty from Britishers and even paid ‘Chauth etc’ to Marathas but Rajasthan was always ruled directly by local rulers of Rajasthan). But now it seems that we are destined to suffer silently while these Gujaratis and UP-walas (Modi, Amit Shah and Rajnath etc) will again become national heroes (like Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Jinnah etc) after dismembering their motherland.

India grossly underestimated Islam (especially the militant Jihadi Islam) and neglected the three important and crucial issues of (i)- ‘dual citizenship’ for about 160 million forcibly displaced Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims (and their children) during partition (ii)- Plebiscite in J&K (as mandated not merely by UN resolution but also by ‘Instrument of Accession’ the IoA of J&K to India) and of Balochistan, the IoA of which was taken by Pakistan through military pressure and (iii)- Secular democracy in Afghanistan,

These fatal derelictions of India have brought India to this unfortunate situation which is due to one more reason that India depended on ‘Americans’ and not on ‘Americanism’. Evidently British India has been following the values of post world war II Britain and not Americanism. Here is the fundamental difference. The USA believes that territory depends on military power. The USA not only increased its territory immensely after its war of independence of 1776 but President Lincoln allowed killing & injuring of practically every working age South American during the civil war in 1861 but did not allow territory of the USA to be partitioned. On the contrary there was a time when Lord Clive was given hero’s welcome in Britain because he started the process (by winning battle of Plassey in 1757) of bringing India to Britain but Lord Mountbatten was given hero’s welcome for dismantling in 1947 the British empire in India.

This naivety of Indian politicians (of British India and others who are now under debilitating influence of British Indians) is all the more surprising given the fact that whatever is happening in Afghanistan specially post 9/11 should have constrained the Indian ruling politicians to understand that peace can come to any country only when the State is strong. This is the reason that the first religion based on non-violence the Jainism was started by its founder ‘Tirthanakar’ (Prophet) who was a ruling King (Rishabh Dev, the Adinath) because in modern times also one can practice Jainism (or any other non-violent religion) by giving monopoly of violence to the apparatus of sanctioned physical coercion of the powerful State.

Now one can only pray that Indians (an overwhelming majority from British India and also from former princely States who are presently under poisonous influence of the ‘military related politics of pre-partition British Indians’) will not watch helplessly the disastrous price (another dismember of motherland) for this blunder, India is likely to pay

 

Hem Raj Jain

(Writer is author of ‘Betrayal of Americanism’ and presently staying in Shakopee, MN, USA )

 

Viral Video: Iranian Girl’s Beautiful Rendition of ‘Jana Gana Mana’ is winning hearts of Indians

Sudha Ramen of the IFS shared the video on her Twitter handle and wrote, “National anthem in any form would give us goosebumps. Many thanks to this Iranian girl for this beautiful performance”

A video of an Iranian girl playing India’s National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ on santoor is going viral on social media platforms. The less than one-minute-long video shows the girl named Tara Ghahremani from Tehran dressed in pink attire as she sits and plays the melodious rendition of our national anthem

The video is winning the hearts of Indians as it came at a time when India celebrates its 75th Independence Day on Sunday, August 15, 2021.

A video of the girl was also shared by Sudha Ramen of the Indian Forest Services on her Twitter handle with the caption, “National anthem in any form would give us goosebumps. Many thanks to this Iranian girl for this beautiful performance.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday unfurled the Tricolour to mark the nation’s 75th Independence Day at the historic Red Fort.

China (for protecting BRI after Dasu) may install ‘Chinese democracy’ in Afghanistan by replacing CCP by ‘Islamic clergy

The Afghans who are wishing & praying for the victory of Afghan government forces over Taliban are living in fool’s paradise if they are thinking that recent airstrike by the USA on Taliban in support of Afghan forces ( as reported at https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2021-07-22/us-launched-several-airstrikes-in-support-of-afghan-forces ) and visit of Abdullah Abdulla and Afghan Army Chief to India for getting military support from India (as reported at https://theprint.in/diplomacy/abdullah-abdullah-meets-jaishankar-as-kabul-plans-massive-retaliation-against-taliban/701756/ ) are going to bring the victory to Afghan forces.

