By Anjuman Ara Begum, TwoCircles.net,
Sitara Begum hails from Porompat area in Imphal, Manipur. A renowned social activist in the state and presently head of the NGO United Manipur Muslim Women Development Organisation. Begum did B.A. in 1980 at the age of 26 and became the second female graduate among Muslims in Manipur. Her contribution to the uplift of Manipuri Muslim women is astounding. Her own life is a piece of inspiration for thousands of Muslim women in the state who were denied basic rights in the name of religion. In an interview with Anjuman Ara Begum of TwoCircles.net, Sitara Begum talked about her life and work.
Tell me about your family
My father was Late Abdul Wahab and mother Late Sona Hambi. We were 10 siblings - 7 brothers and 3 sisters. I am 6th child of my parent. I am married and have four children - two daughters and two sons.
How did you start working for the society?
I used to take all kids of my area to school when I was only 6 years old. Villagers liked me a lot for this. I was famous. I was born in 1961. I was only 14-years-old when I got married. At that time I had just passed class 10th. I had no knowledge and my level of understanding was very low. I had given birth to five children when I turned 20. Then one day I became nearly hysterical thinking that I need to do something. I cannot live a life like this. I went to the doctor and did sterilization. I took admission in class 11th and completed my B.A. in 1980 at the age of 26. I became the second female graduate among Muslims in Manipur. I was the first woman to sing song in radio. In school I had a group of 10 girls and we were very active though there were restrictions from the family and community. I loved reading books.
Then?
I helped about 300 women to sterilization. I opened a school at my own house and started to educate adult females of my community.
Did you face resistance for such work?
Yes. People laughed at me as I was teaching housewives and elderly women. People made fun of me. But it did not stop me. Now I want that Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme should start in my area. I went to CM's office and got the order yesterday (October 3, 2009).
Were your students happy?
Yes. They were very happy. Many women could count their money and read letters and newspapers.
How long you taught like this?
This school continued for 6 months. Then I established an organization called United Manipur Muslim Women Development Organisation. I don't get fund for my organization. I never run after funds. I want to empower women of all communities. Today people recognize me as a Muslim woman from Manipur. People recognize me and my contribution. I have traveled all over India and talked about my community. People from all over the world came and visited my hut and talked to me. This is my satisfaction. There is power in unity and fun in working together. I want to see all our communities get united.
What is the main work of your organization?
We are giving vocational training in tailoring and other similar works. After training they go back and work in their localities. We run schools for housewives. Also, we conduct awareness campaigns on domestic violence and violence against women in general.
What is the population of your area?
About 30 thousand people live in Porompat area. Muslims, Nagas, Meitei all are here.
What is the main occupation of the people here?
Mainly agriculture, many others are daily wagers.
What about the education level?
It's very low. Very few graduates are here. And educated women are very less. Only 7 women are graduates here.
What do you think about the Muslim insurgency in Manipur?
In 1993, a fight between Meitei Muslims and Meiteis took place and unfortunately, I think, that gave birth to Muslim insurgency. And later we came to know that some Muslims groups are active here. Situation is quite tense here. Everyday newspapers are flooded with the news of killings. Peoples are afraid to come out. Many people don't have TV. So they don't know what's happening outside. We conduct door to door awareness campaign for women to be aware of the existing situation.
What is the solution to insurgency here?
I don't believe that killing will solve the problem. We need to have peace dialogue. We need to stop fake encounter killings. The struggle will go on.
What about the fear level in people's mind?
We don't go out after 7 pm. There is wide spread extortion. People are afraid to come out.
How do you view Manipur in 10 years now?
I think in ten years from now, the problem of insurgency will be solved. Otherwise there will be civil war.
(Sitara Begum can be contacted on 09856116315 or at her home in Hafiz Hatta, Minuthong, Imphal)
http://twocircles.net/2009oct15/interview_sitara_begum_shining_star_muslim_women_manipur.html
Friday, October 16, 2009
Report: Netanyahu says 9/11 terror attacks good for Israel
By Haaretz Service and Reuters
Tags: Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu
The Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv on Wednesday reported that Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu told an audience at Bar Ilan university that the September 11, 2001 terror attacks had been beneficial for Israel.
"We are benefiting from one thing, and that is the attack on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, and the American struggle in Iraq," Ma'ariv quoted the former prime minister as saying. He reportedly added that these events "swung American public opinion in our favor."
