I n d i a n M u s l i m s’ L e a d i n g E n g l i s h N e w s p a p e r , p u b l i s h e d s i n c e J a n u a r y 2 0 0 0
www.milligazette.com
MG THE
Fortnightly 238 Vol. 10 No. 24
BABRI: COUNTRYWIDE PROTESTS p. 17
“November could be September”
MUSHTAQUE MADNI
Pune: “Nine is not Eleven (And November is not September)”,
“Pakistan is not Afghanistan and India is not America,” wrote
Arundhati Roy in her latest master-piece “Listening to the Grass-
Hoppers”. I am afraid, despite her envious courage and intelli-
gence that inspires millions across the
globe and sends shocking waves in the
corridors of powers, what she clearly
appeared to have failed to conceptualise
is the totality of the two catastrophic inci-
dents in their historical perspective. 9/11,
though, shrewdly and maliciously attrib-
uted to Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda,
was actually an act of US government
itself, meticulously planned and bar-
barously executed on its own soil, on its
own people, with the help of its own noto-
rious intelligence agency CIA and most
probably with the help Israel’s Mossad.
The core objectives of 9/11 couldn’t have
been more than to create a favourable
atmosphere worldwide to first attack and
invade Afghanistan and then grab oil-rich
Iraq. Huge lies were manufactured by
world-class liars like George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Colin
Powel to justify the American attacks on these two Muslim coun-
tries. And not surprisingly, the gullible world didn’t find it difficult to
believe these liars because, after all, it were Muslim countries that
were being targeted. A book titled ‘The Day America Died, why
you shouldn’t believe the Government version of 9/11’, written by
an American author, exposes the twenty-first century’s most bla-
tant and shocking adventure that had the silent backing of
America’s rubber stamp ‘United Nations’.
Here, in case of 26/11, too many juxtaposed elements chal-
lenge the intellect of a lay person. 26/11 happened when the slain
ATS chief Hemant Karkare was inches away from the saffronised
masterminds of many bomb blasts across the country. He had
also announced to the media that Lt. Colonel Prasad Purohit, the
prime accused in Malegaon bomb blast case, has revealed in his
narco-analysis test that the VHP leader Dr. Praveen Togadia was
behind the bombing of Samjhauta Express, and that ATS was
planning to arrest and question Dr. Togadia. Karkare also hinted
out that he will interrogate Himani Savarkar, daughter in-law of
Damodar Savarkar, a very close friend of Nathuram Godse, the
assassin of Mahatma Gandhi and probably the first terrorist inde-
pendent India produced. Apparently the saffron brigade, known
for its vicious and inborn conspiratorial skills and violent and inhu-
man activities, must have been completely stunned after these
announcements. If Dr. Togadia, the audacious frontrunner in insti-
MG/Yusuf Advani’s new security guards
MILLI GAZETTE
www.milligazette.com
16-31 December 2009
Inside »
Greatest con trick
Hindu terror
Babri 3,4,9,12,13,15,17
State terror
Terrorism
Intermarriage
Madrasas
J&K
Human rights
Analysis
Special Reports 13, 17-18
SHEETLA SINGH: NOTHING BUT TRUTH p.3
gating and justifying the Gujarat carnage of 2002 and other vio-
lence, was arrested and interrogated it was very likely that some
more sanctified ‘holy cows’ could have been revealed to those
shocked Hindus who still pretend to believe that their leaders,
however inhuman and insane, can’t indulge in terror activities.
This phenomenon is also strengthened with the Government’s
established line of ‘inaction’ especially against
Hindutva champions. Muslims have been
shockingly witnessing this shameful attitude of
all governments since last sixty-two years.
While the entire nation, barring probably a
few, believed the government version of 26/11,
a retired Inspector General of Maharashtra
Police was busy collecting information and
data concerning the blatant lie of the govern-
ment that ATS chief Hemant Karkare and other
officers were killed by Pakistani terrorists.
This lie could never have been challenged
by S.M. Mushrif, the author of the book “Who
Killed Karkare” that stunned the smug intelli-
gence agencies, saffron brigade, and even the
so-called liberal media, had he not been well-
versed with the Brahminist tactics and had he
not had a deep knowledge of the ‘verna’ and
Manuwadi system that is still ruling the Indian
society. He understood that the assassination of Karkare can’t be
an isolated incident, rather it is a part and extension of centuries-
old Brahminist hegemony. Since Karkare had become the great-
est threat to their ‘underground’ empire, he needed to be eliminat-
ed. Had Karkare succeeded, India, nay entire world, would have
been shocked to witness the real yet covert terror face behind
many bomb blasts __ our very own intelligence agencies.
How could these terror forces in the guise of the country’s
protectors allow a mere ATS officer to unfold and expose their
real character? So, when they received an authentic and specific
information from their American counterparts that some Pakistani
terrorists were on their way to India through the sea route and
their main targets were Mumbai’s five-star hotels, they decided to
cash this huge blessing in disguise. They deliberately chose not
to inform the Western Naval Command and the Mumbai Police
and literally laid a red carpet for the Pakistani terrorists. They had
their homework well done. So, when the Pakistani terrorists
arrived in Mumbai, there virtually was none to stop their terror
plan. While they took their positions and started killing people in
Hotel Taj and Oberoi-Trident, the Marathi-speaking terrorists,
ready with their masterplan, reached the ‘pre-decided’ spot where
Karkare was to ‘reach’ in search of the Pakistani terrorists, as he
was ‘guided’ by his “superiors”. And the rest is history.
Karkare’s cold-blooded murder literally shut the unimaginable
possibility of unfolding and unearthing the local terror syndicate
For maximum utilisation of your
Zakat, sadaqat & charity
CHARITY ALLIANCE
Active for the uplift of some of the most
neglected and deprived sections of our
community. Help us build school in
Murshidabad’s hunger belt.
For details see pp. 25, 32 or visit
www.charityalliance.in
po
han
Liber Out
rt
Alhamdulillah,
Re
With this issue,
MG completes
10 years
ISSN 0972-3366
32 pages Rs 10
18 Issues/Opinion 2,15
Books 28
7,11
Cartoons 1, 17
International 23-27
6,7,10,14 National 3-22
11,22 Speaking Out 18
5 Newsmakers 16
4,5 Community News 19-22
3,4,8,14 Rejoinders/opinion 15
11 Islamic Perspectives 29
9,18 Classifieds 30
Letters 31
which, otherwise, had been known to all of us.
What is even more shocking is that while a
lone person, enriched with his vast experience
in police service and very well-known for his
unmatched courage, integrity and wit, taking on the powerful and
vicious Brahminist system, risking his life in the interests of the
country, the national media chose to unofficially ‘ban’ his book
despite the fact that more than twenty TV and print media journal-
ists had interviewed him extensively as soon as the book was out.
Had the national newspapers chosen to be just newspapers and
not stenographers of the IB and the Brahminists, they could have
appeared with headlines like “IB STAGED 26/11”. But, by siding
with the saffron group, media has virtually lost its secular and
patriotic credentials and has exposed itself to be part of the secret
network which rules the country for the benefit of a miniscule
minority.
Even more shocking is the cold-blooded attitude of our brave-
courageous-secular-award-winning-five-star-activist journalists,
writers and poets towards the path-breaking book. So, in case of
India, Madam Arundhati Roy, “November could very well be
September”.

For details of the book visit: http://whokilledkarkare.com
New turn expected in Babri case
HUSAIN AMIN
Lucknow: A new turn is expected in the
long-drawn litigation over title suit of
Babri Masjid land in Ayodhya, according
to the convener of the All India Babri
Masjid Action Committee, Zafaryab
Jeelani who said this during his usual
yearly visit to Ayodhya on the Babri
Masjid demolition anniversary. The day
was observed this year by some as
yaom-e-gham (day of sorrow), by some
as yaom-e-du’a (day of prayer) and by some as kala divas (black
day). Some people observed fast also on that day. Crocodile tears
were also shed by some political parties who demonstrated a new-
found-interest in Babri Masjid with an eye on the Muslim vote bank.
However, their interest was phoohpooed.
With the Liberhan Report out, it had become talk of the day here
on 6 December this year. Utterances for and against were in curren-
cy. For some, the report was useless, some thought it was not impar-
tial, some wanted to consign it to the waste bin... Various Muslim
organisations, including All India Muslim Personal Law Board, All
India Babri Masjid Action Committee, Muslim Majlis, Indian Union
Muslim League and Islamic Centre of India, in their memorandums
to the President of India, Prime Minister of India and Chief Minister of
UP, made demands with reference to the Liberhan report. The
demands included a quick disposal of the litigation (the hearing of
which has remained suspended for the last three months), and that
all those identified by the commission should be charge-sheeted by
the CBI. These leaders including LK Advani who were freed of con-
spiracy charges by CBI should be charged again. All the BJP, VHP
leaders except Vinay Katiyar (who had a different reason for his visit
to Ayodhya), stayed away from Ayodhya. Zafaryab Jeelani made his
usual visit to Ayodhya and Faizabad on 6 December. In Ayodhya, he
visited Muhammad Hashim, the oldest litigant in the case of Babri
Masjid, and Haji Mahboob, another party in the case.
Mr. Jeelani’s message about the Liberhan Commission Report
bore a constructive approach. He made it clear that Muslims were
not against or opposed to the report of the Commission on demoli-
tion of Babri Masjid. He said that despite discrepancies and flaws in
the report, there is no question of rejecting the report.
The worth and utility of the Liberhan Commission report on dem-
olition of Babri Masjid was highlighted when Mr. Jeelani said that the
report will be used as a proof and witness. Mr. Jeelani and Mr.
Mushtaq Ahmad Siddiqi, Advocate of High Court, are fighting the
legal case of the Babri Masjid. Advocates Syed Irfan Ahmad and
Fazle Alam also represent Muslims in this case.

2 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009

ISSUES / OPINION
a garbage dump, in Dharavi, Mumbai, reportedly

Qurbani stories from Mumbai

n the city of Mumbai, where Muslims number about 3 million, apparently there was no hassle about qurbani, if it was to be
India's largest slum area. Big cattle are allowed to
be slaughtered only in Mumbai Municipal
Corporation's Deonar Slaughter House. The 4 sev-

I
ered heads belonged to 4 animals legally slaughtered at Deonar.
in a total Metropolitan population of 13.6 million, the difficul- allowed or not. Those Muslims, who are not staying in 'Muslim An official receipt against Municipal fee details is handed over to
ties that Muslims face in carrying on their religious duties, is majority buildings', just cannot get their society's permission to help people to transport sacrifice slaughter across the city, from
something the world is yet to know about. Though there is a sacrifice the goats. However, Muzzammil had to contend with Deonar to the residence of those making the sacrifice. At short
general sense of calm within the community, the discrimination another big problem. It so happened that there are more than 20 distance around the entire city, roam rowdy gangs of extremist
that Muslims face borders on the absurd. This Eid, I heard 3 sto- goats and sheep to be scarified and only one butcher was avail- Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) rabble rousers. The Municipal
ries, which give a picture of vagaries of performing Qurbani, in able. Lots were drawn, about who will get the first chance to get receipt is proof enough that no illegality is involved in the
the city. his goat sacrificed. The whole list was already finalized. Qurbani. That receipt saved the Dean of the orphanage that got
Muzzammil, a call center employee raised in a ritualist Consequently, when his turn came, it was one o'clock in the after- the 4 cattle sacrificed. While the Dean was out, some boys decid-
Muslim family, though married to a converted Catholic girl, noon. Both Muzzammil and his goat wilted in the scorching heat ed to throw the 4 heads into the neighbourhood dump, without
thought to have his first crack at a separate Qurbani, while set- of November in Mumbai. When the butcher finished with his sac- realizing the havoc they could cause. Somebody informed VHP
tled a new rented home of his own, in Versova village. Around rifice, Muzzammil was feeling as dead as the sacrificial goat. gang and they gathered a big crowd of protestors, demanding the
Versova, there are some unofficial spots where sheep and goats The next problem was to distribute the sacrifice mutton. The perpetrator of crime to be arrested and punished. Luckily, the
are sold. It is presumed that even though that impromptu sheep total weight of goat, the finished product, came to about 40 kilos. police immediately came on the scene, investigated the matter,
market is to facilitate Muslims He was enjoined to checked the Municipal receipts and handed the severed heads
to buy their Qurbani sheep and Kuwait authorities have a very streamlined system, make 3 parts of the lot, back to the Dean for more appropriate disposal. A communal riot
goat locally, without having to where a person selects his goat, sheep, bull or camel one for himself, one for was barely averted.
travel long distance to Deonar and pays the amount including the service charges. the relatives and friends, On the other hand, Muzzammil, brother of Muddassir, had his
Slaughter House complex The animal is collected from him and he is given a and the third for the poor own tale of woes. He had a string of bad luck with his sacrificial
where bulk of Qurbani lot is numbered token. At the other end of the assembly line people, not necessarily sheep. The ones he got home were found to have crooked horns
brought and offered for sale, from the Muslim commu- and milk teeth. That is unacceptable as a sacrifice. The animal
the Versova roadside sheep slaughter house, he gets his sacrifice, all nicely nity. In fact, wherever, it should be without any defect or blemish. Back he ferried them, to
cluster owes, according to pub- processed and packed in parts, ready for distribution. is known that Eid sacri- get a replacement pair. The next morning he found, one of the
lic perception, more to the busi- The authority of a Muslim state certainly makes it easy fices are being per- two fuming at the mouth. Immediately, he transported the goat
ness acumen of local police, for the Muslim citizens to trust the establishment and formed, hordes of poor back to the dealer and got his money back. The sheer logistics of
who are ever ready to claim hand over all Qurbani details to it. people gather to collect transporting animals from one point to another in a city is not
their cut while providing even freely distributed meat, everybody's cup of tea. There are no organised social service
the slightest services to the people of Mumbai. which they would hardly even dream of buying and cooking, groups that take the pain out of the practice.
Muzzammil found to his distress that the prices are so high given their economic background. It is well known that people It is reported that Kuwait authorities have a very streamlined
that it was less the price of sheep/ goat and more possibly from Dalits, OBC and others waited whole year for this occasion system, where a person selects his goat, sheep, bull or camel
because of the extortion money that was to be paid compulsorily, to relish the rich quality of the sacrificial meat. and pays the amount including the service charges. The animal
possibly in advance, when miserable looking sheep and goats (There are exceptions to the rule. A high caste Hindu, known is collected from him and he is given a numbered token. At the
are herded to the area a week before the Eid ul Ad'ha feast day for his devotional jaunts and strict veg routine at home, eagerly other end of the assembly line slaughter house, he gets his sac-
("Bakri Eid" in local lingo). Muddassir and his friend, Suhel, who sought the sacrificial mutton, to the surprise of the Muslim neigh-
rifice, all nicely processed and packed in parts, ready for distribu-
is working with a Baskin Robbins franchise, thought of traveling bour. After some years, it was reported through maids' grapevine
tion. The authority of a Muslim state certainly makes it easy for
all the way to Deonar to buy their goat. There they found a virtu- that in fact, he offered that mutton to his dog.)
al sea of sheep and goats, but instead of competitive prices that Transport being the big problem, even though he made small the Muslim citizens to trust the establishment and hand over all
should be the hallmark of any such mandi, they were quoted Rs. packages for the relatives and friends, many of whom, though Qurbani details to it. In India, one wonders if any voluntary
20,000 to 40,000 per head. Both young boys got the shock of could afford and were enjoined to offer Eid Qurbani, had no ener- Muslim organisation will be able to earn people's trust and make
their lives to hear of such skyrocketed prices. They spent 4 hours gy to go through the rigmarole of the sacrifice logistics, the life easier for a Muslim who wants to offer a Qurbani on Eid ul
trying to buy 2 goats of good height and bulk, as per Sharia spread of his relatives and friends all over the city, made it next Adha. It is another matter that any such organised system of
requirement of offering the best for Qurbani. After much haggling to impossible that he could reach everyone of them, to complete Qurbani will rob the charm of adventure that goes with Qurbani
with professional market traders, they finally got one each for Rs. his religious mission. To find a ready solution, he chose a Versova ritual every year. GHULAM MUHAMMED
12000 per head. orphanage, where he gave bulk of the sacrifice. Still so much ghulammuhammed3@gmail.com
Now the problem of transporting the goats to Versova was a remained that the fridge freezer conked out. Next day, he took
big headache. Muzzammil who had spent a year in New Delhi, every single piece of mutton and dragged himself to the distant
and was amazed at the communal divide in the capital where Bandra suburb, where his granny had more established contacts Mushrif's outspokenness is
Muslims were treated either with awe or with palpable hatred, to distribute the sacrifice mutton. He had his favorite granny's fin-
depending in the locality you are moving about. Having been born ger licking chops and got a take-away fashion plastic bag full of thought-provoking indeed
in the cosmopolitan Mumbai and had thrived in disco circles, he Biryani for his wife, who had hardly the skill to prepare an Eid
could not help comparisons between the two cities. He now felt biryani for his Muslim husband. A call-center employee, used to The Ex-Maharashtra IG, S.M. Mushrif has done a great service to
that in his home city, the way non-Muslims are responding to stay awake long hours, Muzzammil was so tired by the time he our country. The Brahminists, who are just like the Zionists, are
Qurbani and Qurbani related issues depict a deliberate deteriora- got a half kilo of biryani and headed home, he wished for a crushing their religion in the name of religion for selfish worldly
tion of communal harmony that had prevailed at grass root levels, stretcher and an ambulance that could transport him to Versova gains. They are ruthlessly resorting to lies at every stage and step
even after Bombay Riots and bombings, both sordid events rele- and a long stretch of sleep, when he would certainly not be count- forgetting Satya Meva Jayate of Hinduism and La’natullah’ ‘alal
gated to mean politics of the electoral distortions. The only means ing sheep. kaazibeen (God's curse is on liars) of Islam.
Muzzammil could find to transport his Qurbani goat, was the ubiq- Ashfaq Munshi Saheb has a big family. He stays in a beauti- All materialist world-worshippers everywhere oppose Islam
uitous three-wheeler auto-rickshaw. ful old bungalow, bang on the Perry Road, Bandra. He got about only because Islam, by explaining the true attributes of God,
(The other alternative was to ride the animal all the way back a dozen goats a night before Eid and sheltered them all in his encourages the downtrodden (mustad’afeen) to revolt against
home). Nobody was prepared to give a ride to a man and his compound at the back of his residence. In the morning he found, their oppressors who paint God as needy, greedy and sexy, full of
goat. One did agree to take Muddassir and his Qurbani, as he one goat dead. Now, more than the sacrifice, his problem was vices and weaknesses.
was traveling in that direction. The only condition was that how to dispose of the dead goat. Since the goat was already That the true understanding of God's attributes as most clear-
Muddassir should wash the auto-rickshaw when they reached his marked for sacrifice, it cannot possibly be treated as garbage. ly mentioned in HIS latest edition of Guidance (Qur’an) can
destination. Poor Muzzammil had to agree to such onerous They decided to bury it in Bandra's Naupada Qabarastan. When change the society for better through silent suffering has been
terms, all for the sake of Almighty Allah, who had enjoined him to they got the dead sacrifice to Qabrastan, the in-charge refused to recently exhibited in Iran. The late Ayatullah Murtaza Mutahhari
sacrifice an animal to prove his devotion to his Creator. When the bury it in the graveyard. After hours of haggling and arguing, the never bowed before Mossad-trained Sevak torturer terrorists'
party reached the building where Muzzammil's elder brother in-charge pointed to a heap of rubble in the adjoining Railway order to say 'Shah Zindabad'; he continued to repeat 'Allahu
lives, Muzzammil took the auto to a distant corner in the com- yard, long deserted and rotting with rusted steel remnants of old
Akbar' - that the state terrorist oppressors had written 'Shah
pound and washed the auto-rickshaw with buckets of water. The steam engines and relics of old discarded train bogies. They dug
Zindabad' with burning coal on the back of martyr Mutahhari was
Auto-man still complained about the stink of the goat. Muzzammil a deep hole in the rubble and buried the sacrificial goat, with
had to reward him extra, above whatever he had agreed to pay, proper rituals reading fateha on the improvised grave. It is difficult disclosed to the world only when his body was being washed for
just to get him off his head. for Ashfaq Saheb to make out if his sacrifice was in order or not. burial. He had only re-enacted the Monotheism of black-skinned
He has yet to get a fatwa. But for the time being his problem is Bilal during the days of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Let
More Problems: In the building, where Muzzammil had planned dead and buried under heaps of rubble. us see how many 'mainstream' newspapers review Mushrif's
to sacrifice the goat, the majority of flat owners are Muslims; so It was not the same case with four heads of cattle, thrown on book and how!
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Are we to be governed
by Law or faith?: Sheetla
MANZAR MAHDI FAIZABADI
Faizabad: Just as the concept of Ayodhya without
Ram and Sita is meaningless and the history of
Nawabs of Avadh cannot be written without men-
tioning about Gulab Bari and tombs, in the same
way while talking about newspapers, without any
mention of Sheetla Singh chief editor of Hindi daily
Jan Morcha is like talking about flowers without any
mention of rose. The way he (Sheetla Singh) has
protected his pen for the past 50 years (from being
sullied), even the soldiers posted at borders cannot
defend our frontiers.
When every thing in the
world has become
saleable commodity and
buyers are willing to pur-
chase it at any price,
offers of a seat of an
MLA or MP could not
deter his pen from writing
the truth. Whatever
Sheetla Singh, who was
honoured with Yash
Bharti Award, has so far
written was neither to
please any body nor ever
thought about the conse-
quences or reactions his
writings will lead to. He
wrote, and writes, what-
ever he considers is true.
That is why if, after every
editorial that he writes,
some people admire him, many people ciritcise and
condemn him and advise him to behave a like
Hindu and some even go to the extent of threaten-
ing him for not writing in favour of Hindus.
After leakage of Liberhan Commission's report
on the circumstances leading to Babri Masjid's
demolition, if any government introspects and hon-
estly thinks about the questions raised by him in his
editorial of 25 November, probably no mosque in
India can be demolished and never the law and
Constitution can be taken for a ride. In his editorial
he asks if, even before the presentation of Liberhan
Commission's report after 17 long years, the entire
world did not know who are those people who cel-
ebrate 6 December, the day on which Babri Masjid
was demolished, as the Shaurya divas? And who
had mobilised the crowd in Ayodhya on 6
December '92?
When the mosque was being demolished, the
forces posted there for protection of the mosque
had no guns. He writes further: When Kalyan Singh
became chief minister, he had gone to Ayodhya
along with his cabinet and said 'Ram Lalla, we have
come and will build the temple here', 'saugandh
Ram ki khaatey hain, mandir yahin banayenge'.
And the same man (Kalyan Singh) had given an
Sixty thousand Kashmiris refused passports
Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir is the only state in
the country where getting a passport is
extremely difficult. About sixty thousand
Kashmiri people have been refused passports
this year, according to Parvez Imroz, human
rights activist, who has launched a 'Campaign
for Right to Travel'. He said that a large majori-
ty of applicants including Hajis was not allowed
to go abroad. Criticising the government he said
that governments of Pakistan, Nepal and
Bangladesh grant Passports to anti-government
people and human rights activists and allowed
to go to foreign countries where many of them
criticise their governments. He said that Human
rights activists like Asma Jahangir and others
are given permission by Pakistan to come to
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Statement on Liberhan & Babri
very wicked person, his resig- The All India Muslim Majlis-e- RSS, the VHP, and the Bajrang Dal, for plan-
nation will not be accepted; Mushawarat (AIMMM), All India Muslim ning, conspiring and demolishing the Masjid on
he will be dismissed. Sheetla Personal Law Board Committee on Babari 6 December 1992, with a view to build the pro-
Singh further wrote that for Masjid (IMPLB-CBM) and Babri Masjid posed Mandir in its place, for mobilizing the
dismissing Kalyan Singh, Movement Coordination Committee (BMMCC) Kar Sevaks from all over the country in
cabinet meeting is needed. In this way Narasimha issued the following Joint Statement on 9 Ayodhya and for training special squads for the
Rao gave another 3 or 3½ hours time to karsevaks December: purpose, these three organizations should be
to enable them demolish the entire Masjid. At 8.20 proscribed for violating the undertaking the
o mark the 17th Anniversary of the RSS had given to the Government in 1949 for
T
p.m. President's rule was imposed but even after
that also destruction by karsevaks continued. Next Demolition of the Babri Masjid, the All lifting the ban placed on it in the wake of the
day on 7 December make-shift Ram Mandir was India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawrat, All assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by one of its
built on the dead body of Babri Masjid during India Muslim Personal Law Board cadres.
President's rule itself. Sheetla Singh wrote that all Committee on Babri Masjid & the Babri Masjid (3) That the Representation of People Act and
these are no secrets. The whole world knows what Movement Coordination Committee organized if necessary, the Constitution, should be
had been going on before 6 December and there- an Open Discussion on 6 December 2009 on amended, in consultation with the Election
after. The whole world had seen the funeral of law "Babri Masjid Question Today", in the light of Commission, to bar from the electoral process
and Constitution being taken out. Lakhs and crores the Report of the Liberhan Ayodhya any political group which propagates the
of people have been its witnesses. He further wrote Commission of Inquiry. A cross section of replacement of the secular state as established
that the karsevaks had burnt many houses of Muslim intelligentsia, cutting across the politi- under the Constitution by a theocratic state in
Muslims and many persons were killed also but not cal and social spectrum, participated in the which one religion and the corresponding reli-
a single person was either arrested or punished. Discussion and came to the conclusion that the gious group in our multi-religious society enjoy
When the karsevaks were going back after destroy- Muslim community should not surrender its higher status.
ing the Mosque, they were sent honourably and legal right to the Babri Masjid site, which con- (4) That, to stop propagation of religious hatred
safely by special trains and buses. All this too was tinues to be the real Masjid, and should pursue and intolerance, in writing or by word of mouth,
done during President's rule. Now every body the title suit pending before the Special Bench the existing law should be amended to give it
understands what the government wanted to do of the Allahabad High Court rigorously and dili- more teeth, prescribe tougher punishment and
after getting the Liberhan report completed; but gently and with the help of the secular forces, introduce summary procedure.
now what is needed is that the country and people must exert all possible pressure on the Seventeen years have elapsed since the
should decide if India is to be ruled on the principles Government to reaffirm on the floor of Demolition. The Muslim community and all
of law and Constitution or on the basis of faiths and Parliament its assurance and commitment to secular citizens feel frustrated not only by the
beliefs.
accept the final judicial verdict on the Question slow pace of the judicial process but by the
of Title and to implement the Supreme Court complete freedom enjoyed even by the per-
Order of October 1994 which provides a road sons who, and organizations which, publicly
map for the ultimate solution of the dispute. boast of having organized and executed the
Demolition in violation of the judicial orders.
India where they criticise their country but in The participants also reached the following There can be no Democracy without the
Kashmir students, professionals, political lead- consensus: Rule or law and there can be no Secularism if
ers and relatives are denied passports by gov- (1) That the Government should expedite the religious minorities live in a state of fear and
ernment. criminal cases pending before the CBI Courts face blackmail.
Dr Zafar Mehdi, an eminent doctor said that and prosecute the other living persons who On behalf of the Muslim Community, the
he was denied passport because in various have been indicted by the Commission after sponsor-organizations request all parties with
meetings he demanded that Kashmiris should detailed investigation by CBI, as well as move high secular credentials to give topmost priori-
be given the right to decide their political future. Supreme Court to transfer old as well as new ty to pressurize the Government for the realiza-
Today Kashmiri leaders like Omar Abdullah, criminal cases to the existing Special CBI tion of the above proposals, in order to restore
Mufti Sayeed and Farooq Abdullah also are Court or to a Special Court to be established by Democracy, Secularism and Rule of Law,
saying the same thing. He said that to him it the Supreme Court, consisting of three retired which are the key elements in the basic struc-
appeared that a collective punishment is being Judges of the Supreme Court, for fast track ture of Constitution.
given to Kashmiris. Parvez Imroz said that his hearing. Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, President, AIMMM
organisation will raise the problem of denial of (2) That taking serious note of the evidence Dr SQR Ilyas, Convener AIMPLB-CBM
Passports before world organisations, particu- and conclusions of the Commission on the cul- Syed Shahabuddin, Convener, BMMCC
larly before the United Nations.
pability of the Sangh Parivar, particularly the
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4 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009

NATIONAL
Mental trauma in J&K AFMI’s list of five top Muslim students
In a paper titled, 'A psychosocial study of ex-militants in J&K' by
researcher Shobna Sonpar, written in October 2006, for a non-govern- Farmington (US): Muslim students in The other achievers in the SSC need to encourage and inspire the
ment organisation in New Delhi, she states that the experience of 'trau- India have once again shown that with (Grade 10) category are 2. M. Sumaiya best and the brightest students of the
ma' is often a 'starting point' for continuing cycles of violence. Eventually, courage and determination they can Thasneem (98.20%),Tamil Nadu 3. community. AFMI has been doing just
this translates to 'victimhood' of the entire ethnic group. The main com- shine academically. In a national com- Sarwar Hasib (97.14%), Orissa, 4. that since the inception of its awards
ponents of this victimhood: "A history of traumatic aggression and loss, petition for the American Federation Hasnain Rangwala (96.40%), 5. Saleha programme nineteen years ago. When
the belief that the violence is not justifiable by any standard, the constant of Muslims of Indian Origin's Gold Iqbal Hussain (96.40%), Rajasthan. it first sought applications there were
fear that aggression could start at any time, and the perception that the medal programme for 10th graders the The top five students in the HSC very few students who would cross
world is indifferent to their plight..." This perceived apathy, according to top winners have displayed excep- (Grade 12) category are: 1. M. Syed the 80 percent mark. But nineteen
the study, eventually turns into hate for the group that witnesses the tional academic excellence. The No. 1 Kaleel Awn (98.58%), Tamil Nadu 2. years later many students are not
silent suffering of the victims…. As David Crane puts it, "Terrorism feeds student to score over all others from Almas Nazim Sayed (98.50%), guaranteed a medal even if they have
on fear and anger and uses it as a source of strength. The key is to cut across India is Ayesha Haroon Rashid Maharashtra 3. Sana Firdouse scored more than 90 percent due to
the cycle of failure, fear, and anger, thus cutting off the strength that ter- Tamboli who obtained 99.99% in the (97.50%), Andhra Pradesh 4. Nazrin P. tough competition from their col-
ror needs to achieve its goals." Maharashtra Board exams. She will be S. (96.50%) 5. C. M. Akbar Ali (96%), leagues. AFMI appeals to all to support
awarded the gold medal by a promi- Karnataka. its educational cause and be present
Unathorised religious places to be bulldozed in UP nent dignitary at AFMI's XVIII Apart from the medals each stu- at its annual convention to honor
Allahabad: In compliance with a recent Supreme Court order, unautho- International Convention and Gala dent will receive a scholarship of Rs. these bright students.
rised religious structures in 24 development authorities will be demol- Award Ceremony to be held January 5,000 and in the case of need would be
ished and no permission will be given for construction of new places of 2-3, 2010 at Rabindranath Tagore Hall, considered for further scholarships. More details about the convention
worship at public places. These religious places include temples, Tagore Marg, Indore, Madhya The spectacular performance of can be obtained by contacting AFMI at
mosques, churches, gurdwaras or any other place of religious signifi- Pradesh. these students reveals that there is a afmi11@aol.com.

cance. Maximum number of such unauthorised religious places have
been found in Sangam Nagri where there are about 300 such unautho-
rised places of worship built on encroached lands. Varanasi is at No. 2
UP withdraws booklet on Ayodhya
where after Sangam Nagri there are maximum number of unauthorised
MASOOD HASAN of court,' Mehboob told this correspondent over telephone.
places of worship i.e. around 250. All these will be demolished. In
response to a special leave petition, Supreme Court had clearly stated Lucknow: Muslim organizations are sore over the booklet pub- The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which was largely
that no unauthorised places of worship will be allowed to be built in lished by the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department describing the responsible for pulling down the mosque on December 6, 1992,
lanes, roads, parks or any other public places. As regards religious disputed site in Ayodhya as the birthplace of Lord Rama. The however sees nothing wrong with it. 'Ever since 1935, the site
places already built illegally at public places, every structure should be Muslim bodies demanded stern action against the official has always been described as Ramjanmabhoomi that is a mat-
judged on merits and action should be taken accordingly at the earliest. responsible for this error because such error amounted to con- ter of fact, so what is wrong if an official publication puts that in
It is also stated in SC's order that DMs of the concerned districts will tempt of court. The issue is in the court. Controversy over pub- black and white,' a VHP representative Sharad Sharma said.
ensure whether action on SC's order is being taken or not and submit lication of the booklet takes a new turn as the saints of Ayodhya
their reports to the state government within four weeks. Supreme have come out openly defending the tourist official. Minority Commission notice to DDA regarding Rohini land
Court's order to this effect has been sent by the chief secretary, The Uttar Pradesh Government has immediately decided to New Delhi: Delhi Minorities Commission, taking a serious notice
Department of rehabilitation, Harvindar Singh to all Development withdraw the above booklet published by the Regional Tourism of DDA's casual and irresponsible attitude to its earlier notices
Authorities, district collectors etc for compliance. Department. "The error in the booklet on Ayodhya has caused regarding cancellation of land already allotted by DDA itself for
embarrassment so we are withdrawing it immediately," the Uttar the construction of a mosque in Rohini, has issued a fresh
Don't interfere with inter-faith marriages: HC Pradesh Tourism Director General Avanish Kumar Awasthi said. notice to it (DDA). It may be noted that a piece of land was allot-
Kozhikode: The police should not interfere in the live of people of inter- ted in sector 16 of Rohini about six months ago for the construc-
faith marriages, directed the Kerala High Court on 4 December. The
The officer concerned has been asked to explain the reason for
this error, he said. 'After all, since the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri tion of Masjid there to cater to the needs of Muslims of that area
order was passed by the division bench consisting of Justices Kurien
Joseph and CT Ravikumar while considering the petition submitted by a Masjid dispute was pending in the court, we have no right to but because of the opposition of local residents of the majority
woman from Palakkad. Suchithra of Palakkad had submitted a petition publish such a guide. community, the allotted land was cancelled. The Commission
in the High Court against the torture by the police. The petitioner had The regional tourist officer has been served a show-cause then had invited a responsible officer to discuss the issue but
fallen in love and married a Muslim who was working with her in a pri- notice to explain the error. The Director General of Tourism has DDA sent a low rank officer who had no knowledge about allot-
vate hospital in Palakkad. When the woman left her home to live with issued a circular banning all publications brought out without ment and then cancellation of the land for Masjid.
her husband, her father filed a complaint with the police that she was approval of the State Directorate. The booklet was published by Taking this irresponsible and casual attitude of DDA very
missing. The petition was filed in the High Court pointing that she had the office of the Tourism Department situated in Faizabad with- seriously, the Commission sent a fresh notice to DDA asking the
married Nisamudheen as per the Special Marriage Act and that the out approval of the Tourism Directorate, he said. Director General himself or an officer not below his rank to
police were harassing them even after informing it. Suchithra has report- Haji Mehboob, one of the key petitioners in the legal battle come to commission's office on 31 Oct. to discuss why the land
edly asked in the petition to cancel the complaint filed by her father, to over the site, has threatened to take the matter to court. 'How can was first allotted and then cancelled.

provide protection from her family and relatives and to put an end to the the administration issue such a booklet? It amounts to contempt
harassing by the police. The court has postponed the case to be con-
sidered on December 7. The police have been reportedly directed to
provide protection for the petitioner to come to the court if she asks for
it. Adv PK Ibrahim argued for the petitioner (TwoCircles.net).
Central Madrasa Board: suggestions
Meanwhile, according to some media sources, Kerala High Court did ew Delhi: There is no end to considered coolly and seriously. Others by some people that since 80% of
just the opposite when it reportedly said on 9 December that “it found
traces of such acts” and that “there are indications of "forceful" religious
conversions under the guise of "love" in Kerala.” The HC suggested to
the government to consider enacting a law to prohibit such "deceptive"
acts. "Under the pretext of love there cannot be any compulsive, decep-
N the controversy about Central
Madrasa Board and argu-
ments and counter arguments
are being advanced by its supporters
and opponents. A number of delega-
like Maulana Yasin Akhtar Misbahi also Muslims have great respect and believe
agreed that after suitable changes and in the people of monasteries, Dargahs,
amendments Central Madrasa Board will Sufis etc, these people i.e. Sufis and fol-
be acceptable to them. He clarified that lowers of all sects i.e. Deobandis,
there should be a legal provision in Bareilwis, Ahle Hadis, Shias etc should
tive conversion," the court reportedly said. Justice K T Sankaran made tions representing different schools of Central Madrasa Board that government be included in Madrasa Board. Maulana
these observations dismissing anticipatory bail applications by two thought have met Union HRD Minister will in no case interfere in madrasas syl- Yasin Akhtar Musbahi suggested that in
accused in activities of 'Love Jihad', allegedly involving converting girls Kapil Sibal and presented their views. labus and their internal administration. Madrasa Board's syllabus there should
from other religions to Islam after enticing them to marry Muslim boys. Though most of the Ulama and intellec- In this connection All India Muslim be 80% Islamic sciences and 20% other
Quoting statistics, the court said during the last four years 3,000 to 4,000 tuals are opposed to the Central Personal Law Board (Jadeed) held a modern sciences and at the same time
religious conversions have taken place after love affairs. According to Madrasa Board in its present form, they meeting in Ghalib Academy on 15 there should be no room for any kind of
reports by special branch of police, fundamental outfits like National also agree that with some changes and November in which its government interfer-
Democratic Front (NDF) and Campus Front have roots in college cam- amendments, it will be acceptable to president Maulana Sibal assured that ence in madrasa
puses in various cities, it said. them. Tauqeer Raza Khan of madrasas are not cov- affairs.
It may be stated that a delegation of Bareilwi sect also said ered under this Act, Maulana Ashraf
Two Cases of Persecution from Karnataka All India Muslim Majlis Mushawarat led that after certain but doubt is being Mian of Kachhochha,
Church desecrated in Karnataka: On 24 November in Madhugiri, about by its president Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan changes this Board raised by Muslims that Maulana Yasin Akhtar
30 Hindu extremists accused Operations Mobilization's (OM) four Bible and including among others, general sec- will be acceptable to Misbahi etc also sug-
students from the International Cultural College of Studies of forceful retary Dr Ejaz Aslam, Jamat Ahle us. He strongly criti-
there is no guarantee gested that in the
conversion and burned Bibles, compact disks and Christian tracks Hadith's Maulana Asghar Imam Salfi, cised Ulama of that madrasas which Constitution of Central
belonging to the students. Rev. Noel Kotian reported from Bangalore Jamat-e Islami's Maulana Mujtaba Devbandi school of are not recognized and Madrasa Board, teach-
that the extremists ransacked the house of the OM students, snatched Farooq in its meeting with Kapil Sibal thought who are have no fixed set of ing and learning of
Bibles and Christian literature and burned them up. They warned the sought clarification from him about the strongly opposed to rules will never be Qur'an, Hadis and Fiqh
students to leave the area or face dire consequences. Due to the
provision of Right to Education Act under Madrasa Board. He brought under the must be clearly men-
extremists pressure, the police took the four students to the police sta-
which children of 6 to 14 years of age accused them of being Board in future also. tioned so that a clear
tion, detained them for about 20 hours. The students were released
must be sent to recognized schools and agents provocateurs message should be
without any charges. Later, the extremists forced the Christians to
those schools which do not fulfill the nec- and hired elements of government who given to Muslims that government will in
vacate their home warning them not to return to the area again.
Five Pastors Detained: On the basis of the complaint lodged by Hindu essary conditions will be closed down, are strongly opposing it so as to give an no way interfere in the traditional educa-
extremists, Karnataka police detained five pastors on charges of force- and this is what is causing concern to excuse to government to put this propos- tional system of Madrasas. Similarly, it
ful conversion on November 24 in Nangli, Kolar district. At about 11: 30 Muslims. al in the cold storage. He also accused should be clearly laid down that income
p.m., Hindu extremists barged into the Friends Missionary Prayer Though Sibal assured that madrasas them of doing nothing for the community, received by madrasas through makabs
Band's (FMPB) prayer hall inaugural function, disrupted the service and are not covered under this Act, but doubt adding that these people are opposing and immovable properties, gifts, dona-
accused the Christians of forceful conversion, reported Rev. Noel is being raised by Muslims that there is Madrasa Board because they fear that if tions, subscriptions etc should be freely
Kotian. At about 12:15 p.m., the police having been alerted by the no guarantee that madrasas which are this Board is set up, foreign money and used for running and meeting the
extremists arrived at the spot and took the five pastors to the police sta- not recognized and have no fixed set of gifts etc received by them which are expenses of madrasas and government
tion for questioning. The Christians were released at about 8:30 p.m that rules will never be brought under the unaccounted will be taken away from should have no control over them. Also, if
night. A compromise was reached between the two parties with the Board in future also. However members them. However, a six-member committee any madrasa is affiliated to the Board
police instructing the Christians to give prior information to them before of this delegation and some other intel- was formed in this meeting to negotiate and subsequently wants to end that affil-
conducting any future worship services for security measure. Please lectuals like Prof Tahir Mahmood, Prof with the government and to suggest the iation, they should be allowed to do so
continue to pray for Karnataka where persecution of Christian has Akhtarul Wasey agreed that the proposal needed amendments. but in that case what will be its position?
become a common occurrence.
for Central Madrasa Board should be An agreeable suggestion was made This should also be clarified.


