Uttar Pradesh’s highest honour Yash Bharti award was given to 46 personalities on Monday. Among them, nine Muslims were conferred the award by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in presence of Mulayam Singh Yadav. The award is given annually by Culture Department of UP government.
Yash Bharti comes with a cash prize of Rs 11 lakh, citation and a shawl. The awardees are also eligible for a monthly pension of Rs 50,000 for their life.
Yash Bharti award were constituted in 1994 by the then CM Mulayam Singh Yadav but were discontinued between 2007 and 2012 by Mayawati. It has since been revived by CM Akhilesh Yadav.
1. Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Classical singing Born- 3 march 1931, Badaun
Belong to Rampur Sahaswa Gharana in classical singing. Conferred honorary citizenship of Baltimore and Maryland in 1986. Padamshri in 1991, Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 2003, Padam Bhushan in 2006 and Rashtriya Tansen Award in 2008.
2. Professor Irfan Habib Historian Born-12, August 1931 in Baroda. D.Phil from Oxford
Chairman, Indian Council of Historical Research 1987-93, 1993-96. Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship in 1968-70, D.Lit from BHU (2008), Vishwa Bharti (2008), Kalyani Vishwavidyalaya (2009), North Bengal University (1990) and Ravindra Bharti University (1989). Padam Shree in 2005.
3. Dr Nahid Abedi Sanskrit literature and philoshophy Born—12 February 1961, Mirzapur D. Lit from Lucknow University in 2009. Padam Shree awardee. Several books and papers published in Sanskrit.
4. Iqbal Ahmed Siddiqui Ghazal singer Born—November 9, Allahabad
Performed at All India Radio and Doordarshan. Released 17 cassettes. Sang one song in film Rama O Rama.
5. Anwar Jalalpuri Urdu poetry and writing Born—6 July 1947
Several awards on Urdu poetry like UP Gaurav Samman, Mati Ratan Samman, Iftikhar-e-Meer Samman etc.
6. Dr Nawaz Deobandi Poet and educationist Born—16 July 1956, Saharanpur
Chairman, UP State Urdu Academy. Established Rafiqul Mulk Mulayam Singh Yadav Urdu IAS Study Center in Lucknow. Several awards like Kaifi Azmi award, Dushyant award, Rotary award etc.
7. Aleemullah Siddiqui Artist Born—10 June 1953, Lucknow
Artist using stem of wheat plant, painting on cloth etc. Acted in play Dilli Ka Akhirir Mushaira and Main Urdu Hoon.
8. Imran Khan alias Imran Pratapgarhi Literature Born—6 August 1987 Pratapgarh.
Internationally acclaimed poet and attended Mushairas in Oman, Bahrain, Dubai, Sharjah etc. Received Urdu Academy award in Saudi Arab, Red Cross Society Orissa’s Vishist Vidyarthi award and Sadbhavna award by Maharashtra Municipal Corporation.
9. Wazeer Ahmed Khan Chess Born—4 February 1947, Rampur
Participated in Chess National B competition in 1972, 1980, 1995, 1999, 2004 and 2008. UP Champion in 2004-2005. First prize in Asian Senior competition in Iran in 2015.
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Arts-Culture / by TCN Staff Reporter / March 22nd, 2016
More than 500 students from the Al-Ameen Mission’s 70 branches in West Bengal passed the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2022 with flying colours.
M Noorul Islam, head of the Institution said, “I have had the biggest success this year, as the number of Al Ameen Mission students who have secured 600 and above points in the NEET is around 200.”
Last year, 510 Al Ameen coaching academy students passed the NEET and were accepted into various medical colleges.
According to Islam, the number is likely to be higher this year as his team finalises the list.
Islam said that that the majority of the students are from rural areas and come from remote villages throughout West Bengal.
Kishankur Bhumika, a non-resident student, is this year’s Al-Ameen topper. He received 686 out of 720 points in the NEET and was ranked 427 at the All India level.
