Ishrat Akhter : First international wheelchair basketball player from Kashmir

JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Meet 25-year-old specially-abled girl, who plays basketball, does motivational speaking and drives a car.

Ishrat Akhter in Team India jersey | eNewsroom India

Delhi:

Ishrat Akther from Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir is a multi-faceted personality. She is an international wheelchair basketball player, a motivational speaker, Kashmir’s young leader and an achiever’s award-winner. Indeed, six years back, Ishrat’s life had no meaning — but an incident changed it all.

Now, Ishrat has become an inspiration for all those individuals who set limitations for themselves. Who refuse to dream and achieve their ambitions.

The girl next door

Ishrat was born in a village where women did not participate in sports. Like any other girl, she believed whatever her family taught her and did not dare to dream big. However, her life changed on August 24, 2016, when she fell from the balcony of her house. The injury was serious, it damaged her spinal cord – making her physically challenged.

Life changed for the good when the 25-year-old girl from the Authoora area in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district started her basketball career in 2018. For her, playing basketball was not just a love for the sport but a passion for standing against all odds, come what may.

“I never played any sport before 2016, not even in school, but in 2016 when I was just 18 years old, I met with an accident. I fell off from the balcony of my house and this made me bedridden for two long years,” recalls Ishrat.

Did not surrender to fate

A brave and resilient girl, she developed the will power to transform adversity into hope. Certainly, she did not wish to live a life of hopelessness and despair.

“After that accident, I was a patient at the Voluntary Medicare Society. I saw some boys coming to play basketball on the court which was in the society and all of them were in wheelchairs! Seeing them play, I was deeply influenced. I was inspired. I thought, “I don’t want to sit idle. Let people form their own, biased opinions,” she says and continues:

I, therefore, decided to play basketball. I remember that when the selection process for the Indian team started, police and army people came to my home and informed me that my name was in the list and if I wanted to attend the three-day selection process for the Indian team, I must leave for Chennai within a day. For me, this was a golden opportunity, so I left for Chennai all alone, and participated in the selection process. Luckily, and to my great joy, I got selected. Since then, I have been determined to live a life based on self-conviction, will power and courage.

At the Medicare Society, I joined the Wheelchair Basketball Team and got selected for the ‘nationals’ in Tamil Nadu, representing Delhi. Jammu and Kashmir did not have a team at that time. I was part of a team of good players. Eventually, a team for the state was conceived. I played the second national game at Mohali, representing J&K.

Ishrat Akhter receiving an award by the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha | eNewsroom India

Conquering world

“I was selected to represent India at the Asia Oceania Wheelchair Basketball Championship at Pattaya, Thailand in 2019. I am the only girl from my state who has represented India at the international level. Besides, I have participated in a Boys’ Wheelchair Race, I being the only girl in the race. Happily, I secured the first position. I also play Wheelchair Table Tennis,” says Ishrat, with great pride.

Among others, Colonel Isenhower has been a constant support for Ishrat. He has been her guide, mentor and guru. And she is full of praise for him.

“When the selection process for the Indian team was going on, communication services were suspended in Kashmir. Hence, Colonel Isenhower, who was in Kochi, traced me out in two days and arranged everything. Since then, he has been an inspiration for me. He has always been motivating me to do much, much more. He always says that I have to make my name and thus refuse to be restrained — because I am a wheelchair-bound person,” says Ishrat.

Ishrat’s family has always acted with amazing positivity and magnanimity, giving her optimism and courage. She feels that, undoubtedly, it is due to the support of her family that she has reached the international forum, something impossible to conceive for a girl with the kind of difficulties she had faced in her life.

On the flip side, she believes that her life has completely changed because of the accident which resulted in her opting for basketball.

Indeed, after four years of the accident, Ishrat has resumed her academic life, and is currently pursuing a diploma in the Women’s Polytechnic College, Srinagar.

Truly, she represents the eternal metaphor of hope. For her, sky is the limit.

“Not just an international recognition but after 4 years of my accident, I resumed my studies. I passed my Class 10 and also appeared for my Class 12 exams. Now, I’m also pursuing my Diploma,” she says.

Controls her life

The specially-abled Ishrat, braving all odds drives a car, all by herself without anyone’s support.

“In the beginning, it was very difficult, but I wanted to drive by myself. If one has courage and willpower – one can achieve anything in life,” she adds.

“I remember, I used to feel scared even if I had to go some miles away from my home but today I travel alone, even when I have to go to some places outside Kashmir. There are instances when I observe people looking at me and seeing how I manage things but at the same time I’m proud of the fact that today, I get invited to speak as a motivational speaker across India,” she points out.

In 2019, she was also selected for a Sports Visitors Program- Wheelchair Basketball and Accessibility in the USA but because of personal issues she was not able to attend it.

Ishrat is also a motivational speaker and has delivered many talks in Kashmir and other states. She was presented the Kashmir Young leadership award and Kashmir Young Achievers Award 2021 by the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha.

She has also received the Women Steel award 2022 from JKPCC.

source: http://www.enewsroom.in / eNews Room India / Home> Play On> She / by Varalika Mishra / May 08th, 2022

Ghetto Tech Wizards: How Ijma International is Revolutionizing Education

Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

Inside Kolkata’s hidden gem of education; how Ijma International is shaping tomorrow’s leaders

Kolkata:

When you first see 8-year-old Mohammed Ashfaque or 7-year-old Mariam Adil, along with other students assembling robotic cars, understanding the processes to build them, and participating in races to see how they work practically, you might think the students are from one of the top-notch schools in the city. But in reality, they study at Ijma International Model School, which is not only small but also situated in the lanes of Topsia, a Muslim ghetto in Kolkata.