Azamgarh college facing hurdles in securing minority seats
Azamgarh: Shibli National College, Azamgarh, a
premier minority institution in North India was
established as National School in the year 1883
by the great oriental scholar and Nationalist
Allama Shibli Nomani. It was the vision of
Principal (Late Shaukat Sultan) and college
management that B.Ed. classes were started in
1959. As 50% of the seats were reserved for the
minority community, the college was producing
trained Muslim teachers in good number every
year. But three years ago some official hurdles
were created to block this flow of Muslim teach-
ers, and consequently the college has not been
able to run the B.Ed. classes since the 2007-
2008 academic sessions.
Mrs. Nasreen Ahmad, Head, Department of
Education said that in the beginning Shibli
National Degree College was affiliated to Agra
University and the College controlled the admis-
sion. In the beginning intake of students was in
the teacher-student ratio of 1: 10 but when the
College got affiliated to Gorakhpur University
the ratio was enhanced to 1: 15 (1972-73) and it
remained so even when the College (now Post-
graduate) was affiliated to Purvanchal
University, Jaunpur (1989). Later on, P.U.
reduced the intake to 1:10.
Dr. Iftekhar Ahmad, Principal told that as per
1995 government order the College was
empowered to take 50% admission to B.Ed.
classes through test. The V.C. of Purvanchal
University, in order to maintain standard, was
advised to send its nominee as an observer.
Thereafter evaluation of answer sheets was
done in the presence of V.C. nominee and a list
of 50 minority students was prepared duly
signed by the Principal and V.C. In 2007-08
Kanpur University was asked by P.U. to conduct
admission test under a single window system.
As there was no specific order, we conducted
our own admission test in order to select 50%
students (minority) and went to the V.C seeking
Muslim girls opt apostasy
For God's sake, some one should come forward to
save Muslim girls from apostasy
Hyderabad: One more Muslim girl in Warangal
deserted Islam and having fallen in love with a
non-Muslim boy, embraced Hinduism and mar-
ried her lover. This incident took place in
Warangal's Mills Colony Police Station area
where Muhammad Usman's 21-year old daugh-
ter Soni committed the sin of apostasy. She had
run away from her house about a month ago
and had married Vadela Venkateshwarlu s/o
Vadela Bhadria resident of Qila Warangal on 21
Jully in a temple situated at a hill according to
Hindu rites. The couple, as a precautionary
measure, had also obtained a marriage certifi-
cate with the help of local lawyers. When this
girl came to meet her parents along with her
husband, her brother Aamir took both of them to
task and condemned them.
This is not the first or only incident during
recent months when a Muslim girl, in order to
marry her lover, not only broke off relations with
her parents and relatives but also deserted
even her religion and became a sinner of apos-
tasy. There have been not only hundreds but
thousands of such cases in recent times when
Muslim girls are becoming sinners of apostasy
in order to marry their lovers. Thousands of
Muslim girls in our midst are distancing them-
selves from Islam and becoming victims of
apostasy but Muslim society is not prepared to
get awake from their slumber. There are not
dozens but hundreds and thousands of
madrasas and new madrasas also are coming
up every now and then. Religious meetings and
discourses also are being held and efforts are
being made for bringing about reforms in
Muslim society and tall claims also are being
made but in spite of all these things Muslim girls
are deserting Islam and marrying non-Muslims.
It has now become a tradition and trend in
Muslim society to condemn such incidents in
their meetings momentarily and criticise others
for their indolence and indifference but exempt
themselves from this responsibility. No
madrasa, preacher, social reformer or any
organisation is prepared to come forward and
Shibli College, Azamgarh
an observer for evaluation. A deputy registrar of
P.U. looking after B.Ed showed extra ordinary
interest in seeking clarification from U.P. govern-
ment. U.P. government sent an order, which was
actually meant for self-financed colleges though
it was addressed to us. A 15% NRI quota was
also given to us by Kanpur University, which, in
fact, is given to self-financed colleges. In 2008-
09 Agra University conducted the test and gave
us only 50 seats. As selection process got
delayed this session was declared as zero ses-
sion.
Mr. S.M.A. Kazmi, Chairman U.P. Minority
Commission, was invited on 31st October 2009
to a function organized by Old Boys Association
of Jamiatul Falah, Bilariyaganj (Azamgarh). On
the invitation of College Principal, Mr. S.M.A.
Kazmi briefly halted in the college on his way
back to Lucknow. Principal discussed with him
the problem faced in admission of minority stu-
dents in B.Ed course and apprised him of the
futility of accepting 50% minority students
take the lead in starting a campaign for prevent-
ing Muslim girls from the path of apostasy and
rid the society of this serious problem, nay ulcer.
If we review the recent past, we will find that
there are innumerable incidents when Muslim
girls are marrying non-Muslims.
Recently the dead body of a Muslim girl of
Mahboob Nagar was found in a park near
Banjara Hills where she had gone with her
Hindu husband. Before this, a Muslim girl in
front of her mother had accused a Hindu sub-
inspector of police of having sexual relations
with her on the false promise of marrying her.
When this girl was confessing her adultery with
a non-Muslim, her mother remained a silent lis-
tener. Call it lack of education and training or
moral teaching on the part of parents, careless-
ness, criminal negligence, effect of TV, the
curse of internet or the fruit of mobile phone, the
bitter truth is that Muslim society is becoming
victim of abysmal decadence. It is not that only
the known such incidents have taken place.
Incidents of this kind that have taken place or
are taking place are in fact innumerable. There
is an entire department in a temple of the city
(Hyderabad) where Muslim girls are being
brought in the Hindu fold and being married to
non-Muslim lovers. According to available infor-
mation, during the past some time about three
thousand Muslim girls have married non-Muslim
boys and most of them are unknown to any one.
Similarly, city's parks, cinema houses, shopping
malls, ice cream parlours, all these are full of
Muslim girls who come to these places along
with their lovers. It is not very difficult to guess
how many of them are Muslims and how many
are non-Muslims. This is not limited to parks or
cinema houses only but it has now spread to
resorts etc in sub-Urban areas of the city where
rooms are given on rent for a few hundred or
thousand rupees to these lovers who are
described as couples. Among those who come
to these places a fairly large number is of
Muslim girls and it is not very difficult to guess
who are their lovers.
provided to these mudarris. No time table is fol-
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009
selected through a single window system. He
argued that Department of Education was
established to provide employment opportuni-
ties to Muslim minority of the region and there-
fore, College should be allowed to have a say in
the admission of 50% minority students. Mr.
S.M.A. Kazmi patiently listened to the griev-
ances and assured him of an affirmative action.
Principal gave copies of letters sent to C.M. and
others in this regard to Mr. S.M.A. Kazmi.
As per news item in Urdu newspaper a let-
ter has been sent by Mr. S.M.A Kazmi to the
Secretary Higher Education seeking a report in
15 days.
Isabella Thoburn (IT) College, Lucknow, a
constituent College of Lucknow University (as
per Lucknow University Act 1921) is imparting
B.Ed course since 1954. In 1987 State govern-
ment framed U.P. State Universities (Regulation
of Admission to Courses of Instruction for
Degree in Education in Affiliated, Associated
and Constituent Colleges) order. After this
UNICEF study reveals
secular nature of madrasas
ontrary to popular
C belief and projec-
tions that madrasas
are hubs for train-
ing Islamic fanatics, a recent
study actually reveals the
secular nature of these insti-
tutions. Madrasa Islamiya
Arabia Alim-Ul-Ulum in Devgaon of Barabanki
district of Uttar Pradesh, India, has a sizeable
number of Hindu children among its students;
while the Muslim children are taught Urdu and
Arabic, non-Muslim students are taught
Sanskrit.
In true spirit of secularism the teachers
share the values of both religions with all chil-
dren. The Hindu kids prefer the madrasa to the
nearby government primary school. These star-
tling revelations are made in a study conducted
by the BETI Foundation, Lucknow, with support
from UNICEF, Uttar Pradesh. The research was
undertaken to understand the role of religious
minority institutions and how they can be
brought into the mainstream. The study was
done in five madrasas of Deva block in
Barabanki district, which is just half an hour drive
from the state capital Lucknow.
The madrasas included Madrasa Emdadul
Ulum, of Peend village; Madrasa Varsiya Jamia
Hayat-ul-Ulum, Khewali village, Madrasa
Islamiya Arabia Alim-ul-Ulum, in Devgaon vil-
lage, Madrasa Arabia Sirajul Ulum in Bilauli vil-
lage and Madrasa Ansakal Ulum situated in
Rariya village. All the five madrasas are running
with the total support of the community and
receive no financial aid from the government or
any other agency. The expenses of the
madrasas are being met with donations made by
the community and fees charged from students.
Out of the five, three madrasas are already
teaching other subjects besides the religious
education. These five madrasas are managed
by 16 mudarris (teachers). Three have only one
teacher; one has two and one has 11 teachers,
all below 30 years. Forty-four per cent are
female teachers. But no formal training has been
5
NATIONAL
"order 1987" Lucknow University restrained I.T.
College from holding Entrance test for admitting
students. Committee of Management of I.T.
College assailed action of Lucknow University
by filing a writ petition no. 4530 of 1989 and a
division bench of High Court passed an order
dated 10.07.1987 allowing I.T. College to admit
members of the minority community (whose
interest they cater) on priority basis. Since then
I.T. College was admitting students of minority
community every year. On 7.8.1995 govt. issued
G.O. no. 1310/1511-95-3(101)/92. As per G.O. a
Committee will be constituted in every minority
institution comprising of a representative of the
University to be nominated by the V.C., Principal
of the Minority Institution, a representative of
Higher Education Department not below the
rank of Higher Education Officer. This
Committee was to lay down guidelines to main-
tain standard in University Institutions. In the
G.O it was also mentioned that the same (guide-
lines) is being issued pursuant to the direction
issued by S.C. in its order dated 6.12.1991
passed in writ petition no. 1868 of 1980 and
13213 of 1984.
I.T. College was, however, restrained to
declare result for entrance test for admission to
B.Ed course by Committee for Fairness and
Transparency in Admission Procedure of
Technical, Medical and Other Professional
Courses (in short "Fairness Committee")
through its order dated 13.4.2007. Further by its
order-dated 22.5.2007 Fairness Committee held
that I.T. College is not a minority institution. I.T.
College filed a writ petition no. 2907 (2007) in
the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad sitting
at Lucknow. Honourable High Court allowed the
writ petition and quashed the order dated
22.5.2007 passed by opposite party no. 2
("Fairness Committee"). (Salman Sultan,
TwoCircles.net)
lowed and no lesson plan is maintained by the
mudarris. Every six months a written and verbal
evaluation is conducted.
A revealing fact was the lack of hygiene in
the madrasas. Four out of five madrasas have
one toilet each.
The classrooms were not well kept and had
cobwebs and dust. Sehba Hussain of BETI
Foundation explained that her team used three
research tools while doing the research. These
included observations, focused group discus-
sions: with madrasa committee, students, par-
ents/guardians and teachers and lastly inter-
views with mudarris/ teacher. Unlike the popular
view that madrasas are not open to modern edu-
cation it was observed that most of the staff and
students are forward looking and realize the
great importance of modern education.
The madrasa management committee's
members seemed unhappy that the certificates
issued by their institutions are not recognized by
the government as they do not meet the require-
ments of the U. P. Board. The honorarium of the
teachers was between Rs 1000 to Rs 2000 per
month. Though the amount is insufficient, the staff
considers their work as their sacred duty essen-
tial for the development of religious sentiments
and progress of their community. This madrasa
provides a wholesome environment for children.
"This is vital for right growth of mind and
body. I find it the most interesting study and one
that will help clear a lot of doubts," said Mr
Vinoba Gautam, UNICEF education specialist.
He has visited the madrasa several times and
UNICEF has been regularly sending reading
material, both in Hindi and Urdu. The research
certainly helps clear a lot of misconceptions
about madrasa studies and also removes some
cobwebs that cover our vision.

6 The Milli Gazette,16-31 December 2009
NATIONAL
I was framed by the Police: Malegaon accused
The following is a translation of the Urdu affi-
davit filed by Abrar Ahmad, one of the
accused in the Malegaon 2006 blast case:
I, Abrar Ahmad
Ghulam Ahmed, aged
38 years, profession at
present doing nothing,
am incarcerated in
Byculla Jail. I am an
accused in the serial
bomb blast that
occurred in the
Malegaon Masjid and
Mushawarat Chowk on
8th September 2006. I have given my brother,
Adv. Jaleel Ahmed, all the following information
present in this affidavit and this affidavit is pre-
pared according to this information.
On 8th September 2006, i.e., Shab-e-Barat
day, I was at my house along with my wife
Jannatunnisa, at Baghe Mahmood,
Sangameshwar. After Namaz-e-Juma, on hear-
ing the news of the bomb blast at Bada
Kabrastan and Mushawarat Chowk, I immediate-
ly went to N.N. Wadia Hospital, where dead bod-
ies and the injured were being brought via
Rickshaws and Ambulances. There, I met my
friends Mubashshir Hussain, Aqueel Ahmed and
Murtuza Mohammed Amin. It was very crowded
there. From there, we all three went to the Bada
Kabrastan on motorcycle present with me to help
people. And from there we went to Faraan
Hospital, we remained there till late night. At
Faraan Hospital, I myself and my friend Mustafa
Mudassir donated our blood for the injured. After
that, I came back to Wadia Hospital, where I met
these friends again.
After that I went to Medicare Hospital also to
help the injured. After waiting there for some time
when I was returning back, I heard some people
talking amongst themselves while moving down-
stairs. They were talking in a room adjacent to
the staircase that their own people are involved
in these blasts. These people took the names of
Dr. Rajendra Amin, Dr. Bipin Parekh,
Shomeshwar Shankar and also two three other
names, which I do not remember. While mention-
ing their names, they spoke that these people
helped in these blasts. On returning home, I told
this to my wife and my in-laws i.e. Akbar
Compounder and Amin Choudhari. They dis-
cussed amongst themselves that they should
inform the Police about this and therefore
informed my brother-in-law Farooq Wardha by
making a phone call to him in Bhiwandi about
this. But only later on, did I realize that Farooq
Wardha on hearing this, would dupe me into
becoming a Police informer in this case, instead
of nabbing the real culprits.
Probably because I knew the names of the
real culprits, therefore based on the information
provided by Farooq Wardha, on 13th Sept. 2006,
police stopped me in front the Maruti Mandir,
while passing on the Ram Sethu Bridge. They
asked me some questions and took me to the
Superintendent of Police Rajvardhan Saheb's
office. And he showed me some photographs
and asked me whether I recognized these peo-
ple, for which I denied, since I did'nt know them.
After this he inquired about my profession and
asked me whether I would repair the Inverter at
his office and home (at Nasik). I agreed to repair
the inverters. For quite sometime he spoke of
other things. Rajvardhan Saheb spoke to me of
matters relating to the Malegaon bomb blast and
encouraged me to help in relation with the bomb
blasts so that some people could be caught. I
told him about the conversation I heard at the
Medicare Hospital wherein some people were
speaking amongst themselves about Dr.
Rajendra Amin, Bipin Parekh and Someshwar
Shankar and others together having caused the
blasts. Thereafter he said that actually they have
acquired information that this job was done joint-
ly by some Hindu and some Muslim persons,
and that I am a witness in this case. He wanted
to solve this case as soon as possible, therefore
he encouraged me to help him. He offered me
incentives of rewards and money. Thereafter he
gave me a mobile with number 9823436809 and
told me to contact through it. And he also gave
me his mobile numbers (1) 9821024333 (2)
9422250775 and told me I should do whatever
With best compliments from
he tells me to do. Rajvardhan Shaheb said that if
necessary I would have to stay with policemen
and do whatever they tell me to do, if needed, I
may have to go out of town also. I agreed, but
told him that I live with my wife on the outskirts of
the city, near the river in a hut, therefore it would
be problematic to leave my wife alone if I was to
go out of town. Then Rajvardhan Saheb gave me
a mobile for this purpose too, whose number was
9825826597 and told me "if needed she too
would stay with you, you should not worry
because I know very well from which family you
are. And we will take good care of you and that
you would be rewarded with so much property
which even your father doesn't posses and you
would be rewarded with land and property wher-
ever you say in Hindustan except Kashmir, and
you would be provided complete police protec-
tion." And in this manner Rajvardhan Saheb took
me into his confidence. And after this Rajvardhan
Saheb posted some civil dressed police at my
house as watch-guards. Hence, I came into daily
contact with Rajvardhan Saheb. I gave the num-
ber of the mobile phone, which was given by
Rajvaradhan Saheb to some of my acquaintanc-
es like Shafiq Ahmed, Mohammed Sultan who
were used to work with my brothers. But, on the
mobile phone given by Rajvardhan Saheb, we
used to get too many calls. The people making
such calls would speak such things which were
beyond my comprehension. I told this to
Rajvardhan Saheb also. He said that you should
not take notice of such things and therefore on
receiving such calls, I answered "wrong number"
and then disconnected them.
On 22nd Sept. 2006, Rajvardhan Saheb told
me and my wife to go to Nasik along with some
policemen. At Nasik, my wife Jannatunnisa too
was with me. We were made to halt in a room in
Jagtap ke Malle. On the next day, we were taken
to the city Jhavra of Madhya Pradesh, by Qualis
vehicle. There we were kept in a hotel for two
days. Thereafter, we were taken to Indore and
were kept in a Muslim lodge. On the next day, we
were taken to some temples in Ujjain, where we
were made to meet a Sadhu and Sadhvi and
thereafter, to Ujjain's Bholenath Mandir, where
we were taken to a room fitted with close circuit
cameras, to meet a Kashmiri Sadhu where our
video shooting was also done. In this way for
about nine days we were taken to different
places by the policemen. During this time police
constable Nana, Ravi, Karan Kabadi and Desai
etc. accompanied us on the journey. All these
officers were with us according to the orders of
Rajvardhan Saheb. And under their watch all
these proceedings, during these journeys, were
conducted under his instructions. During this our
video shooting and photographs were taken,
wherein a Sadhu and others wearing saffron gar-
ments were present. All these proceedings were
conducted according to the orders received by
the policemen over mobile phone.
After this we were brought back to Nasik
Devlali camp on 30th Sept. 2006 and thereafter
we were brought back to Malegaon and told that
now we are working for them. And we were given
orders that when told to, we should do accord-
ingly; and I continuously remained in contact with
Rajvardhan Saheb. During this time civil dressed
policemen watched over us round-the-clock.
In the first week of October 2006,
Rajvardhan Saheb instructed that I should
record some conversation by some trustworthy
person on my mobile phone, according to the
chitti given; should record the voice of the person
making the call. According to his instructions I
got a friend of mine, namely Hamid Husain
Javed Iqbal, to make a call from the coin box at
Pehelwan Restaurant, Kidwai Road, and to say
aloud what was written on paper "Madarchod,
Jitna Bolna that tu bol chukka, Ab sun, hum logo
ko jitna samaan gayab karna tha hum kar chuke
hain, magar hum usko gaon mein nahin la
sakey". Some sort of such a conversation I made
him to speak and recorded it on my mobile no.
9823436809 and thereafter I told this to
Rajvardhan Saheb and made him hear it and
Rajvardhan Saheb himself, made me hear the
recording of this call.
Similarly, I tried to make my neighbour
Mohammed Shafi Mohammed Sadiq to say and
record "Hum Musalmano ke sath gaddari mat
karo varna accha nahin hoga" (Do not betray
Kaleem Kawaja Washington DC
Muslims, otherwise it will be bad for you) or
something like that according to this instructions
given by Rajvardhan Saheb. But Mohammed
Shafi refused to do such a thing.
Thereafter, approximately on 14th Oct. 2006
according to Rajvardhan saheb's instruction, he
told me that Malegaon's situation is very bad, on
seeing us the Hindus and Muslims of Malegaon
would pounce on us. Therefore, I and my wife
were taken first from Malegaon to Dhulia. And
some of Rajvardhan Saheb's policemen were
accompying us such as Balu Sonowne, Nana
and Inspector Varun Ghore and two men and a
lady police. There we rested. On the next day my
brother Jaleel Ahmed called on the mobile which
was received by my wife and she spoke. And
thereafter he spoke to me and told me that he
wanted to meet me and wanted to know where I
was, so I told him that I was in Dhulia. On this he
asked me on what work had I gone to Dhulia? I
told him that I had to buy some materials and
therefore had come to Dhulia. After this he told
me to come back immediately to Malegaon and
told me to meet him, for which I agreed. But
since policemen were with us, they disallowed us
from going to Malegaon and the policemen, after
speaking to some people on the mobile took us
immediately to Indore and switched off our
mobile. But, on the next day, around afternoon
when I switched the mobile on, after sometime,
my brother's call came again and they wanted to
ask me why had I not reached Malegaon yet;
then I told them that I had come to Indore. On
this my brother Jaleel Ahmed wanted to know
whether some others were also with me. Since
policemen were with me, therefore I could not
speak to him openly. He informed me of my
father's serious ill-health and told me to come
soon to Malegaon and pressurized me again to
meet him as soon as I come to Malegaon and
tole me that news of mine had been appearing in
the newspapers with regard to the Malegaon
bomb blasts. But, the policemen with me did not
allow me to speak openly with my brother. I then
promised my brother that I would immediately
come to Malegaon and that I would reach
Malegaon by night. But, the policemen disal-
lowed us from going to Malegaon and we stayed
in Indore itself. During this time, one day, seizing
an opportunity, I tried to make contact with
Malegaon from a PCO at a shopping complex,
but was unsuccessful. After that the policemen
took us from Indore directly to Nasik and from
there we were taken to an unknown place and
were kept in a room of a desolate building.
On the next day, 23rd Oct. 2006, we were
sent to Devlali for the purpose of Eid shopping,
but policemen were present around us. On 23rd
Oct. 2006, seizing an opportunity, I escaped the
watchful eyes of the police and around evening I
phoned my brother Fareed Ahmed from a coin
box of a provision store on the mobile no.
9372710109. Since before this my brother's calls
had been coming to me often and he had
informed me of my father's sickness, I then told
my brother that I had been kept in an old building
in a quiet locality under police guard, and that
they saw me talking and immediately ran
towards me and snatched the phone, saying that
we are with some Kashmiris. Hearing this, I felt
awkward but I was under compulsion.
On the third day, 24th Oct. 2006, the police-
men kept us locked alone in the room. Using this
opportunity I established contact with my brother
by mobile and before I could tell him anything the
policemen came and they snatched the mobile
from me and began talking, imitating my voice
and as far as I remember they said that I was
with some Kashmiris; while mentioning some
peoples names they kept talking, something
which I could not understand. What I spoke to
my brother I cannot say other than such things,
we were made to meet a military officer at
Devlali. This military officer stayed in the same
building where we were kept. We were made to
eat along with him and were also photographed
with him. We were well treated like this. During
this time we were made to meet a few Sadhus,
photographs were taken sometime photos were
taken by mobile phones. During this time, we
were also made to meet the ATS men and I was
introduced as an eyewitness of the blasts. Lately,
with regards to Bhiku Chowk blasts, photos of
the people arrested have been printed in the
newspapers, among them the photo of this mili-
tary officer who was made to meet me was pres-
ent, the same person with whom, I was made to
eat.
At the time, when I was made to meet the
ATS men in Nasik and when I was said to be a
witness, at that very same time, in another room
the Police and ATS men were recording Nurul
Huda's statement and I was made to hear his
statements via "hands free" in my room. I could
hear that Nurul Huda was witnessing against me
and I was threatened that all those who were
arrested in this case were mentoning my name
that I was involved in the bomb blast. In this way
the police was double crossing me so that I
would act according to their intentions. And they
kept me telling that if I did not obey them, then no
one would be able to save me. If anyone could
save me, it would be only them.
On 25th Oct. 2006, we celebrated Eid in
Nasik. We were not allowed to go to Malegaon.
Rajvardhan Saheb came to meet us in the
evening and told me that my brother had filed a
case in the High Court against him that he had
kidnapped the two of us and told us that we both
have to tell the court "we both had gone to
Indore, Ujjain for our business work. We do not
know anything about the rumours in Malegaon
about the Malegaon bomb blast case. Those
people kept blabbering. My life is in danger. We
husband-wife ought to be provided with police
protection." We were supposed to say such, in
the court and in case, we spoke otherwise, the
consequences would be severe. On Eid, we
were brought to Mumbai in Mumbai Police ban-
dobast. In Mumbai, we were lodged at a grand
hotel Hotel Pritam at Dadar at the expenses of
ATS, but we were not allowed to go out. And we
were kept for nearly 15 days in that hotel, but
were disallowed not only to phone but also to
meet anyone. We got mentally disturbed and
expressed our annoyance, wherein we were
then taken for a trip to Gateway of India where
we met an LIC agent of Malegaon M.K. Shaikh
who was with his daughter and son-in-law. He
told me that lots of news have been appearing in
the media about me. He told me to establish con-
tact with my people at home.
ATS men also took us to Crawford Market,
Bhendi Bazar; civil dressed policemen always
accompanied us. Whenever we expressed our
annoyance, we were comforted and were told
that we would be released when the task would
be accomplished.
During this time, the policemen at times
treated us with threats and at other times sympa-
thised with us to gain our confidence. That is
why, they showed me and wife to Dr. Pradeep
Pawar of Nasik and on approximately 14 Nov.
2006, visited him again and he also gave us
treatment.
For 3-4 weeks, the ATS men in Mumbai kept
taking us here and there. During this, I request-
ed the ATS men that I intended to meet my rela-
tives in Mumbai. So they took a list of the names
of my relatives, and in this way when I expressed
my wish to met my brother-in-law Dr. Abdul
Wahid, the ATS men picked him up after a cou-
ple of days and threatened me that if I did not
comply with their instructions, they would make
him an accused.
During this time, on 2nd Nov. 2006, we were
to be produced in the court room of Lady Judge
Roshan Dalvi, Bombay High Court, Rajvardhan
Saheb and ATS men gave various threats before
our production in the High Court and said that if
we made any statement against their wishes,
then the consequences would be extremely bad
and along with us our relatives would also
become targets of torture and would be made
accused in the bomb blast case. We were com-
pelled to say the following in court.

I went to Indore with my wife according to my
own wish.

At present we do not want to go to Malegaon
and want to stay for a few days in Mumbai.

We were neither in anyones custody nor we
are.
In this way, we were compelled to say and
act according to their wishes. When we were
produced in the High Court, at that time, civil-
dressed police were present all around us, that is
why, I was under duress and compelled to give a
Continued on the next page

Continued from the previous page
statement in accordance with what the police
said. Police Arun…. and ATS officers Sachin
Kadam and Sunil Kadam watched over us in civil
dress.
On 11th Dec. 2006, we were again brought to
Dr. Pradeep Pawar in Nasik and on 13th Dec.
2006, I was administered an injection and once
again taken back to Mumbai. On 15th Dec, while
going from Nasik to Mumbai, we were halted at
Bhiwandi and told to leave my entire luggage at
my sister-in-laws place. When we were at Nasik,
we were lodged at different places. First, in front
of Renuka Auto, near Bhujbal Hospital and then
near the Adgaon police quarters.
My brother-in-law Farooq Wardha is a police
informer and resides in Bhiwandi. He also pos-
sess a Revolver which is given by the police. The
ATS men kept him with me since Eid. He kept
saying "you should implement whatever the
policemen say" and said "policemen will never let
you down" and encouraged me to co-operate
with them. And kept saying that I should support
Rajvardhan and whatever he says I should do.
On 16th Dec. 2006, I was taken to the Kala
Chowki Police Station. And there my brother-in-
law Farooq Wardha and wife were sent back and
I was kept in a lock-up, this shocked and scared
me and the behaviour of the police totally
changed. I started crying and the police beat me
mercilessly and they told me that "if you opened
your mouth you would be left hanging in U-
shape". In this way, I was kept at the Kalachowk
police lockup. On 18th December 2006, the ATS
officials produced me before Jaiswal Saheb, and
Raghuvanshi Saheb at Nagpada. They said that
"He is our man and therefore he should not be
handcuffed," and comforted me not to worry,
since it was the last stage and from there I was
taken to the court and on my way back made to
meet Brijesh Singh Saheb. He said that I should
be taken to Azad Maidan Killa lock-up; where Mr.
Jaiswal and other officials came and said that I
should be taken to Chandan Chowki, Juhu.
There was a bedroom, wherein I was kept under
the watch of two commandoes. During this time,
the commandoes kept comforting me and telling
me that I would be released in one or two weeks.
On 20th Dec. 2006 morning, I was brought to
Nagpada once again, in the presence of
Raghuvanshi, Jaiswal, and Shinde Saheb. They
told me not to worry and apologised for the trou-
ble caused and from there I was taken towards
the museum.
On 20th Dec. 2006, in the morning at 11
a.m., I was taken to the Police Commissioner's
office, near the museum and kept seated till 5
O'clock and was handed over to the Senior
Police officer namely Brijesh Singh's custody.
There he told me that he had a meeting with
Rajvardhan Saheb and others two days before
and they told him all about myself and that he
would do further proceedings in my favour, there-
fore I should do as he says. At this time he took
my signatures on 10-12 papers and told me that
those were my release papers. I was not allowed
to read the papers. They were written in Hindi,
English and Marathi, which I could not read. That
is why, I said, "since I cannot read Hindi, Marathi
and English, my brother is an advocate, call him,
if he tells me I will sign." He denied this and said
"we cannot call your brother, wife or any other
relative, we know all about you, you trust us, we
will not dupe you and we will give you as much
land you desire in any corner of India except
Kashmir and heed my words, do not utter any of
this to anyone, anywhere" Police Commissioner
Brijesh Singh told me to sign the papers and said
that all this was for my benefit and told me that
he had met my brother-in-law Farooq Wardha
and that I would be released soon. I do not know
what was written on those papers since whatev-
er was written on those papers was not read out
to me nor did anyone tell me about.
On 21st Dec. 2006, I was produced before
Judge Mrudula Bhatkar and she asked me the
names of myself, my parents, my brothers and
sisters and thereafter sent me out. Afterwards,
the ATS men told me that I have been accepted
as an "approver" and thereafter I was sent to
Arthur Road Jail, and on the next day i.e. on
22nd Dec. 2006, I was brought back to the court,
at this time Jail Supdt. Swati Sathe Madam sent
a letter stating that there were a number of big
accused in the Jail and therefore my life is in
danger, since I am an approver in the case. And
the madam said "on 28th Dec. 2006, the
chargesheet would be filed and that you would
be released on bail. Until then for your protec-
tion, I have written a letter to the court for you to
be kept in another jail." Since then I have been
incarcerated in Byculla Jail. And now I have
come to know that Brijesh Singh had recorded
my alleged confessional statement and that I
have allegedly been made an approver. This was
told to me by my brother Jaleel Advocate during
interviews. This is totally false, because I have
never given any confessional statement, nor
have I ever proposed to be an "approver."
On 9th Jan. 2007, I fell in the Jail bathroom
and my spinal bone was injured. ATS officer
Tajne Saheb, PSI Sachin Kadam, and other 2-3
constables came to jail and transferred me to JJ
Hospital, I was undergoing treatment till 28th
May 2007, and during this time my wife and
brother-in-law Farooq Wardha met me along with
Policemen. Even Rajvardhan saheb came to
meet me. In front of me, he gave Farooq Wardha
one lakh rupees in cash and five and half lakh
rupees to my father-in-law Iqbal Choudhary and
told them to write off all the debts they had in
their village. He also said that additional money
would be given for the business and that an
amount would be given to buy a flat for me and
my wife in Bhiwandi. At that time all my in- laws
had come to meet me in the hospital and
Rajvardhan Saheb also said that I would be
granted bail very soon. My in-laws kept telling
me that since I was an "approver" I would be
granted bail soon and they urged me to always
co-operate with the police. In reality, my in laws
especially my father-in-law Iqbal Choudhary and
brother-in-law Farooq Wardha hatched a well-
planned conspiracy so that I could be falsely
implicated in this case, to satisfy their greed for
money, this became known to me only later. At
this time Rajvardhan Saheb came once again to
meet me at the hospital. My wife was also pres-
ent there. After talking other matters, Rajvardhan
Saheb said "when new shoes are torn or worn
out, and they should be discarded." My wife and
myself were present when I asked him what he
meant by this sentence. He replied "Abrar you
are intelligent and signs are sufficient for an intel-
ligent person to understand." I felt Rajvardhan
Saheb said this to start a dispute between me
and my wife.
I did not know Advocate Kamlesh Ghumre
earlier nor did I appoint him as my counsel.
Rajvardhan Saheb had introduced me to him
saying that he is my counsel, given on behalf of
the Government, and that he would see that I get
bail and I should do whatever he says. This
advocate hasn't given me any information nor
did he tell me on which papers he took my sign
and he always spoke in favour of the police.
On Sept. 2008, Jaiswal Saheb, Sachin
Kadam and Rajvardhan Saheb came to meet me
in jail and said that they would get my bail done
in two months. I told them that they had duped
me and that they falsely implicated me in this
case without any reason. At that time, they said
"we are on a mission, in 2-2½ months, it will be
accomplished. Then none of those would remain
who are obstacles in our path." I then asked
them how my bail was connected to their mis-
sion. They then replied: "we who had conducted
investigations in 2006 and thereafter filed a
chargesheet, are being changed by those people
therefore it is necessary to remove them out of
the way, so your bail is getting delayed and all
matters we cannot tell you." Saying this, they
once again said "Jaiswal Saheb will fulfil his
promise and you should heed whatever we say
since we have given a lot to your wife, father-in-
law and brother-in-law."
Rajvardhan Saheb, my brother-in-law
Farooq Wardha and my wife have misguided me
and they made me tell lies that so and so per-
sons have caused the blast. Innocent persons
had been falsely implicated and by misguiding
me, they made me give a statement based on a
story fabricated by the police and wherein inno-
cents were to be involved.
After seeing this entire situation, I have
become repentant and have decided that I
should tell the court and the public, the entire
truth. Therefore after various attempts, I estab-
lished contacts with my home members and told
them the entire story. I have also written letters to
many with regards to this.
During this time, different newspapers in
Mumbai and Malegaon have published news
about me, which was also mentioned by
Rajvardhan Saheb.
Ever since I have been in jail, the police and
ATS have arranged for my food-tiffin on their
behalf. And during interviews with my wife
Jannatunnisa, she told me that the police and
ATS and Rajvardhan Saheb had given an addi-
tional one lakh 60 thousand rupees in cash to my
father-in-law Iqbal Chaudhary. In order that we
co-operate with the police in the blast case, one
lakh rupees was given to my brother-in-law
Farooq Wardha and my wife Jannatunnisa and
for this reason, Jannatunnisa always pressurised
me to co-operate with the police and ATS men
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009
and asked me not to do anything against their
wishes.
Although, I am not related in anyway to the
bomb blast on the day of Shab-e-Barat, neither I
have any knowledge of the people who caused
the blasts nor those who conspired it. But the
people who have to be accused of the crime in
this case, based on my alleged confessional
statement, are totally unconnected with the
crime. All efforts are made so that I should say
that these people are responsible and perpetra-
tors of the bomb blast. My wife Jannatunnisa in
her greed for money betrayed my love. She kept
insisting that I should help the police. In this way
Farooq Wardha, my brother-in-law Iqbal
Choudhary and wife Jannatunnisa, all these peo-
ple are under the pressure of the police especial-
ly of Rajvardhan Saheb and behave according to
wishes of the polilce.
For almost three months i.e. from Sept. to
Dec. 2006 I was kept isolated from others in ille-
gal detention by the police. The police and all
these people duped me. And they involved me in
this case by telling me that I should give this dep-
osition and the police will protect and watch over
me. After that I was kept in the lock-up. And now
I am totally upset by the behaviour of the police
and now I am revealing all the incidents that
have occurred with respect to me with full sincer-
ity.
Since my brother Adv. Jaleel Ahmed is now
ready to help me and is able to meet me (by
interviews), he told me that I should state the
truth with sincerely so that he can pursue matters
for my release.
During the past 2 to 3 months although I
have been in jail, Rajvardhan Saheb, Jaiswal
Saheb, Raman Tyagi Saheb, Raghuvanshi
Saheb, these people have been visiting me, and
forcing me through threats to sign some papers.
Sometimes threats were given and some times
they tried to convince me, understandingly. I
have written all this and sent it to my home peo-
ple with the help of some jail companions.
During the production before the court, I tried
to ask the court regarding my statements but the
policemen started threatening me. And since the
counsel on my behalf Adv. Kamlesh Ghamre was
appointed by the ATS therefore he did not pro-
vide me the right guidance during the past two
years and he has proceeded according to the
intentions of the police in the court.
After establishing contact and meeting my
brother Adv. Jaleel Ahmed, I told him to represent
me and I have appointed him as my counsel and
signed his vakalatnama through the Jail. And on
21st March 2009 during video conferencing he
appeared before Judge Shinde Saheb and filed
his vakalatnama on my behalf. During the video
conferencing on 21st Mar. 2009 I requested
Judge Shinde to record my statement and I also
wanted to narrate my story but due to paucity of
time he avoided recording my statement. I then
requested that I be allowed to file an affidavit, for
which he agreed and based on the information
given by myself, my brother Adv. Jaleel Ahmed
prepared this affidavit.
During this period my wife Jannatunnisa vis-
ited me many times at the jail and tried to con-
vince me that I should support the police and
ATS men and not comply with my brother's opin-
ion. But I began to realise that in order to help the
police and ATS, my wife had duped me and
made me a sacrificial lamb. When Jannatunnisa
came to meet me for the last time she said that
the police and ATS men were severely pressuris-
ing her and she gave a final warning that if I
would not support the ATS and police she would
not come to meet me in the future. On one day in
March 2009, Jannatunnisa and Farooq Wardha
came to visit me and said that I am not cooperat-
ing with the police and the ATS men and there-
fore Rajvardhan Saheb and other ATS men
threatened them that if Abrar Ahmed turned hos-
tile, then they would have to return the money,
which was given to them and they would involve
them in any case also. Since my brother Adv.
Jaleel Ahmed started taking an interest in this
case, Rajvardhan Saheb has threatened my
wife, father-in-law and brother-in-law to return
the money and said, "Heed my words and sup-
port the ATS endeavour and if you turn, then the
situation will change drastically." With this dis-
tressing shock, my father-in-law's health deterio-
rated and he expired. My father-in-law Iqbal
Chaudhary died because of heart attack caused
by the threats. They blamed me for my father-in-
laws death and kept pressurising me that I
should at least now support the ATS men
because they were obligated to them, so much
so that for my father-in-law's medical treatment
at Nasik, the ATS men had provided them with
monetary help.
From Feb.2009, till date, the policemen have
7
NATIONAL
been coming on various occasions to the jail and
torturing me. At times with threats and with
appeasements at other times and they have
been trying to convince me that I should not take
any legal step and instead sign the papers.
When I did not succumb to these attempts, on
1st March my food tiffin was discontinued.
Perhaps, this works out better; because I began
to doubt that excess could be committed by them
via the food tiffin. Day by day my health started
deteriorating and from 4 March 2009 to 8 March
2009, I was not given any jail food and kept hun-
gry because I did not follow the orders of the
policemen. Continuously my health deteriorated
and therefore on many occasions, I requested
the jail authorities to admit me in any hospital,
but no attention was paid by the Jail doctor or
other Jail officials. Nowdays my health has wors-
ened and I am not getting proper treatment. I am
in serious pain and Jail doctor is not treating me
properly, this has caused me much mental trau-
ma.
During this time, I came to know that anoth-
er bomb blast occurred in Malegaon's Bhikoo
Chowk. And a Sadhvi was arrested. By chance,
Sadhvi Pragya Singh, the accused in the Bhikoo
Chowk bomb blast case, was kept in Byculla Jail.
From one look at her, I recognised that this was
the same Sadhvi that I was made to meet in
Ujjain.
After seeing her I felt extremely sorry and
repentant, that I had falsely implicated innocent
people under pressure from my in-laws and to
please the police.
In the past 2-3 months ATS officers, CBI offi-
cers and Rajvardhan himself came to the jail on
many occasions, to pressurise me and insisted
to record my statement according to the papers
prepared by them. In return, they offered me
monetary incentives and assured that my bail
would be granted. They also told me "people
from your community have filed a petition in the
supreme court related to the Malegaon bomb
blast case, that is why your bail had not been
granted." But, I have rejected all of their propos-
als, for which I have received threats from them
and probably for which I am being treated inhu-
manly in Jail.
My brother, Adv. Jaleel Ahmad visited me at
the Jail, in the past month and I told him that CBI
people came to the Jail, and forced me to admit
my involvement in the crime. Senior officer
Raman Tyagi came on 11th March and told me to
sign some papers and threatened me with dire
consequences if I refused to do so.
I am repentant that by doing wrong, I have
been alienated from my family and others, dis-
graced everywhere and have been in pain. I
have come to realise that somewhere I have
committed a mistake, for which I am behind bars
today and ever since I have come to realise this
reality. I have decided to tell the whole truth.
On the two mobile phones of Rajvardhan,
records of calls can be acquired from 13th Sept.
2006 to March 2007. His second mobile phone
number i.e. 9821024333 was given to me by him
in 2007.
The copy of all the letters sent by me can be
acquired from my home members and from other
offices.
On one day, in the second or third week of
Nov. 2008, some ATS officers and some police-
men came to the Jail and interrogated me about
the relation of the second Malegaon bomb blast
with the first. I told them the truth with regards to
me and also informed them of the innocence of
the people presently in Jail with regards to the
Malegaon bomb blast. For this, they expressed
their annoyance with me and before leaving said
that they would meet again.
My health in Jail is deteriorating daily and I
have become extremely weak. The medicines of
the Jail doctors are of no benefit. After much
insistence, I was taken to J.J. hospital OPD on
15th April 2009. After examining me the doctors
advised that I should be brought back to the
Hospital on 16th April 2009 and thereafter I was
taken again to JJ Hospital on 16 April. My health
is very bad and I am not properly treated. In this
situation, I feel my life is in danger.
Based on my memories I have prepared the
above mentioned affidavit and in future if the
need arises, I will present another affidavit of
whatever I remember. All the matters written and
described in this affidavit are true and made
under no pressure. I have signed it after duly
reading and understanding it.
The matter of the Affidavit been read and
made understood.
Sign. of Adv. Jaleel Ahmed L.H.T. of Abrar
Ahmed Gulam Ahmed
Date: 18th April 2009
Signed
Abrar Ahmed Ghulam Ahmed
8 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009
NATIONAL
Concern over rising Hindu rightwing terror
fter the recent arrests of numerous
A Hindu terrorists in conncection with
bomb explosions, authorities increas-
ingly view Hindu rightwing extremists
as a threat not only to Muslim and Christian
minorities but also to national security.
Historically Hindu terrorist groups have
traded blows with India's Muslim extremists, but
because of a perceived threat from Christianity
- as one Hindu extremist leader expressed -
many analysts believe Hindu terrorists increas-
ingly pose dangers to Christians as well.
Police in Goa arrested two members of
Hindu terrorist group Sanatan Sanstha (Eternal
Organization) on 31 Oct. for their alleged role in
an explosion that took place near a church in
Margao on 16 Oct. Christians, who make up
more than 25 percent of the 1.3 million people in
Goa, were apparently not the target of the
explosion, which occurred accidently when two
members of the Sanatan Sanstha were trying to
transport explosives to a nearby location on the
eve of the Hindu festival Diwali, according to
newspaper reports.
Nevertheless, the incident served as a
wake-up call to Christian leaders and others
who fear Hindu terrorists could take greater aim
at the Christian community. John Dayal, secre-
tary general of the All India Christian Council
(AICC), said that while terrorism was not new
for rightwing groups, some of the extremist
groups had "metamorphosed into full fledged
terrorism squads on classical lines - cells with
local leaders, supply lines, bomb-making
experts, and clear linkage with the intellectuals
and motivators in the RSS [Hindu extremist
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] hierarchy."
Threat to Christians
According to Suresh Khairnar, a civil rights
activist who has conducted nearly 100 fact-find-
ing trips on communal incidents, Muslims may
be the main target of Hindu terrorist outfits, but
"there is no doubt that they pose a threat to the
Christians also." He added that these Hindu
groups also launch attacks on Hindus from time
Anatomy of suicide among Kashmiri women
MUSHTAQ UL HAQ AHMAD SIKANDER
Srinagar: Suicide is an age-old phenomenon
occurring in all societies, cultures and civiliza-
tions. A number of hypothesis, vague presuppo-
sitions, theories and causes have been put for-
ward to explain this complex. What makes a
person to destroy his own self? None of the the-
ories put forward can explain in toto the causes
of suicide as they differ from region to region,
people to people as well as from one class to
other.
Emile Durkheim the French sociologist is
one of the pioneers in the field study of suicide.
His book Suicide (1897) is an analysis of a phe-
nomenon regarded as pathological intended to
throw light on suicide. According to him suicide
is an indication of disorganization of both indi-
vidual and society. Increasing number of sui-
cides clearly indicates something wrong some-
where in the social system of the concerned
society. He divides suicides into three types:
Egoist Suicide: It is a product of relatively
weak group integration. It takes place because
of extreme loneliness and out of excess individ-
ualism. Altruistic Suicide: It is a product of over
integration of the individual into his group. This
type of suicide takes place in the form of a sac-
rifice in which an individual ends his life by hero-
ic means to promote a cause or an ideal which
is dear to him. Anomic Suicide: It is the type that
follows catastrophic social changes.
Kashmiri Valley too has seen many
upheavals and downfalls since the last twenty
years of armed conflict and turmoil giving rise to
new catastrophes and calamities. Suicide is
also one such trend that has been taking its
roots in our society. A cause of more concern is
that this tendency is spreading at a rapid rate
among womenfolk of Kashmir. Recently a sem-
inar on "The Alarming Suicidal Tendencies
Among Young Kashmiri Women….Causes and
Remedies" was organized by Shama
Foundation, a NGO working among women.
to time - masquerading as Islamist groups to
create communal unrest, as well as to confuse
investigating agencies.
Asghar Ali Engineer, chairman of the Centre
for Study of Society and Secularism in Mumbai,
concurred that Christians have increasingly
become a secondary target for rightwing Hindu
terrorists after Muslims, who form 13.4 percent
of the population.
"Christians, on the other hand, are only 2.3
percent," said Engineer. "And because of their
engagement with education, medicine and
social work, it is difficult to promote anti-
Christian sentiments."
A former inspector general of police of
Maharashtra, S. M. Mushrif, also said that while
Muslims are the prime target of Hindu terrorists,
attacking Christians also helps the Hindu
assailants to portray themselves as "working for
a Hindu cause."
Members of suspected terror groups are
known to have attacked Christians. On June 27,
Shailendra Chauhan, alias Uday Singh - sus-
pected to be a close aide of Sadhvi Pragya
Singh Thakur, the prime suspect in a
September 2008 blast in Malegaon,
Maharashtra - was arrested for allegedly killing
a Christian priest in Noida, a satellite town of
Delhi. The 25-year-old Chauhan was also
accused of vandalizing a church building in
Sangam Vihar in Delhi in October 2008, accord-
ing to The Times of India.
John Dayal added that Islamic groups are
the immediate targets of Hindu terrorist groups,
"but once the terror gangs of Hindutva [Hindu
nationalist ideology] taste blood, it is easy to
predict that they will swing into action against
any perceived enemy target."
The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Mumbai
is investigating powerful bomb blasts in
Malegaon town, Maharashtra, allegedly carried
out by members of the Hindu nationalist
Abhinav Bharat (Pride of India) in September
2008. The Malegaon blasts near a mosque
killed six people and injured more than 100. The
ATS arrested 11 people, including a serving offi-
Loss of hope leads to loss of life
The speakers comprised of a wide galaxy of
social strata from Doctors to Psychiatrists, Legal
Luminaries to Islamic Scholars as well as from
social activists to students and media men.
Dr Hamid Naseem Rafiabadi, an Islamic
scholar and social activist who is one of the
Board trustees of Shama Foundation, in his
inaugural speech provided a wealth of statistics
and case studies of suicides in Kashmir and
argued that the suicidal tendencies among the
Kashmiri women have increased during the past
decade.
Prof Nazir Mushtaq in his well-researched
paper argued that the Data regarding suicides
isn't correct as only a few cases are reported.
He even cautioned about the fact that among
women it is mostly para-suicide as they are
attempting suicide but not completing it. He
described that these attempts of suicide among
women are a cry for Help and these suicidal ten-
dencies are kept at bay among women mostly
cer of the Indian Army, from the Abhinav Bharat
and other rightwing outfits.
The president of the Abhinav Bharat,
Himani Savarkar, told press that members of
her organization had been falsely accused, say-
ing "The government is lying about their involve-
ment. There is collusion between Muslims and
the government." Asked if only Muslims were a
threat to Hindus, she said, "There is danger
from both Muslims and Christians, because of
conversions and terrorism."
Conversion represents a threat in that peo-
ple converting to Islam change their loyalties
from India to Mecca, while the loyalties of con-
verts to Christianity shift from India to the Pope,
Savarkar said. She also spoke of a more direct
threat in Christianity - "Muslims want to kill the
kafirs [nonbelievers], and even Jesus asks in
the Bible to kill all those who do not believe in
Him" - and it is not known how many other
Hindu extremists share this fallacy.
The number of Hindus, she added, "is slow-
ly reducing, and one day we will become a
minority in our own nation. We do not have any
other nation."
Savarkar, niece of Nathuram Godse, a
Hindu fanatic who killed Mahatma Gandhi in
January 1948, said that in her view the main
reasons people convert from Hinduism are
poverty and illiteracy. "They do not know what
they are doing," she said. "We have to awaken
Hindus. Hindus need to be made aware of the
threats."
Violent Despair
"The use of bombs is a sign of frustration
among extremists," said civil rights activist
Khairnar, referring to the two successive
defeats of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
political wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS), India's chief Hindu nationalist
conglomerate. The BJP, which ruled the federal
government from 1998 to 2004, has lost both
the 2004 and 2009 general elections.
"They are now exploding bombs because
they know they cannot succeed democratically,"
due to two reasons: Islam shuns this practice,
(2) Motherhood.
Primary Secondary Tertiary
Aijazul Haq, noted columnist, in his speech
raised some questions regarding suicide in
Kashmir and compared it with those of
Maharashtra and Bangalore where the suicides
among farmers are too common in the former,
while in the latter it is among the neo rich. In
Maharashtra it is due to poverty and in
Bangalore due to the desire for more wealth.
Then he concluded that Kashmir is fortunate
enough that the problem hasn't escalated to
such an extent. He even offered solution to cur-
tail it by a philosophic Paradigm of de-motiva-
tion.
Zarief Ahmad Zarief lamented about the tra-
ditional social norms, customs, cultural ethos
and religious fervor present in the Kashmiri soci-
ety which has now been lost in the blind rat race
he said, though he added that bomb-making per
se was not a new development. "Even
Nathuram Godse, the killer of Mahatma Gandhi,
launched several bomb attacks before finally
succeeding in assassinating him."
In the case of the Malegaon blasts, Dayal
said that the involvement of Hindu religious
leaders and former army personnel indicated
that terror attacks by rightwing Hindu groups
were well planned. Security analysts warn that
the extremist groups must be prevented from
graduating to bigger terror groups.
On Oct. 21, the Mumbai Mirror daily quoted
an ATS officer as saying Hindu extremist groups
"are putting up a mild face as an organization
while their members are detonating bombs. It's
only a matter of time before they begin to
acquire better technology and more lethal
bombs. Their influence is growing; there are
several politicians and even ex-policemen who
owe allegiance to them. They can be dangerous
if not stopped now."
According to O. P. Bali, former director gen-
eral of police of Maharashtra, extreme Hindu
nationalist groups like the Bajrang Dal mainly
used weapons like sticks, tridents and knives
until 2003. "Bomb-making is a newer develop-
ment, and they are still learning," Bali said.
When suspects in the Malegaon blast were
formally charged in January 2009, ATS officials
told the court that the alleged terrorists' goal
was formation of a Hindu nation - and that the
suspects planned to approach Israeli intelli-
gence for help in combating Muslim extremists
if the need arose, according to a Jan. 21 article
in The Hindu.
Following numerous arrests, The Times of
India daily on Oct. 21 quoted senior police offi-
cials as saying that Maharashtra was fast
becoming a "hub of rightwing organizations' ter-
ror activities."
"The youth are being indoctrinated by fun-
damentalist organizations," an officer told the
daily. "The state should act quickly to control
rightwing terror." (compassdirect.org)