Netanyahu reportedly made the comments during a conference at Bar-Ilan University on the division of Jerusalem as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cast doubt over the veracity of the September 11 attacks Thursday, calling it a pretext to invade Afghanistan and Iraq.
"Four or five years ago, a suspicious event occurred in New York. A building collapsed and they said that 3,000 people had been killed but never published their names," Ahmadinejad told Iranians in the holy city of Qom.
"Under this pretext, they [the U.S.] attacked Afghanistan and Iraq and since then, a million people have been killed only in Iraq."
Speaking Wednesday at a news conference on the Iran threat, Netanyahu compared Ahmadinejad to Adolf Hitler and likened Tehran's nuclear program to the threat the Nazis posed to Europe in the late 1930s.
Netanyahu said Iran differed from the Nazis in one vital respect, explaining that "where that [Nazi] regime embarked on a global conflict before it developed nuclear weapons," he said. "This regime [Iran] is developing nuclear weapons before it embarks on a global conflict."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/975574.html
Tags: Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu
The Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv on Wednesday reported that Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu told an audience at Bar Ilan university that the September 11, 2001 terror attacks had been beneficial for Israel.
"We are benefiting from one thing, and that is the attack on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, and the American struggle in Iraq," Ma'ariv quoted the former prime minister as saying. He reportedly added that these events "swung American public opinion in our favor."
Netanyahu reportedly made the comments during a conference at Bar-Ilan University on the division of Jerusalem as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cast doubt over the veracity of the September 11 attacks Thursday, calling it a pretext to invade Afghanistan and Iraq.
"Four or five years ago, a suspicious event occurred in New York. A building collapsed and they said that 3,000 people had been killed but never published their names," Ahmadinejad told Iranians in the holy city of Qom.
"Under this pretext, they [the U.S.] attacked Afghanistan and Iraq and since then, a million people have been killed only in Iraq."
Speaking Wednesday at a news conference on the Iran threat, Netanyahu compared Ahmadinejad to Adolf Hitler and likened Tehran's nuclear program to the threat the Nazis posed to Europe in the late 1930s.
Netanyahu said Iran differed from the Nazis in one vital respect, explaining that "where that [Nazi] regime embarked on a global conflict before it developed nuclear weapons," he said. "This regime [Iran] is developing nuclear weapons before it embarks on a global conflict."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/975574.html
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
ADAMS...Serving Muslims, US Diversity
By Dina Rabie, IOL Staff
WASHINGTON — Walking around the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center, one can’t help noticing the diversity of people going in and coming out of the iconic building in Virginia’s tranquil outer suburbs.
The Center is more like a melting pot for Muslim ethnicities in the United States, including Asians, Africans, Americans, Latinos and Arabs.
"We believe in diversity, diversity of gender and ethnicity,” Khalid Iqbal, deputy director of ADAMS, told IslamOnline.net during a visit to the center.
“But we also think that in order to live in harmony, we have got to have diversity of faith."
ADAMS, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, was founded by a handful of families who came to the northern Virginia area nearly three decades ago.
"They realized that they need a place not only to pray but also for schooling and all other necessities of Muslims," said Iqbal.
"Today we are humbled to be one of the biggest Islamic centers here in the US."
Officials at ADAMS say that the growth of the community over the years brought their needs to the forefront.
"We serve right now anywhere from 5000 to 7000 families," said Iqbal, adding that they offer service "birth to death."
"Most of our programs are tailored to the needs of the community we have."
Northern Virginia is home to a sizable Muslim community of some 350,000 people from all ethnicities and backgrounds.
Multiple Services
Some of the programs ADAMS runs aim at addressing social problems such as domestic violence.
“We also have another program called the New Muslim Support Network,” said Iqbal.
“We started this program two years ago because we decided that when people accept Islam they have to find our full support in term of not only education but also social support.”
The center’s zakah committee offers another major service to the local community, asserts Aysha Nudrat Yunus.
“We are getting more funds every year,” she notes.
“We distribute the funds among the poor and needy and we also have a program for the disabled and elderly.”
Education remains a top priority for the ADAMS center.
“Our primary objective is education, no doubt,” says Iqbal, the deputy director.
“But we want to do it in a way that is attractive to people.”
The center’s Sunday school serves children from the 4-12 age group.
“Currently we have 510 children, and we have 20 more on the waiting list,” Dr. Umaia Yussef, the principal, told IOL.
