Community Roundup

Noted heart surgeon Devi Shetty of Narayana Hrudayalaya of Bangalore would be conducting free surgeries for poor heart patients at the Al-Ameen Hospital attached to the Al-Ameen Medical College here. Dr. Shetty would be visiting the Hospital for the purpose frequently. This was disclosed here by the new Chairman of the Al-Ameen Charitable Fund Trust, Ziaullah Sheriff while inaugurating the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Al-Ameen Medical College on August 17.

The College which has set apart 100 beds for the purpose, has also constructed a helipad for landing of helicopters for visiting experts from Bangalore and other places in the campus. Mr. Sheriff inspected the helipad and other buildings in the campus.

Sheriff said several NRI doctors have also offered their services to the college and the hospital. The Adil Shahi Hospital at Bade Kaman in the city will henceforth be attached to the Al-Ameen Medical college as its annexe. The College organised a comprehensive free health camp on the eve of the anniversary. Nearly 2,500 patients underwent the health check-up during the two-day camp. Nearly 140 persons were diagnosed for diabetes. Patients requiring X-ray, CT Scan and further advanced treatment were referred to the main Al-Ameen Hospital.

Dr. Chandrashekhar Shetty, former vice-chancellor of the Rajiv Gandhi Health University and advisor to the Al-Ameen Medical College inaugurated the anniversary celebrations. Dr. M. Rahmatullah, Campus Director said several programmes have been chalked out for the year - long celebrations. Mr. Maqbool Hussain, Trustee and CEO of the Trust and Dr. D. S. Patil, Dean attended the function.

The Medical Council of India has revoked the de-recognition of the 2002-03 batch at the Khaja Bandenawaz Institute of Medical Sciences with effect from July 19, this year. The results of the students in the batch were being withheld due to the de-recognition since the last six months.

The de-recognition was slapped on the batch of students who had approached the council complaining non-fulfilment of the mandatory 142 hours of teaching, conducting of examinations thereafter and inadequate faculty. Following withdrawal of de-recognition, the Rajiv Gandhi Health University has allowed the college to admit the fresh batch of students and the College has admitted 45 students under management quota for 2004-05 batch of MBBS and awaiting assignment of 50 students under the government quota.

Construction of the Government Model Residential School (Urdu medium) near here has not progressed since last September due to non-release of funds by the Karnataka government. According to sources in the Department of Instruction, only Rs. 14 lakh was released by the government while the whole approved plan for the construction would require Rs. 99 lakh. The Karnataka Land Army Corporation, which is constructing the building has stopped further construction after submitting the ‘fund utilisation certificate’ to the DDPI, Gulbarga on September 30, 2003. It may be recalled that the two-acre of land for the purpose was donated by one Mr. Afzal at Syed Chincholi village, 15 kms away from the Gulbarga city centre. The school is one among the five residential schools sanctioned for the educational upliftment of the Muslim community in Karnataka by the government and is managed by the Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society and is administered by the Zilla Parishad on a day - to - day basis. It has currently 211 students who share class rooms for teaching as well as residence purpose. The construction has come only up to the basement level of the hostel block and raising of 64 pillars up to two metres height.

Recently, at the Press Club, 20-odd Muslim girls from Gujarat re-visited the days when their hometowns were burning. They were in Mumbai on a three-day trip organised by the women’s organisation Awaaz-e-Niswan. Most of the girls, mainly college students from Baroda, Godhra, Fatepura and Jhalod, were visiting Mumbai for the first time. Many had never stepped outside their villages or travelled by train. “The idea was to help them gain confidence and independence so they can raise their voices against violence,” said Hasina Khan of Awaaz-e-Niswan. The girls told how friends turned foes overnight. About how truckloads of families from Fatepura, among the riot-affected towns, crossed over to Rajasthan fearing they would never see their homes again. How education suffered because schools and colleges remained shut for weeks. In relief camps, they remembered, girls were married to ‘just any boy’ for security. The girls visited schools and colleges in Mumbai and many are now tempted to study here.

A website on the history of Nawabs of Carnatic and Prince of Arcot was launched here on August 19. The website, www.princearcot.com provides information on history, culture, etc in the 18th and 19th century Arcot (the northern districts of present Tamil Nadu). It was jointly launched by N. Ram, Editor of The Hindu and Nawab Jeelani Begum Sahiba, the mother of present Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammad Abdul Ali at a function presided over by British Deputy High Commissioner David Abbot. N. Ram said, “while being devout Muslims, the nawabs of Arcot practised secularism even before the word was coined”. Historian and Chennai archaeology enthusiast, S. Muthiah urged that the records in the Chepauk Palace (facing Marina Beach) be made available for research into the history and architecture.

In his effort to induce educational awareness among the minorities, particularly the Muslims, the union Human Resources Development Minister, Arjun Singh has constituted a 27-member Monitoring Committee. The ‘National Monitoring Committee for Minorities Education’,consists of four members of Parliament belonging to minority communities, vice chancellors of different universities, educationists, particularly those who have interest in education of minorities, journalists and others. The HRD minister will be the chairman of the Committee. The Committee will collect data on the status of minority education at different levels in the country, recommend for opening up more schools in minority dominated areas under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, recommend opening up of Urdu medium schools at primary and secondary level, prepare way to give special attention to the education of girls belonging to minorities community and suggest amendments in the guideline of UGC and AITEC for the recognition of minorities educational institutions particularly the professional institutions. nIn his effort to induce educational awareness among the minorities, particularly the Muslims, the union Human Resources Development Minister, Arjun Singh has constituted a 27-member Monitoring Committee. The ‘National Monitoring Committee for Minorities Education’,consists of four members of Parliament belonging to minority communities, vice chancellors of different universities, educationists, particularly those who have interest in education of minorities, journalists and others. The HRD minister will be the chairman of the Committee. The Committee will collect data on the status of minority education at different levels in the country, recommend for opening up more schools in minority dominated areas under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, recommend opening up of Urdu medium schools at primary and secondary level, prepare way to give special attention to the education of girls belonging to minorities community and suggest amendments in the guideline of UGC and AITEC for the recognition of minorities educational institutions particularly the professional institutions.

