Men, Mission & Machines

During his tenure as Deputy Director General, Doordarshan, Anees-Ul-Haq crusaded for the cause of Muslim representation through the channel, now teaming up with son Shawar, his channel Suroor T.V is making tremendous strides.


Ruk jana nahin tu kahin haar ke, kaaton pe chalke milenge saaye bahar ke…


These lyrics suit well a brave-heart who walked on thorns, escaped 17 attempts on his life , got shuttled from one corner of India to another, and still kept smiling! K.M Anees ul-Haq serves as a example of a man who has slogged it out for the community and despite the ups and downs he had to face along this journey, wants to do more and more for the Muslims and the society.


Remember the glorious golden era of Doordarshan, when it was the one and only supreme channel watched by Indians, remember those sober sensible serials aired by Doordarshan which carried a patriotic flavour and had a message for all? Yes, it was during this era of Doordarshan that had Anees ul-Haq as its Deputy Director General and of course, All India Radio too.


Armed with a Bachelors Degree in Science from Bangalore University, followed by M.A in Urdu with Arabic from Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupathi , it was not all books for Anees ul-Haq. Right since his student days, he had the missionary zeal to serve the society. He initiated the Urdu Association, was founder-secretary of the Islamic Association and also founder secretary of Sir Syed Education way back in 1970. Anees ul-Haq, along with his group of friends believed in social service at the grassroot level, so they spent time visiting the slums and promoting the cause of education among the slum kids.


It was through the UPSC that he got selected as Assistant Station Director, Doordarshan at Srinagar. Within three and a half years, he became the Director of AIR, Gorakhpur and then AIR Jodhpur. Back in South India, Anees ul-Haq was promoted as Selection Grade Director (Under-Secretary) for Hyderabad, Doordarshan.


Known for his discipline and perfection, he was roped in to take care of Doordarshan. Bangalore. Jammu and Kashmir was facing the peak of militancy then when the Director, Doordarshan in Sringar was assassinated by militants. The Union Cabinet of India then took the decision to have only a Muslim at the helm of affairs at Doordarshan there. So Anees Ul-Haq was deputed as Director, Doordarshan, Srinagar. “Working under strict security, I became the target of the ISI and escaped 17 attempts on my life,” he recalls. After two years, in 1992, he was shifted back to Bangalore and in 1994 took over as Deputy Director General, Doordarshan Bangalore. Here Anees-ul-Haq led his one-man crusade for the cause of airing the 10-minute Urdu News on Doordarshan. This had sparked off riots in the city and was one of the most stressful times for him.


While the politicians and the bureaucrats washed their hands off the episode, it was left to Anees-ul-Haq to fight a lone battle for the cause of Urdu News. But he bravely faced the pressure alone, even when the CBI raided his home just after the riots. Bangalore Doordarshan’s loss was Delhi’s gain as Anees ul-Haq soon took charge as Director General Doordarshan in the Capital city.


Now back home in Bangalore, he has become the source of inspiration for the younger generation and especially so for his son Shawar ul-Haq. This youngster would have flown across the seven seas after his BBM to pursue further studies, but he decided to complete his Post Graduation in Mass Communication from Bangalore University. Shawar always watched his Dad going through the trials and tribulations of doing something for the Muslims. During his tenure with Doordarshan, Anees-ul Haq had left no stone unturned to get Muslim representation in the programmes, be it in educational, cultural or any field aired on the channel. He would lose his sleep over the fact that Muslims were never in the forefront of the nation. This has rubbed off on Shawar too and now he has a whole lot of questions- “why Muslims think they are backward, why are they always behind the scenes, why are they not coming up economically or socially? This motivated Shawar to start Suroor T.V, Urdu Channel” Of the 60 lakh population, Bangalore has about 15 lakh Urdu speaking people. With the advent of the latest technology and electronic media, in the form of television, it became imperative to utilize this technology. Suroor T.V has taken up the challenge to project local leadership, intellectual activities and provide the Urdu speaking population with information and knowledge. Launched in November 2003, Suroor T.V reaches 30 lakh viewers through 18 lakh houses in every nook and corner of Bangalore city,” explains Shawar.


In a very short span, Suroor T.V has made tremendous strides and now is the most popular channel of Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi speaking linguistic minorities of Bangalore. Packed with its hourly News bulletin and a variety of informative programmes, Suroor T.V is the only channel which has made efforts to go deeper into the culture of Muslims, rediscovering the rich heritage of Muslims and project them in an interesting fashion.


The viewers identify with the programmes as they are realistic and not out of this world. “Muslims have this subjugated mentality-they feel they are backward, downtrodden and this self-pity cannot just go on. When Allah has given us the faculties and the abilities, why cannot we stand up on our feet and show the world that we can play a major part in the progress of the nation? We should come out of our shell and stop blaming others for our condition today,” says Anees-ul-Haq who is quietly playing the role of Honorary Advisor, Suroor T.V. Now shuttling between Delhi and Bangalore, Shawar is all set to create a history of sorts through Suroor T.V which will showcase Muslim glory of not just the past, but the present too!