The school aims to build the Islamic character in kids and make them proud of their identity.
“We want them to be good Muslims and behave according to the Islamic way.”
Students learn everything about Islam, Qur’an, hadith and also get to learn the Arabic language.
“But we focus not on the quantity but on the quality. And we don’t concentrate only on the education aspect but also the social aspect. They learn through activities,” says Yussef.
Besides the Sunday school there is also an adult age education program which runs seven days a week and a separate Qur’an education program.
“We have subjects from Qur’an to tafseer, history, social issues, current affairs, secular subjects, we have our computer lab, you name it we have it,” explains Iqbal, ADAMS deputy director.
Outreach
But serving the local Muslim community, whether in Dulles or across Virginia, is not the sole aim of the ADAMS center.
“We have a full fledged interfaith program,” Iqbal underlines.
“We feel it’s a very important area for us. We need to work together and live together in harmony with other faiths.”
Every week, the center welcomes scores of visitors, Muslims and non-Muslims, who come to learn about American Muslims.
The holy fasting month of Ramadan is usually a major chance for ADAMS to reach out to non-Muslims.
“Before Ramadan we send letters to invite everyone in the area and tell them that Ramadan is coming and we hope they come and visit us in the center.”
Feed the Hungry is another program ADAMS established to serve the wider community.
“We established this program a while ago because we realized it is our duty and our responsibility that no body goes hungry in our area,” maintains Iqbal.
For him, outreach and interfaith activities are the main remedy for the ills of prejudices and stereotypes America’s Muslims have been enduring.
“America, unfortunately, is built on the idea of good guys and bad guys. At times they were the Indians, the Italians, the Japanese, the blacks. Right now I think that Muslims are targeted.”
He believes Muslims must play their part in changing such misconceptions and projecting the truth about Islam.
“We have a role to play. You don’t have to convert people but you have to inform people.
“If you take a piece of gold and try to appraise it, and you rub it, it will shine.”
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1254573591960&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
WASHINGTON — Walking around the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center, one can’t help noticing the diversity of people going in and coming out of the iconic building in Virginia’s tranquil outer suburbs.
The Center is more like a melting pot for Muslim ethnicities in the United States, including Asians, Africans, Americans, Latinos and Arabs.
"We believe in diversity, diversity of gender and ethnicity,” Khalid Iqbal, deputy director of ADAMS, told IslamOnline.net during a visit to the center.
“But we also think that in order to live in harmony, we have got to have diversity of faith."
ADAMS, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, was founded by a handful of families who came to the northern Virginia area nearly three decades ago.
"They realized that they need a place not only to pray but also for schooling and all other necessities of Muslims," said Iqbal.
"Today we are humbled to be one of the biggest Islamic centers here in the US."
Officials at ADAMS say that the growth of the community over the years brought their needs to the forefront.
"We serve right now anywhere from 5000 to 7000 families," said Iqbal, adding that they offer service "birth to death."
"Most of our programs are tailored to the needs of the community we have."
Northern Virginia is home to a sizable Muslim community of some 350,000 people from all ethnicities and backgrounds.
Multiple Services
Some of the programs ADAMS runs aim at addressing social problems such as domestic violence.
“We also have another program called the New Muslim Support Network,” said Iqbal.
“We started this program two years ago because we decided that when people accept Islam they have to find our full support in term of not only education but also social support.”
The center’s zakah committee offers another major service to the local community, asserts Aysha Nudrat Yunus.
“We are getting more funds every year,” she notes.
“We distribute the funds among the poor and needy and we also have a program for the disabled and elderly.”
Education remains a top priority for the ADAMS center.
“Our primary objective is education, no doubt,” says Iqbal, the deputy director.
“But we want to do it in a way that is attractive to people.”
The center’s Sunday school serves children from the 4-12 age group.
“Currently we have 510 children, and we have 20 more on the waiting list,” Dr. Umaia Yussef, the principal, told IOL.
The school aims to build the Islamic character in kids and make them proud of their identity.
“We want them to be good Muslims and behave according to the Islamic way.”
Students learn everything about Islam, Qur’an, hadith and also get to learn the Arabic language.
“But we focus not on the quantity but on the quality. And we don’t concentrate only on the education aspect but also the social aspect. They learn through activities,” says Yussef.