The political wrangling between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in Uttar Pradesh has ruined the dream of setting up an Arabic- Persian University in Rampur. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav, during the budget presentation this year, announced a proposal of setting up the ‘Maulana Mohammad Ali Jouhar Arabic Persian University’. A bill to this effect was introduced in the state Assembly on August 5. The bill was to be adopted on August 6, the last day of the session. Meanwhile, the Governor T. V. Rajashekhar Rao learnt that the cabinet minister, Mohammad Azam Khan has been made pro- chancellor of the university for life-term. The Governor wrote to the Assembly speaker asking him not to allow the bill to be passed as one political figure is made a lifetime official of the institution. The government took back the bill without any protest. Irritated over the Governor move’s, Azam Khan launched a scathing attack on the Congress. Whatever be the political compulsions of the two parties, the Muslims in the state are watching as to how programmes for their upliftment are scuttled by their own people.

Darul Umoor located at Srirangapatna, the erstwhile capital of Tipu Sultan’s kingdom, invites applications from fresh Madrasa graduates for a one-year Diploma programme. The programme will comprise humanities, English language, Information Science, Natural Sciences and Environment, comparative study of religions, management studies etc. The programme is for the fourth batch of students as the third batch will be finishing its course by Ramadan this year. Darul Umoor was established four years ago under the patronage of late Maulana Abul Hasan Nadwi and Maulana Qazi Mujahidul Islam in order to expose the madrasa graduates to modern sciences.

Those madrasa graduates who will be receiving their Alimiyat or Fazeelath degrees by November are eligible to apply for the course. The applicants can submit the application by September 10, 2004 this year. Interviews will be held in November. Those who will be receiving their degrees later than September could also apply with a letter from the heads of their institutions.

The application form can be downloaded from the website http://darulumoor.ibc.co.in
More information can be had through e-mail: darulumoor@yahoo.com
They can also write to: Darul Umoor, 4th floor, Al-Ameen Towers,
No. 69 Hosur Road, Near Lalbagh, Main Gate, B’lore - 27, Ph: 080-51248208, 51248206.

The brand new, National Institute of Unani Medicine will serve as a hub for exploring new avenues in Unani Medicine

The National Institute of Unani Medicine (NIUM) is an autonomous body bridging the centuries old Unani formulations and techniques into state –of- the- art ambience of today. Nestled amidst greenery on Magadi Road in Bangalore, the institute is set to revive the lost glory of the past, touching the bastion of alternate medicine. The NIUM project was conceived by the government of India in collaboration with the government of Karnataka during Deve Gowda’s tenure as chief minister. The then government of Karnataka provided 55 acres of land and grants worth Rs 5 crores. The project is funded by the central government. So far, an estimated Rs 18 crores has been spent to construct massive structures on the vast sprawling lush green campus. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 30 crores on completion. The hospital block can accommodate 120 beds, surgical section, diagnostic centre and pharmacy.
Just a small distance from this block located on an elevated land is a grey-coloured complex, which is the post-graduation and R& D centre. This complex houses classrooms, seminar hall and space has been ear-marked for establishing library, laboratories and an in house R & D centre. Just behind this structure, a patch of three acres has been developed as herbarium, which accommodates several varieties of medicinal plants meant for Ilmul Advia (knowledge of medicine). According to Dr. Mohd. Noorulla, “our herbarium is just a small beginning, we have plans to introduce a large variety of plants in a considerably large area”. This herbarium has been developed with the assistance of the forest department which provided help in the form of saplings. The purpose of establishing a herbarium is to facilitate in-house R&D of the medicine, which will be undertaken in a phased manner by NIUM.

The institute will have general and research-based patients. In research, selected medical cases are given to specific research doctors and the patients are subjected to regular observations and here every development is monitored and documented for research and ready reference. This institute will not just concentrate on innovations but it will serve as a hub for exploring new avenues in Unani.

NIUM will focus on R&D considering national priorities. “We as a national institute do not ignore the allopathic documentation. Precious work that is helpful to develop Unani formulations and research work will definitely have a place without sacrificing the Unani principles and ethics. Current process of documentation in allopathic is far ahead and we shall definitely utilise the information available to enhance Unani,” says Dr. M.M. Wamiq Amin, Director, NIUM.

Firm efforts to document the Tib-e-Unani have begun in the form of archives with good number of books donated by a revered Hakim to this institution. Ilaj-bid-tadbir (regimental therapy) will be the main attraction of this institute for the future. It is a no-drugs treatment. This technique will not only be attractive to the patients, but also give supremacy over other systems of medicine.

This institute will provide a platform to the Unani scholars to practice the age- old proven medication in close coordination with latest developments and techniques in totality.

For the present, NIUM is functioning with its director, two doctors, a pharmacist catering to limited patient inflow. “ We don’t have to release advertisements and publish expensive brochures to promote NIUM. For us, just the goodwill of our patients is enough. The word will spread like that,” says Dr. Wamiq Amin.
(NIUM, Kottigepalya, Magadi Main Road, Bangalore-81).