Anees ul-Haq and Shawar can be reached at aneesulhaq2004@yahoo.co.in or kashifhaq@rediffmail.com. No 47, II Cross Vivekananda Nagar, Bangalore-560033Ph:56971555, 9845251344.

Zafar Sareshwala of Parsoli corporation has worked out an investment model that does not violate Shariah.


Zafar Sareshwala is planning to channelise Muslim funds into the stock markets. He sold his property worth Rs 55 lakh and started the brokerage business with a new focus — Muslim wealth.


“Have you ever seen a brokerage in a Muslim area? There is not even one at Ahmedabad’s Kalupura or Mumbai’s Mohammad Ali Road. The Muslim population has enough wealth but there is no avenue for investment. I decided to channelise a fraction of that into the stock market,” says Sareshwala.


He began by studying the institution of zakat, the most important pillar of the Islamic economic system. The objective is to ensure a safety net for the poorer section of the Muslim population. The collective wealth of 1 per cent population of the Middle East lying in Western banks is conservatively estimated to be over $800 billion.


Sareshwala found there are 2 crore Zakat-paying Muslims in India, 8,000 of them in Ahmedabad. About 100 zakat institutions collect over Rs 100 crore from them every year.


Sareshwala contacted the zakat
collectors (called Safirs) and got the addresses of the zakat paying Muslims. Next, he sent direct mails to these 8,000 zakat-paying Muslims, explaining why they should invest in markets. By October 2003, 300 of them responded positively to his proposal. The number has gone up to 550 now. To convince them, Sareshwala worked out an investment model that does not violate Shariah. For instance, Shariah does not allow investment in companies which deal with banking and insurance, manufacturing, selling or offering liquor or pork, or involved in gambling, amusement parks, entertainment etc. Then, there were financial parameters like debt:equity ratio or market cap:debt ratio.


First, Parsoli Corporation looked at 5,000 stocks traded on the Indian market. Close to 2,500 passed the test of profile of business, but after applying the financial ratio filter, 215 stocks of telecom, IT, steel, cement, agri-machinery, diamonds etc qualified for investment.


At the final stage, Parsoli developed an index of 40 extra liquid stocks of Group A as halal stocks where Muslims can invest. The list includes ONGC, Infosys, Hero Honda, Ranbaxy and Neyveli Lignite. “We are not targeting the 14 crore Muslims of the country. Our target is the 2 crore zakat payers, to hand-hold them to the stock market following the rules of the Shariah. We are opening offices in Gujarat, Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur, Bangalore and Calicut where there is a concentration of rich Muslims,” Sareshwala says.


Parsoli Corporation is a listed entity. It is planning to enter the capital market with an equity offering again to raise funds to take care of its expansion plans.


“Post 9/11, there has been a flight of over $200 billion capital from the US. The Middle East Muslims are looking for a safe haven to park their money.” Indian markets and his brokerage offer them that opportunity. To cash in on the global Muslim wealth, he has already set up a base in UK — Parsoli (UK) Ltd, by taking over a local outfit.


“We are positioning ourselves on the line of IFAs (independent financial advisors) for the entire Muslim world. We are not reinventing the wheel. There is Muslim money in the system. We are merely finding ways to channelise that money,” he says.


Does that mean that he caters only to the Muslim population? Sareshwala says he has Hindu clients too in the ratio of 3:10 but the predominant focus is the Muslims.


“In the UK, no Muslim goes to Tesco to buy halal meat. It’s always Mr. Khan’s Butchers. Similarly, when it comes to investment, the retail clients will trust my kind of endeavors and not the big houses,” he says. Time and Allah will tell.


Sareshwala wants to expand his business and enter the derivatives and futures and options segments of the market. They are perceived to be un-Islamic but he is convinced that hedging is allowed in religion and to that extent he has got fatwas from the Shariah scholars. Armed with that, Sareshwala is approaching his clients. He is also planning a foray into insurance products, five of which — life and medical insurance — are compatible with the Islamic religion. The board of directors of the company approved the formation of a wholly owned subsidiary called Parsoli Takaful Pvt.


Takaful is the Islamic form of insurance. With the liberalisation of the insurance sector, Parsoli Takaful Pvt Ltd (PTPL) plans to target the largely untapped market potential of over 15 crore Indian Muslims by providing them with tailor-made insurance products.


Parsoli has already identified insurance products that comply with the Islamic Shariah and also other products, which with slight modifications become Islamically acceptable. This market segment has generally been characterised with a low penetration level of insurance products, said Zafar Sareshwala, managing director, Parsoli Corporation.


(The writer can be reached at mhl@rediffmail.com)