Saturday, November 14, 2009
Ajmal hints at tie-up with AGP
GUWAHATI, Nov 13: AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal today told newsmen in Dhubri that his party might go for an electoral understanding with the AGP if the regional party severed its ties with the BJP.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Muslim NGO to build 1000 homes for Assam riots victims
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: New Delhi-based Muslim NGO Rehab India Foundation is going to build 1000 homes for the homeless riot victims in Assam’s Bongaigaon district. The NGO has purchased 15 acres of land for the project.
The foundation for the first phase of the project – 200 homes will be built in three months – was laid earlier this month.
Talking to TwoCircles.net Rehab India Foundation (RIF) Chairman E. Abubacker – who also heads Social Democratic Party of India – said: “The foundation stone for the project of 200 homes was laid on 7th November. By March 2010 we will be completing the first phase of the project. Within five years we will build 1000 homes for the riot victims in Assam.”
Giving more details of the project he said: “In our project area we will also build school, hospital and community centre.”
As result of riots in Bongaigaon thousands of families have been compelled to flee their homes in Assam. Now on the banks of rive or sides of highways they are leading precarious life. They live in huts and find it hard to earn their daily bread. Most of them are the victims of the murderous riots engineered by Bodos in 1994.
The RIF has done a survey of the refugees living in 8 camps in different districts of Assam. The survey identified 24,613 people are living in the refugee camps. The NGO has purchased land in the Hapasara Panchayat of Bongaigaon district. Excluding the land, RIF is going to spend Rs 115 million (US$ 2.3 Million) on the project.
Estimates of the project
1000 homes @ Rs. 1,00,000 each = Rs. 100 million (US$ 2 Million)
100 tube wells @ Rs. 10,000 each = Rs. 1 million (US$ 20000)
School Building @ Rs 600 per sq. ft for 5000 sq ft = Rs. 3 million (US$ 60000)
Furniture/computers etc. = Rs 0.5 million (US$ 10000)
Community centre @ Rs 1000 sq. ft for 5000 sq. ft = Rs. 6 million (US$ 1.2 Million)
Mosque @ Rs. 1000 sq. ft for 4500 sq. ft = Rs. 4.5 million (US Dollars 90000)
http://twocircles.net/2009nov13/muslim_ngo_build_1000_homes_assam_riots_victims.html
New Delhi: New Delhi-based Muslim NGO Rehab India Foundation is going to build 1000 homes for the homeless riot victims in Assam’s Bongaigaon district. The NGO has purchased 15 acres of land for the project.
The foundation for the first phase of the project – 200 homes will be built in three months – was laid earlier this month.
Talking to TwoCircles.net Rehab India Foundation (RIF) Chairman E. Abubacker – who also heads Social Democratic Party of India – said: “The foundation stone for the project of 200 homes was laid on 7th November. By March 2010 we will be completing the first phase of the project. Within five years we will build 1000 homes for the riot victims in Assam.”
Giving more details of the project he said: “In our project area we will also build school, hospital and community centre.”
As result of riots in Bongaigaon thousands of families have been compelled to flee their homes in Assam. Now on the banks of rive or sides of highways they are leading precarious life. They live in huts and find it hard to earn their daily bread. Most of them are the victims of the murderous riots engineered by Bodos in 1994.
The RIF has done a survey of the refugees living in 8 camps in different districts of Assam. The survey identified 24,613 people are living in the refugee camps. The NGO has purchased land in the Hapasara Panchayat of Bongaigaon district. Excluding the land, RIF is going to spend Rs 115 million (US$ 2.3 Million) on the project.
Estimates of the project
1000 homes @ Rs. 1,00,000 each = Rs. 100 million (US$ 2 Million)
100 tube wells @ Rs. 10,000 each = Rs. 1 million (US$ 20000)
School Building @ Rs 600 per sq. ft for 5000 sq ft = Rs. 3 million (US$ 60000)
Furniture/computers etc. = Rs 0.5 million (US$ 10000)
Community centre @ Rs 1000 sq. ft for 5000 sq. ft = Rs. 6 million (US$ 1.2 Million)
Mosque @ Rs. 1000 sq. ft for 4500 sq. ft = Rs. 4.5 million (US Dollars 90000)
http://twocircles.net/2009nov13/muslim_ngo_build_1000_homes_assam_riots_victims.html
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Copenhagen Mosques Face Resistance
IslamOnline.net & Newspapers
CAIRO – Plans to build two mosques in the Danish capital Copenhagen to serve the Muslim community are facing some resistance and stirring a hot debate in the Scandinavian country, especially over funding from overseas.
"There’s very strong pressure — people living here don’t want it," Per Nielsen, a 56-year-old retired history teacher, told The New York Times on Thursday, November 12.
Copenhagen City Council has given the green-light to build two mosques to serve each of the Sunni and Shiite communities.
But the plans are opposed by the anti-immigrant Danish People’s Party (DPP), which is preparing for the November 17 local elections.
"We are against the mosque," said Martin Henriksen, a DPP official, referring to the mosque dedicated to Shiites.