of cut throat competition and materialism. This
unique culture offered a check against these
kinds of evils from taking root in the society.
Dr Mushtaq Siddiqui presented a wealth of
information regarding suicides. Justice Bashir
Ahmad Kirmani pointed out that a number of evils
are taking root in the Kashmiri society and
described suicide as a multi-pronged problem
which can't be looked upon independent of socie-
ty. He argued that Kashmiris have passed through
various dark phases in history but have never
resorted to a cowardly act as suicide but always
fought bravely against the adverse situations.
The speakers at the Seminar were of the
view that the Woman always had been the victim
of male hegemony and patriarchy and even the
present age of progressive liberalism and
advancement of scientific technology too haven't
offered any solace to woman as she has to cope
up with both the domestic and office chores
which at many times she finds difficult to man-
age. Also the traditional joint family system is
disintegrating and parent-child relationship is
under stress and the sacred teacher-student
bond is altogether missing. So all these process-
es culminate in increasing rate of suicides.
The speakers suggested a number of pre-
ventive measures which if opted would curb this
menace. The need is to find solution to this
multi-dimensional problem which in future would
be eating away into the very vitals of our socie-
ty. The need of the hour is also to do a thorough
research on the causes of suicides as well as
comparatively analyze suicide rates among
working women and home makers, among mar-
ried and unmarried women, among literate and
illiterate ones, among childless and child rearing
ones. This kind of inter-disciplinary approach
would certainly help in further understanding
and remedying the disease.
The others who spoke on the occasion
include Principal, College of Education Dr Parveen
Akhtar Pandit, cartoonist Shagufta Khalidi, Dr Aijaz
Aziz and Ghulam Muhammad Dug.


Liberhan Report: painful wait for Justice
RAM PUNIYANI
ram.puniyani@gmail.com
The Liberhan Commission submit-
ted its four volume report to the
Government on 30 June 2009,
almost 17 years after its appoint-
ment, one of the longest time taken
by any commission. Liberhan's
claim that the report got delayed
due to non cooperation of leaders
involved may have some truth in it.
As we know, Kalyan Singh avoided appearing before the
commission for long time, and so was the attitude of
many of those allegedly involved in the demolition. Still
all the hearings were complete by 2004. Did it take 5
long years to write the report? Such a long delay defeats
half the very purpose of the report. One of the minor
reasons of delay has also been the differences in the
approach of Justice Liberhan and its chief counsel
Anupam Gupta. Gupta after he interrogated Advani,
Justice Liberhan allrently told him to apologize to
Advani for being harsh. While Gupta maintains that
Justice Liberhan had been soft on Advani, despite his
role of the chief mobilizer for demolition.
Uma ready to be hanged: No body expects that those
involved in demolition will own up the crime and hon-
estly confess. Still Uma Bharati was honest enough to
say that "I definitely wanted Ram temple to come up (in
Ayodhya) and I definitely wanted that building (Babri
Mosque) to come down but not in that manner. But I
am not going to apologize. I am ready to be hanged for
it." It was the same Uma Bharti, who, along with Sadhvi
Ritambhra, was exhorting the kar sevaks by saying, Ek
Dhakka Aur Do: Babri Masjid Tod do". (Give one more
push, break the Babri mosque) She also expressed her
joy after the demolition by hugging another accused,
Murli Manohar Joshi who was sharing dais with her.
Amongst others who shared the dais, when the demoli-
tion work was in progress, were Lal Krishna Advani,
Ashok Singhal and ex- RSS chief K. Sudarshan himself.
How do people respond to the crime after commit-
ting it, is a matter of variance. Same Murli Manohar
Joshi, who before the demolition had asked his follow-
ers "…demolish the masjid, nature of kar seva will be
determined by Sants and not by courts/demolition is
prerequisite for temple building", in the hearing of the
Caste system must be
abolished: SC
New Delhi: In a stinging
verdict on upper castes'
atrocities against Dalits,
the Supreme Court has
called upon the govern-
ment to take some
urgent steps to abolish
the centuries-old Hindu
caste system while sen-
tencing four Thakurs from Uttar Pradesh for brutal massacre of
seven lower caste people 30 years ago.
The apex court recorded that the case had warranted the
interference by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Dalit
leader Jagjivan Ram to ensure justice in the 1979 massacre that
had taken place in village Lohari under Hussainganj police sta-
tion.
"Unfortunately, the centuries-old Indian Caste System still
takes its toll from time to time. This case unfolds the worst kind of
atrocities committed by the so-called upper caste (Kshatriya or
Thakur) against the so-called lower caste, Harijans, in a civilised
country," the top court observed.
"It is absolutely imperative to abolish the caste system as
expeditiously as possible for the smooth functioning of rule of law
and democracy in our country," a bench of Justices Dalveer
Bhandari and A. K. Patnaik said here on 5 December expressing
anguish over occurrence of such crimes. While restoring the life
sentence to six members of the Thakur community - Mathura
Singh, Udai Bhan Singh, Dhirendra Singh, Munna, Ram Niwas
Singh and Vijay Karan Singh - for the heinous crime, the bench
directed that the four surviving accused should surrender to the
authorities immediately while cancelling their bail bonds.
"The accused belonging to Thakur caste butchered seven
innocent persons belonging to the Harijan caste and to wipe out
the evidence of their atrocities, after shooting they were thrown in
the Ganges," the court stated.
MG comment: The only way to deal with the caste problem is to
criminalise discrimination of all kinds on caste basis and to abol-
ish the use of all caste-based surnames. Saddam Husain had
done this successfully in Iraq by abolishing all elitist surnames as
a move to usher in an egalitarian society (Zafarul-Islam Khan)
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009 9
ANALYSIS
commission he said that "With all humility, I say that according to political necessities. How they regard that
the incident was never remotely conceived by us". This public memory is short and they can wriggle out of their
despite the fact that Vinay Katiyar, the then Bajrang crimes by mere play of words.
Dal chief had asserted that "Masjid will be demolished And now with report on the table of the Parliament
and debris will be thrown in river Sarayu". During the can one expect justice? The experience so far is far from
deposition he distracted from the main issue and doubt- optimistic. Congress weighs the issues on the scale of
ed the need of commission and said that Ram Lalla is political advantages or otherwise. On one hand it tries
the owner of the place. While Lal Krishna Advani had to put a show that it will do justice and when the time
stated the kar seva will be done with bricks and shovels, comes one finds it wanting in resolve to stand firmly for
kar sevaks are not going to Ayodhya to secularism and justice. Political cal-
sing bhajan and kirtans, later he culations have been its guiding load
declared that the day of demolition was BJP is a divided house. It has stones. So even now one is not sure
the saddest day of his life. Which is the about real justice coming through
used the Ram Temple agita-
real Advani is difficult to say. after 17 long years of wait.
K. Sudarshan, who later became tion and the consequent dem- BJP on its part is a divided house.
RSS Sarsnghchalak, stated that he olition and the violence for It has used the Ram Temple agitation
heard Nirmala Deshpande saying that politically strengthening itself. and the consequent demolition and
Mosque fell due to the explosion inside. It is around this agitation, the violence for politically strength-
Nirmala Deshpande disowned the state- demolition and violence that it ening itself. It is around this agita-
ment. Kalyan Singh takes the cake as far came to occupy the major tion, demolition and violence that it
as duplicity is concerned. Before the position on the political scene came to occupy the major position on
demolition he committed to National in India. Now having been in the political scene in India. Now hav-
Integration Council and through a power and having seen that ing been in power and having seen
sworn affidavit to Supreme Court, that Lord Ram cannot eternally that Lord Ram cannot eternally help
he will protect the mosque. When dem- it to keep coming to power, some of
olition began he did not deploy 20000
help it to keep coming to its major leaders have been rethink-
central forces stationed barely 10 min- power, some of its major lead- ing the political line to be adopted.
utes from the place. Later he was ers have been rethinking the What one sees around is the total
imprisoned for a day and he proudly political line to be adopted. opportunism for the sake of power.
justified his inaction. He filed a 300 What one sees around is the They realize that beyond a certain
page affidavit, taking a line, which was total opportunism for the sake point such issues can be counter pro-
in accordance with his the then Party's of power. They realize that ductive. Now it's up to them to keep
line, stating that it was a spontaneous beyond a certain point such adopting double standards or to come
act by uncontrollable kar sevaks. With issues can be counter produc- to adopt democratic issues as their
his problems beginning with BJP, he hit tive. Now it's up to them to political base. Can BJP shift away
out at Vajpayee, Advani and Joshi say- from such issues and take up the
keep adopting double stan-
ing Babri was destroyed on the instruc- issues of the poor and downtrodden?
tions of senior BJP leaders. dards or to come to adopt This is a million-vote question. This
democratic issues as their is also a question related to the goals
Political opportunism: The then Prime political base. of its political father, the RSS. How
Minister P. V. Narsimha Rao was does RSS evaluate its future role in
famously having the afternoon siesta Indian political chessboard?
when the Babri was being demolished and he covered Indications are RSS will stick to Hindutva and Ram
his inaction by putting the blame on Kalyan Singh. temple type of issues, come what may. One only hopes
Immediately he promised that Babri will be restored at in despair that people concerned have honesty to own
the same spot. up their acts and face the legal consequences for their
It all raises the question of political morality. How commitments! (Issues in Secular Politics)
the actors in the tragic act have been changing stances
Milli Information Network
Time to network the community
The Muslim community’s many ills and problems stem from the fact that there is a marked lack of information-
sharing and dissemination. The leadership is limited to some big cities while the majority lives in thousands of
towns and lakhs of villages across the country. ... This makes it difficult to manage the two-way circulation of infor-
mation, from the leadership to the masses and from the masses to the leadership. To tackle this problem, a network
of information centres should be established all over the country. There should be one at least in each district head-
quarter, and more in larger towns and cities. These information centres will function from the offices of commu-
nity organisations or in libraries and reading rooms...
Acting upon the above editorial published in MG 16-31 Dec. 2007 we registered a website www.millinetwork.com.
We are in the process are developing a large network of milli NGOs. Kindly get yourself listed on the network.
Each listed organisation will have their own webpage on the network. Fill in the below form and send it to us by
email or post.
Name of Organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pin Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Phone (std code) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Email . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Name of Main Trustee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Geographical Reach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Brief note of Nature of Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Category of Work: [Please encircle] Charity / Child Guidance Clinic / Children / Communal Harmony /
Community Development / Disabilities / Slum Children / Human Rights / Family Welfare / Literacy / Education
(scholarships/coaching) / Media / Medical / Orphan children / Religious / Social care / Social Justice / Social
Welfare / Vocational Training / Volunteer Mgmt / Widows / Women / Others
[Masjids and Madarasahs will also be listed on the network]
Any literature (brouchure, leaflets, audited accounts etc) may also be submitted.
The Milli Gazette, D-84 Abul Fazl Enclave - I, New Delhi 110025 Tel.: 2694 7483 mg@milligazette.com
Cut or photocopy
10 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009
GUJARAT
Encounter case: SC order puts SIT in fix
The so-called encounter of Mumbai based girl Ishrat Jahan once
again is in the news as The Apex court stayed all further proceed-
ings in the Ishrat Jahan case in the Gujarat High Court relating to
the "fake encounter killing" of the alleged teenage extremist by
the state anti-terror squad. A Gujarat police team had shot dead
four people, including the 19-year-old Thane girl, on June 15,
2004, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, claiming that she was a ter-
ror operative who had arrived in the city to eliminate Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi.
Now there are question marks over the fate of the HC-
appointed special investigation team (SIT) probing the genuine-
ness of the encounter. The SIT has already sought three-month
extension from the HC to conclude the probe.
The probe, in fact, is going on a rather slow pace. Earlier, the
SIT had planned to interrogate DG Vanzara, former crime branch
DCP, and NK Amin, former DySP. Both the cops are in jail in con-
nection with Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. Highly-placed
sources said the SIT was about to seek court's permission to
interrogate Vanzara and Amin. The latest development may, how-
ever, stall the SIT plans. The sources said the SIT was leaving no
room for doubt in its interrogation and even video recording the
deposition of the witnesses.
Three months back, justice KS Jhaveri of Gujarat HC had set
up an SIT to probe the encounter of Ishrat Jahan, a girl from
Mumbra in Thane, and three others. The encounter happened
near Kotarpur water works and the four, allegedly on a mission to
kill chief minister Narendra Modi, were gunned down by crime
branch sleuths. Last week, the Supreme Court stayed the case
proceedings in Gujarat high court. Shamima Kausar, Ishrat's
mother, has claimed that the encounter was fake and has moved
a petition in the high court seeking investigation by CBI in the
case. A report by metropolitan magistrate SP Tamang, who con-
ducted judicial probe in the case, has generated more controver-
sy as it said that the cops had actually gunned down Ishrat and
three others in cold blood.
Ahmedabad metropolitan magistrate SP Tamang's report,
submitted after a mandatory investigation under the CrPC, had
indicted the Ahmedabad police for the 'staged killings'. The report
said that the Mumbai college girl, Ishrat Jehan, and her three
friends were shot in cold blood by the city police in June 2004.
Another lawsuit was filed by the father of one of the three
youth killed with Ishrat Jehan. Javed Sheikh's father M. R.
Gopinath Pillai moved the high court for a CBI probe into his son's
killing.
The high court was also to hear a plea of Ishrat's mother
Shamima Kausar for an independent probe into her daughter's
killing.
The three others killed by the police team were identified as
Javed Ghulam Sheikh alias Pranesh Kumara Pillai, Amjad Ali
alias Rajkumar Akbar Ali Rana, and Jisan Johar Abdul Gani.
Investigations by Gujarat High Court-appointed Special
Investigation Team (SIT) into allegations that the encounter killing
of Ishrat Jahan and three others was fake seem to be heading
nowhere. The team was supposed to submit its probe report by
November 30, but now the situation has changed.
The SIT headed by additional director general of police
Pramod Kumar has examined only 30 witnesses, which does not
even include important witnesses like KR Kaushik who was the
then Ahmedabad police commissioner or police officers like DG
Vanzara and Narendra Amin, who are in jail for the Sohrabuddin
Sheikh fake encounter case and were also involved in Ishrat's
killing..
In August this year, magistrate SP Tamang conducted the
perfunctory magisterial inquiry to conclude that the encounter
was fake, on the basis of scientific evidence.
Crime Branch whisks away Muslim children
A division bench of Gujarat High Court comprising justice AL
Dave and justice HN Devani issued notices to Gujarat chief sec-
retary, home department and director general of police on a
habeas corpus petition filed by Sorubibi Shaikh who alleged that
her three minor children went missing after the crime branch
picked them up.
Notices were issued after a preliminary hearing where
Sorubibi claimed her kids, Haroon, 13, Shafiq, 10 and Tariq, 5,
who is mentally challenged, were illegally detained by crime
branch officials from her hutment at Chandola Lake on April 25.
Since then their whereabouts were not known. The family lives in
Siyasatnagar on Chandola lake in Shah-e-Alam area. She
claimed she is an Indian citizen and her children had not commit-
ted any crime and hence their detention was "absolutely uncon-
stitutional, violative of Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution of
India". She has also challenged the police action on ground that
after enactment of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act, 2000, the crime branch has no power, authority and
jurisdiction to arrest and detain children.
Sorubibi's petition states she was pregnant with her last born
baby girl and had gone to buy food with Shafiq to a nearby hotel
on the night of April 25. When she returned she found policemen
outside her hut but her children and husband missing.
Neighbours told her they had been picked up by the police. When
she created a scene, the police beat her up and even took Shafiq
away.
Modi robs constitutional rights of MLAs
Former Chief Minister of Gujarat Suresh Mehta has criticized
Modi government for scrapping question hour during the forth-
coming Assembly session. He described it as the saddest chap-
ter in the history of Gujarat Assembly. Mehta, along with former
Chief Minister Shanker Singh Vaghela, said that it was violative
of the constitutional and democratic rights of the elected mem-
bers. The two former BJP leaders have launched a non-political
forum Prabudh Nagarik Shakti Manch. Mehta said that the forum
would extend support to the state government employees' rally
next month. He said that Modi government had stopped recruit-
ment and the staff strength had been reduced to one-third. On the
other hand the government was exploiting people by taking them
on fix wages and keeping them for years without any benefits.
He also criticised the state government's policy of appointing
teachers and police personnel on consolidated salary for years
together before absorbing them into regular service. He said such
half-hearted measures could not yield desired results. Mehta also
vehemently criticised spending of crores of rupees from the gov-
ernment treasury on personal publicity of Chief Minister Narendra
Modi.
Muslim literacy lowest: demographic report
According to news report published in Bhaskar daily in Gujarati
edition, the latest book "Population of India in the New
Millennium" written by noted researcher and demographer
Mahendra K Premi, the literacy rate among Muslims is the lowest
in the country from among the different communities but it is bet-
ter than the majority Hindus in eight states.
The literacy rate among Muslim males was high - above 80
per cent - in Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and
Gujarat. With regard to Muslim women, a high literacy rate of
about 70 per cent was recorded in Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra and Chattisgarh. The study also says that the
Muslim men had the highest literacy rate of 93.7 per cent in
Kerala, almost at par with Hindus who had a literacy rate of 93.8
per cent. "In Chattisgarh, the literacy rate of Muslim males was
90.5 per cent, while Hindus lagged behind at 76.8 per cent in the
state," the study says.
However, in Gujarat, Muslim men fared better than Hindus
with an 82.9 per cent literacy level compared to the majority com-
munity's 79.1 per cent literacy rate. Muslim men had a better lit-
eracy rate than their Hindu counterparts in six states - Andhra
Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and
Tamil Nadu. The percentage of literate Muslim women was high-
er than that of the Hindu community in nine states - Andhra
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.
Ghost companies, fake projects in Modiland
Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly, Shaktisinh Gohil, has
demanded a white paper on the Boribandh scheme and said that
there should be a CBI inquiry into this. He alleged that the Gujarat
Government made payments to fake dealers for material of
boribandh and contractors in turn paid wages to workers on
paper only. He said that the scam involved an amount of Rs. 100
crore.
In support of his allegations, Gohil produced before media docu-
ments he had obtained under the Right To Information Act from
government itself. He said that the company which was said to
have supplied the material for Boribandh did not exist. What is
more, he said, the Sales Tax Number quoted in the bills of the
fake companies was also fake. This was established by the infor-
mation under the RTI he said. Payment of crores of rupees was
made to the villagers under the Rural Employment Scheme. But
it was on paper only. Thumb impressions were on the receipt.
But, inquiries revealed that all this was fabricated. For instance,
a villager Labhuji Khodaji Thakore is shown to have received
wages under the scheme. He is shown as illiterate and he has
thumb impression on the receipt. However, inquiries revealed
that Labhuji was a literate person having studied upto eighth
standard in Sanskardham Buniyadi Shala.
Gohil showed affidavits of a number of persons who said that
they never got any employment under the scheme nor get any
money. Gohil said that under the scheme a register is to be main-
tained with details of the workers engaged in the scheme and
attendance. But no such register is maintained. All these have
been done with the blessings of the government. Quoting Chief
Minister Narendra Modi he said that he himself had claimed in
August this year that one lakh Boribandh were constructed at the
cost of Rs. 10,000 each. There was no rain after that and so there
is no possibility of Boribandh being washed away.
People prefer death in Modiland
Shia of Kharavda village in Mehsana district of so called vibrant
Gujarat, who had moved out last August, have sought permission
from the authorities to end their lives voluntarily. In a fax to
Governor Dr Kamla Beniwal, President Pratibha Patil and the
Chief Secretary, Gujarat recently, they said that life has become
miserable after months of stay in a temporary shelter with the
government doing nothing to rehabilitate them. While majority of
them are living at a community hall in Vadnagar, others have
sought shelter with their relatives in nearby villages. These peo-
ple had been living in the village for the last 150 years, but had to
leave, allegedly due to pressure from the locals to give up their
religious practices and symbols and close down their madrasa
and prayer hall.
The letter states that no action was taken against those respon-
sible for their vacating the village despite several petitions being
sent to different government bodies and the police. Over 50 peo-
ple said that they have no job and income, they have been liter-
ally starving. They wanted to hand over their children to the
authorities and end their own lives.
At least 100 members of the minority community - including
women and children - have been allegedly forced to move out of
Kharvada village in Mehsana district's Visnagar taluka by the
Chaudharis, the predominant community there, over the issue of
land for a graveyard. They have been living with their relatives at
Badarpur, Kesimpa and Vadnagar within a 10-km radius from
their homes and farms for the last two months.
Four of them - Momin Mehboob Habibbhai, Momin Haidarali
Habibbhai, Momin Ahamdbhai Valibhai and Momin Mohamad
Husain Rahimbhai - wrote a letter to President of India Pratibha
Patil on August 28 detailing the circumstances under which they
were forced to leave their village. Copies of the letter have also
been marked to the National Human Rights Commission of India,
Director General of Police, Gujarat, DIG, Gandhinagar Range,
Mehsana district collector and Minority Commission of India.
Vaghela's Babri role irks Congress
In what could be an embarrassment for the Congress, former
Union Textiles Minister Shankersinh Vaghela has been named by
the Justice (retd) Liberhan Commission among the 60 people
found to have a culpable role in fomenting communal trouble in
the aftermath of Babri Masjid demolition in 1992. Vaghela is the
only Congress leader to be indicted by the Liberhan Commission.
Vaghela was a BJP leader at the time of Babri demolition. He had
been with the Congress since 1998. Former Gujarat Chief
Minister, Vaghela was with Jan Sangh before moving onto the
Janata Party and the BJP. He was the party's vice-president, gen-
eral secretary and the state president till 1991.
"The first time I went to Ayodhya and Faizabad in my life was
in 2008 in the company of a Congress leader friend. L. K. Advani
had spoken to me about the Somnath to Ayodhya rath yatra, for
which I made necessary arrangements in the geographical area
under Gujarat in my capacity as the state BJP president. If that is
construed as involvement, so be it. Even while with the BJP, I
have all along been opposed to the hardliners, including the VHP
and the Bajrang Dal, and their politics of extreme. I also did not
figure in either the planning, funding or movement of the kar
sevaks. I was neither taken into confidence nor aware of any
plans relating to the demolition of the mosque. I was not present
at the venue when the mosque was demolished on 6 December
1992," said Vaghela.
Apart from Vaghela, only one other Gujarati - Pravin Togadia
has been named in a list of 60 people who are found to have a
culpable role in fomenting communal trouble in the aftermath of
Babri Masjid demolition in 1992.
Riot victims houses at Chandola demolished
An issue of victimisation of riot victims has come before the
Gujarat High Court after the local civic authorities razed down
houses built for the 2002 riot victims at the Chandola lake. The
houses were built by various NGOs as part of their effort to reha-
bilitate the riot affected. The civic authorities razed 329 dwellings
including 172 houses leaving some 1800 people homeless. The
buildings were demolished on November 3.
A bench headed by acting chief justice MS Shah has direct-
ed that the municipal commissioner and police commissioner of
Ahmedabad be made respondents in the case and posted the
case for further hearing on November 30. Following the recent
demolition, Gagan Shetty, member of special monitoring group
appointed by the National Human Rights Commission, moved an
affidavit before the high court highlighting the high-handedness of
the government authority. Amit Panchal and Shivani Rajpurohit,
counsels for Shetty, submitted that the state government was
required to disburse the compensation amount of Rs262.44 crore
received from the Centre. "But no relief has been granted, partic-
ularly in cases of uninsured commercial and industrial property,
as was decided by Centre" said the counsels. They also submit-
ted that on November 3, without any prior notice, the AMC began
demolishing the houses of riot affected Muslims. "Some 172
houses in Siyasat Nagar Colony, where the riot victims were
rehabilitated by an NGO, a madrasa and a school at Chandola
lake were demolished," said the counsel. The counsels further
said that the structures were razed to further victimise the riot
affected. The letter seeking justice says that ever since they
asked for a piece of land from the state government for a grave-
yard, they were ostracised by the Chaudharis in the village. "At
present, we are living with our relatives at Badarpur, Kesimpa and
Vadangar," says 70-year-old Rahim Chacha.
"No sooner was the request for the graveyard approved in princi-
ple by the state government, a restriction was put on all our reli-
gious activities by the villagers. We were stopped from offering
prayers and teaching Muslim history at the madrasa. The Momin
Shiya Jamat members were threatened of dire consequences if
they persisted to live in Kharvada village. Finally, we left leaving
behind our homes, farmland and other properties," says Haidarali
Habibbhai. Mehsana district collector Ajay Bhadu says the com-
munity's demand for a graveyard was under process of the vil-
lage panchayat. Efforts are on to persuade the panchayat to take
a decision in the matter and sort out the differences between the
two communities.
ABDUL HAFIZ LAKHANI, Ahmedabad

Why criminals go unpunished?
JOHN DAYAL
have just come back from Orissa, very
I depressed at the way the criminal justice sys-
tem is working in that benighted state.
I had gone to take part in a rare Civil
Society meeting with victims, some law experts
and some Human Rights activists on 3rd
November 2009 in Bhubaneswar. In truth, bar-
ring some leaders of various Left parties and
Women's groups, there is not much of a civil
society in Orissa as far as violence on
Christians or Muslims is concerned.
Fortunately, there are activists - and Dhirendra
Panda is one such who are determined to
press for justice. Fortunately again, there are
some more activists working in the defence of
the rights of Tribals and workers whose very
existence is threatened by the entry of global
mining giants trying to profit from the under-
ground riches of Orissa. About them, in anoth-
er note.
Failure of Justice System
Advocate Rasmi Ranjan Jena says "As we
know in most of the cases already tried in the
Fast Track Courts in Kandhamal the accused
persons have been acquitted. This is nothing
but a great failure of the criminal justice system
which has miserably failed to give justice to the
victims of the communal violence. At this junc-
ture there is an urgent need of critical analysis of
the factors responsible for the failure. Though
nothing much should be expected from a judicial
forum in a communal society, but we need to
have introspection to develop a strategy for the
upcoming days."
The following is a more urgent situation
report on meeting convened under the banners
of the Common Concern and Orissa Manavik
Adhikar Suraksha Abhijan on justice delivery
crisis. The report's authors include Dhirendra
Panda and Fr Ajay Singh. While this report is
critical of the legal support systems for the vic-
tims, I must acknowledge the work done by the
Human Rights Law Network and the Christian
Law association who have had to work with
young local lawyers and limited resources in
the face of official machinery that is determined
not to pursue justice with honesty.
I quote from the report:
"In the context of regular acquittals of the per-
sons accused of criminal involvement during
Kandhamal violence by Fast Track Courts on
the ground of non-availability of witnesses, a
meeting was held at Lohia Academy,
Bhubaneswar to listen the experiences of the
victims and their witnesses seeking justice.
About seventy five persons including the vic-
tims, activists, representatives of left/demo-
cratic political parties and civil society organi-
sations, advocates, media persons, civil soci-
ety members, church leaders and others par-
ticipated in the Meeting.
Among the participants, Prafulla
Samantara, renowned activist and an ardent
advocate of people's rights and movements,
Radhakant Sethy, former MLA and leader of
CPI-ML Liberation, Dr. John Dayal, Member of
National Integration Council, Sudhir Patnaik,
Editor, 'Samadrusti', John Nayak, former DG
of Police, Orissa, Prasant Paikray and
Enquiry into police firing after Makka Masjid blast still incomplete
Hyderabad: It will be remembered that bomb
blasts in Hyderabad's Makka Masjid had taken
place on 18 May 2007 in which 5 namazis were
killed and many more were injured. After that, a
violent mob had staged a protest demonstra-
tion and indulged in stone pelting also. In order
to control this mob, police had resorted to indis-
criminate firing in which also five persons had
died and many more were injured. On public
demand an enquiry commission was set up by
state government soon thereafter to find out
whether police firing on unarmed demonstra-
tors was justified or not. The enquiry commis-
sion was headed by retired Justice Bhaskar
Rao. During this period of 2½ years, Rao
Commission was given 8 extensions to com-
plete his report. The 8th extension also expired
on 6 November but since the report could still
Ramakrishna Panda - leaders of CPI, Smt.
Tapasi Praharaj, CPI-M leader, Smt. Saila
Behera, Shanti Ranjan Behera - Senior Social
Activist, Ms. Lalita Missal - Woman Rights'
Activist (NAWO), Hemant Nayak - Social
Activist, Mahendra Parida - Social Activist and
Trade Union leader, Pradip Pradhan - RTI
Activist and many others shared their observa-
tions with regards to the approaches to the
problems faced by the victims.
Observations
 Public Prosecutors are mostly found
biased against the victims
 In comparison with the skills, influences,
clouts, numbers of advocates favoring the
accused persons, the strength of advo-
cates needs to be improved
 Faulty and biased methods of police
investigation, framing the charge sheets
and presentations in the Courts weaken
the cases
 Absence of social and physical security of
the victims and witnesses inside and out-
side the Court
 The provision that in GR cases only Public
Prosecutors can argue, while the victim
parties cannot appoint their own advo-
cates privately, does not help the victims
in cases where PPs are biased.
 Show of extra-favour to the accused by
some judges harass the victims and their
counsels
 Lawyers counseling the victim parties are
even persuaded not to continue their legal
assistance
 Witnesses are threatened/allured to turn
hostile
 Absence of democratic and left parties in
comparison to the dominance of BJP and
RSS helps the culprits and corrupts the
atmosphere of the courts
Suggestions
 Appeal to transfer the cases to outside
Kandhamal, preferably to Bhubaneswar
and Cuttack courts.
 Christian Lawyers' Association, Human
Rights Law Network and other groups
engaged for legal aid should work in a
coordinated manner
 Assistance from senior and experienced
lawyers should be taken up
 Engagement of other lawyers to assist the
P. Ps\A. P. Ps in GR cases and submission
of written arguments by other lawyers
 Mobilisation of activists to be present in
the court will help in building confidence
among the victims and influence the
PPs/APPs and judges to be careful to
some extent
 A Public Hearing/People's Tribunal can be
organized..
 Lawyers should be smart enough to inter-
vene at the right manner at the time of
necessity
 Local people need to create their own
defense mechanism
 Secular minded organizations/activists,
particularly the people participating in this
programme, need to evaluate the ongoing
legal actions and decide upon appropriate
measures to respond to the current situa-
not be completed, on the Commission's
request yet another extension of 3 months i.e.
9th extension was given by the state govern-
ment.
During this period Justice Bhaskar Rao
recorded the statements of the then Police
Commissioner Balvinder Singh, South Zone's
Dy Police Commissioner Kanta Rao, enquiry
officer Anant Reddy, Char Minar Asstt Police
Commissioner Redna Falacknuma Police
Inspector Sudhakar who told the enquiry
Commission that conditions were so serious
and the crowd was so violent that firing had
become necessary in order to control and dis-
perse the crowd.
In this enquiry, advocate Shafiqur Rahman
Mohajir of MIM, Maulana Rahim Qureshi of
Ta'mir-e Millat and advocate Adam Malik of
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009 11
tion collectively.
 At the state level a joint committee involv-
ing people from various sectors needs to
be formed to keep regular watch on legal
matters and monitor the actions being
taken up by the organizations engaged in
legal aids
 It is necessary to document the court pro-
ceedings and situation of witnesses and vic-
tims, which can be used in future for raising
the issue before higher courts and media
 A Kandhamal level committee should be
formed for monitoring justice delivery
processes and for looking after mobilizing
social supports for the victims and wit-
nesses
 Extensive media campaign has to be
taken up to expose the illegal and biased
behavior and functioning of PPs/APPs and
judges.
 Referring to the deposition of Police officers
before the Sarat Chandra Mohapatra
Commission, information will be collected
from their respective offices using RTI and a
letter can be sent to the Governor with a
copy to the Commission can be sent men-
tioning the concerns and position of the civil
society
Decisions
 An ad hoc state level joint solidarity com-
mittee was formed involving the partici-
pants to coordinate
 Interaction with political parties for their
support for the victims in getting justice
 Media campaigns
 Keeping watch on legal processes
 Documentation of justice delivery processes
 Social Mobilisation for backing the victims
inside/outside courts ,; Footnote: To
understand the different factors responsi-
ble for the failure it will be convenient to
have a minimum idea on the chain/ stages
on which the justice delivery process runs.
The stages of criminal cases in series:
(1) Occurrence of the Incident--- (2) FIR--- (3)
Investigation (includes arrest of the accused &
Submission of Charge-sheet) --- (4) Magistrate
(who commits the case to the competent court)-
-- (5) Trial (includes Framing of Charges,
Summon to Witnesses, Testimony by the wit-
nesses, Argument & Judgment)--- (6) Appeal
Difficulties & Lacunae
(1) Occurrence of the Incident
 Many of the victims are not eye witnesses
as they fled away to the jungle just before
the incident happened.
 As the investigation started very late the
proofs and marks of violence had disap-
peared or washed away.
(2) FIR
 Non- registration by the police
 The names of the accused persons are
not mentioned
 Delay in filing
 In some FIRs the offence in specific is not
disclosed
 In most of the cases copies of the FIR not
given to the victim
 The informant himself is hostile in some
cases.
(3) Investigation
Majlis Bachaao movement represented
Muslims. Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi, MP
requested the Commission to ask for photos of
police atrocities on people shown on TV and
study them while preparing his report.
It may be mentioned that after bomb blasts
in the Masjid, relatives of those dead and
injured were searching for the victims at differ-
ent places in extremely disturbed and strained
conditions but police instead of helping and
sympathetically treating them resorted to firing
in which many persons were killed and injured.
People are eagerly awaiting for the
Commission's report for which they will have to
wait for some time more and see whether jus-
tice is done to the aggrieved people and the
guilty police personnel are punished or not.

HUMAN RIGHTS
 No proper investigation but a stereotyped
process adopted by the police.
 Non-examination of the important witnesses
 Accused examined as the witnesses.
 Non-arrest of the accused persons ( par-
ticularly the kingpins) till date
 The property of the absconding accused
persons could have been attached ( Sec
83 of Cr. P. C.) which could compel them
to surrender.
 Proper sections of IPC not mentioned in
the Charge-Sheet
 Delay in filing of Charge-sheet helped the
accused persons to get bail.
(4) Magistrate
 The lawyers for the victim could have put
their objection before the magistrate,
before whom the charge-sheet is submit-
ted, on the non- mentioning of appropriate
sections of IPC in the Charge-sheet.(
Section 216 of Cr. P. C)
(5) Trial
 Most of the independent witnesses were
hostile as they were threatened by the
accused persons in the village.
 The court atmosphere is not conducive for
free and fair trial.
 The judge and the public prosecutors lack
judicious mind.
 Deficiency of trained lawyers in compari-
son to the number of cases.
 Lacuna on the part of the lawyers engaged
on behalf of the victim. No effort to build
up the case in favor of the victim, only
tutoring of the witnesses on their previous
statement of the police is done. The
lawyers could have done as the following.
 Effort could have been made to cover up
the lacuna in the FIR as well as the state-
ment before the police, while giving testi-
mony before the trial court.
 The witness/ victim could have been pre-
pared on the point on which the defense
lawyer is striking.
 Proper caution could have been taken to
avoid major discrepancy between the tes-
timonies of the major witnesses.
 Petition could have been laid to examine
the important witnesses who are not
charge-sheeted. ( Section 311 of Cr. P. C)
 Written argument could have been filed in
each case at the time of final argument. (
It must be kept in mind that if the lawyer
has not filed the Vakalatnama from the ini-
tial stage then he may not be allowed to
file written argument in the final stage.)
 Even though most of the witnesses are
becoming hostile, the victim and the fami-
ly members could have been properly
guided before giving testimony. Because
law is well settled, the sole testimony of
the victims / the eye witnesses, if inspires
confidence and appears to be natural and
truthful and also corroborated by the doc-
umentary evidences, is enough to convict
the accused.
(6) Appeal
 No appeal preferred in most of the cases
where the accused were acquitted.
 Appeal should be preferred in conviction
cases as in the said case conviction is
done for only few accused persons and
most of them are acquitted. [PP is Public
Prosecutor appointed by the
Administration. CrPC is Criminal
Procedure Code, IPC is Indian Penal
Code, FIR is First Information Report]

Illegal arrest and custody torture confirmed
Baghpa (U.P.)t: According to media reports one
Shaukat was illegally arrested by some police-
men and severely beaten in the jail. The task of
investigation was entrusted to Sub-Inspector
K.P. Tomar. In the investigation he found that
Shaukat was illegally kept in police custody and
was also beaten. On the basis of his investiga-
tion when the complaint of illegal imprisonment
and beating was found correct, crime branch's
Inspector Tomar registered cases against
Daroghas Mewa Ram, Rajesh Kumar, Jai
Parkash, Rajesh Kumar and four policemen and
jeep-driver Pawan Kumar under different sec-
tions of IPC. Many of them have been trans-
ferred. Shaukat s/o Hafeez was illegally arrest-
ed in 2006 and tortured.