Besides the Sunday school there is also an adult age education program which runs seven days a week and a separate Qur’an education program.
“We have subjects from Qur’an to tafseer, history, social issues, current affairs, secular subjects, we have our computer lab, you name it we have it,” explains Iqbal, ADAMS deputy director.
Outreach
But serving the local Muslim community, whether in Dulles or across Virginia, is not the sole aim of the ADAMS center.
“We have a full fledged interfaith program,” Iqbal underlines.
“We feel it’s a very important area for us. We need to work together and live together in harmony with other faiths.”
Every week, the center welcomes scores of visitors, Muslims and non-Muslims, who come to learn about American Muslims.
The holy fasting month of Ramadan is usually a major chance for ADAMS to reach out to non-Muslims.
“Before Ramadan we send letters to invite everyone in the area and tell them that Ramadan is coming and we hope they come and visit us in the center.”
Feed the Hungry is another program ADAMS established to serve the wider community.
“We established this program a while ago because we realized it is our duty and our responsibility that no body goes hungry in our area,” maintains Iqbal.
For him, outreach and interfaith activities are the main remedy for the ills of prejudices and stereotypes America’s Muslims have been enduring.
“America, unfortunately, is built on the idea of good guys and bad guys. At times they were the Indians, the Italians, the Japanese, the blacks. Right now I think that Muslims are targeted.”
He believes Muslims must play their part in changing such misconceptions and projecting the truth about Islam.
“We have a role to play. You don’t have to convert people but you have to inform people.
“If you take a piece of gold and try to appraise it, and you rub it, it will shine.”
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1254573591960&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
Babar Ali…World’s Youngest Headmaster
IslamOnline.net & News Agencies
MURSHIDABAD, India – Lining up his friends and poor villagers at the backyard of his house, Babar Ali did not expect his play-acting teaching to become a reality.
"In the beginning I was just play-acting, teaching my friends," the 16-year-old told the BBC.
"But then I realized these children will never learn to read and write if they don't have proper lessons."
Growing up in Murshidabad in West Bengal, Ali made a remarkable tale of the desire to help others learn amid abject poverty.
As the clock ticks 6 a.m., he gets up to start his daily journey for the Raj Govinda school, which requires a 10km (six mile) ride and a couple of kilometers walk.
"It's not easy for me to come to school because I live so far away… but the teachers are good and I love learning," he says in his neat blue and white uniform.
"And my parents believe I must get the best education possible that's why I am here."
His parents pay 1,800 rupees a year ($40) for Ali to attend school.
But many other families cannot afford to pay this small amount of money to admit their kids to schools.
Realizing that, Ali is volunteering to share the knowledge he gets in school with his fellow villagers.
"It's my duty to educate them, to help our country build a better future."
Ali launched his pioneering project when he was only 9, making him the world’s known youngest headmaster.
Poverty Challenger
Arriving back from school at 4 p.m., Ali rings the bell to summon his village students to his home backyard.
He lectures them on discipline and starts his lessons.
Along with Ali there are now 10 volunteer teachers at the afternoon school, all of them students at school or college.
The afternoon school now has 800 students, all from poor families, who come after finishing their day's work.
"My father is handicapped and can't work," says Chumki Hajra, 14, who has never been to school.
Ever since she was five, Chumki has been working in domestic service against 200 rupees a month ($5), the amount her family bitterly needs to survive.
"If I don't work, we can't survive as a family…We need the money.”
But thanks to Ali, she is able to get some education with hundreds of poor children in his village.
They pay anything. Even books and food are given free, funded by donations.
The school has been recognized by local authorities after helping to increase literacy rates in the area and Ali was awarded for his outstanding work.
"Our area is economically deprived," notes Ali.
"Without this school many kids wouldn't get an education, they'd never even be literate."
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/S...News/NWELayout
MURSHIDABAD, India – Lining up his friends and poor villagers at the backyard of his house, Babar Ali did not expect his play-acting teaching to become a reality.
"In the beginning I was just play-acting, teaching my friends," the 16-year-old told the BBC.
"But then I realized these children will never learn to read and write if they don't have proper lessons."
Growing up in Murshidabad in West Bengal, Ali made a remarkable tale of the desire to help others learn amid abject poverty.
As the clock ticks 6 a.m., he gets up to start his daily journey for the Raj Govinda school, which requires a 10km (six mile) ride and a couple of kilometers walk.