Irfan Habib, son of farmer Abdul Subhan of Devcharai village in Tafanganj, Cooch Behar, has received the highest marks among the mission’s resident students. He received 685 points and is ranked 594th in the all-India list. Aside from that, many Al Amneen Mission students scored more than 650 points on the NEET.
Akhtari Parveen, a female student at Al-Ameen Mission, is among the achievers . She has been a student at Al Ameen Mission’s Khalatpur campus since Class VII. She got 653 marks in NEET with the help of Al Ameen Mission and her all-India rank is 3915.
Al-Ameen Mission, based in Howrah, has produced over 3500 doctors (MBBS & BDS) and 3000 engineers, in addition to scores of researchers, administrative officers, teachers, and professors.
Nurul Islam founded the organisation, which now operates 70 coaching institutes in 20 West Bengal districts.
The organisation educates 17,000 residential students and employs over 3000 teachers and non-teaching staff. The main campus of Al-Ameen Mission is in the West Bengal district of Howrah, at Khalatpur (Udaynarayanpur).
“We utilize Zakat and Sadaqah funds to achieve our goal and play our role in nation building. We urge the community members to support our efforts ” Islam told Muslim Mirror.
“Most of the students who have qualified NEET from Al Ameen Mission belong to very poor backgrounds and weaker sections of society. We nurture their talent, develop their intellect and provide them a good environment so that they could come out with their best,” he said.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com /Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim> Positive Story / by Muslim Mirror / September 10th 2022
Iqtidar Alam Khan’s Latest Books on India’s Medieval History Unearth Hidden Secrets
A painting of west gate of Firozabad fort, near Delhi. This fort was built by Feroz Shah Tughlaq in the 1350s, but destroyed by later dynasties. Photo: Wikipedia/Public domain
Iqtidar Alam Khan’s first slim book, a biography of Humayun’s brother Mirza Kamran was published in 1964; his latest book, slightly bulkier than the first, has been published in early 2021 when he is nearing 90, with nearly a dozen authored and edited volumes in-between. Quite an emphatic comment on how prolific he has been in his distinguished career as a historian of medieval India! Add a very distinct quality of the huge range of themes and the empirical solidity of his researches and one begins to appreciate the indelible imprint on the study of medieval Indian history he has left for his own and future students.
Professor Iqtidar Alam Khan was an alumnus and later faculty of the department of history at Aligarh Muslim University when it shone like the pole star in the study of medieval Indian history under the leadership of frontline scholars like Professors Mohammad Habib, Nurul Hasan, K. A. Nizami and Irfan Habib; he himself added to its lustre, evident in his extensive explorations of different facets of his discipline. This, when he always avoided drawing attention to himself.
The range of his explorations is amazing: biographies of two Mughal nobles, “Turko-Mongol theory of kingship” which had a decisive influence on Mughal notion of sovereignty, the system of revenue assignment of Akbar.
The classic essay on “Akbar’s nobility and the evolution of his religious policy”, which was a sort of watershed intervention in 1968 in that it set new terms for the study of the Mughal “religious policy” and has stood the test of time, some feeble recent challenges notwithstanding, the pioneering studies of gunpowder, guns and artillery and not least the bringing to attention some Persian language texts. However, all this work pertained to the Mughal period of Indian history.
Attention to detail
This current year has, however, revealed two hitherto unknown facets of his scholarship with the publication of two books in quick succession, both by the venerable publishers, Primus: Studies in Thought, Polity and Economy of Medieval India 1000-1500 and, hard to believe, Researches in Medieval Archaeology.
The first brings to us his mastery of various themes from the Delhi Sultanate era with the same eye for empirical soundness of every detail as his works on the Mughal period, though still tied to the Court and its outliers except for a revisit to Alberuni’s ‘concept of India’.