12 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009
ISSUES
Liberhan Report- Half Truthful & Half Untold
SYED SHAHABUDDIN
Historians will indeed take a poor view of
the national leadership in the critical days
of 1992: a Prime Minister who was either
naïve or incompetent and least interested
in performing his Constitutional and legal
duties: an opposition leader, who was, to
say the least, a hypocrite, who had concep-
tualized and mobilized the people through
his Rath Yatra and incited their fanaticism
and then called 6 December, the saddest
day of his life: a senior colleague of his who was not only a practi-
tioner of ambiguity but a master of double talk; a Chief Minister who
swore false affidavits; a political party which planned to build its for-
tunes by inventing and organizing a movement to undermine the
Constitution and the Rule of law: a Government whose ministers,
with one honourable exception, were a pack of spineless courtiers:
political parties, which called themselves secular but which
remained silent spectators of the unfolding drama.
Under the Shariat, while no masjid can be constructed on
usurped land, a masjid once consecrated cannot be alienated in
any manner — sold or leased or gifted. Even after the Demolition,
the Babri Masjid exists. Because the masjid is the site, the land
which has been consecrated for worship, and not the stones and
bricks or the structure. And the site cannot be destroyed!
Indeed, the question of title to the site is under judicial exami-
nation by the Special Bench of Allahabad High Court under
Supreme Court's Order. After the verdict the road map charted by
the Supreme Court comes into operation. Under it a place of wor-
ship shall be built on the disputed site by the party which has the
title but the other party may also construct a place of worship near-
by within the Acquired Area.
While the Muslim community has reiterated its commitment to
accept the final judicial verdict, whatever it may be, the Sangh
Parivar and its associates have taken the stand that they will accept
it, only if it is in their favour. This has been repeated by practically
all the top leaders of the BJP and the VHP. Unfortunately, the
Central Government has not taken so far a clear-cut stand that
under the Constitution it has no option but to accept the final judi-
cial verdict and implement the road map.
Negotiated Settlement
The Hindu organizations continue to harp on a negotiated settle-
ment; there have been many spells of negotiations before and after
the Demolition. Many compromises were offered by the Muslim side
and many alternatives were considered but all negotiations failed
because of the demand of the Hindu leadership that the Muslims in
any case must surrender the Babri Masjid site to build a Temple on
its site, even if there is no evidence to support the myth of Ayodhya
being Ram's janambhoomi or the Babari Masjid site being his
janamsthan, or the existence of a Ram Mandir on the site in 1528
and its deliberate destruction by Mir Baqi, Babar's commander, to
build the Babari Masjid in its place. None of these inter-linked
propositions bear any historical scrutiny. Moreover, the Hindutva
forces make similar demands on thousands of other Masjids but,
very generously for the present, claim only two in Mathura near the
Krishnajanmabhumi temple (despite the earlier agreement) and in
Varanasi near the Viswanath temple. This means that even if the
Muslims concede the VHP's demand in Aydhya they have to face a
protracted battle on other masjids.
Sangh Parivar — The Main Culprit
The Liberhan Report on the Demolition, in brief, brings out the crim-
inal culpability of the Sangh Parivar in clear terms, even though it
fails to identify the leaders or the members of the Special
Demolition Squads organized by it, hailing from Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The Report only indicts some leaders
of the Ramajanmabhmi Movement/Sangh Parivar present in
Ayodhya as well as the bureaucrats stationed in Faizabad and
Ayodhya who failed to do their duty. Some of them have died or
retired. Some others are already under prosecution. Two FIR's filed
on 7 December, 1992, have made little progress because of change
of Governments; not much is expected to emerge from these two
cases which are now pending before the Special Courts in Lucknow
and Raebareli, even if the Government now agrees to expedite
them as well as to investigate possible case against the others.
Clean Chit to Arch Villain — Narshimha Rao
The Report totally and absolutely exonerates the Arch Villain of the
Demolition, the then Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao. This
omission needs to be examined in detail because the Report tries
to whitewash him and endorse his false defence.
But, before we come to his guilt a word about the Congress role
would be in order. Although it did not disown or remove him as it
should have done, it refused him the party ticket and the honour of
leading it in the next General Election in 1996. But Congress role,
right from 1949, right up to 1992 is an anathema. It may be recalled
that with a Congress Chief Minister in the state and Prime Minister
at the Centre, the Masjid was desecrated in December 1949 and
the idols were 'surreptitiously and illegally introduced' therein, the
Central directives from Nehru and Patel were ignored, the Masjid
was placed out of bounds for the Muslims and a pujari was appoint-
ed to service the idols, thus turning a standing, ancient masjid into
a 'de facto mandir'. The criminal cases crawled for 30 years; in
1986, the doors of the Masjid were opened for public darshan, con-
verting the de facto mandir into a 'de jure mandir' under a political-
ly manipulated and government backed Order of District Judge of
1.2.86. All along the VHP had enjoyed full freedom to propagate its
mission. In 1989, it was permitted to perform the Shila Nyas of the
proposed Mandir in the disputed area, blatantly against the High
Court Order. It was also allowed to establish a workshop for sculpt-
ing architectural elements for the proposed mandir — an illegal
enterprise. In order to secure political benefit from its oversight and
indirect association, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi launched
the electoral campaign from Ayodhya. In this historic perspective, it
will not be fair to place the entire blame on Narasimha Rao as he
only tried to carry on the traditions and perhaps the real intent of his
party. But he was the Prime Minister in 1992 and had repeatedly
assured the Muslims and others of protecting Masjid against
Demolition and he has to bear responsibility.
Rule of Rao
Despite Muslim request, he did not declare the Babari Masjid a
National Monument of Historical Importance and thus assume full
responsibility for its protection.
While the Kar Sevaks were moving to Ayodhya, Government
did not instruct any state government or ask the Supreme Court to
stop the movement of kar sevaks or even ban the Kar Seva or to
restrict them to approach the Masjid in small groups. The Chief
Minister had been questioning the placement of Central Forces in
the vicinity of Ayodhya, but Rao failed to put him under notice under
Article 355 of the Constitution. Rao never asked the Governor for a
formal situation report; on the other hand, he asked him not to send
a report. Liberhan defends him on the ground that the Governor did
not advise him to place UP under President's Rule. This was not
mandatory as the Prime Minister had many sources of information.
Rao ignored the daily IB briefings, and did not ask any other
sources like the Defence Intelligence. He ignored warnings from
other parties. Though, he was given full powers to protect the
Masjid by all political parties (except BJP) in the National Integration
Council in November, 1992, even to apply Article 356, he did not
take any effective steps.
Rao simply pushed aside the Cabinet Note prepared by the
Home Secretary for imposition of President's rule and went away to
Africa at the critical time.
On 6 December, 1992, even after the attack had begun in the
presence of the top leaders of the BJP and the VHP and the solemn
assurances by the Chief Minister and top BJP leaders to the High
Court and the Supreme Court stood nullified, he did not dismiss the
Chief Minister, not even after the first dome had fallen. He did not
accept the CM's resignation submitted at 1 p. m. He convened the
Cabinet meeting, after all domes had fallen, and the Mosque had
been reduced to rubble and then imposed the President's Rule.
Even after the President's rule was imposed, he refused to
order central para-military forces to forcibly disperse the kar sevaks
who were engaged in levelling the debris and constructing a
makeshift temple. Indeed, this was allowed to go on for 36 hours,
till it was completed and the idols which had been removed from
Babari Masjid were re-installed. Thus, a new fact was created. Rao
never took a clear stand on the legality of the makeshift mandir
though it was a clear violation of the judicial order.
Subsequently, Rao went back on his promise to rebuild the
Masjid. He refused to assure the Parliament that his government
will execute the final judicial verdict and implement the roadmap of
1994.
Rao's behaviour before, during and after the Demolition leads
to only one conclusion that for his own reasons, he was a part of the
conspiracy, hand-in-glove with the demolishers. He was in regular
touch with the RSS chief Deoras as well as with the BJP leader
Advani and was acting in collusion with them.
The whole world knew of the intentions and the programme of
the Sangh Parivar. They had placed their cards open on the table
right from the beginning, particularly after 1985 when the BJP
extended its open political support to Congress. But the Prime
Minister who was sworn to maintain the rule of law, who had com-
plete authority and full power to intervene, who had full knowledge
of hour-to-hour developments, deliberately undermined the
Constitution. That the Liberhan Report not only gives him a clean
chit but absolves him of all responsibility is indeed amazing.
History will one day reveal what transpired between Narasimha
Rao and the Sangh Parivar. Even today, we have VHP leader
Singhal's testimony that Rao was sympathetic to their cause!
The Report itself was ready soon after the hearings were com-
pleted. But apparently the draft was under 'negotiations' with suc-
cessive governments. This alone explains why Liberhan was given
48 extensions by both NDA & UPA governments and why he took
17 years to submit the Report. It has been suggested that he intro-
duced the Vajpayee factor to save Advani from bearing the full
responsibility. To save Rao, he merely reproduced what the former
had said in his own defence in his book on Ayodhya. It ignores all
the circumstantial evidence which taken together point only in one
direction that Narasimha Rao for his own reasons wanted the
Masjid to be demolished. Perhaps, he thought that once the Masjid
was demolished, the Muslims will forget about it and he would har-
vest Hindu votes.
Aspersions on Muslims
Liberhan did not summon key witnesses like Vajpayee or
Chandrashekhar, or Rao's colleague Fotedar. He did not summon
any Muslim leader, though both the BMMCC and AIBMAC had sub-
mitted their affidavits. The BMMCC Convener (Syed Shahabuddin)
voluntarily deposed before the Commission and was cross exam-
ined. But without citing any evidence Liberhan has criticized and
abused Muslim leadership as a whole in general terms. Perhaps
having blasted the Sangh Parivar, in order to escape the charge of
Muslim 'appeasement', he had to malign the Muslim leadership to
maintain a balance.
The fact is that the Babari Masjid Movement had never claimed
that it would raise an army or call upon Muslim community to defend
it against the attack by the kar sevaks. Nowhere on their way to
Ayodhya, their movement was disrupted by the Muslims: nowhere
was Advani's Rath Yatra blocked; nowhere the Muslim community
organized any counter-resistance.
Muslim leadership put their faith in the Constitution and
depended entirely on the Government of the day which had the
undeniable responsibility to protect the Masjid and to stop the gath-
ering elements with crime in their mind and heart and on their lips.
From February 86 to December 92 Muslims submitted innu-
merable memoranda to the Government, placed their views before
the political parties, the members of Parliament and issued state-
ments and wrote letters to the media, pleading for a peaceful settle-
ment. They approached the Kamakoti Shankaracharya as well as
the Paramacharya to request them to intervene. Some of them
offered to permit the Hindu side to build a temple with Ram
Chabutra situated in the outer campus of the Babari Masjid as its
base or to construct a temple just next to the Masjid.
In public discourse, the Muslims leadership refrained from
using any inept language. Whenever, they spoke of Ram; they did
it with reverence and respect. But, they consistently refused to sur-
render even one square inch of the Masjid proper.
One wonders what Liberhan wanted the Muslims to do.
Perhaps he expected them to take the law in their hands, to fight it
out in the streets, to create law and order problems. But they did
not. Liberhan does not offer any evidence in support of his thesis
that 'Muslim action created fear in the mind of the Hindus'. Fear of
what?
In any case, in many places the Report goes beyond the terms
of reference. On one hand he has not recommended specific action
against the actual culprits and named only some RSS, BJP and
VHP leaders. On the other, he has made generalized recommenda-
tion related to administrative, judicial, electoral and police reforms.
The Report is thus lost in irrelevancies. It was perhaps doctored in
2 stages. It has been called a pointless report with nothing that
competent journalists covering the Demolition could not have
penned the day after.
The ATR submitted by the Government is equally pointless
except on one point, the possibility of expediting the ongoing pros-
ecution of some, and investigating the cases against the others,
though one wonders what will come out of it.
Surprisingly the Report does not take note of Supreme Court's
Order of October 1994 or of the Road Map. Nor does he suggest
any alternative formula for further negotiations between the Sangh
Parivar and the Muslim community, having left out all negotiations
between '86 and '92 and thereafter.
Some people have given much importance to the leakage of
the Report a few days before it was to be tabled in the Parliament.
The leakage is not the real issue because it did not create any new
situation. The real issue is why it took 48 extensions and 17 years
and hundreds of hearings, not to speak of 8 crores of public money.
Political Fall-Out
Some journalists are speculating that the Report will help liberate
the BJP from total control by the RSS and it may bring back the
non-RSS leadership of the BJP into focus. Some are saying it may
help Advani to re-emerge as the supreme leader as he alone has
the reputation and experience to defend, if the Government decides
to take action against the RSS.
Whatever they may say, the RSS/BJP are not in a position to
revive the Ayodhya question. India has undergone tectonic shifts
since 1992 and they will not be able to secure public support for a
religious cause when perspectives have changed, aspirations have
changed and the next generation and the middle classes, though
communalized more than ever before, do not care for religion to
dominate politics or the community to get a bad name by staging
another Ayodhya. Moreover, the same political card cannot be
played again. The Congress has emerged stronger and is prepared
to indulge in politics of pale saffron in order to attract the Hindu
votes when it needs. The bureaucracy or the elite will turn away
from the Sangh Parivar, while Congress caters to the national ambi-
tion of India of getting a seat on the high table of international diplo-
macy and global economy.
What Next?
The Demolition is part of history. Even if the final judicial verdict on
title to the disputed site goes in favour of the Muslism, they will not
have the strength, numerically or politically, to force the
Government to take it to its logical and legal conclusion. The
Muslims will have no alternative but to accept the fact of the
Demolition and the disinclination of the secular forces to make the
reconstruction an issue.
The Hindu extremists also have no alternative. In fact, they face
a double jeopardy. It is doubtful whether the masses will associate
themselves with a re-run of Ayodhya or kar seva or a project to build
a temple on the Babari Masjid site. However, out of anger and frus-
tration, the other historic Masjids, particularly those at Mathura and
Varanasi, may be targetted even in low key just to keep the fires of
Hindutva burning.
Seventeen years later, the shoddy, inconsistent, ill-drafted
Report has little relevance, in today's circumstances and low credi-
bility. But it can still save our Democracy from becoming a
Theocracy, if the Government has the political will and takes effec-
tive steps to protect the country from the evil designs of those who
are preparing for more Ayodhyas. In the light of the Report, the
Government must Ban the RSS, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal
which stand indicted. Ban all extremist organizations which mental-
ly prepare and physically train volunteers in the use of arms and to
take law in their hands. Ban all militant outfits, Senas, Dals, Vahinis
etc. Amend the electoral law to deny recognition to a political party
which challenges the basic features of the Constitution or seeks to
replace the secular state by a theocratic state, based on the
supremacy of a particular religion or the dominance of a religious
community. But will it have the will and the guts?


Liberhanspill - The Morning After
K P PRAKASAM
t last, after 17 years and 47
A extensions and a cost of 8
crore
Liberhan
rupees, Justice
Commission’s
report on the demolition of Babri
Masjid in Ayodhya by karsevaks on
December 6, 1992 was submitted to
the Home Ministry on 30th June,
2009. Home Minister P.
Chidambaram sat over the 1029-
page report until it was leaked to the
press on 23rd November.
The leak was a strategic move to
break the opposition unity built on the
issues of farmers’ demands and the
spiralling price rise of consumer items
- a diversionary tactic.
The morning after the Liberhan
spill, the report was right on the table
of the Parliament. The leak provided
an explosive charm to the otherwise
dud report and the media jumped into
the fray, re-playing the Babri tune.
The leak and the injustice of the leak
obscured the truth, put a soft veil over
the remorseless villains and white-
washed the former Prime Minister P.
V. Narasimha Rao who failed to pre-
vent the vandalism and cataclysmic
events of December 6, 1992. His
responsibility for the wanton destruc-
tion is denied, remorse is erased.
Home Minister Chidambaram
also tabled on November 24 a 13-
page action taken report, saying that
the government accepted the recom-
mendations of Liberhan and was con-
templating a bill to prevent and control
communal riots and set up special
courts to deal with them. The action
taken report is clearly an indictment of
68 persons responsible for the demo-
lition of the Babri Masjid, and
Chidambaram promised to refer to the
Election Commission that attempts to
misuse religious sentiments should
result in disqualification of candidates.
The government will further examine
the recommendation that a govern-
ment formed with the promise of reli-
gion or which has religious issues on
its political agenda in its election man-
ifesto should be barred. He said that
the government rejected the sugges-
tion in the report to set up a statutory
national commission on historical
monuments, claiming that it would be
enough to strengthen the functions of
the Archaeological Survey of India
(ASI).
Liberhanspeak: Liberhan places
individual culpability for the demolition
on 68 people, the bulk of whom are
drawn from the Sangh Parivar - RSS,
Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal
and the BJP. While the former Prime
Minister AB Vajpayee has been indict-
ed, the real villain of the piece,
Narasimha Rao, has been exonerated.
The report squarely puts the
blame on top BJP leaders LK Advani
and AB Vajpayee for the demolition of
Babri Masjid. It calls Vajpayee, who is
number seven in the list of 68
accused, a “pseudo-moderate,” along
with Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi,
held responsible “for pushing the
country to the brink of communal dis-
cord.” They were in full knowledge of
RSS designs as it “cannot be
assumed even for a moment that
Advani, Vajpayee or Joshi did not
know the designs of the Sangh
Parivar”, Liberhan stated.
The Liberhan Commission
observed that December 6, 1992 saw
the state of Uttar Pradesh unwilling to
uphold the majesty of law and thus
becoming a willing ally and co-con-
spirator in the common joint enter-
prise to announce the revival of a
rabid breed of hardcore Hindutva by
demolishing the structure which they
had denounced as a symbol of Islam.
The karsevaks who congregated at
Ayodhya were aware that they were
at zero risk from the state agencies. It
observed that even the forces sent by
the central government were taken
away from the scene and deployed at
far away places. “The role of the
Supreme Court observer in not alert-
ing the court to the clearly unfolding
disaster, points to duplicity, something
that raises concern about the impar-
tiality and objectivity of the officer who
was hand-picked by the High Court of
Uttar Pradesh.”
The Report further observed that
the UP government provided all
amenities to the karsevaks like food,
stay, sanitation and medical facilities.
It revealed that it was at a meeting
held at the RSS headquarters in Delhi
in November 1992 where the logistics
for operation demolition were worked
What happened between
the evening of December 6
and morning of December 9
when the administration of
the city was in the hands of
the Governor? Within the
intervening 60 hours it
would have been impossi-
ble to flatten the Masjid
walls without the use of
heavy machinery (of the
CPWD). Not even rubble
was in sight. The all-seeing Liberhan closed his
eyes. The learned judge swallowed this part of
the story hook, line and sinker in order to bail
out the Congress and its prime minister.
out. LK Advani from Kashi and Murli
Manohar Joshi from Mathura restart-
ed the Rath Yatra for mobilization of
the karsevaks to congregate at
Ayodhya on December 6. Vinay
Katiyar, Champak Rai, Acharya Giriraj
Kishore, Mahant Avaidyanath and DB
Roy began secretly plotting for demo-
lition right from the beginning. The
methodology adopted was sudden
attack on the structure, providing with
technical logistics like putting of ropes
in the holes and pulling the walls
under the dome.
One commendable aspect of the
Liberhan report is the recommenda-
tion for the separation of religion from
politics. Besides, the Commission
observed that the police and bureau-
cracy were facing a “crisis of confi-
dence” and suggested urgent meas-
ures to break the “nexus” between
politicians and bureaucrats and cre-
ate a responsive police force and
bureaucracy.
he report did not reveal anything
T more than what was already
known. Every child in India those
days knew who were behind the bar-
baric act of demolishing the historical
structure. It needed not a legal lumi-
nary to waste 17 years and eight
crores of Indian tax payers’ money
just to divine that the Hindu funda-
mentalist corporation led by BJP
leader LK Advani and former Prime
Minister AB Vajpayee were the mov-
ing spirits behind the heinous act,
while another Brahmin fundamentalist
from the South, PV Narasimha Rao,
in his capacity as Prime Minister of
India, facilitated the demolition by his
blatant inaction. Liberhan’s findings
against the protagonists of Ayodhya
demolition are in the nature of obiter
dicta and are not actionable. In any
case, criminal cases are pending.
At best, the report pointed out the
pitfalls of communal politics, but that
was an obvious fact and did not need
a commission of enquiry to unearth it.
The criminal inaction of the Congress
government at the Centre and the dis-
astrous RSS ideology were also
known. The most obnoxious part of
the Report is that it absolves the then
Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao
who was kept informed of minute-to-
minute developments at Ayodhya,
and who could have prevented the
unfortunate events had he the will
and determination to do it. But
Liberhan left him off the hook with a
mild admonition that he was “day-
dreaming” while karasevaks did the
devil dance at Ayodhya and demol-
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009 13
SPECIAL REPORTS
ished the mosque.
The Congress spokesperson
Abhishek Singhvi said that the
Liberhan report “showed the real char-
acter and thinking of the BJP, describ-
ing its politics as “brutish and nasty.”
The BJP, in turn, rallied behind the for-
mer Prime Minister Vajpayee who was
indicted in the report. RSS spokesman
Ram Madhav claimed the happening
at Ayodhya on December 6 was the
result of pentup frustration and anger
of lakhs and lakhs of people. CPM
leader Sitaram Yachuri said that the
main issue was that of giving exempla-
ry punishment to those found guilty of
the “most heinous assault on our sec-
ular democratic polity.”
Speak Doublespeak: Why did
Liberhan bail out the real culprit of the
tragic-comedy cunningly scripted and
viciously executed by the Brahminist
ruling clique with the help of their
brethren in the opposition? To
answer this, one has to glimpse into
events of the fateful day of 6
December. Let us reconstruct the
destruct process. In the morning a
number of karsevaks climbed on top
of the main dome of the mosque (in
all there were three domes) and
began to tamper it. Acharya
Dharmendra was continuously giving
through mike instructions to those on
top of the dome. The press photogra-
phers who tried to photograph were
roughed up and driven out and their
cameras snatched or smashed.
Soon, the karsevaks were digging
into the bottom edges of the dome
with the help of crow bars. This went
on all around the dome and, by about
2.30 afternoon, the dome on the
extreme right collapsed. One more
fell in another hour and the third dome
fell around 4.30 evening.
But the entire Babri Masjid struc-
ture with three-feet thick walls was
intact, standing tall in all its dome-less
splendor. In the evening, the All India
Radio in its news bulletin, announced
the dismissal of all the four BJP state
governments including that of UP’s
Kalyan Singh, and the imposition of
curfew at Ayodhya. Later, Prime
Minister Narasimha Rao came over
television and expressed deep sorrow
over what had happened at Ayodhya,
which he condemned, and promised
to rebuild what was demolished.
Having accomplished their mis-
sion and destroyed the domes of the
Masjid, the karsevaks dispersed in a
triumphant mood when curfew was
imposed in the city on the evening of
December 6 itself. After the madden-
ing crowd had frittered away following
promulgation of Section 144, there
were people on the spot sufficient
enough to complete the rest of the job
left unfinished by the saffron goons.
Who were they? Certainly not all kar-
sevaks. Were they CRP men in dis-
guise? The usually expatiating
Liberhan maintains a stoic silence at
this point.
Then there was a news blackout
on the next day and the day after the
next. What we see on December 9 in
newspapers was the picture of Ram
Lalla in a make-shift temple built on the
flattened structure and guarded by
paramilitary jawans. The entire struc-
ture was missing. Who destroyed the
ten walls that supported the domes?
The walls were three feet thick and no
karsevak could destroy even a fraction
of it. Moreover, most of them had left
when curfew was promulgated. And
there were only para-military forces left
on the scene.
What happened between the
evening of December 6 and morning
of December 9 when the administra-
tion of the city was in the hands of the
Governor? Within the intervening 60
hours it would have been impossible
to flatten the Masjid walls without the
use of heavy machinery (of the
CPWD). Not even rubble was in sight.
The all-seeing Liberhan closed his
eyes. The learned judge swallowed
this part of the story hook, line and
sinker in order to bail out the
Congress and its prime minister.
Narasimha Rao might have
thought that so long as the edifice of
the Masjid structure remained, the
BJP will have a handle to agitate and
win Hindu votes. Hence the conjec-
ture is (because Liberhan is silent on
this point) that Rao might have
ordered to deploy CRP men to flatten
the structure. Once the Masjid struc-
ture was gone and Ram Lalla idol
installed at the so-called birthplace of
Ram, the BJP will have no cause for
agitation. That was a clever strata-
gem, reminiscent of those of his
ancient predecessor, Vishnu Gupta,
minister of the Maurya King Chandra
Gupta, whose Italian counterpart is
Machiavelli. The minister-scholar is
also known as Kautilya (the wicked),
famous for his treatise Arthashastra
which deals with statecraft and
almost everything under the Sun.
(Incidentally, he was the man who
propounded the theory that women
do not deserve freedom-Na sthree
swatantryam arhate.)
Grape-Vinespeak: The grapevine
has it that Rao was at that time re-
reading the opening chapter of the
Bhagwat Geeta (the Song Celestial),
the Arjuna Vishada Yoga (Arjuna’s
despondence) wherein armies of the
Pandavas and the Kauravas who
came to Kurukshetra to fight out the
inheritance dispute are described. A
despondent Arjuna refuses to fight
and kill his kith and kin even if it
meant attainment of salvation,
despite coercion and even threat from
his charioteer and master-strategist
Lord Krishna, who propounded the
dangerous theory: End-justifies-the-
Means.
To Rao’s philosophical disposi-
tion, one can find only one parallel in
world history, that of the Roman
Emperor Nero who is said to have
been fiddling while Rome was on fire.
A Sanskrit scholar and a polyglot,
Rao, the Brahmin fundamentalist of
the Congress breed, seemed to have
had a tacit understanding with the
Brahminical leadership of the RSS-
BJP-Shiv Sena-combine that he will
not act until the karsevaks have done
their job. Narasimha Rao could not
even brook the idea of spilling the
blood of karsevaks, if an armed action
necessitated it. So he went on a philo-
sophical trip while the violent mob col-
lected from all over the country by
Advani and Joshi through their Rath
Yatra accomplished the heinous
crime as a well-armed Central and
state force looked on, waiting for the
orders to come from the Centre. And
the orders never came. Like the
despondent Arjuna, Rao could not
divine of an armed action that would
spill the blood of his own kith and kin,
the karsevaks. Rao went a step fur-
ther and allowed the fanatics to put up
a temporary temple on the flattened
Masjid structure. And Liberhan let off
the hook the big Hindu fundamentalist
fish by giving him a clean chit, with a
mild admonition of “day-dreaming.”
Not only that. He tried to hide the
nakedness of Rao’s inaction with a fig
leaf of Constitutional impropriety.

14 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009
JAMMU & KASHMIR
2700 nameless mass graves exist across J&K
About 2700 unmarked graves exist across 55
villages in three districts of Bandipora, Kupwara
and Baramulla with more than 2900 bodies
buried in these graves. Most of these graves
have more than one body buried in it.
These findings were disclosed by a prelimi-
nary report on nameless and mass graves in
Kashmir, "Buried Evidence" that was released
here on December 2 during a press conference
by International Peoples' Tribunal on Human
Rights and Justice in Kashmir [IPTK], a human
rights group. "More than 2943 bodies are buried
in 2700 unmarked graves across 55 villages in
three districts of Bandipora, Kupwara and
Baramulla," says the report.
Dr. Angana P. Chatterji convener IPTK and
professor of Anthropology, California Institute of
Integral Studies said "out of these graves, 87.9
percent [2373 graves] were found unnamed. Of
these graves 154 contained two bodies each
and 23 contained more than two cadavers.
Within 23 graves, number of bodies ranged from
3 to 17." She added that the report focused on
unknown, unmarked and mass graves in
Kashmir. "It is based on applied research con-
ducted here from November 06 to November
09." According to the report, graveyards have
been largely placed on community land and
next to fields, schools and homes. "Effect of
unmarked graves on community is daunting,"
said the convener IPTK adding "there exists a
correlation between disappeared youth and
unmarked graves."
The report while examining 50 alleged
encounter killings by the security forces in vari-
ous districts says "47 were found to be those of
civilians." Dr. Angana said, "We don't know who
lies buried in these graves but it is imperative to
investigate." She said that IPTK asks that evi-
dence put forward in this report be examined,
verified and reframed as relevant by credible,
independent and international bodies. She
added that graveyards investigated by IPTK
entomb bodies of those murdered in encounter
and fake encounter killings between 1990-2009.
"If Government of India is serious about its com-
mitment to address Kashmir issue here is our
call to action," she said.
Pervez Imroz, Convener IPTK and patron
Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society
(JKCCS) said that after unveiling more than 900
graves in Baramulla last year through a report
titled "Facts under Ground", a large number of
people approached the IPTK and informed them
of more unidentified graves in the border dis-
tricts of Bandipora, Baramulla and Kupwara.
"The last report was just a tip of iceberg.
The Tribunal scrutinized and re-verified this
information gathered by locals and conducted
further and extensive research in these three
districts following the constitution of the IPTK
between the April 2008 and November 2009,"
Imroz said, adding that IPTK has resolved to
address the issue since enforced disappear-
ances and mass graves are crimes against
humanity.
Gautam Navlakha, convener IPTK and
Editorial Consultant, Economic and Political
Weekly said, "We take it as a prima facie case.
We want to bring it to the notice of state and
society. Such reports bring international pres-
sure," adding "International community, Indian
government and society have ignored the issue.
We want both state and central governments to
seriously consider the issue."
Advocate Mihir Desai, legal counsel IPTK
said that mass graves were not new to India.
"More than hundreds of such graves were dis-
covered in Punjab. Later the matter was
referred to the Apex Court but it didn't help."
Besides the chief minister, Omar Abdullah,
the report has been reportedly submitted to var-
7 out of 10
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THE MILLI GAZETTE
First English Newspaper of Indian Muslims, Telling the Muslim side of the story fortnight after fortnight since January 2000
Dateline Srinagar: AFSANA RASHID
ious international organizations including
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch,
UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary
Disappearances, UN Human Rights Council,
Asian Federation against Involuntary
Disappearances and Latin America's Federation
of Association of Family Members of
Disappeared Detainees. Pertinently, based on
the IPTK investigations, the report says that
1122 graves containing 1321 bodies have been
found in 33 villages of Baramulla, 1453 graves
containing 1487 bodies in Kupwara and 135
bodies buried in 125 graves in 8 villages of
Bandipora.
Mirwaiz putting house in order
Hurriyat Conference executive led by Mirwaiz
Umer Farooq met here on December 2 to discuss
differences within the group over proposed "quiet
diplomacy" with the central government. The
meet chaired by Mirwaiz decided to convene a
joint meeting of executive and general council of
Hurriyat Conference to discuss the issue in detail.
Recent differences within separatist conglomer-
ate over proposed "quiet dialogue" to resolve
Kashmir problem prompted Mirwaiz to suspend
office bearers of the group.
Javed Mir, a former Jammu Kashmir
Liberation Front commander-turned separatist
leader left Hurriyat (M) on November 24 and
joined breakaway group of JKLF, JKLF (R) as
senior vice-chairman of JKLF (R). He said that he
was opposed to bilateral talks going on quietly
between the Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz. He support-
ed result-oriented tripartite talks involving leaders
of India, Pakistan and state. He said he joined
JKLF (R) some time back as he was not happy
with Mirwaiz's policies. He added the Hurriyat (M)
had strayed from its constitution.
Majority of the general council members
have opposed the dialogue process after media
reports said that Mirwaiz and two other executive
members, Abdul Gani Bhat and Bilal Gani Lone
had met Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
twice in past three months. Mirwaiz has however,
denied the reports. Mirwaiz, who has been facing
flak from his hard-line colleagues for his 'quiet
talks' with government dissolved all party units on
November 23 and issued a gag order to party
leaders from talking on policy matters.
The decision was taken in the party meeting
and party sources said putting their house in
order had taken precedence with Mirwaiz and his
supporters as their hard line colleagues led by
Shabir Shah and Nayeem Khan were seen going
out of the way to scuttle 'quiet talks'.
Mirwaiz said, "We have decided to suspend
the organizational structure. We will meet after
Eid-ul- Zuha and restructure the amalgam,"
adding "It is a step towards improving amalgam's
working. During the past few days statements
coming from various quarters have created con-
fusion among masses."
Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat, senior separatist
leader, said "I don't want to talk." Senior sepa-
ratist Shabir Ahmed Shah remained tight-lipped
over the issue saying, "We want to set our house
in order." A senior Hurriyat leader, wishing
anonymity said, "It is a step towards gagging us.
They want us to follow whatever they decide."
Shah, though supported the decision, said that
restructuring Hurriyat had become necessary so
that it could speak in 'one voice'.
Though members of executive and general
councils would retain their posts, they would not
be meeting till restructuring was done.
Senior separatist leaders including Shah and
Khan have differed with views of Mirwaiz after a
fresh impetus was given to Centre's move on a
'quiet dialogue' with separatist leaders in
Kashmir.
Prime concern of senior leaders was restruc-
subscriptions are through
turing of Hurriyat Conference in view of dialogue
process ahead in response to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh's offer for talks with leaders of
all shades of opinion.
The controversy had arisen in view of varying
statements by separatist leaders, whose parties
were main constituent groups of Hurriyat
Conference. These included Democratic
Freedom party (DFP) leader Shabir Ahmad Shah
and Nayeem Ahmad Khan, provincial president
of the APHC.
Khan has rejected 'quiet dialogue' process
with Centre, while Mirwaiz stressed on unity on
one platform over dialogue process. He had also
been trying to rope in other leaders outside
Hurriyat's fold, including Syed Ali Geelani and
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)
chairman Yasin Malik. Senior separatist leader
and chairman Hurriyat conference (G) Syed Ali
Shah Geelani on December 2 said that no sell-
out on Kashmir is acceptable to Kashmiris even if
that is supported by Pakistan and America.
He rejected all other proposals on Kashmir
saying that no compromise would be made on
right of self-determination. "Lakhs of people have
not laid down their lives for the sell-out. We will
oppose any sell-out tooth and nail and protect
sacrifices of people," he said at an Eid-Milan
hosted by his party Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.
Rejecting bilateral or trinangular talks with
New Delhi, Geelani said, "Talks should be held
only for right to self determination and that is our
birth right. Self rule, autonomy or any formula is
not alternative to Azadi and such slogans are
hoax to befool people of Kashmir."
He said that there is no let up in human rights
violations and innocent people are being killed,
property worth crores is razed to ground and
rapes and other atrocities by security forces are
the order of the day. "Police is committing
sodomy upon our youth in police stations after
their arrest."
Quiet talks between Hurriyat & Govt
Recent statement by the Union home minister P
Chidambaram in Rajya Sabha that a unique
solution of Kashmir issue will be worked out
through quiet talks, has evoked a mixed reac-
tion here. Terming it as a step in the right direc-
tion, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah while
speaking to a local news agency KNS, said
"such announcements would not only help in
normalization of situation but would also make
atmosphere conducive for solution of Kashmir
issue." He added that from day one the present
coalition government favoured talks with all
groups. "We are happy that our government
achieved its objective since the situation has
improved to a greater extent in the state and the
central government has also initiated talk's
process. We are hopeful that the Centre would
talk to all groups including those which were not
part of the dialogue process in the past," said
the Chief Minister.
He viewed that secret talks and diplomacy
will be the best experiment as such practice has
often proved successful. He assured full support
to the dialogue process from his government.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq chairman Hurriyat
Conference (M) said that Chidambaram's state-
ment is positive but Hurriyat is for tripartite talks
for a permanent solution of Kashmir issue. He
said in the past Hurriyat has been part of dia-
logue since it is not against talks. "We are not
among those who escape from talks. We are
committed to our stand that talks for sake of
talks are meaningless but if direct talks on
Kashmir are held those can prove result orient-
ed," he said. According to him Hurriyat in the
past has made efforts to make talks productive
and even today has the same stand. "Pakistan
is a party to Kashmir dispute and its participa-
WORD OF MOUTH
tion in talks is imperative." Mirwaiz added that if
New Delhi is serious in resolving the issue
"rather than beating about the bush it must
come forward for final settlement of Kashmir
issue. The statement of Indian Home Minister is
positive provided it is implemented."
Syed Ali Shah Geelani chairman Hurriyat
Conference (G) said his faction is not a party to
quiet talks. Mohammed Yasin Malik, chairman
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) said
that his party would come out with its strategy
on the issue after consultations at various levels
within party and cross section of people. "We
are already in the consultation process and we
are in touch with Kashmiri representatives in
Britain and other countries and also with people
from different walks of life in Kashmir besides
some important personalities in New Delhi,"
said Malik. Muzaffar Hussain Beig, former
deputy chief minister and senior leader of
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described
Home Ministers' statement as "historical..."With
such moves it has been proved that
Government of India wants to take Parliament
into confidence before the talks. We must wel-
come such moves," he said.
Hurriyat leader critical
Senior Hurriyat Conference (M) leader Fazalul-
Haq Qureshi is struggling for life in Sher-e-
Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS)-
Soura, after a murderous attack on him by
unidentified men in the evening of Friday, 4
December. Life remained paralyzed in Kashmir
Valley in the wake of a separatist-called shut-
down. He was seriously injured when some
unidentified assailants fired upon him outside a
mosque in Soura locality.
Qureshi was rushed to SKIMS. A senior
police officer said Qureshi was admitted with bul-
let injuries on his head and investigations were
going on. He has been the only Hurriyat leader
who had refused security cover, the police said. A
senior leader of Hurriyat headed by Mirwaiz
Umer Farooq, Qureshi favoured a negotiated set-
tlement of Kashmir issue and wanted a dialogue
with New Delhi. He heads Peoples Political Front
(PPF), a constituent of Hurriyat Conference (M).
Doctors who operated on Qureshi Friday night
said that a scan of his head did not show a bullet.
"He is in Intensive Care Unit of SKIMS and put on
a ventilator for respiratory support. His vital
parameters are normal, but will have to monitor
him for next 48 hours (till Monday morning). He is
on antibiotics to avoid infections."
The hospital's ICU is under tight security and
no one is allowed to meet Qureshi except for his
close relatives. People present at the time of the
incident, however, said they heard a gunshot.
The Al-Nasireen, a little-known guerrilla group,
has owned responsibility for the attack. It is still
not clear whether Qureshi, who is stable but not
out of danger, was shot at or attacked with a
sharp edged-weapon. Mirwaiz said Hurriyat won't
allow such attempts to derail the peace process.
"There are certain elements within Kashmir who
do not want a permanent solution to the problem.
They want to continue the uncertainty so that
their vested interests are protected."
Meanwhile, the Hurriyat-sponsored shut-
down crippled life in Srinagar and other major
towns of the valley. Traffic was off the roads and
business establishments remained closed. Stone
pelting protesters took to roads in the old city and
some parts of south Kashmir. Union Minister for
New and Renewable Energy and former chief
minister Farooq Abdullah described the attack as
an act of terror. "Such acts won't be allowed to
derail the peace process which would be carried
to its logical conclusion, keeping in view regional
aspirations of the people, here."