"It's not easy for me to come to school because I live so far away… but the teachers are good and I love learning," he says in his neat blue and white uniform.
"And my parents believe I must get the best education possible that's why I am here."
His parents pay 1,800 rupees a year ($40) for Ali to attend school.
But many other families cannot afford to pay this small amount of money to admit their kids to schools.
Realizing that, Ali is volunteering to share the knowledge he gets in school with his fellow villagers.
"It's my duty to educate them, to help our country build a better future."
Ali launched his pioneering project when he was only 9, making him the world’s known youngest headmaster.
Poverty Challenger
Arriving back from school at 4 p.m., Ali rings the bell to summon his village students to his home backyard.
He lectures them on discipline and starts his lessons.
Along with Ali there are now 10 volunteer teachers at the afternoon school, all of them students at school or college.
The afternoon school now has 800 students, all from poor families, who come after finishing their day's work.
"My father is handicapped and can't work," says Chumki Hajra, 14, who has never been to school.
Ever since she was five, Chumki has been working in domestic service against 200 rupees a month ($5), the amount her family bitterly needs to survive.
"If I don't work, we can't survive as a family…We need the money.”
But thanks to Ali, she is able to get some education with hundreds of poor children in his village.
They pay anything. Even books and food are given free, funded by donations.
The school has been recognized by local authorities after helping to increase literacy rates in the area and Ali was awarded for his outstanding work.
"Our area is economically deprived," notes Ali.
"Without this school many kids wouldn't get an education, they'd never even be literate."
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/S...News/NWELayout
Nepal Muslims criticize government’s Haj ‘ban’
Kathmandu, Oct 12: After protests by Buddhist monks against the Nepal government’s alleged intervention in their religion, now the Muslim community is in an uproar over the bid to control the number of devotees making the annual pilgrimage, ‘Haj’ to Saudi Arabia’s holy city Mecca, warning to take to streets in protest.
The protests started after the new government of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal formed a 20-member Haj Committee this month to facilitate the passage of Haj pilgrims to Mecca in November. According to Taj Mohammad Mian, convenor of the Unified Muslim National Struggle Committee, an umbrella of over two dozen Muslim organisations, the committee has instructed the district administrations not to issue passports to Haj pilgrims who are above 65 years of age. “Every year, about 500 people go on Haj from Nepal,” Mian told. “Last year, there were 475 people. Most of them are above 65, including octogenarians. The new order is a virtual ban on Haj. It is anti-Islam since it is the dream of all Muslims to go on Haj once in a life time.” Mian said that no other south Asian country, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, had issued such a directive.
The protesters are also demanding that the Nepali ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Hamid Ansari, be recalled, blaming the ‘ineptitude’ of the embassy there for the ‘ban’. They are also condemning the new Haj Committee, which comprises members of the ruling parties, saying parliament had ordered the government not to have more than seven members for the sake of efficiency. Two members of the community on Sunday moved court against the new committee, saying it violated parliamentary guidelines. Though Nepal, once the only Hindu kingdom in the world, became secular three years ago, the religious minorities say the change has been simply on paper.
“Unlike India, there is no permanent Haj Committee to work throughout the year for the pilgrims. Every year, the government appoints an ad hoc committee barely two months before the journey when due to the rush of pilgrims from all over the world, airlines' flights are booked six months in advance and so are all accommodation in Mecca.” In the past, Nepal’s then prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala had to make a personal request to the Pakistan government which asked its national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, to add a special flight for Haj pilgrims for Nepal. The previous government of Maoist prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda had signed a six-point pact with the protesting Muslim community, agreeing to form a permanent Haj Committee and a Haj House near a key mosque in Kathmandu where pilgrims coming from different parts of Nepal could stay before embarking on the journey to Mecca. Though the agreement was passed by the cabinet, none of the pledges has been implemented, including establishing a Muslim Commission to address the problems of the Muslims, who remain one of the most disadvantaged communities in Nepal. About five per cent of Nepal’s nearly 29 million population is considered to be Muslim. (IANS)
The protests started after the new government of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal formed a 20-member Haj Committee this month to facilitate the passage of Haj pilgrims to Mecca in November. According to Taj Mohammad Mian, convenor of the Unified Muslim National Struggle Committee, an umbrella of over two dozen Muslim organisations, the committee has instructed the district administrations not to issue passports to Haj pilgrims who are above 65 years of age. “Every year, about 500 people go on Haj from Nepal,” Mian told. “Last year, there were 475 people. Most of them are above 65, including octogenarians. The new order is a virtual ban on Haj. It is anti-Islam since it is the dream of all Muslims to go on Haj once in a life time.” Mian said that no other south Asian country, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, had issued such a directive.