However, meeting experts from different fields of international repute to learn new technology at a tender age has become a routine for them.

The boys wearing skull caps and the girls wearing hijab speak fluent English. They were seen listening to the administrators during this weekend..

“As you have learned to assemble robotic cars and tried to understand their engineering, we will also give you an idea of how cars move without drivers and how WiFi-enabled cars function,” said Nafis Ahmed Khan to the excited children. Khan added, “The purpose of the workshop was to give them an insight into robotic cars, how their connections work, and how to make battery connections so that they have a better understanding of how controlled cars work.”

The pupils not only took part in the two-hour-long robotics workshop but their curriculum follows CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) Board too. They learn mathematics, science, and computers as well as the Arabic language and Deeniyat. Every classroom has air conditioners, and there is a smart big screen for students. The school not only holds workshops on the latest technologies but also brings experts from different fields to interact with curious young minds.

Experts visit

There is a long list of experts from different fields from India and abroad, including Professor Ewaz Al-Jum’aa Al-Laila from King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Mufti Obaidulla Asadi, Chairman of the Jurisprudence Committee, Islami Fiqh Academy; Muhammad Mushtaque Nadwi, Judge in the lower court, Doha, Qatar; Maulana Jaafar Hasani Nadwi, Deputy General Secretary, Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow; Wing Commander (Retd) Shamim Akhtar; NUJS Dean Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan; Advocate Khurshid Alam; Mamoon Akhtar, Founder and Chairman of Samaritan Group; Wali Rahmani, Founder of Umeed Academy; Chartered Accountants Faiz Anwar and Asif Ali; NEET Basket Founder Noor Alam; and social activists Manzar Jameel, Athar Firdausi, Umar Owais, Abu Talha Jamal Qasmi, Manzar Imam, and Alam Jamshed, who have met the kids from time to time over the last two years.

“Our students will compete with any other school’s children. We are preparing them so they can remain ahead in every aspect. The future belongs to Artificial Intelligence (AI), so these kids, when they grow up, will not only be well-versed with the latest technology but will also be able to think beyond it and may contribute something new to mankind,” the director, Dr Sarfaraz Adil, told eNewsroom. Dr Sarfaraz revealed the school’s plan to have a robotics lab in the school.

Role of Ijma Charitable Trust

Starting in the year 2023, the classes range from Nursery to 3rd grade. It has around 100 students. Run under the Izma Charitable Trust, it also has a provision for giving scholarships to 20 percent of the total students for each session. Ten percent can get a half-freeship in the fees, and the other ten percent can get a full freeship. “We have a plan to run the senior secondary school, and we have got land for this as well,” added the director.

Message for Parents

Mariam Adil is the daughter of the director. Her presence, according to the director, gives a message that unlike other small schools, the sons and daughters of the faculty also study here. This move will make parents confident about the fact that there will be no compromise in the education imparted at the school.

source: http://www.enewsroom.in / eNews Room India / Home> Education / by Shanawaz Akhtar / July 15th, 2024

“Oudh” Princes From Delhi’s Malcha Mahal: Pulitzer Prize Winner Resurrects

Oudh (Awadh) UTTAR PRADESH / DELHI :

Ellen Barry of the New York Times walked into my study and, wasting no time, came straight to the point. What did I know about the last “Begum of Oudh”? She had a quizzical, amused look like she knew what the answer would be but would still like to see my expression. The abruptness of the query was her way to establish a point of departure on the theme.

After reading Ellen’s evocative masterpiece on the Oudh (Awadh) Royals in the NYT, I am chastising myself for poor judgment. I dismissed Ellen’s pursuit as a “foreigner’s” quest for the exotic. This was months ago. The story titled “The Jungle Prince of Delhi” appeared last week.

Only after reading the lengthy piece which, in parts, reads like a poem in prose, did I, Google Ellen, out. She had been the paper’s bureau chief in New Delhi, Moscow, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and so on.

The story of the “Begum”, Princess and the jungle Prince, is a classic case of “news” which, when neither confirmed nor denied, takes root in the popular imagination. Public opinion then drives the government into action to minimize criticism. That is why Indira Gandhi in the early 80s agreed to transfer the “Royals” to a medieval hunting lodge on the ridge. It is known as Malcha Mahal.

Ali Raza, Prince

In the early 70s, a woman with sharp aristocratic features took up residence on platform number one of New Delhi Railway station and proclaimed herself the last Begum of Oudh. For greater credibility, she had in her entourage, two children, a handsome dog, and a liveried servant.

The mainstream media took a perfunctory interest but the Urdu press amplified the fall of the House of Oudh and readers, in enclaves like Jama Masjid, saw it as part of a continuing story of victimhood. Here was tear-jerking melodrama: “our royals betrayed”.

It says something of our journalism that a story laden with so much possibility waited unexplored for 40 years until Ellen Barry appeared. She tied up all the loose ends – the railway station Lucknow, Bradford, Texas, Lahore: and what a story she has delivered, a story under our noses but which we failed to see. This is not surprising because even our archaeology was excavated by Europeans. Why, even the Last Moghul, is something of a masterpiece by William Dalrymple. While Dalrymple diligently scoured archives in the fashion of scholarly investigation, the Oudh story was there for all newspapers and channels to see.

True, the story was, on the face of it, “fake” from the beginning. But what shames us, this hack included, is the fact that it required an outsider to tell up why the “fake” was being played out – across the subcontinent and two generations?

Toba Tek Singh in Manto’s story cannot understand how a place, which was in India, can “go” to Pakistan. Like Toba Tek Singh, Begum Wilayat of Oudh also spent time in an asylum for her grand delusion. She had to live with women who were “tied in chains”, Ellen’s investigations reveal for the first time.