Babri/Liberhan
A person needs to have study the modes of operation of spiritual
powers in the world. This power is related to Almighty God. It works
latently and non of the human eye can see it. The leakage of the
Liberhan Commission Report in Indian Express stating that Mr. AB
Vajpayee was also involved in the demolition of Babri Masjid the
government should have taken action against him and all the 68
persons who demolished the Mosque. Instead the government
posed as it was not its duty to apprehend the perpetrators. The spir-
itual powers started its function. The telangana people started their
movement. The youths pelted stones and damaged the public and
private property, raised slogans against the central government.
KSR started his fast unto death. In Parliament the members were
busy in allegations and counter allegations.The remote state of AP
is now boiling.The students of Osmania University are on rampage.
In case KCR dies the situation will be uncontrollable. Firing, arson
military intervention has to be resorted then. The central govern-
ment could save the Mosque by sending the army. Now the same
army has to attack on our own students. This is all may be per-
ceived as the action of spiritual power. But our priests fail to under-
stand this network of spiritual power.
Dr. Abdul Hameed Maqdoomi, Hyderabad
drmaqdoomi@yahoo.com
II
Mr. P. Chidambaram must be appreciated for presenting himself
throughout the commotion, indicting the communal leaders and at
the same time holding guilty for the lapse committed by the Prime
Minister of his own party. The opposition parties' behaviour was not
unexpected as not only that they are guilty but it is part of their gene
to cast indecency, indiscipline and confusion in every segment of
life including the highest body of Parliament. 8th December 2009
has presented the most shameful day in the Parliament's history
thanks to the ugly behaviour of the BJP and their allies. Now the
major question arises whether the government is serious about tak-
ing appropriate action against the culprits who are indicted by
Justice Liberhan and particularly when the home minister himself
has called the demolition of the mosque as "a pre-planned, calcu-
lated and cold-blooded" action or the culprits will be allowed to
enjoy the benefits of power brazenly declaring that "yes, we have
committed this crime, will you dare touch us"? The expedition of the
suits pending in different courts not extending to many years, will be
appreciated by the secular minded majority of the country
K. Malikul Azeez, Perambur High Road, Chennai-12
kmalikulazeez@yahoo.com
III
Nwwspapers have reported extensively on VHP's Ashok Singhal's
recipe for Hindu-Muslim unity. The VHP leader has reportedly
claimed that "VHP wants a permanent bond of love between Hindus
and Muslims". He suggests that the bugbears in the path of com-
munal harmony are Ayodhya's Ram Janmabhoomi, Mathura's
Krishna Janmabhoomi and the Kashi Vishwanath disputes. "Only
withdrawals of claims by Muslims on these three places and hand-
ing them over to Hindus by law of Parliament can ensure strength
for real Hindu-Muslim unity." One would ask, if it is so simple why
aren't Muslims over decades giving a serious thought to it. It is not
so simple. Ask any Muslim leader or activist why Muslims cannot
consider giving away Babri Masjid instead of letting it be a cause for
so much strife. The answer will be: it is not one Masjid they want.
They have a list of 3000 structures, which they will raise once
Muslims surrender Babri. "Not 3000, Sir. 30000," another will add.
Also it is the feeling among Muslims across the board that RSS and
parivar are inimical to Muslims.
The statements like the one Ashok Singhal made, if they come
more frequently, may go a long way in building bridges between the
communities. The Sangh parivar should convince by words and
deeds that their hostility towards Muslims is imaginary and only a
propaganda by the political parties. I happened to meet VHP's
Ashok Chowghule. I asked him about the concerns of Muslims
about VHP asking for 3000 to 30000 places of worship from them if
they surrender Babri Masjid. Since this conversation took place in
late 2002 or early 2003, I do not recollect the exact words but I am
sure what Ashok Chowghule conveyed was that it is not true that
the VHP wants anything more than these three places, and that if
Muslims can consider lifting their claim on these three places they
can talk with us and we will clear their doubts and allay their appre-
hensions. Now, does this not show a big communication gap or a
misplaced mistrust?
Another display of mistrust between the two communities was visi-
ble today. In a talk show in a news channel on the subject of Babri
Masjid Syed Shahabuddin stated that Muslims will abide by the
court verdict and will withdraw if the judiciary gives a decision that
a temple existed at the Babri site. When the programme anchor
repeatedly asked one panelist from the Hindu group if Hindus give
a similar commitment to abide by the judiciary's decision, the
answer was a question pointing towards Syed Shahabuddin "Can
you trust him?" Muslims are not sure that thousands of cases will
not crop up if they negotiate in one case. Their sense of insecurity
is all too visible. They are pinning their hopes on court verdict.
Foolishly, one should say, when the BJP, VHP and others give no
indication of intention to abide by the judiciary's decision. The BJP's
vision document 2004 states, "In the matter of Ayodhya we are for
a negotiated settlement in an atmosphere of mutual trust." A very
political way to suggest that the court verdict is not the end but the
fresh beginning of Babri dispute. Muslim leaders are determined not
to have any talks with Hindu groups until the court decision.
Apparently they think they will talk from the position of strength
then. Why does a brother want to talk with the brother from the posi-
tion of strength? Not to agree for talks before court verdict , is
Correction
With reference to my article BABRI MASJID AND THE MURKY
POLITICS OF UP-II in the previous issue of MG, I need to
point out that the slain SP MLA was Manzoor Ahmed and not
Mehboob Ahmed. The error is regretted.
Haider Abbas, Lucknow
Read more letters on page 31 and on MG website. Readers who do not want their email IDs printed should indicate so in every letter
fraught with risk of managment of Babri dispute going more into
what Liberhan has called the "rabid elements" of Muslim leadership.
Muslims must agree to enter into dialogue at an early date. And If
the BJP and others have made up their minds that "the negotiated
settlement in an atmosphere of mutual trust" is the best way, they
should be pro-active in their efforts in creating that "atmosphere of
mutual trust".
Apparently UPA does not seem to be seeing any role for the Central
government in resolving this epic wrangle. Indian National
Congress by playing its dubious role or non-role in the dispute at
different times has not done itself any credit. BJP's Rajnath Singh's
plea to the UPA government to facilitate negotiations between the
two communities made by him not too long ago has fallen on deaf
ears. It is not for nothing that the Congress is said to be having a
stake in a low intensity hostility between Hindus and Muslims. The
party has hardly ever encouraged Muslims to have a fruitful dia-
logue with Hindu groups. Sonia Gandhi should correct the situation.
The party's active participation in resolution of Babri dispute will
help in dispelling the impression that it has always exploited com-
munal tension.
Dr Mookhi Amir Ali, Santacruz West, Mumbai 400054
drmookhi@hotmail.com
AMU
The misguided and misbegotten episode at AMU that just ended
has exposed the hollowness of the mindset of the large AMU com-
munity. Weeks were spent in writing hundreds, if not thousands of
emails and reading them, but some essential questions were not
broached, and when broached, they were avoided. I had asked
some very simple questions, but never got an answer. Simply
because he could not. Apparently the melodrama and the hyperbole
of intemperate language were more important. The crisis is over.
But though it may sound good to say let the by gone be by gone, or
all is well that ends well. It may be right for our limited lives, but the
life of an institution goes on beyond our limited lives or perspec-
tives. The grandeur of the past lifts the institution and the pettiness
of the past haunts it for a long time, because both become part of
the tradition. The endless carping about all the past Vice chancel-
lors has haunted the AMU for many decades, because it has
become part of the tradition and thus acceptable. Endemic strikes,
loose talk and building of street smart leadership have also become
a part of the tradition and therefore are deemed to be acceptable. It
has replaced the educated parliamentary leadership of winning for
a cause by the dint of intellect that Sir Syed so valued. I am again
posing some questions: 1. Ostensibly the agitation started because
of the murder of the unfortunate student. Supposedly the rage was
on his behalf demanding justice for him. Not once did I read in any
of the voluminous record of writing as to what is going on with the
investigation, what needs to be done, etc. Why? The sad part is that
apparently no one cared it was crutch to advance an unrelated set
of agenda; 2. Some were criticized for comparing the strikers with
Talibans (if I remember correctly). Did any of those people criticize
the person who compared the VC with the murderous warmonger-
ing record of Bush and NeoCons. Insulting ones teachers and eld-
ers used to be a greater sin in the culture and tradition that we so
fervently rave about; 3. This is not to say that many of the griev-
ances of the students were not genuine, but they completely mis-
used the sad occasion of the death of a poor student; 4. If the
demand for the resignation of the VC was so pivotal that the stu-
dents in the Gandhian manner were fasting to death. Why did they
fold up using the crutch of some petty politician's intervention? Are
the principles so easily traded? In the present day street politics,
yes, but then we know that they are pressure points not principles.
Often the Students Union has become the reason for dispute. It was
part of the plethora of demands this time as well. I have a few ideas
about it. In the interest of brevity I will leave it for later, if people are
interested, I would write about them later. These are the glaring
questions that we need to think about and answer, if we care to
have decent and laudable traditions, other wise the crowing about
slowly strangulated tradition while violating all sense of decency
also becomes a tradition. Apparently it already has. With sadness,
Mirza A. Beg mirza.a.beg@gmail.com
II
AMU is again engulfed in the flame of vested interest. Mafias are so
active that they make students their tools to protest in some other
ways and create anarchy in the campus. The present VC, Dr Abdul
Aziz is of Dynamic personality and has done commendable work for
the University. He has recruited so many courses and various
branches of AMU throughout country. The main demand of students
is to lift the ban on student's Union. No doubt it is the fundamental
right of students. But the present system of election in the campus,
creates chaos groupism, Mafiaism, quarrel and even murder. The
academic atmosphere dies for several months. It is a great loss of
students. Being an old student and well wisher of the University I
have a suggestion if heeded that the students Union must be
resolved but not through election but through debate. The jury must
be outsider, so that the selection must be fair and impartial. Through
debate able candidate will get the chance, and the reputation of stu-
dents Union will be maintained.
Dr. Shafiqur Rahman Khan
Member of Old Boy's Association, Aliganj, Lucknow
Afghanistan and Silver Spoon
The statement of Mr. McChrystal - there are no silver bullets for
Afghan win. It is true that there are no short cuts to exit from
Afghanistan. Years of conflict and wars has put Afghanistan in the
worst condition. The presence of foreign troops has not helped the
local Afghan population. It is high time that the coalition forces get
together and chalk out a strategy to help the Afghan population and
rather then policing them, they should help them in eliminating cor-
ruption, building infrastructure and education, provision of sanita-
tion and jobs. This will go a long in improving the life of common
man in turn reducing the desire for people to terrorize. Providing a
silver spoon is better than searching for a silver bullet.
Mohammed Sadullah Khan, Riyadh - 11443
mosakhan40@gmail.com
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009 15
REJOINDERS / OPINION
Why only Telangana?
Even after formation of Telangana what is the guarantee that some
other leader from north or south Telagana will not arise and claim
separate north or separate south telangana. The people of Rayel
Seema will also claim a separate state.This separation trend may
go till the separate districts. The buck which is creating trouble is
the faulty system of governance. All our political leaders with few
exceptions are corrupt, selfish, and money mongers and involve in
nepotism. After formation of new state some other movement will
start. There is a perception that British rulers did not loot India as
our indigenous leaders did.They opened foreign accounts in foreign
countries. Andhra people have developed our thousands acres of
land which we could not do. We lack resources and we do not have
harbors In case of separation we shall have to forgo all the benefits
which presently have got. It is clear that the idea of separate state
is politically motivated. We are responsible for our backwardness.
The demand of separate state is not the solution. The famous poet
Iqbal has said, "Khuda ne aaj tak us qaum ki halat nahin badli; na
ho jisko khayal aap apni halat ke badalne ka"
Dr. Abdul Hameed Maqdoomi, Hyderabad
drmaqdoomi@yahoo.com
II
The announcement of the U.S. president Barack Obama to start
withdrawing forces from Afghanistan from 2011 indicates that
America has lost the war and it could not come up to the expecta-
tion of the world. Even seven-year long battle with the Taliban, could
not suppress them completely. Before, withdrawing from
Afghanistan, U.S. must establish there a stable government led by
one who gains public support; other than Hamid Karzai. Karzai's
alleged resort to corruption in the presidential election is a witness
of him not being accepted by people.
A Hameed Yousuf, Ulsoor, Bangalroe-08
ahameed12@gmail.com
III
The U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to continue the war in
Afghanistan by sending 30,000 additional troops in Afghanistan has
dismayed all those who believed that he could deliver his promise
of 'change'. His 4th June speech made through the pulpit of Al
Azhar University: "I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning
between the United States and Muslims around the world" does not
reflect the intent of walking the talk. The Norwegian Nobel
Committee which awarded the Peace Prize to Obama should have
taken aback for their wrong choice. What is more worrisome is the
fact that, at a time when even the NATO allies of the U.S. are trying
to draw their feet from the Afghan quagmire, India is slowly falling
in the trap of imperialist design laid by the sole superpower.
Syed Sultan Mohiddin, Kadapa (A.P)
sultan_awaz@yahoo.co.in
Islamophobia
The decision to ban Mosque minarets in Switzerland is an act of
religious discrimination and intolerance. It simply means everyone
but Muslims are free to build their house of worship using their pre-
ferred architectural style. It is a sad moment for all people who cher-
ish religious freedom to see a discriminatory law receive wide pop-
ular support in the country that witnessed the birth of modern
democracy. Switzerland has made today a giant step backward in
the direction of the religious intolerance of medieval Europe. The
vote was surprising to many as it is diametrically opposed to the
democratic values and the enlightenment spirit that are the source
of a great pride to Swiss society. The Swiss vote will undoubtedly
invigorate the European far right, who will see this as a green light
to further isolate and marginalize European Muslims. It is now the
time for liberal voices in Switzerland, indeed in Europe and beyond,
and all those who care about the future of freedom to show their
true metal and challenge this draconian measure. Swiss and
European Muslims should challenge the law in the courts and make
sure that this palpable discrimination against the free exercise of
religion does not stand.
Safiya Sameena, Moghalrajpuram road, Vijayawada - 520010
safiyasameena@hotmail.com
The Infallible Zionists
Soon , Israel shall bomb Iran
the whole world shall complain
the UN shall condemn it
the USA shall ask for explanations
but......... Israel shall invoke the Holocaust
Husny Mubarak shall blame the Algerian footballers
the Saudi King shall dance until midnight
Sarkozy shall sell Iran the new radars
Russia shall update its own scrab
But Israel shall invoke the Holocaust
Qatar shall send medical help
Dubai shall offer free skying holidays
Syria shall make an alliance with Turkey
and then Turkey shall lead the Muslim world.
Hezbollah shall bomb Haifa and Yaffa
Israel shall bomb Beirut,while avoiding
the palace of Harriri and the villa of the Gemayel´s
and Israel shall invoke the Holocaust , again.
France and Russia shall rebuild the Nuke´s of Iran
with a whole-sale-discount of 15%
Gaza shall reroute its tunnels directly to Algeria
Abbas shall get a new air-conditioned-Mercedes
as for Israel , it will again invoke the Holocaust,
Ann Frank and the Shoa.....
Bernard Madoff shall get amnesty
and then share a Nobel Prize with Nathaniahu
Hilary shall have a face-lift paid by AIPAC
and Obama shall become as white as Michael Jackson
while Israel,
it shall invoke the Holocaust, again.
Sherlock Hommos the fortune-teller (Raja Chemayel)
chemayelraja@yahoo.co.uk
16 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009

NEWSMAKERS
MEN & WOMEN IN NEWS
MEED has identified six key figures in GCC project
and structured finance markets. One of them is
MANSOOR DURRANI, Vice president and the
incharge of project finance of Saudi Arabia’s
National Commercial Bank (NCB) is credited to
have built the project finance book right from the ini-
tial stage, which covers steel, petro chemicals,
power and water and oil and gas sector. His bussiness acumen has
helped him to deal with financial aspect of projects and at the same
time Islamic structuring across in many projects in Saudi Arabia for over
a period of five years. So far NCB has participated in projects amount-
ing to more than $30bn and the overall bank's commitment is valued
nearly $5bn. Before this, Durrani, who belongs to Bhopal, has also
worked on equity capital market transactions and played vital role in
many important deals including the initial public offerings of Sipchem,
APPC, Emaar and Saudi Paper. An MBA and PhD, Mansoor is the
recipient of 'New Voice in Islamic Finance Award' from Dow Jones
Islamic Index, New York and 'Sigma Challenge Award' from INSEAD,
Singapore. He also authored a book titled Venture Capital, Islamic
Finance and SMEs, published by Macmillan UK.
AZIZ BURNEY, editor of the most popular Indian Urdu daily Rashtriya
Sahara, who was part of the media delegation accom-
panying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his
recent US visit, was not allowed to enter the White
House for covering Singh-Obama meeting - another
proof that the Bush-era Islamophobia still rules the
US. The senior journalist later said that though his
travel documents were in order, the "special treat-
ment" came because he had a Muslim name. Surprisingly, the Indian
delegation or at least the accompanying mediapersons did not dare
utter a word of protest, let alone boycot the meeting.
MAUSAM BENAZIR NOOR, Congress MP from Malda who is the
niece of late central minister A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury, married
her classmate Mirza Kayesh Begg at a glittering ceremony in this
AWARDS
PROF. AKHTAR HASEEB, Chairman,
Department of Plant Protection, and for-
mer Dean, Faculty of Agricultural
Sciences has been conferred with the
"Dr. B. Vasantharaj David Award- 2008"
for outstanding contribution made in the
field of Plant Protection during the
National Conference on Biodiversity,
Conservation and Management of
Bioresources held at Department of
Zoology, Andhra University,
Visakhapatnam organized by Applied Zoologists Research
Association (AZRA) Division of Entomology, Central Rice
Research Institute, Cuttack.
The American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI) has
announced the recipients of its Sir Syed and Meer Taqi Meer
Awards for the year 2009. The Sir Syed Award 2009 for contribu-
tions to the education of Indian Muslims goes to Mumbai-based
educationist MUBARAK KAPDI. He is founding president of the
National Movement for Education and chairman of the
Maharashtra Urdu High School. He is well known for his counsel-
ing sessions, workshops, motivational speeches, articles, books,
and other educational activities across India. Thousands of stu-
dents have benefited from his counsel and went on to successful
careers. His call for 'total education' has been well received across
the country. The Meer Taqi Meer Award 2009 for contributions to
Urdu literature goes to noted poet and littérateur PT. ANAND
MOHAN ZUTSHI 'GULZAR' DEHLVI. He is widely hailed as the
OBITUARIES
AGHA SYED HUSAIN MUTA'MMADI, a well-
northern West Bengal town. The ceremony took known religious and political leader of Jammu &
place at the sprawling Kotwali mansion of her
Kashmir died in Kargil at the age of 65 years. He
family that was illuminated in all its splendour and
was also a former MP and political leader. J&K's
hosted around 12,000 invitees. Mausam became
chief minister Omar Abdullah described him as a
a legislator earlier this year from the family pock-
prominent religious leader and Parliamentarian.
et borough of Sujapur after the death of her moth-
er and Ghani Khan's sister Ruby Noor, before MAULANA ALIMUDDIN SITAPURI, a noted reli-
winning the Lok Sabha polls from the Malda gious scholar and Principal of Madrasa Masihul
North seat. Two of Mausam's maternal uncles Uloom, Baghpat died at Baghpat on 5 December
are also people's representatives. While Abu Naser Khan Chowdhury after a prolonged illness. He was also associated
is the legislator from Sujapur, Abu Hashem Kahn Chowdhury is the Lok with Jamiatul Ulama-e Hind and Tablighi Jama't.
Sabha MP from Malda South. ABRAR ALVI, film story writer who wrote the sto-
Prof. NAJM KHALEEQ, being the senior most provost, has been ries of many of Guru Dutt's films and director of his
appointed a Member of AMU's Executive Council. Dr Khaleeq, present- (Guru Dutt)'s famous film 'Saheb, Bibi Ghulam' died
ly the Provost of AMU's Hadi Hasan Hall, is also a member of on 18 November. Alvi, who lived in Mumbai's
University's Court and Academic Council. Lokhadwaka area along with his family, was asso-
OMAR FAROOK KHATANI (Memon) has been ciated with Guru Dutt from the very beginning and
re-elected unanimously as president of M.P. developed an attractive style of dialogue writing. It
State Administrative Association at the annual is said that Alvi greatly contributed to his (Dutt) sta-
convention held on 14 November at Akansha tus as a famous film director.
Bhawan, Bhopal. The association has 700 KHWAJA SANAULLAH BUTT, chief editor of
members of additional, joint & deputy collectors Srinagar-based Urdu daily Aftab died in Surah
of Madhya Pradesh. Khatani was already work- Medical Institute on 24 November at the age of 87
ing as president of this association since May years. He was under treatment in the hospital's ICU
2005. He is presently posted as Secretary, MP for about a month but could not survive. In addition
State Minorities Commission & Deputy commissioner (Land & to being a journalist he was also a noted writer and
Records). wrote many books on the Kashmir situation like
Prof. NAZEER MUHAMMAD, former chairman of the Department of Kashmir 1947 se 1977 tak, Ahadnama-e Kashmir,
Hindi at AMU has been appointed a member of the reconstituted com- Kashmir ki Kahani etc. All leaders of Kashmir's
mittee of Kendriya Hindi Samiti, Government of India which is entrust- political parties, Hurriyat leaders including Hurriyat
ed with the task of coordinating the work and programmes for the devel- (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Gilani, chief minister
opment, propagation and progressive use of Hindi in overall official Omar Abdullah and many others attended his
business. Dr Nazeer Ahmad who is around 80 now, is a renowned Hindi funeral. He was laid to rest in his ancestral grave-
scholar and was honoured with Subramanium Bharti Award in 1996.
yard in Saura.

reigning king of the Delhi school of Urdu poetry and an embodi- Persian, Hindi, history, B. Ed, LLB, M. Phil, Ph D and Urdu Pundit.
ment of the composite “Ganga-Jamuni” culture of India. In his 83 He is a teacher by profession and has also been honoured with
years, he has served Urdu in a number of ways through his writ- 'Best Teacher Award' by AP's Education Department.
ings, poetry, teaching and associational activity. He is the founding Dr ATIF BAREILVI, a poet of world fame has been honoured with
secretary and Chairman of Anjuman Tameer-e-Urdu Dehli (found- Aftab-e Ghazal Award by Berlin's Ajnuman Farogh-e Urdu in
ed 1947). He started writing poetry in 1933 and took part in the recognition of his literary services. With this, he has become the
Indian freedom movement from 1936. He was awarded Padma first Indian poet to be honoured by a German literary organisation.
Shri, Ghalib Award, Iqbal Award, Maikash Award, Mushafi Award, The Award was given to him by Anjuman's chairman Sarwar
and Akhtar Sheerani Award, etc. He also holds the distinction of Ghazali, who is a judge of Berlin's High Court. Before this Award,
bringing out independent India's first Science journal in Urdu he was also honoured with many literary awards by foreign coun-
through CSIR. Both awards carry a citation, a crystal plaque, and tries like America, Lebanon, China, Kuwait etc.
thirty thousand rupees. The awards will be presented in the main Prof LALIT MOHAN BARYAR, a famous plastic surgeon in AMU's
session of AFMI's XVIII Annual Convention and Gala Award cere- J.N. Medical College has been appointed President of the
mony on 2 January, 2010 at Rabindranath Tagore Hall in Indore, College's Plastic Surgery Department by VC, Prof P.K. Abdul Azis
Madhya Pradesh. for a period of 3 years. Prof Baryar is also the President of UP
NAZEER FATEHPURI, famous poet, writer and editor of an Urdu Chapter of Association of Plastic Surgeons of India and has played
magazine of Pune who was awarded an honorary Doctorate an important role in getting recognition of MCH (Plastic &
Degree by an educational institute of America in recognition of his Reconstructive Surgery) Degree of the University. His more than
long creative, critical, research and journalistic services, was hon- 50 research articles have been published in national and interna-
oured by the people of his own native place, Fatehpur Shekhawati tional journals.
in Rajasthan with All India Allama Kali Das Gupta 'Raza' Literary Prof. AMK SHAHARYAR, a prominent Urdu poet and former
Award consisting of a shawl, memento and a cash prize of Rs Head of AMU's Department of Urdu, has been honoured with
21,000 sponsored by Bazm-e Adab, Fatehpur. Sambalpur University (Orissa)'s highest award, 'Gangadhar
Dr M.Q. SALEEM, a noted man of letters, critic, journalist, colum- Rashtriya Kavita Award' which consists of a cash prize of Rs
nist and editor of an Urdu magazine was honoured for his twelfth 50000, a memento and Shawl. An announcement to this effect was
book Hemaqatein hamari (our follies) by Urdu Academy of Andhra made in a press statement. He is the 18th poet of this country to
Pradesh. This is a book of humour and sarcasm. He is an author win this literary award. Among Urdu poets, Ali Sardar Ja'fari was
of 13 books and has been honoured with many awards by differ- honoured with this Award earlier. Shaharyar's 6 anthologies have
ent literary organisations including Urdu Academy of West Bengal. been translated into English, Spanish, German, French and Italian
He had achieved distinctive marks in Urdu, linguistics, Arabic, languages in addition to Oriya and many other Indian languages.

and Rahil Shaikh both members of the Mumbai

Sarfaraz Khan - promising teen age cricketer
Manzar Imam
manzarkhalil@gmail.com
reaking many lofty previous records
was Sarfaraz's debut Harris Shield match. Can
you believe it? He is an extraordinary talent. I
had to drop senior players to accommodate him
in the playing XI. He has been doing extraordi-
record 664 runs for the third wicket in February
1988, a world record for any level of the game.
Cricket gurus have started claiming that
Sarfaraz Khan is next the Sachin Tendulkar. But
Ranji team as well as left-arm fast bowler
Kamran Khan, who came into spotlight in the
IPL's second season for the Rajasthan Royals.
Many of them, at some point or the other, have
stayed at Sarfaraz's place. "My father was

B
by a superb batting performance, 12-
year-old Sarfaraz Khan from Mumbai
has made us Indians proud.
A 6TH standard student of Springfield Rizvi
School in Mumbai, Khan created history in the
113 years of school cricket in Mumbai. He
scored 439 runs against Indian Education
Society (Kandivli) in the under-16 inter-school
Harris Shield three-day match on 4 November.
The child prodigy faced 421 balls and hit 12
sixes and 56 fours - nearly a triple hundred in
itself -to achieve the feat. He broke the 23-
years-old record set by Sanjeev Jadhav of
Shardashram Vidyamandir in 1986, who had
scored 422 runs. He also beat the earlier high-
est record of 427, set by R Nagdev in 1963-64.
The Harris Shield is the same tournament
that launched Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli
and other Mumbai cricketers. Tendulkar with
329 and Kambli with 349, rank among the top
ten in the tournament's history.
Rizvi Springfield coach Raju Pathak said: "It
narily well in the last few
matches."
Springfield Rizvi's total of
750-9 declared in 122 overs
was a notch higher than what
Tendulkar and Kambli's alma
mater team, Shardashram
Vidyamandir amassed (748-2
in 120 overs) against St
Xavier's School at Azad
Maidan.
But this new Indian whiz
kid's stunning entry into crick-
et won't guarantee him a
pathway to success. We will
need to wait and see if Sarfaraz can emulate
Tendulkar at 16, the age at which he played his
first Test.
Sarfaraz went past his idol Tendulkar's 346
not out, which the master batsman had scored
for his school, Shardashram Vidyamandir, when
he, along with friend Vinod Kambli, added a
this little champ has shown
maturity beyond his age and
asked people not to com-
pare him with the master
blaster. Rather he wants to
meet the battling great in
person to achieve his long-
cherished dream. "Sachin is
my idol and I consider him
as my 'Guru'. "Even if I
achieve one per cent of what
he has achieved, I would be
blessed," Sarfaraz Khan
said.
Khan says he has the
patience like Wasim Jaffer. There are lots of
cricket opportunities ready for him and now he
must set a target for his career. He must con-
centrate on cricket and work hard, so that he
remains in the eye of the selectors.
Sarfaraz's father, Naushad Khan, is a local
coach who has trained players like Iqbal Abdulla
telling me I should try and better Tendulkar's
score. I was already on 235, and as one of the
boundaries at Cross Maidan is short, I felt it was
possible," Sarfaraz said.
He did better than that. By the time the Rizvi
Springfield batsman was done, tormenting the
Indian Education Society bowling attack, he had
439 runs against his name. His innings came off
just 421 - the highest score in the 112-year his-
tory of Harris Shield, breaking the 46-year-old
record held by R Nagdev, who had scored 427
not out in 1963-64. Other high scorers include
Mumbai skipper and Test discard Wasim Jaffer,
who made an unbeaten 400 in 1992-93.
Tendulkar, with his unbeaten 346, is the 10th
highest scorer. Sarfaraz, incidentally, was
dropped thrice on 25, 253 and 302. He gave the
fielders enough time to regret their errors.
This is not the only time when he scored a
marathon. A year ago, in the MSSA Giles Shield
inter-school cricket final he had notched his sec-
ond double century and his third consecutive
hundred.


Jaipur
Ludhiana
Imphal
Dharnas and demos on Babri martyrdom day
New Delhi: With fresh focus on the Babri Masjid
issue in the wake of the Liberhan Commission's
findings, Muslims and secular forces across the
country raised the Babri issue on the 17th dem-
olition anniversary on 6 December, while com-
munal and fascist forces celeberated it as a
bravery day. While the VHP observed the day as
"Shourya Diwas" (valour day), Samajwadi Party
marked it as "Kala Diwas" (black day). RSS
chief Mohan Bhagwat said that there was no
question of the Sangh regretting the demolition
of Babri Masjid. He maintained that RSS' full
support to the Ram temple movement will con-
tinue.
Security was beefed up both by the central
and state governments while Ayodhya-Faizabad
area was converted into a virtual fortress. In
Ayodhya, besides central forces, 500 personnel
of PAC, 200 jawans of Rapid Action Force, three
bomb detecting squads and anti-sabotage
teams were deployed, officials said. CCTV cam-
eras were in operation at the disputed site with
the authorities banned public gatherings and
security forces kept a close vigil on the Saryu
river.
In Delhi, on the eve of the demolition
anniversary a silent 'Candle March' was organ-
ized at Jantar Mantar press for action on
Liberhan Report. Leaders of Dalit, Sikh,
Christian and Muslim communities as well as
human rights organizations took part in the
Yusuf/MG
Hoarder
Goa
march which culminated at the Parliament
Street. In a joint statement, leaders of Dr B. R.
Ambedkar Sewa Dal, All India New Democracy,
Inssan Dost Council, Samajik Nayay Morcha,
SACM, Delhi Catholic Church, Haryana
Gurudwara Sikh Committee, Peoples
Movement of India, Budh Upsak Sangh, All
India Jamaate Saifia, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind,
Jamiat Ahle Hadith, Action AID, Justice Party
and Milli Council said that the government's
action taken report on the Liberhan report "dis-
plays lack of political will to bring those respon-
sible to justice. The nation wants to know what
action the Central Government is going to take.
In the past too, those indicted by different com-
missions for communal riots have gone scot-
free as in the case of Sri Krishna Commission
Report." The statement went on to say that "it is
high time that charges should be filed and cases
registered against them. The Central
Government must act against the Sangh Parivar
organizations and check its accounts being
used for nefarious designs. As is well known,
there have been gang rapes and loss of inno-
cent lives, and private and public properties in
the naked drama of communal elements at dif-
ferent places, including Surat. Criminal cases
must be initiated against these elements, and if
already initiated, they must be expedited and
those found guilty must be punished. Stern
action must be taken against the organizations
Soaring prices
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009 17
Hyderabad
Jantar Mantar, Delhi
Mushawarat office, Delhi
found involved in the demolition of Babri Masjid
by the Liberhan Commission. The real test of
the UPA Government's sincerity would be if it
brings about a law providing for exemplary pun-
ishment for all those who disturb communal har-
mony for gaining power."
Muslim leaders demanded stern action
against those named in the Liberhan
Commission report besides implementation of
the report of the Srikrishna Commission set up
following the 1992-'93 riots in Mumbai. "Stern
action should be taken against those who have
been named by the Liberhan Commission," said
Congress spokesperson and former minister
Husain Dalwai on the eve of the Babri demoli-
tion anniversary. Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA
Abu Asim Azmi termed the statements of the
government regarding the Liberhan and
Srikrishna Commission reports as an "eye
wash" and said justice needed to delivered
speedily. "What action has been taken after it?"
questioned Azmi, pointing to the report of the
commission set up under Justice Manmohan
Singh Liberhan submitting its report 17 years
after it had been set up. He also sought that the
masjid be rebuilt at the same spot. Accusing the
government of lacking "will power," Azmi, said
the masterminds behind the demolition needed
to be punished.
Popular Front of India (PFI) and its allied
outfits organized dharnas at various places
including Manipur and Goa. PFI general secre-
tary Mr. K.M Shareef said speaking at the dhar-
na at Delhi' Jantar Mantar that the government
did not give any proper respect and considera-
tion to the Liberhan Commission report. The
Government let the report to leak and reach in
the hands of media, before tabling it in
Parliament. He said the Action Taken Report
(ATR) does not mention anything about legal
action against the culprits, though the incident
threw the country in to waves of hatred, intoler-
ance, communalism and terrorism. He appealed
to all secular and progressive organization, to
join hands together against the hypocrisy of rul-
ing class. The dharna was attended by Social
Democratic party of India's General Secretary A.
Sayeed, Professors G.N Sai Baba and Shamsul
Islam of Delhi University among others. PFI
general secretary A. Sayeed who led the nation-
al protest campaign demanded from the central
SPECIAL REPORTS
government to punish the culprits responsible
for the demolition of Babri Masjid and the coun-
trywide riots that followed.
In Lucknow, the All India Babri Masjid Action
Committee organised special prayers for peace
and harmony while in Hyderabad, Civil Liberties
Monitoring Committee (CLMC) organised a day-
long dharna at Bagh Lingam Pally in
Hyderabad. It demanded the reconstruction of
Babri Masjid "at the same site", said informed
CLMC general secretary Lateef Mohd Khan.
In Jaipur, Muslim organisations held a joint
dharna at Muslim Musafirkhana under the ban-
ner of Rajasthan Muslim Forum. The demo
asked the government to expedite the settle-
ment of the legal case; punish those held
responsible by Liberhan Commission; con-
demned the clean chit given by Liberhan to the
then prime minister Narasimha Rao; arrest
those who are publicly saying that the demoli-
tion was an act of bravery. The demo
announced that the efforts to reclaim the Babri
masjid will continue through legal and constitu-
tional means.
At the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat
a brain-storming session was held in the after-
noon of 6 December where leaders of leading
Muslim organizations and prominent individuals
discussed the issue in the light of the Liberhan
report and the attitudes of the government and
various political parties. The participants
stressed that the Muslim community in no way
should voluntarily give away its right to the Babri
Masjid site and that the legal case in the
Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court should
be vigorously fought. Later a statement was
issued by the organizers which included All
India Muslim Personal Law Board Committee on
Babri Masjid (IMPLB-CBM) and Babri Masjid
Movement Coordination Committee (BMMCC)
(see text on page 3).
Indian Muslim organizations abroad like
Council of Indian Muslims UK in UK and
Association Of Indian Muslims Of America and
Indian Muslim Council-USA in the US issued
statements on the occasion and the IMC-USA
launched a dedicated website on the issue
which may be accessed at
www.BabriMasjid.Info.
ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN
18 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009

government felt that the time was not yet appropriate for
Speaking Out NILOFAR SUHRAWARDY making the report public. This implies, it has taken 17 years-
with different parties/coalitions remaining at the helm during
this period- to finally cease feeling apprehensive of coming
Liberhan Report: out formally with what the people have always been aware of.
In other words, so far, the Commission as well as the differ-
ent governments in power over past 17 years were apparent-
Nothing New ly apprehensive about the impact that the report may have.
Considering that the demolition-phase was witness to com-
munal riots in most parts of the country for quite some time,
ronically, nothing new has come to light with tabling of
ANALYSIS
and BJP, the people at large have remained largely unmoved
by this political drama. The people apparently realize that
when politicians make too much noise about highly sensitive
issues, their political strategy is guided towards attracting
media attention and propagating their stand on the same.
The political game-show, in people's perception, has little to
do with the actual issue itself and/or with the importance it
holds for the common Indian.
Not surprisingly, the people appear to have dismissed
the storm raised over the report as nothing more than a polit-

I
Liberhan Commission report in the Parliament and the
related debate on it. People from the beginning have been
fairly well aware about individuals and parties who are
responsible for the Babari Masjid's demolition. Of course,
what is a little surprising is that the Commission has finally
submitted its report. Given that, the Commission has taken
17 years and 48 extensions to prepare the report, one is
bound to deliberate on why has it not spent a little more time,
with a few more extensions, to wind up its work. Equally
intriguing is the leaking of the report, which certainly con-
tributed to preparing ground for a heated debate in the
Parliament on the issue.
The central government is apparently confident that the
time is just right for the report to be officially be made pub-
lic. It may have probably thought otherwise were parliamen-
tary elections around the corner. Having returned to power
for the second term consecutively, earlier this year, the
Congress has enough time to test the importance that the
sensitive issue holds for politicians as well as the electorate.
Related with this is yet another angle to 17 years taken by the
Commission to prepare the report. In all probability, the
Commission may have taken a little more time, if the central
it was natural for the Commission as well as leaders in power
to be fairly cautious about finalizing the report. This also
suggests that it has taken 17 years for the Center as well as
the Commission to finally accept that they should cease fear-
ing the negative impact of the report. Had they still expected
the report to lead to communal tension, they would have
probably let the Commission remain working on it for some
more time.
otwithstanding the uproar raised in the Parliament
N over the report's contents, what is perhaps more note-
worth]y is that politicians have finally realized that
though the issue remains extremely sensitive even now,
prospects of it arousing communal tension have consider-
ably died down. In other words, the politicians have accept-
ed that the Indian community has come a long way from the
phase when their communal passions could easily be
aroused to stage of conflict between different communities.
There is thus an ironical twist to political storm in the
Parliament over the report. While politicians have indulged
aggressively in debating on its contents, with some dismiss-
ing it as a "bundle of lies," others calling it "incomplete,"
some projecting as biased, prepared "jointly" by Congress
ical and media hype. Thus, though noise over report started
gaining political attention and media coverage a few days
ahead of the anniversary of Babari Masjid's demolition, it
practically had little or no impact on common Indians. Even
though several organizations and/or political groups used
the day (December 6) to voice their respective stands on the
issue, the day passed peacefully with there being no report
of any major communal disturbance in any part of the coun-
try. Undeniably, as December 6 has been peaceful for sever-
al years now, one may question as to why is special attention
being paid to the day being peaceful this year too. The
answer to this is simple. It is for the first time since the dem-
olition that so much political noise has been raised over the
issue, with specific individuals and parties being named as
the ones responsible for the national tragedy. In this context,
with tabling of Liberhan Commission's report, there
remained fear of certain politicians exploiting the occasion to
arouse communal disturbances. They did not, could not
and/or perhaps decided not to, for people have ceased to be
easily provoked to stage of communal frenzy. Thus political
battle over the report has remained confined to political
stage, with people choosing to let their routine lives remain
undisturbed by the same!

Greatest con trick in history

Caste system a Tax benefits of Hindu
reality in Church? Undivided Family (HUF)
FR. ANAND MUTTUNGAL the SC list. MAZIN KHAN
he Times of India reported recently that while 'The Protestant churches have most consistently

T hearing the petition on issue of Scheduled Caste repudiated the caste system, rejecting it as a Hindu con-
status to Christians, the Chief Justice of India, K struct, and have made the greatest attempt to establish a
G Balakrishnan asked , "Would the Christians casteless community. The Catholic Church developed a
admit that they practise caste system and that Dalits more culturally tolerant view, treating the caste system as
(among them) face social discrimination requiring reser- part of the Indian social structure and, for much of its his-
If you have to open a bank account in India there is long form to fill with lots
of details. And if you want to open a current account, the bank will ask you for
what you want it. Is the firm a Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Trust, Society,
Private, Public limited etc. There is one option "Hindu Undivided Family".
Isn't this interesting? How about a "Muslim Undivided Family", or even,
vation to uplift their cause? This is not all that easy," tory in India; it has chosen to work within that system.' It looking at the divides in the Muslim Community, an option for "Muslim Divided
After reflecting over this million-dollar question, I defiantly throws many questions to the Christians. The Family" will be welcome. At least all the "secular" people demanding for a
thought we need to have more deliberations on the opponents of the Church allege that the Church does not Uniform Civil Code will agree that all citizens be treated equally.
same. preach caste system but practices it. Can it hold any truth?
What is this "Hindu undivided family (HUF)"? This is defined under the
If we deeply reflect over the issue, it might tempt us to Let us examine a few facts too, the Indian Express
Hindu Law as a family that consists of all persons lineally descended from a
say that probably the Chief Justice understood better than published from Panaji,(Goa), dated 24th Nov. 1999, 'the
common ancestor, including wives and unmarried daughters. This means
us the teachings of Lord Jesus and the Official Church Parish Priest at Cuncolim Church nominated two catholic
your membership into a HUF does not come from a contract but from your
teachings on Christian society. The Catechism of the members from backward castes into the Parish Pastoral
status. Even though Jain and Sikh families are not governed by the Hindu
Catholic Church teaches that 'God created mankind in his Council. The Gaonkars, who claim themselves as
Kshatriyas,(High Caste), vehemently law, they can still be treated as a HUF. (Source: Rediff)
image……Christ is the image of the
invisible God….. the transformation 'In the late 1880's the objected. They wrote letter to the Holy
Why is it important?: Under the Income Tax Act, a HUF is treated as a sep-
into the image of Christ is accom- Marathi word 'Dalit' was See to withdraw the members or else arate entity for the purpose of assessment. From this stems its importance.
plished through the sacraments, in the they may get reconverted to Hinduism.
first place through baptism by which
used by Mahatma Jotiba The parish priest had to seek police (Source: Rediff)
one dies to the old man through Christ Phule for the Outcastes protection.'
(Gal 3:26-28) and puts on the new and Untouchables who According to certain reports, more Want to save taxes?: The book How to Save Income Tax through Tax
man (Gal 3:27; Rom 13:14). It is the were oppressed and bro- than 70 per cent of the Catholics in the Planning (FY 2009-10)" is written by R N Lakhotia and Subhash Lakhotia, two
fundamental idea of Christianity. It country are from Dalit communities, a of India's top taxation experts. This book talks about "sources of tax-free
envisions a society which gives equal
ken by Hindu society.' It clear sign of their denunciation to the incomes" and mentions "Receipts from Hindu undivided family" as one of
dignity to men and women, all castes, meant not just economic age-old caste system in the Hindu them. The book says “Any sum received by an individual as a member of a
all races, all geographical regions, rich and political backward- society. But unfortunately, their repre- Hindu undivided family, where the said sum has been paid out of the income
and poor etc. ness but socio-cultural sentation in the administration of the of the family, or, in the case of an impartible estate, where such sum has been
paid out of the income of the estate belonging to the family, is completely
'In the late 1880's the Marathi
word 'Dalit' was used by Mahatma
and religious backward- Church is hardly 10 per cent raising a
serious question mark whether the exempt from income tax in the hands of an individual member of the family
Jotiba Phule for the Outcastes and ness faced through their Church has also failed to recognise under Section 10(2).”
Untouchables who were oppressed being born into the par- their love for Christ and Christianity.
and broken by Hindu society.' It meant ticular caste in the Hindu It is almost sure that the Church Treatment of Women in HUF: The concept of HUF is based on the Hindu co-
not just economical and political back- will succeed in getting SC Status to parcenary system. Women are never part of the co-parcenary and the
society. Christians who got converted from Supreme Court recently ruled that even if no male member is left in a family,
wardness but socio-cultural and reli-
gious backwardness faced through their being born into Dalit Hindus. It will definitely give them a female member cannot become karta or in-charge of the ancestral proper-
the particular caste in the Hindu society. Therefore the better economic and political stability. But how do we ty. Since the Hindu Personal Law does not give a woman the right to partition,
British Government while notifying the Scheduled Castes believe that the agitation will end there? It might give rise the ancestral or joint family properties remain undivided and she will never
in 1935 specified that "No Indian Christian shall be to a new agitation aimed at socio-cultural and religious get any share. (Source: indianexpress.com)
deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste." It is very upliftment. It would mean reservation in the appointment
clear from the teachings of Lord Jesus that any one of Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Heads of various Loss for the Government: A former Chief Commissioner of Income-Tax, T.
embraces his discipleship is known as 'only Christian'. Religious Orders, Parish Priests, Principals, Heads of var- C. A. Ramanujam, says "Surprisingly, the Government carries out any amount
Adding to this they had already introduced religion based ious institutions and various administrative posts in the of amendment to the law without looking into the revenue loss caused by the
sufficient representation at all levels. Therefore none Church. How surprising it would be for Lord Jesus to see, recognition of the HUF as a separate taxable entity." (Source: Business Line)
asked the British Government to include them into the SC when he returns in his glory? He might ask himself, how
list. did I inspire them to go for enculturation? Who wants Uniform Civil Code?: "Secular Activists" love to talk about UCC
After India got independence, the religious represen- I leave the discussion open with a quote from the and Muslim Personal Law. I don't hear that much about HUF. Charity begins
tation was completely removed. It was during this time that address of Pope John Paul II to the Bishops from Madras- at home. The majority community should amend features in laws which favour
the Presidential Order "Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Mylapore, Madurai and Pondicherry-Cuddalore (17th Nov. them. Hence, before the majority pushes the minority to accept a uniform civil
Tribes Order 1950" stated, "No person who professes a 2003), "Any semblance of a caste-based prejudice in rela- code, the majority should abolish such favours it has opted for itself.
religion different from Hinduism shall be deemed to be a tions between Christians is a countersign to authentic
member of a Scheduled Caste." In the same year the human solidarity, a threat to genuine spirituality and a seri- Want to sing Vande Mataram?: While the HUF can save taxes and also
Christian leaders approached the then President and ous hindrance to the Church's mission of evangelization. ignore women members, for Muslims - RSS & others, want us all to sing
Prime Minister to include them into SC category. Therefore, customs or traditions that perpetuate or rein- Vande Mataram or else go to Pakistan. Till the Muslim Community does not
Responding to which they assured them in writing that force caste division should be sensitively reformed so that become a "Muslim Undivided Family" we will have to listen to anything. The
they will be included. Their demand got strengthened with they may become an expression of the solidarity of the choice is ours.

the inclusion of Sikhs in 1956 and Buddhists in 1990 into whole Christian community."(www. franand. com)