"It’s obvious to everyone that the Iranian regime has something to do with it… The Iranian regime is based on a fascist identity that we don’t want to set foot in Denmark."
Imam Abdul Wahid Pedersen, a Muslim leader who chairs a 15-member committee promoting construction of one of the two mosques, defended the plans.
"If someone wants to chip in, that is O.K.," he told NYT.
"But they will have no influence on running the place."
Denmark has a Muslim minority of nearly 250,000 out of its 5.4 million-strong population.
Islam is the country's second largest religion after the state-run Lutheran Protestant Church.
Support
Copenhagen Deputy Mayor Klaus Bondam, 45, defended the right of Danish Muslims to build mosques.
He said they are not concerned about the funding for the mosques as long as the sources were listed openly.
Bondam noted that the ongoing debate on the mosques construction helps give ammunition to the anti-immigrant DPP.
In the 2007 parliamentary election, the DPP took 25 seats in the 179-member legislature, remaining the third largest party in Denmark.
While not being a part of the cabinet, it maintains a close cooperation with the government parties on most issues.
Some welcome the constructions of the new mosques as a step to improve ties between Denmark and its Muslims.
"I wrote a front-page story saying we somehow had to reconnect to the Muslims, to collect money to build a mosque as a sign of solidarity," said Herbert Pundik, former editor of Politiken daily.
"The steam went out of the project."
Denmark has had tense relations with its Muslims and the Muslim world at large after a mass-circulation daily published in 2005 satirical cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
Preben Anderson, a 61-year-old bricklayer, also supports mosque construction.
"We have churches. We have to have mosques."
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1256909938243&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
CAIRO – Plans to build two mosques in the Danish capital Copenhagen to serve the Muslim community are facing some resistance and stirring a hot debate in the Scandinavian country, especially over funding from overseas.
"There’s very strong pressure — people living here don’t want it," Per Nielsen, a 56-year-old retired history teacher, told The New York Times on Thursday, November 12.
Copenhagen City Council has given the green-light to build two mosques to serve each of the Sunni and Shiite communities.
But the plans are opposed by the anti-immigrant Danish People’s Party (DPP), which is preparing for the November 17 local elections.
"We are against the mosque," said Martin Henriksen, a DPP official, referring to the mosque dedicated to Shiites.
"It’s obvious to everyone that the Iranian regime has something to do with it… The Iranian regime is based on a fascist identity that we don’t want to set foot in Denmark."
Imam Abdul Wahid Pedersen, a Muslim leader who chairs a 15-member committee promoting construction of one of the two mosques, defended the plans.
"If someone wants to chip in, that is O.K.," he told NYT.
"But they will have no influence on running the place."
Denmark has a Muslim minority of nearly 250,000 out of its 5.4 million-strong population.
Islam is the country's second largest religion after the state-run Lutheran Protestant Church.
Support
Copenhagen Deputy Mayor Klaus Bondam, 45, defended the right of Danish Muslims to build mosques.
He said they are not concerned about the funding for the mosques as long as the sources were listed openly.
Bondam noted that the ongoing debate on the mosques construction helps give ammunition to the anti-immigrant DPP.
In the 2007 parliamentary election, the DPP took 25 seats in the 179-member legislature, remaining the third largest party in Denmark.
While not being a part of the cabinet, it maintains a close cooperation with the government parties on most issues.
Some welcome the constructions of the new mosques as a step to improve ties between Denmark and its Muslims.
"I wrote a front-page story saying we somehow had to reconnect to the Muslims, to collect money to build a mosque as a sign of solidarity," said Herbert Pundik, former editor of Politiken daily.
"The steam went out of the project."
Denmark has had tense relations with its Muslims and the Muslim world at large after a mass-circulation daily published in 2005 satirical cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
Preben Anderson, a 61-year-old bricklayer, also supports mosque construction.
"We have churches. We have to have mosques."
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1256909938243&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
Revolt in AGP, campaign for leadership change intensifies
By Syed Zarir Hussain, IANS,
Guwahati : Assam's main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is facing a major political crisis with party supporters and senior leaders demanding a change in leadership after it suffered yet another electoral defeat.
"It is time the party leadership takes serious note of the feelings of the grassroots workers and supporters who are clamouring for a change in leadership. Leadership should not be based on seniority, but should be on the basis of performance and ability," AGP vice president Apurba Kumar Bhattacharya told IANS.
The internal revolt within the AGP has become public after the party lost the by-elections to the Dhekiajuli assembly seat in northern Assam's Sonitpur district, results of which were announced Tuesday.
The Congress party wrested the Dhekiajuli seat from the AGP.
The AGP suffered successive electoral defeats beginning with the 2001 assembly polls, then again the 2006 state elections, the local council polls, the April-May Lok Sabha elections, and more recently the by-elections.
"It would be wrong on the part of the AGP leadership to ignore the sentiments of the party supporters and workers," Bhattacharya said.
Surprisingly, AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary said the loss of Dhekiajuli was not a major upset.
"I don't think the defeat in Dhekiajuli is a major setback for the party. The chief minister campaigned for the Congress party and begged votes and maybe the voters responded to his appeal," the AGP president told journalists.