Trust Saiyyid Ammar Rizvi, Lucknow’s omnipresent Shia (and gourmet in the classical Awadh mould) to has become something of an intermediary between the Royals and the UP Chief Minister. He must surely know about the other Royal in that splendid city – Prince Moinuddin, who also addresses himself as Bahadur Shah III. The last Moghul Emperor was his great, great grandfather: that is his story. His great grandfather escaped to Kerala. But why did Bahadur Shah III materialize in Lucknow?

Malcha-Mahal-Wilayat-Mahal

The Bahadur Shah story has remained unnoticed because the claimant to the title never made a nuisance of himself. Begum Wilayat Mahal did. When the New Delhi station master requested her to vacate the platform, she threw a fit. She would commit suicide by drinking some exotic poison. In fact, when she did die in 1993, her progeny tutored by her for decades, put out the story that, for a decorative expiry, she had swallowed “crushed diamonds”. Her daughter, Sakina’s death was presumably caused by neglect because there were stories of her unwashed hair dropping in matted locks. It was with the “Prince”, variously named as Prince Ali Reza, or Cyrus, who spent his last years in Malcha Mahal, that Ellen struck an equation of tenderness mingled with curiosity. Google her NYT piece titled “The Jungle Prince of Delhi”.

The yarn begins in Lucknow where Wilayat was happily married to the registrar of Lucknow University, Inayatullah Butt. The name itself is a give-away: it is a Sunni name whereas anybody claiming lineage from the Nawabs of Oudh would have to be Shia. A similar story of dubious veracity explains why the Butt’s left for Pakistan. During the high tension of Partition in 1947, Hindus armed with hockey sticks beat Butt up. I can bet my last rupee that the story is false. Yes, there was small-scale stone-throwing between Shias and Sunnis on appointed days annually. But Hindu-Muslim violence? Never – until caste politics reared its head in the late 80s.

The last king of Oudh (Awadh), Wajid Ali Shah’s exile to Matia Burj near Kolkata or the more recent Partition of India are disorienting events for those in the thick of it, by historical memory or raw experience. In minds like Wilayat Butt’s historical memory and immediate experience are all jumbled up in knots.

Is Malcha Mahal Really Haunted ?

Ellen believes that disruptions caused by a change (Partition for instance) had a great deal to do with the Butt tragedy. A grievance “unaddressed, had metastasized” to become an epic tragedy.

Wilayat was a “mental” as one of her relatives in Lahore said. Ellen has explored the story backward after she got to know the recluse “Prince Cyrus” in his Malcha Marg hideout. In the end, he turned out to be no more than Micky Butt. She writes of their sad delusion:

“It is impossible to know, now that he and his sister are dead, whether they even knew it wasn’t all true.”

Curated and Compiled by Humra Kidwai

source: http://www.theindiaobserver.com / The India Observer / Home> Diaspora> Editorial> India> Interface> Lifestyle / by Saeed Naqvi / edited by Adam Rizvi / Curated and Compiled by Humra Kidwai / November 29th, 2019

My work is ibadat; Dr Shahana AK, Ayurvedic para-surgery expert

Chelakkara, (THRISSUR DISTRICT), KERALA :

Dr Shahana A K, Ayurvedic expert in anorectal disease

The disease can mean pain as much as shame. This is especially so when it comes to anorectal diseases. Remedies are available in Allopathy but these are expensive and do not guarantee non-recurrence.

Piles free for five rupees….read the headline in a Malayalam daily recently. This claim was made not by an Allopath but by an Ayurveda practitioner in the Ksharasootra clinic of the Government Ayurveda Hospital in Chelakkara in Thrissur district.

The clinic and its head Dr Shahana A. K. have been attracting patients from different parts of the state and even from outside for treatment of anorectal diseases like fistula, hemorrhoids, anal fissures, and rectal prolapse. She treats them with an ancient method of ksharasootra which involves insertion of a medicated thread through the affected area or fistula.

The practice called Ksharasootra takes very little time and the patient need not even be admitted. The thread is replaced by fresh ones a few times till the patient is healed. It is simple, non-invasive, with no side effects, cost-effective, and leads to no recurrence of the problem unlike in surgery.

Dr Shahana doing a surgical procedure in her clinic

Sushruta is considered the “Father of Plastic Surgery” and lived in India sometime between 1000 and 800 BC. He is the author of the treatise The Suśrutasaṃhitā which includes unique chapters describing surgical training, instruments, and procedures in ancient India. One of the oldest Sushrutasamhita palm-leaf manuscripts is preserved at the Kaiser Library of Nepal.

Dr Shahana has been practicing this ancient Ayurvedic para-surgical process in the government clinic for the past few decades and her name has come to be attached to Ksharasootra. The success stories have been traveling through the state by sheer word of mouth, says the doctor. No one has tried to publicize it. People come here after hearing about it from people who have healed, she says.

Speaking of the recent item in a newspaper, she said: I want more people to know of the treatment so that they don’t fall victim to quacks, who spoil their cases forever and charge them huge sums.

 After her BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) she went on to do her master’s in surgery or Shalya tantra which had just three seats in the state colleges then.  In Ayurveda surgery has many para-surgical procedures including Ksharasootrarakthamoksham, ksharakarmamand so on.

Ksharasootra though devised by the father of Ayurveda Susruta centuries ago, the procedure has evolved over the years, she points out to this scribe.

As for why she opted for Ksharasootra, she says, “I wanted to use my education to help the maximum number of people.”