Other than CPEC the Dasu Hydropower Project is part of China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI), a global effort to invest in infrastructure that is even greater in scope than the Marshall Plan, the United States’ program to rebuild Europe after World War II hence 12 (including 9 Chinese) killed and 41 injured in a terrorist attack at Dasu (Pakistan) on July 14 (as mentioned at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/world/asia/pakistan-bus-explosion-blast.html (which is directly linked to on-going civil war in Afghanistan) is bound to force China to reorient its policies about Afghanistan, as given below:-

(1)- Presently battle lines are clearly drawn in Afghanistan. The USA is supporting Afghan Govt (also by way of giving billions of dollars to it for fighting Taliban) and India too, which may give military assistance to the Ghani government. But there will be no boots on ground by the USA & India and without their boots on ground, Afghan government can’t win against the Taliban.

(2)- Iran is supporting the Taliban because the USA is supporting the Ghani-government and now Iran is part of BRI. Pakistan is supporting Taliban because (i)- Pakistan created Taliban (ii)- Taliban is mainly Pashtun based and the population of Pashtuns in Pakistan is double the population of Pashtuns in Afghanistan (iii)- India is supporting Afghan government which as per Pakistan is creating problems (from the soil of Afghanistan) in Pakistan (mainly through Balochistan) under the watch of Afghan government. China will support Taliban because it wants to protect BRI not only in Afghanistan but also in region around Afghanistan and presently there is only one hope of protecting BRI namely through bringing Taliban government in Afghanistan

(3)- Presently it makes matters easier for China because in order to protect BRI and its other economic interests in Afghanistan, China has to do only the following (without China directly getting involved militarily, with boots on ground, in Afghanistan) :-

(i)- In view of failure of ‘liberal Western democracy’ in Asia [where due to lack of commitment on the part of the leader of the West the USA for it, the USA has failed to get it installed in many countries and has failed to bring prosperity (no where as in China) in Asian countries] the Chinese model is already gaining respect & acceptance in Asian countries. Hence China has to merely install ‘authoritarian Chinese democracy’ in Afghanistan by replacing ‘Chinese Communist Party’ by ‘Islamic clergy of Afghanistan’.

(ii)- Due to BRI and otherwise the Afghan border sharing countries of Central Asia are already under influence of China hence China can easily mobilize Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to ask their ethnicities in Afghanistan to support the Taliban. As far as Iran which (after severe US-sanctions by Trump-administration ) is exporting oil to China [and Russia (after Western sanctions due to Crimea controversy) is also doing the same] hence both Iran and Russia are nowadays in Chinese camp and will do about Afghanistan whatever China would ask them to do it.

(iii)- Pakistan will gladly toe Chinese line for supporting Taliban. As for the Pashtun problem about the Durand line between Afghanistan and Pakistan, China has to ask the Pakistan government and Taliban government to adopt the practice which presently is between the USA & Canada where people can go to the other side without any problem.

(iv)- China has to ask the ruling Islamic clergy of Afghanistan not to be as medieval and barbaric as they were before 9/11 (especially regarding women and religious minorities) which should not be difficult for China because Taliban (as per their public statements and interviews to media) are already showing a willingness to do it.

(4)- As far as Indian boots on ground if these are provided by India (with the approval of the USA) then certainly it can be a crucial factor in the victory of Afghan forces over Taliban (as mentioned at https://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/opinion-details/3854 or

https://chauthiduniya.com/india-should-warn-taliban-of-military-help-to-secular-afghan-govt-if-doha-other-peace-talks-fail/ ) But neither Afghan government is going for secular constitution nor ruling dispensation of India is interested in it due to two reasons (i)- India avoids military involvement especially boots on ground (ii)- Present Indian government led by Modi of Hindutva forces does not believe in secularism and one day itself may adopt ‘authoritarian Chinese democracy’ ( if continue to lose support among large part of Indians) while keeping the façade of present democracy intact and by merely replacing ‘Chinese Communist party’ with RSS by constitutionally accommodating it in ‘National Advisory Council (NAC) as was the case during Congress led government (where NAC headed by Sonia Gandhi was the real government).