But other senior party leaders rejected Patowary's claims.
"Definitely the loss in Dhekiajuli is a big setback for the party as this was considered the bastion of the AGP (Sonitpur district) and we had MLAs, including two from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)," former AGP president Brindaban Goswami said.
Party supporters and leaders at the local level are stepping up its campaign for leadership change.
"The entire central leadership of the AGP should resign and there should be a new committee so that the party can survive. Under the present AGP president, the party would simply sink into oblivion," Surajit Deka, secretary of AGP's youth wing of Sonitpur district, said.
http://twocircles.net/2009nov12/revolt_agp_campaign_leadership_change_intensifies.html
Guwahati : Assam's main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is facing a major political crisis with party supporters and senior leaders demanding a change in leadership after it suffered yet another electoral defeat.
"It is time the party leadership takes serious note of the feelings of the grassroots workers and supporters who are clamouring for a change in leadership. Leadership should not be based on seniority, but should be on the basis of performance and ability," AGP vice president Apurba Kumar Bhattacharya told IANS.
The internal revolt within the AGP has become public after the party lost the by-elections to the Dhekiajuli assembly seat in northern Assam's Sonitpur district, results of which were announced Tuesday.
The Congress party wrested the Dhekiajuli seat from the AGP.
The AGP suffered successive electoral defeats beginning with the 2001 assembly polls, then again the 2006 state elections, the local council polls, the April-May Lok Sabha elections, and more recently the by-elections.
"It would be wrong on the part of the AGP leadership to ignore the sentiments of the party supporters and workers," Bhattacharya said.
Surprisingly, AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary said the loss of Dhekiajuli was not a major upset.
"I don't think the defeat in Dhekiajuli is a major setback for the party. The chief minister campaigned for the Congress party and begged votes and maybe the voters responded to his appeal," the AGP president told journalists.
But other senior party leaders rejected Patowary's claims.
"Definitely the loss in Dhekiajuli is a big setback for the party as this was considered the bastion of the AGP (Sonitpur district) and we had MLAs, including two from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)," former AGP president Brindaban Goswami said.
Party supporters and leaders at the local level are stepping up its campaign for leadership change.
"The entire central leadership of the AGP should resign and there should be a new committee so that the party can survive. Under the present AGP president, the party would simply sink into oblivion," Surajit Deka, secretary of AGP's youth wing of Sonitpur district, said.
http://twocircles.net/2009nov12/revolt_agp_campaign_leadership_change_intensifies.html
AGP leaders on ‘divorce’ mode with BJP
Patowary for the debacle that the party has had to face in the successive elections in recent times. These AGP leaders say that whenever the AGP has forged electoral understanding with the BJP, the regional party has had to suffer setback.
In the 2001 Assembly elections, the party led by former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta had inked an electoral pact with the BJP only to be defeated. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, with Patowary at the helm of affairs of the party, the AGP undertook a seat-sharing exercise with the BJP, but was again defeated except for a lone seat, Tezpur, that went to the regional party. The AGP’s poll debacle in the last Lok Sabha polls brought to the fore the discomfort of several party leaders, including religious minority leaders like Sahidul Alam Chou-dhury, on the AGP-BJP seat-sharing stratagem. However, the party went to the just-concluded by-polls along with the BJP, within the same seat-sharing framework and, as usual, failed.
The defeat of the AGP candidate in Dhekiajuli LAC that was with the party for the last 13 years has made the AGP leaders feel that the party candidate did not get BJP votes in the constituency. The Congress candidate defeated the AGP candidate in the constituency by a margin of over 21,000 votes.
According to sources, a majority of AGP leaders are of the firm view that instead of going with the BJP, the regional party should engage itself in consolidating its own strength and maintain good rapport with other regional parties like the Bodoland People’s Progressive Front (BPPF), Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) and the Gana Shakti, besides the Left parties.
Many AGP leaders and workers also feel that a politics centred on ‘‘who will become Chief Minister if the party is voted to power in the State’’ among the top leaders of the party has cost it dearly. Many a party leader say that Patowary and his coterie actually take all vital party decisions and impose them on the party. “This is an ominous trend,” they told this reporter on the condition of anonymity.
In the 2001 Assembly elections, the party led by former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta had inked an electoral pact with the BJP only to be defeated. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, with Patowary at the helm of affairs of the party, the AGP undertook a seat-sharing exercise with the BJP, but was again defeated except for a lone seat, Tezpur, that went to the regional party. The AGP’s poll debacle in the last Lok Sabha polls brought to the fore the discomfort of several party leaders, including religious minority leaders like Sahidul Alam Chou-dhury, on the AGP-BJP seat-sharing stratagem. However, the party went to the just-concluded by-polls along with the BJP, within the same seat-sharing framework and, as usual, failed.
The defeat of the AGP candidate in Dhekiajuli LAC that was with the party for the last 13 years has made the AGP leaders feel that the party candidate did not get BJP votes in the constituency. The Congress candidate defeated the AGP candidate in the constituency by a margin of over 21,000 votes.