Suspension of AMU students revoked
Aligarh: Aligarh University's Vice Chancellor Prof. P.K. Abdul Azis
has withdrawn, on the recommendations of University's
Disciplinary Committee, the order to suspend 18 students of this
University issued on 4 and 5 November. These students are now
required to file an affidavit with the approval of the Disciplinary
Committee, giving an undertaking that in future they will not
indulge in unruly and disruptive activities. They have also been
cautioned to be careful and disciplined in future. It may be men-
tioned that after the murder of a University student outside the
University Campus, there were unruly scenes, demonstrations,
hunger strike and disruptive activities inside the campus resulting
in damages to University properties, disruption of students studies
etc. The suspended students were in the forefront in fomenting
trouble inside as well as outside the University including demon-
strations and sit-in at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, making firy speeches
against the VC and University administration, leading to closure of
the University for about 3 weeks. The University re-opened on 1
December.
“Muslim intellectuals” criticise JUH resolutions at Deoband
New Delhi: More than a hundred so-called “Muslim” intellectuals,
professionals, academicians, journalists, film world personalities,
NRIs etc have criticised Jamiat Ulama-e Hind (JUH) over its reso-
lutions on Vande Mataram and some other topics at its 30th annu-
al conference in Deoband, describing them as retrograde steps
that would not only alienate Muslim community from the national
stream and stunt their progress and development but also give the
Hindutva forces which were lying low after the recent general elec-
tions a leverage to resurface and strengthen themselves. The
statement signed by 117 prominent persons was released at a
press conference in Delhi. In this joint statement Jamiat Ulama
was criticised for raking up an issue which was settled as far back
as 1930 with consultation and advice of Jamiat Ulama leadership
of that time and it was agreed that some objectionable portions
and couplets of this poem will be removed and after that there is
no harm in singing it. It was stated in the joint statement that the
signatories are convinced that neither the singing of Vande
Mataram proves the loyalty towards the country nor it will weaken
any body's religious beliefs. In this statement Hindutva forces also
have been strongly taken to task who mischievously insist that
singing of this song is proof of one's loyalty towards the country.
JUH's resolution on a separate educational system in line with
shariat for Muslim girls is also criticised in this statement. It will not
only lead to their isolation from the mainstream on national educa-
tion but will also keep them confined to a secluded atmosphere.
JUH is also criticised on its stand against women's reservation bill
which is a step for keeping Muslim women backward. Similarly,
JUH's resolution asking Muslim youths to keep away from the
existing government and private educational institutions. The joint
statement says that this advice is a well-planned scheme of keep-
ing them away from the country's national stream and this is what
Hindutva forces also want i.e. to keep Muslim youths away from
national stream.
As regards Central Madrasa Board and the stand of Jamiat and
many other Muslim organisations and individuals against it, the
joint statement supports government's proposed step on this
Board, saying that already Madrasa Boards are working in 9
states of the country and that with the establishment of this Board,
Madrasa students will be able to acquire higher and modern edu-
cation to make their future bright. Among the signatories of this
joint statement are Jamia's former VC, Shahid Mehdi, Historian
Prof Irfan Habib, Shabnam Hashmi, film personalities
Naseeruddin Shah, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Jamia Millia's
Rakhshanda Jalil, Hanif Lakdawala, Qurban Ali and so on and so
forth. (NA Ansari)
Renaissance _ a gift of Arabic scholars
Srinagar: Kashmir University's Vice Chancellor, Prof Reyaz
Punjabi, while speaking at a seminar on Arabic Language and
Literature sponsored by the University's Department of Arabic,
said that when Europe was in the Dark Ages, its people began to
learn Arabic language in order to protect and preserve the treas-
ure of their sciences, learning and knowledge. It was because of
the untiring efforts and hard work of Arabic scholars that
Renaissance movement could be made possible in Europe. He
said that European scholars and researchers greatly benefited
from Arabic and Islamic studies and knowledge and promoted
their own science and learning though in this process they distort-
ed the views of many Islamic scholars. He called upon Arabic stu-
dents, researchers and scholars attending the seminar to remove
the misconceptions of Europeans about Islam and Islamic teach-
ings and present the facts in true spirit. He also said that Kashmir
has done a lot for promoting Arabic language and literature.
Gujarat Women's wing of JIH presses for women's rights
Ahmedabad: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (Women's Wing), Gujarat,
organized a statewide women's campaign “Aapnu Abhiyan, Nari
Sanman” (The March Towards Dignity) here at the end of
November. During the week-long campaign, public meetings,
symposiums and rallies were organized at different places in the
state including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Vijapur, Junagadh,
Modasa, Bhuj, Patan, Dhori, Himmatnagar, Lamadia, Idar Dasaj,
Panvad, Chhotaudepur and Vapi. The state-level programme held
by the women's wing for the first time in the state focused on
restoring women's right and their status in the society which
according to JIH women activists had suffered adversely owing to
various factors in the society. Thje programme concluded with a
state level symposium at Ahmedabad Town Hall on 29 November
which was attended by women experts from different walks of life.
Speaking on the occasion, Atiya Siddiqa, all India in-charge of JIH
(Women's Wing), said that despite great advancement in the field
of science and technology, exploitation of women was continuing
ceaselessly. This was not restricted to non-Muslim societies but in
the Muslim society as well, though a degree lesser than other soci-
eties. This happened because of lack of fear of Allah among peo-
ple and the only solution to end the atrocities against women was
to promote the fear of God. Vice-principal of RJ Treberwal
Commerce College at Ahmedabad Mehrunnisa Desai said that
empowerment of women was possible only if the rights given in
religious laws or constitutional laws were given to them in real
sense of the word. “So far, laws are only on paper. These need to
be implemented. Women need to be given their economic, social
and political rights to make them strong and improve their position
in the society,” she said adding that wearing of scanty clothes by
women and baring their bodies in Miss World and Miss Universe
competitions did not amount to liberation of women but it reflected
the worst form of commercialization and exploitation of women. It
amounted to bringing down the dignity of women and their status
in the society. Director of Self-Employed Women's
Association(SEWA) Reema Nanavaty spoke on economic
empowerment of women and exemplified through the work being
done by her world renowned organization in making women eco-
nomically independent. Campaign convener Dr. Fatima Tanveer,
expressed concern over the declining women's population in India
and said that Gujarat was among the few states having lowest
female population. Giving statistics, she said that against nation-
al sex ratio of 933 females per 1000 males, it was 921 for 1000
males in Gujarat as per 2001 census. She said that this was due
to selective abortion of girl child and this was a very dangerous
trend.She appealed government and non-governmental organiza-
tions to come forward and create an awareness against declining
sex ratio. She also appealed the people, particularly parents to
give justice by giving their daughters their full share in their prop-
erty as per their personal or religious laws or as per provisions
contained in Indian Constitutional laws in societies where reli-
gious laws lack provisions for women's right to own property. She
said it will be of great help in economic empowerment of women.
JIH Ameer on Madrasa Board
New Delhi: Maulana Jalauddin Umri, Ameer of Jamaat-e Islami
Hind, raised serious concern over the establishment of central
madarsa board. Speaking in a press conference, he said that no
one ever intervened in functioning of madarsas even in the British
period. This kind of intervention started since 9/11 incident under
the leadership of imperialist USA. He said that every group and
all major madarsas are against this board like Nadwatul Ulama,
Mazahirul Uloom, Jamia Salfia and others. He said this kind of
boards will hamper the very objective of madarsas. Moreover, it
will lead to much serious intervention by the Indian government in
madarsas’ internal affairs. Responding to a question on Taliban,
he said that all news about Taliban comes through Indian and US
sources only. He added that any group which spreads terrorism is
against the basic teaching of Islam. He raised his concern over the
terrorist activities in India specially about the bomb blasts in
Malegaon, Goa, Ajmer and Hyderabad. He said that it is clear now
from these incidents that Hindu fascist organisations are involved
in such heinous crimes of terrorism. He concluded that terrorism
cannot be linked to any particular religion. On the issue of Muslim
personal law, he said that it must get more organised so that
masses should get rid of the complex judicial procedures even for
small matters. Moreover, he demanded immediate implementation
of Liberhan Commission, Sachar Committee and Ranganthan
Mishra Commission reports. He also emphasized that government
should focus on 96% of Muslim students who are not studying in
madarsas.
'Imam Bukhari's 40 Hadiths' released
Deoband: A book titled 'Imam Bukhari ki Chaalis Ahadees' com-
piled by Maulana Syed Hasan, translator and a former teacher of
Hadees at Darul Uloom, Deoband was released by Maulana
Naseem Akhtar Shah Qaisar at a function held here on 22
November. While releasing
the book Maulana Naseem
Akhtar said that the services
of Imam Bukhari do not need
any introduction because
after Qur'an, the Hadeeths
collected by Imam Bukhari
are extremely popular and
respected. There are many
Hadeeths but this book con-
tains these selected
Hadeeths and their transla-
tion. These have been
selected keeping in mind the
problems of modern times.
Some additions have also
been made in these
Hadeeths by Maulana
Khurshid Hasan Qasmi and
this book contains these
additions also. He said that in
these Hadeeths, remedies
and solutions of all our pres-
ent day problems, social,
moral and other ills have MAULANA HABIBURRAHMAN WITH THE SON OF BHAGAT SINGH’S BROTHER
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009 19
COMMUNITY NEWS
been given.
"Some powers didn't want Chattisinghpora investigated"
Srinagar: Former Jammu & Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah said on
22 November that some powers did not want the massacre of 34
Sikhs in Chattisinghpora in 2000 to be investigated. "I wanted the
judge probing the fake encounter in Brakpora to look into the
Chattisinghpora massacre too, but some powers did not want to
do it. Now that the central government is headed by a Sikh, the
Sikhs of J&K should mount pressure and get the case reinvesti-
gated by a retired supreme court judge," Farooq, who was the
chief minister of J&K from 1996-2002, said at a function here.
Unidentified gunmen descended on Chattisinghpora on March 20,
2000, and killed 34 Sikhs. Five days later, security forces branded
five men as "militants" and killed them in Pathribal. Abdullah
ordered the exhumation of those killed in Pathribal and their DNA
samples were sent to Hyderabad. It emerged that the samples
had been fudged. "They were held responsible for killing Sikhs.
Thanks to Allah, they were proved innocent." he said. The minis-
ter said he is writing a book which will have a chapter on this inci-
dent, "This should be opened after my death."
Delhi Urdu Academy's website soon
New Delhi: At present there are 17 Urdu Academies in India but
none of them has any website of its own, though academies of
English and many other Indian languages have their websites. In
order to remove this deficiency, Urdu Academy, Delhi will soon
start its website. According to Raghibuddin, of the Delhi Urdu
Academy, the website will be the first of its kind in the country. This
website will be of world standard and will contain facts about its
objectives, activities, future plans, publication of books and other
materials, rare books of Urdu literature, the Academy's magazine
Aiwan-e Urdu etc. The website will contain information about the
Urdu Academy, its historical background, names of all its chair-
men, vice chairmen, secretaries etc who have held offices right
from its inception, national and international seminars organised
so far by the Academy, mushairas, literary competitions of boy and
girl students, dramas, festivals, details of fellowship, awards,
financial help given to senior poets, authors etc, annual reports of
the Academy, photos of important functions and occasions etc
which are not available anywhere, addresses and brief write-up
etc of Delhi's men of letters, critics etc, in short almost every thing
pertaining to Academy's activities will be presented on its website.
Muslim family that sheltered Bhagat Singh's mother
Ludhiana: Sardar Abhay Singh Sandhu nephew of the great free-
dom fighter and martyr, Bhagat Singh, said here while talking to
media persons (see photograph below) that the sacrifices of the
families of founding Ulama of Majlis Ahrar-e Islam of Ludhiana are
unparalleled in the history of India's war of independence. He said
"this is the only family which has been continuously fighting
against the British from 1857 to 1947." He said that there are no
two views that the crusader of freedom, Raeesul Ahrar late
Maulana Habibur Rahman Ludhianvi, while following in the foot-
steps of his great grand father Shah Abdul Qadir Ludhianvi was in
the forefront of the fight against the British rule. Sardar Sandhu
said that he felt proud that 'our relationship with this family is very
old'. This family helped our family at a time when because of the
British, people had been keeping a distance from the family mem-
bers of Bhagat Singh. He said that Raeesul Ahrar late Maulana
Habibur Rahman Ludhianvi had secretly given shelter to his grand
mother (Bhagat Singh's mother) even at the risk of his own life. He
also said that Shaheed Bhagat Singh's brother, (late) Sardar
Kaltar Singhji greatly respected this family because of this reason.
He said that what is needed today is that all the heirs of the cru-
saders of freedom should once again get united and try to set up
a clean and honest political system in the country. Abhay Singh
said that Punjab's Shahi Imam Maulana Habibur Rahman Sani
Ludhianvi deserves congratulations for keeping the traditions of
his forefathers alive and he salutes the Shahi Imam who enabled
Muslims of Punjab to once again achieve a respectable and high
place in the field of politics. In reply to a question he smilingly said
that this Shahi Imam is the pride and glory not only of ours but of
the entire Punjab.
20 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009
COMMUNITY NEWS
Talk on position of Urdu across LoC
Jammu: Prof. Zafar Hussain Zafar, head of the Department of
Urdu at the Azad Jammu and Kashmir University at Ralalakote in
Pak-occupied Kashmir said that study of Urdu is compulsory in
PoK from 1st to 12th standard and that parents feel proud to
teach Urdu to their children. Prof. Zafar was delivering his guest
lecture at the Urdu Department of Jammu University. Urdu schol-
ar Prof. Sukhchain Singh presided. Prof. Zafar Hussain Zafar
said that Urdu enjoyed the same importance as other subjects
like physics, chemistry and mathematics. He said Urdu syllabus
of Punjab University is being followed in different colleges and
schools across LoC." "We all know that Urdu is an official lan-
guage in PoK and all the official works are being done in Urdu
language, even Court judgments are in Urdu. Professor Zafar
said that Professor Abdul Alem Sidiqui had translated the Persian
poetry of Allama Iqbal into Urdu. "For the promotion of Urdu lan-
guage there is a government board which is headed by Prof.
Fateh Mohammed Malik and Prof. Iftikhar Arif who are doing very
good job in this respect", Urdu is the only language which can fill
the gape and spread love and brotherhood between India and
Pakistan, he stressed. Therefore more and more delegations
comprising Urdu scholars should visit India and Pakistan to build
a strong relationship between two neighboring countries.
Professor Zafar applauded the endeavors of Jammu University
Vice Chancellor Prof Varun Sahni, who had started the series of
lectures in various faculties. He appreciated the Vice-Chancellor
for doing a good job in Jammu University for the promotion of
Urdu. "Before performing Haj at Mecca it was my wish to visit
Jammu and Kashmir and I am thankful to my Almighty and
Sushoba Brave who provided me a chance to visit Jammu and
Kashmir", Prof Zafar stated.
Urdu - language of freedom - seminar on problems, prospects
Faizabad: Urdu language had played an outstanding role in
India's freedom movement as it was through this medium that
the message of struggle agsinst the British colonisers spread
among the common man. This was staled by Ms. Tarannum
Aqeel, Vice-President of the Urdu Academy of UP. She was inau-
gurating a seminar on "Problems of Urdu Language and its
Solution," sponsored by the Urdu Academy. "Urdu remains the
sweetest language of the world", she added. The Seminar was
held at the Forbes Inter College here. Speaking about the
achievements of Urdu Academy, she said that the present gov-
ernment has doubled its grant for the Academy because of which
it has become possible to coaching schools, give pensions to
poets and writers and hold seminars in different cities for promo-
tion of the language. But it is a matter of great sorrow that
Urduwalas themselves are neither doing any thing for its promo-
tion nor deriving any advantage of the facilities being given by
Urdu Academy.
Dr Malikzada Manzoor Ahmad, former president of UP Urdu
Academy said in his presidential address that no government,
whether of Narain Dutt Tiwari or Mulayam Singh Yadav, has done
justice to Urdu and whenever we asked them for a meeting to
explain the difficulties being faced by Urdu or government's indif-
ference towards this language, none of them gave time to meet
us. He said that now Urdu has become like a dress which our
leaders wear at election times only but after that, keep it safely in
the box for 5 years. He said that till date the president of Urdu
Academy used to be an honorary employee with a salary of Rs
500 only whom the present government has upgraded by giving
the status of a state minister. Holding Urdu speaking people
responsible for the present deplorable condition of Urdu, he said
that if water and electricity are not available even for five minutes,
we take to streets but for the injustice that is being done to Urdu
for the past 60 years, we only complain about it sitting in our
homes. Syed Nizam Ashraf, chief guest, expressed his happiness
and satisfaction that this seminar was being held at Forbes Inter
College which is Faizabad's oldest educational institution where
Urdu is being taught as a compulsory subject. Urdu Press
Association's president, Manzar Mehdi thanked Ms Tarannum
Aqeel for honouring Faizabad by holding Urdu Academy's semi-
nar at Faizabad for the first time but complained that not only the
people of Lucknow have badly ignored Faizabad but great poets
and writers like Meer Anees, Pundit Brij Narain Chakbast, Aatash
and Naasekh who were born in Faizabad and started composing
poetry in Faizabad but all them shifted to Lucknow and began to
b e
ISSUES
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described as Lucknavis. Manzar Mehdi, an Urdu journalist and
short story writer, said that Faizabad has always been the cradle
of Urdu where lovers and promoters of Urdu like Ummat Zohra
(Bahu Begum), wife of Nawab Shujauddaula lived and who used
to give one gold coin as reward to any one who created a new
Urdu word. He also regretted that people of Faizabad city are rep-
resented neither in Urdu Academy nor in Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad
Committee. The matter needs serious consideration.
AMU reopens
Aligarh: The Aligarh Muslim University re-opened on 1 December
and the Faculty of Medicine, Unani Medicine, Engineering &
Technology, Management, Life Sciences, Bio-technology,
Agricultural Sciences and Class XII along with all the University
maintained schools from Nursery to Class X were started and the
majority of students have reported to assume classes.
The students were received by NSS volunteers at the Railway
Station and special conveyances were also provided to reach the
hostels. The Vice Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University
Prof. P. K. Abdul Azis directed all the provosts to open the dining
halls yesterday itself. The Vice Chancellor also directed building
department to provide electric connection fixing heaters and elec-
tric press. Classes for Faculty of Science, Commerce and Law
will commence from December 4, 2009 while the classes in the
Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences, Theology along with Class XI
and Diploma in Engineering will be starting from December 8,
2009.
Global 'Tablighi Ijtema' concludes in Bhopal
Bhopal: The three-day-long international congregation of
Muslims known as "Aalami Tablighi Ijtema" on the outskirts of
Bhopal at Eintkhedi village in the central Indian state of Madhya
Pradesh from November 18 to 20 concluded with the offering of
"Dua" (Akheri Munajat) seeking divine blessings for peace,
progress and prosperity of Muslim Ummah together with the
entire mankind. The thronging of devotees to the 59th session of
the "Ijtema" at the new site about 15 kms away from the histori-
cal Taj-ul-Masajid in Bhopal surpassed all previous records. Over
half a million people joined the concluding prayers of the "Ijtema"
this year, turning the site into a sea of humanity. People took part
in "Dua" from nearby homes, on the roof tops of houses and
buildings, sitting on roadsides or shops or on trees. Apart from
groups (jamaats) from all over India, delegations from 58 foreign
countries, viz. Iran, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi
Arabia, South Africa, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Canada, USA, England, Russia,
Kazakhstan, Turkey etc. participated in the "Ijtema". Hazrat
Maulana Sa'ad, advisory committee member of the "Tablighi
Jamaat" headquarters at Hazrat Nizamuddin in New Delhi, con-
ducted the prayers in a mix of Arabic, Urdu and Hindi. In the
prayers divine blessings for peace, progress and unity of Muslim
Ummah and mankind at large were sought. Earlier, Maulana
Sa'ad in his sermon urged Muslims to lead an upright life in this
world so that they could be rewarded in the Hereafter. He
stressed them to become messenger of peace so that humanity
at large could benefit from them. After the Ijtema, over 200
"Jamaats" fanned out through the length and breadth of the coun-
try and abroad to sermonize their co-religionists who have gone
astray, to lead a life as ordained by Allah. They would be asked
to follow the five tenets of Islam in the true sense of the word.
They would work in the path of Allah for about one chilla (40 days)
to three chillas to persuade their Muslim brethren to strike a per-
fect balance between materialism and spirituality while leading
their lives. About 200 Nikahs were performed on the second day
after ‘Asr prayers. Maulana Sa'ad, who recited a single Khutba for
all the 200 nikahs, stressed upon the assemblage for simple mar-
riage ceremonies avoiding extravagance.
Madhya Pradesh Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had
visited the venue of the international congregation and met vari-
ous religious heads of the Muslim community on the second day
of the congregation. He also spoke to several people who had
come in "Jamaats" from various parts of India and abroad on the
occasion. Chouhan met Maulana Sa'ad, Maulana Sulaiman,
Maulana Ahmed Laat, Maulana Mustaqueem
etc. of "Tablighi Jamaat" headquarters. The
chairman of Madhya Pradesh Minorities
Commission Anwar Mohammed Khan, mem-
ber of "Ijtema" committee Sikander Hafiz
KCAB
BACK
Email: mg@milligazette.com
JIH AMIR MAULANA SYED JALALUDDIN UMARI SPEAKING AT THE PRESS CLUB
Khan and Agha Abdul Qayyum were also present on this occa-
sion. The BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh Government had sanc-
tioned a half-day holiday for Muslim employees working in gov-
ernment offices and institutions located in Bhopal to enable them
to participate in the "Dua" on the conclusion of "Aalami Tablighi
Ijtema" on November 20 in the forenoon. It may be mentioned
here that the "Ijtema" at Ghasipura was first organized at Masjid
Shakur Khan in the walled city of Bhopal in 1948. Later, with
increase in the number of devotees, the venue was shifted to one
of the largest mosques in Asia, Taj-ul-Masajid. However, with pas-
sage of time, the devotees taking part in the Ijtema grew in num-
bers and eventually the venue has been shifted to the outskirts of
Bhopal at Ghasipura in Eintkhedi village. (Abridged from report
by Pervez Bari-TCN)
Delhi mulls Islamic banking
New Delhi: The government is considering changing banking law
to introduce an interest-free Islamic banking system in the coun-
try, sources said. The Shariat prohibits the collection and pay-
ment of interest, so many Muslims now avoid opening bank
accounts or refuse to claim the interest which goes to a suspend-
ed account and benefits the banks. Under the Islamic banking
system, banks don't pay interests on deposits; nor do they charge
interest on loans. The money deposited is used to finance proj-
ects on ownership and profit-loss sharing bases. The depositors
share the profit or loss of the projects financed through their
deposits instead of getting fixed interest. For instance, in case of
a housing loan, the bank buys a property and rents it out to the
borrower for a specified period of time. The rent is calculated on
the basis of the cost of the property plus a profit margin. After the
lease term is over, the tenant gets ownership of the property.
Under the existing banking system, only current accounts comply
with Islamic banking since these accounts don’t give any interest.
An Islamic bank, however, cannot invest the money just any-
where: the Shariat prohibits investment in businesses considered
haram, such as those related to alcohol, pork, pornography or
gambling. An Islamic banking system will benefit India's 160 mil-
lion Muslims, and also the economy by helping unlock huge sums
that remain uninvested by the community. Islamic banking is cur-
rently not allowed under India's existing banking laws, but it is
allowed through the non-banking financial institution route. The
Centre plans to amend the act, adding to it a chapter exclusively
dealing with all aspects of Islamic banking, sources said. It's not
clear if the amendment bill would be tabled in the current session
of Parliament. Sources said the government would form a Shariat
Supervisory Board to monitor the functioning of the Islamic bank-
ing system (Mohammad Muddassirul Haque - RINA)
JIH’s “Save the Nation from Slavery & Poverty” campaign
New Delhi: Jamaat-e Islami Hind launching a nationwide cam-
paign against capitalist imperialism under the banner “Save the
country from Slavery and Poverty” from 11 to 20 December
through a press conference in Delhi on 10 December. The cam-
paign will unveil the perils of capitalist imperialism and related
policies in India and will present an alternative from an Islamic
perspective. The Jamaat is of the view that the current policies of
the central and state governments have led to a crisis situation of
neo-slavery which has adversely affected the day-to-day life of
common people. India has been moving away from its basic val-
ues of justice, freedom, equity, compassion and non-aligned for-
eign policy. The impact of post globalisation neo-liberal capitalist
era has severely affected the aam aadmi of the country, reducing
him to an exploited being. The Jamaat finds that in the capitalist
system money is the focus and human beings and the ethical val-
ues are ignored. It creates wealth but ignores just distribution.
Lopsided developmental policies, speculative ventures, wanton
consumerism, cultural devastation, environmental crisis, imperi-
alist military invasions, economic crisis are the necessary conse-
quences of the capitalist order.
The campaign began at New Delhi with a press conference at
Delhi Press Club on 10 December (see photograph below) and a
conference on the next day. Seminars, symposia, rallies, cultural
programmes, competitions, documentary shows, TV programs,
exhibitions, family meetings and other activities will be conducted
in cities, towns and villages across the country and the conclud-
ing programme will be held at Bangalore on 20 December.
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Liberhan a timely dose for sinking BJP
New Delhi: Liberhan spent 10 crore rupees over 17 years to com-
plete a report which weighs approximately 2/3 kilograms of rough
paper amounting to 12/13 rupees. Some even think that the
paper could have been used productively to teach children alpha-
bets. Some are of the view that it should be thrown in the dust-
bin, while others think that it is only worth to be kept in archives,
museums and libraries. Do we need such a long time and huge
amount to prepare a report like this? It may be a complete waste
for some, but for the sinking BJP the report has emerged as a
uniting tool - what they needed badly at this critical juncture after
two defeats in a row at the hustings.
Advani who was awaiting a lukewarm farewell, is once again spir-
ited and finding himself stronger in the midst of BJP leaders who
were indulging in open tirade against him. When the report was
leaked to a newspaper, it provided an opportunity to Advani to
force all BJP leaders to rally behind him. Not only this, he has
mustered courage to choose leaders like Sushma and Jaitely to
put the BJP’s viewpoint on the Babri report in Parliament.
Surprisingly there has been no such kind of statements from RSS
chief Mohan Bhagwat as to who would either open the debate or
who would carry it forward. Bhagwat for the moment is lying low
for he has understood the present spirit of the Advani in particu-
lar and BJP in general. These days Advani is being obeyed again
by his partymen and it is likely to remain so till this issue is on the
centre stage. If any thing goes in his favour from BJP point of
view then most likely it is that he may be made the Chairman of
the NDA in the near future or quit politics altogether though reluc-
tantly. The outcome of Liberhan has given BJP some political
mileage but it may provide only seasonal hope for its leaders.
BJP along with Sangh and all other affiliates will try all opportuni-
ties to re-spark the Ayodhya movement.
Liberhan report does not hold any of them responsible for the
destruction of the Babri structure, which has lost its significance
even in theoretical perspective. All together 68 of them have
been indicted, but without any legal binding and that is why these
people are now thumping their chest even louder than before.
Uma Bharati and Kalyan Singh now blatantly own responsibility
of the demolition of the structure, without any repentance, sorrow
or regret. Uma Bharati has very recently said in an interview that
"Definitely I take the moral responsibility for whatever happened
on 6 December, because I also gave a call to people to come
there and gather there. But legally I will fight against it because I
don't hold myself responsible for the destruction of the Mosque".
She added that she was proud to be a part of the Ram
Janmbhhomi movement. Kalyan Singh on his part is making a
noisy effort to hold his head high by saying that he himself had
said not to fire at the karsewaks at the time of the demolition. He
has completely owned responsibility and has categorically made
a point that he has no remorse, no sorrow and no repentance. He
is doing so to make inroads into the BJP fold with the help of
RSS.
The Congress also wants to score some points in Uttar
Pradesh by targeting the affiliation of Kalyan Singh with the
Samajwadi party to allure Muslim vote. Though the very idea may
not help the Congress as Muslims by and large are not at all con-
vinced by the Liberhan report. Through his artificial quarrel with
BJP leaders in the Rajya Sabha, Amar Singh was trying the same
trick while Mulayam Singh recently said that if BJP forgets the
Mandir Masjid issue, there is a possibility that the Samajwadi
party may consider to tie up with it in Uttar Pradesh. In other
words, all political parties are hoping to take some political
advantage out of anything that spills out of the Liberhan
Commission Report. (Mohammad Naushad Khan)
Encounter cops to face legal action
Mumbai: Ten officials of the Mumbai police, who were allegedly
involved in the custodial death of POTA detainee Sayed Khwaja
Yunus, may soon face legal action. The Bombay high court gave
a final chance to the Maharashtra government to re-consider
granting sanction to prosecute the 10 police officers, of the 14
named in the case. Four of them have already had charge
sheets filed against them. "Do you (government) want to recon-
sider it or should the court decide?" questioned Justice JN Patel.
The division bench of Justice Patel and Justice Amjad Sayed has
now directed the state to reconsider the sanction. "The govern-
ment is only prosecuting the small fish. The main accused are not
being prosecuted at all," argued Mihir Desai, counsel for Yunus'
mother, Asiya Begum.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Aasiya Begum seek-
ing compensation from the state government. Aasiya had
alleged that the only bread earner of the family was killed by
police officers after booking him on a false charge. The state gov-
ernment had in January, 2008 accepted in the HC that Yunus
died in police custody and has also agreed to pay compensation
of Rs 5 lakh. Yunus, who went missing from the custody of the
Vikhroli police on January 3, 2003 under mysterious circum-
stances, was arrested in December 2002 for his alleged involve-
ment in the BEST bus bomb blast in Ghatkopar on December 2,
2002. However, police claimed that he had absconded while
being taken to Aurangabad for investigation when their jeep met
with an accident near Parner in Ahmednagar.However, one of the
co-accused in the Ghatkopar bomb blast case, Dr Abdul Mateen,
alleged that Yunus was tortured in police custody which led to his
death and that the police had staged his escape to cover up his
death. Mateen was lodged in a cell next to Yunus at the
Ghatkopar police station where they were interrogated. The HC
later handed over the investigation to the state CID, which sought
prosecution of 14 officers. However, in February the government
had informed the court that it was granting sanction to prosecute
only police sub inspector Sachin Waze and three constables for
their role in killing Yunus. Nine accused, including Dr Mateen,
were acquitted by a Special POTA court in 2006 due to lack of
evidence.
Shia Board wants Urdu Vande Mataram
Lucknow: All India Shia Personal Law Board President Maulana
Mirza Muhammad Athar has in a fax requested President
Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for an
authenticated and officially approved Urdu translation of Vande
Mataram so that the confused community may arrive at a deci-
sion. He said in his request that the conflict over singing of Vande
Mataram is posing a threat to nation's unity, saying that it had
given an opportunity to certain forces to indulge in the politics of
hatred and tarnish the image of Muslims by labelling them unpa-
triotic. He also requested the government to circulate authentic
translated version of the song to minority institutions.
Rs 70 crores increase in Azad Corporation's budget
Mumbai: Maharashtra government has issued orders for an
increase of Rs 70 crores in the annual budget of Maulana Azad
Financial Corporation which grants loans to members of minority
communities, particularly Muslims, on easy terms. According to
the state's Minister for Minorities Affairs, Muhammad Arif Naseem
Khan, last year the budget of this Corporation was Rs 100 crores
but with this increase, its annual budget has now become Rs 170
crores. Among the beneficiaries will be unemployed youths in
larger number. With increased budget many new schemes can
be introduced for the benefit of youths belonging to minority com-
munities. Corporation's chairman and MLA, Ameen Patel said
that with increased budget, many youngmen will be able to take
advantage of Corporation's different schems.
Plan to build 10, 000 homes for riot-affected
New Delhi: Rehab India Foundation, Delhi has finalised its plan
of building ten thousand houses for the riot affected and uproot-
ed people of Assam, mostly Muslims, near Barpeta in New
Bongaigaon. In the initial stages building work had started on a
20 bigha land whose foundation stone was laid by E. Abu Backer,
Chairman of Maulana Muhammad Wali Rahmani Foundation in
the presence of Maulana Ataur Rahman and Abdul Hai Nagori
(MLAs), Hafiz Abdur Rahid, Abdus Samad (advocates), local offi-
cials and general public. Chairman Abu Backer speaking on this
occasion said that the Foundation aimed at building ten thousand
houses for poor and riots affected people. Maulana Wali
Rahmani said that service to needy people has great value in
Islam and fulfilling the needs of such people is in the very nature
of Islam.
Attempt to kill daughter-in-law by in-laws
Darbhanga: An attempt was made to kill Parveen alias Tabassum,
wife of Habibur Rahman, S/o Anisur Rahman by her in-laws in
Balia Gaon of Darbhanga district by compelling her to drink acid.
They also tried to strangle her with a rope. Her father Muhammad
Jahangir of Thana Waris Nagar of Samastipur district (Bihar)
rushed to his daughter's place along with some of his relatives
and found her virtually a prisoner. Her husband was also alleged-
ly involved in this inhuman act. A police complaint was lodged by
her father. The police reached the scene and got her admitted in
a local hospital. Her condition was reported to be serious.
Petition on appointment of Urdu teachers in schools
New Delhi: A petition was filed in Delhi High Court against the
appointment of very limited number of Urdu teachers in Delhi
schools and that too on contract basis. The petition was filed by
lawyer Mushtaq Ahmad on behalf of Shiksha Seva Samiti, Gupta
Education Society and some other socities with the request that
appointment of Urdu teachers may be made like that of other
teachers, that all vacancies of Urdu teachers must be filled up
and Urdu schools which have been closed down should be
RAHUL GANDHI SPEAKING TO AMU STUDENTS AT KENNEDY HALL ON 7 DECEMBER
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009 21
COMMUNITY NEWS
reopened and teachers be appointed there. In this petition court
was also requested to direct the government to instruct all
schools to maintain an Advance Register so that Urdu could be
opted as a subject. In the same petition request was also made
to provide books of all subjects in Urdu medium. On the petition
filed earlier, the High Court bench of Chief Justice A. P. Shah and
Justice Manmohan had sought an answer from Delhi government
as to why the appointment of Urdu teachers is not being made
like other teachers. Delhi Municipal Corporation in its affidavit
had stated that it will soon bring out advertisements for the
recruitment and appointment of Urdu teachers as per rules.
Earlier, NDMC in its affidavit before the court had stated when it
had tried to appoint 56 Urdu teacahers through State
Subordinate Commission by advertising for appointment of Urdu
teachers, temporary Urdu teachers of different schools sent by
Urdu Academy had obtained a stay from the High Court against
their (new teachers) appointment on the ground that since they
are already teaching Urdu on temporary basis, their appoint-
ments should be made permanent before appointing new Urdu
teachers. After hearing all the arguments of lawyers and cross
examination by lawyers, the High Court bench reserved its ver-
dict.
Rahul Gandhi in AMU
Aligarh: "Democracy has been flourishing in the country but no
political party pays heed to the concept of internal democracy"
and "frequent nomination to the important posts instead of dem-
ocratic election is the testament of the fact", said Rahul Gandhi,
MP and General Secretary of the Congress while interacting with
the students at Aligarh Muslim University on 7 December (photo-
graph below). Non-democratic structure of the political parties
has prevented common man from joining the politics and it has to
be changed, he added. "The destiny of the country is shaped by
the youth hence they must fully participate in the political system
of the country. Nobody knows how to enter politics as there is no
well-defined procedure and path into politics has to be clear and
transparent", Rahul Gandhi added.
Rahul Gandhi said no criminal and fundamentalist must be
given opportunity in political parties. Describing AMU as the
invaluable intellectual treasure of the country, Mr. Gandhi urged
the students not to be carried away by any consideration other
than the merit. The example of Dr. Manmohan Singh bears an
eloquent testimony to the fact, he added.
Earlier, welcoming Mr. Rahul Gandhi, Professor P. K. Abdul
Azis said that the Muslim community and the Aligarh Muslim
University are extremely indebted to Pandit Nehru for the unstint-
ed support that he had given to reposition it after India became
independent. The Aligarh Muslim University still needs special
patronage. The University has a Muslim Character right from its
inception but it is truly secular. The recent order from the
Allahabad High Court has taken away the Minority Character of
the University. An appeal for restoration of the Minority Character
of the University is pending with the Supreme Court. Professor
Azis urged Mr. Gandhi to take up the issue of the Minority
Character of AMU with the Prime Minister of India and get the
Minority Character of AMU restored unequivocally by an amend-
ment to AMU Act of 1981 by the Indian Parliament.
The University has submitted a rupees two thousand crores
proposal for establishing five centers across the country and for
this massive expansion the Government of India should come
forward with clear cut and time bound affirmative programmes to
enable the Sachar Committee's recommendations to become
more meaningful, he concluded.
At the end of the interactive meet, Rahul Gandhi answered
various questions raised by the students of AMU relating to role
of youths in building new India, the issue of reservation for
Muslims in educational institutional, minority character for AMU
and implementation of Sachar Committee. Earlier, Mr. Rahul
Gandhi visited the mazar of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the legendary
founder of Aligarh Muslim University. Mr. Gandhi also visited the
AMU Staff Club and interacted with the University teachers.
22 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009
COMMUNITY NEWS
Excesses on Muslims: 1500 complaints
New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Minorities Affairs Salman Khurshid said in Lok Sabha
in reply to a question that during the year 2008-09 as many as 1474 complaints of cruelties
and excesses against Muslims were received by National Commission for Minorities (NCM)
as against 1045 in the previous year i.e. 2007-08. Such complaints against Christians
received by NCM during the year 2008-09 were 183 as against 166 in 2007-08. He further
said that taking total number of such complaints against all minorities (Muslims, Christians,
Sikhs and others) received by NCM during 2008-09 were 2250 as against 1508 during
2007-08. As regards the increase of such complaints of cruelty and excesses from the point
of view of percentage, it was maximum in the case of Sikhs, seeing that whereas the num-
ber of such complaints against them was 151 in 2007-08, this number increased to 413 in
2008-09 i.e. slightly less than 3 times or almost 273 percent.
Goonda Act on 9-year old in Azamgarh
Lucknow: A 9-year old boy of a village in Azamgarh district was held under Goonda Act and
his report was sent to high officials. Subsequently, when the case was processed, it was
found that the 'culprit' was a 9-year old minor child after which the higher police officer sus-
pended the Thana in-charge of Tarwa, the village to which the child belonged. Prem Pal, the
Thana in-charge of Tarwa, had described the child as 20-years old and got him arrested
under Goonda Act. When the Suprintendant of Police got the case further investigated by
the circle officer, he came to know that the accused person was in fact a 9-years old child,
Suraj Yadav of Abbaspur. Prem Pal, the Thana in-charge, is now under suspension.
Ten Al Ummah men acquitted in bomb case
Coimbatore: The Special Court for bomb blast cases acquitted 10 Al Ummah men in a case
of planting explosive devices in Classic Tower Apartments near Coimbatore Medical College
Hospital on 1 December 1997. After the murder of a traffic constable at Ukkadam on 29
November 1997, a communal riot had erupted on 30 November and 1 December in which
18 members of the minority community were lynched. A security person alerted the police
when he found an abandoned bag of explosives in the car parking area of the building. The
special investigaton team of CID (crime branch) which investigated the case acquitted ten
suspects arrested.
Two LeT accused acquitted
New Delhi: Two persons, Gulzar Ahmad Ganai and Muhammad Ameen Hajjam, arrested by
Delhi police in December 2006 and accused of being members of Lashkar-e Taiyyaba and
possessing explosives for carrying out terrorist activities in Delhi were acquitted by a Delhi
Court's session judge Dharmesh Sharma who absolved them of police charge under the
Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities Act of Indian Penal Code. They were
arrested 3 years ago following a secret message by Delhi Police's Special Cell's Inspector
S.C. Sharma who died in Batla House encounter. Police, as in most cases, had falsely
claimed to have recovered from them 1.5 kg of explosives and Rs 6 lakh hawala money,
could not prove their charge in the court. The court rejected police claim that those two men
who belonged to Jammu & Kashmir were LeT members and acquitted both of them.
Demand for enquiry into Karkare's mysterious death
New Delhi: President of All India United Muslim Morcha and MP, Dr M. Ejaz Ali said here
that home minister P. Chidambaram should not have the misunderstanding that because of
his efforts, cases of terrorism in the country have come down. He said that the credit for this
should be given to Hemant Karkare who exposed the real culprits of Malegaon bomb blast
and also who were behind the acts of terrorism in the country. He said that if the central gov-
ernment sincerely wanted to keep the country safe against terrorism, it should get the
Mumbai terrorist attacks honesty investigated by a judicial committee. During the investiga-
tions of Malegaon bomb blast the facts revealed by late Hemant Karkare should be serious-
ly examined by government which should go deep in these cases, Dr. Ejaz Ali said and
added that whatever Col. Purohit had confessed in his narco test needs to be seriously con-
sidered. "The need for investigating the truth on the conspiracies pointed out by S.M.
Mushrif, former IG of Police, Maharashtra, must be seriously considered," he said. Dr Ejaz
Ali also submitted a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 3 December requesting
him for an enquiry into the death of Hemant Karkare and his two colleagues, Vijay Salskar
and Ashok Kamte by a 5-judge committee of existing Supreme Court judges headed by
Chief Justice of India because people still have doubts about Karkare and his colleagues
death under mysterious circumstances.
Book on 500 “great personalities” of the Islamic world
Dhaka: Georgetown University's Prince Al Waheed bin Talal Centre has brought out a book
on 500 great Muslim personalities of the world. The Centre is working under a special proj-
ect for promoting relationship between Muslims and Christians. In this list of great Muslims
of the world the name of Saudi Arabia's ruler Shah Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud is at the
top. The second
name in this list is
that of Iran's late
spiritual leader
Ayatullah Syed
Khomeini. This list
has been compiled
by taking into
account the role they
played in bringing
about and creating
political, social, reli-
gious and welfare
activities.
MG comment: The
list is a masterpe-
ice of Arab official
backscratching in
which Arab nonen-
tities find mention
while non-Arabs,
especially those liv-
ing outside the hol-
lowed borders of
the west have been
ignored. The com-
pilers have failed to
offer any scheme
or criterion for
their selection.

PUCL demolishes
U.P. police terrorist stories
HAIDER ABBAS
Lucknow: To objectively process the 'official claim' of
police, particularly in the context of the arrests per-
taining to 'terrorist activities' does need a lot of home
work. And, surely, that was done, in the latest report,
released recently by Peoples Union for Civil Liberties
(PUCL) in the state capital of Uttar Pradesh –
Lucknow.
The incident takes back to the day, of June 22-23,
2007 when Jalal-ud-Din alias Babu Bhai, along with
Ali Akbar Husain, Aziz-ur-Rehman and Shiekh
Mukhtar were arrested at Charbagh railway station,
Lucknow, while they were allegedly to carry out a ter-
rorist act. "Babu Bhai is said to have made 'the three'
wait for him and had left. The next morning, 'the three'
came out of railway station for tea and found the news
of arrest of Babu Bhai being flashed on news chan-
nels and newspapers. This made them panicky and
they boarded a jeep for Rae Bareli to the south of city,
and reached Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute
(SGPGI), where they dug out a ditch adjacent to the
rear wall of a broken (kutiya) room and dumped their
detonators and bombs into it. "This is a script straight
from a third rated spy movie," informs Rajiv Yadav,
one of the team members who prepared the report.
" The truth got unveiled when it came to light that
Aziz-ur-Rehman was caught on June 22, 2007,
allegedly for dacoity, by Tiljala, Kolkata (West Bengal)
police and was produced before Alipur court, West
Bengal, where he was ordered for a 'police remand'
until June 26, 2007. Now the big question is that
when he was himself in police custody, then how
come he could travel around 1000 kms, on the same
day, and appear in Lucknow. Kolkta and Lucknow are
not at a walking distance," said Yadav.
The PUCL report later says that with this new
turn in the story, UP Special Task Force (STF) is in a
tizzy and which is likely to embarrass it more. UP
Additional Director General of Police Brij Lal has
refused to comment on it because of the 'matter
being in court'. "The irresponsible and criminal role of
STF has made 'fake-arrests' almost become its norm.
The STF seems to have been given a free hand,
which to a greater extent is unlawful. The overriding
powers given to STF, have made it all the more non-
committed towards law enforcement. Like profession-
al criminals they (STF) are implicating people in fake
cases or in fake encounters," pointed Rajiv.
PUCL report questions 'the source' from which
the STF got the highly inflammable-material, and that
too, in such a great quantity! "Because, Aziz-ur-
Rehman is not just the first case. As one Aftab Alam
Ansari, who was called as 'Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
area commander and the chief architect of blasts in
courts' (Lucknow, Varanasi and Allahabad) by police,
was claimed to have possessed 150 quintals of RDX
at the time of his arrest. But, only 22 days later he
was released, as a case of 'mistaken-identity. Doesn't
it then leave us to question the veracity of the claim
(of police) about the huge cache of RDX and also to
know as to which 'government agency' or the 'terror-
ist organisation' had actually made the RDX available
to the police!" he remarked.
'Actually, these concocted stories have been
cooked up by the Police as part of its campaign,
which it has also referred, in a separate charge-
sheet, in a separate case about Nasir Husain. Nasir
was initially picked up by UPSTF from Rishikesh, in
western UP on June 19, 2007, and this was duly
reported in various local newspapers, including
Dainik Jagran — the largest circulated Hindi daily on
June 21, 2007, that Nasir was a Lashkar-e-Taiyyba
operative and was involved in the Mumbai bomb
blasts, but UPSTF produced him before media, in
Lucknow on June 21, 2007, claiming him to have
been caught in Lucknow on the same day. When the
obvious hoax was pointed out by media personnel at
the press conference, the result, quite understand-
ably, was an utter bafflement! Police hurriedly
removed him from the venue,' claims the PUCL
report. Today Nasir is in UP Bareily jail. His case is
being pursued in Lucknow by Ahsaan Abbas,
Advocate. Hamid Husain, his father has written to
National Human Rights Commission, New Delhi for a
probe. NHRC is yet to answer him.
PUCL report further says that 'arrests on behalf
of links' with HUJI had actually begun from June 21,
2007 when Nasir from Naka and Yaqoob from
Husainganj (both from Lucknow) were arrested. Rajiv
would then take a cue on Yaqoob case. He informs
that Yaqoob case is almost similar to that of Nasir.
"Yaqoob's wife is Shama and she has informed PUCL
that she was extremely worried as Yaqoob, while on
his way from his Tarapur village (in district Bijnaur of
western UP) to Nagina had gone missing, since June
9, 2007 from 2 pm onwards. He had gone to bring
medicine for his daughter. Shama had come to know
about her husband's arrest, on June 22, 2007,
through newspapers, and also that Yaqoob had by
then become a terrorist." Yaqoob is also in the same
UP Bareily jail.
According to police, Yaqoob and Nasir, during
their interrogation, informed that Jalal-ud-Din alias
Babu bhai along with Naushad were planning to
organise a major terrorist activity in Lucknow. Police
had also got a tip-off the same from an informer too
on the basis of which the police combed the
Aminabad area, a bristling place in Lucknow, and that
finally, at 2:40 am, after a small scuffle, Jalal-ud- din
and Naushad were caught with AK-47 rifles, a pistol
along with explosives in a great quantity. The PUCL
report exposes it as a blatent lie.
The Police story then takes a yet another inter-
esting turn. Immediately after their arrest, the duo
had confessed about two Bangladeshis, who had
also come, on a rickshaw, following them and that
they do not know their names but that Aziz-ur-
Rehman knows them well. This is due to the fact that
both of them had been trained by Aziz-ur-Rehman
and while under the training no one gets to know
each other’s name "Then how come they was nam-
ing Aziz-ur-Rehman? And, when Jalal-ud-Din was
portrayed as a hardened HUJI mastermind how come
he had started parroting, the police script, that too
with so ease?" questioned Rajiv.
Rajiv also dismissed the police claims about
Aziz-ur-Rehman having provided the RDX. "It seems
RDX is readily available in any departmental store,"
Rajiv sneered.
PUCL later elaborated on the whole confession
of Aziz-ur-Rehman. RN Singh, the Deputy superin-
tendent of Police, has informed that after the arrest of
Jalal-ud-din, Aziz-ur-Rehman and his associates
dumped their ammunition and were caught in Kolkata
and they were brought to Lucknow by the Lucknow
police. "It is pretty clear that Aziz- ur-Rehman was
forced to confess this. Moreover, the way police says
that he was caught in Kolkata clearly shows that
police wants to shy away from the fact that Aziz-ur-
Rehman was in fact already in jail in Alipur, West
Bengal. Police had readily feigned ignorance as it
would have automatically demolished its theory!
"How come a man who is under police custody and
inside jail in Kolkata can reach Lucknow on the same
day! This pertinent question begs for an answer now."
Why was he altogether brought to Lucknow from
Kolkata jail? "The reason is simple. STF and other
police agencies would see that no lawyer is available to
the accused in Lucknow, hence, the conviction would
become an easy sport," contests Muhammed Shoiab
Advocate, who is fighting the case of Aziz-ur-Rehman.
UPSTF had taken over Aziz-ur-Rehman's cus-
tody on 26 June, 2007 and had brought him to
Lucknow and then put him to jail. He was later taken
to the site and STF thereafter recovered the dumped
ammunition on 11 July, 2007. "My plea is that when
Aziz-ur-Rehman was in police custody from 22- 26
June, 2007, then how come, he landed in Lucknow
on 22 June, dumped his ammunition on 23 June and
then left for Kolkata!" pointed Shoiab. Those days the
state government was also trying to mobilise public
opinion to pass UP Control of Organised Crime Act
(UPCOCA) and which could not be passed through
the assembly.
Aziz-ur-Rehman is actually a resident of 24
Pargana district in West Bengal and is a small brick
kiln labourer. He is the sole bread earner of his fami-
ly. His wife Arifa is distraught and his family is now
broken. His mother Safura Bibi now pins all of her
hopes on judiciary.
Rajiv has also spoken about how the whole
police apparatus has been given a "holier than thou"
status. "It should be seen that if the charge-sheet of
police has turned out to be fake, then the government
should also try the concerned police officers, and
also, those police officials who stood as witness in
such fake cases, should also be charged. Moreover,
the Criminal Procedural Code Section 197 should
also be scrapped as it warrantees a permission from
the state for any proceedings to be initiated against
any state employee. This can be nothing more than
giving a license to the trigger-happy police force and
a slap on the basic human rights of an individual, that
too, in what we call as a citadel of democracy!"
demanded Rajiv.