The world of anorectal diseases is a dark, quiet, and obscure one where patients suffer silently in fear and shame to disclose their suffering as it concerns their private parts. If the patients are women, then it is even more shameful to discuss this with doctors.

Chelakkara Gram Panchayat Government Ayurveda Hospital in Thrissur

Patients do get treatment in Allopathy and go through multiple surgeries as the piles or fissures recur. So they are drained of money by the time they turn to Ayurveda with a recurrent condition, she says.

“When I started working quacks ruled the roost, as they promoted themselves as experts in this ancient method and offered treatment for piles, fissures, and fistula without surgery. Patients still fall for their hype and lose a lot of money and their health,” she says.

The treatment for diseases like piles, fistula, or fissures is free in her clinic, while other government Ayurveda hospitals in Kerala charge a token fee. In private Ayurveda clinics, it can cost a lot.

The main advantage she says it does not cause incontinence. Since it is a treatment in the anal region, patients often lose control over their bowel movements after surgery in Allopathy.

The profile of patients suffering anorectal disorders has been changing dramatically she says. “Earlier there were mostly middle-aged people. Today there is no age difference. They come from every age group including youth and children. Poor toilet habits, stress, junk food, and lack of physical activity all lead to anorectal diseases in children even below the age of ten,” she says.

Dr. Shahana spreading awareness about rectal disease

These diseases are also occurring in pregnant women mainly because of the traditional food supplements they take for a healthy child. These days, women don’t have the digestive capacity and are still given meat supplements. So women who are already suffering from constipation get even worse and develop anorectal complications and come here,” she says.

Patients cut across caste and community and ironically every religious festival leads to a spike in the number of patients in her clinic.

Onam, Easter, Christmas, and Eid all cause a spurt in cases and aggravate of old cases. During the fasting month of Ramzan, patients suffer a lot as they eat very spicy and oily food to break a day’s fast. It aggravates these disorders, she says. In some festivals drinking of alcohol leads to a spike. 

Her clinic is gearing up to observe World Piles Day on November 20 with awareness camps and posters. “We are trying our best to reach out to more and more people so that they are saved from quacks, she says. Often people go for self-medication, to avoid medical examination of their private parts. Or they go to quacks to avoid surgery. They don’t realize that often rectal cancer and piles show the same symptoms which only a good doctor can detect,” she says.

A bust of Sage Sushrut

The Ksharasootra clinic run single-handedly by her for the past few decades is to be declared a centre of excellence by the Kerala Government. This would mean more doctors and more funds. “Of course, I would have retired by then but the treatment facilities would improve,’’ she says.

Asked if there was a stigma attached to practicing Ksharasootra she agrees that the number of Ksharasootra practitioners is very few in the state. But she feels it is because very few seats are available for surgery or Shalyatantra. “Not everyone who does the course may get the opportunity or have the mental willingness to pursue this line. It’s not possible for everyone,” she adds quoting Susruta on the qualities required by a surgeon…   shauryamashukriyataishyam…. meaning courage, fast and unfearing while being insightful of the patient’s condition.…

“As for me, I feel it is an opportunity to do some good. People come to me after two or three allopathic surgeries. Just recently I had a patient who had been operated on for piles and fistula eight times. He was mentally and physically shattered and hopeless. I’m able to bring these people, many of whom are on the verge of suicide,  back to hope and normalcy, ‘’ she says.

She says her religion Islam or her gender does not discourage the work she is doing.

“Being a woman has been an advantage I feel as I can empathise with their suffering and approach patients with maternal affection and concern.  As a Muslim the work I do is considered equivalent to devotion. Islam considers all good deeds done with good intentions as ibadat or devotion. These are considered superior to prayers or reading of scriptures,’’ she says.

Dr Shahana believes that if one has a job that allows doing good to the masses then one should do the maximum possible. “That is my policy. Often people ask me why I take so much trouble to reach out to these patients. I feel that for anyone like doctors or politicians who are in a position to do work for the wellbeing of the public and do not do it, then it is not appropriate for them to be in that position.”

The author is a former social-editor of Business Standard and is teaching in a alternative school in Andhra Pradesh

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Sreelatha Menon, Thrissur / October 15th, 2024

Pioneer of India’s street art movement Hanif Kureshi is no more

Palitana (Bhavnagar District), GUJARAT/ GOA:

Hanif Kureshi (Facebook)

New Delhi :

Have you walked through India’s first art district of Lodhi Colony in South Delhi where high walls along streets come across as vibrant art works? The man behind this and the street art movement of India Hanif Kureshi is no more; he passed away on Sunday at 41.

Hanif, an alumnus of the Baroda Art College died of cancer leaving behind a culture of vibrant public spaces and colourful neighbourhoods across India.

A wall in South Delhi’s Lodhi Road created by Kureshi

Kureshi’s quest for vibrant neighborhoods brought him to Lodhi Colony in Delhi in 2013, where the high walls and pedestrian-friendly lanes became a canvas for murals that quickly captured the community’s attention.

His death was announced on Instagram. The post read: “Hanif Kureshi, the man behind the Amazing street art you see across India has passed away…”

“Hanif Kureshi (@hanifkureshi) will forever be remembered as a visionary artist who transformed the urban landscape, one wall at a time.

After transitioning from advertising, Kureshi took the lead in shaping India’s modern street art movement and reviving the fading art of hand-painted typography.

An art work created by HanifHanif Kureshi in Chennai

Through St+art India (@startindia), Kureshi and his co-founders built a community of urban artists whose projects have revitalized cities across India, turning public spaces into cultural landmarks. From the vibrant Sassoon Docks in Mumbai and the iconic Lodhi Art District in Delhi to Kannagi Nagar in Chennai, the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa, and international showcases like the London Design Biennale, Venice Biennale, and Centre Pompidou, Kureshi’s artistic imprint is unmistakable.