(5)- Otherwise (without US active support) India is in no position to interfere militarily in Afghanistan against the wishes & interest of China because China can always arm twist India either by nudging Pakistan to hot-up border / LoC in J&K or by China itself to hot-up its long border including the existing face-off at Eastern Ladakh where China is troubling India militarily since early 2020 as reported at https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/border-row-china-india-clash-again-with-pla-back-in-eastern-ladakh-121071301363_1.html )

(6)- As far as about 3 hundred thousand personnel in Afghan force which as per Prez Biden should be enough to protect Afghan government, this is neither here nor there. Despite these 3 hundred thousands, Taliban could get impressive military gains on ground to the extent a COMPLETE TALIBAN TAKEOVER is possible (as per Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, as reported at

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-top-military-commander-says-taliban-may-yet-take-control-of-afghanistan/2311056 ) . Moreover the present claim of Taliban that large numbers of security forces of Afghanistan are joining Taliban (either by surrender or otherwise) may seem to be a boast but it will become a reality if China is perceived to be backing Taliban.

(7)- The Afghans who are putting their hope on Afghan government should understand that for the supporters of Ghani government namely India and the USA (now after withdrawal of the forces of the USA, NATO and allies from Afghanistan) it is merely a time -pass in Afghanistan where as for China (due to BRI etc) it is the question of life & death in Afghanistan. Moreover what China (an emergent global power) will do in Afghanistan in order to protect its vital interests, is anybody’s guess.

(8)- As for the equation of Taliban with China, the Taliban have already said publicly that they will not only protect economic interests of China in Afghanistan when come to power but will also not raise the issue of human rights of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang province of China.

(9)- As for the financial aid of the USA to Afghan government, of course the Taliban government will not get it but no country can function properly or even survive on the basis of eternal foreign aid or charity. As far as economic progress of Afghanistan is concerned, presently China is also quite capable of collaborating with Afghanistan and its Taliban government for ensuring economic progress of Afghanistan.

(10)- Many countries in Asia are politically unstable (due to civil wars, terrorist activities, armed uprising, political mismanagement etc) or unviable (due to economic stagnation). This is creating problems for emergent world power China which wants to increase its economic activities first obviously in its neighborhood in Asia. Hence China will have to install favorable (if not pliant) governments in these countries by making deal with various authorities in different countries like Taliban in Afghanistan, Ayatollah in Iran, military in Pakistan, may be one day RSS in India (if its economy doesn’t improve through ‘liberal Western democracy’, led by the USA ), Military in Myanmar etc. for installing ‘authoritarian Chinese democracy’ in these countries.

Therefore due to US-slack-commitment to ‘liberal Western democracy’, it is merely a matter of time that China (in the interest of protecting BRI etc after Dasu terrorist attack ) installs ‘authoritarian Chinese democracy’ in Afghanistan by replacing ‘Chinese Communist Party’ by ‘Islamic clergy of Afghanistan’

Hem Raj Jain

(Writer is author of ‘Betrayal of Americanism’ and based in Shakopee, MN, USA)

 

Lulu group chairman appointment vice-chairman of Abu Dhabi’s top govt body

Dubai: Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has appointed prominent Indian businessman Yusuffali MA as the vice-chairman of the apex government body for all businesses operating from the UAE’s capital city, making him the only person from India on the 29-member board.

Yusuffali, 65, is the Chairman and Managing Director of Abu Dhabi-based LuLu Group which operates hypermarkets and retail companies in many countries.

Sheikh Mohammed issued a resolution to form a new Board of Directors for the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI), chaired by Abdullah Mohamed Al Mazrouei and Yusuffali as the Vice-chairman.

The ADCCI is the apex government body of all businesses established in Abu Dhabi. It functions as an effective bridge between the government and the business sector.