Obama -- Israel’s Puppet
PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
It didn't take the Israel Lobby very long to
bring President Obama to heel regarding his
prohibition against further illegal Israeli settle-
ments on occupied Palestinian land. Obama
discovered that a mere American president is
powerless when confronted by the Israel Lobby
and that the United States simply is not allowed
a Middle East policy separate from Israel's.
Obama also found out that he cannot
change anything else either, if he ever intended
to do so.
The military/security lobby has war and a
domestic police state on its agenda, and a mere
American president can't do anything about it.
President Obama can order the
Guantanamo torture chamber closed and kid-
napping and rendition and torture to be halted,
but no one carries out the order.
Essentially, Obama is irrelevant. President
Obama can promise that he is going to bring the
troops home, and the military lobby says, "No,
you are going to send them to Afghanistan, and
in the meantime start a war in Pakistan and
maneuver Iran into a position that will provide an
excuse for a war there, too. Wars are too prof-
itable for us to let you stop them."
And the mere president has to say, "Yes,
Sir!"
Obama can promise health care to 50 mil-
lion uninsured Americans, but he can't override
the veto of the war lobby and the insurance
lobby. The war lobby says its war profits are
more important than health care and that the
country can't afford both the "war on terror" and
"socialized medicine."
The insurance lobby says health care has to
be provided by private health insurance; other-
wise, we can't afford it.
The war and insurance lobbies rattled their
campaign contribution pocketbooks and quickly
convinced Congress and the White House that
the real purpose of the health care bill is to save
money by cutting Medicare and Medicaid bene-
fits, thereby "getting entitlements under control."
"Entitlements" is a right-wing word used to
cast aspersion on the few things that the gov-
ernment did, in the distant past, for citizens.
Social Security and Medicare, for example, are
denigrated as "entitlements." The right wing
goes on endlessly about Social Security and
Medicare as if they were welfare give-aways to
shiftless people who refuse to look after them-
selves, whereas in actual fact citizens are vast-
ly overcharged for the meager benefits with a
15% tax on their wages and salaries.
Indeed, for decades now the federal gov-
ernment has been funding its wars and military
budgets with the surplus revenues collected by
the Social Security tax on labor.
To claim, as the right wing does, that we
can't afford the only thing in the entire budget
that has consistently produced a revenue sur-
plus indicates that the real agenda is to drive the
mere citizen into the ground.
The real entitlements are never mentioned.
The "defense" budget is an entitlement for the
military/security complex about which President
Eisenhower warned us 50 years ago. A person
has to be crazy to believe that the United States,
"the world's only superpower," protected by
oceans on its East and West and by puppet
states on its North and South, needs a
"defense" budget larger than the military spend-
ing of the rest of the world combined.
The military budget is nothing but an entitle-
ment for the military/security complex. To hide
this fact, the entitlement is disguised as protec-
tion against "enemies" and passed through the
Pentagon.
I say cut out the middleman and simply allo-
cate a percentage of the federal budget to the
military/security complex. This way we won't
have to concoct reasons for invading other
countries and go to war in order for the
military/security complex to get its entitlement. It
would be a lot cheaper just to give them the
money outright, and it would save a lot of lives
and grief at home and abroad.
The US invasion of Iraq had nothing what-
soever to do with American national interests. It
had to do with armaments profits and with elim-
inating an obstacle to Israeli territorial expan-
sion. The cost of the war, aside from the $3 tril-
lion, was over 4,000 dead Americans, over
30,000 wounded and maimed Americans, tens
of thousands of broken American marriages and
lost careers, one million dead Iraqis, four million
displaced Iraqis, and a destroyed country.
All of this was done for the profits of the mil-
itary/security complex and to make paranoid
Israel, armed with 200 nuclear weapons, feel
"secure."
My proposal would make the military/securi-
ty complex even wealthier as the companies
would get the money without having to produce
the weapons. Instead, all the money could go
for multi-million dollar bonuses and dividend
payouts to shareholders. No one, at home or
abroad, would have to be killed, and the taxpay-
er would be better off.
No American national interest is served by
the war in Afghanistan. As the former UK
Ambassador Craig Murray disclosed, the pur-
pose of the war is to protect Unocal's interest in
the Trans-Afghanistan pipeline. The cost of the
war is many times greater than Unocal's invest-
ment in the pipeline. The obvious solution is to
buy out Unocal and give the pipeline to the
Afghans as partial compensation for the
destruction we have inflicted on that country and
its population, and bring the troops home.
The reason my sensible solutions cannot be
effected is that the lobbies think that their entitle-
ments would not survive if they were made obvi-
ous. They think that if the American people
knew that the wars were being fought to enrich
the armaments and oil industries, the people
would put a halt to the wars.
In actual fact, the American people have no
say about what "their" government does. Polls
of the public show that half or more of the
American people do not support the wars in Iraq
or Afghanistan and do not support President
Obama's escalation of the war in Afghanistan.
Yet, the occupations and wars continue.
According to General Stanley McChrystal, the
additional 40,000 troops are enough to stale-
mate the war, that is, to keep it going forever, the
ideal situation for the armaments lobby.
The people want health care, but the gov-
ernment does not listen.
The people want jobs, but Wall Street wants
higher priced stocks and forces American firms
to offshore the jobs to countries where labor is
cheaper.
The American people have no effect on any-
thing. They can affect nothing. They have
become irrelevant like Obama. And they will
remain irrelevant as long as organized interest
groups can purchase the US government.
The inability of the American democracy to
produce any results that the voters want is a
demonstrated fact. The total unresponsiveness
of government to the people is conservatism's
contribution to American democracy. Some
years ago, there was an effort to put govern-
ment back into the hands of the people by con-
straining the ability of organized interest groups
to pour enormous amounts of money into politi-
The Milli Gazette,16-31 December 2009 23
INTERNATIONAL
has likened the US to an irresponsible, profli-
gate debtor.
Increasingly the rest of the world sees the
US as the sole source of all of its problems.
Germany has lost the chief of its armed forces
and its defense minister, because the US con-
vinced or pressured, by hook or crook, the
German government to violate its Constitution
and to send troops to fight for Unocal's interest
in Afghanistan. The Germans had pretended
that their troops were not really fighting, but
were engaged in a "peace-keeping operation."
This more or less worked until the Germans
called in an air strike that murdered 100 women
and children lined up for a fuel allotment.
The British are investigating their leading
criminal, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and
his deception of his own cabinet in order to do
Bush's bidding and provide some cover for
Bush's illegal invasion of Iraq. The UK investiga-
tors have been denied the ability to bring crimi-
nal charges, but the issue of war based entirely
on orchestrated deception and lies is getting a
hearing. It will reverberate throughout the world,
and the world will note that there is no corre-
sponding investigation in the US, the country
that originated the False War.
Meanwhile, the US investment banks,
which have wrecked the financial stability of
many governments, including that of the US,
continue to control, as they have done since the
Clinton administration, US economic and finan-
cal campaigns and, thus, obligate the elected
cial policy. The world has suffered terribly from
official to those whose money elected him.
the Wall Street gangsters, and now looks upon
Conservatives said that any restraints would be
America with a critical eye.
a violation of the First Amendment's guarantee
The United States no longer commands the
of free speech.
respect it enjoyed under President Ronald
The same "protectors" of "free speech" had
Reagan or President George Herbert Walker
no objection to the Israel Lobby's passage of the
Bush. World polls show that the US and its pup-
"hate crime" bill, which has criminalized criticism
pet master are regarded as the two greatest
of Israel's genocidal treatment of the
threats to peace. Washington and Israel outrank
Palestinians and continuing theft of their lands.
on the most dangerous list the crazy regime in
In less than one year, President Obama has
North Korea.
betrayed all of his supporters and broken all of
The world is beginning to see America as a
his promises. He is the total captive of the oli-
country that needs to go away. When the dollar
garchy of the ruling interest groups.
is over- inflated by a Washington unable to pay
Unless he is saved by an orchestrated 9/11-
its bills, will the world be motivated by greed and
type event, Obama is a one-term president.
try to save us in order to save its investments, or
Indeed, the collapsing economy will doom
will it say, thank God, good riddance. (counter-
him regardless of a "terrorist event."
currents.org)
The Republicans are grooming Palin. Our
Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant
first female president, following our first black
Secretary of the Treasury during President
president, will complete the transition to an
Reagan's first term. He was Associate Editor of
American police state by arresting critics and
the Wall Street Journal. He has held numerous
protesters of Washington's immoral foreign and
academic appointments, including the William
domestic policies, and she will complete the
E. Simon Chair, Center for Strategic and
destruction of America's reputation abroad.
International Studies, Georgetown University,
Russia's Putin has already compared the
and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover
US to Nazi Germany, and the Chinese premier
Institution, Stanford University.
Gaza Freedom March tops 1,000 participants
Over 1,000 delegates from 42 countries have signed up to participate in the 31 December Gaza
Freedom March that will mark the one-year anniversary of the Israeli invasion and call for an end
to the siege that has brought 1.5 million people to the edge of disaster.
Organizers cut off registration on 30 November to give the Egyptian officials enough time to
clear the group for entry into Gaza, but also because the numbers were becoming unwieldy. "No
one has ever taken a group this size into Gaza," said coordinator Ann Wright, whose skills as a
retired U. S. army colonel are coming in handy organizing the logistics for such a massive group.
Since the registration closed on 30 November, organizers have been besieged every day with
people begging to be added to the list. "I have to turn down 15-20 people every day," said Emily
Siegel. "It has been an insane few weeks, with emails pouring in from people all over the world
who want to join. I feel terrible turning them away but we started out thinking we would take 300
people and now we have over 1,000."
The international delegates hope to join some 50,000 Palestinians inside Gaza, including stu-
dents, teachers, health workers, women's groups, farmers and fishermen. The march will start in
a neighborhood in northern Gaza in which nearly every building was devastated during Israel's
attack and continue for three miles to the Erez border with Israel. At the same time, Israeli and
Palestinian activists will be marching toward the Erez crossing from the Israeli side. Upon reach-
ing the border, participants on both sides will release balloons, fly kites and wave flags to demon-
strate their solidarity with one another.
Marking the one-year anniversary of the December 2008 Israeli invasion that left over 1,400
dead, this initiative is designed to draw worldwide attention to the ongoing siege that continues to
imprison the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza. But with the borders still closed, there is no guaran-
tee that the internationals will be allowed in. Gaza is bordered by Israel and Egypt. Both govern-
ments have sealed their borders, but sometimes the Egyptians will make exceptions. That's why
Tighe Barry, a Hollywood prop man who has become the "fixer" for the international delegation,
has traveled to the region six times in as many months to prepare for this march. "We've told the
delegates that there are no guarantees we'll get into Gaza, but we are certainly doing everything
humanly possible to convince the Egyptians to let us in," said Barry from Cairo, where he has been
spending his days negotiating with officials in the Foreign Ministry, in addition to running around
arranging hotels, food and buses for 1,000 people. The diversity of the international delegation is
impressive, with people coming from Austria to Yemen, from Belgium to Bangladesh to Brazil.
Some 100 students have signed up, as have seniors in their seventies and eighties. The marchers
include judges, doctors and physicists; businesspeople and union reps. Faith-based members
include imams, rabbis and priests. Affinity groups have formed of artists, women, military veterans,
diplomats, lawyers and health workers. A muralist from California, Kathleen Crocetti, will build a
mosaic memorial to all who died during the invasion.

24 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009

INTERNATIONAL
Ukrainian kids, new victims What the U.S. Elite Really
Thinks About Israel
of Israeli organ theft JEFFREY BLANKFORT
The Council on Foreign Relations is always near the top of the
Left's list of bogeymen that stand accused of pulling the strings of
n international Israeli conspiracy to kidnap children and

A
US foreign policy. It is right up there with the Bilderberg Group and
harvest their organs is gathering momentum as anoth- the Trilateral Commission, right? Wrong. If that was the case, those
er shocking story divulges Tel Aviv's plot to import arguing that US support for Israel is based on it being a "strategic
Ukrainian children and harvest their organs. The story asset" will have a hard time explaining a Pew Research Center sur-
brings to light the fact that Israel has brought some 25,000 vey on America's Place in the World, taken of
Ukrainian children into the occupied entity over the past two 642 CFR members between October 2 and November 16. The
years in order to harvest their organs. It cites a Ukrainian man's Pew poll not only reveals that the overwhelming majority, two-thirds
fruitless search for 15 children who had been adopted in Israel. of the members of this elite foreign policy institution, believes that
The children had clearly been taken by Israeli medical centers, the United States has gone overboard in favoring Israel, it doesn't
where they were used for 'spare parts'. consider Israel to have have much importance to the US in the first
The account was unveiled five days ago by a Ukrainian phi- place.
losophy4 professor and author, Vyacheslav Gudin, at a pseudo- What can be concluded from the answers to questions that
academic conference in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Gudin told dealt with the Israel-Palestine conflict is that the general public
an estimated 300 attendees of the Kiev conference that it was The story is based on statements made by Mustafa forms its opinions from what it hears and reads in the mainstream
essential that all Ukrainians be made aware of the genocide Khayatti, head of the Algerian National Committee for the media which are largely biased towards Israel while CFR members
Israel was perpetrating. Development of Health Research. Khayatti maintains that the have greater access to as well as interest in obtaining more accu-
The conference also featured two professors who present- abduction of children in Algeria is linked to arrests made in New rate information and are less susceptible to pro-Israel propaganda.
ed a book blaming "the Zionists" for the Ukrainian famine of the York and New Jersey at the end of July, in which several Jewish That apparently not a single US newspaper saw fit to report on the
1930s, as well as the country's current condition. men were among the 44 arrested in connection to an investiga- opinions of CFR members, under those circumstances, is not sur-
Meanwhile, Ukrainians demonstrated outside the Israeli tion into illegal organ trafficking and political corruption. prising. The evidence:
Embassy in Kiev on Tuesday to protest a letter signed by 26 The story comes in line with the article published last month (1) That on a list of countries that will be the "more important as
Knesset members (MKs) condemning what they described as in Aftonbladet, Sweden's largest circulation daily, suggesting Americas allies and partners" in the future, just 4 per cent included
anti-Semitic remarks by presidential candidate Sergey that the Israeli army kidnapped and killed young Palestinians to Israel which placed it in a tie with South Korea and far behind China,
Ratushnyak. Protesters chanted 'Ukraine isn't the Gaza Strip,' harvest their organs. It shed light on the case of Bilal Ahmed 58 per cent, India, 55 per cent, Brazil, 37 per cent, the EU, 19 per
suggesting that they consider the effort by the Israeli MKs as an Ghanem, a 19-year-old Palestinian man, who was shot dead in cent, Russia, 17 per cent, Japan, 16 per cent, the UK and Turkey,
intervention in their country. A story, published in the Arabic-lan- 1992 by Israeli forces in the West Bank village of Imatin. 10 per cent, Germany, 9 per cent, Mexico, 8 per cent, Canada,
guage Algerian daily al-Khabar in September, reported that Bostrom, who witnessed the man's killing, said Ghanem's Indonesia, Australia and France at 5 per cent. CFR voters were
Interpol, the international police organization, has revealed the body was abducted following the shooting and was returned at allowed to make up to seven selections.(Q19); (2) When asked
existence of 'a Jewish gang' that was 'involved in the abduction midnight, during an imposed curfew, several days later by the which countries would be less important to the US, Israel, at 9 per
of children from Algeria and trafficking of their organs.' Israeli military with a cut from the stomach to the neck that had cent was behind 22 countries including Canada and Mexico and in
According to the story, bands of Moroccans and Algerians been stitched up. Bostrom argued that an autopsy would be the region Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.(Q20); (3) What was par-
had been roaming the streets of Algerian cities in an attempt to required if the cause of death was not apparent, while in this ticularly revealing is that "in the dispute between Israelis and
hunt around for young children. They then trafficked the kids case it was clear that Bilal was shot dead. After that incident, at Palestinians," only 26 per cent of the CFR sided with Israel, com-
across the border into the neighboring Morocco. least 20 Palestinian families told Bostrom that they suspected pared with 51 per cent of 2000 members of the general public who
The children were then sold to Israelis and American Jews that the Israeli military had taken the organs of their sons after were polled over the same period. While 16 per cent of CFR mem-
in Oujda, the capital of eastern Morocco, for the purpose of they had been killed and then taken away by Israeli forces bers sided with the Palestinians compared to 12 per cent of the pub-
organ harvest in Israel and the United States. before being dropped back in the area.  lic, 41 per cent of the CFRers sided with "both equally" as opposed
to 4 per cent of the public. Supporting neither was 12 per cent of the
US Swine Flu Spray Plane Shot Down In China CFR and 14 per cent of the public. (Q33); (4) That the CFR has not
had a major hand in making US Israel-Palestine policy nor is it in
agreement with those who did is strikingly revealed by the response
The following is an excerpt from a report fessed' to Chinese secret police forces said: of its members when asked their opinion of US Middle East policies.
released on 29 Nov. 2009 by famous that he is a technician employed by the "We are grateful to The Washington The problem, according to 67 per cent of CFR members (as com-
Russian journalist Sorcha Faal. For rull United States Navy at their mysterious Post, The New York Times, Time pared to 30 per cent of the public) is that the US favored Israeli too
report visit: http://www.whatdoesitmean. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2 Magazine and other great publications much, while only 2 per cent (as opposed to 15 per cent of the pub-
com/index1303.htm: (NAMRU-2) located in Indonesia that whose directors have attended our meet- lic) believed that US policy overly favored the Palestinians.. Twenty-
Reports circulating in the Kremlin Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono ings and respected their promises of dis- four percent of the CFR believed US policy "struck the right bal-
today are stating that a US government Sudarsono had previously called for the cretion for almost forty years. It would ance" as did 29 per cent of the public. (Q34); (5) The overwhelming
contracted airplane piloted by American closing of "because its operations were have been impossible for us to develop majority of CFR members, 69 per cent, think that Pres. Obama is
CIA agents and carrying a cargo of a too secretive and were incompatible with our plan for the world if we had been sub- "striking the right balance" between the Israelis and Palestinians as
'mutated' swine flu virus intended for aer- Indonesia's security interests." ject to the bright lights of publicity during compared with a slim majority, 51 per cent of the public. Thirteen
ial spraying was shot down [photo top Even more interesting to note about those years. But, the work is now much percent of the CFR believes that Obama is "favoring Israel too
left] at China's Shanghai Pudong airport this US Navy secret bio-weapons base in more sophisticated and prepared to much," as compared with 7 per cent of the public, while 12 per cent
by a saboteur team of what are believed Indonesia (the World's largest Muslim thinks he is siding with the Palestinians, a position taken by 16 per
march towards a world government. The
to be Israeli Mossad soldiers seeking to Nation) was its establishment in coopera- cent of the public. (Q35)
supranational sovereignty of an intellec-
prevent an American attack upon one of tion with the Rockefeller Institute, espe- Regarding Iran, one detects the same gap between the CFR
tual elite and world bankers is surely
their Central Asian bases located in the cially with it being the main center for the and the public. Whereas a 64 per cent-34 per cent majority of the
Central Asian Nation of Kyrgyzstan. Americans Viral Diseases Program preferable to the national auto determina-
tion practiced in past centuries." polled CFR members see Iran as a major threat to US interests,
According to Chinese propaganda (VDP) they describe as the research of compared with a 72-20 per cent per cent majority of the public, only
media reports on this incident the strick- "epidemiologic and laboratory research To the United States employing
planes to spread a mutated swine flu 33 per cent of the CFR would support an attack on Iran should it get
en Zimbabwean MD-ll plane, owned by on viral hemorrhagic fevers, influenza, a nuclear weapon as contrasted with 63 per cent of the public. (Q7)
the CIA linked Avient Aviation company encephalitis, and rickettsioses" and the virus around the World we have further
The percentages are almost reversed when it comes to
operated by a former British military offi- head of this institute, David Rockefeller, reports from China, and as we can read:
Pakistan with 63 per cent of the CFR supporting US military action
cer named Andrew Smith and registered long calling for a massive reduction in our "June 26 Suspicious aircrafts were
were "extremists... poised to take over Pakistan," whereas only 51
in the UK, killed 3 American CIA agents World's population. forced to land. A US operated AN-124 per cent of the public would approve such a move. (Q24). This is
and injured 4 other personal who are And to the agenda currently under- changed its call sign from civillian to mili- another indication of the success of Israel's porte-paroles in the
reported to be from United States, way to radically change our World tary which then triggered a response mainstream media in building up the Iran threat while downplaying
Indonesia, Belgium and Zimbabwe. through the mass death of its population from the IAF upon entering Pakistani air the potential threats to the stabilty of nuclear-armed Pakistan. The
Most interesting to note in these we need look no further for its explana- space, the plane was forced to land in entire Pew survey can be viewed here: http://people-
reports on the victims of this plane shoot- tion than David Rockefeller's own words Mumbai while the second one was forced press.org/reports/questionnaires/569.pdf
down is that the Indonesian man current- he spoke before the secretive Trilateral down by Nigerian figther jets that also Jeffrey Blankfort is a long-time pro-Palestinian activist and a
ly being treated for his injuries has 'con- Commission in June, 1991, when he arrested the crew.  contributor to The Politics of Anti-Semitism. He may be contacted
at jblankfort@earthlink.net

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The Choice For Israel - Civil War For Peace
ALAN HART
have been writing about what must happen in America if
I there is to be more than a snowball's chance in hell of
peace on the basis of an acceptable amount of justice for
the Palestinians. (The main point I've been making is that
unless and until enough Americans are made aware of the truth
of history, no American president will have the space to break
the Zionist lobby's stranglehold on Congress). In this article,
with thanks to an analysis by Israeli historian Zeev Sternhell,
I'm looking at what must happen in Israel if the countdown to
catastrophe is to be stopped.
Polish-born Sternhell is one of the world's leading experts on
fascism. To my knowledge he has never said so, but I would be
surprised if he didn't have moments when he asked himself if he
was witnessing the emergence of it, fascism, in Israel. In his work
the Founding Myths of Israel, he wrote that the conquest of 1967
had "a strong flavour of imperial expansionism".
Under the headline An end to vagueness, he wrote in his lat-
est piece for Ha'aretz that Israel's political establishment is
approaching a point where it will no longer be possible to evade
decisions that will be among the most crucial in the state's histo-
ry.
"It is a mistake to play around with the idea that such deci-
sions can be made without an open confrontation with the set-
tlers. Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Bark will have to decide
what they prefer; to be remembered as having capitulated to the
settlers or as having taken a courageous leap forward, as befits
important national leaders." (My emphasis added).
He went on to say that the rift on the right (essentially
between Likudniks who can tolerate Netanyahu's temporary and
partial freeze and those who can't) is genuine and can be exploit-
ed to reorganize the political system. All on what Sternhell calls
by obvious implication the insane right should join the National
Union party, with a "conscious choice" to continue the occupation
without any kind of time limit.
Those on what he calls the "ordinary, sane right" should have
no problem joining forces with Kadima because the difference
between them "is mainly psychological and laden with personal
grudges, but not more than that."
And what of the left? It should start a social-democratic party
similar to those which exist in Europe.
Sternhell then asks this question: Would the expanded cen-
ter and left have a majority in Israel that would support it in a con-
scious choice of peace, relative security and economic prosperi-
ty in exchange for the territories occupied in 1967 and still
retained?
Sternhell believes that it's reasonable to assume that the
answer would be "Yes" for a number of reasons, one of them
being that "not everyone is willing to sacrifice Israel's future on the
altar of the settlers' interests."
So far, so good. Perhaps. But can it be reasonably assumed
that any Israeli leader would be prepared, come the crunch, to
openly confront the settlers and IDF elements that would side and
fight with them?
The doubts in my own mind on this matter were planted by
Shimon Peres in a one-to-one conversation with me in 1980. At
the time he was the leader of the main opposition Labour Party,
hoping to become prime minister after Israel's next election and
deny Menachem Begin a second term in office. (An outcome that
President Carter among others was praying for). At the time I was
“Invest”
and save
tax!
Murshidabad since April 2005. More tasks are being undertaken in some of the most deserving areas and most backward
deserving people as MG is providing office and administrative facilities free of cost as well as free advertising space, and
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009 25
INTERNATIONAL
in the process of becoming the linkman in a secret, exploratory
dialogue between Peres and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.
As I reveal in my book, Zionism: The Real Enemy of the
Israel-Palestinian conflict
Jews, Peres said to me early in our conversation that he feared it
was "already too late" for peace on terms Arafat could accept. I
asked him why and this was his reply:
"Every day that passes sees new bricks on new settlements.
Begin knows exactly what he's doing. He's creating the conditions
killed 8,900 in 20 yrs: NGO
JERUSALEM - The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed almost
8,900 lives in two decades, the vast majority of them Palestinians,
the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem said in a statement. Israeli
for a Jewish civil war. He knows that no Israeli leader is going forces killed 7,398 Palestinians, including 1,537 minors, both in
down in history as the one who gave the order to the Jewish army Israel and the occupied territories during that period, while
to shoot Jews out of occupation for peace with the Palestinians". Palestinians killed 1,483 Israelis, including 139 minors, B'Tselem
Pause. "I'm not." said. Among the Israeli victims, 488 were police officers or military
When Peres made that statement to me there were only troops, and the remaining 995 were civilians killed in attacks in
about 70,000 illegal Jewish settlers in residence on the occupied Israel or in the occupied territories, the statement said. This year,
West Bank. Today, including occupied Arab East Jerusalem, that marked by Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip, was the
number is 500,000 and rising on a daily basis. (In recent days bloodiest in the past two decades for Palestinians.
Netanyahu has assured the settlers that when the temporary A total of 1,033 Palestinians, including 315 minors, were killed
freeze ends, it will be back to building and continuing colonization so far in 2009, most of them during the Gaza war, the report said,
as usual). adding that a total of 1,387 Palestinians were killed during the Israeli
If Peres was right in his logic, it's more than reasonable to offensive. Thirteen Israelis were killed, including four soldiers by
assume that there is today no prospect of any Israeli leader tak- friendly fire, in the three-week-long war that was launched on
ing on the settlers. But is the situation really as bleak as that? December 27. For Israel, 2002, at the height of the second
There are some Israeli commentators who think it isn't. They Palestinian intifada, or uprising, was the deadliest year, with 420
have suggested that in the event of prospects for a real peace, people killed, including 269 civilians of whom 47 were minors, the
many of the settlers would agree to quit the West Bank and be re- statement said. The statement, which marks B'Tselem 20th anniver-
located in exchange for generous financial compensation. My sary, also said 335 Palestinians are currently held without trial under
own guess is that half their present number and perhaps even Israeli military orders. In 1989 the number reached 1,794.
more would. But that would still leave a very significant number of It also said Israeli authorities tore down 4,300 Palestinian
armed bigots, some of them in my view deluded to the point of homes over the past 20 years. Israel justifies the demolitions say-
clinical madness, who would fight to the death. ing the houses lacked the necessary permits, but Palestinians and
As I write, I am reminded of what Eygpt's President Sadat human rights groups say the documents are virtually impossible to
said to me a few months before he was assassinated. "There will obtain. In addition, B'Tselem estimates that 6,240 houses were
have to be a Jewish civil war before there can be peace." destroyed during military operations in Gaza, including 3,540 dur-
My own conclusion is that any Israeli leader even thinking ing the December-January offensive which Israel said it launched
about taking on the settlers, and probably triggering a Jewish civil to halt rocket attacks from the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave.
war, would need to be empowered by a referendum in which all The group took out a full-page ad in the Haaretz daily which
Israelis were asked one question: In exchange for a real and last- looked like a funeral notice and stated: "The B'Tselem organisa-
ing peace with the Arab and wider Muslim world, are you in favour tion regrets to announce that it has reached 20." "We are fed up
of Israel withdrawing to its borders as they were on 4 June 1967, and people are fed up of us, but four million people live in the West
with Jerusalem an open, undivided city and the capital of two Bank and the Gaza Strip are to this day deprived of their most
states?" If a majority of Israelis answered "Yes", the leader could basic human rights and they are even more fed up than we are,"
take on the settlers. (countercurrents.org) it said. 
Gilad Shalit with the excuse that Hamas is She also condemned the maldirection
Israelis are demanding to free war prisoners whose
hands are stained with the blood our sol-
towards the Obama administration and
said: "They supported us militarily and
wicked: former diers. They have to remember that since
the first Intifada that started in 2000 we
financially". About the Israeli minister of
defense she said: "He is the most danger-
Israeli minister
Former Israeli minister, Shalomite Aloni,
killed thousands of Palestinians too. We
have to free all those Hamas demand to
ous man, he is haughty and arrogant".
And about PM Netanyahu she said:
who earlier headed the leftist Merits Party, be freed". "He believes that he is greater than any-
said, "Israelis" are a wicked people.” She She also condemned colonizers that thing and anybody around him."
said this on the occasion of her 81st birth- uproot Palestinian olive trees, and added Shalomite Aloni was born in 1928 and
day. that uprooting fruit bearing trees is a vio- she is a Polish Jewess. She joined the
"I am not content with the state of lation of the code saying: "Don't uproot ranks of the Palmach, she was taken pris-
Israel, it is difficult for me to say about it fruit bearing trees". She added: "Yes we oner of war by the Jordanian army. She
good words, we are living a moral and are wicked, what we are doing in the West established the Middle East Research
social ordeal, the left is no more existing Bank is the peak of wickedness, and Center in 1984, and was appointed minis-
in Israel. I condemn all those who oppose exceeds what others did with Jews… She ter of science and culture, minister of edu-
the agreement of exchange of prisoners obviated saying with the exception of the cation, and was the head of the leftist
of war with Hamas to free the soldier Nazis". Merits Party. 
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26 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009
INTERNATIONAL
Is Obama a Man of Peace?
KARAMATULLAH K. GHORI
In the second week of
December, President
Obama will be heading
for Oslo, Norway, to
accept the Nobel Peace
Prize for 2009, conferred
on him, gratuitously, by
the people in charge of
awarding this most covet-
ed of prizes in the world.
When the announcement of it was made last
October, it took the world by surprise. Few had
any clue as to what Obama had done to deserve
this most high-profile of Nobel awards.
Obama amply justified the fears and deri-
sions of a vast body of skeptics, world-wide,
bemused by his choice for the peace award,
barely a week before heading to Oslo to keep
his appointment with the notables invited to the
august ceremony, by announcing his plan to fur-
ther augment the fighting strength of American
forces in Afghanistan, by as much as 30,000
additional troops, by next summer.
Obama couldn't have chosen a more befit-
ting and more relevant venue than West Point-
the U.S. Military Academy in New York State-to
unveil his latest strategy for Afghanistan. The
hallowed precincts of West Point have trained
and turned out from its portals generations and
legions of fighters to constantly fuel the jugger-
nauts of the most-war-addicted country in the
world.
Obama's decision to fall in line right behind
the plan hatched by his anointed commander for
Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, had
been conveniently leaked to an eager and avid
news media several days in advance of his
December 1st appearance at West Point. With
the air thick with myriad speculations and
guesstimates about Obama's final blue print for
the Afghan theatre of war, the news media had
started beating their drums about it with great
enthusiasm. It was billed, for days in advance,
as a major policy statement, with some com-
mentators going as far as to describe it as
Obama's seminal discourse on war and its
anticipated impact on the current U.S. position
in the world, especially in the context of the 'war
on terror' inherited by him from his predecessor.
That Obama opted for a more robust mili-
tary presence in Afghanistan is not surprising at
all, given his track record from the days when he
was running for president. He came to the White
House with an articulated sense that the Afghan
theatre of war had been neglected and down-
graded by his miscued predecessor in favour of
Iraq, and deserved to be quickly rectified. Within
weeks of settling down in the Oval Office he had
rushed 35,000 soldiers to Afghanistan-bringing
the troop level to its present strength of 68,000;
with this hefty addition of 30,000 more, the U.S.
military boots on the ground, in Afghanistan,
would swell to nearly a hundred thousand.
That's the number of only those in uniform.
However, as ruefully reported by the non-estab-
lishment media opposed to the war in
Afghanistan, there are more American combat-
ants, sans uniform, in Afghanistan than those
wearing it, taking into account the burgeoning
ranks of mercenaries and tens-of-thousands of
notorious and lawless military contractors.
Critics of war are arguing that by the middle of
next year, there will be as many as close to half-
a-million American men in the two- war theatres
of Iraq and Afghanistan.
But more serious and ominous than the
numbers game is the sense-which any inde-
pendent observer of what Obama has been say-
ing and doing in regard to Afghanistan would
derive; and that's that in sticking to his campaign
rhetoric that the war in Afghanistan is winnable,
and George W. Bush's second-guessing of it
was dead wrong, Obama is getting sucked into
a quagmire. Not only that, but he is also, uncon-
sciously perhaps, straying into the minefield of
American militarism that has become the hall-
mark of U.S. in the post-Cold War era.
This quagmire may not entirely be of his
making. The generals and war-mongers in the
Pentagon have been tugging at his sleeves and
breathing down his neck for sometime, as have
been the Republicans whose predilection for the Obama, no doubt, is straining to still project
use of force has been a bane of American histo- himself as a man firmly committed to peace by
ry, especially since WWII. There's no doubt that blending the stick of war with the carrots of a
by succumbing to their pressure Obama has projected commencement of withdrawal of
taken a very costly insurance policy. The forces from Afghanistan, starting in July, 2011.
Pentagon cabal seems to be working on him He has also not given in entirely to the generals'
just the way it did on President Johnson when demand for an additional 45,000 troops, obvi-
he was cornered, in the mid-60s, to send more ously to not ruffle the feathers too much in the
troops to Vietnam. By pandering to them, and to peace camp.
the likes of his presidential race-rival, Senator But Obama's calibrated nuances are more
John McCain-who don't want to hear any men- of a ruse than reality. They are designed to con-
tion of an end-game in Afghanistan-Obama has fuse the issues rather than clarifying or elucidat-
categorically signed on to their agenda and has ing them.
conceded to play ball according to their choice. As far as the withdrawal of troops is con-
In his West Point address, Obama pooh- cerned, there's no deadline of completion for the
poohed any comparison with Vietnam and process. Obama, for the record, is saying that
insisted he wasn't Vietnamising the war in he'd bring all the "troops home" from
Afghanistan. But comparisons are quite appro- Afghanistan before the end of his presidency.
priate in the way the war effort is spinning out of But that could easily be 7 years hence, given a
control and also the way this war is dividing and likely second term for him. His minions are
polarizing the Americans. already attaching conditions to it.
War weariness among the American people As for the troop strength demanded by his
is a natural phenomenon after more than eight generals, Obama is leaning hard on his NATO
long years of relentless conflict in not one but allies to make up the difference with at least
two countries. On top of it, the way these wars 10,000 more NATO soldiers in Afghanistan. But
have bled the American economy-and are still he's likely to be frustrated by his major allies on
bleeding it with the numbers of those without that account, such as France and Germany.
jobs ground-swelling to record heights-the Italy, not a major player, has offered to send a
American people can't be faulted for turning thousand more troops and Poland an additional
their ire toward Obama the way they did toward 600. Even an ever-obliging Britain has indicated
That Obama opted for a more robust military
presence in Afghanistan is not surprising at
all, given his track record from the days when
he was running for president. He came to the
White House with an articulated sense that
the Afghan theatre of war had been neglected
and down-graded by his miscued predeces-
sor in favour of Iraq, and deserved to be
quickly rectified. Within weeks of settling
down in the Oval Office he had rushed 35,000
soldiers to Afghanistan-bringing the troop
level to its present strength of 68,000; with
this hefty addition of 30,000 more, the U.S.
military boots on the ground, in Afghanistan,
would swell to nearly a hundred thousand.
his inane and clueless precursor in the Oval to rake up another 500 soldiers to beef up its
Office. Obama's public approval rating has ranks in Afghanistan. It's a foregone conclusion
dipped, for the first time since he won the presi- that none of the major European allies would be
dency, to below the 50 percentage points. This inclined to stick their neck out for him.
should be a cause of concern to not only him but Obama's three-pronged strategy on
also to the Democrats in Congress. 2010 will be Afghanistan, on the basis of which he is plung-
the year of mid-tern elections in U.S. and many ing head-long into large scale military offensive
a pundit are already predicting a rout of the is dubious.
Democrats. The first prong of his strategy hinges on
By letting himself manipulated by the war- containing the Taliban challenge and " reverse
mongers on Afghanistan, a la Johnson on their momentum." But that's deeply flawed,
Vietnam, Obama is clearly not only raising the given the ground realities in Afghanistan. The
ante of doubts about his agenda but also open- Taliban are in control of far more territory today
ing himself to the kind of criticism that Bush had than they were ever before in the 8 years of
been badgered with, and rightly so. Obama is, American military presence in Afghanistan. With
unconsciously, walking his own 100,000
the plank that doomed troops and nearly
Bush. He's making the The third Obama prong con- half of that number
war in Afghanistan as cerns Pakistan, to whose from NATO, Obama
much his war as Bush leaders and people he is could, at best, hope
had made Iraq his
main war of aggres- offering the olive branch of tomajor keep them out of
cities, which
sion. a 'partnership' supporting would still be open to
The choice of the "Pakistan's security and Taliban-inspired sab-
military academy at otage and acts of ter-
West Point couldn't be prosperity long after the ror, as so profusely
anything other than a guns have fallen silent." demonstrated in
conscious Obama Why this largesse for recent months.
effort to send a loud Knowing the lim-
signal to those
Pakistan? Because he its of military per-
Americans addicted to thinks that this war is as formance, Obama's
perpetual conflict that much Pakistan's as men are already talk-
he wasn't a softie on ing, behind the
war as his Republican
America's or anybody scene, with the
detractors have been else's. That may be adrena- Taliban, with some
painting him. But this lin to a beleaguered Zardari input from the
gung-ho, trigger- but is empty rhetoric to a Saudis. The idea is
happy, Obama is the to cull the 'bad
antithesis of that layman because Obama still Taliban' and do busi-
peacenik Obama the expects Pakistan to 'do ness with the 'good
majority Americans more.' ones.' Taliban like
had voted for in Mullah Zaeef, former
November last year. ambassador to
Pakistan, are being seen as 'kosher' to cut a
deal with. However, the Taliban supremo,
Mullah Omer, is believed to be reluctant to pay
ball as long as the American and their allies are
present on the Afghan soil. And if at all he
relents to a deal it would be on his terms, not
Obama's.
Mullah Omer could well be reflecting the
sense of most ordinary Afghans to whom any
invader, from Alexander-the-Great to Bush-the-
Insignificant, is a trespasser on their land and
untrustworthy to do business with.
The second prong of Obama's strategy is
equally flawed. He'd want the Afghan army to be
trained to a level where it could take on the bur-
den of managing their combat burden. But the
Afghan army is already deeply suborned by the
Taliban and the annual rate of desertion in it is
as high as 25 per cent.
Obama also covets a corruption-free
Afghan government under Karzai. But that's
asking for the moon. His rhetoric of "no blank
cheque" for the Afghan government may have
sounded good to his domestic audience but
wouldn't win many friends among the Afghan
kleptomaniacs.
The third Obama prong concerns Pakistan,
to whose leaders and people he is offering the
olive branch of a 'partnership' supporting
"Pakistan's security and prosperity long after the
guns have fallen silent." Why this largesse for
Pakistan? Because he thinks that this war is as
much Pakistan's as America's or anybody
else's. That may be adrenalin to a beleaguered
Zardari but is empty rhetoric to a layman
because Obama still expects Pakistan to 'do
more.'
One can't be unmindful of the fact that
Obama doesn't define the contours of his part-
nership with Pakistan but expects a Pakistan
that has been paying an exorbitant price for its
gratuitous 'alliance' with U.S. in Afghanistan to
still shoulder a burden far greater than its
capacity. The implied threat in Obama's dis-
course about the 'known sanctuaries and inten-
tions' of the terrorists on the Pakistan side of
the border can't be lost on any Pakistani with a
sense of national dignity and honour, although
the same can't be said about the leaders of
Pakistan.
Obama, under the heady influence of his Af-
Pak policy, lumping Afghanistan and Pakistan
together, is apparently expecting too much from
Pakistan. Not only that he is also deliberately
trying to paper over the deep differences and
fissures in the U.S.-Pakistan relations in which
the two 'allies' share little in perception and face
yawning gaps, especially on the popular, peo-
ple's, front in Pakistan.
Obama expects the Pakistan army, already
deeply engrossed in its combat mission in the
prickly South Waziristan region, to go after the
Afghan Taliban, too. But the Pakistani army has
its hands full with the Pakistani Taliban, a home
grown variety. Besides, dictates of realpolitik
give no incentive to Pakistan to make an enemy
of the Afghan Taliban who, despite American
wishes to contain and thwart them, may come to
power, once again, in Afghanistan much sooner
than Obama or anybody else may be inclined to
comprehend, or admit, at this stage.
Obama is clearly a man-in-hurry, if not in dis-
tress. He's fast-forwarding additional troops to
Afghanistan because he wants quick results, while
his supporters and detractors alike want 'positive'
results. Therein is a Catch-22 situation for him
because of varying interpretation of 'positive result'
for each group. To his supporters, a positive result
means a quick end to the war and withdrawal with
alacrity. But to his detractors, a positive outcome is
outright victory over the Taliban and annihilation of
Al Qaeda. Obama is proverbially caught between
the rock and a hard place.
Whatever the ultimate denouement of
Afghanistan, Obama is risking his presidency
and reputation on its horns. In the process he is
getting into the familiar mould of a 'war presi-
dent.' That was a title George W. Bush relished.
It's ironic that Obama, even if unwittingly, is
walking into those shoes. The Nobel Peace
Prize Committee in Oslo has a lot of new fodder
to chew on in regard to this year's winner.

 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009 27

INTERNATIONAL

Fear Mongering, Muslim

Americans, and Fort Hood Tragedy and his ilk in the Muslim bashing industry,
LOUAY SAFI McCarthy cited a statement by Emerson in which Most Intolerant Religion… Like any book written
uslim bashing is the new cottage including Steve Emerson, does not explain how the latter urged the FBI to sever contacts with in hatred, his new work is a depressing read.”