In light of his untimely passing, we reflect on the enduring legacy Kureshi leaves behind—on walls, in typographic art, and throughout neighborhoods and communities nationwide.”

Hanif Kureshi co-founded St+art India and started giving shape to his vision in 2013. When he started transforming public spaces into vibrant canvases, he could not have anticipated the profound impact it would have across the nation.

Asian Paints posted this image of Kureshi’s work on X:

@asianpaints / The MTNL building in Bandra has a shiny new coat of paint. Love the work by @StartMumbai / December 09, 2014 / 4.55 pm

This young visionary artist devoted his life to making art accessible to everyone. “Our aim is to make art more accessible. When you are working in an art gallery, your concerns are different, but this is art on the streets for everyone,” he said in an interview.

Kureshi was behind popularizing street art in India and setting up a model that has inspired countless artists.

According to Storyboard 18, art curator Rahul Bhattacharya, a close friend and former classmate at Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda, reflects on Kureshi’s unconventional approach: “He was constantly exploring new avenues.”

His journey began with an interest in sign-board painting and hand-lettering, leading him to seek out local sign painters and eventually digitzing their unique styles under the banner of HandpaintedType.

He launched St+art India as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating public art projects.

Kureshi’s first project was Lodhi Colony in Delhi where the high walls and pedestrian-friendly lanes became a canvas for murals that quickly captured the community’s attention.

Gupt Dwar by Kureshi’s NGO in Lodhi Colony

Gond artist Bhajju Shyam, who collaborated with Kureshi in Lodhi Colony, remembered him as modest and patient. “He was extremely sincere and listened to constructive feedback during our discussions,” Shyam noted, highlighting Kureshi’s collaborative spirit.

Kureshi’s St+art India has since organized numerous art festivals and painted murals across cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai, inviting both local and international artists to contribute. Kureshi was actively involved in his project including the installation at the Sassoon Dock Art Project in Mumbai.

Kureshi’s influence extended beyond borders afters he showcased his work at prestigious venues including the London Design Biennale and the Venice Biennale-. His recent solo exhibition at Wildstyle Gallery in Sweden in June 2023 impacted the world of art globally.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home / posted by Aasha Khosa, ATV / September 26th, 2024

Class 8 students from Karimnagar visit iconic sights of Delhi

Mallapur (Thimmapur Mandal ,Karimnagar District), TELANGANA :

A group of nine Class 8 students took part in this tour under the guidance of their Hindi teacher, Shareef Ahmed.

Class 8 students of Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) in Mallapur, Thimmapur mandal, Karimnagar district, along with their Hindi teacher during an educational tour in New Delhi.(File Photo)

Karimnagar :

Students from the Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) in Mallapur, Thimmapur mandal, recently embarked on an educational tour to New Delhi, where they had the opportunity to visit some of the nation’s most iconic historical and cultural landmarks.

A group of nine Class 8 students took part in this tour under the guidance of their Hindi teacher, Shareef Ahmed. The group explored sites such as the Red Fort, Lotus Temple, Qutub Minar, India Gate, Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan and Akshardham temple.

Part of Hindi curriculum

Shareef told TNIE that this trip was part of an experiential learning initiative, directly tied to the Class 8 Hindi curriculum, which referenced many of the historical landmarks the students visited. “We aimed to bridge the gap between book learning and real-world experience. I explained each site, connecting the theoretical knowledge from the textbooks with practical insights,” he said.

The trip helped the students gain a deeper appreciation of India’s rich cultural heritage, the teacher said, adding that by walking through these historical monuments, they developed a personal connection with the history the students had studied in class.

The students expressed immense joy, particularly when witnessing structures like the Red Fort and Qutub Minar. Visits to spiritual places such as the Akshardham and Lotus temples added another dimension to their tour, they said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Naveen Kumar / October 06th, 2024

A tuk-tuk fuelled by service in TN

Vellore, TAMIL NADU :

Shabir and his team stepped in, despite the language barrier, to assist the grieving daughter.

Vellore :

At the chaotic Ariyur auto stand in the heart of Vellore, amidst the blare of honking rickshaws and the buzz of commuters, 39-year-old Mohammed Shabir orchestrates a life-saving mission that few would notice.

With one eye scanning for passengers and the other glued to his phone, he is constantly coordinating urgent blood donations for patients in dire need. For Shabir, it’s more than just a local cause.

His focus stretches across borders and helps patients from as far as West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Assam, who come all the way to Vellore, most of them clinging to the last straw of hope for critical medical treatment.

Since 2019, Shabir has been at the helm of a team of volunteers, racing against time to provide emergency blood donations across the districts of Vellore, Tirupathur, and Ranipet. Their relentless efforts have become a lifeline for patients at their most desperate moments, a beacon of hope in the face of life-threatening crises.

Shabir, a BBA graduate from Vellore, was forced to take up the role of an auto driver in life in 2013 due to financial difficulties at home. However, the course of life changed forever after a personal tragedy struck him.

His father, Ansar Basha, was a kidney patient and was admitted to the Vellore Government Hospital and Medical College. Back then, according to Shabir, the hospital didn’t have a well-equipped facility for dialysis, and despite his desperate efforts, he could not secure a blood donor for his father’s treatment on time.

Tragically, his father passed away within a week due to the unavailability of blood. “The incident shattered me,” Shabir recalls, tears welling up in his eyes. “I couldn’t move on from it for a long time,” he added, reflecting on the event that now fuels his determination to help others.