It is the second work that takes us literally to the ground level, taking us through the dust and grime of small buildings, remains of centuries-old Sarais (inns), waterworks, indigo vats, dykes and fascinatingly the ‘city’ built by Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq which he had named Swargduari, Gateway to Heaven, in district Etah in present day Uttar Pradesh.
Traveling in ramshackle vehicles for nearly two decades, Professor Khan along with his team, dedicated himself to recovering and recording the remains of small, virtually forgotten buildings of various kinds – calling them monuments would be grandiose – in every little detail of location, dimensions, recoverable history from texts and from folklore. It was remarkable labour of love where his age and family’s pleas could not hold him back.
The introduction, besides bringing the reader up to date on the theoretical backdrop of archeological study makes the valuable plea that one should embark on field exploration only after running through all the relevant textual material available for imparting completeness to the exploration.
While for all the sites studied included in the book have almost every kind of technical detail have been recorded, the last and longest chapter, dealing with Sarais is the most fascinating in that it opens up a number of windows to the social history of the period. It reveals that the state took upon itself the task of promoting travel as well trade, and at a certain stage postal service, by constructing inns and rest houses all along the trade routes. The task of constructing inns starts as early as Asoka’s time, for it is mentioned in one of his edicts, but later history on the theme is obscure.
In medieval India, references to these, along with milestones, kos minars resume from Sher Shah’s time and continue into the 18th century. The title Sarai is scattered all over the land with prefixes like Ber Sarai, Arab ki Sarai, Katwaria Sarai, Sarai Kale Khan and numerous others in Delhi itself, not to forget the Mughal Sarai, its history now erased through political diktat.
The very spread of these is suggestive of both the extent of travel and trade and state’s assumption of responsibility for providing security and patronage for it. The lodging and boarding at Sarais were often complementary and at times chargeable.
Luckily for the historian, the travelers at times left some graffiti on the walls noting their identity, several of which have been copied in the book. Where boarding was provided, separate kitchens were run for the Hindu and the Muslim travelers, suggesting that they came from both communities and shared the space but maintained differences in food, which was recognised and accepted by the state.
It also suggests that the difference did not turn into hostility. The book reproduces one graffiti in Devnagari on the wall of a mosque by one Kishan Das wald (son of) Maha Nand Kambu of Agra; he had obviously found shelter at least for a night at the mosque which he appears to have gratefully recorded; this reminds Professor Khan of Goswami Tulsi Das’ reference to “sleeping at a mosque”!
These two books, the second one, in particular, is a delightful revelation of an attractive aspect of an extremely reticent scholar of great eminence: dedication without seeking recompense in the form of the fanfare of recognition, but pure dedication to the unearthing of history’s hidden secrets without a trace of prejudice or preference. Dedication that cuts across compartmentalisation of Delhi Sultanate versus Mughal Empire, economic history versus political history, archeology versus textual narratives and so forth. A dedication that does not tire with age.
We are grateful to Professor Ali Nadeem Rezavi, who as head of the department of history and in-charge of its section of archeology persisted with Iqtidar Alam Khan to collect all his scattered data and reproductions of photographs of remains and graphs prepared to put together in a book; we owe a big debt to him for succeeding in the effort.
Harbans Mukhia taught medieval history at JNU.
source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> Analysis> Books> History / by Harbans Mukhia / May 11th, 2021
Rifat’s Christmas-themed snowflake panel that she embroidered with her sister and with help from two of her nieces.
Rifat Bano (30) sits on the brick floor of her home in Marehra, Etah, chatting with her sister Sabina and their two nieces. Between them is a snow-white satin cloth stretched tautly on a rectangular wooden frame.
Her hands move at a habitual pace: one places an index-finger-length hooked needle, filled with white and silver beads, on a specific point in the cloth panel. As the needle goes through the cloth, the hand underneath guides a plastic wire to latch onto the needle’s hooked tip, which pierces the cloth. As the needle withdraws, it stitches the bead onto the cloth.