According to sources, a majority of AGP leaders are of the firm view that instead of going with the BJP, the regional party should engage itself in consolidating its own strength and maintain good rapport with other regional parties like the Bodoland People’s Progressive Front (BPPF), Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) and the Gana Shakti, besides the Left parties.
Many AGP leaders and workers also feel that a politics centred on ‘‘who will become Chief Minister if the party is voted to power in the State’’ among the top leaders of the party has cost it dearly. Many a party leader say that Patowary and his coterie actually take all vital party decisions and impose them on the party. “This is an ominous trend,” they told this reporter on the condition of anonymity.
Cong rigged S Salmara by-polls: AUDF
GUWAHATI, Nov 11 – After losing South Salmara constituency, the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) today said that it would start preparing for the 2011 Assembly polls from now on. In a release here, AUDF general secretary Hafiz Basir Ahmed Qasimi alleged that the ruling Congress murdered democracy in South Salmara by indulging in large scale rigging and intimidation. He alleged that even Bangladeshi nationals were engaged by the ruling party to rig the polls and in some booths of the constituency, more than 90 percent polling was reported, which is highly suspicious.
Qasimi said that the party did not lose the seat because party president Badruddin Ajmal's son was fielded as the candidate. He said that the AUDF did not indulge in family centric politics as alleged by certain sections and pointed out that the Congress has always been indulging in family centric politics.
Qasimi said that the party did not lose the seat because party president Badruddin Ajmal's son was fielded as the candidate. He said that the AUDF did not indulge in family centric politics as alleged by certain sections and pointed out that the Congress has always been indulging in family centric politics.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
41 Hindu couples tie the knot in Pakistan
By IANS,
Karachi : Over 40 Hindu couples have got married at a mass wedding here. The event was organised by the Pakistan Hindu Council.
Council patron Ramesh Kumar told The News: "This is second mass wedding that we have organised. Last year, 20 couples were married at the Swami Narayan Temple. This year, we were told not to have more than 44 couples."
The 41 couples were married for free at the flower decorated venue.
The brides were dressed in red saris and the grooms wore golden sherwanis. Some of the grooms carried traditional swords. Each couple was allowed 10 guests.
Mukesh Kumar, a groom, said: "I had decided a long time ago that I would get married at a blessed mahurat (auspicious time), which comes only once a year."
His nervous bride, 19-year-old Rakhi, said that the mass wedding was a good way to dispense with all unnecessary and irrelevant expenditures that burden a family.
"I am grateful and thankful to the council for helping us celebrate the biggest moment of our lives," she said.
Former chief justice of Pakistan, Rana Bhagwandas was present on the occasion.
Mangla Sharma, coordinator of the women's wing of the council, said the cost for each couple's wedding was approximately Rs.70,000.
Sharma said: "We paid for everything, including the dowry, which consists of bedroom sets, bridal dresses, and other appliances and utensils. Similarly, the couple did not have to spend a single rupee on food or decorations. We are happy that all the money was collected by the Hindu community and other individuals, and no financial support or help was sought from the government."
Karachi : Over 40 Hindu couples have got married at a mass wedding here. The event was organised by the Pakistan Hindu Council.
Council patron Ramesh Kumar told The News: "This is second mass wedding that we have organised. Last year, 20 couples were married at the Swami Narayan Temple. This year, we were told not to have more than 44 couples."
The 41 couples were married for free at the flower decorated venue.
The brides were dressed in red saris and the grooms wore golden sherwanis. Some of the grooms carried traditional swords. Each couple was allowed 10 guests.
Mukesh Kumar, a groom, said: "I had decided a long time ago that I would get married at a blessed mahurat (auspicious time), which comes only once a year."
His nervous bride, 19-year-old Rakhi, said that the mass wedding was a good way to dispense with all unnecessary and irrelevant expenditures that burden a family.
"I am grateful and thankful to the council for helping us celebrate the biggest moment of our lives," she said.
Former chief justice of Pakistan, Rana Bhagwandas was present on the occasion.
Mangla Sharma, coordinator of the women's wing of the council, said the cost for each couple's wedding was approximately Rs.70,000.
Sharma said: "We paid for everything, including the dowry, which consists of bedroom sets, bridal dresses, and other appliances and utensils. Similarly, the couple did not have to spend a single rupee on food or decorations. We are happy that all the money was collected by the Hindu community and other individuals, and no financial support or help was sought from the government."
MUSA president interrogated
UDALGURI, Nov 9 – Badrul Islam, president of Muslim Students’ Union of Assam (MUSA), was interrogated by Udalguri police on Sunday at Udalguri PS in connection with a case related to killing of Dipak Rabha on August 14 last year during the Assam bandh called by his organisation. It is to be noted that he was arrested at Hatigaon in Guwahati very recently in this connection.
Congress wins both seats in Assam
By IANS,
Guwahati : Assam's ruling Congress party Tuesday won both assembly constituencies that saw by-elections three days ago, defeating opposition candidates by convincing margins.
Wajed Ali Choudhury defeated Asom United Democratic Front's (AUDF) Abdur Rahman Ajmal, son of party chief Badruddin Ajmal, by more than 6,000 votes in the South Salmara seat in western Assam.