Driven by this loss, Shabir began arranging blood donations in 2013, focussing particularly on patients from North India, who often face language barriers in Vellore.

Despite financial challenges, Shabir formalised his work in 2019 by rallying a group of volunteers and forming the Nodtigal Trust. Every day, they receive about 10 requests from various hospitals, prioritising the most urgent cases. “We manage to fulfil at least five requests weekly within Vellore,” Shabir said.

The outbreak of Covid-19 added another layer of complexity to their work. Arranging blood donations during the pandemic became increasingly difficult. But Shabir and his team were undeterred, stepping up to the challenge.

In 2020, they encountered a particularly heartbreaking case involving a cancer patient from West Bengal. The patient passed away while her husband was away trying to sell his land to fund treatment. Their daughter was left alone with her mother’s body.

Shabir and his team stepped in, despite the language barrier, to assist the grieving daughter. With the husband’s permission, they arranged for the woman’s burial in Vellore, free of charge. “It was a deeply emotional moment for us,” Shabir said. “The husband saw his wife’s body over a video call and thanked me in Bengali. I couldn’t understand his words, but I could read the emotion on his face.”

What began during the pandemic has now become a regular part of Nodtigal Trust’s work. “We’ve buried over 24 bodies so far, mostly North Indian patients who don’t have any local connections,” Shabir explained. “It costs around Rs 5,000 to bury one body, and we’ve been covering the costs ourselves, with help from friends and well-wishers.” In addition, Shabir also cares for five orphaned girls in Vellore, committing to support them for life.

Looking ahead, Shabir has broader ambitions for the Trust. He is particularly concerned about the lack of awareness and support for transgender people in Vellore. “If any transgender individuals want to study and live a decent life, we are ready to support them,” he said. He also aims to assist mentally ill people found on the streets, helping them reunite with their families.

However, the work is not without challenges. “We sometimes struggle to cover transportation costs for the burials,” Shabir shared. “It would be a great help if the district administration could provide us with an ambulance for these cases.”

(For more details, Mohammed Shabir can be contacted at 9361719520)

(Edited by Sneha Joseph)

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Rajalakshmi Sampath / October 13th, 2024

Mohammed Ali Library: Journey from traditional to new-age library-cum-information centre

Kolkata , WEST BENGAL :

  Courtesy: Facebook/Mohammed Ali Library Students’ Section

Kolkata:

Mohammed Ali Library, located on the ground floor of Barry House, on Kanai Seal Lane is one of Kolkata’s oldest public libraries. Lost in the hustle-bustle of the ever-so chaotic, ever-so-charming Zakaria Street is this 93-year-old library being resurrected to its past glory.

Many local residents and researchers in the past have complained about the treasure trove of Urdu literature being in ruins and how not much is being done to preserve the library’s legacy and the thousands of rare books that lie in it.

“This library was established in the year 1930, by Mulla Mohammad Jan to create a reading space for the community youths. After the death of Mohammad Ali Jauhar, a fellow Khilafat leader and prominent freedom fighter, in 1931, the library was named in his honor. Mohammad Ali was a visionary, who was also one of the co-founders of Jamia Milia Islamia,” said Anwarul Haque, librarian of Mohammad Ali Library.

Admitting that the library had been in a deplorable state and needed a shot in the arm, Haque said, “The library, in need of a complete makeover, had long been the subject of demands from locals and visiting researchers.”

Rising from its ashes

Taking a cue from the public demand, and a pump of new blood in the committee that takes care of the almost century-old library, a slew of changes has been initiated to not just preserve the books but to also transform it into a new-age library that caters to the new age readers and researchers.

Speaking to eNewsroom, the president of the library committee, Nasir Ahmed, said, “We had been thinking about this makeover for a long time. But the fact that the library is in a rented space, initiating a renovation seemed a mammoth task. However, with the induction of new members who were willing to work for the betterment of the library, we realized the importance of having a new-age library for the readers. The books were decaying, racks were falling off, and we were seeing the legacy of the library being destroyed. So, we had a couple of meetings and decided to go for a complete renovation.”

On being asked about the library’s rare collection, Haque said, “It houses some rare books and manuscripts like the Urdu translations of the Mahabharata and Ramayana and the Awadh Punch, an Urdu satirical weekly.”

From archaic library to new-age library-cum-information centre

A budget of Rs 10,00,000 has been estimated to give a face-lift to the library, which is being done under the leadership of Usman Ghani, head of office and ALIO, National Library.

Ghani explained the transition that the library is undergoing at the moment. He told eNewsroom, “The library will be undergoing a gradual metamorphosis, where we will witness its transition from a local library to a state-of-art library cum information centre that will cater to the needs of the new-age readers, researchers and bibliophiles.”

Elaborating on the slew of changes that the library will undergo, he said, “A complete structural makeover has been initiated, which will be followed by the restoration of books, cataloguing, digitization of rare books that the library boasts off. I will be overseeing the indexing, cataloguing and digitization of books.”

Adding to that, Ahmed said, “Once we are done with the renovation, we plan to introduce computers and digital readers. We also plan to make the library air-conditioned and use it as an information centre from where the youths can not just get information about the competitive exams but also use other resources available here to prepare for the exam.”

Ghani also mentioned that the library would have its own website and offer online services, enabling readers to register, request, renew, and even read books online.