Each of the business establishments in Abu Dhabi, one of the wealthiest and most influential economic hubs in the region, has to be licensed by ADCCI.

Yusuffali is the only Indian on the 29-member board, which is primarily made up of Emirati business owners and CEOs.

Yusuffali described his appointment as “a very humbling and proud moment” in his life.

“My sincere gratitude to the visionary leadership of this great country and I will strive to do my best towards justifying the great responsibility entrusted upon me. Apart from working for the growth of Abu Dhabi economy & the larger business community, I will sincerely work towards further boosting the Indo-UAE trade relations,” he said.

Sheikh Mohammed recently had honoured Yusuffali with the Abu Dhabi Award 2021 , the highest civilian honour for his almost 5-decade long contributions in the fields of economic development and philanthropy.

Courtesy: Siasat

 

‘Amit needs to have a talk with Amit Shah’: Owaisi mocks Shah

Earlier, Owaisi had targeted central government over death toll due to COVID

Hyderabad: Asaduddin Owaisi, president of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Hyderabad MP on Tuesday mocked union home minister Amit Shah over his conflicting statements.

As per an article published on June 4, Amit Shah claimed that the second wave of COVID-19 has been controlled in a very short time. However, in July, the union minister gave a statement that it was humanly not possible to control the second wave of the pandemic.

Reacting to the statements, Asaduddin Owaisi shared the screenshot of two articles and tweeted, “Looks like @AmitShah needs to have a talk with @AmitShah”.

It is not the first time, earlier too, Owaisi had targeted the central government over the death toll due to COVID.

Speaking to the media on June 14, he alleged that India’s death toll due to COVID is ‘five to six’ times more than the official data. To support his claim, he also cited an article published in a leading international magazine.

Third wave inevitable: IMA

Yesterday, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said that the third wave of COVID-19 is “inevitable and imminent”.

However, the association said that universal vaccination and strict adoption of COVID-appropriate behaviours can mitigate the impact of the third wave.

It further said that tourist bonanza, pilgrimage travel, religious fervour can wait for a few more months as mass gatherings of unvaccinated people can turn into super spreaders for the third wave of the pandemic.

Courtesy: Siasat

Dilip Kumar: The legend lives on

Known for his ‘method acting’, he learnt to play Sitar in order to appreciate classical music required in a film. He is said to have gone without sleep for shots that required him to appear exhausted

Decorated by both India and Pakistan, he was given Pakistan’s highest civilian award, Nishan-e-Imtiaz, in 1998 and was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2015. He had earlier been conferred the Padma Bhushan and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. The legend turned down David Lean who offered him a role in Lawrence of Arabia, the role that made Omar Sharif a household name in Hollywood.

He spoke more than a dozen languages including English, Hindi, Urdu, Pashtu, Gujarati and Marathi. He was well-read with deep knowledge of Philosophy, Theology and Poetry. A foodie who relished both kebabs and Vada Paav, he would say when it came to food he had no class, that he ate everything.

  • His heart in the right place, he unhesitatingly participated in charity shows to raise funds for the industry and for relief funds. When fellow actor Mukri was ailing with gangrene, he got him shifted to Lilavati Hospital. Gracious, he would ask beneficiaries of his benevolence not to speak about it in public.

  • Known for his ‘method acting’ and realism, he once ran around the studio for several laps and returned panting to give a shot where he was to look exhausted. Fellow actors in Kalinga, which was canned, he put off a shot several times till he could show genuine grief by recalling his elder sister, who was no more. He learnt to play the Sitar in order to appreciate classical music required in a film. And he is said to have gone without sleep for shots that required him to appear exhausted.

  • The ‘King of Romance’ was romantically linked with Kamini Kaushal, Madhubala and Waheeda Rahman before at the age of 44 he got married to Saira Banu who was just 22 at the time. He married again Asma, a mother of three from Hyderabad but divorced her after first denying the marriage.

  • While it is believed Yusuf Khan changed his screen name to Dilip Kumar because of the communal tension that preceded and followed Partition, he told his biographer that he had done so to avoid getting thrashed by his father, who was a prosperous fruit merchant. Kumar concealed his new assignment from his father and quietly made his debut with Jwar Bhata in 1944.