The protesters are also demanding that the Nepali ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Hamid Ansari, be recalled, blaming the ‘ineptitude’ of the embassy there for the ‘ban’. They are also condemning the new Haj Committee, which comprises members of the ruling parties, saying parliament had ordered the government not to have more than seven members for the sake of efficiency. Two members of the community on Sunday moved court against the new committee, saying it violated parliamentary guidelines. Though Nepal, once the only Hindu kingdom in the world, became secular three years ago, the religious minorities say the change has been simply on paper.
“Unlike India, there is no permanent Haj Committee to work throughout the year for the pilgrims. Every year, the government appoints an ad hoc committee barely two months before the journey when due to the rush of pilgrims from all over the world, airlines' flights are booked six months in advance and so are all accommodation in Mecca.” In the past, Nepal’s then prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala had to make a personal request to the Pakistan government which asked its national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, to add a special flight for Haj pilgrims for Nepal. The previous government of Maoist prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda had signed a six-point pact with the protesting Muslim community, agreeing to form a permanent Haj Committee and a Haj House near a key mosque in Kathmandu where pilgrims coming from different parts of Nepal could stay before embarking on the journey to Mecca. Though the agreement was passed by the cabinet, none of the pledges has been implemented, including establishing a Muslim Commission to address the problems of the Muslims, who remain one of the most disadvantaged communities in Nepal. About five per cent of Nepal’s nearly 29 million population is considered to be Muslim. (IANS)
Naga couple harassed by drunken men, cops in Delhi
NEW DELHI, Oct 12: A couple from Nagaland who alleged they were abused by a group of drunk men and subsequently the “callous police”, were able to file a complaint with the cops almost 20 hours after the incident and identified the perpetrators Monday.
The couple — Shimray Yangya and his wife Ton — were allegedly abused by a group of drunken men in south Delhi’s Safdarjung Enclave area. The two are residents of southwest Delhi’s Dwarka area and were visiting their cousins late Saturday when they were confronted by the drunk men in a car park.
“They first passed lewd comments at my wife and made very embarrassing racial comments too,” Yangya told IANS. According to Yangya, he had parked his car outside his cousin’s residence. Later when he went out to check the car, he found that the tyres were deflated. He said that when he protested, the men beat up his cousin and him. “They snatched our phones and money and took the shirt I was wearing too.”
His travails didn’t end there. After calling the cops thrice, five police vans showed up at around 2 or 3 am by which time a crowd of about 30 people had gathered. “The cops flatly refused to arrest the culprits and instead tried shoving my wife and other women from my family into the vans. There were no policewomen there. After a whole night at the police station and after building pressure with the help of student union leaders and human rights activists the police finally registered a case 20 hours later,” Yangya said.
While the couple have already identified the men, they will also identify the cops later on Monday. Police meanwhile said it was a fight between neighbours and two cases have been registered in connection with the incident. (IANS)
The couple — Shimray Yangya and his wife Ton — were allegedly abused by a group of drunken men in south Delhi’s Safdarjung Enclave area. The two are residents of southwest Delhi’s Dwarka area and were visiting their cousins late Saturday when they were confronted by the drunk men in a car park.
“They first passed lewd comments at my wife and made very embarrassing racial comments too,” Yangya told IANS. According to Yangya, he had parked his car outside his cousin’s residence. Later when he went out to check the car, he found that the tyres were deflated. He said that when he protested, the men beat up his cousin and him. “They snatched our phones and money and took the shirt I was wearing too.”
His travails didn’t end there. After calling the cops thrice, five police vans showed up at around 2 or 3 am by which time a crowd of about 30 people had gathered. “The cops flatly refused to arrest the culprits and instead tried shoving my wife and other women from my family into the vans. There were no policewomen there. After a whole night at the police station and after building pressure with the help of student union leaders and human rights activists the police finally registered a case 20 hours later,” Yangya said.
While the couple have already identified the men, they will also identify the cops later on Monday. Police meanwhile said it was a fight between neighbours and two cases have been registered in connection with the incident. (IANS)
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