The proposed upgrade will take almost six months to complete. Talking about funds, Ahmed said, “We sought help from Siddiqullah Chowdhury, minister-in-charge of Mass Education Extension & Library Services. We are hopeful to get some help from him. Local MP and MLA have also been approached to help us bring Mohammed Ali Library to life . 

source: http://www.enewsroom.in / eNews Room India / Home> Bengal> Let There Be Light / by Shabina Akhtar / December 05th, 2023

Unsung Hero: Bhopal’s Syed Abid Helps Bring Stranded Citizens Home From Across The World

Bhopal, MADHYA PRADESH:

Abid, a painter, puts immense effort to help bring back stranded people to India, the act which brings cheers to the families. He has mastered the skill, how to deal with embassies, journalists, officials and celebs to raise each issue and bring back the lost person.

Syed Abid Hussain

Bhopal:

A man has been quietly helping Indian citizens caught in difficult circumstances in countries across the world for years.

Known for lending a helping hand to any family whose kin is trapped far away, he uses all his links and puts energy into the efforts to bring the person back home.

Syed Abid Hussain has mastered the skill to deal with the bureaucracy in different countries and with the use of social media, reunites such people with their families.

By profession, Abid is neither a bureaucrat nor a politician, who has contacts and departments to follow their instructions but he is just a painter and single man army.

And even not being associated with any government organisation, he has so far helped hundreds of people stuck in countries spread over the Middle East, West Asia, Europe and other parts of the world. Abid keeps getting calls and messages from families who have their kin caught in a country and even those whose whereabouts are not known.

The ‘Mesiah’ has developed a style of his own to resolve these cases. Whether it’s the case of a person who is untraceable or has been kept unlawfully by someone in a foreign land, Abid uses social media, particularly Twitter, to bring focus on the disappearance of the person or his plight. He tags officials of the particular country, their embassies and the Indian Embassy.

He also messages prominent personalities of the particular country, including peaceniks or activists, film actors, journalists and urges them to raise the issue. Subsequently, it comes in media in those countries, gets attention and opens the door to the person’s return.

During the Russia and Ukraine crisis, he helped dozens of youth to return with his efforts.

“I don’t have a strong financial background but I never take a penny for this work. It’s just for the sake of humanity and social work”, he says.

The number of people Abid helped bring back to the country is uncounted now. “I don’t do it for any number or statistics, I stopped counting, the figure is more than 500,” he says. “Whenever I get a call I start working on the mission. I feel that the victim’s family must not get depressed and lose hope”, he adds. One of the first cases that brought him nationwide attention was when he helped the family of a missing boy, Kailash Arjunwar.

“I found through a newspaper report about Kailash, who is from Madhya Pradesh that he had somehow overstayed on the other side of the border and was caught, and kept in jail. I began my efforts. After a long process, Kailash was rescued with the help of the foreign ministry. I constantly kept raising his issue until it got resolved”, he recalled.

Recently, Abid helped get 12 people from a country in West Asia to return to India. These people, Harendra Ram, hails from Siwan (Bihar), Jai Soorat (Ghazipur), Dharmendra Kumar (Deoria), Sheetal Singh (Kapurthala), Husan Lal (Jalandhar), Surendra Verma (Sant Kabir Nagar), Ved Prakash (Kushinagar), Hardas Prakash (Ghazipur) and Shiv Locahn of Mau along with others were reunited with their families.

From yet another country, he helped bring 48 persons back to India, in January.
A painter by profession, he was born in Faizabad, UP.

Abid, 38, says that when he started helping people stuck in foreign lands, he came to know about a lot of factors, especially how some people who are less educated are fooled by their employers or agents who take them to those countries but they end up working as bonded labourers sometimes & are even not allowed to contact families.

When Abid comes to know about a family that has a person ‘lost’ in a country, he takes documents and contacts the government, foreign ministry, the particular country’s consulate and embassies in both countries. Mostly he manages to get them returned. Former Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj also used to know him for his efforts.
Sandeep Kumar, who was helped rescued by Abid recalls, “Our company had promised a job in the construction sector. After paying money to the agent, we were cheated.” “Our families told Abid bhai, who started the campaign because we couldn’t do anything. He also ran a hashtag to save us and this led to action (return),” says Sandeep, who is thankful to the activist for his role.

In the case of Babar Ali, who was stuck in Mozambique, the family approached Abid. “Babar was promised a big salary but when he reached there, he was not paid and made to work 18 hrs daily apart from harassment and torture”, said his family members. “He made a video and managed to send it. Then Abid took up the case and the Embassy acted, bringing Babar back”, a family member mentioned.

Abid has been felicitated many times and got awards too for his work.

Abid has been affectionately called ‘Bajrangi Bhaijan’ because of the movie and the similarity of his work with the Salman Khan starrer Bollywood flick.

source: http://www.enewsroom.in / eNews Room India / Home> Freshly Brewed> Madhya Pradesh / by Shams Ur Rehman Alavi / February 02nd, 2023

Book Discussion | Practices of the State: Muslims, Law and Violence in India

Hyderabad, TELANGANA / NEW DELHI :

Centre for Studies of Plural Societies (CSPS) organised a book discussion on “Practices of the State: Muslims, Law and Violence in India,” authored by Professor Tanweer Fazal, a professor of sociology at the University of Hyderabad. Prof. Maitrayee Chaudhari, former professor of sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi chaired the discussion.The session was moderated by Dr. Javed Iqbal Wani, Head of Research and Publications at the Centre for Studies of Plural Societies (CSPS).

pix: facebook.com/threeessayscollective

Professor Tanweer Fazal commenced the session emphasising on the 5 essays that comprised his book as an exercise to decode the complexities of the Indian State and its evolution in interacting with society and Muslim communities in particular. He spoke on the projection of the scapegoating of minority communities as well as vulnerable citizenry amidst an emerging silence within academia that led legitimacy to the current regime. By interrogating the idea about whether a pre-2014 India lacked the same level of vitriol and aggression as the previous years, Prof. Fazal instead follows a historical and anthropological understanding of the state and calls for a reworking of analytical frameworks to decode the present state of affairs. He posited his work as a continuation of placing the state as a subject of analysis and weighs the Indian State’s substantive realities against its constitutional ideals.