  • Filmindia editor Baburao Patel, known for his acerbic tongue, in his review of Jwar Bhata was scathing in his criticism of the actor and wrote that the actor “needs a lot of vitamins and a prolonged treatment of proteins before another picture can be risked with him”. But undaunted, Dilip Kumar studied the work of his idols Ingrid Bergman and James Stewart and developed a minimalistic style.

 

Urdu Ka Janaza Hai

Will Urdu survive the next 25 years?

By Sami Qahar

Sampooran Singh Kalra, popularly known as Gulzar and one of the most iconic figures in Indian poetry and film music, loves Urdu. To the extent that in one of his most famous songs Chhaiyya Chhaiyya, he praises the beloved with the iconic line “Ho Jis Ki Zubaan Urdu Ki Tarah”.

He is not the only one to do so. The legendary dialogues and songs in Indian films would not be what they are today without Urdu. India still holds the Jashn-e-Rekhta event to commemorate Urdu every year. I wonder how many people reading this article know what rekhta means. For those who don’t, it is another name for Urdu.

I probably come from the last generation to have grown up with Urdu literature occupying a large part of my life. We, the eighties kids, had Ibn-e-Safi and Ishtiaq Ahmed to read and we graduated to Ashfaq Ahmed, Manto, Shafiq-ur-Rehman and Mustansar Hussain Tarar as we grew up. Our poetry was not a random guy turning incoherent sentences into words and calling it poetry. There was no Larro Mujhay or ‘Aisay Jeenay Mein’ because it was incorrect Urdu. Lyrics and poetry were ruled by Radeef, Qaafiya, Zameen and Beher. As I type these lines, I have a lump in my throat.

Let’s put the emotions and nostalgia aside and come to the problem at hand. Last month, Aurora’s website published an article called ‘Why is Urdu Difficult For Us’, which opened unhealed wounds. That piece was written by young creative manager and was more of an admission of guilt – and I felt his pain and conundrum.

The decline, if not demise of Urdu, particularly in advertising, can be attributed to several factors.

The Rise of WhatsApp and Roman Script

In 2004 when I started my career in advertising, the first language of communication for brands was Urdu. The communication was written and read in Urdu. Fast forward 15 year and a glance at the billboards on the streets and digital ads online, quickly show that Urdu is not written in Urdu script anymore. It’s all Roman, with everyone using their own spelling version to communicate. What is wrong with it, you may ask? It is a modern adaptation of a language and in keeping with trends. There is nothing wrong with it, except that it will kill the Urdu language sooner than later. Script, called Rasm-ul-Khat (رسمُ الخط ) is the basic difference between a ‘zabaan’ (language) and a ‘boli’ (lingo). A zabaan has its own rasm-ul-khat (script) and without a script a language cannot exist. What we have in advertising now, is Urdu spoken and written in English.

The biggest reason for this shift is the rise of apps, such as WhatsApp, where users type Urdu using English script and understand it the same way. It’s so common that advertisers consider it okay to only use one language. I would be fine with it if this was a global problem. It is not. In Turkey, ads are written in Turkish. In China the script is Mandarin. Greece, Spain, France… you name it. Go to the Middle East and see how many ads have Arabic written in English script. They all advertise in their own script. In Pakistan, you will see less than five percent digital ads using Urdu script. Instead, you see is five different spellings of ‘Hai ہے’ from Hey, Hai, Hay, Hae etc. Today’s copywriters do not understand the difference between writing ‘Nahin نہیں’ and ‘Nahi نہی’ as the two spellings are commonly used. In Urdu, ‘Nahin’ means No, whereas ‘Nahi’ used without an extra ‘noon ghunna’ (ں) sound, means denial or rejection. This is a huge difference and only one example of the problem at hand. ‘Kya’ and ‘Kiya’ have very different meanings. Kya is ‘What’ and Kiya is ‘Did’. Now open your ads and billboards photos and see how many times the two spellings have been used to say ‘What’.