M industry with its own industrial

barons and wide web of fear mon-
gering bloggers ready on a moment
notice to echo the noise generated at the
industry’s hate mills. The buzz word at the
anti-Muslim network and its far-right bloggers
this weekend was my recent visit to Fort Hood.
The reporting was not on the content of my
presentation or the purpose of my visit, but
rather over a set of fictitious affiliations and
unfounded accusations. The attack focused
mainly on the fact that I am a director with the
Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), an
umbrella organization that represents profes-
sional Muslim organizations and Islamic cen-
ters across the United States and Canada.
The buzz started from the Jihad Watch blog
of Robert Spencer, the epicenter of anti-Muslim
propaganda. Spencer harbors boundless hatred
towards Islam and Muslims and spends his day
spinning every piece of news involving Muslims
that he thinks he could manipulate.
On December 2, Spencer published a post-
ing on his blog insinuating that the organization I
represent is an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood
and that ISNA is involved in "a kind of grand Jihad
in eliminating and destroying the Western civiliza-
tion from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable
house by their hands?" Let alone the absurdity of
the claim, it is bogus and unfounded.
Spencer’s evidence for making this sweep-
ing statement is a document in Arabic dated
May 19, 1991, and signed by an obscure author.
The document is written as a blueprint for gain-
ing control over several Muslim American
organizations. The document named ISNA as
one of the prime targets of the author ambition,
and this, Spencer thinks, gives him the liberty to
brand ISNA as a Brotherhood vehicle. Spencer
he could appropriate the fantasy of an unknown
author to assert that ISNA is an arm of the
Muslim Brotherhood.
The Islamic Society of North America is an
independent Muslim American organization
governed by an elected council and led by an
elected president. It has no affiliation with the
Muslim Brotherhood, and has a membership
that is too diverse in its religious orientation and
so broad in its political views to be boxed into a
singular ideological profile. ISNA has been on
the forefront of working towards the integration
of Muslim Americans into mainstream society,
has been committed building bridges of cooper-
ation and understanding through religious and
ethnic lines, and actively engaged in interfaith
dialogue and cooperation.
Rather than working to eliminate and
destroy the Western civilization from within, as
the Muslim bashers’ favorite document alleges,
ISNA members have been working on strength-
ening their society by serving as medical doc-
tors, public servants, professionals, professors,
social workers, chaplains, and, yes, soldiers.
Spencer and other anti-Muslim hate mongers
have been using the Brotherhood-linked docu-
ment to defame Muslim Americans and discred-
it their mainstream organizations in the same
way the Protocols of Zion Elders was used by
anti-Semitic pundits against Jews.
Spencer insinuating remarks were echoed
by Andy McCarthy’s who had the audacity to ref-
erence the donations provided for the benefit of
the families of the victims of Fort Hood rampage
as “blood money.” McCarthy ‘s shameless com-
ment drew evidently from the writings of Steve
Emerson, the director of a shadowy investigative
operation, whose investigative tools include guilt
by association, innuendo, and half truths.
ISNA because it has been mentioned in a sealed
affidavit as an “unindicted coconspirator.”
The “unindicted coconspirator” designation
has been exploited by Muslim bashers and has
been continuously used every time they refer-
ence ISNA with the hope that this cheap and abu-
sive tactic would frighten the public and intimidate
those who interact with ISNA. The designation is
used by prosecutors as a “legal tactic” intended
to allow the government to introduce hearsay evi-
dence at trial. The DOJ Attorneys’ Manual
instructs U.S. Attorneys not to name unindicted
co-conspirators in indictments and directs them
to avoid publicly naming unindicted co-conspira-
tors. The public naming of ISNA is a clear viola-
tion of the Department of Justice (DOJ) guide-
lines and established court rules.
Muslim bashers do not care about the rules
of decency and have in the past used the vilest
means to discredit Muslims and their most
sacred symbols. In an article published in the
National Review Online (June 18, 2007), for
instance, Emerson attributed to me a statement
made by Salman Rushie in which Rushie
argued that “assertion by ‘world leaders’ that the
war on terrorism is not a war on Islam is nothing
but a piece of propaganda and disinformation
that was meant to appease Western Muslims
and to maintain the coalition against terrorism.”
Similarly, Spencer’s writings have been
described as fear mongering and hate speech
by established scholars who examined them.
Karen Armstrong, the renowned world scholar
of region, described Spencer’s writings as a
modern version of medieval demonization of
Islam. “This entrenched hostility,” she writes in
reference to medieval hostility, “informs Robert
Spencer’s misnamed biography The Truth about
Muhammad, subtitled Founder of the World’s
Describing Spencer’s approach to finding
the “truth about Muhammad,” she writes:
“Spencer makes no attempt to explain the his-
torical, political, economic and spiritual circum-
stances of 7th-century Arabia, without which it is
impossible to understand the complexities of
Muhammad’s life. Consequently he makes
basic and bad mistakes of fact.” She points out
that using Spencer’s method against any reli-
gion, including his own, would render it repul-
sive. “The traditions of any religion are multifar-
ious. It is easy, therefore, to quote so selective-
ly that the main thrust of the faith is distorted.
But Spencer is not interested in balance. He
picks out only those aspects of Islamic tradition
that support his thesis.”
Spencer and Emerson will continue to insin-
uate the public against Muslims, publish best
sellers book with the help of their cottage indus-
try, and advance their hate mongering careers.
With the help of their far right bloggers who are
ready to publish and republish anti-Muslim prop-
aganda without ever bother to check the accura-
cy of the information they are fed, they will con-
tinue to spin Muslim news. They might think that
they can erode the religious freedom and civic
liberties of law abiding Americans of the Muslim
faith and still remain able to enjoy their own.
By working to erode the equal dignity of
Muslim Americans, Muslim bashers are
undoubtedly working to erode their own, and
probably do not know it. Let us make sure that
they do not succeed in that.
Dr. Louay Safi is executive director with the
Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). He
writes and lectures on issues relating to Islam
and the West, democracy, human rights, lead-
ership, and world peace. His commentaries are
available at louaysafi.com.

ABDUS SATTAR GHAZALI received the ban on Minarets in

asghazali@gmail.com

n a referendum on November 29
The Politics of Minaret Switzerland with alarm and dismay.
The referendum is seen as part of a
recent disturbing trend in Europe to

I the Swiss voters approved a ban

on the construction of new
minarets on mosques. Under
Switzerland's system of direct rule,
the referendum is binding.
Switzerland's 400,000 or so Muslims,
most of whom come from Kosovo and
Turkey, are legally barred from build-
ing minarets as of now.
Anti-immigrant, right-wing
People's Party - the Union
Démocratique du Centre (UDC) - had
launched the initiative for referendum,
which passed with more than 57 per-
cent of the vote. The outcome says a
lot about how Western Europeans
feel about the growing number of
indicate that Europe is in the throes of
an Islamophobic trend gathering
pace. Posters featured a woman
wearing a burka with the minarets
drawn as weapons on a colonized
Swiss flag. The claim was made that
Islam is fundamentally incompatible
with Swiss values. Not surprisingly,
anti-minaret agitators pointedly
referred to a poet once quoted by
Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan: "The mosques are our bar-
racks…the minarets our bayonets."
Mr Erdogan made the allusion long
before he took national power, and it
landed him in jail.
he niqab (scarf) and the
cians, political commentators, media
personalities, and religious leaders
continue to feed a growing suspicion
of mainstream Muslims by fueling a
fear that Islam is a threat.
In last June's European elections,
the British National Party got its first
two seats in the European
Parliament. In the Netherlands, Geert
Wilders' Partij voor de Vrijheid (Party
for Freedom, PVV) grabbed the sec-
ond place in the Netherlands' Euro
poll. Around Europe a ragbag of
extremist parties, united by a vehe-
ment nationalism that singles out
minority groups as a growing threat,
scored in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Denmark, France, Finland, Greece,
Pen, vice- president of France's
National Front, have also welcomed
the Swiss result which points to the
possibility of religious and political
extremism spreading further in
Europe.
And the Swiss vote will certainly
give heart to politicians in Italy who
are resisting mosques in frankly
nativist terms. They include Roberto
Maroni, Italy's interior minister, who is
a senior figure in the anti-immigrant
Northern League. Its leaders hailed
the Swiss result and called for a simi-
lar ballot in Italy. Anti-Muslim feeling is
strong in many Italian cities, such as
Genoa where critics of a mosque
project held a candle-lit protest on
restrict the religious freedom and self-
expression of religious and ethnic
minorities, notably of Muslims.
The Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) urged President
Obama to repudiate the decision of
Swiss voters to deny Muslims in that
nation the same religious rights grant-
ed to citizens of other faiths. "Our
nation's silence on this flagrant denial
of religious freedom would send a
very negative message throughout
the Muslim world, which must
improve its own record on religious
rights."
The Islamic Society of North
America (ISNA) is troubled that Swiss

T
Muslim immigrants, who live as sec-
ond-class citizens for all practical pur- minaret issues have been regu-
poses. To borrow Tariq Ramadan, a larly used to stoke the flames of
hatred and fear against Muslims
voters have succumbed to the intoler-
Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Romania and December 1st. ance and fear mongering of the Swiss
Slovakia. Party. "The decision to ban mosque
As Tariq Ramadan said the politi- alter Wobman, leader of the

prominent Swiss Muslim scholar, the
Swiss majority are sending a clear
message to their Muslim fellow citi-
zens: we do not trust you. (Ironically
the UDC has in the past demanded
Tariq Ramadan's citizenship be
revoked because he was defending
Islamic values too openly.)
Telling only four of Switzerland's
150 mosques have minarets, and
none are used for the call to prayer
because of strict noise-pollution rules.
Hence, it is only a tiny fraction of the
Swiss population which regularly
encounters the sight of a mosque
minaret. So what the real motives
were behind the most dramatic move
any nation has made to limit the visi-
bility of Islam?
throughout Europe in recent times.
Earlier last month, France considered
whether to bar Muslim women from
wearing full-face veils, sparking a
heated debate in which one French
politician described burqas, the head-
to-toe veils worn by some very devout
Muslim women, as "walking coffins."
The government issued a recommen-
dation against wearing burqas, but
stopped short of an outright ban.
Tellingly, the Swiss referendum
coincides with the rise of far-right par-
ties across Europe. According to John
Esposito, Professor of religion, inter-
national affairs and Islamic at the
Georgetown University, the stunning
Swiss vote was really not all that sur-
prising, considering the growing
cal parties, in Europe as in
Switzerland have become cowed,
and shy from any courageous policies
towards religious and cultural plural-
ism. It is as if the populists set the
tone and the rest follow.
Already right-wingers in Italy,
Denmark and the Netherlands have
called for similar measures, and oth-
ers are likely to be encouraged by the
success of the Swiss People's Party.
Dutch deputy Geert Wilders'
Party for Freedom has suggested that
they will be following the example of
their Swiss compatriots and pursuing
a ban on mosque minarets in the
Netherlands.
einz-Christian Strache, leader
W
Swiss People's Party that
promoted the referendum,
said the group will now fight to ban
the burqa as well as to institute a law
against forced marriage. It may be
pointed out that the People's Party
first wanted to launch a campaign
against the traditional Islamic meth-
ods of slaughtering animals but was
afraid of testing the sensitivity of
Swiss Jews.
To quote Esposito again, the far
right persistently refuses to face a
21st century reality: to acknowledge
and accept the fact that many
Muslims are integrated citizens and
that Islam is now a European religion,
and, in fact, the second largest reli-
gion in many European countries.
minarets is an act of religious discrim-
ination and intolerance, as it targets
Islamic places of worship and denies
Swiss Muslims the freedom to build
their house of worship using their pre-
ferred architectural style."
The Swiss vote raises the ques-
tion whether the values of human
rights, civil liberties and democracy -
upheld so preciously by the European
nations - are practiced as reverently
as they are preached? By voting to
ban this right, it is Swiss - and
Western - values which become poor-
er and less meaningful. This is a set-
back for strategies to bring Islam into
the European mainstream.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the
Executive Editor of the online maga-

H
The campaign posters as well as zine American Muslim Perspective:
those who have promoted this ban, power of Islamophobia. In both of the radical-right Austrian The seven-million strong www.amperspective.com. He may be
Europe and America right-wing politi- Freedom Party, and Marine Le American Muslim community has contacted at asghazali@gmail.com
28 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009
BOOKS
Backward and Dalit Muslims
Book: Basic Problems of OBC and Dalit
Muslims
Author/Editor: Ashfaq Husain Ansari
Publisher: Serials Publications, New
Delhi
Year: 2007
Pages: 286
TANVIR SALIM
ssallim@comcast.net
Social stratification of Indian Muslims along quasi-caste lines, is
no secret. It is well-known and recognized. It is true that Islam as
a religion and a social philosophy does not recognize caste dis-
tinctions (compared to some other Asian religions where caste is
integral to their philosophical outlook), but, Muslims are not a
socially homogenous group in any part of the world. However, the
perception that Islam gives birth to a sociologically monolithic ide-
ological group remained a hindrance in the correct understanding
of Muslim societies for a long time although many Muslim groups
in India belonging to lower strata of society, such as Momin-Ansar
and Jameeat Raeen etc., had organized themselves, at least
politically. Now, even lesser known biradaries (fraternities) such
as Salmanis and Idrisis etc have organized themselves.
Although, elite Muslim leadership has always claimed that
Muslims in India are a homogenous cultural group and thus, wor-
thy of a separate political deal, existence of different social and
cultural groups amongst Indian Muslims has always been recog-
nized at the cultural level. Famous satirical Urdu poet, Akbar
Elahabadi used to denote "common" Muslims by names like
Budhdhoo, Jumman, Shubrati, Ramzani etc. In contrast, persons
of high caste were referred to with the names of Sayyid, Mirza,
etc.:
Mirza ghareeb chup haiN, in ki kitab raddi
Budhdhoo akad rahe haiN Sahab ne yeh kaha hai.
(Mirza is depressed as his book has been discarded.
Budhdhu takes pride in the sayings of English man.)
or
Council meiN bahut se Sayyed, masjid mein faqat Jumman
[There are many a high caste people in the Council, but in the
mosque, there is only one, Jumman).
The book under review, "Basic Problems of OBC and Dalit
Muslims" is a collection of essays on various dimensions of OBC
and Dalit Muslim problems edited by Ashfaq Husain Ansari who
was a member of Indian Parliament (seventh Lok Sabha) and
President of Backward Muslims of India and the First U.P. State
Backward Classes Commission. He died on 20 December, 2008
(See MG 215). Ansari was a social activist for the cause of
Backward Muslims but with a difference. He was an activist with
an intellectual bent, deeply interested in theoretical positions and
analytical results. This book is a proof in support of this claim.
This collection of essays has been divided into three parts:
Part I contains 18 contributions from different authors, activists,
journalists and chroniclers etc. Part II contains seven essays writ-
ten by the editor himself, while Part III is a reproduction of a "thin
volume" published earlier by the editor. This part also contains
nine different contributions on different aspects of the issue at
hand.
Naturally, the first part constitutes the core of the book. It con-
From the publishers of this newspaper
JOURNALS
Muslim & Arab Perspectives (MAP) [Eng] Since 1993
Annual subscription: Rs 250/d25 (Institutions: Rs 500/d50)
[MAP is running late, latest volume is 2004]
Journal of Islamic History (JIH) [Publication suspended]
[English and Arabic] Published since 1995
Annual subscription: Rs 200/d30 (Institutions: Rs 400/d60)
BOOKS: ENGLISH
S.M. Mushrif, "Who Killed Karkare? - The real face of terror-
ism in India" 319pp, Rs 300/d 20
M Ayub Ali Khan, Representing Indian Muslims: Selected
Parliamentary speeches of Asaduddin Owaisi (Out of print)
Ram Puniyani, Terrorism: Facts Vs Myths (Out of print)
Shamsul Islam, Golwalkar’s “We or our nationhood
defined”: A critique with full text of the book, 200 pp, Rs 120/d 8
M.A. Roshash, Islamic Company Law 302 pp., Rs 600/d20
IK Shukla, Hindutva: Treason & Terrorism
184 pp., Rs 130/d10
Russian Military Intelligence (GRU) daily reports on the
Iraq war 112 pp., Rs 75/d4
Mustafa Kamal Sherwani, Secular Horror: 15 years
ordeal with Indian secularism 96 pp., Rs 80/d10
Nur Ali Qabobe, Somalia: From Nation-State To
Tribal Mutiny 152 pp. (HB) , Rs 300/d20
tains contributions from Imtiaz Ahmad, Madhu Limay, Nadeem
Hasnain, Praful Bidwai, Swami Agnivesh and Walson Thampa, D.
Raja, Ashok Yadav, Udit Raj, Dilip Karanth, Shamsul Islam,
Sayyid Hamid, Sharad Yadav, Iqbal Ansari, Anwar Ali and the edi-
tor himself. This is a heterogeneous list and any volume which
contains contributions from all these people is also bound to be
heterogeneous. It contains analytical pieces from scholars like
Imtiaz Ahmad and Nadeem Hasnain. These contributions are
more analytical. Written in a scholarly manner, they fulfill techni-
cal requirements of academic writings. These things may not be
noticeable in the contributions of a journalistic nature. Some of
these journalistic contributions have been collected from different
news magazines and newspapers. Generally speaking, journalis-
tic writings are more dated than the academic writings as they are
responses to specific socio-political and historical stimuli. Hence,
the editor would have done better if he had also given the dates
of publication of the concerned contributions. This would have
helped the reader to anticipate the circumstances which would
have warranted this response. This would have made the collec-
tion more useful.
It is usually agreed that Islam has no place for social or
caste-based distinctions. There is no superiority of one over the
other except by the way of piety which is known to Almighty God
alone (hence no question of taking pride in one's deeds or char-
acter in this world). The Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have
declared in his last sermon, "The whites have no superiority over
the blacks nor the blacks have superiority over the whites except
by piety." Similarly Almighty God declares in the Holy Quran (49
: 13) that only the pious are superiors in the sight of the Almighty
God.
The caste system is a unique Indian institution which is not
found in other social system. However, notwithstanding the nor-
mative reality, the caste system penetrated into the Indian Muslim
society as soon as it arrived in India The Arab society where
Islam appeared and flourished was a tribal society. The tribal cul-
ture contains more equality and various forms of communal own-
ership. In contrast, India was an agricultural and feudal society.
The idea of high and low was not unfamiliar to incoming Muslim
armies who used to consider themselves superior to the indige-
nous converted Muslims. Some writers claim that that may be the
beginning of a caste system among Muslims. That is why they
classify Indian Muslim population into indigenous and non-indige-
nous groups. Another point of interest may be to investigate
whether the caste system is as much hierarchal amongst Indian
Muslims as it is amongst the Hindus. Imtiaz Ahmad, famous soci-
ologist, thinks that there is not much of a difference as both soci-
eties have evolved caste patterns that are very similar to each
other. Main features of the caste system are very common
between Hindus and Muslims. The caste factors are quite promi-
nent in selection of profession and in deciding the marital bonds
in both societies. To this reviewer, the Muslim society exhibits
only this much difference that there is no caste consideration in
the Muslim places of worship while caste rules the Hindu place of
worship also.
With the emergence of the era of Mandal and kamandal,
caste discussions have become the prime topic of social, legal
and economic discussions in the country. Foremost among these
discussions is a demand for reservation in educational institu-
tions and in jobs. At the time of adoption of a new constitution for
Independent India, a scheme of reservation was adopted for
Zafarul-Islam Khan, At the threshold of a
new millennium 32 pp., (Out of print)
Tahir Mahmood, Minorities Commission: minor
role in major affairs viii+286 pp., Rs 300/d 15
Iqbal Ahmad Khan Suhail, What is riba? 208 pp., Rs 200/d 13
Muhammad Iqbal, Islam & Ahmadism 46 pp., Rs 20/d5
Zafarul-Islam Khan (ed.), Palestine Documents
1897-1998 894 pp. (HB), Rs 500/d20
Zafarul-Islam Khan, Hijrah in Islam 398 pp (Out of print)
Muslims in India (2-part special issue of MAP),
360pp., Rs 110/d15
Palestine (3-part special issue of MAP), 460 pp., Rs 195/d25
Irfan, Punchline (cartoons), 112 pp., Rs 50/d4
ARABIC
Zafarul-Islam Khan, Waliullah al-Dihlawi 50 pp., Rs 20/d3
Iqbal Ahmad Khan Suhail, Ma Huwa al-Riba?
196 pp. (HB), Rs 180/d 9.5
URDU
Feza Aazmi, Azab-e-Humsaigi (The Agony Trail)
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selected castes and tribes mentioned in a schedule of the
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Hindu ultra-nationalism
Book: Violent Gods - Hindu
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At the intersections of Anthropology, Postcolonial, Subaltern,
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franchisement. As a Foucauldian history of the present, this text
asserts the role of ethical knowledge production as counter-
memory.
Author Angana P. Chatterji is associate professor of Social
and Cultural Anthropology at the California Institute of Integral
Studies in San Francisco. Her work spans issues of cultural sur-
vival, nation/nationalisms, gendered violence, and postcolonial
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and Justice: The Struggle for Cultural Survival, and a co-edited
volume, Contesting Nation: Gendered Violence in South Asia;
Notes on the Postcolonial. 
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 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009 29

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES
Qur’an Betrayed Lament of the Qur'an
(Translation of an Urdu poem by Mahir-ul-Qadri)
DR. ASLAM ABDULLAH ed primarily to highlight the importance of its message in every As an ornament do they adorn me,
day life. Yet very little of the time of the believer is spent in reflect-
ing on its message and using it as a guidance in every aspect of Yet they keep me and sometimes kiss me.
he whole town was abuzz with the news that the best

T recitor of the Quran from the Middle East was coming

to lead the taraweeh prayers. Every one was talking
about his voice, the magic of his recitation, the way his
reading rises and falls and the way the melody of his recitation
mesmerized everyone.
life.
The month of Ramadan gives us a unique opportunity to
restore our understanding of the Quran and learn its message.
Yet most of the time and in most of the places, the opportunity to
further our understanding of the Quran is lost by limiting it to ritu-
In their celebtrations they recite me.
In disputes they swear by me.
On shelves do they securely keep me
Till another celebration or dispute, when they need me.
Especially in Ramadan this ritual is played out in Muslim com- al reading. Yes, they read and memorized me,
munities around the world. Modern technology gives us tools to capture the best voice
and repeat it at our will. But this is not the only purpose of the rev- Yet only an ornament am I.
Although listening to a beautiful recitation of the Quran is cap-
tivating, but let us revive the essence of what the month of the elation. It is meant to be understood, followed and implemented My message lies neglected, my treasure untouched,
Quran is meant to be. in one's life. As long as this purpose is not served, the Quran will The field lies bare, where blossomed once true glory.
In a population of over 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, some stand betrayed by those who revere it more than anyone else.
Dr. Aslam Abdullah is editor of the Detroit based English Wrong is the treatment that I receive
50 per cent are illiterate. Acquisition of knowledge is one of the
obligations upon every Muslim. Nearly 83 per cent are totally weekly, Muslim Observer, director of the Islamic Society of So much to give have I, but none is there to perceive. 
ignorant of the book that is the foundation of their faith. Some may Nevada, Las Vegas.
read the Arabic text but do not know what they read in their mostly lagging behind other socio-religious communities. By
prayers.
The Quran describes itself as a message for people who Haj _ Pilgrimage thoughts way of remedy, besides the Government, the people will also
have to discharge their obligation toward the poor, the needy,
reflect and think. Muslims all over the world have begun to place the illiterate and the ailing. Through Zakat, one fortieth of one's
emphasis on learning. Muslim families are genuinely concerned DR SYED ZAFAR MAHMOOD
net value of assets and savings has to be spent annually to
to ensure that their children learn biology, mathematics, chem- help the needy. But in the heavenly computer, for enhancing
aving climbed Mount Arafat on the main day of Haj I

H
istry, social sciences from the best schools with full honors. But to one's ranking among the righteous, the fulfillment of Zakat
learn the Quran is not consequential. Where the Quran is being was overwhelmed with an intense feeling of com-
munion with God. I asked, "O Lord, among these needs to be frequently augmented by Sadaqa - the optional
taught it is limited to reading and memorization. To learn and charity out of the remaining 97.5 percent of one's wealth.
excel in various fields of knowledge is essential but at the same tens of thousands of devotees hailing from my land
present in the holy precincts of Mina today, who is the lucki- The Prophet's test
time to learn and excel in the understanding of the Quran cannot Scriptural researches tell us that for every Prophet's com-
be neglected. est one having received your full acceptance of his or her Haj
pilgrimage?" My conscience reverberated, "Ali Hajveri". I munity God did fix an object of test. For Mohammedan ummah
A patient cannot memorize and just listen to the doctors pre- it is material possession. A wealthy person is only a temporary
scription and believe that he will be cured. Once a prescription is travelled back home and within a few days visited Hajver. I
was told that in the entire town there is only one person custodian of funds, usually for less than a century. He or she
written, the patient immediately picks up the medicine from a has to come up to God's expectations for its proper utilization.
pharmacy and starts using it. named Ali, an unknown cobbler. I approached Ali and greet-
ed him for performing the noblest Haj. Sobbing, he revealed The proof of a genuine spirit of benevolence and altruism is giv-
But the divine prescription for curing human ills is neglected ing away something that one personally values and cherishes.
in a manner that is unexplainable. To memorize the Quran is an that he was prepared to perform Haj that year but couldn't
ultimately undertake the journey. He had, instead, given his In addition to material support, one can give from one's energy,
honorable deed that God will bless but to memorize without time, knowledge, skill, moral support, personal position or even
understanding the Quran would be a serious neglect of our duty life, savings reserved for Haj to a family that was starving for
three days. I told him of my vision that because of his great a life time. The scripture warns those who perform religious
towards the Quran. rites but deny assistance to their lesser blessed fellows jeop-
When a child is raised up in an environment where the Quran sacrifice, God had accepted his Haj in absentia (Courtesy -
my friend, Farhat Rahman). ardizing the fundamental socio-economic balance and integra-
is seen as a book to be recited only on certain occasions without tion.
the need to understand it, his relation with the Quran will be Let not those who covetously withhold the gifts which God
superficial unless there is some dramatic change in his or her atti- Measure of true faith
Quraan says that Haj is an obligation for those who have has given them out of His Grace, think that it is good for them.
tude toward the divine book. It would, in fact, be very bad for them. On the Day of Judgment
The Quran is the most read yet most neglected book in our enough savings to do so even after taking care of normal fam-
ily life and fulfilling basic obligations. Also, personal health the things which they covetously withheld would be tied to their
recent and distant history. Millions of people have memorized necks like a twisted collar. To God belongs the heritage of the
parts or the whole of the Quran yet we do not see the practice of should not be a constraint to undertake the vagaries of pilgrim-
age. Even after these two conditions exist Haj is an obligation heavens and the earth. He is well acquainted with all that we
the Quran in our societies. If the purpose of this book was to be do, says Quraan.
recited and read without understanding the Quran would not only once in a lifetime. The funds intended for investment to
perform Haj more than once should better be diverted to help Haj is a training for God consciousness which should
claim to be a guidance for humanity. reflect throughout the pilgrim's life afterwards. The annual uni-
(Quran 2:1-5) Alif. Lam. Mim. This is the Book in which there the poor and needy. That's the true faith.
For Haj 2009, a quarter million Indian applicants did not versal spiritual gathering, around the community's focal point,
is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil). Who reflects the equality of human beings and universal fraternity
believe in the unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that succeed in the draw of lots conducted by the Central Haj
Committee. Jointly they now possess two and-a-half billion regardless of the geographic, ethnic, political, educational or
We have bestowed upon them; And who believe in that which is socio-economic differences. Its a refresher course in living
revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was revealed rupees that would remain unutilised for one year or more. Not
making such fund available, year after year, to the poor and together and mutual accommodation to be extrapolated and to
before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter. These depend on be applied later in the society at large..
guidance from their Lord. These are the successful. needy contravenes God's scheme of equitable circulation of
wealth in the world. The author is President, Zakat Foundation of India and can be
The Quran was meant to be a book of guidance in every reached at info@zakatindia.org
aspect of life. The recitation with understanding was recommend- Sachar Committee has documented how Muslims are

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LETTERS
MG
MG is eminently successful as a 'think tank' of the community. I will
be happy if MG transforms itself into a daily.
M.A. Nabi, Zilla School Road, Bhadrak- 756100, Orissa
II
I think Milli General Knowledge must be publish in MG. Also I
appeal to the Muslim community to avoid the Baraat ceremony as
well as jahez (dowry). Both are disliked by Hazrat Muhammad
(pbuh) and Allah. Afkaar G.
Naushahra, Balrampur, UP
Illusionary Promises
Reference on Thackery's comments on Muslims. Unfortunately
most of the governmental and non governmental announcements
and inducements offered to Muslims were not implemented in let-
ter and spirit. A vast majority of them had their own political and
personal motives. But these have definitely provided anti-Muslim
politicians an illusionary whip to wield dangerously towards
Muslims. In-spite of many reports and studies pointing to the back-
wardness and severe under representation nothing concrete has
been done other than lip services. It is high time that recommen-
dations of various committees be implemented to alleviate the
backwardness and sufferings of this community.
Mohammed Sadullah Khan, Riyadh - 11443
mosakhan40@gmail.com
Rahul at AMU
Rahul Gandhi in Aligarh said that even a Muslim can get the top job
provided he is capable and has the necessary qualifications (qual-
ities). Let me ask him that since independence was their no man in
Muslims, out of twenty crores was not capable to become the PM.
His father Rajiv Gandhi was after all a pilot he was made PM
because he was the grandson of Nehru. This assignment is more
or the less like the president of India, he cannot make use the pow-
ers and take independent decisions.
Mr. Rahul Gandhi is in dark about the atrocities meted out to
Muslim youths. .Can he tell how many Muslim youths were killed in
fake encounters, they are tortured in jails to downgrade their
morals. They cannot think about any top assignment. Only persons
like Salman Khursheed, Shakeel Ahmad who revere the bosses of
party can become ministers of lower ranks subject to the condition
that they can sacrifice their fundamental beliefs. Mr Rahul is
unaware about the killings of Muslim youths of Aligarh every year
.But the intellectuals know pretty well who are they. The encounter
of Batla House is another example. Rahul and his mother are naïve
regarding these affairs. Tomorrow he will be made the prime min-
ister but his both hands will be tied in the back .
Dr. Abdul Hameed Maqdoomi, Hyderabad
drmaqdoomi@yahoo.com
Ban Gutka, the deadly poison
Due to lack of moral values youths are becoming drug addicts.
Poisonous drug Gutka is being consumed on large scale by boys,
girls and even children. Medical researches bear testimony to the
fact that the main causes of mouth and throat cancer are chewing
Gutka and smoking tobacco. Today, there are about four lakhs
mouth cancer patients in India. Ninety percent of these are Gutka
eaters and smokers. About 50 lakhs boys and girls in their teens
are Gutka eaters. Gutka is a grave threat to their health and lives.
Moreover, it is a threat to India's economy, progress and prosperi-
ty. Central and all state governments should ban Gutka at the ear-
liest.
G. Hasnain Kaif, Bhandara (MS) 441904
Human Welfare Foundation - a personal experience
As my daughter and nephew were selected for felicitation, I too
was present in person with them as a guardian. But I returned with
very bad impression. I found it totally mismanaged programme of
no worth. When they had invited a specific number of students and
they had clearly mentioned on the invitation card that only one per-
son will be allowed as guardian, how they made arrangements for
a smaller number. Even the sufficient chairs were not available
Who killed Karkare?: the real face
of terrorism in India
The book Who Killed Karkare published by you shows that our
police force is the biggest band of liars who very often manufac-
ture most heinous antihuman falsehoods. In the past our judici-
ary has labelled it as a lake full of stinking fish.
Of course there are a few high ranking police officers born in
every religious community who have told the truth at every risk.
May their number multiply. Mr. Mushrif's book deserves to be
published in every provincial language as soon as possible.
Sultan Akhtar Patel, Khanpur Deh- 392150
II
The above titled 320 pages book is a research work of S.M.
Mushrif, former Inspector General of Police, Maharashtra state. It
is published by Pharos Media and Publishing Pvt. Ltd., D- 84, A.F.
Enclave- I, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi- 110025, Price Rs. 300/-. It is
also available in Hindi and Urdu also.
The scholarly and explosive book is based on facts and evi-
dences. Such authentic and truth revealing book is ignored by the
national print and electronic media. Papers owned and edited by
Muslims have written much about the book and its author. Only
one paper "Pune Mirror", a "Times of India" publication has pub-
lished an exhaustive interview of the author Mushrif. Well known
scholar Dr. Sumit s. Paul's detailed review of the book is also pub-
lished by the "Pune Mirror".
In the book and in interview, Mushrif has stated that the intelli-
gence agencies had specific information from USA and RAW
about 26/11 Mumbai attack about Pakistani terrorists coming from
the sea. The agencies did not inform Western coast guards,
P.O. Box 9701, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025
which they arranged from somewhere and somehow after the start
of the programme. They had arranged a breakfast packet for stu-
dents and guardians, which was clearly mentioned on invitation
card and the coupon for which as well as lunch was given to all on
arrival, but the number of packets was so short that two third of
them could not get their packets. I am surprised that the same hap-
pened at lunch time too when they had already faced the shortage
of packs at breakfast and when they were knowing how much
packets are needed because they knew how many coupons they
had distributed. As far as the award is concerned, they awarded Rs
1000 in cash and a certificate. That in my opinion was too little for
the students coming from far away places like Ballia and Meerut.
They paid fare for students too but only bus or train fare from their
station to Lucknow - what about the fare from home to station
which is much costly for the students belonging to remote villages
and from Lucknow station to the venue while they paid nothing for
accompanying guardian. Do they think that a person accompany-
ing his son or daughter comes on foot to his station then takes a
train or bus to Lucknow station and from there comes to the venue
walking and after taking Rs 1000 goes back in the same way with-
out anything to eat and any right to stay in Lucknow. If he stays
(two persons) and takes food, what will Rs 1000 will do, not to
speak of the worthless certificate (the Education Board has already
given them a certificate).
Dr. Athar Iqbal, Kotila, Azamgarh, (UP)
Had Bhopal occured in the US
Imagine, what would have happened if the same sort of Bhopal gas
tragedy occurred in the United States? The perpetrator would have
been stopped to leave the country in the first place, unlike the safe
passage given to Warren Anderson, the chairman of Union Carbide
Corporation. The hapless victims of the gas leak would not have
been allowed to die in wretched conditions and each sufferer would
have got much more than the paltry Rs. 25000 given to their Indian
counterparts. It is really a shame of the government which lacks
the resolve to arrest Anderson and instead declared him as
untraced. Should the 20000 plus victims of Bhopal pay the penal-
ty for the Indian government's nonsensical objective of attracting
foreign capital?
Syed Sultan Mohiddin, Kadapa (A.P)
sultan_awaz@yahoo.co.in
Soaring prices expose UPA concern for aam aadmi
The soaring prices of general articles have torn apart the tall claims
of UPA-II that its had is with aam aadmi. Around 77% Indians in
unorganized sectors who live on less than 20 rupees per day find
it difficult to even arrange meals due to price hike of essentials.
One of the reasons behind this is that the grains already available
to us are rotten in governance warehouses. Less production of the
commodities is of course, a problematic aspect of the food crisis.
As a long term strategy to check soaring prices, farmers must be
encouraged to cultivate more, through subsidized seeds & fertiliz-
ers, assurance of better irrigation facilities and most importantly
reasonable return for their production. This will not only help bal-
ancing supply to the demand but also save lives of our peasants
committing suicide on daily basis.
A Hameed Yousuf, Ulsoor, Bangalroe-08
ahameed12@gmail.com
West Bengal
Despite Home Minister P. Chidambaram's affirmation that the
sending of Central team to West Bengal need not be seen through
the prism of Article 356, the intent of the Congress-TMC combine
to fish in troubled waters is palpable. The chairman of the drafting
committee of the Constitution Dr. B. R. Ambedkar had clearly
warned against the abuse of the power under Article 356 by the
Union Governments for political purposes, stating it as an invasion
on the sovereign authority of the province. His hope that the article
will never be put to operation was short lived, as the deliberate
abuse of this power was started in 1959 when the Communist
Government in Kerala was dismissed by Jawaharlal Nehru. That
the statute, which was framed for usage in the rarest of the rare
Maharashtra Govt. and the police. Had the agencies informed
immediately, the attack could have been avoided. Mushrif alleges
that the agencies did it to give opportunity to the Saffron Brigade
to kill ATS Chief Hemant Karkare etc. in the side operation.
Karkare had arrested and exposed real saffron terrorists Lt.
Colonol Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Mahant Dayanand Pande
etc for many big bomb blasts and waging war against the state to
establish their "Hindu Rashtra" in India. A highest level probe by a
panel of sitting Supreme Court Judges is the need of the hour.
G. Hasnain Kaif, Bhandara (MS) 441904
III
I have complete agreement with Nilofar Suharawardy when she
says in her article "Media & Terrorism" that today's media has
extended its scope from merely being a source of news to devel-
op a certain mindset. To take an example the word 'terrorist' has
adopted a meaning similar to 'a Muslim' only because of media's
biased propaganda. Consequently, when union minister P
Chidambaram said that 'Hindus too are terrorists' a certain group
raised so much hue and cry as if the minister had committed a
heinous crime of telling white lie. Everyone is now aware that
Hindutva elements are behind the terror acts of Malegaon and
Goa bomb blasts. Why can they not be called terrorists? In an
attempt to bring sensationalization in the news, media does not
hesitate even to attribute to some youth what they never did. With
the claim of being impartial, it does not suit media to convict an
innocent without any evidence.
A Hameed Yousuf, Ulsoor, Bangalroe-08
ahameed12@gmail.com
The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009 31
Email: letters@milligazette.com
cases was abused over a hundred times since the past fifty years,
speaks volumes about the attack on the democracy in our country.
The Congress-led UPA government which is basking under the
recent electoral victories would do well by not resorting to any mis-
adventure.
Syed Sultan Mohiddin, Kadapa (A.P)
sultan_awaz@yahoo.co.in
Imam invites people to sing Vande Mataram
For all we know Betul Bazaar in Madhya Pradesh will be remem-
bered as the seat of a historical event which took place on 8
November 2009. The Imam of the Jama Masjid Hafiz Abdul
Razique defied the fatwa of the Dar-ul-uloom and the resolution of
Jamiat-e- Ulama-e Hind. He invited a large number of people from
all sections to sing Vande Mataram in front of the mosque. Perhaps
this will mark an end to the unnecessary resistance to the national
song which Muslim Ulemas and certain Muslim groups have been
voicing off and on through all the years of independence. The con-
troversy on the national song should have been buried in 1937
when the prudent leaders abridged the song to only two innocuous
stanzas to make it acceptable to all non-idol worshippers like
Muslims, Christians, Sikhs etc. For reasons best known to them
certain Muslim groups have kept the pot boiling, thereby exposing
the community to unpleasant barbs and slogan-mongering from
Muslim baiters. The song thus has remained a cause of perpetual
hostility between Hindus and Muslims instead of being a unifying
force as it was intended to be. Hopefully the Imam of Betul Bazaar
will receive endorsement and backing from Muslims all over India
and as it happened in Betul Bazaar, the song will bring the commu-
nities closer.
Dr Mookhi Amir Ali, Santacruz West, Mumbai
drmookhi@hotmail.com
Tamasha of Secular Parties harmful to Muslims
In the last Parliament UPA government ruled for 5 years. The govt.
was led by Congres with the support of parties like RJD, NCP,
Samajwadi etc. The UPA announced to establish AMU campuses
in three areas including one at Katihar. After the announcement, for
three-four years we witnessed many gimmicks of these secular
parties. Nothing happened in those days until the election held last
March. Congress and RJD/LJP etc. lost in Bihar. It was only then
that the Bihar ruling party (NDA) announced to give 100 acre of
land at Kishanganj for the AMU campus. After the announcement
to establish the AMU campus and to give 100 acres to AMU, both
became great secular parties with no result to show. This is the
tamasha of secular parties played to deceive Muslims. But look at
Mr Kapil Sibal, Human Resources Minister, announcing to estab-
lish 14 universities and simultaneously proposing a university at
East Champaran which is cleared by Bihar government also
because this proposal was made by Bihar government first and
okeyed by central government later. The C.M. of Bihar Nitish
Kumar gave assurance to the people of East Champaran to estab-
lish a university in their region. The state government cleared the
land, plan, infrastructure, hospital, bazar, airport, availability of
water etc., in other words, all the facilities required for university.
The same tamasha by secular parties was played in establishing
Mazharul Haque University since 12-13 years and the university is
running in govt. flats while five universities announced much after
the announcement of Mazharul Haque university have started
functioning independently. The tamasha of secular parties played
to deceive the community. And for this, are Muslim leaders not
responsible? MG should start a debate.
S. Haque, Patna
Indian prostration in front of Uncle Sam
This refers to the media report that Obama talked to Dr. Manmohan
Singh seeking India's support in Afghanistan. Close to the heels of
voting against Iran in the United Nations, the UPA government is
clearly kneeling down to the U. S. pressure to drive the last nail into
the coffin of Non Aligned Movement. Mr. Obama's surge plan to
add 30,000 troops in Afghanistan is bound to spiral the ongoing
internal strife in the Af-Pak region. India's involvement into the
bloody mess, even in the name of 'construction and rehabilitation'
is tantamount to inviting more trouble to our country. The U. S. is
caught in the vortex of an unending war in Afghanistan and it is try-
ing to avoid a shameful exit. Dr. Manmohan Singh would do well by
saying a clear "NO" to Obama's call, as the NDA government had
done to a similar request by Mr. George W. Bush for sending
troops to Iraq.
Syed Sultan Mohiddin, Kadapa (A.P)
sultan_awaz@yahoo.co.in
Open letter to Mr Aziz Burney
Please refer to your your article"Azad Bharat ka itihas" (series 51
& 52). Your idea of making a National Monument on the land of
Babri Masjid shall not be acceptable to the muslim mass despite
being appriciated by one Muslim Haji MP. If you make a monu-
ment,then what after Babri monument? monument on Gyan wapi
Mosque ,monuments on thousands of muslim mosques,dargah
including Taj Mahal which are proclaimed temples by fanatic
Hindus.And will you also suggest monuments on Best Bakery,
Moradbad etc writting "Welcome to kill,we want few more monu-
mants". Dear Mr. Burney It is the responsibilty of state to impele-
ment the judgements and book the guilty with out any partiallity or
discrimination and it cannot exuse giving the law and order situa-
tion.If a Government not able to implement court judgement and
can not establish peace and harmony it has no right to continue.
Mr.Burney, Babri Masjid will remain Masjid for ever and only court
decision can be accepted, It is not a Masjid only but it also a iden-
tity of 20 million Muslim of the country , and decision of ummah can
not be taken by a Muslim Haji MP or a devouted reporter of
Ummah.These politicians have made us LOOSER from 1947 to
1992.
Zaheen Usmani - zusmani@rediffmail.com
32 The Milli Gazette, 16-31 December 2009 REGISTERED DL(S)-18/3215/2009-11
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ISSUES MATTER
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The book which says it in black and white that it’s
"Brahminical Terrorism" of “Brahminists" ISSUES
and not "Islamic Terrorism" of “Islamists”... AVAILABLE
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Find about the forces whom Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare dared “THE MILLI GAZETTE”
to expose and eventually he and paid with his life for his courage and
commitment to truth. T HE M ILLI G AZETTE
D-84, Abul Fazl Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar,
This book takes a hard look at some of the major incidents attributed New Delhi-110025-16 India Tel.: (+91-11) 2694 7483
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319 pages p/b Rs 300 / US $20 ISBN 81-7221-036-1

Publishers: Pharos Media & Publishing Pvt Ltd, New Delhi

CONTENTS IN BRIEF
Amroon
I: Hindu-Muslim riots Quality | Commitment | Hygiene
II: Switching gears — from Communalism to the bogey of “Muslim terrorism”
III: Bomb blast investigations
i) Mumbai Train bomb blast case of 2006 (11 July 2006); ii) Malegaon bomb blast case (8 September 2006); iii) Amroon Foods Private Limited
Ahmedabad bomb blasts & Surat unexploded bombs (26 July 2008); iv) Delhi bomb blast 2008 (13 September 2008) 20/1, Site IV, Industrial Area, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad-
v) Samjhauta Express bomb blast case (19 February 2007); vi) Hyderabad Mecca Masjid Blast (18 May 2007) 201010, Uttar Pradesh (India)
vii) Ajmer Sharif Dargah Blast (11 Oct 2007); viii) Serial Blasts in U.P. courts (23 November 2007) Tel :+(91)-(120)-2771126 / 2773724
ix) Jaipur Blasts (13 May 2008); Fax :+(91)-(120)-2771125
IV: Nanded bomb blast (5 April 2006) E-mail: amroonfoods@rediffmail.com
V: Malegaon Bomb Blast 2008
VI: Who Killed Karkare?
VII: The Investigation of the Mumbai Attack case
VIII: Malegaon blast case of 2008 — Post-Mumbai attack investigation
IX: Dubious role of Maharashtrian Brahminists
Maharashtra, the Hindutva (Brahminist) laboratory; No political leader of Maharashtra dares take on Brahminists
X: The Chargesheet against the IB
XI: Urgent measures needed to save country & society

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