Bhimananda Tanti won from Dhekiajulu, defeating Asom Gana Parishad's (SGP) Shib Charan Sahu by more than 21,000 votes.
Guwahati : Assam's ruling Congress party Tuesday won both assembly constituencies that saw by-elections three days ago, defeating opposition candidates by convincing margins.
Wajed Ali Choudhury defeated Asom United Democratic Front's (AUDF) Abdur Rahman Ajmal, son of party chief Badruddin Ajmal, by more than 6,000 votes in the South Salmara seat in western Assam.
Bhimananda Tanti won from Dhekiajulu, defeating Asom Gana Parishad's (SGP) Shib Charan Sahu by more than 21,000 votes.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Abu Azmi attacked by MNS legislators inside assembly
By IANS,
Mumbai : Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) members Monday attacked state Samajwadi Party chief Abu Azmi inside the legislature after he insisted on taking his oath as a legislator in Hindi.
The day's proceedings started smoothly with several members taking oath, wary of a so-called 'open letter' by MNS chief Raj Thackeray this morning urging all 288 legislators to take their oath in Marathi.
However, Azmi had declared that he would not be intimidated by such threats by "extra-constitutional authorities" and announced that he would take the oath in the national language Hindi.
"If they try to stop me, they could attract privilege proceedings," he declared, minutes before stepping inside the high-security Maharashtra legislature at Nariman Point.
When his turn came, Azmi got up to take the oath in Hindi. Even as he uttered the first few words, MNS members, all of them first-timers in the House, sprang up from their seats, shouted slogans and rushed towards Azmi.
As Azmi continued to take the the oath in Hindi, MNS's Ramesh Banjle uprooted the microphone and threw it away.
Other MNS members came and surrounded Azmi, pushed and punched him and one member Ram Kadam was seen on live television slapping and hitting him on the chest and shoulders.
Stunned by the goings-on, several members, including newly-appointed ministers like Congress' Rajendra Darda, Nationalist Congress Party's Ajit Pawar, Peasants and Workers Party leader Meenakshi Patil, and several others, rushed to shield Azmi from the MNS members' wrath, but even they were pushed around.
The Protem Speaker Ganpatrao Deshmukh immediately adjourned the House for over half an hour.
However, the MNS members continued their aggressive stance, indulging in sloganeering, displaying banners and damaging the fittings inside the assembly.
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who was present when the MNS members created the ruckus, termed the incident as "regretful" and urged that the legislators should be dealt with very strictly.
Defending the actions of the party legislators, MNS spokesperson Shirish Parker even argued that Hindi was not the national language of the country.
Mumbai : Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) members Monday attacked state Samajwadi Party chief Abu Azmi inside the legislature after he insisted on taking his oath as a legislator in Hindi.
The day's proceedings started smoothly with several members taking oath, wary of a so-called 'open letter' by MNS chief Raj Thackeray this morning urging all 288 legislators to take their oath in Marathi.
However, Azmi had declared that he would not be intimidated by such threats by "extra-constitutional authorities" and announced that he would take the oath in the national language Hindi.
"If they try to stop me, they could attract privilege proceedings," he declared, minutes before stepping inside the high-security Maharashtra legislature at Nariman Point.
When his turn came, Azmi got up to take the oath in Hindi. Even as he uttered the first few words, MNS members, all of them first-timers in the House, sprang up from their seats, shouted slogans and rushed towards Azmi.
As Azmi continued to take the the oath in Hindi, MNS's Ramesh Banjle uprooted the microphone and threw it away.
Other MNS members came and surrounded Azmi, pushed and punched him and one member Ram Kadam was seen on live television slapping and hitting him on the chest and shoulders.
Stunned by the goings-on, several members, including newly-appointed ministers like Congress' Rajendra Darda, Nationalist Congress Party's Ajit Pawar, Peasants and Workers Party leader Meenakshi Patil, and several others, rushed to shield Azmi from the MNS members' wrath, but even they were pushed around.
The Protem Speaker Ganpatrao Deshmukh immediately adjourned the House for over half an hour.
However, the MNS members continued their aggressive stance, indulging in sloganeering, displaying banners and damaging the fittings inside the assembly.
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who was present when the MNS members created the ruckus, termed the incident as "regretful" and urged that the legislators should be dealt with very strictly.
Defending the actions of the party legislators, MNS spokesperson Shirish Parker even argued that Hindi was not the national language of the country.
AIUDF condemns attack on Abu Asim Azmi in Maharashtra Assembly
By TwoCircles.net News Desk,
New Delhi: All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has condemned attack on Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi in the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra today for taking oath in Hindi, the national language of the country.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had threatened newly elected MLAs against taking oath in any language other than Marathi. Ignoring the threat when SP member Azmi stood up and started taking oath in Hindi, MNS members sprang up, rushed towards Azmi and started slapping him. He was mercilessly hit on chest and shoulders.
AIUDF) has termed the ugliest incidence that occurred in Maharashtra today as ‘most shameful’ for a democratic setup.
