PEACE Hyderabad, a coalition of concerned citizens and NGOs, organised “Let’s talk”, a dialogue on the Media and its Responsibilities, on 11th November 2008 at Madina Education Centre, Hyderabad. A group of concerned citizens interacted with senior journalists on various issues of concern, like media and prejudice, its role in removing ‘victim mentality’, media and credibility, its role in fostering harmony, and on issues of terrorism and minority appeasement. The speakers representing the concerned citizens in this dialogue included, associate facilitator (conflict resolution) at the Henry Martyn Institute, Ms Arshia Ayub, freelance journalist and executive committee member of Chennai based Harmony India, A.Faizur Rahman, Professor of Political Science, Rama S. Melkote, eminent scientist and founder of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), widely regarded as the architect of modern biology in India, Dr. P.M.Bhargava, senior advocate L.Ravi Chander, noted social activist and Officer of the Order of Canada (2006) Dr. Vithal Rajan, Major Quadri, senior advocate, Shafeeq Rehman Mahajir, and social activist Ghiasuddin Akber.

Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Chief of Bureau, Munsif, Venkateswarlu, Deputy Chief of Bureau, The Hindu, M.A.Raheem, Editorial Adviser, Rashtriya Sahara, Amarnath, Secretary, Indian Journalists Union and other senior journalists participated in the Dialogue.

Arshia Ahmed Ayub facilitated the session. In her introductory remarks, she said that this dialogue was a first in the series of dialogues of the civil society with various influential sections of society like the media, the police, the bureaucrats etc.

Faizur Rahman spoke about how the Muslim community has been demonized all over the world, through biased media reports. While acknowledging some brave reports of mainstream newspapers, he however said that reporters tend to base their reports on the biased versions of the intelligence agencies and the police. Anti-social elements get more focus than innocent victims of discrimination.

Responding to Rahman’s statements, Venkateswarlu said investigations and trials take a long time. Most information comes from the police and the intelligence. M.A.Raheem said the police and the media jump to conclusion whenever there is a terrorist act. He cited examples of how higher police officials feign ignorance of ground realities in the aftermath of an act of violence. Amarnath said the press does not have the wherewithal and the training to conduct independent investi-gation. Ghazanfar Ali Khan said nowadays, investigative journ-alism meant sensationalism. He said a lot of prejudice and preconceived notions against Muslim community could be found in the electronic media. He emphasized the fact that no religion should be associated with terrorism. Prof Rama Melkote wondered why citizens’ versions are not taken into account by the media.

Dr Vithal Rajan said it is not right to link any religion with terrorism. He found the hunger of imperialist US government for middle-east oil, behind the global level propaganda against Muslims. Ghazanfar Ali Khan said that the current domination of police reports in the media can be played down and substituted by alternative reports. He said electronic media has crossed all limits of decency.

Prof Rama Melkote stressed on the build-up of a victim mentality by the press, ghettoisation and branding of a community. She felt that all sections of the society are participating in presenting this convenient label of the “other”, and victimization. The vernacular press in particular report events in a different light, she pointed out. Newspapers have respons-ibility to project news that makes a reader think, not accuse a section of society. Why is it that events that are reported are not given a chance to be judged by the rule of law? Can newspapers become agents of change? Muslims are struggling, she felt, and they need to be given an opportunity to rise. Media has a big responsibility to play in changing the victim mentality she added.

The Gujarat government has decided to build a bomb database centre at Gandhinagar FSL and set up bomb squads in 24 districts equipped with hi-tech gadgets to fight terrorist activities
With Gujarat figuring prominently on the terror map, the government has decided to set up bomb squads in 24 districts of the state. The state government has also decided to set up a data centre at the Gandhinagar FSL to keep track of all the blasts occurring in the country. Secretary (Home) T S Bisht said, “the data centre will work under the State Intelligence Bureau. A budget of Rs 45 lakh has been sanctioned for the purpose. An entire floor at the FSL will be dedicated to the centre. If a blast occurs anywhere in the country, we will collect its data here.”