Prof. Fazal makes a note to remind his audience that the question of ‘Muslims’ cannot and should not be treated as a monolithic community and instead as a collective of communities that interacts with larger institutions and collectives outside it. Simultaneously however, it becomes important to acknowledge that there is a level of vulnerability that a Hinduised state uniquely targets Muslim communities with. He starts by tracing the history of cow-slaughter laws and frames it through three different time periods; pre-independence, post-independence and post-2014, where he elucidates that while law and public order was given primacy in the previous two periods, there has been a shift in the past two decades towards open hostility and institutional impunity for perpetrators of violence. The author mentions the Shaheed Ganj Mosque, which came under Sikh occupation when later Muslim organisations petitioned for its restoration, but British courts, fearing public disorder, chose to maintain the status quo. Fazal notes the fundamental changes post-1947, with the establishment of deities within the Babri Masjid from 1950 onwards, the 1992 demolition to the Supreme Court verdict, reflecting shifts to address majoritarian anxieties. These instances showcased how earlier institutions and the state managed communal disruptions while also positing the post-2014 era as marking a shift towards triumphalism and defiance where the priority was no longer the preservation of law and order, but instead the accentuation and placating of majoritarian anxieties.

The discussion also touched upon the shifting ideological stance of the state from precolonial times wherein various theoretical approaches to understanding the state were examined, highlighting the importance of political economy and the relationship between the state and society. An anthropological analysis of the state, focusing on its experience by populations, was emphasised, particularly in situations of violence and crisis. The author in his discussion also examined the production of impunity in post-conflict incidents, such as the Bhagalpur riots of 1989 and the Ranvir Sena massacre of Dalits in 1997. He discussed how media narratives, court proceedings, and inquiry commissions contribute to impunity while critiquing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), which rendered 1.9 million people stateless in Assam.

Prof. Maitrayee Chaudhari, chairing the discussion, reflected on the rapid dismantling of past ideals. She took the example of the ‘Subcommittee on the Role of Women’ under the National Planning Committees of 1947 and identified three ideological strands: the socialist idea of a working class woman, the liberal idea of an individual unencumbered by caste or religion, and lastly, cultural nationalism, which has become more prominent as of late. Chaudhari emphasized the convergence of dominant societal forces with the state, subsuming academia, judiciary, and media into a nationalistic framework that seems to have gained currency in recent times. Prof. Chaudhari also spoke about how the past functioning of committees following a particular violent incident were set up as a means to resolve tension but ultimately failed to reach substantive resolutions. In the present context, there then comes a point where a belief that the state should follow ‘social law’ has taken root with the 2014 Lok Sabha elections being a populist, majoritarian articulation of grudges that previously may have gone unaddressed. These occasions of tensions get heightened in times of crisis, much like the COVID pandemic where there was massive inequalities, communal tensions and stark vulnerabilities in full display.

Prof. Fazal also highlighted instances where Muslims have been treated by the state, law and subjected to persecution because of a particular making of law, showcasing the way the state interacts with its constituents. He argues that one can understand community formations and the narrative of the ‘us versus them’ through a ‘Triadic lens’ where the state plays a central role in the construction of community boundaries. The triad consists of the nation-state at the centre, the communities on the spectrum and the national public on the other spectrum. The state and the national public have a close relation with the state drawing legitimacy from the national public who approves the bulldozing of houses and grants legitimacy to the state. This national public is then constituted and reconstituted according to political negotiations and the needs of those in power.

The moderator Dr. Javed Wani, also spoke about the blurry lines between what constituted the state and society and whether the ‘impunity’ that is becoming more prevalent belongs to the sacred or the profane. He touches upon the crisis of sovereignty and the incomplete project of decolonisation that has led to it triggering old claims in new repackaged ways that underline the continuities of social formations. One good measure to markedly chart this departure would be a relook into the Constituent debates, as the moderator put it, which mentioned many unresolved questions that have now come to the forefront. Prof. Javed also drew a parallel between the NRC process with the Criminal Tribes Act used by British colonialists, both of which placed the burden of proof on the accused while not requiring evidence collection when a testimony was enough to declare anyone as an ‘illegal/criminal’. 

The discussion also saw questions raised about the ‘us versus them’ narrative being raised in states like Assam, to which the author posits that the process of ‘otherisation’ is one that is not new and instead follows a larger history. The superimposing of past boundaries, claims and the overlooking of histories such as when migration into the valley was sought by colonialists and land owners to overcome labour shortages, have instead given way to regional chauvinism that have translated into anti-migrant rhetoric and violence. The author also talked about how there is an evolving political articulation using the language of rights and citizenship that are now being wielded by the Muslim community alongside exclusionary aspirations of institutions and political forces. 

The discussion concluded with reflections on the state’s relationship with society, the role of social media, and multivocality of the Indian State while pointing future researchers towards the need to map these evolving changes. Overall, “Practices of the State: Muslims, Law and Violence in India” offers a crucial lens to understand the intricate dynamics of state practices in India. Prof. Fazal’s work challenges us to critically evaluate the past and present, urging a deeper understanding of the state’s role in perpetuating violence and exclusion. The book discussion highlighted the need for continued discourse and analysis to address these complex issues and foster a more inclusive society.

The report is prepared by Callistine Lewis, a research intern at CSPS

source: http://www.cspsindia.org / CSPS / Home> Book Discussion – Seminar Report / by CSPS Team