A single panel is usually embroidered by two or three women who sit around the karchob. Here, Rifat Bano guides the needle through the panel as sister Sabina sits on the opposite side embroidering.
This is Karchobi ka kaam or Karchobi work, a style of beaded embroidery that, according to noted historian Professor Irfan Habib, is an import from Iran that came to India around the 17th century.
A more commercialized form of this craft was introduced in Marehra about 20-25 years ago by a man named Ajmeri. Embroiderers says that Ajmeri had relatives in Sikandra Rao and learned the work there and then brought it to Marehra, where he was from.
He first trained his wife, who then trained women in her predominantly Muslim neighbourhood, which is the reason that even today the majority of embroiderers in Marehra are Muslim women.
About 700-800 women are now employed in the Karchobi industry in Marehra, says Matsyanath Trivedi, the Block Development Officer. It is now more widespread in Marehra than Sikandra Rao, so that Rifat Bano says, “Marehra mein aisa koi ghar nahi milega aap ko jahaan Karchobi ka kaam nahi hota ho – You won’t find a single house in Marehra where Karchobi work is not being done.”
She herself started doing Karchobi embroidery when she was just 9 years old. Her family was against it, as it strains the eyes but she went ahead and learned it, in secret.
Three years later, when her father, a fruit seller, died, she had to continue this work to support her family, eventually becoming the primary breadwinner. “Pehle shauq tha, phir shauq majboori ban gayee (At first it was my interest but then it became my necessity),” she says.
Setting it up
All embroiderers have to go through a set of preparatory steps before starting on the embroidery process. First, they mount the fabric on the karchob.
Irfan Habib, in a 1973 paper titled “Indian Textile Industry in the 17th Century”, wrote that in Persian, “kar-chob” refers to “the wooden frame” that holds “the fabric taut, when [it is] being embroidered.”
The more popular Zardozi is also done on a karchob. However, while Zardozi exclusively uses silver or gold thread, Karchobi embroidery also makes use of cotton, wool, and silk threads points out Professor Ishrat Alam at the Department of History in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), whose research focuses on the textile industry in medieval India.
Noor (21), who has been an embroiderer for the last 4-5 years, says that the quality of the embroidery improves if the cloth panel is stretched as tightly as possible across the frame.
Next, a paper stencil of the design is placed on top of the mounted fabric and a paste made of chalk powder and kerosene is rubbed on it with a cotton rag.
The design gets imprinted on the fabric as do the embroidery instructions. These are numbers that correspond to a bead’s colour and tell an embroiderer where to place a particular coloured bead.
For instance, Noor can be seen embroidering red beads where it says “3”. This means that the number “3” corresponds to red-coloured beads; similarly where it says “2”, she has to embroider golden beads, as in the image below.
The white chalk design tells the embroiderers where the place beads of a specific colour.
A single design usually requires the use of beads of several different colours and an embroiderer has to be careful to use the right-coloured beads, says Khalida Begum. It is only then that the embroidery work begins.
Rifat Bano says that she is able to embroider about two pieces a day but it also depends on the design. A complex design can take longer, such as the Day of the Dead panel that took sisters Zehra Fatima (21) and Aisha Fatima (23) two days to complete.
The Day of the Dead or Dias de los Muertos is a two-day Mexican celebration of remembering deceased family members and is celebrated by people of Mexican heritage throughout the work, including the US.
Their panel used Day of the Dead motifs such as skulls and flowers that required the use of different shades of blue, orange and red beads, totalling 14 different coloured beads.
Wages and health
Considering the intricate nature of the work, Aisha said that they should be getting paid at least Rs. 200 for this panel, instead of Rs. 140 that they were going to earn: “Kaam ko dekho to kaam ismein ek ek sui ka hai. Hame sasta lag raha hai ye,” (If you look at the work, this requires the use of one needle per stitch. We think the wages are low.)
It’s not just Aisha; all the embroiderers that I spoke to said that their wages were low and did not reflect the intensity of their labour.