Death of the Urdu Copywriter

The second and even bigger problem is that people do not even think Urdu is important or a skill worth having. In 2004, ad agencies had an Urdu copywriter who was an expert in his field and English copywriters were junior resources and usually part of the copy teams headed by an Urdu expert. More often than not, copy was written in Urdu and translated into English. Today, ad agencies have copywriters; there are no Urdu or English copywriters – just copywriters. Pitch decks are made in English, concepts are written and thought in English and if needed, translated into Urdu using English script. How then can one expect Urdu to exist or flourish in advertising?

The most unfortunate aspect of all this is that Urdu is no more a specialty. Anyone can write in Urdu. Any English copywriter can write Urdu taglines or dialogues (if someone is smart enough to create a concept where dialogue is required). Otherwise, a visual montage with heavy Urdu words without coherent sentences can always do wonders. Urdu jingles are written by English speaking copywriters. The end result is ‘Baby shor machay ga shor se zyda, party kar ley more se zyada’ – and this unfortunately is one of the better examples – at least it rhymes.

Decline in Reading Habit

Advertisers are not to blame for everything. Unfortunately, and that is the sad reality, there is a decline in reading all over the world. Books have been replaced by screens and screen-time is divided between social media, content, games and music. Reading is at the bottom of the pecking order. Forget anyone else, I used to be a one-book-a-week guy and now I am a one-book-every-six-months guy. If screens are going to replace books, Urdu will suffer way more than English because Urdu reading is limited to Pakistan.

Ranting aside, do I have a solution? I don’t want to be a pessimist, but the truth is advertisers will not switch to Urdu. Their rationale will be that Urdu is not the first language of the majority anymore; at least in terms of reading, if not speaking. As flawed as this argument may appear, there some merit for this rationale, particularly among the younger generation. The only way any of this can change is if the entire advertising industry decides to switch to Urdu as the first medium of communication. Not Urdu written in English script, but Urdu the language. They will have to bring back Urdu copywriters and give jingles to poets not English medium graduates. I am not being condescending towards a part of the fraternity, it is unfair to expect from them something that they have not studied or experienced.

None of this is going to happen. There is a strong possibility that 25 years from now, there will only be a handful of people who will know how to write Urdu. It will be a sad time to live in, but it’s okay. We will survive. We have survived Corona, haven’t we?

Sami Qahar is a marketer turned film producer. sami.qahar@gmail.com

Source: Aurora

Once visited by Saudi King, Mumbai’s Juma Masjid pond gets a makeover

Mumbai: As the city continues in spells of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, the management of the historic Juma Masjid in south Mumbai — once graced by the late King Saud bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia — have embarked upon an unusual mission — clean-up of the ancient pond inside the mosque.

A team of workers got onto the task from Monday, descended in the 10-feet-deep pond, caught all the goldfish, silverfish and turtles and transferred them to a temporary fish tank, emptied up the misty greyish-green water, and launched a thorough weeklong cleaning operation, along with minor repairs on the floor.

“This is the first time in 12 years that we are doing this, taking advantage of the lockdown when few Muslim faithful turn up for prayers here We do a clean-up at intervals of several years, depending on the requirements,” the Juma Masjid’s Chief Mufti Ashfaq Kazi told IANS.

JUMA MASJID OF BOMBAY; The huge fish that live inside the pond have been removed to safety and will return to the pond by this weekend after the clean-up.

“Soon, the lockdown may be lifted. At that time, we don’t want any faithful to be at any kind of risk, so we decided to spruce-up this ancient pond,” Juma Masjid of Bombay Trust (JMBT) Chairman Shuaib Khatib told IANS.

JUMA MASJID OF BOMBAY TRUST.

It was in 1954 that King Saud visited this mosque during an official tour to India, the Pakistani Cricket Team was given lodging and boarding during its first tour of India in 1960-61 at the Mohammediya High School in its premises, while the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi maintained close contacts with the Juma Masjid trustees.