Explaining what sort of data they will be looking at, Bisht said, “Information on the materials used to make the bomb, the area where such material is available, the bomb’s intensity etc will be studied here. The centre will also analyse new techniques adopted by international and national level terrorists to spread terror. The centre will also be a storehouse for documentary proof like mobile phone clips of blasts.” The squads will acquire hi-tech Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) System to counter sabotage and terror-related incidents.

At a time when Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has sought to prune official “goodwill” delegation to reduce government expenditure as an austerity measure, a jumbo size delegation of officials and their families is heading for Saudi Arabia in the name of performing “Haj duties” that will cost the taxpayer Rs 80 million. In an advisory, the government had asked all ministries to cut down foreign and domestic travels as part of the mandatory 10 per cent cut on the non-plan expenditure for austerity. In a communication to Indian missions in Riyadh and Jeddah, the Central Haj Committee has informed that 100 officials, accompanied by their family members, are being sent on the “Haj duties” and that they be provided separate facilities and five star accommodations in Saudi Arabia, “befitting their status.”.

Throwing to winds the austerity call, the Haj committee has sought to provide free boarding, lodging and transport to the officials who are primarily sent to assist the Indian pilgrims. Ironically, the Haj committee communication has demanded separate facilities even like kitchen and toilets for these officials to keep them away from the hustle and bustle of the pilgrims. Further, it demands the arrangements for their stay in Mina should be separate, befitting their status. The delegation which is visiting Madina has also asked for an accommodation in the central district, while even the Hajis who pay for first class air fare have been booked five-ten kms away from the central district housing the main mosque.

The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is all set to receive a grant of Rs. 184 Crore from the central government. The XI Plan visiting team has already recommended the said amount to the planning commission under the general development grant for the varsity. It would be the largest fund ever the University will be receiving. Vice Chancellor Prof. P. K. Abdul Azis said that AMU intends to build an exclusive hostel for disabled students, an additional hall for girls to accommodate 1000 students and the whole campus will be renovated as the University Grants Commission has accepted several proposals of the University.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee on Wakf has asked the central government to enact stringent legal measures to punish those Mutawallis who are using the Wakf properties for their personal benefit. “Vast majority of the valuable Wakf properties in the country are in possession of Muslims or Muslim organisations who are paying rents which are not sufficient even for the upkeep of the property”, notes the JPC report headed by Deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, K. Rahman Khan. The Committee presented its ninth report to both houses of Parliament on October 23, 2008. The Committee has also expressed grave concern over the fact that in several state Wakf Boards, the chairman signs the lease order, which is unlawful. Under the Wakf Act, the chairman has no such authority. The Committee recommended that all the lease contracts signed by the chairman of the Wakf Board in any state should be cancelled forthwith treating them as illegal. The Committee recommended the setting up of a Disputed Resolution Authority which would resolve the long pending land disputes between government and the various Wakf boards. The authority could either be a statutory body or set up by an order of the government.

The Haj Committee of India has chalked out a plan to encourage Muslim students to appear for the various civil service examinations. Among their various plans is starting a coaching class to groom students for the civil service examination. The committee’s chief executive officer Muhammed Owais said, “We have a lot of space and we will start coaching classes for the minority students to help them appear for civil service examinations and other all-India tests such as the railways, banking and other public sector jobs.”

The first batch will have 50 students with experts on board for every subject. Advertisements seeking students to enroll will be advertised in all leading regional language and Urdu papers.
Owais further, stated that the Haj House at Crawford Market in South Mumbai will also provide hostel facilities for the students coming in from other cities. “We have noticed that Muslim parents do not encourage their children to appear for these exams as they cannot afford to send them to bigger cities. They do not have the money to put them up in private lodges so, here we will take care of all their lodging, boarding, food and studies,” said Owais.

A member of the state government study group for the education, social and economical backwardness of the Muslim community, Prof. Mohammed Tilwat Ali said that there is not enough awareness among the Muslim community in rural areas regarding civil service examinations. He adds, “ Muslim students in the Marathwada region lack confidence and as a result are not driven towards preparing for the public sector exams. This exercise will help people from our community.”