MNS MLAs slapped Abu Asim Azmi, president Samajwadi Party (SP), Maharashtra and MLA from Bhivandi while he was taking oath in the assembly house only because he ventured to use his constitutional right while taking oath in the national language -- Hindi.
“It is a highly condemnable act and all right minded people across political spectrum should openly oppose such violence,” said Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, the president of AIUDF.
AIUDF has demanded that the Maharashtra government must take the toughest action possible to make up the crime and to protect individual democratic right keeping intact the unity and integrity of the nation.
“AIUDF believes that if an elected member of the legislative house is physically attacked in the house itself that means there is something seriously wrong going on out there in some political parties. If it went without inflicting the perpetrator appropriate punishment, would entitle the license to slap, punch, kick and humiliate anyone on the minor issues such as regional, lingual and racial bias in dignified places. If Maharashtra is in India, it is for all Indians and any language speaking by an Indian citizen must be accepted with in constitutional framework,” the party said in a statement.
AIUDF president Maulana Ajmal has requested all peace-loving Mumbaikers and all Indians generally to keep patience and seek justice through legal process.
New Delhi: All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has condemned attack on Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi in the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra today for taking oath in Hindi, the national language of the country.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had threatened newly elected MLAs against taking oath in any language other than Marathi. Ignoring the threat when SP member Azmi stood up and started taking oath in Hindi, MNS members sprang up, rushed towards Azmi and started slapping him. He was mercilessly hit on chest and shoulders.
AIUDF) has termed the ugliest incidence that occurred in Maharashtra today as ‘most shameful’ for a democratic setup.
MNS MLAs slapped Abu Asim Azmi, president Samajwadi Party (SP), Maharashtra and MLA from Bhivandi while he was taking oath in the assembly house only because he ventured to use his constitutional right while taking oath in the national language -- Hindi.
“It is a highly condemnable act and all right minded people across political spectrum should openly oppose such violence,” said Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, the president of AIUDF.
AIUDF has demanded that the Maharashtra government must take the toughest action possible to make up the crime and to protect individual democratic right keeping intact the unity and integrity of the nation.
“AIUDF believes that if an elected member of the legislative house is physically attacked in the house itself that means there is something seriously wrong going on out there in some political parties. If it went without inflicting the perpetrator appropriate punishment, would entitle the license to slap, punch, kick and humiliate anyone on the minor issues such as regional, lingual and racial bias in dignified places. If Maharashtra is in India, it is for all Indians and any language speaking by an Indian citizen must be accepted with in constitutional framework,” the party said in a statement.
AIUDF president Maulana Ajmal has requested all peace-loving Mumbaikers and all Indians generally to keep patience and seek justice through legal process.
British Indian Muslims urge OIC to declare Modi persona non grata
By TwoCircles.net News Desk,
New Delhi: British Indian Muslims have urged Organisation of Islamic Countries to declare the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, persona non grata and instruct its member countries to ask their ambassadors in New Delhi neither to accept any invitation by him nor to extend one to him.
In its four page memorandum sent to OIC Head office, Jeddah, Turkish Foreign Ministry, Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Indonesian Embassy in London and New Delhi, Council of Indian Muslims—UK (CIM) has urged the 25th OIC Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation being held in Istanbul, “to declare the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi persona non grata, who, according to Indian newspapers, has been invited for a visit by one of OIC member country, Indonesia.”
“Earlier in November 2008” the memorandum reads, “a similar invitation was extended to him by the government of Qatar but the visit was later cancelled. Recently in 2009 Sultanate of Oman also extended its hand to honour this mass murderer of Muslims. However, after online signature campaigns and protests by the Indian Muslims and justice loving non-Muslims, Government of Oman clarified that it had nothing to do with the invitation and a non Omani company working there had invited Modi on its own initiative.”
Reminding the OIC Heads of states of Modi’s crimes and quoting from human rights organisations’ reports, newspapers and magazine reports, CIM memorandum reads, “Excellencies, as far as the policies of Modi’s government are concerned, nothing has changed and eight years on, the Muslim community in Gujarat is still subjected to a devastating economic and social boycott, institutionalised at every level.
“... by inviting and honouring a mass murderer of Muslims like Modi by none but the Muslim countries themselves, a dangerous message is being given to anti-Muslim elements in India.“
The memorandum emphasises, “Excellencies, we are pained to see the silence of this eminent body on the injustices to which the 150 million Indian Muslims have been subjected. Far from fulfilling its duty to, at least, deplore the crimes meted out upon them the OIC as an organisation and its member states in their individual capacities are giving a green signal to anti-Muslim forces in India to do with Muslims what they like.
“Therefore, Excellencies, we request you to use your good offices, ask the Indonesian Government to withdraw this invitation and issue a communiqué declaring Narendra Modi an Islamophobe and ask all member states to declare him a persona non grata and instruct OIC countries’ ambassadors neither to accept an invitation by Modi led government in Gujarat nor to extend an invitation to this fascist.”