The state government has not stipulated the minimum wages for Karchobi embroiderers. However, the minimum wage in Uttar Pradesh for the handloom industry, specifically for Zari embroidery is Rs. 5750 for unskilled, Rs. 6325 for semi-skilled, and Rs. 7085 for skilled workers.
All the embroiderers who this reporter spoke to had been doing this work for at least four years and some had been doing it for over a decade. They were all at least semi-skilled workers. But even in the best-case scenario, where they earned Rs 200 a day, their monthly income did not exceed Rs 6000, which is less than the stipulated monthly minimum wage.
Khalida Begum has been working as an embroiderer for more than 20 years. She says that in fact, her income has decreased from what she earned seven to eight years ago, as more women have taken up Karchobi work. With a large workforce and limited work, the embroiderers have lost their bargaining power.
Rifat Bano says, “Agar ham karte hain to theek hain, nahin karte hain to theek hain. Ek hamare band karne se koi pharak bhee nahin padega”–If we do this work, it’s fine, if we don’t do it, that’s also fine. It won’t make a difference if we decide not to do it).
Karchobi embroidery also takes a toll on the embroiderers’ health.
Back in Rifat Bano’s home, her and other embroiderers joke about gaining weight around the stomach from sitting all day. One person is especially called out and they burst out laughing.
They say that their eyes hurt from embroidering. And what about your fingers, I ask. “Gosht laati hai saath mein–(the needle) brings back flesh (when it comes out),” says Noor. Rifat Bano points to deep red bloodstains on the floor next to her where she has shaken off blood from her index finger.
pix 06
Noor, going back to the discussion about weight gain, says that if you leave Marehra, and therefore Karchobi, for 15 days, you can get back to your real size. Her elder sister, Farha, agrees and says that she only lost weight after she got married and moved out of Marehra.
Then Noor announces that she is only going to do Karchobi embroidery for 10 more years.
“Phir kya karegee?–Then what will you do?” asks Rifat Bano.
Noor retorts: “Kuch na karoongee. Kuch India mein dimagh lagaoongee main to.” (Nothing I’ll do. I’ll give some of my attention to India.)
The names of all the embroiderers have been changed to protect their identities. Some of them specifically requested it. They said that talking about their wages and problems with their work could lead to them being singled out by their communities. This reporter decided to change all their names as a result. The companies too have not been named as she felt that it could pose a threat to these women’s livelihoods.
All images by the author.
Meher Ali is an independent journalist based in Aligarh. She reports on refugee, human rights, and social justice issues. She also blogs about the cultural heritage of Aligarh and its surrounding areas.
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Indian Muslim> Lead Story / by Meher Ali / May 12th, 2019
Irfan Habib receives his degree from West Bengal governor K N Tripathi. Caravan Daily.
Kolkata :
It’s not every day that someone from a remote village bags a double gold medal at the convocation ceremony of one of India’s finest universities. Meet Nadia’s Irfan Habib, son of a madrassa teacher, who has beaten all odds to top the Jadavpur University’s undergraduate programme in Mathematics.
The 22-year-old travelled all the way from Sonakur, a village in Bengal’s Nadia district, to pursue his dream of mastering mathematics. Talking to Caravan Daily, he said, “My mathematics teacher has played a vital role in influencing my career choice. He is the best Mathematics teacher in the world. It was he who motivated me to take it up as my major subject.”
Irfan bagged two gold medals during the 62nd Convocation of the University. “I secured 93 percent in B Sc to top my department. But, I have not just topped my department but also all the other departments of the University. Hence the two medals,” said he.
The convocation was attended by former President of India Pranab Mukherjee, West Bengal Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi and Vice Chancellor Suranjan Das. An excited Irfan gushed, “I can’t express my happiness on being awarded in the presence of the former president Pranab Mukherjee.”