Fed by natural underground fresh-water springs, the pond harbours an interesting tale in its depth — it belonged to a wealthy Bombay landlord Momin Sahab who sold it to a group of citizens in 1775 for Rs 12,000, said Kazi.

Courtesy: Siasat

 

 

Sentenced to death in UAE, Indian expat returns home after Lulu group chairman’s help

The man was awarded the death sentence for causing the death of a young Sudanese boy in a road accident case.

Abu Dhabi: A 45-year-old Indian expat returned home on Wednesday after languishing in prison for nine years awaiting the death penalty in the United Arab Emirates.

The man was awarded the death sentence for causing the death of a young Sudanese boy in a road accident case.

The release of Charavattayi Becks Krishnan of Kerala came after Yusuf Ali, the chairman of Lulu Group paid Rs 1 crore (500,000 dirhams) in damages in court to secure an early release.

After nine years, Krishnan departed from Abu Dhabi on Tuesday night and reached Kochi early morning on Wednesday.

Krishnan has been sentenced to death by the UAE Supreme Court after being found guilty of causing the death of a young boy. He crashed his car into a group of kids in September 2012.

Since then, his family and friends have been relentlessly trying to release Krishnan without any success, especially since the victim’s family has already returned and settled in Sudan, putting an end to any kind of discussion.

As a last resort, the Krishnan family reached out to Yusuf Ali, who proceeded to obtain details of the case and reached out to all stakeholders.

At one point, Yusuf Ali transported the victim’s family from Sudan to Abu Dhabi for a month and had extensive discussions to come up with a compensation amount and secure a pardon for Krishnan.

“This is a second lease term of life for me. I’m very happy. I came home because of Yusuf Ali,” Krishnan told Khaleej Times after landing at Kochi International Airport.

There were emotional scenes where Krishnan’s wife, Veena and son, greeted Krishnan at the airport. Veena said that everyone gave her hope to save her husband from the death penalty with the support of Yusuf Ali.

Krishnan’s mother Chandrika told the media: “I am at a loss for words to thank Yusuf Ali. He is a God-like person to us now. I can only say we owe him to death.”

“I’m not trying to do charity after my chopper accident. I paid the compensation amount in January. He is young and has a family. You cannot measure the value of life with money,” Khaleej Times quoted Yusuf Ali.

Courtesy: Siasat

Furore over Waseem Rizvi’s ‘New Quran’

Waseem Rizvi, the former chairman of Shia Central Waqf Board in Uttar Pradesh, has kicked up a major controversy.

He claims to have created a ‘new Quran’ by removing 26 verses that allegedly promote violence and arranged the remaining verses in proper sequence.

Rizvi has also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to authorize the use of his ‘new Quran’ in all madrasas and Muslim institutes in the country.

“I appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to include this new Quran in the education curriculum of various madrasas and Muslim education institutes across the country. This redacted version of the Quran is the right Quran and it will soon be available in the market for people to buy,” Rizvi said.

Earlier this year, Waseem Rizvi had filed a PIL in the Supreme Court to remove 26 verses of the Quran saying that they promote terrorism and jihad.

In his PIL, Rizvi had stated that these verses are allegedly used by Islamist Terrorist Groups as justification for attacks on non-believers and civilians.

However, the court termed the petition to be “absolutely frivolous” and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Waseem Rizvi for filing the PIL.

According to his PIL, he said that Islam is based on the concept of equality, forgiveness, equity and tolerance. However, people have been drifting away from these basics.

He added, due to the extreme interpretations of the 26 verses of the Holy book, Islam is getting identified with militancy, fundamentalism, extremism and terrorism.

Shortly after filing the PIL, several FIRs were filed against Rizvi who also claimed to have received death threats.

Both Shia and Sunni communities, have alleged that Waseem Rizvi had been ‘deliberately’ trying to drive a wedge between the two communities.

Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad said that Rizvi was ‘an enemy of Islam’ and had nothing to do with the Quran.

Maulana Yasoob Abbas said that the All-India Shia Personal Law Board has strongly condemned Rizvi’s move.

courtesy: NH