An online petition urging the Indonesian Government to withdraw its invitation to Modi has also been launched by American based Indian Muslims and Dr. Najid Hussain son-in-law of former Member of Parliament Ehsan Jafri, who was dismembered while still alive by the rioters incited by Modi. The petition may be signed on http://www.petitiononline.com/modi09/petition.html
Link of CIM-UK www.coimuk.org
New Delhi: British Indian Muslims have urged Organisation of Islamic Countries to declare the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, persona non grata and instruct its member countries to ask their ambassadors in New Delhi neither to accept any invitation by him nor to extend one to him.
In its four page memorandum sent to OIC Head office, Jeddah, Turkish Foreign Ministry, Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Indonesian Embassy in London and New Delhi, Council of Indian Muslims—UK (CIM) has urged the 25th OIC Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation being held in Istanbul, “to declare the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi persona non grata, who, according to Indian newspapers, has been invited for a visit by one of OIC member country, Indonesia.”
“Earlier in November 2008” the memorandum reads, “a similar invitation was extended to him by the government of Qatar but the visit was later cancelled. Recently in 2009 Sultanate of Oman also extended its hand to honour this mass murderer of Muslims. However, after online signature campaigns and protests by the Indian Muslims and justice loving non-Muslims, Government of Oman clarified that it had nothing to do with the invitation and a non Omani company working there had invited Modi on its own initiative.”
Reminding the OIC Heads of states of Modi’s crimes and quoting from human rights organisations’ reports, newspapers and magazine reports, CIM memorandum reads, “Excellencies, as far as the policies of Modi’s government are concerned, nothing has changed and eight years on, the Muslim community in Gujarat is still subjected to a devastating economic and social boycott, institutionalised at every level.
“... by inviting and honouring a mass murderer of Muslims like Modi by none but the Muslim countries themselves, a dangerous message is being given to anti-Muslim elements in India.“
The memorandum emphasises, “Excellencies, we are pained to see the silence of this eminent body on the injustices to which the 150 million Indian Muslims have been subjected. Far from fulfilling its duty to, at least, deplore the crimes meted out upon them the OIC as an organisation and its member states in their individual capacities are giving a green signal to anti-Muslim forces in India to do with Muslims what they like.
“Therefore, Excellencies, we request you to use your good offices, ask the Indonesian Government to withdraw this invitation and issue a communiqué declaring Narendra Modi an Islamophobe and ask all member states to declare him a persona non grata and instruct OIC countries’ ambassadors neither to accept an invitation by Modi led government in Gujarat nor to extend an invitation to this fascist.”
An online petition urging the Indonesian Government to withdraw its invitation to Modi has also been launched by American based Indian Muslims and Dr. Najid Hussain son-in-law of former Member of Parliament Ehsan Jafri, who was dismembered while still alive by the rioters incited by Modi. The petition may be signed on http://www.petitiononline.com/modi09/petition.html
Link of CIM-UK www.coimuk.org
Ukraine swine flu toll rises to 155
By RIA Novosti,
Kiev : The swine flu toll in Ukraine has risen to 155, the health ministry said Monday.
Most of the deaths occurred in the western regions of Lvov and Ivano-Frankovsk, it said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko Monday urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to provide swine flu vaccines to combat the disease.
All education establishments in the capital remained closed and people were asked to wear masks when venturing out of their homes to prevent the spread of the disease.
Tymoshenko called for help from other countries to tackle the flu outbreak.
An official said Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) is considering a proposal to declare a state of emergency in the country. The outbreak could also delay the presidential polls scheduled Jan 17.
Kiev : The swine flu toll in Ukraine has risen to 155, the health ministry said Monday.
Most of the deaths occurred in the western regions of Lvov and Ivano-Frankovsk, it said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko Monday urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to provide swine flu vaccines to combat the disease.
All education establishments in the capital remained closed and people were asked to wear masks when venturing out of their homes to prevent the spread of the disease.
Tymoshenko called for help from other countries to tackle the flu outbreak.
An official said Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) is considering a proposal to declare a state of emergency in the country. The outbreak could also delay the presidential polls scheduled Jan 17.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Am I a Naxal sympathizer?
By Dr. Shah Alam Khan
The recent upsurge in Naxal violence has led the Hon. Home Minister of India, Mr. P Chidambaram to put a difficult question to the intelligencia of this country, “Are you a Naxal Sympathizer?”, he asked all those who showed any feeling, occult or open, in sympathizing with the red brigade. The question leaves little room for answer and even little space for people like me, who do sympathize with those who have been deprived and protest, sans violence. Doesn’t it sound very much like George W Bush bellowing “Either you are with us or you are with them”?
George Bush’s question and subsequently Chidambaram’s query smothers all breathing space in the middle path of rationality. Such provocative, “agenda-setting” questions are not without meaning. Not only do they smother rationality on one end, they justify the use of unfair, undemocratic and violent means of crushing all forms of remonstration on the other. The question itself answers what the people of ‘shining India’ (and not Bharat) want to listen. What more should we expect from Mr. Chidambaram, the lawyer who at one time represented the controversial British Mining giant Vedanta Resources and the American energy firm Enron.