He said, “I come from an average middle-class Muslim family, which believes that education is the only way out to emerge triumphant in life. My father is a senior madrassa teacher and mother is a homemaker. And to be honest, I had never thought of taking up mathematics for my higher education till I met my teacher who has played a vital role in shaping my career graph.”
Irfan did his schooling from FrontPage Academy, a residential institution situated in North 24 Parganas. “It was here that I met teachers who helped me script my success story. It was under their guidance that I scored 90.6% and 91.2% for Secondary and Senior Secondary Examination,” says the young boy, who aspires to earn a doctorate in Abstract Algebra.
Irfan’s elder sister also is pursuing her masters in mathematics. On being asked if mathematics runs in their blood, he laughed and said, “No, No. It is just a coincidence that both of us have taken up mathematics.”
On being asked if he faced any discrimination or difference in the quality of education once he shifted base to Kolkata, he said, “Not really. Jadavpur University and my professors have been very accommodating and kind to me. They have helped me out on many occasions. In fact, before joining the University, I had heard tales of the ragging sessions of the University. However, contrary to the belief that we have, I have witnessed no such ragging sessions within the University premises.”
source: http://www.caravandaily.com / Caravan / Home> Community> Editor’s Pick / by Shabina Akhtar , Caravan Daily / December 27th, 2017
Irfan Habib, Professor Emeritus at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), is a doyen of historical research. Speaking with Eram Agha, Habib discussed challenges like religious fundamentalism facing researchers, the Wendy Doniger controversy — plus AAP and BJP in upcoming polls:
What are challenges in writing history, with fundamentalist forces ready to react?
Well, a primary challenge is the information one would like to have about the past is often missing, partly because historians of an earlier time had a different, more restricted view of history — documents regarding poor peoples’ concerns have not survived. Many matters of their interest were not recorded at all. The major problem for historians is how to fill such gaps.
On the other hand, since all kinds of influences are at work in societies, one cannot confine one’s attention to a locality or country alone — we have to relate the history of one country to others. For instance, we need to explore the relation between modern Indian history and the development of capitalism in Western Europe.
We cannot be like Subalterns who simply concentrate on local communities and forget the larger picture.
Can fundamentalist censorship be dismissed?
Well, religion has been a factor in historical change. Historians need to be careful and rational in assessing religious influences in history.
But it’s not possible to agree with Edward Said when he argues that persons outside any religion or culture cannot study that area. On the contrary, religious history should be subjected to a purely scientific approach — indeed, a refreshingly sceptical attitude towards religious texts might be more desirable than blind belief.
Wendy Doniger tried. Her book was pulped by its publishers. Your thoughts?
The publishers should not have surrendered in the manner they did. They should have waited for court orders before taking any such step.
You’re identified with AMU — what role should an identity-based university play today?
AMU is a university in a poor country, running with generous public financing — it’s important for AMU, as for any other university, to ensure that it offers modern scientific and secular teaching. All marks of identity must subordinate themselves to modern, democratic, secular values.
AMU was established to cater to Muslims but not exclusively for them, and not at the cost of proper education. In the 1950s and 60s, AMU was one of India’s advanced universities — today, partly due to the minority status campaign, it’s lost some of that repute. The religious atmosphere too has grown visibly with official support. That must put off others.
Upcoming polls are considered pivotal in India’s political history — your analysis?
Well, 10 years earlier, BJP was rejected — now, it’ll be interesting to see the reverse of the verdict of 2004. That seems to be the main thing this time.
Personally, for me, it’ll be sad if the Left does not recover.
Can AAP generate enthusiasm amongst Muslims?
The reaction of Muslims will not be different from others because AAP is appealing on an anti-corruption cause and thus securing support. Muslims are being addressed the same way as others.
But AAP will be tested on positive programmes — it has to frame an industrial and labour policy, rules on GM crops, land reforms, etc. Questions like these will arise soon.
A clean government is alright — but it should also be a good government.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Opinion> Interview / by Eram Agha / March 31st, 2014