Perturbed over the Samajwadi party’s growing popularity among the Muslims once again, Mayawati is now using Urdu to attract the community. The Uttar Pradesh government has asked authorities of all departments to strictly ensure the implementation of Urdu as second official language throughout the state. In a missive to officials the CM office has directed all departments to use Urdu for all official work too. For the purpose, says the official letter, the services of the Urdu translator should be fully utilized. It may be recalled that the Congress government led by Narayan Dutt Tiwari accorded official status to Urdu in 1989. The decision was widely protested by BJP and other communal forces, leading to riots in several parts of the state. In 1995, the Mulayam Singh Yadav government appointed nearly 4000 Urdu translators and Urdu teachers. But latter governments in the state completely ignored the progress of the language.

Even before it could launch an Islamic fund in India, the Reliance Mutual Fund, has got the nod from the Malaysian government to launch a Shariah-compliant fund in the country. The Reliance Mutual Fund has been planning to launch Islamic funds in India for quite some time. Though Reliance Mutual Fund officials confirmed the report, they declined to divulge details about the fund. Many Indian fund houses — including Reliance Mutual Fund, UTI Asset Management, Benchmark Mutual Fund and Edelweiss Mutual Fund have been planning to launch Islamic funds. Benchmark Mutual Fund has already filed an offer document for its Sharia Exchange Traded Fund and UTI is in discussion stage to launch a similar fund in India.

Marathi will be made a compulsory subject in Maharashtra ‘s Urdu medium schools to ensure more jobs to minorities in government departments, according to chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. “In Maharashtra , there cannot be an option to Marathi. German or French cannot be an option. The option for Marathi is Marathi. Knowledge of Marathi is essential in the state and one cannot accept that someone does not know Marathi,” the chief minister said.

Mumbai: In a major blow to the ruling Democratic Front (DF) government in the state, as many as 54 Muslim organisations from in and around Mumbai recently passed a resolution to not vote for the Congress-NCP alliance in the upcoming polls. The participants included Badruddin Ajmal, who played a significant role in the formation of the United Front in Assam. Maulanas Khalid Ashraf, Ejaz Kashmiri, Syed Ather, and Mehmood Daryabadi. Activists Batatawala, Farid Shaikh and Dr Azimuddin also attended the meeting.

Farid Batatawala, an activist, said, “Muslim alienation with the Congress, NCP is complete. We have decided to form our own party called the Maharashtra United Front. We prefer to contest the elections and sit in the opposition rather than support any alliance.’’ He said the front will ensure that the new government works for the welfare of Muslims and secular elements. “This experiment was successful in Assam and Malegaon and we will repeat it all over Maharashtra,’’ he added. Participants at the meeting made it clear that their effort was to form a broad front of all secular forces. Talking about United Front’s achievements in Assam, Ajmal said, “We have a total of 10 MLAs, two of whom are non-Muslims committed to secular values. The Front fared well in the Panchayat elections and we have undertaken a lot of development work.’’

The major reason for Muslims getting totally alienated from the Congress-NCP alliance is the feeling of insecurity as they are targeted by the police indiscriminately under the pretext of bomb-blast probe. Recently a Muslim delegation met Maharastra chief minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh to complain about the attitude of the Maharashtra police during the riots, and cited specific instances of biased conduct over the last one year.

Realising the anger amongst the community, Muslim MLAs in the Congress and the NCP are worried. They are pressurizing the state government to take quick steps to win over members of the community. One of the main demand is to take action against all the police officers, including senior ones, who “wrongly arrested’’ several Muslim youth for their alleged role in the 7/11 train blasts in Mumbai. Also they are demanding proper representation in the police force.

As a fire fighting measure and to win Muslim confidence, Vilasrao Deshmukh assured Muslims that the government would give them preference in police jobs. “A special officer from Muslim community would be appointed for the police recruitment so that the community people can get more scope in the police department,” the chief minister said in the recently concluded function of the Federation of All Minority Educational Organisation at Haj House.

Ahmed Aboutaleb, 47, was named the first ever Muslim mayor of a Dutch city. Rotterdam city council voted the Moroccan-born politician on October 16. He was Dutch Deputy Social Affairs Minister and a member of the Labour party.

Fareeda Rahmatullah, Urdu writer and editor of monthly Zarreen Shuaaein was conferred the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award on November 1, 2008. Fareeda besides being a short story writer, runs Holy Mother School in J. P. Nagar area of Bangalore and is associated with several causes and social organizations.

Community Round Up