To an ordinary Indian like me, the Naxal movement is the end result of years of repression of local people, loot of local resources and violation of fundamental rights. Police atrocities combined with a feudal, caste based hierarchy has only made things worse. The gross neglect and disregard of adivasis and tribals of India by ‘rulers’ not very different from Mr. Chidambaram has resulted in the present state of affairs. Only if the prototypes of Mr. Chidambaram would have provided a just and democratic system of equivalence, things would have been different. Unfortunately it is difficult for a Harvard educated, Mr. P. Chidambaram, the protégé of the royal family of Chettinand, to comprehend the tragedy called life which the adivasis of India lead every day.
It is true that there is no place for violence in the India of Gandhi. Violence is to be condemned, abhorred and dismissed. Violence, whatever the cause, has always been a reason to question the sanctity of the Naxal movement. But how justified is it in a democracy for a state to use force against its own people? Mr. Chidambaram’s contemplation in using Army and Air-force in dealing with the Naxals stands to be condemned. Who is not aware of the so called “collateral damage” during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars? The phenomenal loss of life in the cloak of collateral damage has been heart rending. Can Mr. Chidambaram assure against any such “collateral damage” in this one sided offensive? What have we learnt from our experiences in the North East and Kashmir? Why are we depending more and more on force to handle critical, people based issues? Why can’t we address the problems which breed Naxals? Is this the beginning of end of democratic debate in this country?
Another important aspect of this debate is the sudden haste in tackling a problem the roots of which go way back to the 1940s and 50s. The sincerity of the present government in providing instant, cold blooded solution to the Naxal problem is suspect. The recent economic downturn and its financial implications have made India a hot bed for cheap resources. Everything comes cheap in India. Men, women, children, iron-ore, coal, water, forest, climate. The list is endless. Plundering of resources is easy. Even easier is the mismanagement of our ecology, people included. It is this loot of nature and man which is resented by locals and it is this resentment which is uncomfortable to our political class. It doesn’t require rocket science to conclude that the nexus of political class and India Inc. is the main beneficiary from this symbiosis of life and death. No wonder the political class wants to finish off any form of confrontation to this unabated pilferage.
The recent upsurge in Naxal violence has led the Hon. Home Minister of India, Mr. P Chidambaram to put a difficult question to the intelligencia of this country, “Are you a Naxal Sympathizer?”, he asked all those who showed any feeling, occult or open, in sympathizing with the red brigade. The question leaves little room for answer and even little space for people like me, who do sympathize with those who have been deprived and protest, sans violence. Doesn’t it sound very much like George W Bush bellowing “Either you are with us or you are with them”?
George Bush’s question and subsequently Chidambaram’s query smothers all breathing space in the middle path of rationality. Such provocative, “agenda-setting” questions are not without meaning. Not only do they smother rationality on one end, they justify the use of unfair, undemocratic and violent means of crushing all forms of remonstration on the other. The question itself answers what the people of ‘shining India’ (and not Bharat) want to listen. What more should we expect from Mr. Chidambaram, the lawyer who at one time represented the controversial British Mining giant Vedanta Resources and the American energy firm Enron.
To an ordinary Indian like me, the Naxal movement is the end result of years of repression of local people, loot of local resources and violation of fundamental rights. Police atrocities combined with a feudal, caste based hierarchy has only made things worse. The gross neglect and disregard of adivasis and tribals of India by ‘rulers’ not very different from Mr. Chidambaram has resulted in the present state of affairs. Only if the prototypes of Mr. Chidambaram would have provided a just and democratic system of equivalence, things would have been different. Unfortunately it is difficult for a Harvard educated, Mr. P. Chidambaram, the protégé of the royal family of Chettinand, to comprehend the tragedy called life which the adivasis of India lead every day.
It is true that there is no place for violence in the India of Gandhi. Violence is to be condemned, abhorred and dismissed. Violence, whatever the cause, has always been a reason to question the sanctity of the Naxal movement. But how justified is it in a democracy for a state to use force against its own people? Mr. Chidambaram’s contemplation in using Army and Air-force in dealing with the Naxals stands to be condemned. Who is not aware of the so called “collateral damage” during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars? The phenomenal loss of life in the cloak of collateral damage has been heart rending. Can Mr. Chidambaram assure against any such “collateral damage” in this one sided offensive? What have we learnt from our experiences in the North East and Kashmir? Why are we depending more and more on force to handle critical, people based issues? Why can’t we address the problems which breed Naxals? Is this the beginning of end of democratic debate in this country?
Another important aspect of this debate is the sudden haste in tackling a problem the roots of which go way back to the 1940s and 50s. The sincerity of the present government in providing instant, cold blooded solution to the Naxal problem is suspect. The recent economic downturn and its financial implications have made India a hot bed for cheap resources. Everything comes cheap in India. Men, women, children, iron-ore, coal, water, forest, climate. The list is endless. Plundering of resources is easy. Even easier is the mismanagement of our ecology, people included. It is this loot of nature and man which is resented by locals and it is this resentment which is uncomfortable to our political class. It doesn’t require rocket science to conclude that the nexus of political class and India Inc. is the main beneficiary from this symbiosis of life and death. No wonder the political class wants to finish off any form of confrontation to this unabated pilferage.
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